All God’s Children

Like a Cling Free–softened blanket falls onto a freshly made bed, a hush fell over the house. One by one, the visitors stopped talking to stare at Collette’s mirror image. As we moved through the room, the buzz of conversation behind us gained volume like the roar of an oncoming train.

The words on almost everyone’s lips resounded throughout the house: “Who is that woman? Is she a cousin?”

The atmosphere in the rooms had shifted so drastically, I felt tension choking me. I wanted to scream for all of these people to mind their own damn business. This was for the Naylor family to handle, and we weren’t interested in anything they had to say.

Renee’s and Dawn’s faces showed the same stress I felt. I thought we had prepared ourselves for the stares. Was I imagining they were pointing fingers? Uncle Thomas sensed our distress and rescued us.

“Y’all, can I have e’rybody’s attention? I has me a announcement ta make. I know y’alls all wondering who dis here lovely young woman is. Well, she’s mah niece. She be Eddie’s oldest chile. I knows y’all all wonderin’ where she come from, where she been, ’n’ such. We don’t have them answers just yet. But we loves her, ’n’ dat’s dat!”

“I guess that pretty much covers it,” Dawn continued. “Our sister’s name is Nina, Nina Naylor Blackford. And this is her husband, Victor. They’re from St. Louis, and we met them this morning. So we’re as surprised as all of you. But we know just by looking at her she is one of us, and we’ve embraced her. This has been a very stressful day and we’d appreciate it if you’d hold any questions, which we probably don’t have answers to at this point anyway, until later.” Dawn’s voice cracked several times during her monologue.

“Well, Miss Nina, let me be the first to introduce myself. I’m your uncle Willie. Me and your daddy was the best of friends for a many a year.”

“I’ve heard so much about you, Mister Willie. Poppee spent hours talking about that candy apple red sports car you bought. Secretly, I think he wanted one, too.” Nina shook his hand and kissed him on the cheek.

Willie, blushing, said, “Oh, ain’t you the sweet one. I don’t know why Eddie didn’t tell me about you. I just know we got a lot of years to catch up on!”

“Watch it now, Mister Willie. You’re gonna make me jealous. You know you’re my godfather.” Dawn hugged him.

Mister Willie broke the ice, and soon everyone began introducing themselves to Nina. They went out of their way to make her feel welcome. Looking at each of my sisters, I knew they felt the same relief I did. If anyone was shocked by this revelation, they kept it well disguised.

“Glynda, baby, where’s Collette?” Sister Greene pulled me toward the kitchen as she whispered.

Her question immediately opened my floodgates. “I don’t know, Sister Greene. She never even showed up at the funeral home. She told us if Nina went along, she wouldn’t come. She said she wouldn’t ride with us or sit with us at the funeral. Why is she doing this?”

“Ahhh, come here, baby, it’s going to be alright. She’ll come ‘round. You know this is a bit of a shocker, I have to admit. But your daddy was human. Just like any other man. He loved your mother, of that you can be sure!”

I explained that Nina was conceived before Daddy and Mama even met. At that moment I wondered how many more times I’d have to explain this before it was all over.

The noise level had once again elevated to a low roar as various friends and family members followed Rico and Jonathan as they gathered around Nina. I was pleased she was being so well received, and I slipped away to Daddy’s room for solitude and to call Collette. She picked up on the first ring. “Why didn’t you come to the funeral home?”

“I told you if that woman went, I wasn’t going. I don’t understand how y’all can be so gullible.”

“Lette, it’s not a question of whether she’s telling the truth or not. We all, including you, know that she’s Daddy’s daughter. But how could you not come with us? It was really hard. I fainted … again,” I explained, hoping to solicit a warm, sympathetic response.

“I despise that woman for coming into our lives now. How dare she even begin to tarnish Daddy’s memory! I won’t have anything to do with her or the rest of you, if she’s taken in as one of us.”

“You’re being so unreasonable! She has every right to be with us—right down front. We don’t know why Daddy chose to cheat her, and us, out of a lifetime of love and sharing. He did nothing wrong. We all need to be able to grieve for him together. Please come over here now. We have a few hours before we have to leave for the funeral, and a lot of people are asking for you.”

