Yard War by Taylor Kitchings

Author:Taylor Kitchings
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2015-08-18T04:00:00+00:00

Mama tromped back to my room in those high-heeled shoes that make such a racket, and stood there with her hands on her hips and her eyes flashing black. The dread came up in my throat. I had been trying to figure out how to tell her, but the ladies at the bridge tournament beat me to it.

Daddy wouldn’t have been so mad, and I could have thought straight and explained it better. Mama says Daddy is such a smart man, and that he’s taught her to have a more “open-minded” way of looking at things. Well, I didn’t see how she could be all open-minded and still get so mad.

“Is it true?” she asked.

“Is what true?”

“Don’t you play games with me, young man. Did you take Dee to the Golliwog? Did you push Mr. Lonnie against a wall?”

“That was an accident. Listen, Mama, Papaw said if I brought an upstanding Negro to the Golliwog, he would buy him lunch, and I just wanted to show everybody that—that—”

“That what? That you enjoy disgracing your family?”

Her being so mad made me mad, and I just came out with the whole thing.

“I did not disgrace my family! Do you know what the word ‘golliwog’ means? Why’d they name it that? It’s ugly. I’m never going back. I’m never goin’ to that country club again!” I said it louder than I meant to.

Mama held out her hands and took a deep breath to show how we both needed to calm down. Then she smiled the “you know so well that I am right” smile and talked extra quiet to show me how I, especially, needed to calm down.

“Black people don’t eat lunch or play golf or go swimming at the club because that’s the way it has been since before you or I were born, and you need to honor the wisdom of your elders. There’s such a thing as tradition, Trip. I just pray your grandparents don’t hear about this.”

“What if it’s a bad tradition?”

“You can decide about what’s a bad tradition when you’re grown. Things are a lot more complicated than you are able to realize at your age. Until then, you will follow the rules of civilized society.”

She started to walk out and turned around.

“Really, Trip! I can’t imagine what you were thinking, riding your bike all that way in Old Canton Road traffic—”

“Actually, Dee rode my bike, and I rode—”

“I don’t care which bike you rode!”

“Willie Jane said it was okay.”

“Willie Jane should have known better. You’ve gotten her in trouble, too. We’ll decide on your punishment when your father gets home.”

When Daddy came home, they went back and talked about me in their bedroom, but she was the only one who came into my room later and told me my punishment: Grounded for three weeks with no TV—and Dee could not come over anymore. I didn’t tell her the real punishment was that Dee didn’t want to come over anymore.

—

Mama was still mad the next morning, all through the cheese grits.

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