Free The Black Rose by Tananarive Due

pathway to Grand View, they could see Missus Anna sitting on her huge porch with the whitewashed wooden rails (her ve-ran-da , she called it) in a white summer dress with short sleeves. This dress wasn’t nearly as fine as the one Sarah remembered from Missus Anna’s visit to their cabin, but it was still much daintier and prettier than any dress Sarah had seen on a colored woman. Missus Anna was sipping from a glass.
    “You think she drinkin’ lemonade?” Sarah whispered as they approached.
    “I hope so. I want me some, too,” Louvenia said.
    Grand View, to Sarah, was like a house in a made-up story about kings and queens and princesses in faraway kingdoms. It stood sturdy and tall, with all its windows glistening. The back part of the house had been burned by Yankees, Papa had told her, but Mr. Long had fixed it up again. Luckily Missus Anna was on the porch in front; otherwise they would have gone to the kitchen door in the back and talked to her cook, Rita, who never let them even peek inside. Rita just passed the messages, or gave them Missus Anna’s laundry, and never cracked a smile. Biggity housenigger, think she better than us cuz she ain’t a cropper, Louvenia complained. Sarah was glad they wouldn’t have to talk to Rita, not with Missus Anna out in plain sight. But Sarah didn’t stay glad long.
    Missus Anna watched them approaching without moving. As they walked closer to the porch steps, Sarah could see the expression on her face she despised so much: pity and sorrow. Before they said a word, Missus Anna was shaking her head.
    “You ain’t heard from Alex, Missus Anna?” Louvenia said.
    Missus Anna sighed. “No, Lou. I think you two had better come take a seat. I’m glad you came by today. George was going to send someone out to you in the morning, but I told him I’d rather talk to you myself. I feel I owe that to Owen and Minerva, God rest them.”
    To Sarah’s astonishment, she saw tears in Missus Anna’s eyes. Louvenia took Sarah’s hand, squeezing so tightly it hurt, and led her to the white bench in front of Missus Anna’s chair. Louvenia didn’t let go of Sarah even once they were seated, waiting in silence for bad news.
    “I know it’s not your fault the crops were lost. Everyone worked so hard, and it just breaks my heart. But I can’t keep you on the land, girls. George says we just can’t afford …”
    She talked on and on, but for a moment Sarah felt as though a steamboat whistle had sounded in her ears because she could no longer hear what Missus Anna was saying. She didn’t even realize she was holding her breath until she suddenly felt a need to take a big gasp of air, and then the noise in her ears seemed to vanish. “… hard on everyone. I wish I could keep you here, especially little Sarah, but it’s just out of the question.”
    “Missus Anna,” Louvenia said, surprising Sarah with the businesslike calm in her voice, “you ain’t got no work roun’ here? We both can cook, an’ we could clean up—”
    “Sweetheart, I already have a cook, as you know,” Missus Anna said, still looking forlorn. “And neither one of you has ever worked in a house, even if we could afford it. And the fact of the matter is, girls, we can’t afford it. I know we may look rich to you, but we’re struggling alongside everyone else. These cotton worms have made a big mess of everything, and we had the flooding on top of that.”
    Now there was a hard silence that tugged on Sarah’s throat. She couldn’t move. How could Missus Anna say she wasn’t rich? What did she think rich was?
    “You can stay until the end of the month—that’s two more weeks—but then I really think the best thing for you is to go to Vicksburg. Rita wants to give me some names of Negroes there who might be able to help you find work doing washing. She’s always saying how you’re so good and thorough with the wash, both of you. And I’ll see to it you have those names before you go. I won’t send