Untitled

This was his girl’s idea—and a stupid one at that.

Smoke could handle his own shit. He ain’t need no help pleasing his woman, and every girl he’d ever been with had nothing but good memories to look back on. But for some reason, his girlfriend just had come up with the bright idea to invite someone else into their bed. She just had to make a new friend that she was obsessed with enough to invite over.

This was her idea. Not his. And the way that he saw it, his girl couldn’t get upset with the way that things had turned out because he warned her about how ridiculous this all was.

~~~~~

When she first came home—talking about this Annie woman with blush coating her cheeks—he didn’t understand the appeal. So what she supposedly had a silky, smooth voice? So what she was the most beautiful woman his girl had ever seen? Beauty is relative, and Smoke couldn’t imagine a woman perfect enough to go there with. But if his girl wanted to give it a try, he’d be willing to do so, too.

They had it all planned out: this would mostly be about his girl getting what she wanted. Smoke was supportive. Smoke was thoughtful, and if she wanted to explore something new, he’d do it with her.

But how could anyone blame him when he finally set his eyes on this Annie woman? This Annie woman who is beautiful with a silky, smooth voice to match?

Smoke was knee deep in her before he realized what he was doing. Annie was laid out on her back in his bed, arching against the mattress with his head between her thighs. All he could hear, smell, taste, see, and feel was her. Her nails were scratching at the back of his neck as she encouraged him to keep going. She kept saying it was good, that he was so good. He had to keep going. Had to keep devouring her until she was shaking against his face.

Smoke dragged Annie to the edge of her pleasure, lips tight around her clit, and before she could cum, he pulled out. A whine leaving her lips, he shut her up quickly by settling his length between her parted thighs. He effectively hushed her cries, and her moans sounded louder than they had all night.

“Fuck,” he cursed beneath his breath. “You tight as shit, baby.” He wiped his face with the back of his hand, soon taking up both of her legs and throwing them over his shoulders.

“Oh, shit,” Annie laughed throatily, hardly finding the chance to breath between Smoke pummeling her and kissing down the length of her neck. He was too good at everything he was doing. So damn good for her.

She’d completely forgotten why she was here and who had brought her here. She’d forgotten this was supposed to involve someone else, too. But how could you blame her? Her new friend ain’t tell her that her man had it like this. She ain’t say he was this sexy. She ain’t say that he would have her dickmatized in mere minutes.

When she was asked to join them, Annie had incorrectly assumed that Smoke couldn’t be any good in bed if her friend wanted another person to join, but she was pleasantly astonished by his capabilities. Where she thought he’d be inept, the man was anything but. He could handle her with ease: picking her up, throwing her around, fucking her through the mattress—and his girl, too (when either of them could remember she was there).

Fully consumed by the moment, Smoke had Annie hanging off the side of the bed. Her head hung low as one of her hands touched the floor, trying her best to keep her upright.

"Arch that fuckin' back, baby," he groaned, eyes on the recoil of her ass.

"I'm tryin'," she shouted back, fighting the urge to crumble. Fuck did it feel good. It felt like he was fucking her raw—and he wasn't. It felt like he knew all the right spots and angles to hit. And when she would clench in a real specific way, Smoke felt like she knew what he needed, too. He dragged out and back in, forced her hips to meet his in the middle, and when she pulsed and fluttered and clenched just one last time, they came together with ease.

With her eyes closed, Annie felt him collapse against her back. His breath was hot against her neck, and the weight of him brought her relief.

"You comfortable up there," she laughed in question, sighing when he groaned in her left ear and squeezed at her side. She'd never felt this light after sex, and even though he'd put her through a lot, she felt better than she had all day. She couldn't believe her luck, couldn't believe that saying yes to a simple, yet loaded, ask would result in her body fluttering all over while her eyes sank back into her sockets.

But it felt like she was forgetting something.

She thought back to when Smoke had fell on top of her.

And when she had allowed her body to topple over the edge of the bed.

And when she was moaning his name and he hers.

And when he was eating her out with frenzied purpose.

And when he had ripped her clothes from her body.

And when she had walked into the bedroom.

And when the front door had opened and her friend was on the other side.

Annie’s eyes sprang open quickly, and with Smoke still laid out on top of her, she saw her friend standing in the door frame of the bedroom. Her shoulder was leaned into the wood. Her right foot crossed over her left while her arms folded against her chest in a strong hold. Robe covering her naked body, the woman looked like she could breathe fire and curse someone’s bloodline in the same second, and Annie didn’t exactly blame her. This wasn’t supposed to go like this, but she and the man had gotten far too carried away with each other.

“Y’all done yet,” the woman spoke up, not even truly ready for the answer the tangled pair would utter.

Above Annie, Smoke groaned in realization, cursing to himself. He’d fucked up, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to come back from this; And he wasn’t sure if he wanted to either. Head lifting from where he’d rested it against Annie’s back, he avoided the other woman across the room.

He stood upright and removed the used condom.

He huffed a breath as he moved to find something for Annie to cover herself with.

He cleared his throat as if ready to speak.

But once he met the eye of the woman across the room, all words died in his throat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

word count: ~1,200

a/n: i needed something a lil messyyy

taglist: comment HERE to be added!

May 26, 1954

The gray clouds gathered in the sky as the wind whistled through tin roofs in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Annie ran from her granny’s shack with bottles of herbs, oils, and tinctures rolling together in her bundled skirts. A streak of light scattered across the sky followed by a deafening BOOM that shook the ground and made Annie stumble a bit. She picked up the pace and ran into the front door of her Big Mama’s house. Inside, she carefully rolled the bottles into the basket she previously forgot to take with her.

She walked into the kitchen with the basket and placed it on the small wooden table next to the back door. Outside the window, the sky had grown darker and the wind whipped furiously. A loud crack of thunder rattled the windows and seemed to make the house jump in fright. Annie leaned against the tabletop gripping the edge to calm her racing heart and stop her hands from shaking. If that thunder had a face, she would’ve ran her blade across it. Her breath came slower and slower as she pictured the warm sun illuminating the greenery of the unending fields and a clear sky running across her small corner of the world. May storms were as brutal as they were loud; dropping large hail and tornadoes wherever they saw fit. This year no mercy had been spared as hundreds lost their homes to the angry air. 

“Annie! Make sure ain’t nothing plugged in down there!” She heard Big Mama yell from upstairs, likely in her bedroom.

Immediately, Annie ran through the den to check the few electronic things they had: the t.v., radio, and lamp had already been unplugged. All the lights had been turned off and a row of candles stood on the mantle of the fireplace. She heard the stairs creak under Big Mama’s footsteps as the older woman made her way down to the lower level.

“I think this one got more bark than anything,” she observed standing in front of the mesh screen door. Her feet were slightly apart and her hands were clasped behind her back. All  sixty-three years of wisdom showed in her gray hair as her deep brown face had so few wrinkles, people often thought she was lying about her age. “Just God puttin’ on a show.”

Annie joined her at the door and looked out into the horizon where lightning danced in the sky. “You sho he ain’t tryna take nobody up there with him?” She couldn’t trust those low-hanging clouds not to start spinning at any moment.

Big Mama grabbed Annie’s hand and held it up to the mesh on the screen door. “What’cha feel there?”

The wind cooled Annie’s hand where it whistled through the tiny squares on the mesh. “It’s just the wind blowing hard.” She wanted to trust her grandma but her eyes saw danger so what did it matter what she felt through this damn door?

“Uh-uh, that ain’t all. What else ya feel?” Big Mama squeezed her wrist once encouraging her to close her eyes.

With her eyes closed, Annie felt the wind pushing against her hand with its might. It was strong but it was also consistent, not jumpy. “It ain’t moving around, it’s just goin one way. It’s stable.” She opened her eyes and looked at Big Mama who had a knowing smirk on her face. “Might could change its mind though.” She crossed her arms in front of her.

Big Mama shrugged. “Could. Seem to know where it need to be though. Ain’t here for too much longer.” She walked away, her posture slightly bent from all the years of tending to crops, raising her children and grandchildren, and praying protection over each of them. “Ya mama ain’t never believe me either at first. But I bet she at home right now sitting on the porch. If y’all ain’t the same.” A chuckle left her slight frame.

Annie trailed behind her all too used to being compared to her mama. “What you want to eat tonight, Big Mama? There’s still some greens in the icebox I can warm up for ya. I’ll make some cornbread and I can fry up the rest of that fish J.J. sent.”

Her grandma waved her off as she walked into the den. “Come on sit down. We’ll worry about that later. Just let the Lord work.” She nodded towards the window as heavy rain fell down, soaking the Earth.

There was still enough light in the sky that filtered through the small window to make the big pieces of furniture visible to the two women. Big Mama sat on the couch letting out that sigh that older people do when they’ve said enough, saw enough, and heard enough for the day. Annie laid down beside her and put her head in her lap. Big Mama would never say she had a favorite child or grandchild but as she stroked Annie’s coily hair and hummed a gospel melody, it would be clear to anyone that walked in who she prayed and hoped for the most.

Annie joined her in humming but quickly drifted off to sleep with dreams of walking through smoke-filled streets in a place she’d never seen in real life. 

****

When she woke, Annie was shrouded in darkness but heard the sounds of her grandma moving around in the kitchen. She shot up and rushed to where Big Mama was. “Why you doin that?” Annie moved to stop her grandma. The heat from the wood-burning stove smothered the kitchen.

The older woman was adding coated fish to a skillet of bubbling grease. “Girl, don’t worry ‘bout me. You gone start the cornbread mix.” She went back to frying the fish.

Gritting her teeth, Annie pulled out the canisters that held the cornmeal and flour and a glass bowl from under the cabinet. A few eggs from their hens sat out on the counter. Over the sound of the popping grease, she heard the wood from the screen door rattle. The storm had passed so it couldn’t be the wind. She peaked down the dark hall and saw a dark figure shaking the door to get in.

“Mama! Annie! Open the door!” It was the stressed voice of Annie’s mama, Marceline. 

Dashing to the door, Annie unlatched it and was immediately bombarded with her mama’s heavy purse being pushed into her stomach. The wind in her body escaped her. She drew it back in while dropping the purse to the floor. “Mama, damn, what’s wrong?” Looking her over for signs of injury, she noticed that she was in her night coat.

Her mother glared at her with a severe look for the profanity but instantly broke into tears. “Your damn daddy! Even in death the bastard still ain’ no good. I looked the other way with the women and the drinkin. Long as you and Jeanie had what y’all needed from him, wasn’t no problem. But—” She covered her mouth as tears fell down her face. 

Big Mama had joined them, no doubt removing the pot from the eye before rushing in to see her eldest daughter break down. She wrapped her arms around Marcy’s shoulders and guided her into the den with Annie following behind. “What’s goin on wit’cha, Marcy?” They both sat on the couch as Annie plugged in the lamp that covered everything in a dim glow.

Marcy wiped her nose with a wrinkled handkerchief. “Robert—ain’ no way God ‘low a man like that to walk past the Pearly Gates, Mama. I know you don’t like ugly talk ‘bout the dead but I bet the devil got a new friend when that last drink took Robert away.” She broke into sobs again.

Annie sat beside her rubbing her back. She was no stranger to her father’s philandering ways but she never seen her mama this torn up about him. For most of her life, her mama was apathetic and sometimes cold to him but she never shed a tear for him, not even when he died almost a year ago. A lump formed in her throat hearing her mama cry. “What Daddy do from the grave, Mama?” She looked closely at her mama, wondering if some kind of spirit got a hold of her.

Marcy turned to her youngest daughter and grabbed her hands. “I ain’t givin’ you up, Annie. No matter what yo lyin ass daddy did.”

Her eyebrow raised in confusion. “What’chu mean, mama? What did daddy do?”

Marcy breathed in deeply like she was trying to summon all the courage within her. “Last March, when he went to Chicago to visit his brother, he turned up at one of the twins’ gamblin’ houses up there.”

“The twins?” Annie tried to recall the names of any twins she might’ve known in Chicago and the only ones that came to mind were— “The TWINS!” Her heart pounded like she had just heard another crash of thunder. The Moore twins—Smoke and Stack. 

They had a reputation that spanned from Louisiana all the way to Chicago and probably some places overseas since they served during the second Great War. They were called up for duty just one week after their drunkard daddy went missing. The brothers never bothered answering questions about him and after a while, folks stopped asking in fear they’d disappear too. When they returned from war, they opened some juke joints on either side of the Delta in Arkansas and Mississippi. The gambling rooms became a major source of interest for men who had worked in fields and factories all day and wanted to take a chance on winning big. 

In the Delta though, men racked up way more debts than they could pay. Very few of them had much money or land to put on the line so the twins closed the joints and went North for some real money. Word spread down the river that they opened a few in Chicago and they were making money like nobody’s business. And they knew how to deal with the folks with large debts. The twins always made sure to collect.

“I always kept the deed to the land under the mattress. It’s been there almost long as you been alive, Annie.” Marcy paused again to suck in a breath.

Big Mama stood up, her small form more intimidating than anyone Annie had ever seen. “If that nigga done gambled away my granddaddy land, I’m diggin him up and killin him again, Marcy.” It sounded like eight voices wrapped in one when she spoke.

