From the moment she arrived, Aunt Lucy took over the wake arrangements at our house. I didn’t really care about any of that, and Uncle Alain looked relieved that he wouldn’t have to do anything. Other people volunteered to help, but he turned them over to Aunt Lucy.
Chastity visited by herself. She was crying, and I realized that she really did like my mother very much. Mama had always treated her well, and she had always felt comfortable at our house. I broke the news about my leaving. I told her I would be moving and attending a different school, which was in Washington, D.C. Despite how little we had been seeing each other, she looked devastated. We talked about her coming to visit. I told her that would be nice even though nothing in my future seemed important at this point.
Roxy called Uncle Alain, but she didn’t come by, and neither of us saw her until the day of Mama’s funeral. Aunt Lucy and Uncle Orman were at our house in the morning. He kissed me on the cheek, but his lips made the sound of a snapped rubber band.
“You’ve got to hold yourself together,” he advised—or ordered, I should say. “It’s what your parents expect of you,” he added, as if they would be standing right beside me.
Neither he nor Aunt Lucy spoke much about Roxy. Aunt Lucy wasn’t happy about what I had decided to wear, but I didn’t change. It was a dress Mama and I had bought together, so it had special meaning for me.
As the morning wore on, I saw how Papa was so different from Uncle Orman, despite them sharing the same military-style upbringing. There didn’t seem to be any softness under the layers of authority in Uncle Orman. He was a slightly taller man, with a firmer build and sharper, more sculptured features. He carried himself like a man who had been at many funerals. Dignity and poise were far more important than
any show of emotion. When it came to dealing with other people, Papa was softer, friendlier. Uncle Orman spent most of his time talking with Uncle Alain, but Uncle Alain didn’t look very happy about it. I overheard some of their conversation. It was more as if Uncle Orman was interrogating him.
I wanted to shout, “Don’t ask, don’t tell!” but just walked away from them after Uncle Alain and I shared a knowing look.
Finally, Roxy appeared, and for a moment, when my uncle and aunt looked at her, I thought there would be some nasty words exchanged. Roxy was wearing black, but she looked as if she was going to an elegant event, with her cape, jewelry, and matching black fur hat. Her face was as made-up as ever. I was sure Uncle Orman was expecting to see a young woman who had abused herself and been abused, looking mousy and frightened, certainly not someone who could be on the cover of Vogue. He seemed to bristle and harden like a threatened alley cat at the sight of her.
Aunt Lucy did not hide her displeasure. “Well, I would think we would all practice some restraint when it came to our cosmetics on a day like today,” she said.
“And so you have, Aunt Lucy,” Roxy said. “I’m proud of you.”
I thought Aunt Lucy would explode. Her whole face seemed to fill and balloon, and her shoulders rose as if some very strong man had put his hands under her arms and was lifting her off the ground.
“Let’s get a move on,” Uncle Orman commanded.
Our stretch limousine was parked and waiting outside to take us to the church. No one said another word until we arrived and took our places. Aunt Lucy made a thing of where each of us should sit. I thought she was putting on a good show for the mourners, proving that she was not only a concerned relative but also quite capable of taking control to make it all run well.
There weren’t as many people at Mama’s funeral. Many of Papa’s colleagues and their wives and husbands had already forgotten about us, and I imagined few wanted to be there. It was too much too soon. I didn’t blame them. I didn’t want to be there, either. The service went very smoothly. Mama was buried beside Papa, and when it was all over, we returned home, where Aunt Lucy and Uncle Orman took it on themselves to greet people and accept condolences. With him in his uniform, I was sure people thought they were at some official event.
Chastity and her parents were at the funeral. None of my other classmates attended. Chastity was obviously fascinated mostly by Roxy and introduced herself as my best friend. Roxy glanced at me and saw my small smirk.
“Your sister is even more beautiful close up,” Chastity whispered. I didn’t respond.
When people began to leave, Aunt Lucy came over to tell me when we would be leaving.
“Your uncle would like us to go early in the morning tomorrow. We’d like you to pack just two suitcases for now. Fold everything properly. Make sure you have enough underthings, and if you’re near a monthly you-know-what, pack what’s appropriate. Don’t bother bringing any makeup. There’s no makeup at all permitted in the school you’ll be attending, and your uncle detests young girls wearing a lot of makeup. Would you like me to help you choose what to bring?”
“No,” I said quickly—too quickly to please her, of course.
“Yes. Well, there’ll be plenty of time to return to get other things, proper things. You’ll be wearing a uniform at school now anyway, and I don’t expect you’ll be going to anything social for some time. We do have strict house rules when it comes to looking after your own things and putting things back where they belong.”
“Did you say school uniform?”
“School uniform,” she said, nodding. “Exactly. You will find many differences between the school you are now attending and where you will attend, differences for the better. Now, anticipating all of this, we’ve had your room prepared.”
“What do you mean, prepared?”
“Repainted. Carpeted. I thought a nice color like coffee would work. Your uncle agreed. I’ll warn you now, there’s no television in your room, and we will not be providing a separate phone, either. Your uncle doesn’t believe in that. We never did that for our children,” she added, and looked at Roxy. I hadn’t realized that she had stepped up beside me to hear Aunt Lucy’s short speech.
“Where are your children?” I asked.
“What?”
“Didn’t they hear about my mother?”
“Of course they heard, but they have full, busy lives. Now, you’ll need a physical before you can attend the school. We’ve arranged that for you, too. He’s actually a military doctor. Your appointment is the day after tomorrow. There’s no time to waste. You’ll have a lot to catch up on, I’m sure.”
She threw a cool smile at Roxy and returned to stand beside Uncle Orman.