The Book of Night Women (9 page)

—Lookee here now. Girly sniff out the house for sheself. What more proof you need, the lot o’ you? somebody say. Lilith hear the voice coming from further and it frighten her a little, but that was where the light be. Lilith foot start scratch her and she brush away the ants and cuss.

—You think you on excursion, chile? Get you backside in here, say a voice coming from the light. Homer.

—Why yuh bring ’er yah me want to know, say another voice, hoarse and scratchy like is an old tree whispering. The voice belong to a woman that Lilith hear before. Up in the kitchen warning Homer about Jack Wilkins, but before that in Circe hut. She almost a midget but without the big head. In the night her skin blacker but her eyes almost glow in the dark. Green like her own. Gorgon, the woman with the cart who ride off with the dead Johnny-jumper who face Lilith couldn’t remember. Lilith step in to where the womens be.

—Nobody bring her here. Girly find the way herself, don’t it? Pallas say.

Lilith see Pallas smile but look away quick when she see one of the women back away into the shadow of the cave, a tall, skinny one who swing like willow tree. She plait her long stiff hair in five and they stick out like branch from her head.

—Ah, de devil bring her ’ere, dat me know, Pallas.

—Devil is white man business, Gorgon. The girl would never find this place if she didn’t have special eye to look. Don’t it, Homer?

Homer come of a dark corner.

—Almost. Nothing special in the eye, but in the woman herself. Nothing but good common sense. Something lost to most nigger, Homer say.

As soon as she see Homer she see all the womens. The cave they treat like a room, with a table in the middle and a candle on top. Three chairs be round the table, all different, including the red armchair she remember from Circe hut. The other womens sit on a rock or stand. Lilith couldn’t make out the light, that brighten what it want to brighten and darken what it want to darken and she wonder if that too be Homer doing. When Lilith look up she see six womens all looking at her. Bantam-size Gorgon, who scratch her hair and frown; Hippolyta with the tree-branch hair, the tallest and skinniest, who remain standing in a dark corner; Iphigenia, who Lilith remember cursing Circe for taking her man once. Lilith smile but Iphigenia didn’t smile back. Iphigenia face wide like crocodile and lips thick like molasses and she wearing a neck scarf and red dress long in the sleeve, like she expectin’ cold air. Pallas in the cave without her headwrap and her hair straight and red like white woman. Beside her be Callisto, whose hair pull back and tie in one and who have a patch over her right eye like a pirate. Moving in and out of the dark but not sitting down was Homer.

—The chile find the way with her own inside map. That settle the matter, Homer say and press her two thin lip together like that is the final thing to say.

—Unu bloodcloth! Dat don’t settle nothing! Gorgon say.—Me surer ’bout de devil dan me sure ’bout she.

Homer stop moving and look straight at Gorgon. Gorgon look straight back but then turn away. Homer look at Lilith. She seem to smile but Lilith couldn’t tell for sure.

—Not even massa dog can find this place, but she find it, Homer say.

—Fuckery. You lead her half de way, knowing you, say Gorgon.

Homer look at Lilith.—Olokun give her new sight, she say.

In the candlelight Homer pick up a darkness that make her look different from before. Lilith think right there that if she cut Homer, black oil would pour out, not blood.

—Johnny-jumper, they after me.

—Johnny-jumper too busy right now taking woman without permission. They don’t know these parts, chile, Homer say.

—Me know what me hear.

—Den go back out dere and look see, Gorgon say.

—Lord God, Gorgon, shut up, Callisto say. Callisto more interested in the knife in her hand. She put the point on her finger and it stay up straight.

—She find the place herself. That fine enough for me. Now stop wasting me time, Callisto say. Callisto have the kind of face that look like it chop out of wood, sharp with plenty corner. Gorgon gulp every time Callisto say anything to her.

Nobody look like no slave. Nobody slouch, nobody looking down at the ground, nobody wrapping her arms up to make themself smaller, and nobody hiding save for Hippolyta. Lilith feel herself straightening up. She try to look at the woman in front of her but that was Callisto so she look away.

—The opening not suffering from lonesomeness, Lilith, you can leave it be, Homer say.

