How High the Moon Read online

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “That’s the plan. I’m heading down to Charleston myself, for business, so your mama thought it’d make sense for me to escort you home.”

  “Mama didn’t say nothing ’bout me going back yet.” I had a hand on my hip and I could feel my nose flaring.

  “Well, wouldn’t you know it! You got some of that Lucille sass in ya! Heh, heh!” He laughed. “All’s I know is your mama wanted to be sure you got home safe.…” As he spoke to me, he turned the butter knife on its side and looked at his reflection. He turned his head to the side a little and smoothed his completely flattened hair.

  Helen returned and began loading a plate with eggs from the stove and toast from the oven.

  “Helen, I’m not supposed to be going home yet,” I said.

  “Your mama is up and gonna be in here in a minute to have some breakfast with you,” she said. “Grab yourself some eggs. There’s toast.” She nodded to the oven. She retrieved a plate from the cupboard and handed it to me.

  My stomach sounded again, and this time Phillip heard it.

  “Better tend to that tummy, missy!” He laughed.

  I smelled Mama’s perfume before I heard her words from over my shoulder.

  “Good morning, my angel.” She kissed the top of my head.

  Mascara smudged the skin under her eyes, making her look like she was fighting a cold.

  “Lucille, Lucille!” Phillip eyed my mama like he was a long-neglected hound dog and she was a chicken leg. “Even your worse for wear is smokin’!”

  Mama sucked her teeth and waved him off as she went to pour herself some coffee.

  “Mama?”

  She turned to me from the stove and took a deep breath. Placing her cup on the table in front of me, she knelt down and took my face in her hands.

  “We’ve had such a good time, Ella. Haven’t we?” She nodded, trying to make me nod, too.

  “Well, yeah, but—”

  “Listen, baby. Mama had an opportunity come up in New York City, and…” She searched the floor for the rest of the words. “Well, let’s face it, it hasn’t been the best situation for you here. I’m always gone—”

  “I don’t mind—”

  “If this works out in New York, you never know. Maybe that would be a better situation—”

  “You’re moving to New York?!” I looked at Helen, leaning in the doorway. She was looking down into her coffee cup, her finger tracing its rim over and over again.

  “I don’t know that yet, but if things do work out there, I won’t be working at the Naval Yard all day and, well… maybe you could come there instead. It would be a better situation.” She lifted my chin so I’d have to look at her face, but I didn’t. My face was up, but my eyes wouldn’t have none of her. “Look, it’s something I have to give a chance. Might be real good for me.”

  “Uh-huh.” I looked down at the bare knee that peeked out from her robe.

  “You know, I been sending money to Granny every month for you. You know that, right?” She gave me a gentle shake, still trying to get me to look at her. But I wouldn’t.

  “Yeah.”

  She took my hands and kissed them, then held them to her own face.

  “I’m sorry, Ella. So sorry it has to be like this right now.” Her voice cracked a little when she said it. She sniffled.

  I pulled my hands free. She bent her head, still sniffling. Phillip reached across the table and handed her a handkerchief, which she promptly used to dab her nose and her eyes. Without another word, she stood and walked past me and Helen, out of the room. I heard the bathroom door close.

  Except for the sound of Phillip slurping his coffee, the kitchen was silent. Helen walked over and, without saying anything, wrapped her arms around me and just held me. I sank into her embrace. Held her tight. Let the beat of her heart calm me.

  myrna

  The day we got the news that Ella was coming home, George Stinney was arrested.

  We’d actually made plans to see each other that day. Mostly we just seen each other at school, or walking home, with other kids around. But one day about a week earlier, on the way home from school, me and George spotted a baby bird on the ground, unable to get back to its nest. She was so small and delicate. I kept an eye out for the mother, while George carefully put her back in the nest. By the time we’d finished caring for the bird, all the other kids had walked on ahead, so we walked on alone. We was passing Parker’s when George said he needed to stop in for his pa and asked me if I’d go with him.

  “I’ll have an extra nickel left over for candy.”

