Common Secrets

By Romel Celanese Smith

Common Secrets is about a young girl who dreamed of being a star in the sky. Monday lived and loved life with her mother, Jade, but her dreams and life became a real dream that she had no intentions of happening. Monday had to find the dream that she knew was hers and to leave the real dream that was taking place. Monday faced extreme challenges with no one to turn to. Only God would be her listening ear of her many nights of cries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546210436

Romel Celanese Smith

Romel Celanese Smith is originally from San Francisco, California but has been currently living in Dallas, Texas. She has studied legal information management in her undergrad years at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, and has a Masters degree in Information Sciences. She has always loved reading and is excited about information and organizational development. Currently she is working on her doctoral degree in organizational leadership with an emphasis on organizational development at Grand Canyon University. She is the happy mother of one son Kenneth Ray Porter Jr., and a joyous grandmother of one granddaughter Kennedy Rai Porter. Romel Celanese Smith currently is employed working for a medical training school, where she teaches courses in the Health Information Management field. She also is working on a podcast called Fly Girl.

Book preview

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Common Secrets

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Romel Celanese Smith

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2018 Romel Celanese Smith. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   03/27/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-1045-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-1044-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-1043-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017916123

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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I  AM BLESSED TO give thanks to Jesus Christ for saving my soul! I Love JESUS CHRIST! I would like to send notes of thanks to all my friends who have been there for me and have helped me when it was needed you know who you are. To Consuelo Swaylo Caraway, Sanekia English, Terri Neal, Nikki Nik Nik Grant, Treca Taylor, Kim Henderson-Harris you guys have made friendship throughout the years so much fun and have been with me through this manuscript journey! When we are all together, you guys rock!!! A show is coming! You guys are my friends forever! To Joni hart, thank you for the shooting star! Goldfinger we are friends forever! I am glad that we ran into each other after 24 years! God is good! Tootoo, I am proud of you for starting your own catering business! To Kathy Katey Patterson, girl we had some hustle days didn’t we! Selling dinners from your white BMW! LOL. I say to all that hustle! Keep hustling! It pays off!

To my little twin sisters, Naimah and Nailah who always send me text notes of LOVE and I LOVE you guys for that! Keep loving me and I forever love you guys. To my little brother Musa, and little sisters Zarinah and Saffiyah I love you! To Raquel, my twin, love you dearly and hope for better days. To my little brother Eston Lujan the mechanical engineer, who I adored when you were a baby! You were my baby, LOL. I love you forever. To Dad, for planting the seeds into my mind to make it in this world and the words you whispered into my ear when I was a little girl, Don’t listen to those sweet nothings them negros will whisper in your ear!.

The bible said the first shall be last and the last shall be first. To my brothers and sisters in Christ at Galilee Dallas Baptist Church, I love you guys, you are my family! To my mentor and pastor for over twenty years, Rev. Tommy Porter who has been there for me throughout my good and difficult times. I truly appreciate all of your words of encouragement and prayers whenever I needed it. It is your Christ Like spirit and kindness that makes you who you are and I aspire to be like that. I am so grateful to have you as my pastor and my son’s grandfather. I have the best of both worlds!

To my dearest son, Kenneth R. Porter Jr. who has been my motivator my entire life. It is because of you that I am where I am today. Keep your hustle with your music, I am proud of you for getting your song on the radio! Not many can do that. God will bless you, keep him first! I love you dearly and mommy will always have your back. Shout out to your business DALLAS WALLSTREET! Remember when you told me to just send in my manuscript, I did and look!

A special note to my dearest, sweetest grandbaby, Kennedy Rai Porter baby ken, you have inspired grammy to work harder and to be more successful for you! Your kind spirit and gentle soul and beautiful smile makes me so happy. I will always pray to the Lord to watch over you forever! with continued blessings my dear baby ken. You bring laughter and smiles into my life which brings me joy! I love you baby ken! This is all for you and your dad!

