The Swan House (62 page)

Carl stood in front of the microphone and squinted into the spotlight. “Hello there,” he said, his voice shaky. Then he whispered to me, “Man, Mary Swan, how'd you git the nerve to do this?” My eyes were wide, and I just mouthed to him, “What in the world are you doing?” But he paid no attention and turned back to the mike.

“Hello. Like Mary Swan's already said, I'm Carl Matthews. I know you might be surprised to see me here, but the fact is, Mary Swan is one of my very dear friends. She taught me a lot when I helped with her dare. I must admit, I thought it was a silly waste of time 'til I started understanding the significance and 'til I started understanding Mary Swan. 'Cause she didn't look at me like I was a Negro. She just looked at me like I was a person, and she saw the good things in me.

“But that's not what I wanted to say. I wanted to tell you the end of the story. 'Cause here before you are the three missing paintings.”

Hushed conversation rippled through the audience. “Her mama's paintings. Mary Swan did find them. She found them hanging on the wall in her maid's bedroom. Her maid, Ella Mae Maddux. Mary Swan went to visit Ella Mae the other day and found them there. But she didn't say a word to Ella Mae about the Raven Dare, 'cause she knew it was a whole lot more important for Ella Mae to enjoy these paintings than for Mary Swan to solve a dare. Ya see, Ella Mae's been sick. Had a brain tumor removed.

“And that's how the story would have ended if I hadn't just happened to go see Ella Mae this afternoon. I wanted to bring her to Mardi Gras if I could, 'cause Mary Swan is just like family to Ella Mae, and I knew Ella Mae would want to be here to see her Mary Swan. And that's when I saw these here paintings. I guessed where they came from, and after a little prodding, Ella Mae told me the story of how they got there. I don't have time ta tell ya the story, but it's a good one. When I explained to Ella Mae about the Raven Dare . . .” He paused and looked at me. “Sorry, Mary Swan, but I had to tell her. When I told her about the Dare, well, she insisted I bring the paintings and that she come along with me. There she is, up there in the wheelchair.”

I saw her as in a mirage, way up on the section of the gym without bleachers, with Miss Abigail and Roy on either side, that white bandage all around her head. She lifted a weak arm and waved to me.

“She wanted more than anything for these paintin's to be presented tonight. Mary Swan found them. She solved the Dare.” He backed off from the microphone.

For a moment no one said a thing. I even think a lot of people were wiping their eyes. Then someone yelled out, “Congratulations, Mary Swan!” and the whole junior class erupted into hysterical cries of joy. I was soon engulfed by what felt like hundreds of arms and hands, all congratulating me and saying, “Great job, Mary Swan” and “You are one brave lady” and stuff like that.

By now Mrs. Alexander was back at the mike, trying to calm the girls down. “Mary Swan Middleton, Raven of Wellington for 1963, successful in your mission, I present to you a sizeable check and gifts in stocks to be given to the charity or nonprofit organization of your choice.” Then she handed me a shiny silver plaque with my name and the year engraved on it.

I don't remember what she said next, but it didn't matter, because all of a sudden I could feel Daddy's arms around me, squeezing me tight. “I'm so proud of you, my Swannee, so very, very proud. Bless your heart.” His voice was cracking. We walked together over to the three paintings and just stared at them in silence. Daddy was all choked up.

“So it was Ella Mae who had them. Well, that doesn't surprise me one bit.” He was looking straight at the painting of Ella Mae holding me in her arms, and there were tears streaming down his face, and no one else in the whole gymnasium dared come near. They all with one accord just seemed to know we needed this private moment together. Finally Daddy whispered, “Your mother would be very proud of you too. You did the right thing.”

Those words from Daddy were the sweetest possible. That was the highlight of the evening, that and seeing Ella Mae in the balcony. So it hardly mattered at all that the junior class won the skit competition and came in second in the float competition, which gave us the overall victory, winning over the seniors by a mere three points. That announcement was followed by an invitation for everyone present to join the Wellington girls on the basketball court to end the night with dancing.

The three paintings were carefully moved into the foyer of the gym and guarded by two policemen, and all throughout the rest of the night, I could see people standing there, observing Mama's work. The expressions on their faces were sad and sweet and, I don't know, like something had touched them deep down inside. Just like Mama had said that art could do.