  Mr. Parker called to George as soon as we walked in the shop. “Hey there, George. Give me a hand lifting these bags.”

  “Yes, sir.” The two of them each grabbed opposite corners of a large burlap sack, full to the seams with rice.

  “One, two, three.” Together they lifted and swung the bag atop one of the bags on the floor.

  “Whew! Thank you, son.” Mr. Parker put his hands on his hips. “Now what can I get for you folks today? Granny need something, Myrna?”

  “No, sir.” I shook my head and pointed to George.

  “My pa needs a can of kerosene, sir,” he said. “And then we was gonna get some candies.”

  Mr. Parker went in back to get the kerosene and I said to George, “Those sacks looked awful heavy!”

  He turned to me and said in a whisper, “I dang near broke my back.” We both laughed, but stopped and stood straight when Mr. Parker reappeared.

  “Here you go, George.” He handed over the can and took the money for it. “And what do you say I give you each a Sugar Daddy for your trouble?”

  Outside, on the porch of Parker’s, George said, “Let’s use up this nickel next Saturday. What do you say?” He flipped the coin up high, but I snagged it from the air before he had a chance.

  “Hey!”

  I took off running and George sprinted after me. Though I rarely ran unless I had to, I was considered one of the fastest runners at our school. I knew I was hard to beat, so I slowed a little. I wanted George to catch me.

  After I pretended I’d dropped the coin while we were running, only to retrieve it from behind George’s ear (Poppy was the best at that trick!), we stuck the sweet candy suckers in our cheeks and made a plan to meet up the following week for more candy.

  “What time should I get you? Eleven?” George asked.

  Just the thought of George showing up at my door with Henry leaning in all nosy and then going off and telling everybody made me shudder.

  “Why don’t you let me meet you at your house? That’s better,” I insisted.

  George shrugged. “I guess it don’t make no difference. Sure.”

  We approached my driveway. Poppy’s truck was there, blocking anyone’s view who might be in the house looking out the window. Still, I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

  “It was fun today,” he said.

  “Yeah” was all I could come up with.

  “Thanks for going to Parker’s with me.”

  I pulled my Sugar Daddy, now only a sliver on a stick, from my mouth and held it up. “Thank you!” I said, indicating the candy.

  George took a couple steps toward me. He was looking in my face. My breathing got shallow and my cheeks got hot. He was about to kiss me.

  He took a last step toward me. Any more and he’d be stepping on my feet. He leaned in, but I was so overwhelmed with nervousness that I ducked away and bounded for the front porch. When I was halfway up the drive, I turned and waved to George. Through his clear disappointment, he smiled and headed for the road.

  I immediately regretted chickening out. But I’d never had a boy kiss me. I just didn’t know what to do. Next time, I wouldn’t run.

  When the following Saturday came, I pin-curled my hair the way Granny had shown me, and wore the new red sweater I got at Christmas. I felt pretty and was looking forward to seeing George.

  The sky was a perfect blue. Not a cloud in sight. The air was
crisp, but my sweater kept me warm. I was just a short ways down the road from George’s when I seen the sheriff’s car coming my way. He got there before I did and turned up the driveway to George’s house. I sped up, wanting to see what was going on, and saw Johnnie come out onto the front porch. With speed, the sheriff was out of the car and had turned Johnnie around and pushed him, hard, against the front of the house. Deputy Ryan leaped out of the car, flung the front door open, and went inside.

  The sheriff’s violence stopped me in my tracks. What was happening? What had Johnnie done? Realizing that I was standing in plain sight, watching, I ducked behind a tall bush, praying to not be seen.

  The voices were all loud, sharp, and agitated, but I couldn’t make out what any of ’em was saying. Before I knew it, the sheriff had produced a pair of handcuffs, which he snapped on Johnnie’s wrists. Johnnie kept trying to turn his head to the sheriff, to get him to hear him, but the sheriff pushed him off the porch. With one hand holding Johnnie’s neck and the other holding the back of his trousers, he shoved him into the back seat of the patrol car. The deputy appeared from inside, pushing George in much the same manner that the sheriff had Johnnie.

  Both hands covered my mouth to keep any sound from escaping. I was shaking all over. I wanted to call out to someone for help, but clearly Mr. and Mrs. Stinney weren’t home. There was no one to call.

  The deputy threw George into the back of the car and they pulled out of the driveway. I strained to see him, but a cloud of dust blocked my view.

  I heard the front door slam. On the front porch, little Amie was standing all alone and crying. As I ran to her, I could hear the police siren ring out in the distance.

  ella

  “What you doing with that old hat?” Phillip was frowning as he motioned to my Stetson in my lap. I shrugged. He shook his head and laughed. “You’re a pretty little girl, Ella. You got good hair, pretty skin. Heck, you could be a star like your mama, I’ll bet.” Phillip was standing and carefully matching the shoulders of his overcoat to each other, crossing the arms flat, and then folding it over, ever so gently, so as not to muss it in any way. He sat and laid the bundle of tweedy wool on his lap. “You sing, too?” he asked, looking at me and nodding.

  I shook my head and quickly looked out the window.

  “I’ll bet you can sing and dance. One day, one day soon, you should try out those pipes and give them shoulders a little shimmy!” He laughed. “Don’t wait too long! You don’t wanna be stuck in Alcoco forever.”

  “Alcolu,” I corrected. On the platform, a little brown girl, peanut brown like me, bundled in a blue plaid coat and a knit hat pulled down over half her face, wandered through the crowd searching for someone.

  “Gotta escape them narrow folks, girl. Get you bigger things, like your mama did. Smart lady, that Lucille.”

  People were still swarming around the train trying to get on. The peanut girl found her daddy and held herself tight to his legs, eyes squeezed shut. Many folks stood back, away from the train, arms raised, saying their good-byes to their loved ones. Sad smiles. As the train pulled away, some folks walked alongside the train, then skipped, one boy even ran, all trying to delay their good-byes. I tried to imagine my mama there, running alongside the train, trying not to let me go. But the image wouldn’t come.

  I thought about how Mama knelt down in front of me and cried when she said good-bye. Cried like she was sad ’cause I was going. Like she really wished I could stay. Ha! Crocodile tears. That’s what Poppy called ’em. When you’re all Boo hoo, I’m so sad, but you don’t mean it nohow. Like Mama. Pretending she wanted me with her! I knew she wanted me to go. I was in her way. Maybe it was why she lived so far away. To be away from me. I wasn’t good for her life.

  I had to find out who this J.P. was. Whether he was my daddy, and if he was, where he was. Mama didn’t want me in her life, but maybe my daddy wanted me in his.

  We were barely out of the station when I looked across from me and saw that Phillip’s mouth was open and he was already snoring.

  I watched the city disappear into countryside. First gray and brown woods. Trees that had lost their leaves, but soon, as we moved farther south, the scenery was swallowed up by lush hillsides and colorful blossoms that defied winter.

  After watching more than one colored person enter and exit the washroom, I had the confidence to do the same, knowing I wasn’t going to get in trouble for using the wrong one. It had been nice to not have to think about that kind of thing in Boston. I wasn’t even home yet, and already I didn’t like having to doubt my every move. Strange how it was only a train ride from a place where people could use the same washroom to where they couldn’t. Maybe the white folks in South Carolina just needed to travel a little and see what it was like in places where colored folks and whites mingled. They’d see that it wasn’t no big deal. Nothing bad happened ’cause of it.

  As I made my way back to my seat, I overheard some folks talking.

  “His name is George Stinney Jr. Poor thing.”

  I stopped and jerked my head around. George Stinney? But they couldn’t mean our George, could they?

  A heavy-shouldered colored woman was holding the attention of the men and women beside and across from her.

  “Poor thing? Did he do it?” asked the skinny lady next to her, eyebrows raised high in suspicion.

  “Ah, now, sounds fishy to me already.” The man across from them shook his head.

