Blue Sky

by D. Bryant Simmons

  “This girl, she get sent to the library too?”

  “She’ll have detention.”

  I nodded, thanked the man, and stood up to leave. All my girls had come through the neighborhood school. I’d been called in to the principal’s office more times than I’d like to remember. Mostly for fighting. Mostly for Jackie. I knew the layout and found the library without any trouble. It was empty except for the librarian and my girl. Saw only the top of her head. She’d fallen asleep on her arm.

  “Nat, baby?” I took the seat next to her, rubbing her back.

  She looked up, blinking the sleep from her mind. Sat back in her chair and waited for her punishment.

  “You okay?”

  “Yes, Mama. I’m fine. I’m sorry.”

  “You wanna tell me what happened?”

  She shrugged. The simple gesture barely noticeable inside her sweater.

  “They teasing you about your sister? About Mya?” She stared at the edge of the table. “About me?”

  “Not really. Xavier said he saw a picture of Mya. Said she was…umm…”

  I held my breath, my mind spinning with the worst insult a stranger could utter about my family. Took me a minute to realize things had gone in a different direction.

  “He brought it in, the clipping from the paper, and they was passing it around—all the boys saying how they would…how they liked her…and…and Dominique started this list of all the girls in the class.” Nat’s eyes began to water. “With her at the top and me at the bottom.”

  I wasn’t getting it. It was about Mya, but it wasn’t. What kinda list had the power to make my girl yell and cry?

  “They said I got the ugly and Mya got all the pretty…”

  A part of me relaxed, even wanted to smile. Wasn’t some big conspiracy. Wasn’t even life or death. Was just some stupid kids making their stupid-ness known. But I wiped all that from my face and pretended like it was worst thing I’d ever heard.

  “Assholes!”

  “Mama!” Nat gasped, then smiled sheepishly.

  “Fools don’t know what to do with themselves. You just ignore them. You just as pretty as anybody. And unlike them, you pretty on the inside too.”

  ◼︎

  The wintery winds had begun to fix their sights on snow. Buttoned my coat from knee to neck and wrapped my scarf tight before pushing the double doors open. It was a dry sort of cold, but it would change in a day or two, and then the first flakes would begin to fall. I took the steps from the high school in quick succession, braving the unforgiving burst of cold that nearly drove me back inside. I knew exactly what I needed to do. I’d go back to retail. See Mya through this little issue she was having and put her back on the right track. She was too smart to have her life destroyed by this nonsense. And Nikki? Well, my first born would just have to learn her lesson on her own. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.

  “Is that him?” Jackie stood on her tippy-toes, leaning side to side, peering through the crowd. “That’s him, right?”

  The little man my sister had picked out walked past us and hurried into the courtroom two doors down. My lawyer was late.

  The prosecutor convinced the judge that we should wrap the trial up in time for Christmas. He said the victim’s family deserved not to have this hanging over their heads.

  “You don’t have to stand out here with me. Go back inside,” she said, eyeballing me but refusing to say what was on her mind.

  I was painfully aware that I’d been fidgeting with my clothes off and on since we arrived. I’d gone through three separate outfits before settling on this one. It was one of Mama’s skirt suits. Couldn’t fit any of her shoes though, so I grabbed a pair from the first secondhand shop I saw. I’d worn hand-me-downs before, practically lived in them, but this was different. None of it was me.

  “Mya?”

  “I’m gonna stay out here with you. They’ll call me when it’s time.”

  She nodded and resumed her dutiful search of all the faces that stepped off the escalator.

  I should’ve been excited to get this over with. Clear my name. Get back to my life. I sighed and forced my hands into a static position.

  I’d woken up at the crack of dawn in a panic. Slipped out before everybody woke and went searching for soldier boy. The school said he didn’t work there anymore, and the folks at Good Shepherd didn’t take messages. He was in the wind, and Mia wouldn’t stop pestering me about finding him. Wasn’t her fault. Was a good thing really. She had no clue what all was going on.