“I don’t give a damn about people asking for me. Tell them to ask Nina why I’m not there. I’m sure they’re all making kissy-kissy with her by now.”

“Are you jealous?”

“What the fuck do I have to be jealous for? Eddie Naylor didn’t hide me from the rest of the world. If anything, I should pity her.”

“You’re exactly right. We should all feel sorry for her and treat her with love and respect.”

“You know what?”

“What?”

“See you at the church, because this conversation is over.”

“Does that mean—”

Colette broke the connection before I could ask her if that meant she wasn’t riding to the church with us. Pain engulfed my heart at the thought of the devil’s hand at work, destroying us little by little. I thought of the many years of happiness we’d shared in this house, the laughter and tears. Nothing was stronger than family. Yet family was tearing us apart. I yearned for Daddy to console me. There was never anything that Mr. Naylor couldn’t fix—until now.

A soft knock at the door brought me from my torturous thoughts. “Come in.”

“Hi. May I come in?” Nina stuck her head in the door.

“Sure, I was just sitting here feeling as sorry for myself as I possibly could.”

“I think you’re entitled. I needed to get away for a few minutes. Everyone means well, but it’s just a little too much to handle at the moment. I feel like I need to explain my relationship with Poppee.”

“Did he ever explain to you why he never told us about you?”

“When I was a little girl, he said that your mother would understand and love me like I was one of her own, but he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her. He said Grandmother, his mother, had always told him never to bring any illegitimate babies home. And though she was dead, he felt he couldn’t do it. He never made me feel like I didn’t belong. He sent pictures almost every month and long, long letters. On his visits he showed me the pictures and explained each one in detail until I knew each of you personally.

“Then Lorraine died. Oh, Glynda, my poppee changed. He didn’t call or write for months. He called my mother to tell her that Lorraine had been killed and said he’d speak to me when he could.”

“Why do you think he stopped calling?”

“My mother said she thought it was guilt, because he hadn’t ever told her the truth about me.”

“I want to know everything about you, Edwina, and Victor. And I want to know it all right now!” I clapped my hands together for emphasis.

“I see we must have inherited our patience from the same place.” We laughed and hugged each other.

“Gurl, Daddy was as patient as Job on one hand; then on the other, he could be as anxious as a welfare recipient on check day.” I felt as if I was chatting with an old friend.

“Thank you, Glynda.”

“For what?”

“Not making this any harder than it already is.”

“I can’t explain it, but I feel close to you already.”

“That’s called family.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

We sat in silence for what seemed like an endless time, and soon we were holding hands. I wondered where Nina’s mind had taken her. Mine raced with a zillion questions. We’d have to make time to talk when the funeral was over. A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts.

“Sissy, baby, y’all alright in here?” Sister Greene carried a tray with two cups, which I presumed to be coffee.

“Thank you, Sister Greene, we’re fine. Just getting to know my sister. I heard the roar getting louder. Are there many people here?”

“Baby, there’s almost no place to walk out there. Mostly people are coming and going, though. I told them y’all were resting for a minute since you were at the funeral home earlier. They understand, though the newcomers are more than a little curious about Nina. Chile, it’s like they put a billboard on the front lawn about her. People seem to know when they come through the door.”

“In case I haven’t told you, thank you so much for how you are holding everything together for us. You’re runnin’ thangs in that kitchen.”

“It’s the least I can do. I been knowing y’all before y’all knew yourselves. But speaking of the kitchen, Mildred Williams brought some dressing. Now I’m not one to talk about folks, but you know her house is half-past nasty. And roaches applied for Section Eight last week. I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I’m just scared to serve any food she brought. What should I do?”

Nina fell over on the bed laughing at Sister Greene. It took all within me to keep a straight face. “Well, Sister Greene, I trust your judgment. Maybe we can tell her when she comes back from the funeral that it’s all gone?”

“I’ll think of something. That woman needs to clean up that house. I knew her mama, and she was raised better than that! Y’all come on out when you feelin’ up to it.” Sister Greene patted both of us on the hand and left.

“What a sweet woman. Poppee told me about her, too. He said she had a thing for him when Lorraine first died. She seems like she’d have been a great catch. But in matters of the heart, who knows.”

