“You ain’t eating breakfast today, either?”
“I haven’t been very hungry lately.”
“Why not? Are you still jealous of Pearl?”
“Of course not.”
At least not anymore. Every passing day confirmed Sadie’s suspicions she was going to have her own child. Although married, Pearl wasn’t completely secure, either. None of them were.
“You’ve been seeing a lot of Mr. Rockfield lately.” Mama ate a spoonful of oatmeal. “He looks right happy. You must be keeping him well satisfied.”
Sadie choked on her coffee. The sensation of it in her throat tugged her gag reflex. She ran away from the table so fast, she knocked her chair over. When she returned, she righted the chair.
“Are you ready to go to work, Mama?”
“When is the baby due?”
Sadie’s fingers tightened on the back of the chair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Hogwash. You’ve been sick every morning before we even get in the boat. You’re not married, either.”
“I know that.”
Mama wrung her napkin. “Mr. Rockfield won’t have no more to do with you when he finds out.”
“He’s not going to find out. Please don’t say anything.”
“He’ll figure it out when your belly swells.”
Sadie’s uneasy stomach sank. Mama was right. What would she do then? Tell him the baby was someone else’s?
Mama stood. “You’d better hope he takes responsibility because we can’t raise it.”
How could he? Getting another woman with child was his worst nightmare come true. Not to mention the racial problem. Would he march in the next rally with a half-black child in his arms? His strategy to stay in the Klan in name only wouldn’t work much longer.
* * *
Henry slipped out of the office that morning to visit the town jeweler. The light shining on the sparkly rings reminded him of the sun reflecting on the water. Sadie had been such a good sport about his being in the Klan, he wanted to show his love. His gift would be a surprise.
During their last date, he’d pressed his hand against hers to get an idea of her finger size. After hearing about Caleb’s difficult experience buying Pearl a ring, he had no intention of bringing Sadie here.
“I’d like to look at rings, please,” he told Albert Whitley, the jeweler.
“For a lady friend?” the tall man asked with a polite smile.
“A friend.”
But the delicate, frilly rings Mr. Whitley showed him weren’t right for Sadie. She was a tough businesswoman. Would she be insulted if he bought a man’s ring? Probably. Didn’t she continually doubt her beauty?
“Do you have something a little plainer?” he asked.
When the jeweler pointed him toward a different display, Henry nodded. “These are better.”
He chose one with a square onyx stone, eager to see her face when he gave it to her.
“Are you coming tonight?” the jeweler asked while he packed the ring in a box.
“Tonight? The meeting isn’t until Wednesday.”
“A colored man named Abe Lawler stole some food from the Sapphire Crab. He lost his job a couple of weeks ago, so he must have been desperate. He’s in jail, but the brotherhood plans to visit his home.”
Henry’s hand trembled as he paid for the purchase. “Burn a cross on it, you mean?”
Crab Creek. Where Sadie lives.
She would see it and hate him…
“I hope that’s all. The man has a wife and three children. He’ll probably get a beating, at the least.”
“But he’s in jail.”
Whitley shrugged. “They’ll get him out temporarily, rough him up, and have him put back. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.”
“If he committed a crime, he should be given a trial, not beaten. You don’t want to participate either, do you?” Henry asked.
“We don’t have much of a choice, as I see it.” The other man’s stooped shoulders bent even more. “I wish everyone could live peacefully here.”
Was Sadie right? Should they fight back and end the town bullying? What if they lost?
“Maybe we’re not alone.” Henry slipped the ring box into one of his trouser pockets. “How many of us are in the brotherhood because we think we have to be?”
“Hard to say.”
Henry spoke out loud. “If we banded together, we’d have strength.”
But the other man gripped the counter. “My granddaddy built this store. I’d rather die than lose it.”
“I feel the same way about Rockfield’s.”
But only because of Caleb. If he didn’t have family to worry about, he’d sell the plant and get a job at sea.
When he left the store, his own shoulders sagged. What could he do? Sadie would cram the ring up his nose if she found out he’d helped burn a cross or beat a man. Why couldn’t things have stayed the same? Being a Klan member in name only was hard enough. This was impossible.
