Indigo Summer

by Monica McKayhan

  “We didn’t expect it to sell that fast,” Gloria said. “So I asked Rufus…I said baby, don’t you have a property on that side of town that we could move into temporarily? At least until our house is finished.” She took a bite of her fried chicken leg and waved it in the air. After her whole speech about how bad fried foods were, she didn’t waste any time loading two pieces onto her plate. “Of course, there was nothing available.”

  “There never is when you need it,” Mama said. “So how did you end up in the house next door?”

  “It’s the funniest thing. You are gonna crack up,” Gloria said, and everyone waited patiently for the rest of the story. Rufus seemed restless at that point.

  “Let’s talk about something else,” he said. “We can’t just take over the dinner conversation with our boring story of how we ended up here. The good part is, we moved here, we’ve met our wonderful neighbors and new friends, and we’ll all live happily ever after.”

  That wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to hear the rest of the story of how they ended up in Jade’s house, and Gloria was anxious to tell it, so she continued.

  “Rufus, I’m telling this story,” she said. “Now as I was saying. The woman who used to live next door to you all…”

  “Barbara?” Mama said.

  “Yes, Barbara,” Gloria said. “After her and her husband split up, she had a little trouble paying her rent. I mean this woman was late consistently every single month, and sometimes she didn’t even have it all. Always had some excuse for Rufus. So, I told him, baby look, we are trying to run a business here. If she can’t afford to live in the property, then she needs to move. We offered to move her into a smaller, more affordable house, but she insisted that she was moving to New Jersey somewhere. And my husband—” she reached for his hand and caressed it “—being the big old softy that he is, has such a soft spot for his tenants. Always bending over backwards to help them, letting them slide on the rent. We can’t run a successful business that way, letting people get over on us. He didn’t have the heart to kick them out, but I told him…look, Rufus…you need to ask her to leave or I will…”

  “So it’s true,” I whispered. “Angie was right. You really did kick them out on the street.”

  “Gloria, I told you it wasn’t a good time,” Rufus said. “Let me explain….”

  “No need to explain, Rufus. Your wife explained it quite well,” Mama said. She was just as hurt as I was. Barbara had been her friend, too. In fact Jade’s family had been just like family to us all.

  “You have ruined my life!” I said. “Jade was my best friend, and you’re the reason why she’s gone.”

  Tears trickled down my cheek. I lost control, and before I knew it I was up from the table and running for my room. Someone called my name, I wasn’t sure if it was Mama or Nana, but I kept on moving, slamming my door behind me. My heart was aching and I didn’t know how to make it stop. All I kept remembering was Gloria’s lips saying, “Rufus, you need to ask her to leave, or I will…” I wanted to wrap my fingers around her bony neck and squeeze it until she stopped breathing. I wanted to steal Gloria’s life just the way she’d stolen mine.

  I knew it was a mistake for Marcus and his mixed-up family to come for dinner in the first place.

  Chapter 20

  Marcus

  I would give anything for Indi to understand that I had nothing to do with her friend Jade moving away. I wanted to tell her that I didn’t even want to move to College Park in the first place. I was perfectly happy living in Stone Mountain where I had friends at school and a girlfriend who I actually liked. It was all Gloria’s idea to move, and Pop had just fallen into another one of her traps. I wanted Indi to know all of that, but she wouldn’t open her window no matter how many Skittles I threw. My chances of salvaging our friendship were definitely shot.

  Pop had made amends with Indi’s parents, and they’d even forgiven Gloria as she’d gone over and apologized profusely. My father and Mr. Summer had watched the basketball game together just two nights ago, and we were even invited over for Christmas dinner. But Indigo just wasn’t as forgiving as her parents. She wouldn’t even look my way when I saw her at school, just rolled her eyes and kept on moving. She was hurt. Her best friend had been needlessly taken away and she needed to blame someone. But she didn’t understand that I wasn’t the one to blame.

  “Give her a little time,” Nana Summer had said when I saw her resting on the porch one morning before school. “She’s a little stubborn.”