Lilith step inside some more. Is then she see something that she didn’t see before, something the light was hiding, not showing. All the womens, everybody from short, fat Gorgon to tall, meager Hippolyta have something in common but not quite. One or two have hair that not kinky, and one or two have hair like wool. Two or three have light mulatto skin, but one or two have the same wide lip. One or two tall like a tree but all sit and walk the same way. And the one called Hippolyta, when she finally step out of the dark, have green eye, just like Lilith and Gorgon. Lilith feel trembling come over her like they just dip her in a night stream.

—These womens be your sister, chile, Homer say.

Lilith regard them for a long time. Then she burst out a laugh.

—You all mad, she say.

Iphigenia and Gorgon laugh.—Circe? She think that dead cunt woman is her mammy? Iphigenia say, laughing so hard that she grab her scarf quick and push it up on her neck. Her voice and her laugh seem to come out of some dark hole, Lilith think. Iphigenia smile so wide that is like a sword slice her face halfway. It frighten her little bit, like Callisto eye patch and Hippolyta face in the shadow.

—She already know ’bout Circe, Homer say.

—And she still think Tantalus be her pappy? Eh-eh! That mad nigger can’t even fuck off, much less fuck pussy, Iphigenia say.

—You and you mouth! But is true, Lilith. There be no field that Tantalus can water, Homer say. Lilith squeeze her knuckles tight. Gorgon laugh harder.

—Me give you joke, midget?

—Who de bloodcloth yuh a-call midget! No make me—

—Gorgon! Callisto say.—And you, shut you ass before me shut it good and proper. Go on, Homer, Callisto say. Homer still in the back with lightness and darkness flowing over her face. Lilith look around for the candle just to make sure.

—Tantalus balls cut off ever since they catch him playing with himself while peeping at the mistress. Long before you born. No way that nigger be your daddy.

—Lying witch, you out to cross me from me did born.

—But coo yah! Look ’pon you too. What little mouse have that big rat want? If you want, we can go out to where they tie him up and spread him legs apart, right now we can go. He old and nothing goin’ wake him. Well? Come make we go, chile. You say you don’t believe me. Uh-huh. You must listen when me talking to you. You didn’t think it queer-like that you eye green? You who love look in silver tray at youself—oh yes, you think me never see you loving how you think you look. Where you think them green eye come from?

—Tell me.

—What you seeing should have tell you by now. Jack Wilkins, chile. He be you father. Jack Wilkins the overseer.

—You stink like shit.

—Me say Jack Wilkins be you papa. Don’t go on like you never think so yourself. Jack Wilkins take you mama, as be the custom, just like he do the mama of every woman here. Every woman you see in this room come from Jack Wilkins seed. Every woman and you.

—You don’t have green eye.

—Me from before that time. Plus no man can handle me, not even white man.

—Is not that people say.

—And how you would know? Who talk to you?

Lilith silent. Homer go to say something but stop.

—You want me to believe—

—Chile, you don’t have nothing that me want.

—But Homer, don’t we . . . Pallas whisper.

—We don’t want nothing from you. We be here to give you something. The first be the truth. Tantalus not your daddy, ’cause Tantalus can’t be nobody daddy. That be Jack Wilkins. And that woman who suckle you was not your mama neither.

—Why you hate me so? Me never do nothing to you.

—Is so negro life easy that me have time to hate gal like you? Cut the damn foolishness, chile, we don’t have much time left.

—Time for what?

—Me already tell you. Time to know what true and what lie, time to decide if you want to be slave or—

—Free? Oh. Me see now.

Lilith start to walk among the women. Looking at some, but not Callisto.—First me did think unu was just some Myal woman fighting ’gainst Obeah. But the whole of you is some madwoman looking for young girl. All of you mad.

—Make she galang, Homer. Even if dat bitch Circe didn’t breed her, she be more like her now, say Gorgon.

—Me not nothing like she, Lilith say.

—Eehi, Gorgon say and hiss.

Gorgon waiting for Homer to send her away. Lilith thinking now that she want to stay just to spite Gorgon, who too short to be ’fraid of, unlike Callisto. But she don’t like how Homer talking and how she looking dark one blink, light the next.

—Freedom comin’ before next Easter, Homer say.

—What?