With Jesus Christ Love,

Romel Celanese Smith

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CHAPTER 1

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A S THE WIND swirled from the evening beach breeze, it crept through the crack of the open door. The sun’s dusk ghostly particles were laid to rest on the gold shag carpet after the curvaceous body appeared. Jade was carefree and loved her kids. She also loved her man, kung fu/karate, and Mary Jane. Jade was one of three children. She had an older brother, Jim, whom she adored, and an older sister, Joyce, with whom she often quarreled. Jade and Joyce were only a couple of years apart, and many of their friends thought they were twins. But they were far from it, even far from acting like sisters. Jade was quiet, low-key, and often smiled with her eyes. Joyce was busy in and out of town with a married man. Jade’s children were her life. Jade wanted her children to be something in life.

The knock at the door surprised Jade, as she was not expecting company, not on this very important night. It was Wednesday evening, and Jade’s oldest child, Monday, would be participating in the school play. Monday had been waiting eagerly for this evening. Jade, who had helped Monday prepare for her play for weeks, was just as eager to see her daughter perform as Monday was to be on stage.

Jade was getting Monday ready for the play when she heard the knock on the door, and Elaine whisked herself into Jade’s cozy living room from the hallway of the luxury apartment building, which was aglow from the evening sun. Jade had known Elaine for four years and invited her to every social gathering she had at her house—and Jade had plenty of parties. Jade had met Elaine through a mutual friend at one of the parties she’d hosted. Elaine, however, turned out to be a backstabbing bitch who was dirtier than the city’s Land Field.

Monday had to be at the school at 6:30 for last-minute rehearsal and to get into costume before the play began at 7:00 p.m. She had one line, but Monday felt like she had the lead role. Monday was so excited she could hardly sleep the night before. The play was titled after the 1970s hit song Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree, sung by Toni Orlando and Dawn. Monday not only was to sing her one line, but she would be in a bear costume and tie a yellow ribbon around the stage prop tree. Monday was elated when her teacher told her she had a part in the play and would be wearing a costume. She dreamed of being in the movies. She wanted to be one of the Mouseketeers on the popular television show The Mickey Mouse Club.

Jade’s other daughter, Linda, was a couple of years younger than Monday. Jade’s youngest child was Leon. He was still a baby, and Monday thought he was the cutest thing ever. She cherished Leon dearly, just as Jade did. Monday always helped watch Leon while Jade cooked and cleaned the house. Jade would send Monday to the corner store for her Kool cigarettes and Butterfingers candy bar. In Monday’s eyes, Jade was the strongest mother ever because she knew karate.

Elaine did not look the same as she had the last time she’d come over to the house. She looked much thinner than before. The last time Jade saw Elaine was the last time Jade had seen her Versace handbag.

Hey, Elaine, Jade said excitedly yet hesitantly as she watched Elaine breeze past her and into the apartment. Girl, just in time. Can you help me get Monday ready while I get the baby dressed? I need to go to the store to buy some film. I’m running out of time, and Monday can’t be late for her play. Jade took a deep breath, thinking of the tasks she must do before she headed to the school.

Jade, I’ll go to the store and get the film, said Elaine.

You came in the nick of time. Jade sighed again, this time with relief. She still was clueless about how her Versace bag vanished from her house the night she and Elaine partied together. Now, she walked to the back room where she kept her new purse. This will save me some time, she called out as she fished into her purse. I can change the baby and finish getting Monday ready while you go. Jade was particular about her and her children’s appearance. She took pride in dressing herself and her children. Everyone who knew Jade knew she was a good mother. Her kids were always clean and wore nice clothes. Jade remembered her mother telling her to never leave the house without fixing herself up. Don’t look any ol’ kind of way, she always said.

Jade pulled out a fifty-dollar bill from her purse that her husband, Carlito, had given her the night before. Jade had met Carlito one day after taking Monday and Linda to her mom’s apartment in the San Francisco Sunnydale projects; her mom babysat the girls while Jade was at work. Carlito fell in love instantly when he saw Jade.