Mamie stood there for a long time with Papy, reaching out as though she wanted to feel the texture in the paintings, as if in so doing, she could feel Mama again. And she cried a lot. When I saw her standing there crying, hard yet frail Mamie, the anger I'd felt toward her kind of melted. Mamie was someone who had been hurt by life. I was sure there were many other secrets about Mama and her parents that I did not want to unveil.

Before they left the gymnasium, Mamie found me on the dance floor and kissed me hard on both cheeks, leaving bright red lipstick smeared there.
“Magnifique, Marie des Cygnes. Absolument magnifique.
Ta maman serait fière de toi.”

Very proud, my mother would be.

“I did it for her. For her memory.” Something like compassion welled up inside me and I said, “I'll come see you soon, Mamie and Papy. I promise.”

“You do that, Lassie,” Papy said in his Scottish brogue.

I was never sure afterward if I had really seen Ella Mae or if it had been, after all, a mirage, because when I looked for her and Roy and Miss Abigail later, they were nowhere to be found. Neither did I have the chance to ask Carl to explain the events of the afternoon in detail. He and his band were busy playing. Robbie and I danced together, and it reminded me of the first time we'd danced at the Back-to-School Ball. And there, jitterbugging right beside us, was Daddy with Trixie. And the look on their faces was like that of two love-struck teenagers.

Chapter 29

I
t was somewhere around 11:00 P.M. and the last people were leaving the gymnasium. “See ya at the house in a minute!” I called out to Daddy and Trixie and Jimmy as they headed to the parking lot. Carl and the band waved back to me as they stepped outside, lugging their instruments. Robbie and I stayed in the foyer, carefully rewrapping the paintings, which we'd decided to take back to my house until we learned what Ella Mae wanted to do with them. Rachel, tiara in place, had her arms wrapped around Will.

“I'll get the car,” Robbie said.

“Yeah, me too,” Will echoed.

“What gentlemen!” Rachel giggled.

“We wouldn't want the two stars of the evening to catch cold in the night air,” Robbie quipped. “Anyway, those paintings are heavy.” And they took off.

“There's the real reason! They don't want to have to carry the paintings too far.”

“Oh, who cares! It's been the most magnificent night, hasn't it, Swan?”

I nodded. “I think when I get home, I'll stay awake all night thinking about everything. How it all worked out.”

“Were you surprised about Robbie and Carl and the paintings?”

“Everything. Did you know about it?”

“Only about Robbie being your escort. Nothing else. Why didn't you tell me about finding the paintings at Ella Mae's?”

“I couldn't, Rach. Couldn't tell a soul. I was afraid I'd change my mind and convince myself that I should have the paintings at Mardi Gras. And somehow I knew that wasn't right.”

“But they got here anyway.”

“Yeah. But not by my scheming.” I picked up the biggest canvas with a grunt, then set it back down. “You know what I think?”

“No idea.”

“I think God himself sent Carl to Ella Mae's this afternoon, and then brought her here tonight.”

“Silly, scatterbrained girl. I told you not to get religious on me!” But she was laughing.

Glancing outside, I said, “What is taking them so long? Let's go tell them to hurry up!”

I walked out into the brisk night air, drawing my coat over the dress and cape, Rachel's arm draped through mine, both of us leaning back and laughing, our eyes bright and our cheeks red from cold and excitement. When we got to the parking lot, I was surprised and pleased to see all of them talking together in a tight little knot—Daddy and Trixie and Jimmy and Robbie and Will and Mrs. Alexander and Carl and the rest of the band.

“Can you believe it?” I commented to Rachel. “Black and white together!”

It was only as we drew closer that I saw that none of them were smiling, that Jimmy was in fact crying as Trixie held him and that Daddy and Robbie and Carl were gesturing and nodding, looking much too serious for the end of such a spectacular occasion.

Jimmy saw me first and came running over. “It's Ella Mae! She's dying! She's dying right now in the hospital. Miss Abigail called the gym and told Mrs. Alexander.”

Daddy came over to me and said, “I wish you didn't have to hear it tonight, Swan.”

