Page 2
“Morning, baby.” Lena stuck her
head into Martin Jr.’s room. She was smiling and his heart couldn’t
help but fill with love for her even if he then tried to push it away. Lena had
thick, black hair she wore pulled tightly back, held in a plastic clip. Her
hands were rough and the joints in her wrists and elbows were always hurting,
but her face always looked young and beautiful. Her skin had a sheen. Ever
since he could remember, his father had told his mother how beautiful she
was.
Lena worked in town at a local laundrymat. She was the manager there,
but it mostly meant pulling people’s clothes out of the washers and dryers
to make room for people waiting. She didn’t have to do this, nor did she
have to fold clothes either. Martin Jr. didn’t like to hear about it. He
always got mad at her. He told her people knew she’d do their laundry if
they waited long enough, but Lena always said that the Lord appreciated someone
doing a good turn. Martin Jr. thought it bullshit and told her so, that she was
getting taken advantage of, but he was slapped for that kind of language, and
that was the last of his opinions spoken on the matter until the next time he
thought it worth saying again.
“Why don you go and git your sistas.
Hotcakes and eggs?”
“Yeah, mamma,” Martin Jr. said, and
pulled back his sheet slowly. He also hated going to get his sisters. They were
already awake by the time he got to their rooms and they always gave him a hard
time.
He dragged his feet down the short hallway. Martin Jr. was a tall and
lean black boy. He stood up straight and his skin was dark black. The hot
weather didn’t bother him at all as long as he was outside in the open
air. Just his head got hot if he let his hair get big which he sometimes did.
Then it’d be real hot and he’d shave it close then his head would be
cold the next day even when it was 90 degrees.
Martin Jr. didn’t mind
school much because he loved to write stories and the long bus rides back and
forth from their home to school allowed him quiet time to dream up new stories.
His sisters and mother gave him a hard time because his math scores were lower
than they should be.
“Dawn! Lily!” Martin Jr. knocked on their
door. There was no answer. “Ah, get up. I ain’t coming in.
Mamma’s cooking and I ain’t waiting fa you.”
A shoe was
thrown against the door.
“You need to shower. You smell like
fish.”
“Shut up,” Lily said back through the door, “You
jus mad you don’t look so good in a suit for them girls at the
lake.”