Jade walked back to the living room, where Elaine was sitting on the black leather couch. She handed Elaine the fifty-dollar bill and said, I thought I had some film left, but I guess I must have used it all when I took the kids to the zoo, said Jade. She loved to take pictures of her children everywhere they went. She collected all the pictures in photo albums and loved sharing them with her company. What are you doing on this side of the town anyway? she now asked, realizing that Elaine only came across town for one of Jade’s parties.

Girl, nothin’. Just lookin’ to get into something is all. What you doing after the play?

Nothing much. Getting the kids ready for bed, and I’m going to wait up for my husband.

Girl, you and that man of yours, Elaine said with resentment. Ever since you hooked up with him, you don’t hang out anymore.

Jade was surprised by Elaine’s comment and quickly and firmly replied, I have a family now, and they need me to be here. And besides, girl, it’s time to grow up and stop partying all the time. Jade thought for a quick moment but resisted saying anything more. Jade was fashionably high on style but had old-fashioned beliefs. She believed people were basically good, and family and friends never betrayed one another.

Jade had not given one of her house parties in a while. She enjoyed having parties at her house, but since Carlito started working the graveyard shift, she hadn’t given any. Jade did not want to give a party without him. She gave elaborate parties, with all the food and drink her guests could want. Jade wanted her guests to feel comfortable and enjoy themselves. Monday missed the house parties too because the guests often brought their own children, and they were sent to Monday’s room while the grown-ups partied in the smoke-filled living room; often the smoke was from burning grass—and not the kind you mow.

As much as Jade missed the parties, it was important to her that Carlito was there. She remembered that day when she’d met Carlito.

She was crossing the street after leaving her mother’s apartment when he approached her and asked her name. She’d seen him working on the railroad tracks before he approached her. At first, Jade was apprehensive, but then she decided she liked his two As—approach and appearance. Jade set high standards to help weed out the losers she often met.

Hello, my name is Carlito, he said. He pulled off his work gloves and extended his hand to Jade. She thought his hand might be rough, but it was surprisingly smooth. His hair was coal-black, bushy, and wild, and Jade found that attractive.

My name is Jade, but they call me Horse, Jade said softly, batting her eyes naturally. Jade was beautiful and delicate but strong. Her father was a no-nonsense kind of man who did not take jive from anyone, not even his family. Yet Jade did not have that part of his DNA. She was easygoing, and people often mistook her kindness for weakness. Some men had discovered that about her.

They call you horse? That is beautiful, why they call you horse if I may ask. I see you every day, Carlito said, and I want to get to know. Well when you get to know me I’ll tell you why they call me horse. Is there any way I can get your number so I can take you out and have fun? I tried to get your attention the other day, but you got in your car and drove away before I could reach you.

I have to be at work early, so I have to rush once I leave the kids with my mother, Jade explained. She felt an immediate attraction to this man; he was of an Hispanic heritage. Carlito was real and to the point. Jade liked that; she didn’t like a jive-ass turkey. Jade was tired of hearing the hissing sounds and lame game talk that most guys gave her when they approached her. You sho’ look good, come over here with yo’ fine ass, or you look good enough to eat. Carlito didn’t hiss and he didn’t have a lame line. Carlito was different and refreshing and a breath of fresh air for Jade. She sparkled as she talked with him.

I’m going to call you Jade because that is what you are, he said with a mellow tone in his voice. Carlito was already falling in love with her.

The evening could have been Oscar night with the way that Monday and Jade were parading around in their large living room and getting dressed up. Jade, dressed in her black-sequined strapless dress, was just as excited as Monday. Jade pulled Monday in front of her as she sat on the black leather couch. My dearest darling, I want you to do your best tonight and have fun. That is all that matters. She kissed Monday on the forehead and jumped up. Now let’s finish getting ready! And remember—you can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it.

Monday didn’t understand how she was to put her mind to something when her mind was inside her head but she figured it could be done if her mother told her so. She would just have to learn to do it. She was going to do it tonight. Monday thought, I’m going to put my mind to the play. She wanted to be like the Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeers. She dreamed of being on television each time she watched The Mickey Mouse Club.

