The House of Eve (101)
Eleanor wasn’t sure why Rose was telling her all of this. What did it matter?
“We held ourselves apart from the common sharecroppers who were uneducated, black and dirt-poor. And why shouldn’t we? We had nothing in common with them. We were trying to get ahead and stay ahead. I’m sure you see us as uppity, but this was the only way to assure that our children and our children’s children could build a legacy.”
“What does this have to do with me?” Eleanor asked sharply.
“All I want is what’s best for William. I’m his mother. I just…” She swallowed, more nervous than Eleanor had ever seen her. “Eleanor, I just want to protect my boy.”
“No matter who gets burned in the process?”
Rose swallowed. “Now that you are a mother, you will understand.”
“I am not a mother.”
“How can you say that? My son loves you. He has done all of this for you.”
“He did it for you.”
“Eleanor.” She leaned forward in her chair. “I’ve had Greta Hepburn picked out for William since he was four years old.”
Eleanor wrung her hands in her lap. So that was it. She was here to offer her money to divorce William once and for all.
“But your spunk, tenacity and stubbornness are the things I’ve grown to admire most about you. You don’t back down, not even to me.”
“Why are you here, Rose? Just spit it out, please.”
“I did have a hand in getting Wilhelmina to you, but William is not her biological father. You must believe me. It’s a well-kept secret that the Magdalene home has a small market of well-bred Negro children for those who can’t naturally conceive. I was simply using my connections and resources to give you both what I knew you wanted most in the world. To start a family.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me? Why go behind my back?”
“Because I knew that if you knew it had been my idea you would have rejected it.”
Eleanor had to admit that Rose was right about that.
“It was me who was dishonest. Don’t make William and certainly not that sweet baby girl pay for my transgression.”
Rose reached into her clutch and pulled out a pearl bracelet with a gold clasp.
“This was my grandmother’s. I wanted to pass it down to my daughter, but I only had boys. As my first daughter-in-law I want you to have it. It’s my way of asking if we can start over. Turn over a new leaf.”
Eleanor was taken aback. She took the bracelet in her hand and ran her fingers over it. It was stunning.
Rose got to her feet and slipped back into her coat.
“William misses you. Please don’t stay away too long. And Wilhelmina needs you. She needs her mother.”
She took one last look around the living room and then let herself out. Her perfume stayed in the air long after she had gone.
* * *
Eleanor stayed in the same spot on the couch thinking about her conversation with Rose. She replayed it over and over in her head. Eventually, she put on her coat and went for a walk through her neighborhood. She walked past her old high school, the track that she ran on after school most days, the bleachers where she let her first boyfriend feel her breasts. She walked past the butcher and the fruit stand. This is where she was from. She could taste her roots on her tongue. When she returned to her parents’ street, she saw a shadow on the front porch.
Eleanor heard a soft cry as she reached the middle of her block and it touched her at the center of her core. She picked up her pace. The first thing she saw was William’s back, but this time instead of being bent over books in the library, he was bent over their baby.
A swelling of surprise, love and joy pulsed through her chest. When Eleanor started up the steps to the porch, William stood. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Eleanor moved into his arms. William cupped the baby in one arm, and Eleanor with the other. The three of them locked in a fold.
“I’m so sorry.” He kissed her cheeks and then settled on her lips. “Somehow I felt justified in going behind your back with this because you never told me about the first miscarriage. It was stupid—I know two wrongs don’t make a right. Please forgive me.” He pressed his lips against hers. His mouth was warm and tasted like home. “I rushed here when my mother called and said you might be ready to see me.”
Eleanor squeezed his waist and then reached for Wilhelmina. “Rose wanted you to come get me?” Eleanor smiled to herself. Maybe Rose was turning over a new leaf as a mother-in-law. Maybe.
Eleanor brought the baby to her heart, before unlocking the door and letting her family inside.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN SIGNED AND SEALED
Ruby
I waited until I got back to Aunt Marie’s house before I loosened the flap on the envelope. My hands were unsteady as I brought the letter to my face.
Dear Ruby Pearsall,
Congratulations! We are pleased to announce that you have been awarded a full four-year tuition scholarship on behalf of the Armstrong Foundation We Rise program of Philadelphia. The financial award is contingent upon maintaining a grade point average of 3.0 or above. Please review your contract for more details. To accept this award, we must receive the completed acceptance form enclosed no later than the first day of March.