  “Don’t worry. Okay?”

  I nodded.

  Arif’s family was sitting in the first row. His mother, wife, and two sons. The women and the little boy looked at me with billowing sorrow in their eyes. The older son, his dark stare burned like the fires of hell. He hated me. I didn’t blame him.

  “Your hair looks pretty.” Jackie smiled. “I don’t know why you never wear it down.”

  “Gets in the way.”

  “In the way of what, Mya? Ain’t like you’re a brain surgeon or something.” She abandoned her search to face me, chewing on her lip as she considered whether to continue sharing her thoughts.

  “What?”

  “You know folks might be a little more accommodating to you if you didn’t try so hard to look…” Jackie’s lips parted as she took a breath. “Not nice.”

  “I look not nice?”

  “If you let yourself look nice I mean, then maybe—”

  “I’ll try to remember that the next time I get arrested.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “I know.”

  I loved my sister. Even when she put her foot in her mouth.

  “Mya Morrow?” The young man appeared suddenly before us, juggling several file folders and a cup of coffee. The strong roast nearly sent me gagging into the nearest restroom. “Miss Morrow?” he asked again and took a deep breath to steady himself. “I’m James Booker, I’ll be representing you from now on.”

  “How old are you?” Jackie demanded to know.

  He smiled uncomfortably and admitted he was new. “But I’ve been following your case.”

  “Where’s Brooks?”

  “Who? Oh, he retired. But I read your statement.” He shoved the files back into his briefcase and gestured toward the courtroom doors. “And apart from a few questions I have, which I think we can handle later, I think you’ve got a good case.” He smiled. “Shall we?”

  “Mama, it was horrible! The medical examiner got up there talking all this science mumbo jumbo, and the man didn’t have one thing to say! Just sat there, tapping his pen on the table. I don’t think he’s even a real lawyer.”

  Jackie dialed the dramatics way up for this performance. She hadn’t stopped talking since we walked through the door. Plopped down on the sofa next to Mama and let loose. Mama had Mia asleep across her lap. She didn’t move an inch except to stroke Mia’s back. Every now and then her face contracted as she tried to absorb but not get weighed down by what my sister was saying. Jackie had her thinking they were ready to lock me up and throw away the key.

  “It’s a fucking conspiracy, I’m telling you!”

  “Watch your language.” Mama nodded in the direction of the twins.

  “Her lawyer just suddenly up and retires out of the fucking blue?”

  “Jackie,” Mama warned her again on reflex.

  “They’re trying to screw us over!”

  After changing into more comfortable clothes, I found myself leaning against the wall, eavesdropping. Folks were walking on eggshells around me. Nobody said what they really thought. Nobody but Jackie.

  Booker was green, but at least he wasn’t jaded. And he believed me. That had to be worth something.

  “Pssst.” Nat beckoned me into the kitchen then handed me the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “How you doing, baby girl?” said a weathered voice that made my heart skip a beat. It was Aunt Clara. Nobody called me baby girl except for her and
my daddy.

  “Fine. You?”

  “As good as can be expected for an old broad. I want you to know I been praying for you.”

  I nodded.

  “I’m coming up there to see y’all after the new year. You take care now.”

  “I will.”

  “Put your mama on the phone.”

  ◼︎

  Jackie stayed for supper, and after, we locked ourselves in her room. We sat on the floor with my kids asleep on the bed above us. The closet light was on to break up the darkness as we whispered back and forth. She and Kem were having problems. Even though she smiled when she said he was giving her some space, I knew she was heartbroken.

  “You moving back home?”

  She took a moment to think it over, then nodded. It was probably for the best. When it came to guys, Jackie went from zero to sixty in no time at all. She got serious about Kem way too fast. I was searching for the words to say as much when she interrupted my thoughts.

  “I think I broke it.” Jackie stifled a yawn and blinked the tears from her eyes. “Kem and me. It was perfect and…I ruined it.” She paused, waiting for me to add something comforting.

