Take My Hand(34)

“Yes, have you ever heard of an A and B conversation?” Alicia piped up.

“Please C your way out.” I finished Alicia’s line and we started to bust up laughing.

We quieted as Val aimed a rag at us. “Think you know everything, and don’t know nothing. Now go get the broom and sweep up this floor.”

Lori came in with the brooms. She passed them to Alicia and me. We divided up the rooms and began.



* * *



? ? ?

AFTER THE GIRLS visited the clinic, I took two packs of birth control pills from the supply closet with the intention of teaching them how to swallow them. I was scared of getting into trouble if Mrs. Seager found out I hadn’t given them their shots, but I was also disturbed by the possibility of them getting pregnant. They weren’t sexual, but they could be. Let me tell you something: I still believed in the mission of the clinic. Women needed access to reliable birth control and information about their reproductive health. And I did not believe in minors becoming pregnant under any circumstances. I was sure enough the deputy Mrs. Seager believed I was, and I had a duty. I was as much a bona fide member of the Talented Tenth as I was an acolyte of Booker T. Washington. Rise and lift the race. But also work like hell to pull up those bootstraps.

First task: Get them out of that shanty and into a real home. Second task: Get them into school. Erica was thirteen years old and hadn’t been in school in more than three years, but I managed to get her into summer school. She wasn’t the first child from out in the country to jump into school late. I had been trying hard not to judge Mace on this. After their mother died, Mace had let the girls’ education fall by the wayside. It was plain old irresponsible, and I wanted to tell him so, but I held my tongue.

Third task: Keep them from becoming pregnant. The grandmother and father had given their blessing for birth control, and I was obligated to do their bidding, wasn’t I? Yet I kept the pills in my purse and never handed them over. I just couldn’t do it for some reason.

It was more difficult finding a school for India. The week after their appointment at the clinic, I picked up the paperwork to have her tested. I didn’t fully understand the girl’s abilities because she did not talk. The woman at the school had asked if she was trainable, and I said that I thought she was. I contacted a doctor who could administer the test the school required; he told me the testing fee would be forty-five dollars. I told him that was awful that he charged poor people that much money, and he had the nerve to say, I’m not charging them, I’m charging you. Old buzzard.

I called Ty to see if he would go with me to the doctor’s office. I wanted to chat with him more about this Depo issue. When he got in the car, he was wearing a suit. I was glad he had dressed up. How Black men dressed mattered to white folks.

“Look at you,” I said.

“My church threads,” he said.

When we picked up India, she looked warily at Ty as she settled into the back seat.

“You remember Ty? He helped move your stuff out of the cabin. I’ve known him since I was a girl like you. He’s going to ride with us to the testing place.”

Every now and then she made a motion that appeared to be a nod, but it wasn’t consistent. I truly believed India was trainable, but I was no expert. The girls’ hygiene had improved since moving into the apartment, but India still needed to wear deodorant. An odor like onions hung over her.

“So I hear you and Alicia been talking a lot,” I said.

“Yeah, we been hanging out.”

“Hanging out, huh?” I had been the one to break things off with Ty, so I didn’t know why I was feeling a little jealous.

“Girl, you so crazy.”

From the back seat, I heard India making a noise. In the rearview mirror, I could see her pointing out the window. A spray of bees gave chase right outside the car.

“Yes, I see, baby. I see. Those are bees.” I made a buzzing noise. India tried to mimic the sound. Yes, she was definitely trainable.

We rode the elevator up to the doctor’s office in silence. India pressed all the elevator buttons, and since she’d only pressed the numbers above the third floor, I let her. The doors opened, and she hesitated before taking a step out, as if she thought the doors would close on her. I took her hand. “You’ll be fine.”

The office was at the end of the hallway. There was no placard on the door, but the suite number was the same one I’d written down on the scrap of paper in my purse. When we walked in, I was surprised by how small it was. A room with a glass window faced the waiting room. There was no receptionist, so I pressed the knob on a call bell on the end table.

A few minutes passed before Ty said, “Are we in the right place?”

The door opened, and a gray-haired man poked his head out. He didn’t open the door all the way. “Yes?”

“We have an appointment with Dr. Merle. I’m a nurse, and I’ve brought India Williams to be tested for admission to—”

“You’re late.”

“Well, sir, we were on time when we first walked in and rang the—”

“Have her take a seat at the table in the testing room.”

“Will we be able to sit with her?” I asked.

“Of course not. Do you have your payment? It’ll be forty-five dollars.”

I did not like the way he was speaking to me, and I was about to say something, but Ty reached for his wallet.