  I did just that. Tried to give Indi a little time. Waited for her to come around, but she never did.

  Christmas Eve, and the mall was a madhouse, filled with people trying to finish up their last-minute shopping. I stopped by the jewelry store and picked up the bracelet I had been eyeballing for Sasha. After Indi stopped speaking to me, I latched onto Sasha and held on for dear life. She had filled the void that I had hoped Indigo Summer would fill. Despite the fact that she was Quincy’s girl. I knew it was just a matter of time before he played himself, and she would’ve been mine. But this whole incident with Gloria and Indi’s best friend, Jade, had robbed me of my chances forever. Gloria was definitely not on my good list.

  I dropped by Sears and picked up Pop a new toolbox, with a bunch of shiny new wrenches and screwdrivers inside. Picked up Gloria a colorful scarf, just so I could say I bought her something. My heart wasn’t in it, and no thought had gone into either. But at least I got her something. I grabbed Beverly a wool sweater that I’d spotted on sale at JC Penney’s. The saleswoman was nice enough to help me pick it out. That was a gift that I’d put thought into. I had even saved up enough money to get Justin that new Madden he wanted from the video store. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he opened that one. And after much searching and although Indi wasn’t speaking to me, I had even managed to pick her up the perfect gift. I had planned on giving it to her, even if she slammed the door in my face. Too much effort had gone into it for me not to at least try. Maybe I’d just leave it on the front porch or give it to Nana to make sure she got it.

  I’d had Justin’s Madden game and Beverly’s sweater both wrapped in colorful paper at the mall, tied with a beautiful bow and everything. When I pulled into their driveway, the curtains were drawn and it looked as if they were gone. I didn’t have a chance to call before I popped up, but I was sure Beverly wouldn’t mind. She loved when I visited Justin. I hopped out of my Jeep and trekked to the front door, rang the bell. No answer. I tapped lightly on the door. Still, no answer.

  “They not home.” Justin’s friend Kevin flew past on his dirt bike.

  “You know where they are?” I asked, as he slowed and then popped a wheelie in the middle of the street.

  “The ambulance took Justin to the hospital again,” he said, and then took off down the block before I had a chance to ask any more questions.

  I remembered the route to the hospital and took off toward it at full speed, almost running the stop sign at the end of the block. I wondered if Beverly was alone. She shouldn’t have to deal with this all by herself. I said a little prayer as I parked in the visitor’s parking area and rushed through the automatic doors. Sasha’s face was the first one that I zoomed in on when I searched the waiting area. She rushed over to me. Her face held a look that was foreign, solemn. Something was wrong.

  “What’s up?”

  “He had a stroke, Marcus,” she said. She just blurted it out without warning.

  “What?” I asked.

  “He had a stroke.” She repeated it.

  “How could he have a stroke? He’s only ten years old,” I asked. Strokes and heart attacks only happened to old people, I thought.

  “I don’t know how it happened, but he did. I just happened to be walking past and saw the ambulance lifting Justin into the back. Miss Beverly was all alone and I asked her if she wanted me to ride with her. She said yes.” Sasha was talking so fast, I had time to zero out and then zero back into what she was sayin
g.

  “Where’s Miss Beverly now?” I asked. I had to find her. I needed some answers.

  “She’s back there,” Sasha said. “With Justin. She’s probably doing the paperwork or something.”

  “I have to find her,” I said and headed toward the rooms where they stored patients temporarily.

  “You can’t go back there,” Sasha said.

  “I need to see Justin. Talk to him.”

  “You can’t talk to him, Marcus,” she said.

  “Why not?” I stopped and looked her square in the eyes.

  “He’s dead, Marcus,” she said. “He didn’t survive the stroke.”

  It was as if time stood still. I wasn’t sure if she said what I thought she did. I was either hearing things or she didn’t know what she was talking about. Justin couldn’t be dead. I’d just tutored him in math two days ago. My body felt numb. Part of me wanted her to repeat what she said so that I could be sure of it. The other part of me didn’t want to hear those words again.