  “There’s more fish in the sea, right?”

  “Not like Kem.”

  Right. Well, technically we’re all different, so nobody is like anybody. Don’t say that, Mya. I cleared my throat to buy myself some time. Was about to confess the truth, that sometimes love just sucks. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Just flat out sucks.

  Then she said, “We got married.”

  “What?”

  “In Vegas. A few weeks ago,” she whispered with big eyes on the verge of losing hope. “Don’t say anything okay?”

  “Why?”

  “Because. I don’t know how to tell Mama. You know how she is…”

  “No, why—” I stopped. I didn’t want to be insensitive. Most folks knew off the bat what not to say, but I wasn’t one of them. “I mean, I know y’all care about each other, and all, but…”

  “I love him. Seemed like a good idea at the time. You never thought about marrying Darien? Y’all got two kids together.” She pointed out as if I needed a reminder.

  “Maybe someday.” I shrugged.

  Jackie stretched out on her back, folded her hands over her stomach and seamlessly changed the subject. She would rededicate herself to her studies, foresaking all men, even if she happened to be married to them. Said the new year was going to be different. By some stroke of destiny, she’d gotten into the most elusive college in the state. Only made sense that she took advantage of that. Besides, she’d decided what she wanted to do with her degree.

  “I’m gonna be a lawyer,” she announced with a twinge of pride. “Gonna right wrongs and stand up for the little people.”

  I nodded and lay down beside her. “Mama’s gonna love that.”

  “You could go to school too, and then we could both be lawyers. We’d start our own firm and be like…Morrow and Morrow…kicking ass and taking names.”

  I tried to see the world she painted. Smiled when she did and kept quiet while she talked. It made sense for her, not me. Last thing I wanted was to spend my days knee-deep in other folks’ problems. Not to mention I’d lose seven years of my life while fancy educators told me what to think and what to do. Seven years not making a dime. No. I had two kids to take care of…

  “Mya, you listening?”

  “Yeah.”

  She went on to describe the office we would have. With its sophisticated decor and handsome male receptionist. We’d make tons of money and have very important friends. And she’d get one of those closets that operated on remote to house her very fashionable wardrobe.

  “And you can wear pants suits,” she added to reassure me.

  I sat up to open the drawer on the bedside table and remove the towel I’d folded and hid there. Jackie kept talking as I unwrapped the contents. Then she sat back on her elbows and her eyes rested on the ornamental handles. I’d traded the pistol Ramon had given me years ago for weapons I was more comfortable with. The larger blade wore a leather sheath, the smaller one was a switchblade.

  “Pick one.”

  “Damn, Mya.” She reached for the full-size weapon, gently withdrawing it from its protective covering until the metal gleamed in the dim light of the bedroom.

  “Careful. It’s sharp.”

  Before its full length was exposed, Jackie returned it to its sheath and reached for the switchblade instead.

  I nodded. “Easier to control. Last thing you want is somebody taking it from you and using it on you.” I leaned over to show her how to open it. “It’s a just-in-case kinda weapon. Just in case somebody gets up on you. That’s when you pull this. When they’re too close to see it coming.”

  “Damn, Mya. Where you learn this?”

  I shrugged. “Life.”

  All the legal thrillers I read didn’t prepare me for the real thing. First of all, there was no jury. And the trial wasn’t drawn out like I expected. It started on December 17 and lasted five days. The prosecution took up most of that time putting on their case. The coroner’s report, the arresting officers, two witnesses that said I was capable with a knife, which didn’t seem related at all considering Arif was killed by a gun. Then his family took the stand. Prosecutor said it was to explain why the security cameras were down, but it became clear that it wasn’t about that when the man asked what Arif meant to the family.

  Booker shot up, “Objection, your honor!”

  “Overruled.”