Jade was finished getting ready and waited patiently for Elaine to get back from the corner store. Monday practiced her one line and pretended to be on stage. She stood behind their twelve-feet-high maroon draperies on the bay window in their living room. The thick draperies reminded her of theater curtains. She shoved them behind her as she pushed herself forward, pretending to be stepping out onto the stage. It was showtime. Monday could see the lights shining on her. She stared into the tall lamp in the corner and smiled, thinking, I’m going to put my mind to it. With enthusiasm and excitement, she sang her one line. Tie a yellow ribbon round the ole oak tree.

Jade was getting anxious because Elaine should have been back by now. She paced around the room and then peeked out the other bay window, hoping to see Elaine walking back from the corner store.

Monday was still pretending to be on stage. She looked out at her pretend audience, but she couldn’t see the people or the shining lights anymore.

Jade turned the light off and decided they should leave the apartment without waiting for Elaine any longer. Let’s go, Monday. Grab your coat, said Jade, walking toward the door with the other two in tow.

It was now 6:20, and there was no Elaine walking up the sidewalk. Jade drove carefully down the street, as fast as she dared, and arrived at the school by 6:40. After she parked her car, Monday ran to her class, leaving her mother and her siblings behind. The excitement carried her into the empty classroom, where she was to meet at 6:30 p.m. Jade finally made it to the classroom, pushing the stroller with one hand and holding Linda’s hand with the other.

Monday looked around the empty classroom and saw clothes on the desks. She knew that her classmates already had changed into their costumes and that she was too late. When Ms. Rosenberg walked into the classroom, Monday smiled with relief; now she could change into her costume.

Where’s my costume? Monday asked impatiently.

Ms. Rosenberg reluctantly responded, Oh dear! Sally has already taken your part, Monday. We thought you weren’t coming. Ms. Rosenberg looked at Monday with sadness and dismay.

"No!" Monday screamed as tears filled her eyes. She grabbed the clothes on the desks and then books and whatever else she could find and threw them around the room in frustration.

Jade was just as upset. Can’t you tell Sally that Monday is here now?

Ms. Rosenberg shook her head. No, dear. Everyone already is on stage and getting ready to perform. I was only coming back for a prop we forgot. I’m sorry, Monday, but I did tell you to be here at 6:30, and it’s now a few minutes before the program is to start. I’m so sorry. Ms. Rosenberg seemed genuinely sorry.

But it wasn’t Monday’s fault, Jade said helplessly. I wanted to take pictures so I sent a friend to the store to get film, and I waited too long for her to return. That’s why we were late.

I’m sorry, but there isn’t anything I can do. I’m so sorry, Monday, said Ms. Rosenberg as she rushed from the classroom.

Monday’s eyes were filled with unhappiness and tears. Jade and Monday stood motionless and empty. Jade did not want to feel empty again, and she certainly did not want Monday to feel that way. Monday dropped her head in sadness as they walked out of the classroom.

Do you want to stay and watch the play? Jade asked her.

Monday shook her head. I want to go back home.

Jade’s heart ached for her daughter. She hated seeing her so sad and did not want to see such sadness ever again.

Monday had nothing to say on the way home. She sat with her head leaning on the car window. The street lights began to appear as one long glare of light as Monday stared at them without blinking.

Jade reached for Monday’s hand and squeezed it firmly to console her while she drove home. Monday’s eyes were glazed over with tears that spilled down her cheeks.

Three weeks later, Monday had forgotten about the play, and Jade was driving with her children to visit a friend when she suddenly came to a screeching stop in the middle of the street. Monday and Linda were in the backseat with baby Leon strapped into his car seat. Jade shoved the gearshift into park and jumped out of the car. Monday, watch your brother and sister, and don’t get out of the car, said Jade.

Monday could tell that something was wrong by Jade’s stern tone. She watched as her mother ran behind the car and onto the sidewalk. Then she saw what had caused her mother to stop—Elaine was walking on the sidewalk. Monday turned around to prop herself onto her knees to look out of the back window.

Elaine suddenly stopped as if she had seen a ghost. She quickly recovered herself, saying, Hey, Jade! Girl, I came to your house, and you were gone!