  “Fourteen? I don’t believe any of it. How’s he even going to hold two girls still, let alone kill ’em both?” said the other man.

  “That’s what I’m saying.” The large lady shook her head and sucked her teeth. “And why?”

  “Maybe he just mean,” said Skinny.

  “Don’t be foolish. Poor child. Even if he makes it out that jailhouse, if they don’t find the real killer, he ain’t gonna make it.”

  I went to my seat, head spinning. They couldn’t mean our George. George would never hurt anyone. But how many George Stinneys could there be? I couldn’t rest my mind trying to make sense of it. Soon, it seemed everyone on the train was asleep but me and I thought surely I’d still be awake at sunrise, but somewhere along the way, I must’ve drifted off.

  Phillip tapped me on the head with his hat. “Wake up, girl. You’re home!”

  The train was just pulling into Charleston.

  I quickly spotted Granny searching the windows for my face.

  I raced down the carriage, leaped onto the platform, and ran to her. “Granny!” I flung my arms around her and buried my face in her scratchy sweater. She pulled me tight, and I could hear her whispering into the top of my head, “My baby! My baby!” She smelled like home.

  I finally pulled away from Granny to say the words I’d been looking forward to saying all day:

  “Bye, Phillip.” I had reason to smile at him now.

  He just chuckled and told Granny what a “lovely young lady” I was. What a “pleasure” it had been to “escort” me home. Yeah, right. I was happy to see him get gone.

  We were walking toward the station exit when from behind a large column, Henry jumped directly in front of me.

  “Henry!” I gave him the biggest hug ever. “That’s how you welcome me home?! Scaring me to death?”

  “Scared? I thought the city would’ve toughened you up by now. Made you fearless.” He squirmed free from my embrace, but his beaming face gave away how much he’d missed me.

  In the truck on the way home, Granny told me how much they’d all missed me, and that Christmas hadn’t been the same without me.

  “It must’ve been nice to spend time with your mama and see her home. Meet her friends,” she said. “What did you think of Boston?”

  “Uh, I don’t know.…” I said. I didn’t want to sound ungrateful. “I guess I was expecting something different. Something more like here, but bigger.”

  “Well, ain’t it?” Henry asked.

  “Nah! It’s loud as the dickens there! All the tim
e! Granny, you would hate it!” I said.

  “Would I like it?” Henry asked.

  “Um…” I thought about it. “Some of it, I guess. There’s a lot to see. And all kinds of people. I think you’d like that. And… you can drink at whatever fountain you want and use whatever toilet.”

  “That true?” Henry asked Granny.

  “It is,” she said, nodding.

  I leaned my arm and head out the window and turned to the sun. The clean breeze whipped across my face. I could smell the swamps and the trees and the woods. I breathed it all in. It was my nourishment.

  We pulled up to the house and Bear came to greet us, turning around and around in circles. His tail just ’bout came off, he was wagging it so hard.

  “Hey, boy!” I dropped down to the ground so he could put his paws on my shoulders and we could hug proper. “I missed you!”

  As we moved to enter the house, I remembered what I’d heard on the train about George. Henry had lagged behind us. He was staring off into the woods, mind far away.

  “Granny, folks was talking on the train. Did something happen with George Stinney?”

  Granny sighed and put an arm around my shoulder. “Baby, we don’t know much yet. We need y’all to try an’ be calm right now. And we need y’all to pray.”

  henry

  While on the search for the two little girls, George had mentioned that he’d seen them earlier, looking for flowers. So when they was found dead the next day, the angry townspeople pointed to George as the last person to see them alive and so the most likely to have killed them.

  Poppy’s buddy Pete was a janitor at the courthouse and he told Poppy that shortly after they brought Johnnie and George into the sheriff’s station for questioning, they let Johnnie go.

  “But they kept George there for hours. All by hisself. That child didn’t have nobody in there with him, not his mama or his daddy. And, you know, colored or not, he’s supposed to have a lawyer in there with him,” Poppy said.