We're moving to Brooklyn next Thursday.
Sheryl's statement rings in Judith's ears like the punch line of a bad joke, and she's left with her mouth agape. She watches like a fly on the wall as she rambles her reasoning for the sudden decision.
Moving again. Heh, I was a fool to think this would be where we set our roots.
"Your sister isn't doing well. Having the baby took a toll on her, and I'm praying that God will spare her, if not for us, for Cynthia, Charles, and now Robert Jr." Her words waltz through Judith's ears, but they reach her brain in a warbled-like state.
Sheryl's standing beside the muted television and Rembrandt's on the other side, nodding his head with his hand resting on his chin.
Now, what am I gonna tell everyone? Especially Ja'liyah. She'll never believe this.
"Wait, does this mean we have to leave Wyndell?" Stevie glances across Judith to look at his twin when she asks, and then he returns his gaze to his mother. She nods, and they groan. "But Mom, all of my friends are there! You can't do this!"
"Lower your voice when you speak to her," Rembrandt chastises, wagging his finger with stern eyes. Vera sinks into her seat and crosses her arms. Judith glares at her inattentive uncle.
And who does he think he is? Our new Dad?
"I know this is – sudden." Sheryl takes a deep, shaky breath. "But I think this will be good for all of us. I'll be closer to my parents, and they'll help raise you, and you'll see your aunts, uncles, and cousins. They have an all-girls school near the house, and I hear your cousin Barbara's there. She'll look after you."
Oh, my God, I can't believe I actually let her talk me into caring about college. Now, what's the point?
"I don't want," Vera stops herself when she hears herself yell, and she drags her palms down her face with a huff. She jolts to her feet and rushes past her siblings.
They watch her march upstairs, and Rembrandt and Sheryl share a glance. He shakes his head and folds his arms.
"I know it'll be a big adjustment; a big difference compared to living here. A culture shock, of sorts, but Stevie, wouldn't you enjoy being around more boys," she asks, desperately seeking to draw optimism in him. "My Mom's brother – Rembrandt's stepbrother – fought in the war, and his son's thinking about enlisting."
"So, you want me to hang around soldiers so they can pressure me to be like them?" Her answer to his sarcastic question catches in her throat with a breath. Stevie scoffs, and Sheryl furrows her brows. "I'd rather go back to the racist city of Montgomery."
He follows his sister's footsteps, and when he reaches the next floor, Sheryl sits her teary eyes on Rembrandt.
And here come the waterworks. I should head upstairs, too, before she guilts me into not being angry.
"At least they didn't slam their doors." She gives a grim chuckle, and he shakes his head.
"I'm gonna go smoke." He lifts a box of white and red Lucky Strikes from his back pocket as he walks to the exit.
Opening the door, he tips the lid back, takes one between his lips, then steps onto the porch. He shuts the door behind himself, and Sheryl walks toward the sofa. She sits beside Judith, staring at the show I Love Lucy.
"I suppose you agree with them that I'm the worst parent ever and that I don't know what I'm doing?" Judy doesn't respond, so Sheryl takes another unsteady breath and shuts her misty eyes. "You're right if you do. I mean, Walter knew everything right to say. He knew when to bring the hammer down and when to talk to y'all, and I just – I miss him."
Judith looks at her. She never confessed how she felt about him being gone since the night she cried on Stacey, and hearing her voice crack, Judith sits her hand over hers.
"I miss him too." When Sheryl doesn't lift her hung head, Judith forces a smile through the cloud of sadness. "Hey, maybe we can go to that spot you mentioned. The one with the Soul Food near grandma's tenement."
"Randall's," she says with a light chuckle. "I suppose we could use the reservation—just you and me. Thank you, Judy."
The disingenuous grin remains on her face as her eyes trail Sheryl into the kitchen. When she steps toward the sink, Judith's mouth curls into a frown, and she lowers her head.
I'll tell Ja'liyah later.
When Judith stands up, the phone rings in the kitchen.
If that's David, I swear to God.
Sheryl leans her weight on the balls of her palms, pressing them against the edge of the basin. Seeing that she's ignoring the call, Judith speed walks into the kitchen and toward the counter. She lifts it off the hook and to her ear.
"Hello," she greets the caller, glancing behind her at Sheryl, staring at her reflection in the window.
"Hey, Judy, it's Kacey. I got back home an hour ago." She takes her eyes off her mother and darts them on the number plate. Kacey's voice is laced with poorly suppressed elation, and it tells Judith that the campus is a dream. "I went with Ronnie and La'Shawna, and oh, my God, that brochure was a lie."
"I told you," she monotonous begins to say. Sheryl pulls herself away from the sink and trudges toward the refrigerator.
"It was even better than the pictures made it out to be," she exclaims. "There was a fountain in the front quad, the student lounge was as big as Texas, and guess what? The girls' dorm is big enough to fit three Zeta Kappa Delta buildings. Also, each room is like a hotel room with small fridges and your own bathroom!"
"It sounds like Disney." Kacey exhales. Sheryl opens the door, and when the breeze sweeps across their legs, Judith takes a few steps to her left. "But I don't, um, I can't go."
"Wait, what," she raises her voice, chuckling awkwardly. Sheryl talks under her breath. She shuts the door and walks away with a sigh. "No. No, no, no, please tell me you're joking, Judy. I can't get a scholarship if you're not going. You're the face of this group!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to be like this. If I could give you my place as the leader or if I could go, I would," Judith says, and Kacey scoffs incredulously.