What the hell! You liar! You knew that we would be gone. I know what you did with my money. You bought some dope! Jade yelled. After I told everyone what happened, they told me that you were hooked on dope! You made Monday miss her play! Jade thrust her fist at Elaine, punching her in the face.

Elaine fell to the ground, holding her nose. Blood was pouring out of her nose through her fingers and streaming down her arms. While Elaine yelled for help, Jade yelled, I’m going to beat the shit out of you! You bitch! I don’t want you to come near me anymore!

Monday’s eyes and mouth were wide open as she watched Jade beat the crap out of Elaine. Jade punched Elaine again. Then she snatched Elaine’s purse and began digging inside. You bitch. I was hoping you had at least two dollars because I was going to take that from you! Jade cried. She threw the purse at Elaine and walked back to her car. Monday was amazed to see her mother beat Elaine up. Monday knew that Jade knew karate but now she saw that her mother knew how to street fight too.

Jade got back into the car, pulled a brush from her purse, and began to brush her hair back into place. She pulled the visor down to look in the mirror and could see Elaine still lying on the ground. I don’t want you guys starting fights, Jade calmly told her children, but if someone hits you or does anything bad to you, then you fight back. You hear me? Jade swiped her lips with bronze lipstick. She took your mommy’s money and made Monday miss her play. That is why she got her butt whipped like that.

Monday was still on her knees, looking out the back window at Elaine. Jade started the car and drove away. Elaine’s body appeared smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

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CHAPTER 2

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A N ENTIRE YEAR had passed by since the Elaine fight, and Jade had other things on her mind. She wanted to move to a bigger place and had been looking for one. Their current apartment wasn’t too far from her mother’s place, which had been convenient when she took the kids over there for her mom to babysit when Jade was at work.

Jade’s mother lived in the projects, where the hallways smelled of urine, alcohol, and cigarettes. Graffiti covered every inch of the gray walls, and it was always dark and drafty. Monday liked seeing her grandmother, but she hadn’t liked going to her apartment or climbing the many steps to her door—the apartment elevators hardly ever worked. Jade would practically drag the kids up the seventeen flights to their grandmother’s apartment. By the time they reached her mother’s front door, they all would be panting and gasping for air.

Mother, I feel like I just climbed Mount Everest! Jade often said, sighing heavily. Mae, Jade’s mother, lived alone. Monday never knew her grandfather; he was never around when she went to visit. Mr. Jenns was a rolling stone and wherever he laid his hat was his home—and he had a few of them with other women and children.

Monday liked that Carlito loved Jade dearly and that his hat stayed at Jade’s house only. Carlito had moved in soon after he and Jade had met, and even after they had baby Leon together, Carlito treated Monday and Linda as if they were his very own girls. He showed no favoritism to his son. Monday and Linda never saw Dolfen, their father.

Jade and Carlito had married at the courthouse; they didn’t want a large wedding. Soon after they married, Carlito started working the third shift so that he could be home with Jade during the day—Carlito had told Jade that he wanted her to be at home with the kids, so she quit her full-time job. She no longer had to take her kids to her mother’s house, and she was glad about that because she didn’t want to burden her mother, even though she knew that babysitting gave her mother something to do.

Jade was now able to be active at her children’s school, something that she had always wanted to do. Jade attended PTA meetings and was there on field days.

Carlito, who had moved up from his job at the railroad tracks, now was a supervisor for a major steel company. Jade had been attending nursing school and working at a coffee shop when she’d met Carlito. Jade was a hard worker; it was in her genes. Her father had worked in the fields, growing produce, and believed what the Bible said about a man’s duty after Adam disobeyed God to tread the ground. Jade had finished nursing school soon after meeting Carlito, and before a year of dating, she got pregnant with Leon. Jade wanted a bigger apartment, and Carlito told her to find a bigger place.

Jade finished dressing the kids for a birthday party. Monday asked Jade if she could go outside to play. I won’t get my pretty white dress dirty, Monday promised. I want to show all of my friends how pretty the dress is.

All right, Jade agreed, but don’t get dirty before the party."

