Light Skin Gone to Waste by Toni Ann Johnson

Author:Toni Ann Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Published: 2022-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

light skin gone to waste

Monroe, New York, 1976

Maddie pestered Velma to drive her to Julia Romano’s house, because she really wanted to tell her. Julia was the best new friend she’d made in seventh grade. They were both turning thirteen that summer and Julia was the one person she wanted to tell after her cousin Suzy, who already knew, because Suzy was there.

When Julia came to her door, she looked so perfect in cutoff shorts and a white bikini top.

“Man,” Maddie said. “Wish I could look that cool.”

Julia’s cheeks turned all rosy. She smiled and cast her hazel eyes down. “Oh stop,” she said. They hugged, and Julia’s back was sweaty against Maddie’s palms, but she smelled sweet and powdery, like Love’s Baby Soft.

She turned and waved to Maddie’s mom, who was behind the wheel in her big boat of a Chevy station wagon filled with musty antiques.

“Hi Mr s. Arrington!”

Velma’s windows were up, with the air-conditioning on and the radio playing “Love Rollercoaster.” All you could see was her short dark hair because she was looking down at her datebook for directions. She was on her way to deliver a pair of Biedermeier chairs.

Maddie cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “Bye, Mom-my!” She was relieved to be away from the grouch for a while. That morning Velma had slapped her for breaking a glass while she was loading the dishwasher. It was wet and it slipped out of her hand, and even though it was an accident, Velma hit her and said it wasn’t her glass to break and she needed to be more careful. There was still a red splotch on Maddie’s upper arm.

Velma finally looked up with a pen in her teeth. She waved.

“Gosh, Maddie. Your mom is bee-uuu-tee-ful,” Julia said.

Maddie didn’t know why Julia pronounced it that way. She had the urge to correct her, but according to her mother people hated being corrected, so she didn’t.

“Her skin is like gold,” Julia said. “She glows.”

Maddie grunted. Sweet Julia. She was exaggerating. Her mother had been a model in a couple of ads in Ebony magazine when she was a teenager. She was pretty but she damn sure didn’t glow. Maddie’s cousin Suzy said people in Monroe expected Black women to look like Aunt Jemima and that’s why they were so amazed Velma was attractive.

Velma tooted the horn and backed out of Julia’s driveway. When they’d pulled in Maddie mentioned that it was spotless. She asked why their driveway was always dusty and full of oil stains. Velma gripped the steering wheel and grit her teeth. “Our house is in a more affluent area,” she snarled. “And it’s architecturally superior to this cookie-cutter crap. Can’t you see how this box looks like all the other boxes in this development?”

God, Maddie thought. Shouldn’t have asked. Her parents used to rent in this neighborhood when they first moved to Monroe. Livia told her people called them names and threw stuff at their car. That’s why her mother always scowled whenever they drove through here.

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