38
“I didn’t mean nobody no harm,” he cried. “I just wanted to come to the party like everyone else.”
A.C. stared at the torches and the men in their fearsome robes and hoods. “See what you’ve done? You’ve scared this boy half to death—all because you let your ignorance blind you. What happens at Truman’s party is none of your concern. You all should be ashamed of yourselves.”
The adults from the party had streamed out of the house and now stood behind A.C. in a row of solid support. They were the most important folks in the county—the judge, the bank president, the sawmill owner, the county commissioner, the mayor, and, of course, Jenny, all glaring at the Klan members. Behind them, Edison, Little Bit, and Black John White stood in silence.
The men in robes shuffled their feet until one of them said, “Well, shoot. I’m going home.”
The other members mumbled and whispered to one another. One by one, they put their torches out in the dirt and wandered off into the darkness, leaving only the Grand Dragon and Boss behind. Finally, even Catfish threw up his hands. “God will judge you, A.C.,” he said, grabbing Boss and pulling him away.
“I’m prepared for that, Mr. Henderson. Are you?” said A.C. as he watched them slink off.
Right before getting into his dad’s car, Boss got in the last word, which Truman could barely hear. “I’ll get you later, runt,” he said.
As the last car drove off, the sound of cicadas slowly came back. Truman turned to Sonny. “You can still come to my party if you want,” he said. “I think your costume is swell. In fact, as judge of the costume contest, I think I’ll name yours best costume. Congratulations!”
Sonny sniffed and tried to rub his tears away on one of his cardboard arms but only left black streaks on his face.
“Here, let me,” said Nelle. She took a rag from her costume and dried his eyes. “I’ll bet you can still bob for apples in that getup. You’ll have to keep your robot head off, though . . .”
As Nelle led Sonny inside, something sparkly on the chest of his robot costume caught Truman’s eye. At first, Truman thought it was just a costume button, but when he inspected it in the light, he noticed two red stones staring back at him. They were the eyes of a green snake.
Truman nudged Nelle and pointed to the cameo brooch glued to his costume. Nelle smiled and shook her head.
“Say, Sonny,” Truman said. “That’s some button you got there.”
“A snake.” He grinned.
“Why do you like snakes so much?” asked Truman.
Sonny stared off into the distance. “When . . . I was eight . . . I had a pet snake. I loved him so much. Then he passed.”
Nelle took his hand. “I had a pet rabbit once. A hawk killed him. I was sad for a whole month.”
Sonny nodded. “I had to put my snake back in the ground, ’cause that’s where snakes live, even when they’re dead. But I promised I would never forget him. He was a good snake.”
Sonny’s whole face seemed to change. He almost looked like a normal young man . . . except for his beaten-up robot costume. His sister came up and helped him into the party. Jenny offered them cookies and punch and complained about the sheriff to the other adults. Many of the partygoers had had enough excitement for one night and slowly said their goodbyes and made their way home.
Someone started playing the piano in the parlor, and Nelle knew right away that her mom had joined the party. Truman had never really seen her before. She was a big woman, but nimble. And could she play! A.C. followed the sound of music and smiled when he saw his wife playing. He sat down next to her and listened to her play for the rest of the night. Despite the early scare, she was in fine spirits; she even played a song for Nelle, “Tea for Two.”
Nelle knew all the words.