PluckingthePearl

by Afton Locke

  “Our members give our organization its strength,” the Klan leader, a heavyset bearded man, said. “The more we work together, the quicker we can deal with problems.”

  By wearing white sheets and burning crosses on people’s lawns? Caleb reached for a cracker from the bowl in the center of the table to settle his stomach. If he had to listen to much more of this, he was afraid he’d get sick. The only drinks provided were glasses of water. This meeting must be more serious than he thought.

  “Prevention is just as important as reaction,” another man said. “If you join with us, you can draw on the strength of a large organization.”

  When Tom Lewes nodded, Caleb couldn’t believe how agreeable everyone looked. Was he the only person in this room who thought the Klan was wrong? Sweat broke out across his forehead.

  “Say we have an incident,” Mayor Carter said. “What should we do?”

  “Call us,” the leader replied. “We’ll send men here to help you. On the flip side of that, members are expected to help others too when needed. We’re brethren.”

  The mayor nodded. “That’s a small price to pay for security and peace of mind. Don’t you gentlemen agree?”

  Caleb’s body and throat froze so he couldn’t answer or nod. Henry shot him another warning look. Let this meeting be over soon, Caleb thought, before I make a scene and lose my daddy’s company.

  “What about the law?” the mayor asked.

  “Get your sheriff to join,” the leader replied. “Then you won’t have anything to worry about.”

  “I’ll do that,” Mayor Carter replied. “What’s the next step?”

  “We’d need to set up an initiation ceremony so your townspeople can officially join.”

  The mayor grabbed a cracker and broke it into pieces as he set a date two weeks in advance.

  “That will give us time to spread the word,” he said. “Gentleman, clear your calendars for this event. That goes without saying.”

  Sweat now coated Caleb’s entire face and neck and his jaw twitched so hard he could barely open it to talk. He couldn’t believe this! The mayor expected them all to join the Klan.

  “Wh-what happens if some of the townspeople don’t want to join?” he managed to say.

  “We all have to work together,” the mayor said. “Anyone who isn’t for the town isn’t part of the town.”

  In other words, join or lose everything, Caleb thought. He struggled to breathe as the paneled walls threatened to close in on him. Thankfully, the meeting was over. Plastering a smile onto his face that he was sure looked more like a grimace, he shook hands with everyone and left.

  The cool air outside didn’t make him feel any better. As a gagging sensation clawed at his throat, he hurried down to the pier near the restaurant. Henry was right behind him as fine-needled mist peppered his face. The smell of spoiled seafood refuse in the nearby garbage bin didn’t help.

  “Are you all right, brother?”

  Caleb crouched on the pier, on the verge of being sick into the mist-pebbled water but not quite. “No.”

  Henry crouched beside him. “Tough meeting. You did well.”

  Nausea still hovered around Caleb’s head like a cloud. “I can’t believe this is happening. Oyster Island doesn’t need their kind here.”

  “I know.” Henry stared into the water. “I don’t like it either but it doesn’t look as though we have a choice.”

  “I can’t do it.” A cramp seized Caleb’s abdomen. “I can’t do any of it—the white sheets, the initiation, none of it.”

  His brother touched his shoulder. “Does this have something to do with your housekeeper?”

  Caleb shook off his hand. “That’s not all of it. Even if I’d never met her, this would make me sick. The mayor is taking away our rights and our freedom.”

  Henry waved. “This is all just for show. You’ll see. It won’t affect our day-to-day lives.”

  Caleb looked at his brother. “So you’re going to join?”

  “I’d rather join than go against the mayor. Besides, I’m on the boat most of the time.”

  “I have a feeling everyone is going to join.” Caleb threw a broken shard of oyster shell into the angry-looking water. Being the odd man out would be akin to throwing his entire company away.

  “Even those who don’t fully agree will feel pressured to go with the herd,” Henry added.

  Caleb blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the fact the world he’d known all his life had just flipped over.

