“Well, think of something. Fast. Or I will.” “What? What can you tell him?” “The purpose of a zipper. The responsibility of a father. The mortality rate of AIDS.” “AIDS?” “Who knows where she’s been or with who? Who is she, anyway? Got no people, nobody ever heard of her. Dresses like a street woman. Acts like a, a . . .” “She wouldn’t be working for them if she wasn’t all right. Had references or some such.” “You senile or just pretending?” “Look who’s talking.” “Christine has a reputation make Jezebel cringe, and Heed’s a Johnson, remember.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “It means morals of any kind whatsoever are not known in that family. What would Heed, who got married at the ripe old age of eleven, know about morals, restraint . . .” “She never ran around on Cosey and you know she never condoned Christine’s past. You can’t blame her for what her daddy did.” “No, but I can take note of what her daddy is. Did she or didn’t she try to burn her own house down?”