"You're unbelievable." That phrase sinks her into her relentless thoughts, but in the background, she hears a voice speaking to Kacey. "Yeah, I'm fine, La'Shawna. It's just Judith being a selfish bitch as usual!"
"Kassandra," Paola yells out, and Kacey exhales seething anger. Judith's face droops with sadness, and she rests her head against the refrigerator door, feeling the vibration.
"I'm sorry, Mom," she drones. "Look, talking to you is actually making me mad, so I gotta go. I gotta call Dr. Ahmed back and tell him you're not going, and then I gotta listen for hours at the hyena laughs my brother and sister will give me. They got accepted to Cornell, Judy. Cornell! Do you know how prestigious that place is?"
"Kacey, I'm sorry. Let me explain." She takes a breath and waits for Judith to continue. "My Mom wants us to move to New York to be near her family, and it stinks because honestly, at first, I didn't wanna go to Morehead, but after talking to my cousin, I changed my mind, and then she sprung that on me."
"Okay, you're saying all this for what? Why do you need to go with her?" She doesn't answer. Instead, she sits her quivering lower lip between her teeth. "Hello?"
"My little brother and sister need me. My mom's not good at listening to their problems, so I gotta stay near them," Judith drags her words, and Kacey scoffs.
"You're risking my future for your siblings? Didn't I tell you I have seven," she sarcastically asks, and Judith doesn't answer. "My dad's gonna lecture me. Never in his life has he had to pay to get any of us in anything, and if he has to cut a check for my tuition, I'll never hear the end of it."
"Well, at least you have a dad. Mine is dead!" The confession rushes from her mouth, and she feels like a popped balloon sitting in a puddle of water it couldn't hold.
"What?" Kacey's voice softens, and when the corners of Judith's mouth twitch, she feigns a smile.
"Yeah, my dad died the night of the storm, and I got back from his funeral two nights ago," she explains. "And you know what else? Mary was fucking my ex. You know him as Black Ted Bundy, but I know him as the man who not only abused me but is harassing me because I helped him at the party."
"Oh, my God," Kacey mutters, and she can hear the surprise in her voice. "Judy, I'm sorr --"
"You're sorry? Well, so am I! I wish I could leave, but I don't want my brother or sister trying to kill themselves like I did," she strains to keep her voice down, and her throat aches. "I was at an Asylum for months, then my grandma died when I got out, and when you saw me that day bringing Mary to our group, that was my second day back. I skipped school because I was too melancholic and to this day, my mom has no clue."
"Judy, I don't know what to say." Judith scoffs, then wipes her face.
"Yeah, join the club. My cousin and Juniper think I need to see a shrink. Maybe they're right." Kacey doesn't speak, and she takes a breath, mellowing down. "But anyway, let's change the subject before I cry again. How's she— Juniper?"
"She's not doing good," she answers with a grim sigh. "She's not really talking to anyone, and Jenny says she won't eat, and if she doesn't eat today, they're taking her to the hospital for force-feeding. What happened, do you know? This – behavior started the day after the Halloween party."
"I don't know." Judith sees a flash of Derek tugging at her dress, and her eyes briefly widen. "Wait – oh, my God, I think Derek did something to her when I ran toward the fight between David and Mary."
"Did something how, and which Derek? Oliver or Cade," Kacey bombs her with questions.
"Uh, I don't remember. He's tall, blond, and muscular like Tab Hunter," Judith stammers. "He – he was touchy-feely with her, but I didn't think much of it since they're, y'know, dating. How old is she?"
"She's seventeen." Silence falls between them. Kacey lowers her voice and says, "If Jenny finds out, she'll beat our asses for letting it happen, for letting her go to the party, to begin with."
"Hey, I'm not responsible for someone else's rebellious sister," Judith argues, her eyes wide and stern. "What do I look like dragging her back to the dorms by her red hair?"
"Like the same person who put herself in danger to help her cheating ex-boyfriend, her backstabbing ex-best friend, and someone else from a fire," Kacey says, and Judith snickers, bowing her head and listening. "Who needs the Darlington Fire Marshals when we have Judith-fucking-Jefferson."
"Kassandra Irene McDaniels," Paola raises her voice, cutlery clattering in the distance. "If you're just going to swear with whoever that is, hang up right now! The phone is for meaningful conversations, and I don't hear that from your crass language."
"Judy, I gotta go," Kacey mumbles from embarrassment, and Judith sits her hand over her mouth, restraining a laugh.
"You never use such uncouth manner of speech when your father is present, but now that you have guests over, it's as if our teachings went out the window," her mother continues chastising her.
"Mom, okay, I'm sorry. God," she grumbles, but Paola doesn't relent. "I'll call – wait, do you wanna swing by and talk to Juniper?"
"Um, well, I have to ask my mom. Hold on." Judith removes the phone from her ear and sits her hand over the microphone. With her face toward the arch, she yells out, "Ma?"
"What," Sheryl hollers from the second floor.
"Can I go to a friend's house?" She winces, flashing her teeth when her mother doesn't respond.
"Judy," she begins with a sigh. "You're an adult, so if you wanna go, then go, but when those streetlights come on, the door won't open until six tomorrow."
"Thank you!" Sheryl hums — Mhm — as Judith turns to the phone, pressing it to her ear and lowering her hand. "She said yeah. I'll get ready now."