Marcy shook her head. “When he couldn’t pay his debts, the twins’ goons pulled him into the back and shook him down. Found the deed in his pocket.”

The rage inside Annie heated her face as she listened to her mother. 

“I got got a letter today.” This brought back heaving sobs. “Sendin’ condolences and sayin’ that Robert’s death didn’t change the deal they made with him. The mean one, Smoke, he wrote they’ll give the deed back when he marry you.” She looked down, ashamed that the words had left her lips. “I’ll kill him myself if I have to, but he ain’t takin’ you from me.” She threw her arms around her daughter and cried into her shoulder.

Annie’ was reeling at her mother’s words. Marry Smoke Moore? She started laughing, her body shaking and tears at the corners of her eyes. “Mama, you sho this ain’ one of Sissy’s jokes? She really do make herself sound believable! ‘Member she had Tiny thinkin’ she won a prize out that magazine she wrote in for? Anyway, what Smoke Moore gone want with a country Delta girl when he a Northern man?” She gestured to her body whose frame held wide hips, buxom chest, and a slight pudge on her belly. “And a big girl at that! Sissy a fool sometimes.” She shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the rocking chair next to the fireplace like she just solved all of their issues.

Her mama pulled an envelope out of her pocket and walked it over to Annie. “This one came for you.” She carefully placed it in her hand like she was scared it would explode.

Annie stared down at the already open envelope addressed to her. She pulled out the letter and scanned it. The letter wasn’t long. It was mostly Smoke introducing himself and how he was able to provide a good life for her. He ended with stating that he would be in Clarksdale to meet her on May 27th and wanted to take some time getting to know her before they were married and returned to Chicago by early September.

Yours Truly, Elijah Moore

She sat in silence for a moment. She could feel the only life she’d known being ripped away. But what was the alternative? Let two thugs just take her family’s land because her daddy wasn’t worth the dirt on the bottom of her boots? Without giving it more thought, she turned to Big Mama and Marcy and said, “He’ll be here tomorrow. I need my hair to look nice.”

Marcy ripped the letter out of her hand and threw it on the ground. “No! I will see him dead before he even thinks about seein you! He can join ya stupid ass daddy!”

Looking over to Big Mama, Annie tried to read her. Her face had showed no emotion other than general concern. Her hands rested in her lap as she made eye-contact with her granddaughter. “This Annie road now, Marceline. You gotta let her walk it like I let you walk yours.” She stood up and walked over to Annie to gently grab her face. “This ain’t on you to walk alone, Annie. It ain’t on you to save what yo daddy threw away. I won’t love you no different.”

Taking her grandma’s hand in hers, Annie looked deep into her eyes which were like her own. “I want curls in my hair and I’m gonna wear that blue dress you made me.”

One lone tear dripped down Big Mama’s smooth face and she fell to her knees. “I been prayin for you everyday since you was born and they said you was too small to make it. I been askin God and anyone that’ll listen to give ya a good heart and make it strong. I been burnin sage and incense to keep folk an’ spirits that’ll harm ya away from you. An’ I know all that ain’t been fa nothin cuz I got ya worryin’ over me everyday when you can be out shamin’ ya family an’ bringin in a bunch of babies from whoever. I got ya here bein strong with yo lot when you can be runnin away.”

Annie got down on the floor and wrapped her arms around her grandma. She inhaled her sweet honey scent, committing it to memory. A warmth spread through her as she started humming Big Mama’s favorite gospel tune.

********

The moment arrived quicker than Annie expected it to. She could only focus on the details of her grandma’s finely decorated living room. There were two large windows that allowed the sun to light up the space, highlighting the elegant floral furniture that Big Mama had brought down from up North. Tassels hung from the lampshades, making Annie feel like she was in a fine living magazine. The red carpet was as pristine as the day it was put in, a testament to how often folks were allowed in here.

Heavy footsteps treaded closer, not ones she was used to. She sat up straight, attempting to exude bravery but her rapid heartbeat and sweaty palms betrayed her. She bolted up right as a male figure walked through the doorway. Her hands gripped the skirt of her dress and she took a step back at who stood before her. Smoke Moore.

Her eyes scanned him all over. He had on a dark three-piece tweed suit that looked like it was made to take on this Mississippi heat. Under the vest was a light blue collared shirt that matched Annie’s dress perfectly. She also noted the golf hat that paired well with everything else he had on but what stole her breath away was his face. A slight scowl made itself home there but it wasn’t out of anger—well not completely. To Annie, it looked like that is just how it was made and it worked for him.

“You Miss Annie?” He had surveyed her, just as she did him. Something that looked like a smile briefly flashed across his face allowing Annie a glimpse at his dimples. He held up a bouquet of flowers wrapped in fine tissue paper. “I got these for you. Think you might like this sort of thing.”

Annie raised an eyebrow, looking critically at the flowers. “What sort of thing, Mr. Moore?” She made no move to accept them.

The confusion was etched on his handsome face. He cleared his throat. “Well, I—uh, I figured you like a man bringin you flowers. Makin’ things look pretty.”

She put her hand on her hip, a little surprised at how nervous he seemed. “Things don’t look pretty enough for you right now, Mr. Moore?”

“Now that’s not what I said. I just meant—” He pulled at his collar, struggling to find words to explain himself correctly.

She reached out to take the flowers from him. “I’m just havin’ you on, Mr. Moore. Ain’ no man ever give me flowers like this. Thank you.” She gave him a nervous smile afraid she might’ve upset him.

Relief flooded his features as a real smile broke out across his face. “You had me sweatin’! Thought I did some wrong.” The walked over and took a seat on the big couch. 

A pang shot through her heart as she remembered why they were here. “Mr. Moore, you ain’ gotta pretend to wanna court me. We know why you here and why I’m here too.” She chose to avoid looking directly at him for fear she’d break out in tears.

“I know I ain’ what you was ‘spectin when you thought ‘bout settlin’ down. I—I think we can make it work though.” His clenched fists sat on his lap as he stumbled through his words.

It caught Annie’s attention but she didn’t say anything. He fought his way through life and maybe that’s what he was doing here, fighting his way through with his fists balled up and a frown on his face. Annie didn’t know how to respond, so she simply looked down at her lap.

Smoke reached into his jacket pocket and held up a small box. “Girl like you deserve a fella willin’ to get down on one knee.” He moved to kneel in front of her, grabbing her left hand. 

A jolt ran through her when their hands touched. It was unfamiliar but not wholly unpleasant, causing her to sit straight up and her heart to beat like she had just finished running in from the fields. Heat bloomed in her cheeks as she looked at the man before her on one knee. Beyond his hard eyes was almost a softness that made Annie curious. 

“Miss Annie Love, you may heard a lot about me. Lot of it ain’t good and a lot of it true, but I’m gonna keep ya safe and I’ll take care of ya if you agree to be my wife.” He opened the box and nestled between soft velvet was a diamond ring nicer than any piece of jewelry Annie ever seen up close and she had a pretty decent collection of her own jewelry that was passed down to her.

The size of it shook her so, she jumped to her feet, nearly knocking Smoke down in the process. “What you go out and buy this for? That ain’t fit to be wearin’ out in no fields or when we down at the slaughter house. You ain’t gotta spoil me, Mr. Moore, you already got me.” Her hand was still in his like there was something keeping her from pulling away.

“I want my woman to have what’s best. You ain’t gotta be out in the fields or slaughter house with me.” There was a hard edge to his voice that wasn’t there before. Maybe it was meant to scare Annie a little bit but it just frustrated her.

She huffed in annoyance at his claim on her. “I ain’t yo woman just yet Mr. Moore. Not until the preacher man say so.”

Chuckling under his breath, he pulled the ring from the box and slid it on her finger. “Ain’t you? You said I already got ya, so I reckon you my woman and everybody gone know it, right?” His eyes bore into hers like he was staring into the deepest parts of her soul.

Not wanting to reveal just how much his words made her stomach flutter, she nodded in agreement. “Yes, Mr. Moore.” Why was she feeling this? She didn’t know this man from Adam and here he was claiming her—a prize he won in a card game—and she felt none of the hatred or fear she did this morning. The ring felt heavy on her finger as she inspected the way it looked on her hand. Goodness, she’d have to carry the pistol her granddaddy bought her to keep folks away from this when she went into town. And he’d even gotten the right size. “How you get the fit so right?” She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

He stood up and held his hands in front of him. “Now, this was my doin’ so you gone take it out on somebody, take it out on me.” Guilt briefly flashed in his eyes. “I looked ya sister, Jeanie, up in Chicago had her help me and made her promise to not say nothin’ ‘bout it.”

A lump formed in her throat. “Jeanie?” Her older sister, her best friend besides Pearline. They told each other everything and kept each other’s secrets. Like the time Jeanie snuck out of the house to sing at a juke joint with Pearline. Annie pretended to have a nightmare so she could sleep in their mama’s bed and be held all night so Marcy would have no need to come into their room at night to check on her. When Jeanie caught Annie being felt up by the Jones boy behind the Ellis General Store when Annie was sixteen, she never told a soul, not even Pearline.

Annie’s first heartbreak was when Jeanie moved north to Chicago after marrying Frank Billings. They wrote each other almost every week and they talked on the phone at least once a month but Jeanie knew how to send a telegram if it was really important. Like when she found out she was pregnant a few months ago. Wouldn’t a gangster coming down to collect his winning warrant a telegram?

She sat down and felt Smoke sit beside her. The tears she’d been holding back burst free. Now it was less about the fact that her sister didn’t tell her and more about her absence at this moment. She could be angry at Jeanie later, but for now, she just wanted her here.

Not really knowing how to comfort his tearful fiancee, Smoke pulled out his handkerchief and offered it to her. “She wanted to say somethin but I didn’t want her to. Didn’t wanna scare you off.” He took her hand in his again, finding his own comfort in her soft skin.

She snatched her hand back after soaking the handkerchief with hear tears. “My sister ain’t never kept nothin from me and you come along! You ain’t have no right meddlin’ like that, Mr. Moore. I’on scare easy ‘specially when it come to my family.” She pointed a finger at him feeling much older than her 20 years. “We gon’ do this thing but don’t you think you run my family. You only get me.”

He nodded in understanding, keeping the smile that threatened to break through at bay. “Yes, ma’am. I ain’t mean no harm but I understand not wantin folk to come between you and ya family.” He didn’t use Stack’s name but his meaning was clear. He didn’t try to reach out to her again, not liking the way it felt when she pulled away from him. “We got some months ’til we married. I wanna know you better, if that’s all right.” 

She sniffled, feeling childish for her response. “’S’alright, Mr. Moore.” What say did she really have here? She just needed to see that deed back in her Big Mama’s hands so she’d endure what she had to with Smoke.

“You wanna clean up before we go back out to tell everybody?” He took a risk by using his thumb to catch a stray tear that was falling from her eye. There was that jolt again.

The gesture caught her off-guard and made her gasp though not in fear which confused her even more. She thanked him quietly and went to the downstairs washroom to clean her face. 

In the mirror, she hardly recognized herself even though everything was the same as it was this morning besides the puffiness of her eyes. She soaked a clean washcloth and placed it over her eyes, hoping the coolness would hide the fact that she had cried in front of Smoke when she wasn’t supposed to show much emotion at all. Now he probably thinks she’s some weak little girl he can pull one over on. 

She let the cloth sit for a few minutes while she twisted the heavy ring around on her finger, wondering how she’d get used to the weight of it. Her eyes had mostly returned to normal after she lifted the cloth. There was still some redness but no one would know unless they looked close enough. She pulled out the jar of petroleum jelly from the medicine cabinet and rubbed some on her face to hide the evidence of tear marks and went to rejoin her new fiancé.

Sobs shook Marcy’s body and echoed off the metal walls of her daddy’s old work shed. Her little Annie would be marrying the son of that evil Adam Moore. No prayer, spell, ritual, or poison could keep that man from getting her back like he said he would. Even from the grave. She almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. “Not my baby, not my baby, not my, baby,” Marcy chanted over and over again just like she did when Annie was born sick. Her pain reached the depth of her bloodline—past when her people were stolen from their homeland in chains.

The more the tears flowed, the more she felt separated from the power that she used to rely on. Nothing answered back. She dropped to her knees and changed her prayer. “Protect her, please.”

Something moved under her, not enough to be seen but enough to be felt. That was all the confirmation she needed that she had been heard. The sweltering heat inside the shed now wrapped around her, drenching her in sweat. She ran to open the door and breathe in the fresh air and jumped back when she noticed her sister was standing there. “Helen! Why you gotta sneak up on folks like that?”

“I called your name, Marcy.” She zeroed in on Marcy’s tear-filled eyes and puffy face. “He ain’t like Adam.”

“Then why the hell he look so much like him?! Why would he have his eyes, his face—nothing of her. Nothing. Even the way he walk is just like his daddy! And you didn’t tell me that he had been seein’ my baby!” The betrayal she felt from her sister cut deeper than anything else. 

Helen kept her cool demeanor and shrugged. “This somethin’ bigger than us, Marcy and you know I don’t get in the way of what need to be done. That girl in that house knowin’ her life about to change and you and Mama actin’ like fools.”

“She don’t know what she doin! She don’t know how dangerous a man like that is! She don’t know how he can drag her down.” Marcy pulled at her hair. “I don’t want to watch her fall in love with him just to find out too late he ain’t worth nothin.” 