“True, that. I guess we should get back to the people. Maybe we can relieve Renee and Dawn. I’m sure they could use a minute alone to regroup. You ready?”

“Let’s do it!” Nina grabbed my hand, almost dragging me toward the door.

As we reentered the hub of the activity, all heads turned toward us, and a hush fell over the room once again. No one seemed to know what to say. Nina broke the silence.

“Good afternoon to everyone I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet. I’m sure you’ve heard about me. I’m Nina Naylor Blackford, Eddie Naylor’s oldest daughter. My sisters and I will answer any questions you may have to the best of our ability. I want to thank you for coming by this afternoon to check on our well-being and to lend your support.”

The stunned group managed a greeting and some moved toward her to make introductions. Nina seemed perfectly at home with the people we’d known all of our lives. Perhaps because Daddy had made sure that she, too, knew them. They hadn’t met face-to-face, but Daddy had made sure she knew everyone who was important in his life. I felt a sense of pride and love for both of them at this moment. As I stared at Victor, the song “When a Man Loves a Woman” came to mind. The love he’d felt for his wife for so many years dominated his face.

Within a very short time the level of activity had returned to normal throughout the house. Most people stopped by briefly to talk with each of us and express their sympathy and offer a piece of advice. The one comment that seemed to antagonize me most was: He’s in a better place. Without exception, when someone uttered those words, the hair stood up on the back of my neck. How dare they tell me such a thing … even if it were true?

Sister Greene and the other Willing Workers made sure everyone had something to eat or drink, if not both. I thought back to how many times I’d been the visitor expressing my condolences. When Mama died, I was too young to comprehend all that went on around us. I can remember Sister Greene, even then, being in charge of the kitchen. It had been Sister Williams’s job to make sure the children were always kept occupied.

This time was different. I was expected to act like an adult. I had to make decisions. I didn’t like this job description one little bit.

Marvin and Martin, the identical twins from down the block, stood before me like two African kings. They exemplified the word Alayé. I hadn’t seen them in more than ten years. They had sho’ ’nuff filled in those six-foot-five-inch breath and britches bodies quite nicely. At nearly thirty years old they still spoke in stereo.

“Glynda, we’re so sorry about Mister Eddie. We just saw him down at the boys’ and girls’ club last month. He’d talked us into coaching swimming and track. Then we started mentoring last year, and it’s changed our lives. Your dad was da man! We’re all going to really miss him.” Martin had started, and Marvin had finished. Or was it the other way around?

“Thank you, guys. You’re right about one thing, my daddy will be sorely missed. Have you eaten? There’s plenty of food, and it seems another dish appears magically every few minutes.”

“We’re fine. We’re actually guilty. Mom and Dad sent us over with the food. They’ll see you at the services tonight. We’ll be there, too, of course. We’ll be speaking on behalf of the club.” I was reasonably sure it was Marvin speaking to me.

As I looked around the room, I saw my sisters having what appeared to be similar conversations. Without any spoken plan we’d each taken up residence in a different area of the house, each with her own command post.

Marvin and Martin excused themselves and found Derrick. I’m sure the good strong brothas would do whatever it took not to show any emotion. I envied them.

“How you holding up?” Rico rubbed my shoulders as she spoke.

“Where’ve you been? I saw you when I first got here and then you disappeared.”

“Jonathan and I had to take care of some business for the service tonight. We went by the funeral home. I wanted a more quiet time to see him before the service. There were so many people there it took a long time to just get in the viewing room. You guys did a phenomenal job. Everything is first class. As only Papa Eddie would have had it.”

“Yeah, he looks pretty good for a dead man, huh?”

Rico only smiled at me.

“I’m sorry. I guess that was in really poor taste.”

“You’re entitled. I see Collette isn’t here yet. Do you think she’ll make good on her threat?”

“Rico, I’m so afraid she will. I tried talking to her earlier, and she’s being so unreasonable. She said she’s not riding or sitting with us. Can you imagine?”

“Because she’s your sister, I’m not going to tell you what I really think. I’m just really sorry she’s stressing you out even further. Roberta went with us. Gurl, I thought I was going to have to perform CPR on her. She turned blue. And say what you want, you can’t fake that. Everyone there was crying; some were wailing. I’m just glad Jonathan suggested I go before the service. Will the casket be open?”

