Chapter 27
“You got a deal.”
The 1947 powder blue Oldsmobile stopped in front of the house in Ashland Estates. There were a couple of Ford trucks parked in the driveway, owned by the men fixing the house. When Marguerite got out of the car, she was speechless. Johnnie’s house dwarfed hers. She had seen the deed, but still some part of her refused to believe that her sixteen-year-old daughter was able to get a white man to not only purchase a house for her, but give her the deed to the place.
Marguerite wouldn’t admit it, but she was just as jealous as she was happy. “Let me see that deed again, girl?” Marguerite said.
Johnnie handed her the deed and said, “Mama, how many times do you need to see it?”
“Yeah, it’s the real McCoy alright,” she said and handed it back to her. “Well, let me see the inside.”
“Okay, Mama,” Johnnie said, pulling the keys out of her purse.
As they started for the house, the neighbor she had waved at the day before came out of her house. She was watching them the entire time, trying to decide if she should go out and introduce herself.
“Hi neighbor!” the woman said.
Johnnie instinctively knew who it was before she even turned around. The woman was wearing a pair of cut-off jeans and a white blouse tied in a knot around her waist. She was tall and well-built with black coffee skin, thick lips, and slightly slanted eyes.
“Hi!” Johnnie said with equal enthusiasm.
“I’m Sadie Lane,” she said, extending her hand.
“I’m Johnnie Wise, and this is my mother, Marguerite.”
“Welcome to the neighborhood,” Sadie said.
“Thank you,” Johnnie said. “You been livin’ here long?”
“About ten years now.”
“I suppose you know all the gossip on the block, huh?” Marguerite asked.
“Uh-huh.”
“Then I can trust you to take care of my daughter.”
“Daughter?” she said, forgetting that Johnnie had introduced Marguerite as her mother. “You look like sisters.”
“Thank you, but no. She’s my daughter.”
“How old are you, girl?”
Johnnie wondered if she should tell her how old she was. She didn’t know Sadie. But what harm could it do?
“I’m sixteen.”
“Sixteen?” Sadie said, astonished. “Girl, you look like you could easily be twenty-nine or thirty. I bet you have all kinds of trouble with the men folk, huh?”
“Yeah, they always compliment me.”
“Well, I better let you all see your new place. I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know I’m a friendly person. If you ever need anything, let me know, okay?”
“I sure will, Sadie.”
“You promise?”
“Yes, I promise.”
“Have you forgotten your manners, Johnnie?” Marguerite asked. “Invite her over to see the place.”
“I’ve already been inside, but I’d like to see it when you move in, though. Is that all right?”
“Yes,” Johnnie answered.
“When are you moving in?” Sadie asked.
“Hopefully, in a couple of weeks. But as soon as possible.”
“Okay, well, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
“I hope so, Sadie.”
“If you like, when you’re finished looking around, you can stop by and have some coffee or something. I’ll tell you all the latest gossip in the neighborhood.”
“You got a deal,” Marguerite said.
“Okay, great. I’ll see you all then,” Sadie said then walked back to her house.
“She talks to us like she’s talkin’ to white folks, don’t she, Mama?”
“Yeah, she probably works for white people or somethin’. You could probably learn a lot from her.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah.”