I swallowed hard, feeling my knees give way beneath me and clinging to Rachel, who was supporting my weight. “Is she still alive?”

“I think so. We just got the call about fifteen minutes ago.” This was from Mrs. Alexander.

“Then we've got to get there fast!” I cried.

The news, so sudden, so unexpected, left me numb, just like the aftermath of the Paris plane crash. I was still holding the plaque with the inscription for the successful Raven of 1963 in my hands and still seeing in my mind the blurred faces of Ella Mae, Roy, and Miss Abigail smiling down at me from the balcony.

“Why did she come out when she was so sick? She didn't have the strength! She shouldn't have come! That's what did it!” I wailed.

Then Carl, oblivious, I guess, to the fact that everyone else was right there, took me tenderly by the shoulders and said, “I'm so sorry, Mary Swan. So very sorry.” He hugged me tight, all the while explaining, “I don't know what made me go ta see her. Something did. Went with Miss Abigail. When I went in her bedroom and saw those paintings, well, right away I knew whose they were. And I don't know why I told her all about that dare, but I thought it was the right thing ta do, and I still do. 'Cause when she heard it, her face got all radiant and she said, ‘Praise the Lawd! If there's somethin' I can do to help my Swannee, I'm gonna do it. That sweet chile neva' breathed a word ta me when she was here last week.' And she was bound an' determined to come. That's why I was late tonight, Mary Swan. Like ta neva' git those paintings and Ella Mae in th' car. Roy and Miss Abigail and me, we told her she was too sick to go, but she started hollerin' and sayin' she was going to see her Mary Swan if it was the last thing she did. She knew, Mary Swan. I think she knew she wasn't gonna be here much longer. She wanted to see you tonight.”

“They couldn't get the whole tumor,” Daddy added softly. And at the sound of his voice, Carl let go of me quick, staring awkwardly at his shoes. “It was intertwined around the brain stem. The doctor said it was a matter of months, maybe just weeks.”

“Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me! I thought you were done with hiding the truth.”

“Sweetheart, we didn't know how long she had. She was so weak. She needed every ounce of strength to pull through. That's why she couldn't have visitors for so long. Ella Mae's smart. The doctor told her he couldn't get the whole tumor. She knew she didn't have long. But she didn't want to die at the hospital. She wanted to go home. She said she had everything she needed right there at home. More than any doctor could give her. I didn't see how it could help to tell you there was no hope. You've seemed . . . you've seemed so full of hope these last few weeks.”

Hope
. The word suddenly sounded flat.

Daddy's hand was on my shoulder. “She knew. She was ready. She told me so.”

Me too, I thought. She told me too, only I didn't want to hear it. She told me she was going somewhere better and that one way or another it was all going to be okay.

Robbie hugged me hard and said, “Mary Swan, you go on with your dad to the hospital. The rest of us will deal with the paintings.”

So I climbed into the backseat of Daddy's Jaguar and buried my face in my hands. Jimmy was up front with Daddy, and Trixie sat beside me, arms wrapped around me, not saying a word.

We met a nurse in the hall outside Ella Mae's room. “I'll tell Mr. Maddux you're here,” she said.

A moment later Roy came from her room, followed by a young black couple. Roy looked skinnier than I'd ever seen him, vulnerable, like a lost child. “She'll be right happy ta see ya, Mista Middleton. Mary Swan and Jimmy too,” he mumbled.

Daddy's face was set, and he just nodded.

We entered the hospital room and saw Ella Mae lying there, her black skin swaddled in white sheets, her eyes glazed, her breathing heavy. Miss Abigail sat very still by the window, looking as though she'd wept every tear that she'd ever had. That set me to crying, seeing Miss Abigail so torn up.

Daddy spent a moment whispering something to Ella Mae, and then Jimmy went over to her, sobbing. “Ella Mae, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for you, and I'm sorry that I've been such a pest! So bad.”

“Loved every minute of bein' with you, boy.” That came out in a raspy whisper.

Then I bent down beside Ella Mae. At first all I could do was moan, a pitiful, gut-wrenching painful sound from inside. Then a sob. “I'm so sorry.” I grasped her hand and felt the effort of her fingers closing over mine.