The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher

Author:Sarah Cypher [Cypher, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2023-04-25T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

The Second Husband had been big. His casket was as long as an eighteen-wheeler, so I assumed that among Americans, he had been particularly respected. In Rummani style, I barely thought of him. I still had the impression of a very tall figure standing against the sun; and later, in a brown recliner, of a presence that had let the gusts of talk blow over him whenever we’d visited.

The funeral home was silent. It was not a home for anyone, as far as I could tell. There was no kitchen and nowhere to lie down, unless the coffin was for you. The place was more of an open house for vacant bodies. Agitated, my grandmother went out to her car for something and then had the funeral director put on a maudlin CD of Umm Kulthum. “That’ll reel them in,” my mother muttered to my father, who showed me that it was possible to laugh only with your eyes. We waited for others to arrive, standing in a small ring on the carpet despite the roomful of empty chairs.

“I spend fortunes on clothes for her,” Saeeda announced. “She is still too small for any of them. What are you feeding her?”

Dazed from a sleepless night and the choice of subject, Tashi tucked her hair under its headband. “I feed her everything. She eats. You see her eat.”

My grandmother’s scowl was at odds with the pretty bouquets around the room.

“Betty,” said Saeeda, “what did they feed you for lunch?”

You hadn’t arrived yet, and I wanted only you. My mother kept saying you were coming down from Oakland, but it didn’t make any sense. Everyone had made a big deal about never going back there. I didn’t understand that you visited other friends, friends who knew a whole side of you the family didn’t see.

“Do you need me to get you some crackers?” Saeeda said.

“Mama, she’s not hungry.”

“Did you ask her? Because you refuse to cook. Maybe she is not liking food because of you.”

“Mama.” My mother’s face got dangerous. She raised her head just enough for her jaw to become sharp, and for a flatness to settle around her eyes and mouth like a warning. Usually it meant yelling and time-out. But she just put on her sweater and pushed her lips into a short line.

My father touched the small of Saeeda’s back. “I noticed you have some muffins or something on your backseat. Do you mind? I’m starving, and maybe Betty will want some.” Saeeda Rummani, as easy to distract as her ancestors and kin, let her son-in-law steer her toward the car, remembering that yes, the hospice worker had foisted a cardboard box of baked goods on her yesterday.

Their departure left my mother and me alone.

She sat down with her knees brushing the front of my school blazer. The casket was behind her like a low wall.

“Honey,” she said. “You’re going to meet some people. Relatives. Are you okay with a lot of people?” When she searched

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.