I hesitated and decided this was a woman who
only wanted to hear the truth. In same ways that was
refreshing.
"No, ma'am," I said with conviction.
She stared a moment. Was the wall of ice
cracking?
"So who's your mama? Not Ms. Victoria. I
imagine," she said, folding her rolling-pin arms under
her small bosom.
"No. Her Younger sister. Megan."
"She's not married to your daddy, right?" she
asked, tilting her head in expectation.
"Hardly." I said. She nodded, understanding
only too well.
I told her about Grandmother Hudson and how
I had come to live here. She listened, clicking her
tongue and pressing her lips together once in a while.
Her face grew solemn when I described what had
happened to Brody. Then she rose in silence to clear
off the dishes. My story seemed to take all thought
from her mind. She was so silent for so long. Finally, she wiped her hand on a dishtowel and turned back to
me.
"Ain't no point in asking yourself why all the
time," she said.
"The answers to those questions don't rest here
with the living. We will find out later what the
purpose was to all our burdens. That's what they mean
by the promise in the Promised Land.
"Mv daddy used to say that." she added smiling
softly to herself. Then. as if she realized she had left