Shifting her eyes to the sky, Helen pursed her lips. “She ain’t Lettie, Marcy. She ain’t. She in that house right now probably hurtin’ and scared because how you actin. Annie think she doin’ the right thing for the family and you out here chasin’ ghosts.”

Rolling her eyes, Marcy pulled out a cigarette and lit it. With a deep inhale, she felt comforted by the sensation of the nicotine. “Well, everybody can’t be like you, Helen. I like to feel stuff sometimes. I wasn’t never gonna be happy about my baby marryin’ somebody like that.”

Something in her sister’s tone caused Helen to stand up straighter. “Well, it ain’t about you, it’s about Annie. Either you can help her through this or you can keep actin’ like the world is against you.”

Marcy looked past her sister allowing the silence to answer for her as she took another drag on the cigarette.

Casting one last pitying look at her sister, Helen turned and went on about her day.

**********

There was a lot of chatter around town about Smoke Moore returning to the Delta without his brother. DeLaurine didn’t want to engage but decided it would be better if she could plant a few seeds. No one needed to know Annie was marrying Smoke for the deed but she couldn’t hide their whole marriage when it happened.

“Wonder what kind of scheming he comin’ down here to do, you think?” MaryLou, one of Delaurine’s oldest friend asked. “Don’t know if it’ll be better or worse without his brother with him.”

Shrugging, DeLaurine organized the cards in her hand. “Heard him and his brother doin’ good with them music clubs up north. Ain’t doin’ all that gamblin’ like they used to.”

“Hm.” MaryLou frowned, no doubt hoping to gossip about the Moore boys like she had done so many times with DeLaurine. She decided to try another way in. “I heard them boys that go up North, come back down here to find them a wife. Say the Northern women don’t half know how to cook. You think that’s what he comin’ back to do? He don’t seem like he change women like his brother.”

“If he is, I know it ain’t me he tryna take as a wife,” DeLaurine sighed and moved her cards around again. “I bet a lot of girls down here gon’ jump at the chance to be with him. Ain’t like he comin’ down here empty-handed like a lot of them boys.” 

MaryLou tossed a card down. “Well, all mine married already so I ain’t gotta worry ‘bout it.” She eyed DeLaurine, curious about her old friend’s change of tone when it came to the Moore twins.

“I ain’t worried about it either.” She tossed a card on top of MaryLou’s and grinned. “You up to owin’ me fifty-cent. You sure you wanna keep goin?”

She threw her hand down. “Naw, I lose anymore, me and Edward likely ain’t eatin’ nothin but cabbage for the week.” She pulled the money out of her coin purse and placed it in her friend’s hand. “Annie and Christopher ain’t been around town together in a while. They done with each other?”

Lips pursed, DeLaurine resisted the urge to roll her eyes at MaryLou. “Done as a holiday hen. She ain’t like him that much. She’ll find her way.”

“You ain’t got nobody in mind? You did pretty good with Mamie and the Doctor, and Jeanie and Frank, and Marcy and Robert. Got somebody in mind for Annie?”

“Annie got a good head on her shoulders. I’ll see what she decide to do. I need to go make sure the truck picked up the meat from the slaughter house.” She was done with this conversation and didn’t plan to say anymore right now.

******************************

A few weeks after they had returned from Chicago, Annie woke from a dream coughing uncontrollably. She gasped for air and rolled over in bed to sit up. The coughs continued to choke her until she felt light-headed.

The door to her room opened. Big Mama, Marcy, and Helen rushed in. “Annie, breathe!”

“Don’t you think she would’a done that if she could, Mama?” Marcy scoffed and went to sit by Annie on the bed and tapped her on the back, just like she did when her daughter was younger. “Come on, baby. It’s okay it was just a dream. It’s okay.”

“Smoke,” Annie choked out. “Too much smoke.” The coughing had calmed down and she was finally able to draw in a clean breath.

Marcy threw a knowing look at Helen. “What you mean by that, baby?”

Big Mama sat on the other side of Annie. “What you see, Annie?”

“Smoke everywhere. All over. In the trees.” Annie hung her head and drew in some deep breaths like it was her first time feeling air in her lungs. “I’m all right.” Her dreams had been more vivid lately and she wasn’t stupid enough to act like they didn’t have something to do with the man making his way down to the Delta to propose to her. She just couldn’t say for sure what they meant. Glancing at her worried family, she waved them off. “Y’all can go back to bed. I’m fine now.” 

“It’s 9 o’clock in the morning, Lil Annie,” Helen laughed. “I think it’s time for you to get out of the bed. Come on, we got some work to do around here before any guests show up.”

“Helen, give her a minute,” Big Mama insisted wrapping her arm around Annie. “You too, Marcy. Let her catch her breath good.”

Marcy wanted to protest but seeing the serious look on her mama’s face, she gave Annie’s hand a gentle squeeze and stood up to follow her younger sister out the room.

Annie wanted nothing more than to tell Marcy to stay and sing to her like she used to when Annie was a little girl. She wanted to beg her mama to sit with her and let her know that everything would be all right after she said yes to Smoke Moore. She wanted to just talk to her about anything that could be said but if this situation showed her anything it was that she couldn’t be that little girl crying for her mama to kiss her pain away. This was something Annie would have to do on her own, no matter how much it scared her. So she said nothing as her mother walked out the door.

Once the door was closed, Big Mama turned and took Annie’s hands in hers. “Yo dreams been like that since Chicago?” She knew her granddaughter used to have night terrors that caused her to thrash and scream in her sleep when she was younger but the way she described this dream was different.

Shaking her head, Annie plucked at her nightgown. “Since before then. The woods get real smoky and I can’t see to get out, usually. This time I couldn’t breathe. The smoke was thicker than before.” Unlike the night terrors that Annie couldn’t remember when she woke up, these dreams were burned into her mind long after she’d open her eyes.

“You think it got somethin to do with…him?” DeLaurine had not accepted the idea of Elijah Moore marrying Annie but she was willing to tone down her dislike of him for the sake of her grandchild.

Shrugging, Annie yawned deeply before wiping the sleep from her eyes. “I think so but can’t say for sure what it mean. Probably don’t mean nothin’ though.”

“It mean somethin. You ain’t been in them woods, have you?” 

“No ma’am. Ain’t got no reason to. In my dream, it wasn’t them woods anyway. It was the ones in the north east where the stream is.

Then, Big Mama stood quicker than Annie had ever seen in her life. “We gon’ talk about this later.” She was out the door before Annie could even ask where she was going.

************************

The day of Smoke’s arrival, Annie’s stomach was in knots. For the first time since she had come back from Chicago, little threads of doubt started to creep in. She couldn’t say how she imagined being married but agreeing to get married in exchange for her family’s land would’ve never crossed her mind. She knew plenty of girls who had to marry the man their folks chose for them and suspected that’s what would happen to her eventually but this was much different. Her family would rather her marry a duck in the pond than to ever be near Smoke Moore again. 

Their words tossed in her head. What if this was the wrong thing to do? What if she does end up getting hurt? And if he wanted to take her back up to Chicago? Her stomach twisted more at the thought of being away from her family home causing her to squirm the chair as Fran curled her hair.

“Be still, lil Annie or you’ll get burned again,” Fran warned. Her hands weren’t as careful as Jeanie’s when it came to doing Annie’s hair but she was trying her best after Marcy refused to lift a finger preparing for Smoke’s arrival. “You scared about today?”

Biting her lip, Annie nodded slightly. “Only a little. My mama and Big Mama ain’t said much today. They ain’t talkin’ to each other and my mama ain’t hardly talked to me since she found out.” Tears clouded her eyes. “What if he wanna get married next week or somethin’ and go back to Chicago? I don’t know if I wanna go up there to live, Franny, and leave everybody here.”

Putting down the curling iron, Fran walked around the chair until she was in front of her cousin. She kneeled down and put her hands on her cousin’s knees. “Annie, you grown so Imma be honest with you. This family got a lot of shit they ain’t figured out. I spent my life watching Big Mama and aunt Marcy bein tore up about somethin all the time. The way they feel about the Moores is somethin’ deep that happened before me or you was born. They carried that even after Adam Moore died. You ain’t gotta carry it.” She handed Annie a piece of cloth to wipe her eyes with.

“You know what happened?” Annie sniffled and dabbed at her eyes. “Why they act like Smoke and Stack is devils?” Her time with Smoke in Chicago came back to her. While his exterior was still rough, he didn’t cross any lines or do anything to make her question the good in him. She mostly wondered why her family couldn’t see what she saw. 

“I don’t know much except Adam Moore wanted to marry aunt Marcy and she not only said no, she said hell no. He was a music man and he liked to drink. Yo mama would’ve walked the whole country to find somebody to marry before she married Adam Moore—that’s what Nadine said anyway. And you know what they said happened to him before the twins joined the army.” Once Annie stopped crying, Fran stood up and went back to curling her hair. “And you ain’t gotta worry too much about him just takin’ you back to Chicago when you got him chasin’ you down to the Delta to ask for your hand. Tell him what you want, you ain’t gotta let him control everything. You like him, don’t you?”

Annie hadn’t considered that she had choices in this matter too and so far, Smoke hadn’t forced her to make any decisions yet. “I think so. I know he see things different than I do sometimes but life ain’t been the same for him like its been for me. My mama and Big Mama don’t really see that.”

“Chile, don’t try to get through this life worryin’ about what DeLaurine and Marceline don’t see clear enough. Save ya’self some trouble. Save the stressin’ for that man that’s about to ask you to marry him.” She finished curling Annie’s hair and started to pin it up in the back.

“Is that what you do?” Annie always admired how her cousin seemed unbothered by the things that had the other women in the family so unsettled. Fran hardly kept what was happening between her and Stack a secret. Big Mama was mostly mad that Fran treated it like no big thing than she was that Fran was fooling around with somebody she wasn’t married to.

“Yes, ma’am. I figured out early one day Big Mama gon’ be gone and so will Marcy and Nadine and I don’t plan on carrying they troubles with me. Life ain’t that long, lil Annie.”

“You think that’s why aunt Margaret don’t come around no more?”

“Not at all. That man she married really ain’t good enough to wipe the shit off her shoe. She the youngest so she just hardheaded. She’ll be back at that door fo’ too long. Last I heard, they stayin’ with one of his cousins and he don’t half show up to work. Got the cousin wantin’ to put ‘em out. They can say what they want about Smoke Moore but that man know how to make a way and he gon’ always be workin.”

Annie felt comforted by her cousin’s words but she was still worried about her grandma and mama.

**********

Not long before Smoke was set to arrive that evening, Marcy was nowhere to be found and Big Mama was yelling out orders to get the food ready and on the table. Junior dragged himself from his room looking a pitiful sight.

“Pullin’ out all the stops for the new man of the house, I see,” he said bitterly to Helen who was arranging the silverware on the table.

“Well maybe if we impress him enough, he won’t give away our land to somebody we don’t know,” Helen quipped. “You got a lot of nerve actin’ like you bein’ done wrong when Annie only agreein’ to do this because of your mistake. You oughta be thankin’ her.”

Junior walked towards the stairs and looked up. “Thank you, Annie! Thank you for sacrificin’ all the comforts of being a Love woman so that you can enjoy all the comforts of being Smoke Moore’s wife so we can keep our land! I am truly sorry I put you in such a terrible position to be a kept woman for the rest of your life!”

Upstairs a door opened and careful footsteps moved closer to the top of the stairs until Annie appeared. She wore one of the many dresses her mama had made for her—a baby blue color that stood out against her dark skin. Her hair made her look less like a young woman and more like someone who knew something about life. She held a tube of lipstick in her hand though her face was tear-stained and her eyes were red. “Aunt Helen, can you help me put this on right? I don’t know how to do it like my mama.”

Seeing her niece in distress had Helen moving quickly past her brother who she shoved on her way up the stairs. “Here I come, Annie.” They walked back to Annie’s room which was a wreck. All the dresses that Annie decided not to wear were strewn about the space—the bed, the chair, the dresser, and the floor. “Did a tornado come and only visit your room?”

Sitting down in front of her vanity, Annie’s shoulders slumped. “I’ll get it all picked up. I just didn’t know what I wanted to wear. Thought about askin’ my mama for help but—” She dabbed at her eyes with an already wet handkerchief. “She won’t even look at me. I just wanna talk to her and she won’t—” She threw up her hands. “I could be goin to Chicago next week and she won’t say nothin’ to me. She done with me?”

Helen took the lipstick from her niece. “You know me and ya mama don’t see eye to eye on this  situation but I know she ain’t done with you.” She paused wondering how to continue. “Ever since we was little Marcy always thought it was her job to make sure we ain’t get hurt. Ain’t nobody told Marcy that hurt gon’ happen no matter how much you try to stop it. She got real hard on herself when one of us got hurt. When she had Jeanie and then you, she promised not to ever let y’all get in any trouble she couldn’t get you out of.” A humorless laugh left Helen’s lips. “When you got hurt that time, she was barely herself for a long time after. I think she started feelin’ like everybody was gettin’ hurt because of her. She ain’t done with you, she just feelin’ sorry for herself.”

