His soft lips pressed against hers, and she melted into him. Then his hand caressed the back of her head as he opened her mouth with the warmth of his tongue. Every cell inside Sophia’s body felt lit up, electric. It was her first kiss. She was kissing Max.
The sound of the gym door sighing open caused Sophia to pull back. When she turned her head, she saw Willa’s reddened face staring back at her.
“Sophia, how could you!” she screeched. Willa stomped her foot and then ran back through the gymnasium doors.
Sophia exhaled all the air she had been holding in. “I better go.”
“No, I made this mess with Willa. I should have told her a long time ago that I didn’t feel the same. It’s my responsibility to make this right.” Max kissed her cheek, then scurried to his feet and jogged after Willa, leaving his cedar scent behind.
Sophia hugged the basketball to her chest and tried to hold on to the feel of Max’s lips against hers, while hoping that her feelings for him hadn’t caused her to lose her only friend.
CHAPTER 48Washington, D.C., February 1966
ETHEL
It had been two months since Julia’s family moved to Prince George’s County, Maryland, but between getting her family settled and Ethel being swamped with the holidays, they hadn’t managed to catch up in person, even though they lived only ten miles apart. After weeks of missed chances, their schedules finally aligned on the first Friday in February, allowing them to share a long-awaited date for tea.
They met in the lobby of the Willard InterContinental Hotel, falling into each other’s arms.
“Oh, you smell so good.” Julia held Ethel tight as they rocked.
“Girl, I’m still wearing the same old Jean Naté.”
“I’ve always said that it smells better on you than it does on me.” Julia removed her gloves and led Ethel past the marble columns to one of the bloodred tufted, U-shaped settees. Her hair was raked into a stylish side-parted bob, and her lips were painted plum.
Ethel didn’t usually wear much makeup, but Anke had picked out a winter-white cashmere sweater for her the night before, and Monika insisted on a few swipes of cocoa-colored lipstick. Seeing Julia all gussied up made Ethel grateful for teenage daughters.
Grand twinkly chandeliers fell in tiers from the ceilings, and classical piano music made the large room feel cozy.
“You know right back there in that corner by the window is where Dr. King wrote his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech? The one that he gave at the March on Washington.” Julia pointed.
“I didn’t know that.”
“Sure did. I read that a few Negro bellhops partitioned off the space so that he wouldn’t be disturbed. Did you go to the march?”
Ethel shook her head. “I stayed back, but Bert went, and he took Franz, Heinz, and Leo with him.”
“Wish we had been home, because I would have definitely been front and center.”
“It was a hot day in August, I can’t see you out there with all those people, melting away.”
“The heat don’t bother me none.” She fanned herself, smiling.
“Well, Bert said that at some point, Dr. King’s speech appeared to peter out. So much so that he started losing people’s attention.”
“Really?”
Ethel nodded. “It was Mahalia Jackson who shouted for him to tell them about the dream. He went off script, and that’s when the speech came alive.”
“Well, you know it’s always a fabulous woman behind every good man.” Julia cackled. “I sure did come back to the States at the right time. Now we have the right to vote, and white people have a law that says they must treat us civilly.” Then she leaned in and whispered, “That’s why I picked the grand Willard Hotel to meet: It’s white-folks fancy.”
Ethel snorted as the waitress took their tea orders, and Julia requested a plate of sandwiches, scones, jams, and clotted cream.
“How are the girls?” Ethel asked.
“You know how the teenage years are. Boys sniffing around. Sid keeps the shotgun by the door.” She laughed.
“You must bring them over for dinner. I make a mean bone-in ham.”
