Page 74 of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Book
“Why, yes, I do.” Lula not only held her ground, she took a step forward. “Your daughter is a common criminal, and she has no business showing her face in church.”
Lindsay started to say something, but her mother held up a finger. Trip Underwood took his daughter by the arm and pulled her back. After two decades of marriage, he knew better than to step into the line of fire.
“I’m surprised a member of the Concerned Parents Committee has a problem with me bringing my daughter to church,” Beverly replied. “Isn’t that where you’d want her to be?”
Lula ignored the question and turned to face her audience. “It’s just like Beverly to go and ruin Sunday worship, isn’t it?” she asked the crowd. “First she lets her child destroy my sweet little library. Then she fights to keep filth in our schools. And now she’s working with those people to destroy our monuments and insult our heroes. I’m asking y’all—is there anything too low for Beverly Underwood?”
“Well, I wouldn’t have a young woman thrown in jail for taking seven dollars’ worth of Goodwill books that I passed off as my personal collection,” Beverly said.
Beverly’s sangfroid seemed to make Lula Dean’s blood boil. “So you’re okay with her filling my little library with pornography and propaganda? Why are you even running for mayor, Beverly?” she demanded. “It’s clear that you hate this town.”
“This is ridiculous,” Beverly said. “None of the books you banned contain propaganda or pornography. You took them out of the libraries because they told truths people like you and Nathan Dugan don’t want told. But I have faith in the people of Troy. I think we are good enough to see where our ancestors went wrong. And we’re strong enough to take responsibility for our forefathers’ mistakes and make damn sure we never repeat them.”
Lula turned to the crowd once again. “What is this woman on about?” she asked. “She’s not talking aboutslavery,is she? How many times do we need to have our noses rubbed in that? You think any of us are going to forget slavery was bad? You worried we’re gonna slip up someday and start slapping shackles on people?”
“This town’s troubles didn’t end with slavery. We have to be honest about that.”
Lula sighed theatrically. “Dear Lord, I think the woke virus has eaten poor Beverly’s brain.”
Beverly responded with a knowing smile. “There’s still enough of my brain left to remember that your daddy owned a mill that employed half the Black people in Troy. He made his employees work in unsafe conditions and paid them a fraction of what they were owed. The irony is, if he’d treated people fairly, your family might still own the mill. You act like it was stolen out from under you. But the government took it away because your father was a crook.”
Lula reared back like she’d been smacked in the face. “How dare you!” she seethed. “My father was just following the accepted practices of his day. He did those people a favor by hiring them. Without him, they would have starved.”
“That’s true,” Beverly conceded. “Those folks wouldn’t have been exploited at the Lambert mill if they could have gotten jobs anywhere else in town. Your family isn’t the only one that bears responsibility for the way Black citizens were treated.”
“Well, look at them now. We’ve got Black business owners and Black valedictorians. You can’t even get a government job in this town if you’re white.”
“We also have a Confederate general, slaver, and rapist standing in front of our county courthouse—and a group of ‘concerned parents’ taking books about Black history and slavery out of our schools. What’s all that about, anyway?” Beverly asked.
Lula pointed down at two kids, who instantly turned tail and disappeared into the crowd. “The children of Troy do not need to grow up feeling bad about things in the past they had nothing to do with.”
“Nobody’s saying they’re personally responsible. But what’s wrong with feeling bad? Isn’t that what makes us all try to do better? You worried thenext generation might want to improve things around here? Who knows—maybe they’ll make sure all people are treated equally and allowed to pursue happiness with those they love. Lord have mercy, wouldn’t that be awful? Heaven forbid!”
The crowd knew the gloves were coming off the second they saw Lula’s sneer. “You see where she’s going with this, don’t you?” she asked them. “She starts off talking about slavery and ends up pushing the gay agenda. That’s what Beverly Underwood’s really after. She wants to shove her daughter’s perverted lifestyle down our families’ throats.”
It felt like the whole town went silent while they all waited for Beverly’s response. But Beverly’s attention had turned to the dainty blond in an elegant baby-blue dress who’d just climbed the steps to join them.
“Mrs. Underwood.” The blond shook Beverly’s hand, then waved at someone in the crowd. “Hey, Ronnie!” Then her smile fell as she turned to Lula with a frown. “Oh my, Mama.Perverted lifestyle? That was a low blow.”
“Talia?” Lula’s expression shifted from joy to terror. “What are you doing here, sweetheart?”
Talia leaned forward and gave her mother a peck on the cheek. “I’m real sorry but we’re here to stop you before you can cause any more trouble.”
“Talia, why don’t we—”
Talia had already faced the crowd. “Hey, everyone! My name is Talia Dean. Lula Dean is my mother, and I love her. But you should know she’s a world-class hypocrite.”
“Talia, please—” Lula was begging.
“I read about Lula’s little library and her book banning club. I thought y’all might be interested in seeing what kind of books she had around when her own children were growing up. So I stopped by her house on the way here and gathered a few. I read this one when I was ten.” Talia held up a worn copy ofFifty Shades of Grey.“Didn’t understand a word, but Mama sure spent a lot of time reading it in the bathtub.”
There were titters from the crowd.
“I brought a few of her other favorites, too.Deep Desires. Beyond Shame.Pleasure Unbound. Taken by the T-Rex. Satisfying Sasquatch.All the stuff Lula thinks you shouldn’t be reading she keeps right on her nightstand. You wouldn’t believe what she storesinsidethe nightstand. And she never bothered to keep any of it out of reach of her children. But you know what? Didn’t harm us in the slightest. It was the other stuff she did—”
Talia was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Everyone turned to see the tall, thin figure in a black fifties-style dress and veil coming up the steps.
“Oops. Looks like Taylor wants to tell this part of the story. Y’all remember my sibling, don’t you?”