  I sat back, watching the spectacle, overcome with indifference one minute and fiery frustration the next. Nikki took the stand on my behalf, but she was a terrible liar and couldn’t convince somebody of the truth if she was under pressure. Heziah did better. I’d forgotten how much of my life he’d been around for—my childhood, my adolescence. Forgotten how much he’d cared about me and how well he knew me.

  “Mr. Jenkins, you’d say just about anything to save Miss Morrow from prison, wouldn’t you?”

  Nikki had been hoping the good reverend would show up, but I knew better. He may have been the silver bullet we needed, but what could he say? He hadn’t seen me since I was thirteen. And I hadn’t left the best impression on God’s servant. We’d run out of witnesses.

  The four of us ate a quick lunch, chewing in silence. Booker sat a few tables over writing furiously in his notebook. Occasionally, he flipped through the thin file folder that must’ve been left for him by Brooks.

  We returned to the courtroom with five minutes to spare and settled into our seats. “Booker?”

  “Yeah,” he replied without looking up from his notes.

  “Put me on the stand.”

  Our eyes met.

  He stuttered, “I…I…I don’t know if that’s the best idea.”

  He had wide round eyes, a squarish head, and copper skin. His physical build said he wasn’t a stranger to sports, but he wasn’t a maniac either. I’d only known him a few days but I trusted him.

  “You get on the stand, and the prosecution’s gonna ask a whole lotta questions you don’t wanna answer.”

  Didn’t matter anymore. Who knew what happened better than me? Who was gonna stand up for me better than I could?

  “Put me on the stand.”

  ◼︎

  The judge fixed me with an authoritative stare. “Miss Morrow, you must answer the question. Do you need it repeated for you?”

  I didn’t.

  “Harry—Harold I mean. Harold Perkins.” Sounded like a real enough person to me.

  “How long have you lived with Mr. Perkins?” Booker rose from his chair. “An estimate is fine.”

  “Off and on for three or four years.”

  “And on the night of December 17, he sent you to the store to get diapers?”

  “I sent myself.”

  “Please tell us what you found when you arrived at the store.”

  “It was empty. Except for Arif and me.”

 
; “But it didn’t stay that way for long, did it? Tell us what happened next.”

  “I got the diapers. Went back to the freezer section to get some milk. Heard somebody come in, but I didn’t think much of it until the guy demanded money. Then I hit the floor and tried to stay low so he wouldn’t see me. He must’ve gotten the money because Arif kept trying to get him to leave, but he was spray painting the freezer section. Arif got mad, came from behind the counter…I heard a gunshot.”

  “Thank you, Miss Morrow.”

  Booker reclaimed his chair, and my gaze wandered first to Arif’s family then to mine. I was thankful to have Mama looking after my kids, but all I wanted was to see her face looking back at me.

  “Miss Morrow.” The prosecutor was a polished man. He leaned back in his chair, a snarky grin on his face, and prepared to run me down. “You’re a rather tall woman. What? Five ten?”

  “Five eight.”

  “All right, five eight. Think back to the night. Standing up, could you see over the shelves?”

  “It wasn’t a big store if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  “You were standing up when the assailant walked in. At your height, was it possible to see him?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “But you didn’t turn around. Is that correct?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So, if we follow your version of the crime. You didn’t see him, but could he have seen you? Don’t you think a man who enters an establishment intent on robbing it, vandalizing it, and beating—possibly killing—the owner would look around before he did anything?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “I think he would. I think he’d probably scope the place out first. He’d notice there was a third person there. And I don’t think he’d leave her alive to tell the tale.”

  “Counselor.” The judge cleared her throat. “Get to a question.”

  He nodded, catapulted himself out of his chair, and buttoned his jacket as he made his next point. “Harold Perkins. Is he in the courtroom today?”

  “No.”

  “Has he ever been in the courtroom? To show his support? According to you, the two of you have been an item for sometime, so he’s here, right?” He pivoted slightly to feign studying the crowd. “Hmm. Interesting. He’s not here, is he? This Harold Perkins?”