they wilt. He produced that camera out of thin air so
fast I thought he was competing with Uncle Palaver."
she added, and lowered her head. Then she raised it
again. "Smash it, and the film will be destroyed. You
can thank Celia in a few hours.
"In fact," she said, sitting up again. "you can
prepare breakfast for us. Celia likes her eggs over
easy. Orange juice, coffee, and some wheat toast with
jam. Now, let me get some rest. We'll be up and about
by eight-thirty. We're meeting some of my old
teammates for lunch today, the ones who graduated
with me last year."
She lowered her head again and then turned on
her side and closed her eyes. I stared at her. Why was
she first going to sleep?
"You just got home?" I asked. "You were out
all night?"
She didn't reply. I waited a moment and then
left her room and started for my own. The door to the
guest room was slightly open. I peered in and saw
Celia on her stomach, the cover down to her waist and
her bare back shining in the morning light. I thought
about speaking to her but decided against it, and
instead I went into my room, broke open the camera,
and exposed the film. I dropped the camera itself into
my trash can and covered it with paper so Mama
wouldn't see. Later. I would empty it into a bigger
trash bag.
I was too awake now to return to bed. so I
showered and dressed and did what Brenda asked. I