Daddy Was a Number Runner by Louise Meriwether

Author:Louise Meriwether [Meriwether, Louise; Baldwin, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781558617087
Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY

NINE

A MONTH after they was arrested James Junior and three other boys were let loose. It was a nice Christmas present but nobody could get too hysterical over it ’cause Vallie and the Washington boys were still in jail. They had confessed to mugging that white man to death and were gonna be tried for murder. They swore that the others had nothing to do with it and weren’t even present.

While they were about it they also confessed to three other muggings and holding up two pawnshops. Before that, though, Sonny had gone downtown all by himself and told them that James Junior had been in the Jewel Theatre with him when that man got killed and when they left the movie Junior had gone to the gang’s hangout while Sonny went home. Everybody said that was a real brave thing for Sonny to do since they could have snatched his butt, too, while he was down there, him being an Ebony Earl and all.

Daddy went to get James Junior and bring him home. Mother cried and hugged him and cried some more. It was the first time I had ever seen her cry. Sterling shook James Junior’s hand, pumping it up and down and grinning like a fool, then they flung each other’s hands away and hugged. James Junior kissed me all over my face. We were laughing and grabbing hold of Junior like we couldn’t get enough of him.

Then we all sat down to dinner together like we hadn’t done in a long time. Mother must have borrowed something from everybody in the neighborhood, ’cause we had string beans with ham hocks and potatoes, pickled beets, corn bread, and Junior’s favorite for dessert, apple dumplings.

While me and Mother did the dishes, Junior and Sterling helped Daddy practice for a party he was going to that night. Then we was all in the front room hanging around the piano and laughing at nothing like we was crazy.

“Oh, Lord,” Mother said suddenly, flinging her hand up over her mouth, “we over here laughing out loud and forgot all about poor Mrs. Caldwell.”

“Yeah,” Junior said, his smile fading, “I gotta see her. Every time she goes to visit Vallie she cries so hard that he don’t want her to come down there no more. He told me to tell her that. That he loves her but he don’t want her to make herself sick like she been doin’ coming down there and getting upset.”

Even though Robert hadn’t wanted Mrs. Caldwell to go down to the jail, like Daddy wouldn’t let Mother go, Mrs. Caldwell went anyhow, saying a boy in trouble had to have at least one parent come to see him and the devil himself wasn’t gonna keep her home.

“Well, let’s go over the roof and see her now,” Daddy said. “I’ve got to leave soon for my party.”

We trooped over the roof and it was just like a funeral over there, the whole family sitting around very quiet not discussing the news.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.