  The moment I saw Beverly’s face, I knew that Sasha was telling the truth. Her eyes were puffy and red and an older woman was helping her walk. Her legs were like jelly as the older woman helped her to a nearby chair. She cried harder once she sat down, and my heart skipped a few beats as it pounded so rapidly. I could feel the pounding in my throat as I made my way over to Beverly. She glanced up and tried to regain her composure for my sake, but it was useless. She couldn’t.

  “He’s gone, Marcus.” She shook her head from side to side. “My baby’s gone.”

  I sat in the chair next to her, fighting the tears with all my might. I wrapped my arms around Beverly and she dropped her head onto my shoulder.

  “My baby’s gone,” she kept blurting out, over and over again.

  It was becoming almost impossible to contain my own tears, but I needed to be strong for her. I glanced over at Sasha, who was in tears, too. Everybody was in tears and I was struggling just to keep it together.

  Chapter 21

  Marcus

  The walls seemed to be closing in as I lay there staring at the ceiling in my room, the ceiling fan spinning around in slow motion, the ESPN announcer on my television announcing the score from last night’s Falcons game. But I was halfway listening because my chest was aching. I could’ve sworn I was having a heart attack, but then realized I was just grieving. Grieving for a little boy who didn’t deserve to die. He was so full of life, and had so much to look forward to. Why would God allow something like this to happen to a child?

  I recognized it as grief because it was similar to the feeling I had when my parents divorced, and the pain I felt when my mother took off in the middle of the night. It was even similar to the hurt I experienced when Pop married Gloria. This pain was similar, but so much stronger than any of those things. The way Beverly cried for her son made me feel helpless. I wished I had words of comfort for her. Wished I could tell her something that would give her hope…something that would change her tears to joy, but I had nothing to offer, except for the stupid look on my face when I said goodbye to her at the hospital. I had no other words for her than that, and that bothered me.

  When I told Pop what happened, he and Gloria rushed over to the house to comfort her. Took some food for the family. They asked if I wanted to go, but I didn’t feel much like doing anything. Needed to gather my thoughts, regain my composure. That’s how I ended up in the center of my full-sized bed, staring at the ceiling fan as its blades spun around and around. At first I was angry. Angry at God for allowing this to happen to Justin. Then I was hurt. Then sad. Then angry again. My emotions seemed to be moving at full speed as if on a roller-coaster ride at Six Flags Over Georgia.

  I took a nap, just to see if I could rid my thoughts of Justin and the look on Beverly’s face when she discovered her baby was gone, and the way Sasha’s eyes were bloodshot when I first saw her in the emergency room. I wanted to rid my thoughts of the Madden video game that still laid on the backseat in my Jeep. The game that Justin would never play. He would never laugh or pop a wheelie on his dirt bike again. That made me angry, and then hurt, then sad and then angry again. A roller coaster of emotions rushing through me, as the walls kept closing in.

  It was Christmas Eve, but it felt like D-Day.

  Chapter 22

  Indigo

  Christmas Eve.

  My favorite day of the year next to Christmas Day. I always got to open at least one gift on Christmas Eve, and it was like a lottery trying to figure out which package held the best gift. Needless to say, I didn’t hit the jackpot, because the one I opened held a pair of socks. My parents were getting to be pretty clever at this gift exchange thing. They had rolled the socks up tightly into a small box so I’d think I was really getting something special, and cracked up at the look of disappointment on my face when I discovered that I’d been had.

  “You have to learn to wait, Indi.” Mama was the ringleader and her and Daddy laughed.

  Daddy even had the camcorder out, getting footage of me opening the box filled with pink-and-white Nike socks, capturing the look on my face. Even Nana chuckled a little.

  “Ha, ha, ha, very funny.” I frowned and set the socks aside. “Nana, I thought you were on my side.”

  “I am on your side, baby. But you have to admit, it was funny.”

  “Can I open another one?” I asked, hoping for another try.

  “No,” Mama said. “That’s against the rules. One gift on Christmas Eve. That’s all you get.”

  “I don’t know, Carolyn…” Daddy smiled. “It wouldn’t hurt to let her open one more.”

  “But if we let her open one more, that would go against the tradition.”

  “Please Mommy,” I begged. “Just one more.”

  “What if you’re not happy with that one either?” Mama said. “Then what?”

  “Then I’ll wait until Christmas morning. I promise.”

  Nana sat in the corner of the room, a smile on her face, all leaned back in Daddy’s recliner, enjoying every moment of the teasing.

  “Okay, Indi. One more. But that’s it for the night,” Mama said.

  “Thank you, Mommy,” I said, and hugged my mother around the neck.

  I made a beeline for the Christmas tree. Picked up a medium-sized box, shook it to see if I could tell what was inside. Observed the faces of the adults in the room, just to see if they would give away what was inside. Their faces were blank. So I slipped that gift back under the tree. I almost went for another small one, remembering that Nana always said that good things come in small packages. But I’d been tricked by a small package that held a pair of socks. So I decided to go for the gusto. Picked up the largest box under the tree that had my name on it. It was huge. And kind of heavy, too. Yes, this was the one. This was the gift of all gifts. It had to be. I didn’t waste much time ripping the colorful paper off of the package; tossed it aside. The brown box was plain, no pictures or writing on the outside. I needed something to cut through the tape. This was wrapped pretty good, with the sort of tape that you needed scissors to cut through.

  Before I could ask, Mama was handing me a pair of scissors. I looked at her with skeptical eyes as I reached for them. She smiled and winked, as if it was another bogus gift. I didn’t care, I wanted to know what was inside, and it wasn’t going to open itself. Whether it was a good gift or not, I needed that box opened, and quickly. Suddenly the tape was removed, and the tissue paper was pulled out, piece by piece. I pulled the electronic equipment out of the box, set it on the floor next to me. A stereo! And not just a little boom box like the one I already had, or the portable CD player that I had with the headphones. It was a real stereo; the kind like Daddy had in the family room that he played his jazz CDs on. This was by far, the best gift I’d ever received.

  “Can you hook it up, Daddy?” I asked.

  “Not tonight, Indi. It’s late.”

  “Please, Daddy? I want to try my CDs out on it.”

  “Fine,” he said. “L
et’s take it upstairs and see what it sounds like.”

  By the time Daddy got the stereo hooked up, Christmas Day was only an hour away. I tuned the stereo to The Quiet Storm on V-103 and gave in to my heavy eyelids.

  At the crack of dawn, loud Christmas music rang through the house. Smells of smoked sausage and onions crept across my nose, and I had to go see what it was. I slid from beneath the covers, tiptoed downstairs. Nana hummed the tune of “Silent Night” as pots and pans rattled in the kitchen.

  “Merry Christmas,” I said as I peeked my head in.

  “Merry Christmas, baby.” She laughed. “I should’ve known you would be up early, before the birds.”

  “The birds are already up, Nana.” I smiled. “I heard them chirping outside my window.”

  “Cute,” she said and touched my nose. “You hungry?”

  “A little,” I said. “But I’m more curious than hungry.”

  “Go wake up your mama and daddy,” she said. “And then you can terrorize the tree.”

  She already knew what I had in mind. Christmas gifts first, then food. In that order. I rushed up the stairs and to my parents’ room. I heard my daddy’s loud snores before I reached the top of the stairs. I slowly pushed the door opened, peeked inside. They were both knocked out. Mama would be the easiest to wake, so I started working on her first.

  “Mama,” I whispered. “Mother.”

  Her eyes opened slowly; she was a light sleeper, and smiled at me once she was awake.

  “Is it Christmas morning?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said, and Daddy turned over, making little grunting noises, and then farted.

  I frowned and squeezed my nose. Mama didn’t flinch. I guess she was used to it, although she did nudge him a bit.

  “Harold. It’s Christmas morning and our child is ready to open her gifts,” Mama said.