Color Purple, The - Alice Walker [68]
But, too late to call him Alphonso. I never even remember Ma calling him by his name. She always said, Your Pa. I reckon to make us believe it better. Anyhow, his little wife, Daisy, call me up on the telephone in the middle of the night.
Miss Celie, she say, I got bad news. Alphonso dead.
Who? I ast.
Alphonso, she say. Your stepdaddy.
How he die? I ast. I think of killing, being hit by a truck, struck by lightening, lingering disease. But she say, Naw, he died in his sleep. Well, not quite in his sleep, she say. Us was spending a little time in bed together, you know, before us drop off.
Well, I say, you have my sympathy.
Yes ma'am, she say, and I thought I had this house 250 too, but look like it belong to your sister Nettie and you.
Say what? I ast.
Your stepdaddy been dead over a week, she say. When us went to town to hear the will read yesterday, you could have knock me over with a feather. Your real daddy owned the land and the house and the store. He left it to your mama. When your mama died, it passed on to you and your sister Nettie. I don't know why Alphonso never told you that.
Well, I say, anything coming from him, I don't want it.
I hear Daisy suck in her breath. How about your sister Nettie, she say. You think she feel the same way?
I wake up a little bit then. By the time Shug roll over and ast me who it is, I'm beginning to see the light.
Don't be a fool, Shug say, nudging me with her foot. You got your own house now. Your daddy and mama left it for you. That dog of a stepdaddy just a bad odor passing through.
But I never had no house, I say. Just to think about having my own house enough to scare me. Plus, this house I'm gitting is bigger than Shug's, got more land around it. And, it come with a store.
My God, I say to Shug. Me and Nettie own a drygood store. What us gon sell?
How bout pants? she say.
So us bung up the phone and rush down home again to look at the property.
About a mile before us got to town us come up on the entrance to the colored cemetery. Shug was sound asleep, but something told me I ought to drive in. Pretty soon I see something look like a short skyscraper and I stop the car and go up to it. Sure enough it's got Alphonso's name on it. Got a lot of other stuff on it too. Member of this and that. Leading businessman and fanner. Upright husband and father. Kind to the poor and helpless. He been dead two weeks but fresh flowers still blooming on his grave.
Shug git out the car and come stand by me.
Finally she yawn loud and stretch herself. The son of a bitch still dead, she say.
Daisy try to act like she glad to see us, but she not: She got two children and look pregnant with one more. But she got nice clothes, a - car, and Alphonso left her all his money. Plus, I think she manage to set her folks up while she live with him.
She say, Celie, the old house you remember was torn down so Alphonso could build this one. He got an Atlanta architect to design it, and these tiles come all the way from New York. We was standing in the kitchen at the time. But he put tiles everywhere. Kitchen, toilet, back porch. All around the fireplaces in back and front parlour. But this the house go with the place, right on, she say.
Of course I did take the furniture, because Alphonso bought it special for me.
Fine with me, I say. I can't get over having a house. Soon as Daisy leave me with the keys I run from one room to another like I'm crazy. Look at this, I say to Shug. Look at that! She look, she grin. She hug me whenever she git the chance and I stand still.
You doin' all right, Miss Celie, she say. God know where you live.
Then she took some cedar sticks out of her bag and lit them and gave one of them to me. Us started at the very top of the house in the attic, and us smoked it all 253 the way down to the basement, chasing out all the evil and making a place for good.
Oh, Nettie, us have a house! A house big enough for us and our children, for your husband and Shug. Now you can come home cause you have a home to come to!
Your loving sister,
Celie
My heart broke.
Shug