This was it. The friendly families reclined off excess of barbecued corn on the cob and fried chicken, two sweet potato pies Solemn and Desi consumed most of, and just enough watermelon so to wet their tongues without having to run to the few outhouses too often. Solemn and Desi wolfed down several ears of corn. Then, they ran off to find some of their more interesting classmates from school. To practice their routine. The rest thought Akila took the moment to run off to find the other girls she hadn’t seen in all the time she was in the house taking care of a baby alone. Truth was, something was strange now in looking at Mr. Redvine, fogged up in riddles and crooked talk. Soon, Landon passed the newborn on to give speeches his work, for Uncle Sam had yet to interrupt. “… I wouldn’t lie. They want us to shut up … make everybody think it’s all right. They just put that death penalty back on to kill the black man legally…” “They’re playing my jams, too, Bev,” Stephanie said.
