explaining I need to do.”
Her mother spoke softly, as if she believed someone might be listening in. “Everyone at Calvary Baptist is talking about you. How could you do this? You made a vow before God and everybody.”
“So did Richmond. Did you have a talk with him about his vows?” Clarice said, feeling heat rise from her neck onto her face.
“It’s different for men, and you know it. Besides, Richmond is not the one who ran out on his marriage; you are. But listen, it’s not too late to fix this. Richmond is prepared to go see Reverend Peterson with you to work this out.”
“I don’t think so,” Clarice said. “I’ve seen where Reverend Peterson’s advice leads. And no offense, but I don’t intend to spend my golden years shouting at whores through a megaphone.”
She felt guilty for that low blow when her mother’s eyes began to glisten with tears. But Clarice had been mad for a good long time and a lot nastier things than that were waiting to come out. To keep from saying those things, she took a deep breath and then a drink from her cup of tea. The tea was too hot for the big swallow she took and it scalded all the way from her lips to her stomach. It hurt so much that it took her breath away for a few seconds, but the time she spent recovering from burning her tongue stopped her from saying some of the meaner things that were swirling around in her brain.
Clarice said, “Mother, I love you, but this has nothing to do with you. This is between me and Richmond, and I think I’ve made it clear to him where I stand. I’m done with things the way they were. I’ll go back home, or not, when I see fit.”
Beatrice whimpered quietly and said, “Honestly, when I think about how hard I fought for us both to live when you were born.” She put the back of her hand to her forehead. “It was a horror show.” When that didn’t produce the desired effect, she changed tactics. In the tone of voice she used when delivering her parking lot sermons, she declared, “Ephesians says, ‘Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord.’ What do you say to that?”
Clarice snapped, “I say God and I will just have to hash that one out between the two of us. My submitting days are over.”
Richmond spoke for the first time. He said, “I talked to the kids, and they’re shocked that you’ve done this. They’re very upset and confused.”
Clarice said, “You must have talked to four different kids than the ones I talked to. When I told Carolyn, Ricky, and Abe that I’d moved out, they were just surprised that it had taken me so long. And if Carl’s upset, it’s because he’s too much like you and he knows it. The way I see it, I’ve done him a favor I should have done years ago. Now maybe he’ll think about the crap he’s pulled on his wife and realize it might come back and bite him in the ass one day.”
Richmond turned to Beatrice and said, “See? It’s like I told you. She’s talking more like Odette all the time.”
Beatrice nodded. “I’ve always known that girl would cause trouble one day.”
Clarice’s mother believed that a woman showed that she was well brought up by doing three things: dressing impeccably, enunciating like an East Coast debutante, and starving herself to the edge of unconsciousness for the sake of her figure. So, Odette had never made sense to her. But Beatrice had chosen the wrong time to start in on Odette, Clarice’s sick friend who had stepped in time and time again when Clarice needed her and had now even supplied her with a home. The little bit of restraint Clarice had managed to get hold of was in danger of slipping away. She narrowed her eyes at her mother and her husband and prepared to let loose. But just as her scalded tongue was poised to toss forth a red-hot string of long-overdue words, Clarice was distracted by the sound of light tapping coming from the front door. Clarice stood from the bench and said, “My student is here.”
When Clarice rounded the piano on her way to admit her pupil, Beatrice saw for the first time what her daughter was wearing. Beatrice let out a whimper and turned her face away.
During Clarice’s first weekend in