I promise I’ll just stand and watch the other kids play. Monday stepped out of the dark apartment and into the bright sunshine. The sun was showing off its bright smile and Monday’s white dress as she walked down the sidewalk to her friend’s house. Monday started skipping down the sidewalk in her black patent leather baby doll shoes. No one opened the door when she knocked at her friend’s house. She was usually outside playing, but not this day. Monday got a strange feeling. The sun was shining much brighter than usual.

Her friend had a blue Mickey Mouse toy that Monday always asked to play with, but her friend would tell her no. Monday wanted to go to Disneyland to see Mickey Mouse. She had the Mickey Mouse ears and would wear them while she watched The Mickey Mouse Club. Now, Monday saw the Mickey Mouse toy on the ground and eagerly picked it up.

She knocked on the door once more, but when no one answered, she headed back home. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Monday heard a man yell out. Hey, man, that is my woman you been messing with! Monday looked across the street toward the sound of the voice. Her eyes squinted in the bright sunlight as she turned her head towards the direction of the yell. It was as if Monday was in a movie but it was playing in slow motion. The angry man rushed down the steps of his home with a shotgun in his hands, pointing it toward a man running to the side of the street where Monday stood.

I didn’t go to work today so I could catch you! the angry man bellowed.

A woman rushed down the stairs behind the angry man with the shotgun and began to yell out hysterically. No, he is just a friend! Please don’t shoot him!

He chased after the man and a loud blast echoed as the bullet sliced the hot still air. Then everything was silent for Monday. The man running to Monday’s side of the street was dressed all in white and had a big reddish-brown Afro. He suddenly fell to the ground in front of Monday. Monday’s eyes continued to blink slowly as she watched the man fall to the ground less than three feet in front of her. Monday still could not hear anything. The man’s white suite became red with blood as he lay on the sidewalk.

Monday! Jade screamed in fear. Get down! Stay there! I’m coming to get you! Fear filled the air, and Death was ready to grab his next soul.

Monday stood in shock. She didn’t hear a sound after the man fell to the ground. Jade’s cry of fear to Monday went unheard. Shock took over, and Monday stood motionless, not knowing know what to do. Time seemed to stand still. Finally, she stepped back against the gate and tried to slide herself slowly past the bloodied man. As she did, her white dress snagged on the wrought-iron fence, holding her in place.

He reached his hand out toward her and cried, Help me! His words were garbled, but Monday looked down at the man. His head slightly lifted from the sidewalk as he held his throat with the other hand, trying to stop the bleeding. Blood spewed out between his fingers and landed on Monday’s white dress. Monday leaned forward, holding the iron fence with one hand, reaching her hand out to him, but she could not reach him. She was reaching as if she were standing on a cliff.

Blood covered over the man, and Monday didn’t know how to help him. She was only a kid, so she couldn’t do anything but stare at him. The man looked into Monday’s eyes, and everything Monday saw was red—the sky was red, the street was red, even the blazing sun was red. Her dress was red, and the big truck with flashing lights that pulled up alongside the curb was red too.

Jade yanked Monday up fiercely into her arms and ran back to the apartment. Monday stared at the man dying on the sidewalk while Jade took her away. Elaine is lucky she’s not red all over, Monday thought. She felt safe in her mother’s arms. Jade held on to Monday very tightly as she ran back to their apartment. Monday did not want to wear her white dress ever again.

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CHAPTER 3

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W EEKS WENT BY, and Monday had not thought about the dying man at all. It was as if it had never happened. Jade was eager more than ever to move. She had continued her apartment-hunting for weeks but hadn’t found anything available.

June Bug was a new kid on the block. He and his mother had just moved into the neighborhood from a small town in Texas. Monday watched June Bug playing from the bay window in Jade’s apartment. Jade wouldn’t allow Monday or Linda to play outside— after the shooting, she was understandably nervous about letting her kids play outdoors, which was a legitimate concern.