  “Even if I did go through their lousy initiation ceremony,” he thought out loud, “how could I look Pearl in the face and tell her I joined the Klan?”

  “Who says you have to tell her?”

  Caleb stood. “I’d better get home.”

  But he couldn’t face Pearl, knowing what he knew. He couldn’t face any of it.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Pearl lay awake in Caleb’s bed that night. He’d gone to a meeting hours ago. She’d listened to evening music programs on the radio again but she couldn’t concentrate on learning new songs.

  Where on earth was he? Maybe he was avoiding her because she’d told him she felt like a whore. From now on, she vowed to keep those thoughts to herself. If only she could stop the feelings too. They were lucky to have as much as they did and she knew if she didn’t start appreciating it, she could lose it all.

  When he finally came into the bedroom, she sat up.

  “Turn on the light,” she said. “I’m awake.”

  “You didn’t have to wait for me,” he said.

  He barely looked at her and the sight of his face turned her heart to a cold stone. His skin was as white as the sheets and he had hollows under his eyes.

  “Caleb, you look ill,” she exclaimed. “Can I get you something?”

  “No, thanks. My stomach was just a little upset earlier.”

  She watched as he stripped down to his underwear. “How was the meeting?”

  He waved. “A waste of time. The mayor has some silly ideas for the island, that’s all.”

  “Like what?”

  Caleb took a long time to hang up his clothes. “Some nonsense about seagulls, I believe. I don’t even remember half of it now.”

  Well, something was wrong, she thought, and it wasn’t seagulls. Why wouldn’t he tell her?

  “Did you stay away because of our argument last evening?” she asked.

  “No, Pearl.” He sat on the edge of the bed with his back to her.

  She touched his arm. “Then what is it? You can’t deny something is bothering you.”

  He sighed. “Stop worrying and go to sleep. It’s nothing I can’t deal with.”

  Pearl put her arms around him from behind and held him tightly, wishing he wouldn’t keep things from her.

  “Thank you, honey.” He stroked her hands wrapped around his middle. “Tomorrow we’re going to the jewelry store.”

  “Whatever for?” she asked.

  “I want to get you something nice to prove how special you are to me.”

  Warmth filled her as she leaned her head against his back. “You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

  He squeezed her hand hard. “I want to. Maybe I can’t tell the whole world you’re my wife but you are. From now on, I’m going to treat you like one.”

  Sweet warmth filled her veins so suddenly she thought they would burst.

  She kissed his pale cheek as tears pricked her eyes. “Caleb, you’re the most incredible man I’ve ever met. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, Pearl.” His voice filled the room as if he wanted all of Oyster Island to hear it.

  Of its own accord, her hand brushed across the front of his undershorts.

  His breath caught and the warm mass of his genitals stirred beneath her fingers. “What are you doing, Pearl?”

  “Trying to make you feel better. Don’t wedding vows mention something about sickness and health? Lie down.”

  Pinkness returned to his cheeks a
nd he even half-smiled as he lay flat and interlaced his fingers behind his head.

  Pearl pulled down his undershorts, exposing his semi-rigid penis. It was the first time he hadn’t been as hard as a rock around her. Something must really be on his mind, she thought. Something big.

  “Make it hard, honey,” he whispered. “I know you can.”

  She lifted his warm flesh, running her tongue along the length of it. Next, she popped the head into her mouth and sucked. All her love for this man went to her mouth. She hoped the strength of their passion would cure whatever worried him.

  As if by magic, his organ slowly hardened and lengthened beneath her mouth and fingers. She rubbed the sensitive insides of his thighs where his skin was softer and less covered by coarse hairs. He rewarded her efforts with a gentle moan.

  Within minutes, his hips bucked off the bed as he thrust into her mouth. Frantically, she scored his balls with her nails as he pounded his frustrations and worries into the circle of her mesmerizing lips. The massive bed squeaked beneath their efforts, mixing with Caleb’s growling moans.