Maybe her aunt Helen thought telling her this would make her feel better but after hearing that all she felt was anger. “I’m sorry Aunt Helen. I gotta go do something.” She grabbed the lipstick back and moved quickly out the door and down the stairs. Stepping outside on the front porch, Finny ran up to her and barked, his big ears flopping. She didn’t need to guess where her mama was, she already knew. She made her way down the dirt trail that led to the back of the property. Dust coated the bottom of her dress as she walked with purpose. She stopped at the small tin shed and pushed the door open. 

Marcy sat on an old wooden stool—that had been there since before either of them were born—with a cigarette in her hand. “Y’all done with supper already?”

“Come put this lipstick on me.” Annie held up the tube.

Annie’s tone caught her off guard. She never spoke to anyone that way, certainly not Marcy. “Wait. You ain’t just gonna—”

“Yes I am, mama, because I want this to look right and you the only one that do it how I like it.” She tapped her foot impatiently waiting for her mama to move off the stool. “If I’m gone by next week, just remember, this is what you wanted to do instead of helpin’ me.”

“How I’m supposed to help you, Annie? That man has our future in his hand and you the only one who can stop it but you wanna be with him anyway, don’t ya? I don’t know how to help you cuz none of this should’a happened.”

“I don’t know if I wanna be with him! I just don’t think he evil like you say. I don’t think he mean to hurt me. And if marryin’ him will get that deed back, Imma do it! I wanted to talk to you because I don’t know nothin’ about bein’ married and I don’t wanna leave you and Big Mama and Aunt Helen and Fran and Mamie but you won’t tell me everything gon’ be fine. You won’t tell me how I’m supposed to do this without you! You just hidin’ cuz you feelin’ sorry for yourself like my whole life ain’t about to change! Whether things go good with Elijah or not, I gotta know that you ain’t gon’ give up on me just because you don’t like him.” She held up the lipstick again. “Come put it on me, please.”

Nodding, Marcy wiped her eyes and dropped the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. She took the lipstick to open it and examine the deep red pigment. “This gon’ be a pretty color on you.” 

Almost collapsing in relief, Annie wrapped her arms around her mama and held her tight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

10 : 45 on Monday night.

:

:

Elijah finally settled down for the night after making sure the other boys and Tiger were really asleep. Sighing softly, he lies down staring at the ceiling as he thinks about her.

“I wonder what Annie's doing?..” he muttered to himself with a thoughtful expression as his head tilted to the side of the pillow. His mind drifts towards her like it usually does when he starts to wonder about her.

A faint grin grows on his face as he thinks about the date they set for Friday.

Elijah starts to fall asleep, his eyelids slowly falling, for the first time in Elijah's life, sleep finally comes to him easily tonight.

That's new for him.

Five hours later.

Elijah woke up suddenly to a noise downstairs, and he glanced at the clock seeing it was three in the morning. Sighing he got up, thinking it's Tiger probably getting some water like he usually does.

He slowly heads downstairs, making sure not to be too loud so he won't scare Tiger. Elijah tends to do it by accident because of how quietly he moves.

He rounds the corner and pauses as he sees a tall body instead of the short and adorable body he was expecting.

Elijah minds rushing to figure out if it's one of the other boys or an actual intruder.

“Hm, he's been eating good yo.” an almost familiar voice muttered underneath their breath as they reached for Smoke's good cheese and salami. They chuckled.

Elijah's eyes narrowed in confusion before grumbling under his breath as he realized who it was.

He moves slowly up to them before quickly moving his arm around their neck, quickly putting them in a headlock.

“Whoa!” They blurted out while Elijah turned on the light.

“What the hell are you doing, Stack?!” He asked firmly with a huff as he kept his hold around his brother's neck tight.

“How did you know it was me?” Elias immediately asks as he struggles against his hold.

“There's only one person in this world that messes with my food and it's you, fool.” He huffed out, letting him go with irritation written all over his face.

“Messing with my good cheese and meat, that's for my lunch.” Elijah sighed deeply as he moved to put away his sandwich ingredients.

“Well now, I ain't know it was for your precious lunch,” Eilas said as he moved to take a seat, rolling his eyes at Elijah's words. While he watches his brother grumble to himself as he grabs eggs deciding to make Elias something to eat anyway.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Elias speaks up.

“So..how you been?” He asked softly with a faint smile as Elijah placed the plate in front of him. “I've been fine, you?..” he responded with a sigh as he took a seat across from him.

“Well I've been better, Mary ain't talking to me and I ain't got no place.” He sighed as he bit into the egg sandwich. “You are the only one who knows how to make an egg sandwich right, I swear,” Eilas said softly with a chuckle as he looked at his twin.

Elijah shook his head and smiled faintly as he slowly got over his irritation. “It’s nice to see you too, Stack.” he said with a warm tone.

Elias smiled softly and nodded slightly as he resumed eating the egg sandwich. “ You think I could stay here?” he asked after a moment. “Just until I find something for myself of course Don't wanna get you in trouble.” He added shortly after he wiped crumbs away.

Elijah hesitated for a moment, he didn't want to get in trouble with the school but then he remembered who ran it which helped him get over his hesitation rather quickly. “Of course you can stay, I ain't got no problem with that,” he said with a firm nod as he stood up “just don't cause too much trouble, you do have my face remember?” He teased as he shook Elias' head slightly, knowing his brother couldn't stay out of trouble even if he tried..

“Now why would I cause trouble? I'm an innocent man,” he said loud enough for him to hear as Elijah headed back upstairs, shaking his head in amusement.

“Sure, sure.” He muttered with a huff as he leaned against the railing, a chuckle escaping him.

“There's a spare bedroom down here on the right by my office and extra covers in the closet if I'm not mistaken,” he mentions as he watches his brother for a moment. 

Elias hummed quietly as he enjoyed his egg sandwich. Elijah wasn't good at cooking many things, but an egg sandwich was the one thing he could make right.

“Try not to stay up too late, and make sure to clean up when you're done,” he called out softly as he continued up the steps.

“Thanks again Elijah!” he quickly responded.

“Don't mention it.” He said over his shoulder before re-entering his room.

—

11:34 in the morning. 

Tiger wakes up and smells pancakes and bacon, he quickly gets out of bed, noticing the other boys heading inside the house. He beats them to the kitchen before pausing, something off.

“Damn, y'all look hungry,” Eilas said with surprise as he chuckled at them, he could see that they felt something was off so he decided to play into it.

He placed pancakes on plates. “Y'all gonna eat or what?” He asked sarcastically.

“This gotta be a trick,” Dwight muttered to the other boys.

“He's..happy?..” Alex soon spoke as they all took a seat, a bit cautious.

Eilas's head turned into a smirk as he heard their words, “This is gonna be fun” he thought to himself. 

–

Meanwhile, outside.

“What the hell is taking them so long?” Elijah muttered to himself with a deep sigh as he glanced at his watch, they were supposed to be training by now.

He glanced at the barracks before seeing something move out of the corner of his eye immediately recognizing who it was.

“Miss Richard's, what a surprise,” he said with a hum as he tilted his head as he watched her walk towards him.

“You're still surprised by me showing up?” She said with a chuckle as she adjusted her grip on her briefcase.

“Well no, just like saying that I suppose,” Elijah muttered with a faint smile as he glanced at her outfit. “You look very nice today.” Her light yellow dress complements the deepness of her skin tone.

Annie held back a smirk as she watched his eyes linger a bit on her body before finally traveling back to her eyes. “Thank you, you don't look bad yourself. Major.” She spoke softly as she chuckled.

“Ah, it took me forever to pick out this outfit,” Elijah said with a bit of sarcasm as he adjusted his collar.

Annie giggles softly at his words, shaking with amusement. He watched her, his smile growing to a full-blown grin.

She glanced around the field. “Where are the boys, Ain't y'all supposed to be training?..” she asked softly as she tilted her head, resting her hand on her hip.

He sighed deeply and nodded."We were, yes. I don't know what's taking them so long, they should've gotten Tiger by now.” He answered as he glanced at the house before it finally clicked for it. 

“Damnit.” he sighed before starting to walk back to the house.

Annie looked at him confused before slowly catching up with him.

—

“Well major, I didn't know you knew how to cook.”Dwight expresses disbelief while chewing his pancakes as the other boys nod in agreement.

“Eh, I cook here and there when I feel like it.” Elias says as he sips his coffee having to stop himself from gagging at the taste “How does my brother drink this shit?” He muttered to himself with a hint of disgust and irritation, hating how he was taking his role of pretending to be his brother too seriously now.

Tiger watches him closely, sensing something isn't right he just can't place what it is yet.

–

Elijah sighed deeply as he opened the door, he let Annie go first before entering behind her, moving towards the kitchen.

His eyes landed on the breakfast and then soon his brother who was clearly messing with the boys.

“What's got you so-” Annie starts saying before going quiet as she sees a man with the same face as the major, and soon disbelief grows on her face.

“There are two of you?!” She blurted out without thinking, and the boys quickly turned to look at her before surprise grew on their faces as well, quickly glancing between both men.

“Whoa..” Tiger muttered with curiosity and slight awe at the fact that there are two of the Major now.

Elias pauses as his eyes land on her, a smirk growing on his face as he's back in his element.

“Well, who is she?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, his eyes traveling along her curves with curiosity and a hint of something else.

Elijah sighs deeply as he glances at everyone else before looking back at his brother.

“Pretending to be me again, huh?” He said with a huff as he noticed the uniform on his brother. 

“Well, who else besides me, hm?” He responded with a smirk as he leaned back in the chair, resting his hands behind his head.

“You still didn't answer my question, Smoke,” he said with a hum as he stood up and basically glided towards Annie.

“Who is this beautiful woman?” He asked again with a certain charm in his voice as he smiled, gently grabbing her hand to press a faint kiss towards her knuckles.

Elijah rolled his eyes hard at his brother's antics.

The boys watch with curiosity and amusement as they glance at both brothers.

Annie stared at him in disbelief, having to make sure she ain't dreaming by pitching Elijah.

“Really?” He grunted softly as he looked at her before looking at Stack, who was still staring at Annie with a look he had no business giving her.

He closed his eyes for a moment, wondering what he did to deserve this before clearing his thoughts and moving Stack from Annie. “Everyone, this is my brother Elias..” He answered the question that was on their faces. 

“Stack, this is Annie. She's one of the school counselors here, she helps me with the boys from time to time.” He sighed as he finally answered Stack’s question.

“Annie,hm.” He mumbled under his breath as he tilted his head.

Annie lets out a soft huff as she looks  between the two of them again, just to make sure she's seeing correctly.

“You didn't think to tell me you had a twin?” She expresses crossing her arms, stack eyes immediately traveling there unable to stop the freak in him.

Smoke's eyes do glance there but his gaze doesn't linger long like his brother's , he refocuses on her eyes after smacking stack on the back of his head.

“Why you did that?!” Stack huffed out as he rubbed his head, glaring at the smoke.

“Huh, that's why he smacks us on the head,” Dwight muttered to Alex under his breath before continuing to watch the twins.

Smoke immediately glares right back. Stack rolled his eyes and shook his head as he looked back at Annie.

Smoke breaths deeply already feeling irritation grow.

“Well, I was gonna tell you on Friday. As a conversation starter.” He said gently with a soft gaze he genuinely did mean to tell her. 

It's not like he expected his brother to show up unannounced.

Stack looks between both of them, starting to realize what's happening. He crosses his arms, smirking to himself. 

—

“I still can't believe you're a twin,” Annie uttered softly, still in disbelief at there being two of him.

Elijah chuckled faintly, finding her reaction a bit amusing even though he won't admit it.

“You still finding that hard to beli-” he started 

“I’m the better twin of course.” A voice suddenly spoke up behind them, spooking them.

Elijah had quickly turned around to punch whomever it was before realizing it was his brother. “Damnit, stack..” Elijah muttered with irritation, feeling a headache come on already and his brother has only been here for a damn day and he's already getting on his last nerve.

“Whoa, man! Chill with all that.” Stack huffed as he used his hands to block his face. “This is the Second time he has done that, you know.” He says to Annie as he steps up to her, smirking trying to use his charms on her.

Annie chuckles faintly at Stack’s antics, tilting her head slightly, humoring him a bit. “Is that so?..” looking between both of them.

Elijah watched his brother through narrowed eyes, he's this close to choking him. He glanced at Annie, pausing as he noticed the look she was giving his brother and now he's ten times more annoyed.

Is he being a little irrational? Yes, yes he is..

Does he care though? No, no he does not.

“I gotta go..” he muttered to them before walking away, heading back to the training field.

—

Annie started to say see you later but smoke was already gone before she could get the words out.

“Ah don't mind him,” Stack spoke up beside her, dismissively waving his hand watching his brother walk for a moment before turning to face her.

His gaze traveled along her body, unable to stop himself as he started to circle her.

“That's a mighty fine dress you got on.” He said teasingly, voice a bit deep as he flashed a smile at her, a hint of his top grill showing a bit.

She let out a soft amused huff and tilted her head, resting a hand on her hip as he stopped in front of her.

“Mhm, thank you.” She responded with a faint chuckle, fixing her head to look at him fully.

Stack’s smile grew bigger, his dimples getting deeper. 

That usually gets them.

“So, what's up with you and my brother, hm?..” he asked softly with a raised eyebrow placing his hands behind his back, stepping closer to her.

Annie paused a bit, surprised by his direct question.“Excuse you?..”

He chuckled, rubbing his mustache.“What's going on with you and my brother?..” he asked again, even more directly if that's possible.

“Nothing is going on with Elijah and me," Annie said simply with a sigh as she crossed her arms. “We're just friends.”

Stack stared at her for a moment, observing her expression before laughing. 

“You is funny, Annie.” He said in between laughter as he wiped away fake tears, a smirk on his face.

Annie blinked in surprise at the sudden laughter. “What's funny?..”

“That you think nothing's going on with you and him.”

“Nothing is.”

Stack pauses and tilts his head before chuckling, sighing gently as he looks her in the eyes.

“And you really believe that?”

She freezes before huffing softly, letting out a chuckle of disbelief.

“Yes, I actually do believe that.” She says firmly with a sigh.

“So what's happening on Friday?..” he asked simply, raising an eyebrow, chuckling as he saw her taken aback.

Clapping his hands, he steps back. “you know what? I'mma just leave that alone..” He said softly.

Annie sighed and adjusted her bag. “Just be gentle with him, he got bad nerves!.” Stack called out watching her walk away.

–

Elijah hums quietly to himself as he walks around the grocery store, grabbing a few things. “So you and Annie have a date on Friday?” Stack asked out of nowhere

“Jesus Christ,stack!” Elijah said as he turned to face him. “Stop sneaking up on me or next time I'm shooting your ass.” He grumbled with a huff ,turning back to the cart.

Stack chuckled as he moved to the side of him. “Oh please, like you would ever do that,” he said while putting his things in the cart.

Elijah glares at him and if looks could kill Stack would be six feet into the ground about now.

“Okay maybe you will.” He muttered to himself as he smirked at him.

“Still ain't answer my question.” He said simply as he crossed his arms as they reached the check out counter.

“You're really testing me” He said back as he glanced at stack.

“You know I ain't trying to take your girl right?.” Stack says with a small smirk as he knows exactly how his brother is going to react.

“She ain't my girl,”

“She ain't my girl.”

they both said, Elijah immediately turned to face stack.

“Stop that.”

“Stop that.

Elijah paused, glaring at him before speaking again.

“Stack, stop.”

“Stack, stop.”

Elijah takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose , knowing his brother wasn't going to stop.

“We just friends.” Stack says immediately with him.

“You know, she said the same thing.” He hummed as he rubbed his chin, watching Smoke before chuckling softly, shaking his head as he focused on the things getting scanned by the cashier.

Smoke took in his words, Annie said the same thing? He leaves his thoughts as Stack starts up again.

“So what's happening on Friday?” He questioned again a bit more seriously now.“Because you and your woman are dodging my questions.”

Elijah sighed deeply, this close to throwing him through a window.

“You've only been here for a day and you already tap dancing on my last nerve.” He muttered underneath his breath with a huff.

"Dinner,just dinner. That's what's happening on Friday.” he sighed, eventually giving into his brother's persistent questioning.

“Only dinner?..” Stack challenged with a raised eyebrow, tilting his head.

“Yes, only dinner,” he started, paying for his and stack’s things. “And she ain't my woman, she's my friend. There's a big difference.”

Stack narrowed his eyes before smacking his lips as he grabbed his bag. “big difference my ass, that's yo woman, rather you want to admit it or not.” he uttered sarcastically. 

“She's not my woman.” He muttered with a sigh, watching stack leave the store before following suit.

-

Thursday 2 :30 pm

Three days..

It's been three days and his brother has already caused some mess.

Stack being the man that he is, has flirted with every female teacher he sets his eyes on which has caused problems for Elijah because they all think he's him when they see him.

“Hey, you think Miss James is married?..” Stack asks as he jogs by smoke.

“Stack..I don't even know a Miss James." He sighed deeply as he glanced at him before focusing back on the jog.

“Really?” He muttered with a huff, "I thought you being here for six months, you've known everyone by no–” he gets cut off as smoke starts to jog faster.

“Now I know y'all can move faster than that, come on!” He said as he started jogging backwards to look at the boys.

Stack sighed deeply and narrowed his eyes before catching up with him.

“Is it because of her, that you haven't learned every woman's name at that school?.” he asked bluntly, sugarring coating nothing as he looked at his brother.

Smoke sighed deeply and faced forward.

“Who exactly is this ‘her’,you speak of?..” he asked, he knew exactly who he was talking about because she's been the only thing he can think about..

Besides other things..

Stack rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Now you know damn well.” he smacks his teeth,looking at smoke.

Elijah held back a smirk before clearing his throat. “Gonna have to finish this conversation a different time, little brother.” 

“Bruh! I'm your little brother by three minutes!..” Stack huffed as he started chasing smoke.

Later that day

 You remember Miss James? Yeah, here she comes.

“Elijah, you didn't forget our date on friday?” she spoke up softly, standing in front of the lunch table he's sitting at.

Elijah pauses, blinking blankly at his sandwich he was about to tear up in a moment. “Ain't you married?” he asked bluntly, looking at her with a bit of irritation.

“I ain't married.” she scoffed, crossing her arms.

He looked at her hands , searching for a ring or any indication she might be married. “Well you’re talking to the wrong twin.” He said after a moment, not finding anything that gave off married from here.

Now it was her turn to look at him like he was crazy. “The hell do you mean ‘wrong twin’?..” she narrowed her eyes.

Of course stack forgot to mention that important detail.

He sighed deeply and rubbed his nose, he just wanted to enjoy his sandwich.

–

5:20 pm, Elijah’s office.

“So, what are you going to wear on your date?,” stack questioned with raised eyebrows.” Cause I can't have you going on that date looking crazy, you are a reflection of me.” He added shortly after with a nod.

Smoke looked up from the papers and stared at stack blankly. 

“It's not a damn date.” He corrected it for the millionth time. “It's dinner.”

“Fine, not a ‘date’..” stack reluctantly muttered with air quotes. “Still, what are you going to wear, bruh?..” he asked again.

“Alright, what's with this?” Smoke gesturing towards his brother doing air quotes, irritation entering his body, Elijah pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“You know exactly what this is.” stack muttered underneath his breath as he avoided smoke's gaze, knowing he probably glaring a hole into his face.

“And I don't know, I'm just gonna wear my whites.” Smoke added reluctantly, he sighed before going back to reading papers while keeping an eye on stack as he walked around the office.

“Your whites?..hm."Stack muttered to himself as he rubbed his chin in thought.

“Miss Annie does seem like the type of woman to like a man in a uniform..” he muttered to no one in particular.. “big bro! You might get some Friday!."Stack exclaimed with a smirk as he walked up to him.

“Stack, what the hell are you talking about?..” he sighed deeply as stack pulled him up. 

“My boy, you're getting some tomorrow night, and I'm gonna make sure of it.” stack expresses with a chuckle.

Elijah stared at him with a blank expression, watching him circle him like he was a model.

“You gon need a haircut, definitely a shave around that beard..” stack muttered to himself , tilting his head as he stopped back in front of him.

Smoke raised an eyebrow at his brother's words before walking over to the mirror. “What's wrong with my beard? I like it.” He said with a huff as he glanced at himself,tilting his head side to side.

“Well of course you like it, you don't  care about your appearance as much as i do.”he said with an eye roll as he stepped to the side of him.

“You wanna look good for Annie, yes?..”stack asked with a raised eyebrow.

Smoke glanced at his brother before looking away , sighing gently. He did want to look good for her, it's hard not to try to look good for a woman like that.

“Fine.”he uttered after a moment. 

“Just don't cut too much off, please,” he quickly said as stack went to grab his clippers, stack never goes anywhere without them damn clippers. “I worked hard to grow this beard.” He added quietly to himself as he turned his gaze back to the mirror.

–

5:55 pm Annie's home

Annie was cleaning up in the kitchen, keeping her hands busy.

Her thoughts went to the date dinner that Elijah and her were having tomorrow. She honestly doesn't know what it means.

Two adults can go have dinner and not have it be a date..

Right?..

“Ann, why you moving around like a busybee?” A soft rusty voice spoke from the living room.

Theodore, her grandfather, had been watching his shows when he noticed how fidgety his Lil Ann was.

“Huh papa?..” She muttered softly, getting out of her head as she looked over her shoulder through the kitchen opening.

Theo let out a soft huff and shook his head. “I said why you moving around like a busybee,chère?..” he repeated, still keeping the soft tone.

Oh..

Annie lets out a small sigh and gives a small nod. “Just trying to keep busy papa.” She says gently with a soft gaze before turning back to the dishes.

He watched her with a raised eyebrow “Right..” he muttered with a small sigh before focusing back on the tv..well tired too.

–

Friday 8:00 pm

It was finally time for their date..

Elijah stood anxiously outside her door, he glanced around the house seeing the modest yet warm feel it had , he could also tell she didn't live alone.

He turned his gaze to the flowers. “You can't go wrong with roses, Smoke. Women love them.” Elijah recalled what his brother said.

He didn't really think Annie liked roses but he wasn't gonna show up empty handed either.

“He cut too much of my mustache, man.” He muttered as he noticed himself in the window reflection, sighing deeply Elijah rubbed the bridge of his nose counting to ten in his head.

He paused before finally knocking on the door, he had stood out there for a good five minutes, his nerves getting the best of him.

–

Theodore watched his granddaughter with a soft and warm gaze.

“you remind me of how your grandmother looked on our first date.” He spoke up softly with a small smile.

Annie beams at his words, smiling gently as she smooths out her dress once more.

“Thank you papa, you never fail to remind me.” She kissed his cheek softly.

Theodore, usually the stoic man that he is, couldn't help the full grin that started to grow on his face, he’ll proudly admit to his other grandchildren that Annie is his favorite grandbaby and he has no shame in it.

“So..you still aint tell me nothing about your date, all i know is he took that job to work with that military unit at your school.” he spoke softly as he watched her head down the hallway to grab something.

“His name is Elijah and he's around the same age as me papa.” She says over her shoulder she grabs her earrings off the nightstand and starts to put them on. 

She didn't tell him that Elijah served in the military because he always told her to never marry one, ironically considering he served in the army.

 “Elijah? Sounds respectable enough.” he thought to himself as he glanced at the tv before hearing the knocking at the door.

“Ah, right on time.” He says to himself he stands up and answers the door, he moves quite fast for his age.

“Wait pap-” she started to speak

–

Theodore stood tall as he looked the man in his eyes, giving a once over.

Noting the dress whites, he raised an eyebrow, his Annie forgot to mention that the man was also a military man as well.

“You must be Elijah, I'm assuming?..” he asked simply. Holding eye contact with him.   

Elijah paused.

He gotta deal with her father now? His nerves are gonna be all over the place now.

“Yes sir, I'm Elijah. Elijah Moore." He spoke with a nod as he extended his hand, fighting back the trembles. 

Thedore noticed the trembles.

He knows exactly what they mean because he gets them from time to time. This man fought in the war, his expression softened up a little but not by much, didn't want Elijah getting too comfortable just yet. 

He gave him a firm handshake, nodding as he

acknowledged the simple respect.

Most of Annie's dates in the past always gave half-assed handshakes and he never liked them simply because it showed they would half-assed love his grandbaby and he wasn’t gonna let them do that to his Lil Annie.

“Come on in,son” he opened the door up, making room for Elijah to come in.

 ‘Guess the old man doesn’t hate me yet.’ he thought as he stepped through the threshold.

“You must be her father,sir?” he questioned with a curious gaze as he glanced around the home.

Theodore stops in his tracks to look at Elijah before laughing right in his face.

“Son, I am not that young.” he chuckled as he patted him on the back while heading back to his favorite chair. “I’m her grandfather.” he added with a hum,relaxing into the chair.

 ‘That's even worse.’ Elijah thought cause now he really gotta prove himself to this man. A man that came from a generation where men paid for everything without complaining.

He gotta step his game up.

“So what are your intentions with my granddaughter?”

–

Annie sighed deeply as she hid in the room for a moment, suddenly feeling nervous and she usually doesn’t, what has Elijah done to her?

“Girl calm down, it's not that serious.” she muttered to herself as she looked in the mirror , putting one more pin in her hair. “It's just dinner,nothing too serious.” she thought with a small nod before grabbing her clutch.

–

“Well me and her are just friends sir.” Elijah said to him, fidgeting with the flowers as he looked at the man.

“Right..friends.” Theodore says simply, not believing it one bit. 

She stepped out of the room and headed to the living room where Theodore and Elijah were talking before the conversion went quiet as she entered the room

Elijah sat there starstruck, words stuck in his throat as his gaze traveled along her curves. 

Theodore watched him with a small smirk, exactly how he was with her grandmother. 

“This might just work out.” He thought to himself as he watched Elijah stand up clearly going to approach her but his feet just won't cooperate at this very moment.

“Y-you look incredible, ann..” Elijah finally got out as he met her gaze, his grip on the flowers so tight that they're starting to shake.

Annie smiled softly at his words and that almost sent him into a coma.

Theodore watched silently, letting out a small chuckle. “Son, you're supposed to give her the flowers.” He spoke up softly,lightly pushing him towards her.

Elijah glanced at the older man before looking back at Annie. “I ain't know which flowers you would've liked, so I went with roses.” he says with a small nod, rubbing the back of his head while giving her the flowers. 

He ain't ever been shy like this before but this got him acting like a teenager with their first crush.

“These are pretty, Elijah." She beamed.” Imma put these in some water and then we can go, okay?..” she says softly and he gives a small nod.

He watched her head to the kitchen and his gaze linger a bit too long for grandpa's liking. 

Theodore cleared his throat very loudly, the way it sounded like a duck quaking. 

Elijah sighed deeply realizing he just got caught staring by this woman's grandfather.

He turned to face him slowly, giving a tight lip smile.

“Watch them eyes, son.” Theodore said simply but the threat was very much clear.     

He responded with a small nod.

—

At the restaurant.

“You don’t really talk that much about yourself do ya?.” she said softly with a faint smile as she looked at Elijah, tilting her head slightly.

Elijah looked up from his food, having been focused on her talking. “I like to listen more than I speak.” He sighed as he gave a small nod.

She observed him as he returned back to eating. “Aren’t you a military kid?” She asked softly , taking a bite of her steak.

“It’s obvious..huh?..” he said softly with a faint smile as he wiped his mouth.

She gives a small nod.

“Well,me and my brother have been military kids all our life really, been all over the place.” He said with a nod as he adjusted in his seat. “My father was a hard ass but he installed some great values into me and my brother.” He sighed.

“I just don’t know how much stayed with stack, though.” He muttered softly with a chuckle as he tilted his head, matching hers subconsciously.

Annie chuckled softly , giving a soft smile as she looked at him. “Sounds like your father was an okay man..” she spoke gently with a hum.

Elijah's smile faded a little . “Yeah, I guess he was.” He muttered thoughtfully before switching the subject. 

“So Ann, why did you become a teacher?..” he asked softly as he sat up straighter, genuinely curious.

She tilted her head and smiled faintly, catching onto the nickname. “Well, I suppose I became a teacher because my grandma was one,”she started off. “She was no nonsense type of teacher but her students loved her to death.” She says with a warm tone , a hint of nostalgia entering her voice.

Elijah listened intently to her, saving the information for later.

But for a small moment his gaze traveled along her face , watching the way she always has a hint of a smile on her face or the way she tilts her head when she notices something.   

Or the way her eyes- “Elijah?” Finally reaching his ears, he snapped out of it, clearing his throat as he met her gaze.

“Did you hear a word I said?..” she asks with a teasing tone, taking a sip of water as she stared at him with a knowing look.

He stared back at her , a faint smile growing on his face.

She caught him and he..likes that.

“I absolutely did hear everything you said.” He finally speaks, matching her tilted head.

She bites back a smile. “Then what was I just saying?”

Elijah raises an eyebrow at her, sitting up straight.

“You were just talking about what has pushed you towards becoming a teacher,” he began with a hum. “And how your grandmother is your motivation and inspiration for yourself, you take pride in that.” He finished off, his gaze softening as he watched hers do the same. 

“Anything else you would like to test me on?” He teased, feeling a bit more out of his shell around her.

Annie lets out a soft giggle, glancing away for a moment.

He smiled at that, biting the inside of his cheek before returning back to eating.

—

9:20 pm on the way to Annie’s house.

They sit in comfortable silence as Elijah drives her home, the radio playing Marvin Gaye quietly.

He hums along as he hears ‘I want you’ start playing.

“I want you , the right way” he starts singing quietly to himself , tapping his fingers against the stirring wheel.

Annie glances at Elijah as she hears him singing , smiling faintly as he keeps going.

“But I want you to want me too.”

 “I want you to want me, baby.” She starts singing along and Elijah immediately looks at her, chuckling softly.

“What you know about this song?..” he teased, smiling softly.

She giggles at him , turning towards him. “What I know about this song? Baby ,this my favorite song.” She   responded back with a small smirk on her face.

He chuckles softly as he shakes his slightly “thought I was the only that listens to this album.” He exclaims with a warm tone, glancing at her as she sings.

“Well you thought wrong.” She teased,smiling as she resumed her singing.

 “Oh, I give you all the love I want in return, sweet darling” 

“I guess I did..” he muttered to himself as he watched her for a moment , his feelings for her getting dangerously serious.

But they’re just friends..right?   

Right.   

—

“I had a good time tonight, Eli.” Annie says with a soft smile as he walks her up to her door.

Elijah chuckles and gives a small nod. “I did too, glad I found someone who also listens to Marvin Gaye.” He says with a smile matching hers as he steps up the stairs with her.

“Thought I was the only one..” he mumbled as he looked at her. 

“Well you ain’t anymore.” She says back with a hum as she pulls out her key.

He watched her quietly, his gaze traveling along the side of her face, a tenderness passing through them as he noticed the faint dimple she has.

He leans against the door frame, paying attention to how he puts the key in the lock but doesn’t turn it.

“Elijah..” she started , pausing as she turned to him.

“Yes, Annie?..” he whispered softly, his voice getting a little raspy without him realizing it.

“I-..I would like to do this again some time.” She whispered back, matching his tone.

(Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?🌚)

“Me too.” He hummed as his gaze landed on her plump lips,the amount times he thought about them is down right crazy.

They stare at each other's lips for an eternity before Elijah finally gives in and presses his lips against hers,sighing into the kiss as it starts off soft but quickly turned heated.

He cups her face in his hands, tilting his head slightly as their tongues brushed against each other. He pulls back slightly for air before his mouth is on her neck, leaving wet kisses there.

Annie lets out a quiet moan. “E-Elijah.” 

He pulls back thinking he did something wrong before meeting her gaze and seeing the quite opposite, he pulls her closer resuming his kisses on her neck, grunting quietly as he feels her hand on his belt.

Before it can go further there’s a knock on the window.

They immediately pulled away and turned to face the window, seeing Theodore standing there with raised eyebrows and a small smirk.

Annie immediately hides her face against Elijah's chest, he chuckles nervously and gives a small wave to her grandfather before turning to her.

“Well, um..” he tries to say anything but he’s stuck on that kiss they were lost in. “Well we just got caught..”he finally gets out with a chuckle and, rubbing her back as she finally opens the door.

“See you at school, ann..” he muttered with a small smirk as he looks at her.

“See you at school, Eli..” she muttered back with a small smile before closing the door.

Elijah chuckles as he walks down the steps towards his car.

“I want you , baby.” He sang quietly to himself with a warm smile opening the car door.

—

Welp..what yall think?😗✌️ first time writing a kiss ya girl was nervous LOL

A few days later, a huge bouquet of flowers arrived for Annie. She read the card and saw the signature.

Yours Truly, E.M.

The card was quickly tucked away in her pocket while she let her family believe Christopher had sent them. Aunt Helen kept a knowing grin on her face anytime someone mentioned the flowers. Annie would be lying if she said she wasn’t impressed by Smoke’s gesture and a little curious to see him again if only to make sure he was doing what she told him. Maybe to see what it looked like when he was able to really smile.

As it was, their paths wouldn’t cross again for another few years after the SmokeStack twins went back up to Chicago to open a few jazz and blues joints, capitalizing on the rising popularity of the new soul music coming out of urban spots across the North. Last Annie had heard, they were getting some pretty big names on their stages and had left the gambling rooms behind. That didn’t keep her from imagining what it would be like to have him close to her like they were in his office and in the shack.

Life was moving quickly for Annie as well. Jeanie had finished her nursing program and married Frank Billings whose folks had a small church in Greenwood, and they both went up north to Chicago so she could get more nursing training than Mississippi offered colored folk. 

Pearline wanted bigger stages than the Delta juke joints offered so she went up to Detroit after hearing about some record label wanting to make a name for themselves with colored music.

Mamie and the doctor were expecting a little one soon and it had Big Mama blooming with joy at a new addition.

Fran refused all suitors and turned up her nose at the question of marriage. “Ain’t got much patience for no man or his babies.” Big Mama wasn’t too happy about it, but she learned not to push her girls too hard.

Well, she was learning. For Annie, she wanted nothing less than the best man. She tolerated Christopher because she knew his daddy was a respectable businessman and he seemed like a good boy. He just didn’t seem like the perfect fit for her Annie. Her cool nature towards Christopher was likely why he still hadn’t asked for Annie’s hand. It seemed Annie had cooled on him too. She hadn’t spoken about him in weeks and seemed content to spend her time making salves and balms in the herb shack with Marcy. For that, her grandma was thankful.

That didn’t stop other men from around town from calling on her and trying to have a word with DeLaurine about taking Annie’s hand. She turned most of them away and let a few leave their information for her to get around to later.

What she didn’t know is that her favorite grandchild’s mind was hundreds miles away thinking about the face of a man she wanted to see smile and the feeling of his hands clutching her as she stood tending his wound. 

It would soon become clear to DeLaurine that she wouldn’t have much choice in the man Annie married after her only son, Howard, Jr. burst in the door sobbing like an injured child.

She ran to him as Helen came from upstairs to see what was going on. “Junior, get up from that floor right now! Why you doin’ all that cryin’? What you done now?” She knew her son too well to know he had gotten himself into some mess and was now crying to her to get him out of it.

“Mama, I had to. I had to, Mama, I’m sorry.” Snot and tears ran down Junior’s face as he reached out for his mother.

Stepping out of his reach, DeLaurine looked at him confused. “What you talkin ‘bout, Junior? What you done now?” 

“Please, I had to, Mama! They was gon’ kill me, Mama.” He hung his head scared to look his mother in the eye.

Helen gasped. “Junior, no!”

DeLaurine looked between her children still not understanding what they were talking about. “What is this about, Helen? Somebody tell me somethin!”

“Where the deed at, Junior?” Helen asked shakily before her mother charged at her brother. 

“What she mean, Junior?” Her fists hit him any place she could reach. “What you do to my granddaddy deed, Junior?” She continued to pound at him before she was pulled back by Helen. “You better hope they kill you, Junior, because I’m gon’ make you suffer if you done give away everything we got!” 

Outside, Finny barked at the commotion alerting Annie who was in the herb shack with Marcy. They both ran into the house to see Junior on the floor and Big Mama trying to break from Helen’s hold on her. 

“What’s this, Junior?” Marcy didn’t doubt for a second that her brother had done something to incur the wrath of their mother. “What you done now?”

“He done gave everything away! He done took what my granddaddy built for us and gave it away!” The pain in Big Mama’s voice shook the walls. 

Marcy yanked Junior up by his shirt and stared at his pitiful face. “What she talkin’ ‘bout? Who got that deed, Junior?”

“The twins. Smoke and Stack,” Junior squeaked out. “They got me out of a bind with a gang in Harlem. The deed was all I had to give ‘em as collateral. I thought I’d have enough to pay ‘em back when the deadline came—”

“What you mean, ‘all you had’ Junior?” Helen screamed in rage still holding on to her mother. “You got daddy’s car and all his watches! Mama send your portion of the money we make every month!”

“I KNOW, HELEN! They already took everything from me. I ain’t have nothin’ left.” He dropped back down to the floor as each woman looked at him in disgust. “But the twins—if I can just get back to Chicago, I can set up somethin’ and get the deed back.”

“Fuck you, Junior. You gon’ give ‘em the clothes off our backs next.” Marcy stepped over him resisting the urge to put her heel in his ribs and went to her mother who had stopped fightin Helen’s hold. “Take mama to the den. Annie, close that door and lock it. We don’t need nobody else in here today.”

Annie did as her mother instructed and stepped over her uncle to follow them into the den. 

Helen led Big Mama to the couch like she was a grieving widow in church. “Annie, grab a fan and come over here.” 

Grabbing a church fan off of the mantle above the fireplace, Annie went to cool her weeping grandma down. Even at the age of twenty-one, Annie felt unprepared for the realities of adulthood. So many questions ran through her mind but she kept quiet as the tension in the room nearly smothered her.

“Somebody gotta go to Chicago,” Marcy said finally. “See if we can just pay the money back.”

“Then we makin’ deals with the devil, jus’ like Junior,” Big Mama scoffed dabbing at her eyes. “Annie, this why this family pray for girl children. Boys get sucked in by all that sin and let it destroy them and everybody around them.”

Junior walked in with his hands in his pockets. “That’s right, Annie. All our problems is because yo Big Mama was too much of a saint to toss me in the river when I was born and she knew she couldn’t put a big bow in my hair and keep me from the rest of the world until she saw fit. Or maybe she coulda tossed me in them woods she don’t like nobody goin’ into.”

“Don’t you talk to her!” Big Mama raised up from the couch. “You go out doin’ God know’s what with all I give ya and you come in here like I’m supposed to feel sorry for yo’ foolishness, Junior.”

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me, Mama, but can you at least feel somethin?” Junior screamed like each word was agony. “Would you have preferred it if I turned up somewhere dead?”

Big Mama looked away from him, her silence being enough to answer his question. 

He stormed out of the den and stomped upstairs. The slamming of a door made the windows downstairs shake.

Marcy guided Big Mama to sit back down. “You and Helen will go up to Chicago, Mama. See what y’all can do. I’ll stay here and make sure Junior stay in the house and word don’t get beyond these walls. What them boys gon’ do with three hundred acres and a farm they don’t know how to run anyway?”

“Sell it, Marcy,” Big Mama said glumly. “They just two thugs always lookin’ for quick money. They won’t think nothin’ ‘bout sellin’ this land.”

Annie bit her lip resisting the urge to speak up on their behalf. Her interaction with Smoke years ago still crossed her mind and made butterflies dance in her stomach. She shook her head knowing now was not the time to be thinking about Smoke Moore.

“Well even more reason to be on the next train outta here. Y’all can leave tonight and get there by mornin. I’ll call Nadine and Jeanie and let them know y’all comin’ up. I’ll jus tell ‘em ya comin’ up to see folks.”

Helen looked at Annie, tilting her head at how silent the usually chatty girl had been. “We takin’ Annie with us. Tell ‘em we bringin her on her first trip to Chicago.”

“No, you ain’t takin’ my baby nowhere.” Marcy pulled Annie back as if she was in imminent danger. 

Annie shrugged her mama off. “Ain’t no baby, mama. I can go with Big Mama and Aunt Helen for this.” Still, her eyes pleaded with Marcy to not disagree.

Marcy relented and nodded her head. “You be careful and don’t leave to go anywhere on your own.”

With her head still reeling from the news of today, Annie went upstairs to pack a suitcase for her first trip up north. She knew it wasn’t a cause to feel excited but she couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the thought of seeing the city for the first time and seeing Jeanie and the rest of her family.

***************

The ride to Chicago was quicker than Annie expected, even with two stops along the way one in Illinois where Black and white folks sat in the same train cars. Annie tried her best to not seemed surprised by everything.

Nadine met them at the train station with a radiant smile on her face. She dressed like she had stepped out of a magazine. “Lil Annie, come give yo auntie a hug girl!” 

Annie rushed over to wrap her arms around her aunt. “I missed you so much, Aunt Nadine.” She pulled back to smooth Nadine’s hair back into place. “I’m still wearin’ that dress you sent me for my birthday.”

They caught up as they walked to Nadine’s car and loaded their luggage in the trunk. “I been tellin’ Peter that we needed to get y’all up here. I know Mama don’t care too much for it but, Annie, you gone like Chicago. Jeanie at the house almost every week when she get time from work. How long y’all here for?”

“A week,” Helen said at the same time that Big Mama said, “A few days.” They looked at each other.

“A week,” Annie confirmed defusing the tension before it had time to build. She looked out the window at the tall buildings gasping in wonder at their height. She’d never seen anything like this in the Delta. Even Memphis didn’t have skyscrapers like these.

The three women would stay in Nadine’s finished basement that had a bed and a pullout couch. Annie got to meet some of her younger cousins who had never been down South. They had a lot of questions about living on a farm.

“Y’all really kill the pigs and eat ‘em?” Seven-year-old Margaret asked over dinner.

“Baby, you eating pig right now,” Peter laughed at his daughter’s expression when she realized the meat she had been eating was one of her favorite animals.

“Peter, don’t tell her that,” Nadine admonished. “We just got her to understand that broccoli don’t feel pain when you bite into it.”

After the kids and Peter went to bed, the women sat in the living room talking about various things and it came back to why they were in Chicago.

“So why y’all really here, Helen?” Nadine stared intently at her older sister. “I know it ain’t just about bringing Annie up north for the first time. Not with y’all just showin’ up like this.” She eyed Annie suspiciously. “Oh, Annie, you ain’t—”

“No, she is not, Nadine.” Big Mama was offended by the accusation that hung in the air. “My Annie don’t get up to the stuff summa these girls get up to. She grown now and we wanted to show her more than what she used to. Is that all right with you, Nadine?”

“Goodness, mama! It was only a question. I should’ve known better than to think you’d let her outta your sight long enough for anything like that to happen.” Nadine lit a cigarette and took a puff. “Still, I know Helen and she ain’t jus’ gone jump on a train in the middle of the night to Chicago without thinkin’ on it for a long time. Ain’t that right Helen?”

Shifting her eyes to Annie briefly, Helen sighed. “The girl was losin’ her mind down there. Needed a change real quick, right Annie?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Annie said stiffly. “Everybody got married or moved away so I wanted to come up see you and Jeanie.”

Nadine didn’t buy it but she knew better than to continue to press the issue and changed the subject to lighten the mood.

***********

Smoke Moore sat in his office going over the books for each club he and Stack owned. Smoke thought Stack was crazy when he suggested putting all of their money into three clubs with no gambling rooms where they put on the best up and coming blues and jazz singers. The sound was different than just blues or jazz. There was more of a rocking beat that fused the two together with the soul of gospel.

It was making its way through the urban centers all over the country and Stack wanted them to get in on it early enough to make a killing. Now looking at the profit they brought in from folks packing out their clubs to hear this new sound, Smoke was thankful they went all in.

He rubbed the side of his face, where a faint raised scar trailed down his cheek. It was only visible to people who stood too close and Smoke never let anybody stand too close. As he felt the scar, he thought to the envelope in his desk. He had thought about ways to see Annie Love again when the opportunity came in the form of her pleading uncle who needed help paying his debts to some gang leader in Harlem. He chose the twins because they were from the same hometown. They didn’t deal in loansharking but they were willing to help out a fellow Clarksdale native in this case.

Howard Love promised to pay them back but offered the deed to his family’s land if he couldn’t pay. Smoke never seen a more pathetic sight than a man offering up everything his family built just so he can run around pretending to be a big shot.

He had planned to take the deed back down to Clarksdale and deliver it to DeLaurine personally after the Rising Star competition they had going on ended tomorrow night. Maybe then she’d see that he was an honest man just trying to make a living. He wanted to hope that it would be his chance to see Annie again but he felt foolish thinking that somebody didn’t already take her hand and give her a baby. 

Realizing he was breaking his own heart, Smoke closed the ledgers in front of him, left his office, and went upstairs to observe the performers and the crowd from the second level. He sat in his usual chair that gave him a full view of everything happening below. Some folks from record labels stood along the railing watching the performers. They paid good money to get first pick of the next big names in music.

He lit a cigar giving it a short puff while he waited to be served his whisky neat. He tapped his feet along to the rhythm and scanned the packed crowd for any sign of trouble. Stack was on the other side of town at the other club while the smallest one was being managed by one of their military buddies, Buford ‘Bizzy' Jones.

His whisky was sat down next to him as the next musical act went on. A group of women with big hair and form-fitting dresses performed a fast-paced number that had the audience chanting for more. Smoke noted the men from the record labels talking back and forth obviously disagreeing on who would approach the group of women. 

He looked into the crowd again and saw a face that instantly made him stand up. Her hair had started to gray around the edges but he couldn’t forget the gentle face of the woman who only called him by his first name, like they were family. Helen Love. He looked around her and had to grab the railing in front of him to hold him steady. Annie Love was in his club in Chicago. Resisting the urge to run down into the crowd, he caught a glimpse of DeLaurine’s glowering face and felt his hopes to reconnect with Annie and Helen fade. They weren’t there to enjoy the music. They were there for the deed.

*******

Annie wanted nothing more than to get lost in the music and dance along with the crowd, but she knew they didn’t come here for that. She looked around seeing if she could find one of the twins. It didn’t take long to spot Smoke on the second level frowning at them. She knew he wasn’t one to smile much but the anger on his face didn’t sit right with her. She smiled and waved at him. He simply pointed to a door to the left of the stage where a man stood blocking it.

Grabbing her aunt and grandma, Annie led them through the crowd and to the door. “Mr. Moore is expecting us,” Annie smiled sweetly at the man who looked up at Smoke to confirm before opening the door and allowing them to enter.

Smoke made his way down the stairs like each step was a chore. “Can’t say I’m that surprised to see the Love women this far away from Clarksdale.” He brushed past them in the narrow hall. “My office this way.” He pointed to a door at the end of the hall. Inside he put out his cigar and sat in his chair, gesturing to the women to take the seats in front of the desk.

“Y’all havin’ fun in Chicago?” Smoke wasn’t one for many jokes but he needed somethin’ to lighten the mood. The expressions on the women looked like they were doing a funeral march. His eyes landed on Annie. The roundness of youth still appeared on her face but their time had obviously allowed her to blossom into a beautiful woman. The richness of her dark skin almost had Smoke bouncing in his seat. His calm façade was soon to fail if he stared at her any longer.

No one responded to his question. He cleared his throat and started to speak but was interrupted by DeLaurine’s harsh tone.

“You a evil man. Takin’ what don’t belong to you from somebody too stupid to know up from down,” she spat, her eyes raging.

“Big Mama!” Annie scolded like her grandma was a toddler that needed correcting.

“Hello to you too, Mrs. Love.” Smoke responded dryly. “Annie. Ms. Helen. Can I get y’all anything to drink?” His eyes lingered on Annie who was looking around the office trying not to meet his gaze.

“Don’t you go actin’ like you got manners now, boy, when you done tricked that worthless son of mine into givin’ up my granddaddy land!” She stood and beat her fists on the desks.

There was a time that Smoke would’ve cowered at the sight of DeLaurine’s anger. Now he kind of took pleasure in it. Here he was, doing good for himself despite the vicious things she said about him and his brother. She was at his mercy and she still talked to him like he was gum on her shoe.

“I ain’t trick nobody, Mrs. Love and I ain’t seek nobody out. Yo son came to me and I helped him because—“ He looked at Annie whose worried eyes burned into him. “We from the same place and I didn’t feel nobody needed to lose a child like that. Not even you.” His last words left no doubt of how he felt about DeLaurine Love.

“We can pay you back, Elijah,” Helen spoke up. “Surely Junior’s debt wasn’t as much as that land cost.”

Smoke shrugged. “Maybe without the interest. Yo brother got up to a whole lotta no good in Harlem and ran to Chicago when it got too hot for him.”

Helen’s eyes widened at the notion that her brother could’ve incurred that much debt. “Well what can we do to get the deed back? We can pay in installments.”

“I didn’t loan the money out in installments, Ms. Helen.” An idea rolled over in Smoke’s mind and he almost felt as wicked as DeLaurine thought him to be. “Annie, you like those flowers I sent you?” He took little pleasure in her panic as she looked away from him.

“Yes, Mr. Moore, they were very nice thank you.” Annie looked down at her lap, the tips of her ears burning.

“What flowers? Annie, what he talkin’ about?” DeLaurine looked at her granddaughter confused.

“It was a long time ago, Big Mama.” Annie refused to look her grandma in the eyes.

“You deserved much more than flowers, Annie. Look,” Smoke tilted his head to show her the spot where the cut had been. “Used that salve just like you showed me and almost no scar. Can’t even tell.”

DeLaurine started to connect the dots remembering the time Annie got a big bouquet of flowers three years ago after she had returned from out of town. “Annie! You had him in my house?!” She felt like she was losing control of everything. Her favorite grandchild snuck this thug into her house and hid it from her all these years. 

“Mama, stop all that. It was the herb shack and I was there with ‘em. Annie helped Elijah with a cut and he left. Ain’t much to get worked up over.”

Not knowing what to say, DeLaurine just sat back in her chair feeling betrayed by everyone in the room.

“Mr. Moore, I’m glad the salve worked for you but we still need to get that deed back.” Annie had to steer this conversation away from her before she melted in her seat. “I’m sure there’s somethin’ you’ll take in exchange for it. Seem like things goin’ well for you up here. How you gone run a farm all the way down in Clarksdale?”

“Hmm,” Smoke mused rubbing his chin. “You right about that. Ain’t never been good at tendin’ fields or herdin’ chickens.” He pretended to think on it more. “And I am willin to give the deed back over if we can come to an agreement. Maybe make some sort of arrangement.”

“What you want?” DeLaurine leaned forward prepared to accept whatever terms he set.

“Annie,” Smoke said simply.

“Mr. Moore!” “Elijah!” Annie and Helen said at the same time both looking at Smoke like he’d lost his mind.

“You can’t have my Annie. She ain’t part of this. She soon to be married anyway.”

Looking down at Annie’s hand in case he’d missed a ring, he sighed internally when he saw that her hands were bare. “Don’t look like she is. Is you, Annie?” He met her gaze and stared intently into her big brown eyes.

She hung her head and glanced down into her lap not quite sure how to take the way he was looking at her. “No, Mr. Moore.”

“Fine, just take the land! You won’t get my baby though.” DeLaurine stood up and tried to pull Annie out of her seat.

“Big Mama, stop!” Annie’s voice bounced off the walls. “I can decide this for myself.”

The older woman huffed and pulled her purse on to her shoulder. “Well I ain’t gone stay here for this bullshit. Everybody done lost their damn minds.” She walked out the door slamming it behind her.

