Esi Edugyan - Half-Blood Blues

He finally looked up, and his weak sneer turned something inside me. ‘This look like a ball field to you, sucker?’ he said. ‘This be a sand box. For makin sand- castles.’ Shaking his head, he spat air through his lips. ‘I’m sittin in sand, and he’s talkin ball games.’

I felt like a blue-ribbon idiot, all right. My face gone hot, I turned and started back to Hetty.

‘You live Peabody Heights way, right?’ the boy called out.

I turned. He didn’t look no friendlier, nope, but there was a shrewder look in his face, like his attention been filed down to a single, sharp point. ‘You live down on Maryland Ave.’

That thrown me a little. ‘How you know?’

‘I lives in Peabody Heights too,’ he said, like it was common knowledge. ‘Ain’t you seen me at church?’

Believe me, if I’d seen this melon head at church, I’d have remembered. But I couldn’t risk his sneer again. ‘Maybe. Yeah, I think so.’

My heart sunk into my heels as he spat all disgusted into the sandbox. ‘You a dirty liar,’ he said, his thin lips riding up on one side of his mouth. ‘You ain’t never seen me in all you life.’

‘Have too ,’ I said.

He shook his head. But not wanting me to walk off again, he changed tack. ‘You know they named Charles Street after me?’

Now who’s the dirty liar , I wanted to say, but I’ll admit I was kind of afraid of him. ‘Oh yeah?’ I said. ‘Your name Charles Street?’

‘Naw, fool, who the hell’s name Charles Street? I Charles Jones. Charles C. Jones.’

‘What the C stand for?’

‘Never you mind. Just C. Charles C. Jones. And one day I be mayor of this town.’

You keep counting them chickens , I thought. Here was a boy with years of disappointment ahead. Best let him have his way now, at least he’d have the memories. ‘Sure you will.’ I stood there in the dead heat, my skin prickling, wishing old Hetty would hurry up and call me so I could walk away.

‘Where you goin now?’ said Charles C. Jones, smiling a little. He’d sensed I’d go away any minute, and he meant to keep me as long as possible.

‘Hetty and me — that my sister Hetty over there, in the stupid hat — we goin home now.’

‘Why don’t you ditch and come on over to my house? I gots candy, chocolate.’

To me, chocolate was the sole reason we on this earth. But to have to go over to this joker’s house — no thanks, jack. ‘Hetty and me got to be gettin home.’

Just when I said this, who starts jogging up to us but Hetty, her hat flapping as she flown over the dry yellow grass. She stopped at the swingset to get her breath, leaning against its stripped wooden frame. Then she started running again, holding her chest as she reached us.

‘I’m goin over to Lucia’s,’ she said, looking at me with a teasing smile. She could tell I wanted away from this boy, and she wasn’t about to make it easy. ‘Mama said we could stay out till six today, so… you go amuse yourself, lizard boy. Spittin at me like that. You two amuse yourselves and we see you at home.’

With hate in my heart I watched her jog off. Imagine spending the day with this boy, his moods and grim smiles.

Standing from the sandbox, the grit poured from his clothes like water. He punched me on the arm. ‘All right now, let’s go see Tante Cecile.’

‘Who?’ I said, marching all reluctant behind him.

‘My great aunt. She’s where all the chocolate’s at.’

Charles C. Jones lived in a big broken-down brown-stone on the corner of Mace and East 26th. The porch was covered with ratty old couches coughing out foam, and the whole place smelled of bacon. Climbing the stairs, I said, ‘Nice house, Charlie.’

I guess I meant to suggest mine was nicer. But he didn’t catch no irony or rivalry in my voice. ‘Thanks,’ he said seriously. ‘But don’t call me Charlie, no one calls me Charlie. Y’all call me Chip.’

‘Chip.’

‘You goin tell me your name, or I got to guess?’

‘Sidney. Sidney Griffiths. Y’all call me Sid.’

In the dim foyer, which reeked even worse of bacon and of sweaty leather shoes, Chip yanked me to him. ‘Now when we go up to see Tante Cecile, don’t you damn well talk. Alright?’

I stood there, more shocked by his cussing than anything.

He scowled. ‘You want chocolate or don’t you? Then quit you gawkin and come on.’

Chip pulled me past rooms so packed with stuff it was spilling out the doors. Past the kitchen stinking of bacon fat and something sweet, past the living room with its magazines all covering the floor, past a room ladies used, their garters and stockings strung up everywhere like shed skin. Finally we reached a door cracked a finger’s-width open, a stale smell drifting out. I was seized with sudden terror, disgusted at the thought of eating anything that came from the same place as that stink. Chip shoved me through.

The room was overhung with lace, the mean sun burning through, lighting up everything. Hell. On the bed by the window lay a creature so ancient I’d swore it known Cain back in the day. Its skin was so ashy it looked grey, its face so scrawny it was caving in on itself. Looked like an enormous old sea turtle.

‘Tante Cecile,’ cried Chip in a deep voice, throwing up his arms. ‘It’s us, Arnold and Theodore! We come to see you on you birthday!’

At first, seemed the old witch had died of fright. Then slowly, she began to sit up in bed, her nightdress crackling like butcher paper around her. Her ashy old face filled with wonder. ‘What a surprise! It’s my birthday?’

‘Yes! And both of us done come this year, both Arnold and Theodore.’

Her face lit up. ‘Arnie and Theo? Oh, my god, I don’t believe it!’

I didn’t believe it either. Chip avoided my gaze. ‘Yes, Arnie and Theo, Arnie and Theo!’ he said. ‘We done come to see you on you birthday!’

The old gal’s teeth nearly dropped out of her head, she was smiling so hard. ‘Well, we better have ourselves a lil’ old party,’ she said, her muddy Baltimore accent suddenly going all Mississippi. Leaning forward, she reached under her pillow and pulled out a beautifully carved wooden box. Setting it on her lap, she sprung it open and took out a Baby Ruth and some Chuckles.

‘Both Arnie and Theo is here today, Tante Cecile,’ said Chip, winking at me.

‘Oh, yes, I forgot!’ She reached back into the box and pulled out some Necco wafers and Hershey’s Kisses. ‘Both boys done come today. What a surprise!’

No sooner had Tante Cecile put the candy on her lap than Chip snatched it all up, tossing me the wafers and the Baby Ruth. He tore his wrappers quickly, stuffing everything into his mouth at the same time, chewing wildly. I stood there holding mine, astonished. Still smacking his lips, he made a crazy face at me, as if he didn’t understand why I wasn’t eating.

I was fetching to leave when Chip held my arm. In the same deep voice, he said, ‘Both Arnie and Theo is here today, Tante Cecile.’

‘Oh, yes, I forgot! Both boys done come today. What a surprise!’ Tante Cecile reached into her cedar box and pulled out four more candies. Chip snatched these up faster than pulling money out of a fire. Again, he tossed me two, gobbled the rest down.

‘We got to leave now, Tante Cecile. We come back some other day.’ Grabbing my arm, he hauled me from the room, shutting the door hard behind us.

‘What on earth was that ?’ I hissed.

‘Shhh, keep your pipes down,’ he whispered. ‘Tante Cecile done lost her wits ages ago. Memory like a pigeon. Only she don’t know it, cause we not allowed to tell her.’

‘Who is Arnie and Theo?’