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A hope surged in her heart. Did she dare think that for herself? Her mind went to Andie in her bed and Mike working on her ravaged limbs, working on her with patience and care. Was her life with her child now? Her head swirled as she took a last sip from a water glass on the table, and walked out of the club that had been her life for a third of the years she had lived on earth.
What would she do now?
Chapter Seven
First thing. Buy a house.
Mike’s mind wandered off after a busy day of tending to Andie especially. He watched everything the nurses did to help the other children and he would help her do her exercise on her braces. Still, after a child got out, she needed room and fresh air, not an apartment over a nightclub. Only a house would do that. He had a nice savings, since he was able to live in the home for the past three year. There had to be houses just down the hill in the Hill District—Pittsburgh’s version of Harlem. Cat wouldn’t mind living there.
He took another puff of a cigarette to relax him. He would work it out. What a difference just a little time made. A different man. And proud to be so. He had a purpose—something to look forward to.
But would Cat want it? What about the other Bennetts—especially that Mama?
A brisk cold river of fear washed over him and he took a deeper puff of his Chesterfield to help warm him. His fingers tingled as he remembered the one encounter he had with Cat’s Mama.
It had been at church. The Bennetts practically held up an old church on the Northside of town—Allens A.M.E. Allens and the Bennetts had a deep long proud history of abolitionist tendencies. They had stepped out a few times, and Cat invited him to church one Saturday night.
Stepping foot into Allens people hovered over Mama Bennett’s chair, seeing to every possible thing she wanted. A round, dumpy light skinned woman with sharp features, Mama Bennett looked like she might have been pretty at some point, but she wore a dress in a style that was from the Great Depression. The black dress washed her out, was too long and made of lace, but he guessed it was suitable for an older woman.
Cat asked him to sing with her on her solo, called “No Hiding Place but Jesus.”
The entire church erupted into applause after the song and at the reception afterward, he helped himself to some rationed hard cookies. They were hard because they had no sugar in them. He overheard Mama talking to Cat.
“Let him go on back where he come from. You only twenty, you can do better than him.”
“He deserves to be welcome to church like everyone else, besides, I was going to ask him to come to the house for dinner.”
“No indeed, Katie. He don’t need to be up in my house. Never had no one looking like him there, and won’t start now.”
The hard cookie dissolved to palpable mush in his mouth, but her words rang in his ears. He couldn’t hear Cat’s response, but Mama’s next words hit hard.
“I don’t have no cripples or darkies in my house. Ever.”
Still, he put a mask on his face as if he was glad to meet her, but she kept her hands folded on her ancient purse in her lap. She would not shake his hand, as if the black would come off on her on her gold-colored skin.
He took a final drag on the cig. What had it been like for Andie to grow up in a house like that? Andie was as coal black as he was. With her body the way it was now….how could Cat hand off their child to someone like that?
A sleek car pulled up to the front doors of the home and he put the cigarette out. He approached the car to help the passengers out. Cat was inside, riding in style with a man.
Wasn’t she fine coming up to the home where her daughter resided, in a car yet? The blood in his veins bubbled as if acid had just been pumped into him. How could Cat come driving up to the home as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth?
His lips tight, he reached out to help her out. She had on a different dress this time, a black dress that was smaller in cut and didn’t flare like the other brown one did. She had on a small hat was and a whisp of veiling stood up off it.
“Cat.”
“Stop being so stiff, Mike. This is my brother if you remember him. Beansie.”
He peered down into the car at the youngish looking man driving the car. “Nice to meet you.”
“I remember you,” Beansie said, his voice even.
Couldn’t blame the guy. If he had met the man who left his sister in Dutch, he would punch him, so he was mighty lucky Beansie was too skinny and little to be the fighting type.
“You could park and come and see Andie.” Cat yelled out to her brother.
“I’m afraid visiting hours are over, Cat.” Mike informed her.
She reached in the back of the car and pulled out a small suitcase. Mike’s heart leaped up. She meant to come. She meant to stay.
