where she turned on her portable TV. Every station was covering the Kennedy shooting. “Do you want a snack or somethin’?”
I shook my head. “I don’t feel like eating,” I replied sadly, my eyes on the TV.
“I guess I don’t either.” She waved me to her bed, where I made myself comfortable, and she curled up next to me. We didn’t talk for several minutes but twice out of the corner of my eye, I saw her wiping away tears. I wanted to cry, but I was too embarrassed to do it in front of her.
“I can’t believe somebody actually shot the president and in the head,” I said, clearing my throat. I had to do that several times to keep from crying.
“Just like my brother David,” she said sadly, not looking at me.
“I hate guns,” I said seriously. I talked out of the side of my mouth, not taking my eyes off the TV screen.
“Me too, and I hate people who hurt other people,” she admitted.
“What did your brother do?”
“Somethin’ about a pregnant girl.”
“He got somebody pregnant?”
“No. He couldn’t have.” Rhoda shrugged.
I sighed and looked away. “Pee Wee warned me not to bring it up. You don’t have to talk about it.”
“This policeman’s daughter got pregnant and blamed my brother.” Rhoda acted like she had not heard me. “The bitch wanted to get married, but he didn’t. He had a fight with her daddy. One thing led to another. One night the police kicked in our front door and came lookin’ for David. He fit the description of a robbery suspect, they said. He was in the bed. I used to sneak in his room to steal candy, so I was there the night it happened.” Rhoda paused. Walter Cronkite, with tears streaming down the sides of his face, informed us that President Kennedy had died. We both gasped and kind of stared off into space. A sudden lump formed in my throat, and it hurt for me to swallow. I returned my attention to Rhoda. Her eyes were back on the television screen. She was blinking real hard and breathing through her mouth.
“My mama didn’t vote for Kennedy,” I said hoarsely, my eyes on the TV screen. “She said a ‘teenager’ like him didn’t know enough to run the most powerful country in the world,” I added with a dry chuckle.
“My folks voted for Nixon. It wasn’t long before they were sayin’ they wished that they had voted for Kennedy.”
‘“I hope they catch the man who shot the president,” I muttered.
We waited for more news, but the announcers kept repeating the same things over and over again.
Not only was Rhoda’s house frighteningly quiet, I couldn’t hear a thing outside. No cars, no kids, no dogs barking. It seemed like the world had come to a standstill because of the assassination. I had written an essay on Abraham Lincoln and his assassin’s background and motive a week earlier. Mrs. Windland, my English teacher, cried when I read it out loud in front of the class. She told the whole class that none of us would probably experience the pain of a presidential assassination in our lifetime. Even though I was holding back my tears, a sad smile appeared on my face. I turned away so Rhoda wouldn’t see it. I was glad when she started talking again.
“Anyway, about my brother, the police came in his bedroom with guns. I was six and real little, so I could hide easy. Nobody knew I was even there ’cause I was all the way up under the covers bunched up with the pillows. Even if they had, I wouldn’t have been scared for myself. I am not afraid of anythin’.” Rhoda paused, and I looked her over with great admiration. She swallowed hard as she continued talking. “Do you think I’m normal?”
“What?”
“Me not bein’ scared of anythin’?”
“Well, no. I wish I could be more like you,” I said firmly. “I never knew another girl like you. Not even in any of my books. And I read a lot of fairy tales and science fiction.”
“OK.” Rhoda smiled dryly. “Anyway, there I was, hidin’ under my brother’s blankets. It happened so fast. It was late, but I was still awake. He was, too. They kicked open the door and started hollerin’ at David. He never said a word. The next thing I knew, the one policeman started shootin’. I threw back the covers and jumped down on the floor with my brother. There were