“Brrrr.” She rubs the sides of her arms. “It’s cold.”
Reluctantly, I turn one—but only one—of the vents her way.
“That was different,” she says. “I’ve never been to a black funeral before.”
I probably shouldn’t be shocked by this, but for some reason I am. “Really? I like them better than ours.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because African Americans seem much happier for the person who dies. Like heaven is much better than earth.”
Lilith looks at me like I’m crazy. “Of course it’s better than earth. The streets are made of gold.” She forces a laugh. “Just kidding. I saved you a seat. But Ellie said you were running late.”
“Thanks. I just slipped in the back. I was behind a very slow eighteen-wheeler most of the way down Highway 7.”
“I’ve never seen so many people.”
“Miss Ophelia was a beloved woman.” Out of habit I reach for the radio, but retract my hand.
“Apparently so.” She purses her lips, then changes the subject. “I saw Ellie sitting with Cali. Those two are spending a lot of time together these days.”
“They have a lot in common.”
“Hardly. I did some snooping. The girl’s real name is California. Her mother is a drug addict and—”
I hold out my hand to cut her off mid-sentence. Hearing Lilith talk bad about Cali, after what she did to her, makes my skin crawl. “Honestly, Lilith, there’s nothing you can tell me about that sweet girl that will change my opinion of her. Please just keep it to yourself.”
“Well,” she says indignantly. “She’s hardly an Alpha Delt. But what can you do? I suppose we’ll all need to be nice to her. She’s one of us now.”
“And she lives next door to our daughters.” It’s all I can do to keep my calm.
“With a Negr—” Now she stops herself. But not before igniting fire inside of me. The fire that should have been lit a long time ago. Perhaps my face gives me away because she quickly changes the subject. “By the way, your mother is an absolute doll. We know so many of the same people. You never told me she’s from Eastover.”
“Eastover is the neighborhood she grew up in,” I say flatly. “She’s from Jackson.”
She looks at me like I’m off my rocker. “Several people I know live in Eastover. Trust me, I know the difference.”
All I can think about is getting her out of my car, so I make up an excuse. “Are you going to the burial?”
“I was planning on it. Why don’t we ride together?” She asks the question as if it’s an invitation to go to lunch.
“I can’t. I told Haynes I’d meet him for an early dinner. We have some business to discuss.” I look at my watch. “In fact, I should probably get going.”
“Speaking of business, you’ll want to hear this.”
Now I’m kicking myself for not running out of the church as soon as theservice was over. But since I couldn’t make the visitation I wanted to at least wave at Miss Pearl before she got in the hearse.
“Hear what?” I ask.
“Pearl wants to apply for the House Director job.” Lilith moans like she thinks the idea is preposterous. “Can you imagine?”
I lean back in my seat. Put my hand on the gearshift, then take it off again. Pearl has just lost her aunt—her other mother—and Lilith has just left her service. I was right. Her appearance was purely for show. “Miss Pearl is the sweetest thing in the world,” I say. “All the girls love her. She treats them like they’re her own daugh—”
“I get that. But she’sthe maid,not a House Director. And besides, she has a tattoo—written in a foreign language.” She holds her hands like claws, and makes a scary face. “That alone is enough to disqualify her.”
Despite the indignant tone in her voice, I will myself, actually it’s more of a command, to stay calm. In hopes of setting an example. “How did she do when she filled in that weekend?”
“I can tell you this: I went over to the House to use the ladies’ room that weekend and it was a wreck. No hand towels and worse,no toilet paper.Thank God I had a tissue in my purse.”