  Hearing his pleasure and smelling his male scent made her pussy tight and wet beneath her nightgown. She longed to straddle his hard cock, slippery from her saliva, and satisfy the deep ache in her cunt but tonight was about healing him. He’d given her so much she wanted to give something back.

  “Pearl, this is…you’re so…wonderful. Oh. Oh. I’m going to come!”

  He’d barely finished the words before his balls contracted in her hands and hot semen filled her mouth. He groaned as more fluid filled her. She tunneled her fingers through his coarse pubic hair as she swallowed everything he gave. In this way, at least, there was nothing between them.

  When she sat up, he reached up and stroked her wet bottom lip. “That was amazing and just what I needed. Thank you.”

  “I drank all your worries, Caleb. Did you forget about them?”

  He grinned, looking healthy and more like himself again. “What worries?”

  Within moments, his eyes closed and his breathing slowed with sleep. Pearl turned out the light and pulled the sheet over their bodies. She curled up next to Caleb, determined to feel safe despite the doubts clawing her spine in the dark.

  * * * * *

  The next day, Caleb walked with Pearl down Main Street, wishing he could hold her hand. Their footsteps echoed against cobblestones wet from last night’s rain. The fog was so thick the buildings loomed around them in dim, gray shapes. As gray as the new cloche hat she now wore. He’d bought it for her to replace the one that had blown in the river. And today a ring…

  He couldn’t believe what she’d done last night to make him feel better. He’d gone from worried sick to hot and hard in moments. It only reminded him how lucky he was to have her.

  “I still think you should go without me,” she said quietly. “I doubt I’ll be welcome in the jewelry store.”

  “Of course you will. You’re my housekeeper and we’re buying a ring for Mrs. Abbott, remember?”

  Despite the silly roles they had to play in public, a contented smile curved her lips as she nodded. She must be so happy to get a ring from him she didn’t care how they had to go about it. Personally he’d rather see her wearing her new dress instead of the old, gray one.

  Unfortunately, he did care and disliked sneaking around like some kind of thief. He loved this woman so much he wanted to stand on top of the tallest building and shout it across the sea. One misstep could mean the end of his business, however, and the arrival of the Klan had made things even worse.

  “Wait a moment,” she said. “My shoelace is loose.”

  He put his hands into his pockets and looked around while Pearl bent to fix her shoe. The mist hinted at a new sign on the hardware store so he squinted to read it.

  “The South shall rise again. White power,” he mouthed silently as his face went clammy with nausea.

  Good God, it was worse than he thought. The Klan had taken over the town and was spreading its sick propaganda. He had to stop this but how? Pearl mustn’t find out about any of this but it would be hard to keep it a secret for long with signs going up everywhere.

  When she stood up, he guided her down a different street so she wouldn’t see the hardware store.

  “Isn’t the jewelry store over there?” she asked.

  “We’ll take the long way,” he said, “and have a nice walk.”

  But their new direction was no better. Caleb’s hands tingled with dread when he noticed Murdock and some of his cronies. They were leaning against a boat storage house, smoking and looking belligerent.

  “Well, if it isn’t mighty Mr. Rockfield,” the supervisor he’d fired called out. “Walking around town with a colored woman by his side like they was husband and wife. What do you suppose that means, fellows?”

  Caleb stopped abruptly, wondering how best to handle this. Beads of sweat prickled his forehead under the fedora he wore. Pearl clutched the collar of her coat, looking stricken. Now he regretted taking her out to get a ring. He should have just bought it himself and spared her this.

  It would have looked better if she’d walked behind him but he wasn’t sure if even that would have made a difference. The close relationship he and Pearl shared must be more visible than he realized. Hell, it must be as obvious as one of those awful signs on the hardware store.

  “She’s just my housekeeper,” he said slowly, “and she’s only helping me with an errand today.”

  “She looks like a bed warmer to me,” another called out.

