Satisfy My Soul by Colin Channer

Author:Colin Channer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780345455017
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2002-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

Later, in the cottage, I am distracted from my writing by a sound.

“Hello.”

There is no answer. I go back to writing. Soon I hear the sound again: a shuffling, then a sort of grunt.

I open the door and look around, but there is nothing. But as I turn around I see a flash and feel a force and hear the iron doorknob cracking on the wall.

“Fucking Jesus Christ!”

Kwabena’s body shudders in the grizzly suit.

“I couldn’t resist,” he says, removing the head. “When I got back from Greeleyville the kids were asking where was Uncle Carey and Nazia said he was probably writing and shouldn’t be disturbed. Tano said, ‘Oh, Daddy, maybe we should go and scare him.’ It sounded like a great idea to me so I went over to Willingmore to get the suit.”

“You are absolutely bizarre,” I tell him through a laugh. “Where are the kids?”

“Nazia just took them down to soccer. You must be ready for lunch?”

On the back porch, over griddle cakes and lemonade, he tells me about the day’s rehearsal.

“Oh, they added a great dance number. Blood Nice, who plays Trinculo, said that he was feeling Miranda like Jennifer Lopez. Another cat said that J Lo used to be a fly girl on In Living Color so, yeah, the dance routine could work. Well, Miss Raymond was ecstatic. When he gets out and does his lower surgery he plans to change his face to look like her.”

“And did he scream out ‘I was born to play this role’?”

“Of course he did.”

The laughter drains away.

“I like this place,” I say to keep us going.

“Me, too,” he replies. “I just never thought I would ever have to live here.”

“Don’t worry about it, man.”

“I’m not worried,” he answers quickly.

I open my hands. “Well, there is nothing really to worry about.”

“But I am worried about Nazia,” he confides.

“Why is that?”

“She has taken it too easily.”

“She’s an easy person, and she loves you.”

He looks toward the cottage, fixes his mind on a thought, then turns again to face me.

“The truth is that I feel as if I’m failing. Losing a house over your family’s head is the kind of thing that stays with you. Nazia followed me home, and it has not worked out for her.”

“Move to another state.”

“What would be the point?”

He grinds his glass into the slatted redwood table, his forehead deeply ruffled.

“I am a prisoner of Eden, Carey. Look at all this.”

“Don’t say that, man.”

“You have never lived here, Carey. For a while I thought my father was a coward when he left and went to Ghana. But now I understand him. Here, you’re reminded of the power of white folks every day.”

“So why did you come back?”

He drains his glass.

“Because it is my home.”

He begins to cluck his tongue against his palate. He has opened up to me. Now he is staring, demanding that I do the same. He wants to know where I have been and he wants to know about what’s going on with Frances.

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