Finally, Mae convinced Jade that Monday and Linda needed to be outside with all the other kids, and Jade let Monday and Linda out of the house to play. Monday ran down the stairs and went to her friend’s house to tell her that she still had her Mickey Mouse toy. When she reached the gate of her friend’s apartment, there was a sign on the door that read Apartment for rent, No. 242. That was the apartment number to Monday’s friend’s house. Her friend had moved away without her Mickey Mouse toy. Looks like it’s mine now, Monday thought, happy that she could keep the toy forever.

The kids on the street decided to play hide-and-seek. June Bug wanted to play. He was younger than Monday and seemed like a puppy that had been locked up inside the house all day. When he was set loose, he scrambled all over the place.

Monday went back to her block and called out to the other kids. I want to play! Can I play with you guys?

Yes, you can play with us. Come on! shouted June Bug as he ran happily across the street. It was as if he was back in the country with the dirt roads and no traffic lights. Penelope was it and started counting. She stood facing the beige apartment wall, covering her eyes with her hands, but she peeked through her tiny fingers to catch a glimpse of the kids running wildly, trying to hide from her. When she reached one hundred, she said, Ready or not, here I come! Penelope removed her hands from her eyes and looked around.

Monday hardly ever played with Penelope because she was a mean kid, but because Monday had not been out to play in weeks, she didn’t care that Penelope was mean; she just wanted to play hide-and-seek too.

As June Bug was looking for a good hiding place, he ran between two parked cars and did not look both ways, as Monday’s mother had always told her, before she went into the street. A Volkswagen came along and hit him. The screech of the Volkswagen tires and terrified screams sent a deadly message. Monday came out of her hiding spot to see what the commotion was and to look for June Bug. She suddenly remembered the man with the white suit.

Monday ran to the car that had stopped suddenly in the middle of the street, and she saw legs under the Volkswagen. The driver of the Volkswagen jumped out and looked under the car. Monday saw June Bug’s shoe in the street, just as the man pulled out the body from under his car. It was June Bug. No! shouted out Monday. The man picked up June Bug’s lifeless body and carried him across the street where June Bug’s mother was screaming. No! Not my baby! cried his desperate mother. Monday had heard the same screams before; it was Death calling for June Bug. People were yelling, screaming, and running all over the place. Death had come to work, and he did not leave empty-handed.

Monday never saw June Bug again. Silence again descended on Monday and shut out the noise that was around her. It was quiet again. Monday ran home and told her mother what had happened. Jade had had enough and said that she must find a new place immediately.

Within the next couple of weeks, Jade and her family moved to Sacramento and found a place in a nice neighborhood. Monday liked it. She liked all the tall trees that lined the streets and sidewalks and seemed to stand as tall as Jack’s beanstalk. The tree branches made a canopy over the street as if the tree branches were shaking hands with the trees on the other side. When it rained, the street stayed dry from the branches hovering over the wide smooth pavement.

Monday wore denim jeans and Converse tennis shoes every day now. No more dresses for her. She did not like the pretty white dress anymore. Monday wanted only to wear her jeans and her 49ers sweatshirt. She had not seen Death in a while and she hoped that he would not ever come again. Monday was scared of him; he took people away that she liked. She no longer heard the sirens or the screeching of tires or gunshots. It was peaceful and quiet in the new neighborhood.

That summer, Jade enrolled Monday and Linda in a summer camp program at their school. Jade wanted Monday to have a fun summer since she had seen so many terrible things. Monday enjoyed the summer camp program. She was engrossed in painting and having plenty of fun. She was enrolled in the late-bird program; she wasn’t due at camp until eleven o’clock each day. Monday liked not getting up early to rush off to camp. She enjoyed being with Jade in the mornings and liked to drink the sweet milk from Jade’s bowl of shredded wheat cereal with the bits of shredded wheat at the bottom of the bowl. Monday thought it was the best milk ever, and nothing else compared.

Summer camp ended at three o’clock, and Jade was there on time, waiting with Leon for Monday and Linda to come out of the school building. Things were going well, and Monday was happy that they had moved away from the other place because she didn’t want to see Death again—or Penelope. She liked the new neighborhood.

