Glimmers of Change (11 page)

Amber yanked away from the woman holding her and raced to Janie. “Where are they?” she cried. “Where is Sadie? And Sadie Lou?” She stared at the building, now fully engulfed in flames, as the fire wagons arrived and began to water down the buildings on either side in an attempt to save them. “Where is Susie? And Zeke?” she whimpered.

Carl ran up just then. “Where are they Janie? Why ain’t they come out?”

Janie took a deep breath and kneeled down so she could pull them both close. “They didn’t make it out,” she said gently.

“They’re dead?” Amber asked wildly. “You be tellin’ me they be dead?”

Janie had no words. She just held the children close as their disbelief turned into heart-wrenching sobs.

Janie didn’t know how long she held them before Eddie and Opal pushed through the throng. Eddie pulled Carl close in his arms. Opal encircled Amber hungrily.

Janie stepped back, giving them space. The horror of what happened was just starting to penetrate her shock. She was trembling uncontrollably when one of the women stepped forward and wrapped her coat around her. She nodded her thanks, but she couldn’t stop watching the destroyed family. They had been through so much. They were fighting to create new lives with everything they had. How could this have happened?

Eddie finally stood up and exchanged a long look with Janie. “I’m taking my family home,” he said hoarsely.

“Please come to Abby’s. You’ve all been through too much. You need a warm place to go.” She saw the refusal in Eddie’s eyes. While she understood the desire to be in their own home, she knew Amber and Carl needed more than a frozen shack. “The children need a warm bed,” she pressed, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw the surrender in his eyes.

Only then did he and Opal turn to gaze at their destroyed restaurant. Long minutes passed as they stood, hands clasped, staring at the obliterated dream that had become a red-hot tomb.

Janie turned to the crowd of people still huddled close. “I’ll take good care of them,” she promised.

“You knows Eddie and Opal from back in Richmond, ain’t that right?” one woman asked, her eyes soft with compassion as she gazed at the shattered couple.

Janie nodded. “Yes. I live here now. I’m taking them home tonight.”

Eddie turned. “We’re coming back in the morning,” he said firmly, only his eyes revealing he was still in shock.

A group of the men stepped forward. “We’ll be here to help you go through everything,” one of them promised.

No one bothered to voice the words that nothing could have possibly survived the inferno caused by the explosion of the oil vats. There was an unspoken agreement that Eddie would not be alone when he discovered the remains of his family.

Janie felt the bile rise in her throat again when the image rose to taunt her, but she forced it down, grabbed Amber and Carl’s hand and began to walk away from the rubble. She was relieved when Eddie put his arm around Opal and turned to follow her.

Janie felt like she hadn’t slept at all when she finally crawled out of bed. When she glanced at the clock, she knew she was right. She had drifted off around three o’clock. It was now six o’clock. She yawned and stretched, reaching for her robe and slippers. She doubted she had enough brain cells to absorb anything in class this morning, but she was determined not to miss a single session. Splashing cold water on her face helped, although she thought longingly of a hot bath. There was certainly not time for that.

Suddenly it all came rushing back. She gasped as she sank back down on the bed and covered her face with her hands.
Sadie…Sadie Lou…Susie…Zeke
. She choked back a groan as visions of their bright, happy faces filled her mind. She saw Zeke’s determined eyes when he spoke of heading west, saw Susie’s warm love as she gazed at her husband. Sadie Lou’s bright eyes laughed at her, as Sadie’s courage to push beyond her crippled leg pulled at her. The groan ripped from her throat. All of them had endured so much. To die in a senseless fire, killed by a searing explosion, was more than she could fathom.

Janie huddled for long moments on the bed before she could force herself to stand. Mindlessly, she reached for a dress and put it on quickly. She wanted nothing more than a hot cup of coffee, hoping it would take the edge off her pain. She bit back another groan when she thought of Eddie and Opal’s loss. She had heard the murmur of their voices long into the night before she finally fell asleep.

Carl and Amber, still in a state of shock, fell asleep quickly when they were tucked into the warm bed in Florence’s room. Florence shared a room with Alice, while Eddie and Opal took the room that would be Carrie’s. Stunned by their loss, all her housemates insisted they could stay for as long as needed and offered to do whatever they could to help.

