(All Rights Reserved! No part of this story can be copied, shared, or reproduced in any shape or form without permission from the author and she said hell no.) I am what folks around here call slow. The word retarded was whispered behind my back since I was old enough to recognize it. The word was used so often that it became a part of me. It didn’t offend me or make me feel different. To me, it was another descriptive word, like short or tall. Being called slow didn’t burn

I wake up underneath Hugo, sore all over and with a throbbing headache. I remember these headaches. Is the cancer back? I moan in anguish. Hugo wakes up and reaches for the lamp. “What’s wrong, kitty?” He asks me softly. “My head is pounding. What if I’m sick again?” I whisper. “Calm down. You aren’t sick. You are hungover.” He bites his wrist holding it to my lips. I swallow his blood. The relief is immediate. He pulls it away from me after a few swallows and licks the

“Why would you give me your automobile?” “Because I hated Ned.” Janet attempts to replicate the way I hold my cup when she sips from her pretty teacup. “Elizabeth gave me the courage to finally kill him. I owe her for being kidnapped when she was. It’s been a while since I had decent folks over. I’m glad to have you here.” She sets the cup down and leans forward toward Leslie. “Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?” “Let’s see.” Leslie leans back in his comfy seat. “I’m

“You aren’t leaving.” He sighs, rubbing his temples. “Valentina, don’t threaten me and never give me ultimatums. If you try to divorce me, everyone will laugh at you. Be mad. Scream. Run. How you feel doesn’t matter. You are my wife until I say different, and I never will. This is the way of the land. You agreed to my lifstyle when you married me.” Hugo doesn’t sound like Hugo. He is colder. His purple eyes are darker. “Don’t you dare cry, Valentina.” He wraps his hand in

Granny’s place is nice in comparison. Their land is a dump. “Fern!” Gale yells, getting out of his truck. “Fern! Get your worthless ass out here and greet our guests! Come on out here now!” A frail, depressed looking, white woman comes outside. Her face is bruised and her sad eyes are sunken when she looks at us. “Those niggah’s ain’t allowed inside.” She says before turning around and going back in. “I’d prefer to wait out here.” Sarah raises her chin a notch. “We aren’t st

I wake up on the ground, confused and afraid. “I’m here.” Leslie touches my face. “Everything is okay, honey bee.” My body is trembling when I sit up to be held. Leslie never disappoints me. He puts down his gun to pull me onto his lap, resting my head against his chest. He hums me back to sleep while he stays awake to watch over us. Polly is sitting beside me the next time I wake up. She jumps up when my eyes open, clapping her hands in relief. “Don’t move. You are sick fro

“That’s a bit personal.” I eye her coldly. “Are you?" “I hope so.” Lulu smiles warmly. “My husband would be pleased. Maybe if you dressed more seductively…” “Seductively like you?” I ask her. “Why are you showing my husband your nipples at my dinner table when your man is at home? Worry about your own shit.” Can I get pregnant if I am dead? Does everyone know he married me to have heirs? “I married Valentina because I love her.” Hugo cuts in before the blushing woman can

“Kill the lights til you get these gals outta town! Take the back roads through the cotton fields. They’ll take you clear to Louisiana. I gotta old fishin’ cabin deep in the marsh on Pine Lake number 3. You can hole up there for a while til you find somethin’ betta.” “Yessir.” Leslie agrees. “Thank you.” “Take care of our girl, boy.” Sheriff Davies drops a gun in Leslie’s lap. “She’s important to this town. Gone now.” He slaps the roof of the Ford and backs away. “Get outta h

“The girl hates me.” I sigh wearily. “I am not good with children.” Hugo smiles and kisses my forehead. “Let me worry about the girl, Valentina.” “I'm not sure if I want to be a stepmother. She’s mean.” He chuckles. “Kitty, she is a child. Try to get along with her.” “She didn’t sound like a child when she asked you if I was your whore. How long have you been fucking Hadassah? How close does she live to you?” “We need to talk about Hadassah, but not tonight. Maybe tomorrow

“Kelly!” A voice calls. “It’s Eddie!” “Why is he here so early? Tell him to come back later.” Leslie laughs. “We are farmers now. Most wake up at three or four to get an early start.” Eddie brought the livestock and the rest of Leslie’s order. They will be busy for hours. His kiss is fresh on my lips and I want more of his touch. He keeps the gun and pulls back the sheet for me. I want to get up with him. My husband wants me to rest. “Off to bed with you. I’ll be here when yo

He crawls between my legs, lifts my knees, and thrusts into me. “You knew I was coming back.” I accuse him. “That’s why you married me.” Hugo’s eyes swirl with dark secrets when he smiles. “I fed you my blood for weeks, Valentina. You drank it like wine. My blood bonded with yours and brought you back. I wasn’t sure if it would. Your bloodline helped. No more questions.” Hugo kisses me and I let it go. I realize we aren’t buckled in for takeoff. Yet, I feel the plane ascen

The experience is different when we walk up. “Hey, Sweets! How’s your momma?” “She’s good, Mister Eddie!” I mouth slowly. “Tell her I asked about her. How can I help you, Kelly?” Everyone knows who he is. They heard about him whipping JR. An enemy of JR is a friend of Colored folks. “I need eggs, butter, vanilla, flour, milk, coffee, sugar, beans, salt, and a whole ham.” Leslie added items to Momma’s list. He keeps adding as he looks around. He buys apples and tins of peache

Hugo Black “She is gone.” I choke on the words and hold her body close. “Valentina is gone.” I felt her soul depart on an icy breeze in Louisiana. The breeze whispered to me, I love you, as she went limp in my arms. My Valentina is gone. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I hug her body so tightly that it is in danger of being crushed. This is all that is left of her. A limp body. Valentina is no more. She is a part the universe, awaiting her fate. Her death is a shock to us

“I need to speak with the Smith’s.” Momma sets down the wet brush to pin my hair back. “The bombing left us homeless and I need to take possession of our house. I can’t spend another night in that muddy tent. Missus Walker is going down to the prison to see Leslie. You can go with her if you like. Expect me back before dark.” My heart finally sees light in these dark days. Watching the house you grew up in burn to the ground takes a lot out of a person. So does cleaning up af

“We want the niggah what hit Jamie Dearborn on his head and got him laid up! You niggahs know somethin’. Send Della’s girl out here. Did she throw that rock?” “Sweets ain’t threw nothin’ at nobody!” Mister Charles yells at the nightrider. “That rock was throwed from the crowd. Nobody saw who done it. Jamie Dearborn ain’t supposed to be down here botherin’ her no way! The Sheriff told that mothafucka to leave her be!” A gun fires. Mister Charles grabs at the bloody hole in his

Pow! Pow! Pow! The men are shooting again. Someone screams in pain. Pow! Pow! Pow! Gunshots riddle the wall behind me. We are going to die! “Wake up, Sweets! We need to get out of here.” Missus Walker is shaking me but I am already awake. “There’s a gunfight in the gambling hall. Some white man got drunk and started shooting anything that walks. The other gamblers started shooting back.” I sleep at Missus Walkers on the hottest nights because she has a fan. The gunfire is lo

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED