Glimmers of Change by Ginny Dye Page B

as if it were actually happening again.
    “We’re going home,” Eddie said, finding his voice again.
    “But you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want,” Janie argued. She hated the thought of them going back to their cold shack, especially since they couldn’t go to the restaurant to stay warm.
    “Not home here,” Opal corrected. “We’re going back to Richmond. Just as soon as we have a service and bury our children.”
    Janie stared at her. “Richmond?” she finally managed. “You’re going back to Richmond?”
    Opal nodded firmly. “This cold place ain’t our home. While we had the restaurant, we were managing to endure it, but with the restaurant gone, our children gone, and us having no money…”
    “We got friends and family back in Richmond,” Eddie finished for her.
    Janie searched for words. “You know Richmond is a hard place for blacks right now.”
    They both nodded. “We know.”
    “It can’t be harder than what we been dealing with here,” Opal said. “Amber and Carl need to be with family.”
    “But…”
    Eddie interpreted what Janie was about to say. “I got a letter from my brother a few weeks back. He done moved his family to Richmond. He’s got kids Amber and Carl’s ages. He had no idea I would need to take him up on it, but he said that if we ever decided to move back to Richmond, that we had a place with them.”
    “It will take us a while to get back on our feet,” Opal said, “but we’ll find jobs and…”
    “And someday Opal will have herself another restaurant,” Eddie vowed.
    “Are you sure?” Janie asked, her mind spinning as she thought about the Black Codes Carrie told her about in her latest letter. “The South is not a great place for blacks right now.”
    Opal nodded. “I be knowing about them Black Codes,” she told Janie. “Rose sent me a letter. She wanted me to know. Told me how glad I should be that I was living in the North now.”
    “Then you know what a risk you’re taking,” Janie said urgently. “There are bad things happening.”
    Eddie nodded and reached over to squeeze Janie’s hand. “There be bad things happening everywhere,” he said gently. “Life has been full of lots of bad things for a long time. But,” he took a deep breath, “there be lots of good things that done happened, too.”
    Opal laid her hand on his shoulder. “We lost our children, but at least they died free. Sadie and Sadie Lou died with dreams of being a teacher. Zeke and Susie died with plans to go out west. Their lives were cut way too short, but they didn’t die as slaves.” She cleared her throat before she continued. “I reckon Fannie was real happy to see them. I imagine she don’t feel quite so alone now.”
    “We got two kids left now,” Eddie said. “There’s bad things about taking them back to the South, but there be good things, too.” He pulled a well-read letter out of his pocket. “I been staying in touch with some of my friends back in Richmond — at least the ones that know how to write.” He managed a small smile. “Things ain’t great in Richmond, but folks are coming together into a real community. Opal and I have felt alone since we got here to Philadelphia. We don’t want that anymore.”
    Janie knew they had made up their minds. “When are you going back?”
    “The funeral is in three days,” Opal replied. “We’d like to stay here until then.”
    “Of course,” Janie answered. “You’re welcome as long as you need a place.”
    “We’ll leave right after the funeral,” Eddie said. “We got enough money for our train tickets. I reckon God will take care of the rest when we get there. At least I know we’ll have a place to live until we get back on our feet.”
    “The first thing we’re gonna do is go out to the plantation,” Opal added. “We want to tell Annie, Moses, and June what happened to their Sadie. We want them to know she was real happy here.” She leaned forward to take Janie’s