Free The Devil's Beating His Wife by Siobhán Béabhar Page B

her. If you believe me, she probably led him on." Her voice rose as she advanced towards me. "Baxter, don't you dare turn this subject around. How could you be so stupid? Going over to Ms. Della's store and terrorizing the colored folk!"
    I shook my head as the words settled into my mind. Ms. Della's store? Relief flooded me and a chuckle escaped from my mouth as I realized we were talking about two different things. Mother raised her hand as if to strike me again, and I crouched away. "Hold on. Let me explain."
    She lowered her hand and placed it on her hip. She cocked her head and waited for me to explain myself.
    "I went there to see Spicey."
    "I figured that out already." Mother shook her head. "Leave that girl and her mama alone." Her dirty fingers twitched. She had probably been in her victory garden, pulling at weeds and planting green beans when some gossip gave her the news.
    "How did Ms. Della get that store?" I asked her. They said she had inherited money from some kinfolk. I wondered who had that type of money tucked away.
    "Stop changing the subject. I have told you time and time again to leave that poor girl alone." Even though Mother's lips were white with rage, her eyes dropped meekly to the floor. As she adjusted the skirt of her dress, she struck a contrasting image, wearing a lovely blue checkered dress with my father's dusty, trail-worn boots. I could tell she was hiding something from me.
    "Are you dodging my question?"
    She closed her eyes. I could see her lips moving as she counted for patience.
    Deciding the best way to learn her secrets was to share a bit of my own, I said, "Yes, I went to see Spicey. No, I will never leave her alone. She's mine."
    Her eyes opened and locked on my face. Sadness was drawn in her features. "It will never be, Baxter. It will never be."
    She stepped around me and leaned over the bed to grab the water bucket. When she straightened, the sadness had disappeared from her face. In its place was rigid determination. "I'm going to have that party for you. There's a fabulous young thing that I swear's gonna be up your alley. You trust me, now, Baxter. She'll set you to rights."
    "I don't want anyone but Spicey, mother."
    Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she stared back at me. "You know that can't be, Baxter. That will never, ever happen."
    A white man with a black woman wasn't the most common of things. I had only heard of one other couple, and that hadn't ended with the most positive of circumstances. The residents of Allentown would never approve, but it wasn't their choice to make. They could continue living in this divided environment while me and Spicey would find ourselves our own bit of heaven and live out the remainder of our existence peacefully.
    Of course, the only thing I had to worry about now was getting into Spicey's good graces.
    "So what do you know about Ms. Della's store?"
    Tears fell down Mother's cheeks. She used the back of her hands to wipe away their trails. "Baxter. Leave. It. Be."
    Seeing the upset in my mother's eyes only heightened my curiosity. But her tears stopped me from asking any more questions. If I kept at it, she would begin to wail and blubber, and then she'd expect me to comfort her as she wept into my shirt. I was just starting to dry off from the water she dumped on me, and I wasn't looking to get soaked again with her fresh tears.
    "Cecilia!" My father's bellow torpedoed through the floorboards and ricocheted off the walls. "Did you kill my boy?"
    Mother's head fell back as she looked towards the ceiling. As she rolled her eyes, the tears retreated. She shook her head and said, "No. Your little bastard is safe and sound." Mother punched my shoulder. "Tell your father that I didn't kill you."
    "She tried, Daddy. She really did." I fell back on top of the bed, just missing her swinging hand. I lifted my hands to protect my head. "Pax. Pax."
    The heavy sounds of Father's footsteps stopped Mother's progress. She kicked her foot out