Free Glass by Suzanne D. Williams Page B

back of Osiris, who skillfully navigated the craft, he cleared his throat.
    “My good man,” he said. “If I might ask a question.”
    Osiris glanced behind. “Of course, Mr. Garner.”
    “You’ve been with the Delacroixs how long?”
    “Nigh on seventy years, suh. I grew up there on my mama’s knee.”
    Andre loosened his fist. “We have a long ride ahead of us. How about you start at the beginning and tell me exactly what you remember.”
    Osiris smiled for the first time and a twinkle came in his eye. “Well, suh, that’s an interesting tale …”
     
    ***
     
    “Where have you been? And what have you done to your hair?”
    Cerise lifted her chin and returned her grandmother’s steel-eyed stare. Sweeping in the front door, she crossed the foyer, leaving her standing there perplexed. “I went outdoors,” she said. “It has been raining for hours, after all. I felt cooped up and needed some air.” That seemed self-explanatory.
    Andre’s kiss replayed itself on her lips, and she savored the feeling, her eyes closing. She set the memory aside. Later, she’d deal with that later.
    “ As for my hair, I can style it as I wish.”
    “Like a strumpet,” her grandmother said.
    Cerise whirled. “A strumpet. A Jezebel. A hussy. Call me whatever you wish, but I’m through kowtowing to you.”
    “It’s that man,” her grandmother snapped. “I should never have brought him here.”
    “But you did. Didn’t you? Only it didn’t go as you had it planned. He was stronger, better, than his father. What did you think would happen? He’d run away, his tail tucked between his legs? You’d have liked that. No, maybe you thought he’d get angry, enraged, and blow up. Then you could tell him he was no different than his dad had been.”
    Her grandmother’s hand flew outward, but Cerise caught it halfway. “No. I’m not her. I love my mother, but I won’t be beaten.”
    “Not beaten. Disciplined.” Her grandmother tried to regain her dignity.
    But Cerise’s vision of her had changed, and Andre had given her that. He’d exposed their past for what it was, old news.
    “Beaten,” Cerise reiterated. “You’re no better than your son who beat his wife.”
    “A whore who got what she deserved.”
    Cerise’s eyes widened.
    “That’s right. I saw her by the pool half-clothed. She was waiting for that … that man. I saw her and I went and got your father. I told him to go down there. If he wanted her so bad, he should make his move. And he would have but Levi Garner showed up. What they would have done together if my boy hadn’t walked in on them.” Her grandmother strolled past her into the parlor and stopped before the portrait of Delbert Delacroix the Third.
    “ I didn’t know he would beat her later though.” Her tone changed. “I pleaded with him to stop.” She exhaled. Her voice sharpened again. “But all she talked about was him , as if Delbert wasn’t good enough. Eventually, he couldn’t stand it anymore.”
    “ Sh-she didn’t deserve to be raped,” Cerise whispered. The thought hung in her head. Did her grandmother really believe that?
    Her grandmother flicked her wrist. “Rape is such a harsh word. It ended badly for her, and I regret that. But it ended well for myself.”
    “For you?” Cerise circled her grandmother, coming to a stop facing her. “What are you talking about?”
    Her grandmother met her gaze. “Your grandfather was suave and debonair when I met him, charming. He made promises to me, promises he kept for the most part. He put me in social circles, gave me status in the community.”
    “And that mattered to you?”
    Her grandmother shrugged. “It mattered to my mother who was ecstatic with the match.”
    “But?”
    “But one night he scared me witless, and I decided to call it off. We were alone in the west wing,” she said. “I told him I didn’t think I could go through with it, and he exploded. Next thing I know I wake up in his bed and have no choice in