Janie took a deep breath and opened the door to her room. She stopped and raised her head, wondering at the sudden aroma that struck her senses. Overcome with curiosity, she followed her nose to the kitchen. She knew Alice, Elizabeth, and Florence all had to be at class by eight o’clock. None of them would have time to cook a breakfast but there was no mistaking the smell of frying bacon and biscuits.

Janie jolted to a stop when she reached the kitchen. “Opal?”

Opal turned from the stove and gave her a solemn look. “I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t see no reason to just lay there when I knew none of you would eat more than cold biscuits for breakfast,” she said brusquely. Her eyes were swollen from a night of crying, but her face was a mask of determination.

“We’re used to cold biscuits,” Janie replied, not knowing what else to say. She wished she knew how to dissolve Opal’s pain but also knew nothing but time could do that.

“Not when I’m living here,” Opal retorted, a spark of life flaring in her eyes before she turned back to the kitchen. “Get yourself some coffee, Janie. You look like you need it.”

Janie wordlessly obeyed, sighing when the first hot swallow began to warm her insides and bring them to life. She sat down at the table, pointing at the coffee pot when her housemates joined her. All of them stared at Opal’s stiff back but said nothing when Janie just shook her head and pointed at their seats. She had told them all the night before how Eddie had lost his wife, Opal’s cousin, in an explosion in Richmond. It was simply impossible to comprehend that another explosion had ripped more family away from them.

Minutes later, Opal placed full plates in front of them. “Don’t be thinking you got to come up with something to say,” she said. “There ain’t nothing.” She laid a hand on Janie’s shoulder. “Just eat.”

Janie blinked back tears as she stared down at the bacon, eggs, and hot biscuits on her plate.

“Ain’t breakfast without grits,” Opal said, trying to cover the hoarseness in her voice. “I know this is a houseful of mostly Yankees, but,” she glared at Janie, “I thought one southern girl would be enough to have grits.”

Janie fought to respond naturally, knowing Opal needed her to. “I’ll fix that on the way home,” she promised.

Janie could feel the tension in the house as soon as she opened the door. Amber and Carl were curled up on the sofa with books, but she could tell they weren’t reading a word. Their swollen eyes told her how they had spent the morning.

Once again, delicious smells wafted from the kitchen. She walked in and plunked down her bag. “Grits as ordered.”

Opal turned from where she was flipping chicken. There was a platter of warm sweet potatoes on the counter, and the steam was still rising from the biscuits said she had just pulled out of the oven. “Thank you,” she said gruffly, placing her hands on her ample hips as she stared at Janie. “We got something to tell you,” she said bluntly.

Janie nodded and sat down at the table just as Eddie walked in. His tall, lean body was stooped with pain, his shoulders sagging under the weight of his loss.

“You tell her?” Eddie said.

“Nope. I was waiting for you.”

Eddie settled down at the table. “We went to the restaurant while you be in class,” he began.

Janie waited quietly, knowing how hard it was for him to talk.

Eddie swallowed as his hands began to shake. Opal moved from the stove to stand beside him. Her presence gave him the courage to continue. “We found our children,” he managed.

Janie’s eyes burned as she listened, wishing once again that there was something to say that would alleviate some of their pain. She reached forward and took one of his rough hands. It was so little, but she knew he simply needed to know she cared.

“We ain’t been here long enough to have a church yet. One of the men who helped us talked with his minister yesterday. They sent a wagon to carry them back to the church…” Eddie’s voice caught. He took a deep breath. A long silence fell on the kitchen before he gazed up at Opal with pleading eyes.

“They’s gonna bury them,” Opal said huskily. “All of them,” she added. “Sadie be just like one of our children. She and Sadie Lou hardly been apart an hour since we’ve been here.”

Janie smiled slightly, knowing how close the two teenage girls had been. They had both dreamed of being teachers. Her smile faded as pain twisted her face. She closed her eyes briefly, the flash of the explosion searing her mind as if it were actually happening again.

“We’re going home,” Eddie said, finding his voice again.

