One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon

Author:Nicola Yoon [Yoon, Nicola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2024-06-11T00:00:00+00:00

16

“Don’t think it couldn’t happen again,” Jasmyn says to everyone at the dinner table. “The way this country is going?”

The it she’s talking about is slavery. The four of them—Jasmyn, King, Keisha, and her wife Darlene—have just seen a movie, A Slave Story. One review Jasmyn read called it “powerful, raw, and important” and she couldn’t agree more.

“Don’t forget, slavery was the economic engine of this country,” Jasmyn says. “Made it into a powerful force—”

Darlene interrupts her. “But can I ask, did you actually like the movie?” She’s smiling and holding her glass of wine by the stem.

Darlene looks different in real life than in the wedding photo Keisha had shown Jasmyn before. That Darlene wore no makeup on her dark brown skin. She had a short Afro and an earthy vibe. Jasmyn can’t swear to it, but she’s almost certain the Darlene from those photos had thicker lips and a broader nose. Maybe she’d had plastic surgery?

Everything about the Darlene across from her now is sleek. Her hair is long, black, and bone-straight with sharp bangs that end just above her brow. Her makeup is expertly applied, and there’s a lot of it. It’s not hard to imagine her on a runway modeling shapeless monochromatic clothes.

“I’m not sure liking the movie is the point,” Jasmyn says. “It’s like the reviews say—”

“Liking it certainly can’t be the point,” says Darlene, cutting her off again. “I mean it’s hard to like two hours of whipping and raping and denigration, am I right?” She laughs, a high and delicate sound, a wind chime in a gentle breeze.

Keisha looks at Jasmyn and smiles bright. “Darlene has a sensitive stomach,” she says.

But Darlene’s not having it. “You don’t need to make excuses for me. Does my Blackness require me to like that movie?”

Jasmyn expects Keisha to argue the point, to spar with her wife, but she doesn’t. She looks down at her martini, presses her finger against the toothpick speared with olives.

Darlene continues on. “Do you know, I saw one review that called it timely? Can you imagine? Calling a movie about slavery timely?” She sips her wine. “Honestly, I can’t fathom what that even means.”

Jasmyn nudges King, wanting him to join the conversation and push back against Darlene’s naivete. He makes a noncommittal sound and keeps examining his menu.

She tries again with Darlene. “It’s what I was saying before. We have to be constantly vigilant or it could happen again.”

“Ugh, what kind of life is that? Constant vigilance. It sounds truly exhausting. I’d rather spend all day at the Wellness Center.” She sips the last of her wine. “I’m curious as to what you think, Kingston.” Her voice is playful, as if this entire discussion is a joke.

King lowers his menu. “I think we need to lighten up and talk about something else,” he says.

“That I agree with,” says Keisha.

Jasmyn frowns over at her. If anyone else spouted the kind of nonsense Darlene is spouting, no doubt Keisha would take them to task. Keisha doesn’t meet her eyes and Jasmyn finally understands the reason she isn’t arguing.

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