And then summer camp ended, and Death came home early again without notice. It was a brisk morning, and Jade was prancing around and singing. She was preparing breakfast while Monday watched cartoons with her younger siblings. Jade liked to sing while cooking. Monday loved to watch Jade dance and sing while she cleaned or cooked. Jade knew that Monday enjoyed watching her too. Sometimes Jade pulled Monday from the couch to dance with her. Monday did not have rhythm that Jade had, but she did not care; she just wanted Jade to continue to dance.

Jade was swinging Monday around when the telephone rang. Jade stopped to answer it, and Monday heard Jade arguing with whoever had called. Then she heard Jade slam the banana-colored phone onto the base hanging on the wall.

Monday learned that the person who had called was Joyce, Jade’s sister. Jade and Joyce didn’t get along like sisters should; they argued all the time. Jade always ended their phone conversations by slamming down the receiver. Monday often heard Jade say, You raise yours the way you want, and I’ll raise my kids how I want to raise them!

Joyce had three daughters, and Jade and Joyce’s brother, Jim, had a son and a daughter. Joyce lived like a Hollywood diva on her boyfriend’s money. She was dating a guy who owned a popular record shop. Joyce would leave her kids at home and go out of town with the guy practically every weekend. Jade hardly ever visited Joyce’s house, which meant that Monday hardly ever saw her aunt and cousins, but she didn’t care. She had seen her cousins when they were once on a family reunion trip together and didn’t care for Tonia, Joyce’s youngest daughter. Monday believed that Tonia was mean, just like Penelope.

Tonia wouldn’t share her toys, and Monday believed that was mean because Jade had taught Monday and Linda to share. Tonia also was always tattling. Jade had taught Monday that she was to always stick up and look out for her sister and brother. When they were at the family reunion, Tonia tattled on her older sisters, telling Joyce that they were talking to boys. Joyce didn’t allow her girls to have boyfriends, and Tonia tattled each time one of them had one. Her sisters would buy her candy to bribe her so she wouldn’t tattle, but she told their mother anyway.

Jade talked to her brother, Jim, on a regular basis, she and Joyce couldn’t seem to get along. Monday sometimes saw Jim at her grandmother’s house when he was in town. Jim was a naval engineer who worked out at sea on the big ships and was in town for only a couple of weeks at a time. When he was home, Jim made sure to check on his mother to see if she was all right or if she needed anything. He even sent care packages to her that included money for her rent and bills. Jim’s wife, Laney, eventually would leave him because he was away from home so often. Laney got tired of taking care of the kids alone. She was practically a single mother.

Jade and her siblings had grown up in different homes. Jade lived with their mother, Mae, while Joyce and Jim lived with their aunt in Texas. Mae had left Texas to look for work in California and left Jim and Joyce with her sister until she saved up enough money to send for them. Although she didn’t know it at the time, Mae was pregnant with Jade when she left Kaufman, Texas. Months went by, and Mae delivered Jade. Mae had left her husband for good in Kaufman, Texas, one night while he was passed out drunk on the couch. She took her kids to her sister’s house and moved to California to start a better life. Joyce and Jim were still living with Mae’s sister a year later. By the time Joyce and Jim finally came to California to reunite with Mae, five years had slipped by. Mae had sent money every month and presents for birthdays and Christmas to her sister’s house. Mae thought that it was better if Jim and Joyce stayed in Kaufman because she hadn’t been able to get a bigger place for the kid; she was living in a one-bedroom apartment with Jade. Mae’s sister didn’t mind because Jim and Joyce helped her around the house.

Jade stood over the kitchen stove, flipping pancakes. You guys come and eat! Breakfast is ready. She sang cheerfully while holding the phone up to her ear. She continued with her conversation on the telephone.

Monday had picked up what she thought was a piece of candy off the coffee table and popped it into her mouth. Jade untangled herself from the telephone cord and yelled out again, You guys, come on! Your pancakes will get cold.

Monday began to sweat and feel sick. She walked to the kitchen table and pulled out her chair to sit down. Jade didn’t notice Monday; she was laughing as she talked on the phone—she obviously wasn’t talking to Joyce. The grease was splattering and