“Yes, for the first hour, the wake portion. Then we’ll close it for the service, and we won’t open it again. I’ll never see Daddy again, Rico.” With that tears began to fall.

“Aunt Ida Mae is still sleeping. I don’t know how she’s sleeping through all of this. I guess the bus ride was a little more than she bargained for. How old is she anyway?” Rico had very smoothly changed the subject.

“Gurl, she was Grandma’s older sister, so I’d say at least eighty-five.”

“Damn, she looks good. She doesn’t look or move like she’s a day over sixty. She was dressed so fly, too.”

“Did you warn her about Nina?”

“No. I know my place, and all up in y’all’s business surely wasn’t it.”

I laughed at my friend’s down-to-earth nature. She was my grounding rod. My gaze went to Renee, and I saw Roberta rubbing her shoulders as Rico had done mine. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was only trying to emulate Rico.

My attention was drawn to the sound of gold bracelets and beads. Much to my surprise, Aunt Ida Mae stood in the middle of the floor demanding a Bloody Mary. Rico was correct—she was very fly.

“Aunt Ida Mae! You look fabulous.” I ran over to hug her.

“Baby, now don’t tell me. Who is you? You Glynda, ain’t chu?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m so happy to see you. How’re you feeling?”

“I be feeling a whole heap a lot betta if I could get me a Bloody Mary. I need the tomato juice to settle mah stomach. Where’s mah nephew?”

“He’s out back, Aunt Ida Mae,” Dawn said, hugging and kissing her.

“You Dawn, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. How do you remember us like that? I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

“Chile, ain’t a thang wrong with my eyes and brain. Now mah back and hips is a diff’rent story.

“Collette, come on ovah here and give your auntie some sugah. You been sick, chile?”

We looked from one to the other before Renee approached Aunt Ida Mae. Hugging her first, she then spoke. “Auntie, this isn’t Collette. This is Nina.”

We waited for some sort of recognition. There was a long pause as Aunt Ida Mae rubbed her temple. Then with a perplexed look, she asked, “Who the hell is Nina? God knows she looks like Collette. Just older. I thought she’d had a spell of sickness or sumin’.”

“I’m your great-niece, Aunt Ida Mae,” Nina said softly.

“Well, Ray Charles could see you look just like yo’ daddy. So why come I don’t know you? And where is my Bloody Mary? I swear I needs it now.”

“None of us knew about her until this morning. But we agree with you she looks too much like Daddy not to be our sister, and we have accepted it.”

“Where da hell is Collette? I guess this is what your daddy had to tell ole Auntie. He was going to send for me for the family reunion. But said he was going to come down and have a heart-to-heart with me after his wedding. Lordy, lordy. This is sumin, I tell you. My sister wouldn’t have liked this one bit. No sirree, Bob.”

“Collette is a little upset about Nina being here. She said if Nina is accepted as our sister and participates in the services as our sister, then she isn’t coming with us.” I wasn’t sure, but Dawn’s voice seemed to have a tattletaleish flavor to it.

“Nina, baby, come ovah here and help Auntie ovah to dat chair? Who your people and where is dey from?”

“I’m from Missouri. I live in a suburb outside of St. Louis. My family is from a small town called Bolivar. My mother moved to Fort Leonardwood when she was eighteen. That’s where she met Poppee. But we all live somewhere in Missouri.”

“You don’t have no people in the South? Arkansas way?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Well, I guess I jest betta welcome you to the family. Eddie ain’t done no mo’ than a million otha men done. It ain’t easy to let your real family know ’bout your secrets.”

Nina winced at the words “real family,” but she said nothing.

“Go git Thomas. I needs to talk to him. Is his boys here?”

“No, ma’am. They aren’t coming as far as we know. They haven’t even called,” Renee volunteered.

“I don’t know what be worst. Not knowing you got family or got family and they don’t even call or come ‘round. I do declare.”

“Auntie! ’bout time you woke up. I was going to come in dere and put a mirror unda yo’ nose! Give me some sugah, gal!” Uncle Thomas ran over to where Aunt Ida Mae was seated.

As he leaned over to kiss her, she slapped him.