this mess in the first place. It didnât take long for that to change, though, and their society quickly became a mirror of the one theyâd left: two groups, diametrically opposed in almost every way, with their own leaders.
Lukeâs family was part of the group that stayed under the Feller. And now they had the leader of the other group, Rockhouseâs opposite number, seated at their table. If she ate or drank anything they offered, it might affect the extremely tenuous balance of power even more.
âWell, itâs a good thing Luke found you,â Elgin said. He got up and took the string-tied note to the counter, where a pile of medical bills waited. He tucked it beneath them, returned to his seat, then spooned mashed potatoes onto his plate.
Mandalay looked at Luke. âYeah, it sure was. If I ainât said it yetâthank you.â
âNo problem,â Luke said.
One of his sisters, older and with glasses, sat down with an accordion and began to play. The music was infectious, and it took all of Mandalayâs self-control not to tap her foot along with it. The sound filled the kitchen, and Lukeâs older brother patted out a rhythm on the table edge.
Mandalay gripped the edges of her seat as tightly as she could. If there was danger in sharing food or drink, then there was a possible apocalypse for her if she joined in their music. The problem was, music was insidiousâyou could find yourself humming, or swaying, or head-bobbing along with it before you were aware.
Claudia sang in a high, keening way that blended seamlessly with the accordion:
Well, you look so fine
In that borrowed suede jacket of mine
Now, cozy up behind the wheel
Of an aquamarine automobile
Weâll just take it slow
Listening to songs on the AM radio
No particular place to go
Valiant and Fury girls.â¦
Mandalay felt the music swelling in her, connecting her with the yearsâmillenniaâof songs of the Tufa. The song ached with loss, with friendship and love that once flourished and danced among the flowers in the rain, but was now old, and tender, and reaching out for comfort. She wanted to cry, and fought mightily as her vision blurred. To admit this intense an emotional response to their music was to give them a level of power over her that could easily spell her doom.
The family, except for Luke, harmonized on the next verse.
Well, the Valiant finally died
And I sat and said my last good-byes
I saved a hubcap for my walls
Called the garage to make that haul
Well, the tow truck guys were drunk
And they complained it was a piece of junk
Yeah, that junk was my life
Valiant and Fury girls.
Mandalay bit the sides of her cheeks until she tasted blood. The song draped over her like a cerecloth shroud, the weight of its ache as heavy and final as the pressure of that wax-dipped funeral cloth.
Then Luke said, âMama, yâall stop it.â
Claudia stopped singing, and the accordion choked off with a melodic wheeze.
âLuke, you apologize to your mama or youâll get the whippinâ of your life,â his father said.
Luke stood up. His face was red, and his eyes shone with tears of anger. âYou can whip me if you want, Daddy, but it still ainât right, what youâre doing. Mandalay donât want to sing with us, and thatâs fine. Sheâs a guest in our house.â
Elgin stood, grabbed the back of Lukeâs shirt with one hand, and began to unbuckle his belt with the other. âBoy, Iâll teach you to disrespectââ
âYou will not,â Mandalay said quietly.
Everyone froze and stared at her.
She stood, her fingertips resting on the table. Her voice took on a quality of ancient, unyielding power. âYou will not lay a hand on this boy. You will not punish him for standing up for what he thinks is right.â She said these things as simple statements, not orders. It was as if they were an already accomplished
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