said softly. “We’ll be back in an hour. Best to get it over with, Glory. It’s time.” He nodded at me, kissed his wife’s cheek, and touched Esther’s shoulder as he passed.
Lee Otis didn’t argue, but as he followed his father out, he glanced at Esther worriedly.
“What’s this all about, Esther?” Gloria Mine said, sinking down onto the couch. She still hadn’t looked at me. Esther sat down beside her, prim and straight, like a stranger in her own home. I sat in the chair Lee Otis had vacated at the table, trying to keep my distance. I felt sorry for Gloria Mine and terrible for Esther. I should have left with Arky and Lee Otis.
“You know exactly what this is about, Mama. The question is, Who else knows? Arky obviously knows. Do my brothers know? Do they know they aren’t really my brothers?”
“Don’t say things like that,” Gloria cried.
Esther showed her the picture, but when Gloria moved to take it, Esther pulled it back.
“I need you to tell me who she is.”
Gloria wrapped her arms around herself, and right then and there she prayed for help. “Lord Jesus, I need you,” she whispered.
“No, Mama. I need you. I need you to tell me who this is.” Esther waved the picture in front of her mother again, and I was afraid Gloria Mine was going to snatch it and rip it in two. Her eyes darted and her hands twitched.
“Esther,” I warned, my eyes on the picture.
“What did you tell her?” Gloria asked, turning on me.
“He told me this white woman is my mother. Look at her, Mama.”
But Gloria Mine didn’t look at the picture. She didn’t need to. She already knew.
“My father was Jack Lomento. Did you know him?” I asked.
“You look just like him. I thought you were him when I saw you. And I knew you would bring nothing but trouble.” Gloria Mine sank back into the cushions and covered her face.
“My father brought Esther to you,” I said. “Why did he bring her to you?”
Gloria peeked out from behind her fingers and slowly drew them from her face. She had begun to cry, but her tears seemed more fearful than sad, and when she spoke, her voice was resentful, but resigned.
“Bo and I were old friends. He had helped me when I needed it. He got me this apartment. He didn’t have anywhere else to turn, and I owed him.”
Esther stood abruptly, like she wanted to bolt, and Gloria Mine reached for her hand, and clasped it in both of hers. Esther sank back down.
“Jack Lomento brought you to me in the middle of the night,” Gloria said to Esther. “He said Bo was in trouble, and your mother was dead, and he gave me some money and handed you over. That money was enough to get us by for a year. My mama lived with me then. And we’d been struggling so hard. My husband was dead, I already had two little kids, and I didn’t want another one. But the money was a godsend.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Esther moaned. “Why did you let me think you were my mother?”
“You were a baby. The boys called me Mama. It was just a natural thing.”
“I wasn’t always a baby. I haven’t been a baby for a long time. You could have set me straight a long time ago.”
“His daddy told me it was better not to.” She pointed at me as though it was all my fault. “He checked on me a few times and twice he gave me money out of his own pocket. But he was always careful, and he never stayed. He told me it was better for me and for you to just forget about Bo. He said he would make sure I always had money, but he never brought it in person after that first year. He would just send it in a package. Those packages kept the wolves away.”
Esther’s back had begun to bow, and her knees were bouncing with distress.
“I thought that money was from my father. You told me it was,” Esther said.
Gloria Mine shrugged, helpless. “I never heard from Bo again. Maybe the money was from him. But all I know is the money always came through his father.” Again with the pointing. “He never told me his name, but I knew who he was. He grew up in Harlem too. Ran with a different crowd, of course. But he was a boxer, just like Bo.