Page 88 of The Deadly Candies

“Me too. Gotta go—out of coins.Bye!"

The line died mid-laugh.

Kathy walked out of the phone booth into Ely's waiting arms. He lifted her clean off her feet, her tears soaking his shirt. "She's in trouble, Ely.Badtrouble."

"So it's true. The baby... not José's like they think?” Ely set her down gently. Kathy nodded. "Don't say a word.Please. I shouldn’t have said a thing.”

"I won't. But how the hell ya think they gonna pull this off?" Ely asked. “What is it about you two and those fucking Italians?”

Shocked, Kathy stepped back. “What does that mean?”

“It means Chester loved Debbie. I was his best friend. I know. He had plans to marry her. Last I checked, she loved him, too. Now she’s pregnant from another Italian?” Ely spat with disgust.

Stunned, Kathy couldn’t respond. Ely had never raised his voice. Never cursed. Now, he was sputtering out curse words. And coiled tight with rage. And then suddenly, he registered her, her silence. He looked at her as if he were caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Kathy, I didn’t mean it…”

She turned and started off toward the truck. Her eyes watered with tears. Ely caught up to her and took her hand gently. “Stop, please.”

“Let me tell you something, Ely Theodore Brown, you don’t know anything about real love. About soul-mates. Cause if you did, you’d know that it can come to anyone at any time. I don’t know what made Debbie choose Matteo, but if it’s anything like Carmelo and me, it wasn’t because he’s Italian. That’s the least of it!”

Ely nodded. He had tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Kathy. I meant no disrespect.”

“You meant it. You did! Take me back to Big Mama’s! I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she started off again. Ely refused to let her go. He grabbed her arm more forcefully.

“You, my best friend, Kathy. Please. Forgive me. Please,” Ely pleaded.

Kathy stopped. She looked up into Ely’s face and saw the pain in his eyes over her rejection of him. In that moment, she understood that pain was shared. All this time, she saw him as a friend. Ely never saw her that way. He saw more. She embraced him. He hugged her so tight. He squeezed her to his heart. “I just wish… I wish things could go back. To when we were kids. When things were simple.”

She rubbed his back. “We different Ely. We want different things. Different people. I’m sorry,” she said. "We'll figure it out in Harlem."

Ely lifted his head. “We family no matter what.”

Kathy smiled and nodded. “When you meet Carmelo, you will understand. He’s different than those others. You will see.”

Ely forced a smile and nodded. She pulled his head down and kissed his brow. “Let’s go home.” Ely opened the truck door. She got in, and he got in.

“We, okay?” he asked but was unable to look over at her.

“Yes, Ely! I’m not some fragile bird. I can handle an argument,” she reached over and took his hand. He looked at her, and she squeezed his hand.

He hesitated before starting the engine. "Took Janey to the station this morning,” he said, and changed the subject.

"Why'd sheleave? She and Big Mama always fight, but they always make up."

Ely's grip tightened on the wheel. "Peeked at her ticket. Wasn't my place, but... you should know."

"Knowwhat?"

"Her train wasn't headed to California." The engine roared to life. “New York, Kathy. And she booked awhitecar.”

“They let her?” Kathy's stomach dropped. Janey’s passing was still risky for her going through the southern states. There were laws that said she couldn’t take a “white” train car.

"But—whyNew York?”

Ely's jaw set. "Only one way to find out." The truck lurched forward, kicking up dust as they sped toward the Jensens'—and whatever chaos awaited in New York.

* * *

The sheriff’scruiser sat parked in front of Big Mama’s porch like a vulture on a fence post, its dust-covered hood still ticking from the drive over. Kathy’s fingers dug into the truck’s bench seat as Ely slowed to a stop.

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