—You hear what me say.

—Obeah woman tell you that?

—True is a true be.

—You either lie or you fool. Massa not ’bout to give no nigger free paper.

—Who say nothing ’bout the massa, chile? We not getting free, we taking free, Homer say.

Pallas, looking at Lilith, say, Homer, you sure ’bout telli—

—What she goin’ do? Tell her new friendy the mistress? Mistress know you kill Johnny-jumper too? If it was up to she, that mistress would make all of them rape you and sell the young’un.

—You, you jus’ wicked ’cause me be sixteen and the mistress favourite.

—Oh. Is that you making arrangement for, Homer say and Pallas and Callisto laugh while Gorgon hiss.—You the only one who don’t know say the mistress head take her all the time? You think ’cause she throwing party the devil don’t gone with her good sense?

—She look plenty sensible to me.

—Girly if you don’t know that not everything be how it look, then you not ready, Pallas say.

—Homer, is long time Circe be poisonin’ de bitch mind, you can’t trust—

—Me have as much sense as you, nigger. Me find you cave and me can show the mistress where all of you plotting.

All of a sudden, the only sound in the room was the candle flicking. Every woman in the room look ’pon Lilith. Gorgon get up. Callisto hold up her knife by the blade and look at Lilith. Even Hippolyta come out of the shadow. Lilith gasp.

—Me can fling this knife between a wild boar eye at seventy pace, Callisto say.

—I, I, I can run.

—You, you, you can try.

Lilith smart mouth run out of smart.

—Ju-just ’cause all of we come from Massa Jack don’t mean me and you be combolo.

—Listen to youself, you stupid chile, Homer say.—You think you and white woman goin’ be friend? You think she goin’ make tea and cucumber sandwich and invite you to sit? Don’t tell me say me make big mistake and think you have sense. And you is fifteen, not sixteen.

Homer move towards Lilith. Lilith step back. Callisto get up too, still holding her knife by the blade. Lilith grab her neck and step backways slow.

—We goin’ have to deal with her like Circe, Callisto say.

—Everybody quiet! Homer say.

—Callisto, the girly don’t know no better. Leave her be, Pallas say.

—Me, me don’t need nobody lookin’ after me, Lilith say, stepping backways still.

—Not you I was looking after, Pallas say.

—Enough! Homer say.—We losing the night. Now listen to me, chile, listen to me good now. Things not be as they be, not as you see. And soon things goin’ be hellfire worse, ’specially for the backra. There be things you must know, things that will put you over other negro and even the backra themself. You can feel it already. That thing in here. Homer point to her chest and almost touch Lilith nipple. Lilith step back.

—That thing make you spirited, even the mistress call you that. But spirit can’t work when you no have no sense—

—Me have plenty sen—

—Quiet when me talking! Is this same spirit you not checking that make you backtalk you betters. Me be here long, chile, and trust me, you not the first nigger who couldn’t control her mouth. Some gal think that whatever mouth throw, pussy was goin’ catch. Then they get shoot like old horse. Watch youself.

—Why bother watch meself ? You watch me plenty already. Morning, noon and night you in me business. Now you all coming down to the cellar, ’bout you teaching me to read. You must really be a sodomite.

Homer look at her hard. The other womens look at Homer.

—You hate me, you hate me just ’cause me soon be mistress favourite, Lilith say.—She pick me, even when you try to frig it up, she pick me. The mistress think me better to show off than you, so me no want to turn into you is if that you offering. Me hear you piss through you ears now that way down there shrivel up.

Callisto hold up the knife, but Homer wave her down.

—Yeah, yeah, calm down the dog, say Lilith.

—What you think this is, stupid negro chile, play-play? say Homer.—You think you is the mistress favourite new dolly? Me see prettier than you get kill ’cause the tea too hot, one more dumb bitch who think she and mistress be combolo.

—Y’all hate me because she think me pretty. You is just like Circe and me done with nigger like you. Me step me way out of Circe hut and me no done step.

—Step you way? Don’t you mean chop you way? Pallas say.

—Go suck you mama, Lilith say.

Pallas dress fly up quick like a big black sun. When the dress fall back down there be the woman with a musket pointing straight at Lilith face. She nearly scream.