“But you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want,” Janie argued. She hated the thought of them going back to their cold shack, especially since they couldn’t go to the restaurant to stay warm.

“Not home here,” Opal corrected. “We’re going back to Richmond. Just as soon as we have a service and bury our children.”

Janie stared at her. “Richmond?” she finally managed. “You’re going back to Richmond?”

Opal nodded firmly. “This cold place ain’t our home. While we had the restaurant, we were managing to endure it, but with the restaurant gone, our children gone, and us having no money…”

“We got friends and family back in Richmond,” Eddie finished for her.

Janie searched for words. “You know Richmond is a hard place for blacks right now.”

They both nodded. “We know.”

“It can’t be harder than what we been dealing with here,” Opal said. “Amber and Carl need to be with family.”

“But…”

Eddie interpreted what Janie was about to say. “I got a letter from my brother a few weeks back. He done moved his family to Richmond. He’s got kids Amber and Carl’s ages. He had no idea I would need to take him up on it, but he said that if we ever decided to move back to Richmond, that we had a place with them.”

“It will take us a while to get back on our feet,” Opal said, “but we’ll find jobs and…”

“And someday Opal will have herself another restaurant,” Eddie vowed.

“Are you sure?” Janie asked, her mind spinning as she thought about the Black Codes Carrie told her about in her latest letter. “The South is not a great place for blacks right now.”

Opal nodded. “I be knowing about them Black Codes,” she told Janie. “Rose sent me a letter. She wanted me to know. Told me how glad I should be that I was living in the North now.”

“Then you know what a risk you’re taking,” Janie said urgently. “There are bad things happening.”

Eddie nodded and reached over to squeeze Janie’s hand. “There be bad things happening everywhere,” he said gently. “Life has been full of lots of bad things for a long time. But,” he took a deep breath, “there be lots of good things that done happened, too.”

Opal laid her hand on his shoulder. “We lost our children, but at least they died free. Sadie and Sadie Lou died with dreams of being a teacher. Zeke and Susie died with plans to go out west. Their lives were cut way too short, but they didn’t die as slaves.” She cleared her throat before she continued. “I reckon Fannie was real happy to see them. I imagine she don’t feel quite so alone now.”

“We got two kids left now,” Eddie said. “There’s bad things about taking them back to the South, but there be good things, too.” He pulled a well-read letter out of his pocket. “I been staying in touch with some of my friends back in Richmond — at least the ones that know how to write.” He managed a small smile. “Things ain’t great in Richmond, but folks are coming together into a real community. Opal and I have felt alone since we got here to Philadelphia. We don’t want that anymore.”

Janie knew they had made up their minds. “When are you going back?”

“The funeral is in three days,” Opal replied. “We’d like to stay here until then.”

“Of course,” Janie answered. “You’re welcome as long as you need a place.”

“We’ll leave right after the funeral,” Eddie said. “We got enough money for our train tickets. I reckon God will take care of the rest when we get there. At least I know we’ll have a place to live until we get back on our feet.”

“The first thing we’re gonna do is go out to the plantation,” Opal added. “We want to tell Annie, Moses, and June what happened to their Sadie. We want them to know she was real happy here.” She leaned forward to take Janie’s hand. “Miss Janie, we all gonna lose someone we can’t live without. Me and Eddie’s hearts be broken, and we ain’t never going to get over losing those children.” She took a deep breath. “I reckon that’s a good thing, though. They are gonna live forever in our broken hearts that won’t heal back up.”

Eddie nodded. “I broke a leg a while back. It didn’t heal just right. It hurts like the dickens when it gets cold, but I learned how to dance with it again. Grief be like that. We ain’t never gonna quit hurting for our children — just like I will always miss Fannie, but I learned a long time ago that I have to keep going and keep my eyes open for the good things in life.”

Janie smiled at both of them warmly, in awe of their strength and courage. “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

She already knew one thing she was going to do as soon as she got out of class that day.

Janie pushed through the crowd to reach the telegraph office, relieved when the operator handed her the envelope she had been waiting for. A bright smile broke out on her face when she read the contents. Turning, she made her way back through the crowd and hurried toward the train station. She just had time to make it.