The time had come to choose.
* * *
Jonathan Carter strode through town, coughing from dust churned up by the road construction. His father and those damn roads. Didn’t he realize they had more important things to worry about around here?
Like Abe Lawler.
Jon cracked his knuckles, anxious to hear the satisfying hiss of flame and smell charred wood. To feel flesh and bone under his fist. Maybe even the taut end of rope.
Breaking his stride, he passed the harbor boats bobbing on their moorings and walked toward the alley off South Street. He only revisited it before a large event like this one. Clapboard buildings loomed on either side, isolating him.
As soon as his booted feet touched the dusty ground, he was ten years old again. School bored him, so he’d often meandered down Oyster Harbor’s streets and alleys on the way home.
Two colored boys had circled him. One shoved him against the wall. The other tore the pages out of his textbook and tossed them like confetti. He lunged against his attacker. Raised his arm to defend himself.
But the blow had clobbered his face with the force of a volcano. It felt as if his entire skull had cracked in half. Cradling his nose in his palms, he barely heard the footsteps running away.
Blood had dripped over his hands, staining the cuffs of his white shirt. It even dripped down his throat. He had to lean his head forward so he could breathe. No one saw him or came to help until he crossed to Main Street.
His father, of all people, drove by in horse and buggy. When the buggy stopped, his mother jumped down, screaming.
“What happened to you?” his father asked.
He wasn’t about to admit he’d been bested by two coloreds, like some weak little girl.
“I fell.”
The doctor later revealed his nose was broken. Staying home from school for a while had been the only good part of the rotten experience. Today, he wished he’d tattled on those boys so they could have gotten the punishment they deserved.
Hatred poured off him in waves.
“An eye for an eye,” he whispered to himself.
He wanted blood. Theirs.
* * *
Henry traveled to Crab Creek after work, but not with the Klan. He’d made his choice today. Even if he’d never met Sadie, he could not attack Abe, his home, or his family. He needed to tell her his decision and keep her safe. The last thing he wanted was for her to watch the spectacle, like she had the rally, and put herself in danger.
The Klan didn’t know about his choice yet, but they’d find out soon enough when they realized he wasn’t there. Maybe they’d be too excited to notice. He could only hope.
When Sadie answered the door of her cottage, she eyed him up and down. He didn’t like the grayish cast to her face. She was either sick, worried, or both.
“Where’s your sheet?”
Her voice held no anger. Just quiet fear and uncertainty. She must have heard the news. The entire town surely knew by now.
He slipped inside. “I won’t be wearing it tonight or ever again.”
“Thank God.” She slid her arms around him. “I’m scared, Henry.”
If she was scared, he was terrified.
“That’s why I’m here. Let’s go to your room.”
They sat on the edge of her narrow bed, and he held her hand. If things were more peaceful, he’d make love to her in it like he had several times before. Instead, he rested his head in his other hand.
“What are they planning to do to Abe?” she asked.
“I’m glad I don’t know. Hopefully, it won’t go any further than burning a cross.”
He didn’t tell her how wild-eyed the mayor’s son had looked when he visited him today at the plant to tell him about tonight’s
event
.
She gripped his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad Leroy isn’t their victim this time.”
“When they find out I’m not there tonight, I’ll probably lose Rockfield’s. I don’t know what will happen to your jobs.”
“I understand,” she whispered. “Caleb will, too.”
“Damn it, Sadie.” He pounded his fist on his legs. Why does Oyster Harbor have to be under siege? When I visited the jeweler this morning, I found out he feels as intimidated as I do.”
“Then you’re not the only one.” She nudged him in the ribs. “Like I told you, the only way to end the bullying is to push back.”
“But he’s as afraid of losing his business as I am.”
“Are there others?”
“It would probably be the same for them,” he protested.
The evening sky finally turned black outside Sadie’s small window. The event would begin soon.
“The jeweler’s, hmm? So that’s where you were this morning.” She nudged him again. “You don’t have another girl, do you?”
“Goodness, I almost forgot.” He jumped off the bed and pulled the box from his pocket.
