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. That s not the way he feels at all, she said. He thinks you were robbed. That ain t the way he acts. She reached up to touch his hair and he jerked away. Poor Greg, she said. You ve got to ease up on yourself.If you don t,you re going to explode. She found herself thinking more and more about Robert s baby.It should havebeen hers.She was the one who had su ered in silence for all these years.Where was her reward?Black & White301She only cooked two nights a week now, big meals that she carefully di-vided and froze, her own homemade tv dinners.She had just brought her trayinto the living room one night when the phone rang.The man on the other endasked for Robert and she told him, as was her habit, that Robert was out atthe moment. This is Bill Morris in Dallas. Mr.Morris, how are you? This was the man Robert s friend Arthur worked for. I wanted to call him personally and apologize for all the delays. Delays? With the job.I know y all were hoping to be down here in the next month ortwo, and I d hoped for the same thing.I wanted him to know thatI m not trying to give him the runaround. I m sure, Ruth said, he thinks nothing of the kind. He s a hell of an engineer, and I m looking forward to working him within aninch of his life, just as soon as I can get all my ducks in a row. I feel con dent he knows that, Mr.Morris, but I will surely tell him yousaid it. Everything is looking good for November.We should be able to get the two ofyou down here and get Robert working by the end of November at the verylatest. That sounds ne, Ruth said. That gives us time to take care of all theloose ends here. Good, that s just ne.Sorry to interrupt, and I hope you have a greatevening. For a moment, after she hung up, Ruth allowed herself to believe that this wasa surprise Robert had planned for her, to begin anew, far from all theirmistakes.Her heart knew better.The reward Robert had planned for her wasabandonment, while he made everything o cial with his harlot and bastardchild.Would he try to pass the harlot o as white as well? Nothing seemedbeneath him.So she had until November.She knew Robert s weakness, knew what she wouldhave to do to get him back.She needed only the opportunity, and if it failedto present itself, then she would have to create it.That August she phoned Mitch Antree. This is not a social call, she said, when he started his routine of atteryand balderdash. I am not calling you as Robert s wife, but as Wilmer Bynum sdaughter.Do you understand me? After a silence he said, Yes. The dancing was gone from his voice.Page 230 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmllewis shiner302 I assume you know about my husband and his mistress. This silence went oneven longer, and Ruth said, Don t bother to cover up.I ve known about itsince it started, and I didn t expect you to report back to me. I know about her, he said. Do you know she s pregnant? No, he said, then, involuntarily, I ll be damned. I have no doubt that you will, Ruth said. That s beside the point.The babyshould be due sometime in the next month.I want to know when it s born.IfRobert calls in sick, or even late to work, I want to know about it.Any deviation from his schedule, any mysterious phone calls, anything thatmight be a signal from her that she s about to give birth, and I nd outabout it.Is that clear? Yes, Mitch said.The resentment was like a deep well on his end of thephone.She could almost hear the echo. Is that all? That s all.For now. He hung up without another word.On the first Friday in September, her mother called in the afternoon. Were you planning on coming down this weekend? I hadn t decided, Ruth said.In fact she had a bridge game, a secret shecontinued to keep from her mother. Why? I think you d better come. Her breath stopped. Is something wrong with daddy? Nothing like that.You ll see when you get here. She threw some clothes into an overnight bag, arranged a substitute forbridge, and left immediately.Highway East was already crowded, and Ruth70thought about the highways that Robert was building and had yet to build.Someday I- would connect Durham to Raleigh and beyond, and tra c40delays would be a thing of the past.She parked in her usual spot, under the ancient oak in the lot north of thehouse.As soon as she opened the car door, Greg s German Shepherd puppy camebounding up to meet her.He was barely four months old, all energy and nograce.Greg had named him George, supposedly after Patton, more likely afterWallace.The screen door to the house was unlatched, as always, and she found hermother making cornbread in the kitchen.She kissed her mother s dry cheek andsaid, Tell me what s going on.Where s Greg? George is never more than vefeet from him. Best let your father tell you that. Where is he? Black & White303She pointed with her chin. Tractor shed. Ruth found him at his workbench, cutting slots in a × with a hand26router, one eye squinting against the cigarette in the corner of his mouth.Ruth waited for the whine of the bit to stop and then said, Daddy? He looked up and smiled. Hello, Sugar. Daddy, what s happened to Greg? His smile faded like a dream. Greg s on his way to California. California? Why? What s going on? Greg decided to enlist in the Army.He thought maybe that would give him afresh start. Everybody, it seemed, was looking for a fresh start. Daddy, they ll send himPage 231 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmltoVietnam.Something s wrong.He wouldn t go without saying goodbye to me. He made the decision kind of sudden-like. There s something you re not telling me. Greg got himself in a bit of trouble.This was the best answer for allconcerned. What kind of trouble? Was it that business with Harvey Boyette? Greg had nothing to do with what happened to Harvey. Her father had allsorts of di erent denials; this one rang true. Is it some girl? She hoped it was true. Honey, this is nothing for you to be getting your nose into.He s gone, andthat s all you need to know.I expect he ll write you once he gets settled. Dinner was like a bad church service.The three of them went through themotions, enduring it with blank faces, eager to get away.Afterwards Ruth sfather turned on the tv in the den, and her mother retreated upstairs to readher Bible and mend clothes
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