  Bill Murdock took a deep drag from his cigarette. “Better run along now, Mr. Rockfield, before the whole town finds out you’re a—”

  “Come on, Pearl.” Caleb spoke loudly, hoping to block the horrible epithet Murdock had just thrown at him. But he could see by the way her lips trembled she’d heard.

  Rage burned through Caleb’s entire body and his hands clenched into painful fists as he ached to punch every one of those arrogant men. Knowing how suicidal that would be, he forced himself to walk away. Pearl followed him down a private alley.

  “Let’s go home,” she said, her arms crossed over her chest.

  “No. I’m not going to let those buffoons ruin this. I’m buying you a ring today, damn it.”

  He headed to the jewelry store even though his instincts told him to go home as Pearl had suggested.

  “Mr. Rockfield, what a pleasant surprise,” Albert Whitley, the owner, said. “What can I help you with?”

  Caleb took a deep breath, enjoying the quiet sanctuary of the store after the confrontation on the street. He was grateful there were no other customers inside. Dozens of lamps made gems sparkle in display cases. He wished he could buy the entire store for Pearl. She deserved it for enduring so much humiliation this morning.

  “My sister-in-law has a birthday soon and I want to buy her a ring,” Caleb announced. “She likes pearls.”

  The tall man with shoulders stooped over from years of intricate work smiled. “Certainly, Mr. Rockfield. We have a nice collection here. This one has a cluster of tiny pearls and these over here are solitaires.”

  The old floor creaked as he moved from one display to the next.

  “The solitaires are impressive.” Caleb smiled, feeling in control again. Finally someone treated him with the respect he was used to.

  “Pearl, where are you?” He turned to realize she stood several feet behind him. “Which one do you…do you think Mrs. Abbott would prefer?”

  “Oh, I surely wouldn’t know, Mr. Rockfield.”

  “Nonsense,” he said equably, wishing she wouldn’t play the housekeeper so well. “I’m a man and have no taste in jewelry. I do like that one with the large pearl, though.”

  “I’ll take it out for you,” Mr. Whitley said.

  Excitement shot through Caleb when he held the gold ring in his hand. With his fingertip, he traced the perfect roundness of the pearl. The nearby lighting brought out the warm iridescence just as his love bro
ught out her passion.

  It was perfect.

  “That’s a mighty fine ring,” Pearl said, looking at it over his shoulder. “I’s sure Mrs. Abbott will be pleased with it.”

  “Pearl, your hand is about the same size as hers,” he said. “Try it on.”

  Mr. Whitley cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Mr. Rockfield. We have a policy. No coloreds try on the merchandise.”

  Caleb flipped the ring in his hand. “Don’t you realize I’m about to spend a lot of money on this expensive ring? I find your policy inconvenient to say the least.”

  The other man rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Well, I suppose I could clean it afterward but I have to think of my customers. If any of them found out I let colored folk try on the merchandise, they wouldn’t buy it. I’d go out of business.”

  Another case of everyone going along with the herd because people were afraid to do otherwise, Caleb thought with disgust. When would it end? It wouldn’t, he realized, because everyone was too lily-livered to stand up and fight it, including him.

  He let the ring drop on top of the glass display case. “Well, you just lost one customer already. Come along, Pearl.”

  “Wait!” Mr. Whitley called out after they were halfway to the door.

  Caleb returned to the counter. “Yes?”

  “She can try it on if you buy it,” the proprietor said. “I-I can resize it if it doesn’t fit.”

  “All right,” Caleb said, reaching for his wallet.

  Albert Whitley looked worriedly at the front door. “Quickly now, before other customers come in.”

  When Caleb slid the beautiful ring on Pearl’s left hand, his breath caught in his throat. Everything they’d gone through this morning washed away with the tide. She was his and this ring proved it.

  She looked up at him with love and humiliation warring in her green eyes. “It fits real good, Mr. Rockfield.”

  Although he longed to scoop her into his arms and tell her how much he loved her, he cleared his throat gruffly instead, remembering the proprietor was watching them.