Her eyes widened and glowed with tears while he opened it. “Is that for me?”
He laughed. “No, it’s for your mother.”
“It’s beautiful. But why? You’re not proposing, are you?”
Her words kicked him in the stomach. “I would if I could. You know that.”
She nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks as she slid it onto her left ring finger.
“What do you know?” he exclaimed. “I got the size right.”
“Thank you.” She stood and gripped both sides of his face. “For everything.”
He curled his arms around her, and their bodies rocked as if music played.
His woman.
He would protect her even though the world crumbled down around them. If he had to, he’d lay down his life for her. After all, she was as much family to him as Caleb was now. He couldn’t lose her the way he had Natalie.
Several minutes later, he realized the silent beat they danced to had become real.
Sadie stiffened. “What’s that?”
“A drum.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. The
event
had begun.
She rushed to the window. “Henry, look!”
He didn’t want to. If he didn’t see it, he could pretend it didn’t exist. But he finally glanced outside. Abe must live across the creek because that’s where the burning cross stood.
Blazing barnacles.
The window gave them a ringside seat, and the hole in the screen made the spectacle look close enough to touch. Yells and chanting drifted across the creek. Even though Henry loved water, he hated it for carrying these sounds so clearly. Sadie gripped the windowsill, gasping.
He rubbed her back. “What’s wrong? Are you having trouble breathing?”
“Not again.” She gripped her stomach with one hand and fanned her face with the other. “Not now.”
“If you feel sick, maybe you should lie down.” He steered her toward the bed. “The sight of that would make anyone queasy.”
She trembled under his touch. “I bet you think things couldn’t get much worse, don’t you?”
He didn’t answer as a sliver of fear scraped down his spine.
She grasped his hand and placed it over her belly. “Well, they’re about to.”
“No.” The sliver turned into a spike, and it pierced his chest. “No, you can’t be. We were careful.”
“Not the first time,” she said.
His cock shriveled, encased in a block of ice. “I pulled out.”
“Not soon enough, Henry. I’m going to have your child.”
“Oh my God, no.” He dropped to the bed as Natalie’s ghost taunted him from the corner.
What an idiot he’d been, making love to Sadie without the proper protection. If something could go wrong in his life, it always had. Why would this be any different?
What would the Klan do when they found out? Even worse, what if she didn’t live through it? He’d never forget the sight of Pearl’s ashen skin. Her blood on the sheets…
He gripped Sadie’s hand. “Say it isn’t so.”
“I wish I could,” she whispered. “There’s nothing I want more than your child, but not this way.”
Things had gotten worse, all right. Because he could face losing everything except her.
* * *
Henry sat in his office the next morning. His wooden chair felt harder than a rock beneath him. He couldn’t concentrate on anything, so he laid his palms on the desk, feeling like the captain of a sinking boat. There was no one to tow him, no way to patch the hole, and he was too paralyzed to jump out and swim.
Last night had been a strange mixture of heaven and hell. The look in Sadie’s eyes when he’d given her the ring was heaven. Finding out she carried his child was hell. So was the cross. From what he’d seen through the window, the Klan had left the man’s house intact.
He sipped a cup of cold coffee, waiting for the mayor’s son to show up. Each passing minute gave him hope he wouldn’t come. The sharp knock on his door made his stomach drop.
Jon Carter strode in and planted his hands on his desk. “Where were you?”
Henry swallowed. “I didn’t feel well.”
“Unless you’re on your deathbed, you’re expected to be there and show support.” Jon leaned closer, boring holes in him with hateful gray eyes. “Or were you too busy fucking Sadie Johnson across the creek?”
A grunt of shock sprang from Henry’s throat. Knowing his boat would give him away, he’d taken a rowboat to her house. Someone must have seen him coming or going. Why did she have to live across the creek from Abe?
“What did I miss?” he asked.
“I’m sure you saw the cross. We roughed him up at the jail and told him how scared his wife and kids looked when they saw it. I’m sure he’ll think twice before stealing again.”
Henry cringed inside, imagining how awful it would feel to know his family was endangered when he couldn’t be there to protect them. He was glad the Klan hadn’t done anything worse.