MARGOT TAKES A SHORTCUT TO VERDENE’S HOUSE. THOUGH she’s aware of the danger in going to Verdene’s during the active search for Charles, she needs to clear her head. Put things back into perspective. She cuts across Miss Gracie’s yard, perhaps trampling the already dead cayenne peppers as she makes her way to the back of the pink house. She lets herself inside through the back door, careful not to make the bolt on the grille squeak when she lifts it. The house is quiet as usual, but from the orange glow inside the bedroom, Margot can tell that Verdene is still awake. She slips out of her shoes and drops her bag on the floor. She heads to the bedroom and pushes the door open. Verdene is sitting up in bed with her reading glasses, sheets of paperwork scattered around her. She’s sexy this way. Margot bends and kisses Verdene deeply. “I’m home,” she whispers. She steps away and unzips her dress, letting it fall.
Verdene takes off her glasses and places them carefully on the nightstand. As Margot searches for a nightshirt in the dresser, she pauses and puts her head back, inhaling the patchouli incense Verdene lights to keep the mosquitoes away. Margot wasn’t prepared for what Thandi had told her, but all that is in the past. Soon she will celebrate Thandi’s future and move them from this godforsaken place. And from Delores. She and Verdene haven’t made love in a week with all the late-night shifts managing the girls. Plus Verdene is selling the house, and the paperwork has been keeping Verdene occupied. Margot doesn’t know what’s taking her so long, and quite frankly, it’s making her a little nervous. Maybe this is her fault, since she discouraged Verdene from hiring a lawyer. All Verdene has to do is sign the contract, which was drafted by a subsidiary group under the Wellington Estate. Alphonso did not want his or Wellington name on the contract, and Verdene is the last property owner in River Bank who has not signed yet.
“Come here.” Verdene gets up off the bed to pull Margot close. She lowers herself just a little and puts her head under Margot’s chin, slipping her arms around Margot’s waist.
Margot cups her face. “We’re about to build this new life together, might as well we celebrate that.” Verdene nods in agreement and kisses Margot on the chin, then on the lips.
“Wait till you see the design of the sunroom,” Margot says, thinking of the sketch of the dream villa in Lagoons that the architect showed her at the office today. She was finally able to put down money for it with her raise. “Everything will be made of glass.”
“I’m excited,” Verdene replies. “But first things first. I still have a couple pages to read.” She steps away slightly and assumes a mannerism Margot imagines she adopted from her days as an editor. She has never seen the business side of Verdene. Had not counted on it to interfere with the progress of the new development. “I have to read every word carefully before I sign on the dotted line. I don’t trust these—”
Margot puts her finger on Verdene’s lips. She slips her right hand down Verdene’s pajama pants, for she would not be able to tolerate another excuse. Not tonight. It seems as though Verdene, despite her resistance, cannot wait either, because they collapse onto the pile of papers beneath them, some of which sail off the bed, loose and free.
35
MORNING CARRIES THE SOUND OF A ROOSTER AND THE BIRDS and, if you listen closely, the waves in the sea too. Morning also carries with it the residues of a sleepless night. Margot had left with her overnight bag slung over her shoulder after awkwardly kissing Thandi on the forehead. At breakfast Thandi plays around with her food, using her spoon to stir her cornmeal porridge. Delores watches her from across the table. She’s waiting on Maxi to take her to the market. Margot hasn’t returned.
“Ah wondah where yuh sistah could be,” Delores says. Thandi doesn’t respond. She can’t. Neither can she look at her mother. “Ah tell yuh ’bout dat Margot. She see dat yuh sick an’ can’t even tek time fi stay wid yuh. She know me haffi go work. Unlike she, ah can’t get no time off.” Delores fidgets with the two bags of eucalyptus leaves on the kitchen table that she got last night. She gets up to put them on the kitchen counter, then walks over to feel Thandi’s neck to see if she has a fever. Thandi flinches. “Is wha do yuh?” Delores asks.
“You sold Margot,” Thandi blurts this out, unable to keep it in any longer. She still cannot look at her mother.
“Is dat what she tell yuh?” Delores asks.
“How could you do such a thing, Mama?” Thandi turns to face Delores.
“Watch how yuh talk to me. Me is yuh mother.”