“What you want with me, Mr. Moore?” The dread Annie expected to feel was genuine curiosity. What use could Smoke Moore have for her over the three hundred acres of land he now possessed?

“I reckon what any man want when he can’t get a woman off his mind for three years. I want your hand in marriage, Annie.”

Feeling every single emotion she could in that moment, Annie just sighed. “Aunt Helen, can you give us a minute?”

“You sure, baby?” Helen didn’t feel her niece was in any danger but she didn’t want her to feel like she had to do this alone.

“Yes, ma’am.” Annie’s voice was steady and sure. She waited for the door to close before leaning forward. “What you want with me, Smoke? What game you playin’ right now?”

He wasn’t sure how he felt about her calling him Smoke but he couldn’t help but feel something stir in him when she talked to him like that. “I want you, Annie. Don’t act surprised a man wanna make an honest woman of you.”

“I ain’t surprised.” Annie flipped her hair. “You ain’t the first, Mr. Moore.”

“Who else is it?” He clenched his fist. 

“Don’t worry about that. I marry you and then what? You’ll give back the deed to my grandma? We stayin’ here or you comin’ down to Clarksdale? I gotta sit at home while you tend to ya clubs all night? What you want with me?” Her chest heaved as her breathing grew heavy with each word.

“Annie, if you can tell me that you ain’t thought on me for the past three years, I’ll give you this deed and y’all can go back home and you can marry whatever boy too stupid to let you come to Chicago without him.”

She just folded her arms across her chest, not looking him in the eye. “That don’t mean much, Mr. Moore. I thought on a lot of things these past few years. Don’t mean I wanna marry ‘em.”

“But you ain’t thought about ‘em like you thought about me, huh? And we ain’t gotta marry tonight. Just let me show you I can be good to you.” He moved from behind his desk and sat beside her. Pulling her hand into his, he placed a soft kiss on it.

Annie’s breathing hitched recalling the time when Stack did the same thing. “This your idea of romance, Mr. Moore? No ring, you don’t get down on one knee?”

Smoke chuckled. “I’ll get you a ring.” He started to kiss up her arm but remembered her aunt was just outside the door. “I’ll get down on both knees if you say yes.”

“And you gone give the deed to my grandma, right?” Annie tried to ignore how close he was to her and the way it made her pulse quicken.

“Soon as we jump the broom,” Smoke promised pulling her hand to his chest so she could feel the way his heart beat for her.

Without thinking, Annie ran a finger along the barely visible scar on his cheek. “Then I guess you got a proposal to plan, Mr. Moore.” She walked out of the office without another word leaving Smoke to stare at the closed door, the scar on his face tingling like she had applied the salve again.

*********

Back at Nadine’s, Big Mama refused to say a word to Annie or Helen. Nadine brought it up to Helen who downplayed their mother’s bad mood.

“You know how she get when she been outta the Delta too long and folks don’t wanna do stuff her way.” Helen rolled her eyes. “She’ll be all right.”

Groaning, Nadine put her hand on her temple. “Helen, please stop this. What is going on? Is it Mama? Annie? What is happening?”

Helen just smiled weakly and patted her sister on the shoulder. “You talk to Frannie lately?”

The frustration on Nadine’s face switched to guilt at hearing the name of her firstborn daughter. “You know she ain’t want nothin’ to do with me. How she doin’? Found her a fella yet?” There were so many mistakes that Nadine had made when she had Fran at 15-years-old. She didn’t fight her mother when she insisted that Fran stay in the Delta when Nadine moved to Chicago to start a new life. Calls between them were usually Fran begging to join her mother up north and Nadine finding every excuse why that wasn’t possible.

By the time she was 14, Fran stopped calling altogether and referred to her as Nadine whenever they saw each other during the holidays.

“You sho ain’t talked to her then.” Helen laughed. “She say she don’t care to deal with no man or his babies. She gone help Mamie with her lil one when it come but she ain’t keen on havin’ one of her own.” 

A tear dropped down Nadine’s face at the reminder that she didn’t know her own child very well and she had no claim to her. “I guess that’s on me too, hm?”

“Not that one. That’s all ya mama’s doin’.” Helen couldn’t help but roll her eyes again. “She ain’t never made marriage seem like nothin’ much but a deal and a chore.”

The two sisters continued to talk and exchange stories through the night while Annie laid in bed trying to get her grandma to talk to her. In all of her life, Big Mama never gave her the silent treatment. But right now, with Annie’s future tied to a man she knew her grandma despised, the only thing she wanted to hear was that it would be okay.

“You gone be mad at me forever, Mama? Elijah say he gone give the deed back when we married. Ain’t that what all we work for? To keep the land with us? I ain’t much of a sacrifice if that’s what it come down to.”

Big Mama turned around to face Annie. “I’m gonna kill ya uncle when we get back. This his fault.”

Annie sighed. “Uncle Junior ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed but, Mama, we gone get the deed back. What make me so special that we need to let the twins keep our land?”

Sighing, Big Mama reached over and placed her hand on Annie’s face. “You special because you is, Angelise Lynn Love. Your soul is pure and it always was. I try to keep folk away that won’t do you no good. I know why that Moore boy want you, cuz he see the good in you too and he wanna take it for hisself.”

Placing her hand on her grandma’s, Annie sighed again. “He got good in him too, Big Mama. And my soul ain’t pure like you think.”

“Yes it is, Annie. That’s why you agreein’ to marry him to make sure we don’t lose everything. You know why I keep you close to me? Because I seen men like him destroy stuff they should’ve never been near. It happened with all my girls, even ya mama.” She took a deep breath. “When you was born, you was a small lil thing and you was sick. The midwife told us you probably wouldn’t make it long but I had a dream about you, Annie. You was stronger than anybody. And when I woke up, I knew that’s what you was gon’ be. Me, ya mama, Helen, Nadine, and even Big Margaret was in that shack night and day putting stuff together to help you get better and you did. I don’t know if it was the herbs or the prayer, but somethin’ worked. I knew then I had to keep the world from hurtin’ you. May have gone a little too far at times, but I needed to keep you safe.”

Annie had heard the story of her birth but never heard about the dream Big Mama had. It put more things into perspective but it didn’t change the way she felt in the current moment. It wasn’t like she was head over hills for Smoke Moore, she wanted to protect her family just like they had been doing for her and the best way was to get the deed back. “I think you did a good job of keepin me and the other girls safe, Mama but I think now it’s time for us—me—to see life for what it really is. It might hurt, but it gotta happen. If he good to me, will you be nice to him?” Annie didn’t want to live her life split between her family and her husband like her aunt Margaret, Mamie’s mama, who barely spoke to anyone in the family anymore.

Big Mama tutted. “You think he gon’ be?”

Annie nodded biting her lip, the wetness from her eyes seeping into the pillow. “Say he would. I’ll cut him if he not.” Her laugh echoed in the dark basement. “If I tell you somethin’ you won’t get mad, right?”

“Why, you burn down the house or somethin?” Big Mama giggled at her own joke. “Go ahead and say it.”

“I—please don’t get mad—when he left the shack that day, I felt like I wanted to see him again and I been feelin’ like that for a while now. Felt nice seein’ him tonight. I know you think that he evil or he the devil but that ain’t what it feel like to me.”

Big Mama closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, keeping the words on her heart to herself. “You gon go see him tomorrow?”

“Nope!” Annie smiled widely in the darkness. “If he want me, he’ll find me.”

A cackle erupted from Big Mama. “Always better when a man like you more’n you like him. Then he’d do anything to keep ya. If he hurt you though, I’ll kill him and that brother of his.”

******************************

“What the fuck is you sayin’ right now?” Stack Moore wasn’t sure if he should take his brother to the hospital or throw him in the lake. He poured another glass of bourbon and handed it to Smoke. “The same witch that put a gun to my head for foolin’ around with her granddaughter, just walked out when you said you wanted to marry another one of her granddaughters? No gun, no spells or shit?”

Smoke shrugged. “She ain’t wanna hear what Annie was gone choose. Hell, she was ready to give up the land over Annie.”

“Question is, why is you givin’ the land up over Annie? You don’t even know her.” Stack wasn’t keen on just handing the deed back over when they spent a lot of money bailing out Howard Love.

Lifting the bourbon to his mouth, Smoke shook his head before taking a sip. “You ever meet somebody and have them live in your bones? That’s what Annie’s like for me, Stack. She ain’t scared of me and she don’t think I’m the devil.” He ran his finger along the scar line. “It’s more than that too, but I had to get her fo’ she was somebody else’s.”

“Look like Howard Love bein’ a dumbass might’ve helped you out. Unless you was gonna go back down to Clarksdale for her.”

Smoke didn’t meet his brother’s eyes. “I wasn’t gone hope for her to magically appear, but she did. Got me thinkin’ it’s for a reason.”

“Well, she better be worth three hundred acres.” Stack downed the rest of his drink. 

He didn’t say it, but Smoke knew Annie was worth more than all the land in the world and he’d give it all up just for her.

The next night, Smoke searched and searched the crowd to see if Annie had come again. It took him to the end of the performances when they announced the winner for him to see she wasn’t there. Sucking his teeth, he put out his cigar and ran downstairs to his office. He needed to find her. He knew her sister Jeanie had moved up here and she had an aunt here too so when the club was empty, he made a few calls.

********

Annie had made biscuits for breakfast and was pulling them out of the oven when Nadine’s phone rang. She giggled at her little cousins as they bounced excitedly for hot biscuits and jam. Helen had taken a trip up to Detroit to see her adult children, Marcelle and Marceline and their aunt Nell, while Big Mama was in the bathroom fixing her hair.

“Put some butter on mine, please Annie!” PJ licked his lips at the sight of the perfectly golden biscuits. 

“I just want peach jam, Annie!” Little Margaret exclaimed tugging her cousin’s nightgown. 

“Go on and sit at the table and I’ll bring ‘em to ya,” Annie directed the two towards the dining table while she prepared their biscuits how they requested them. She scooped some of the eggs that Nadine cooked onto their plates and gave each a piece of sausage. “Okay, I got some of the best cookin’ in Chicago on these plates and I ain’t got nobody to give them to.” She held the plates in her hands and pretended to search for the kids.

“We right here!” PJ raised his hand and laughed at his big cousin.

“Where? I don’t see anybody.” Annie continued to look around making the siblings squeal in amusement. “Wait! There y’all go!” She winked at them and put their plates down. “Now, you gotta eat all ya breakfast if you wanna spend sometime playin in the park later on. Okay?”

“Yes, ma’am!” The two agreed before digging into their breakfast.

Annie turned around to fix her own plate but was stopped by the sound of the phone being slammed down on the receiver. She stopped and looked over at Nadine who was eyeing her. “What?”

“That was Jeanie. She on her way over.” Nadine pulled out a cigarette and lit it still keeping a careful eye on Annie.

Ordinarily, news like this would make Annie excited but judging by the look on her aunt’s face, it wasn’t a regular social visit. “That’s good. I can’t wait to see her.” Her eyes stayed focused on the food in front of her.

“Annie, cut this out right now. Why is Smoke Moore calling around trying to find you? What you got yourself into?” Nadine stood close to Annie and lowered her voice so the kids wouldn’t hear.

Annie scoffed at the notion that she was the reason for any of this. “I ain’t got myself into nothin, aunt Nadine. Smoke ain’t no trouble, he just checkin up on me, I’m sure.” She looked down and busied herself with fixing her plate.

“Why would he be checkin’ up on you, Miss Annie? How y’all know each other and how he even know you in Chicago?”

“I helped him out a few years ago after he got cut up. Wasn’t nothin’ much but he appreciated it. I dropped by his club the other night and talked to him there.”

Nadine rubbed her temple. “How the hell were you even around when he got into a fight, Annie? What you been doin when Mama ain’t watchin?”

“I ain’t been doin’ nothin’. Mr. Moore was thankful for my help three years ago and he…hewannacourtme.” The last part came out in a rush. She stuffed her mouth full of biscuit so she didn’t have to respond to the wild look on her aunt’s face.

“He wanna do what? This is crazy, Annie. You know this is crazy. Mama ain’t gonna allow that.”

“I ain’t gonna allow what?” Big Mama walked in fully dressed with her hair in curls.

“Smoke Moore been callin around bout Annie. Got Jeanie all unsettled. She about to come over.” Nadine took a long drag from her cigarette. “And Annie talkin about he wanna court her. Tuh!”

DeLaurine looked at her granddaughter and to her daughter without a word. “Annie put me some jam on one of them biscuits.”

“Wait wait wait.” Nadine held her head like it was going to explode. “You know about this, Mama?”

“I know that Annie is grown and she can make her own decisions without my input.”

“Oh,” Nadine said plainly, her face neutral now. “So when you sent Francine out there to shovel pig shit for messin around with one of them Moore twins, she deserved that, huh? And we all know Annie is the favorite around here, so she gets to what? Marry one of ‘em?”

Big Mama pointed a finger at her third child. “Nadine, watch it. However you feel about me don’t keep me up at night but you watch how you talk about my baby.”

“Your baby? So she grown and can make her own decisions and she a baby? Okay. Does your baby know—

“Nadine! Cut it out!”

Annie’s face burned with all she wanted to say and all she had to keep hidden right now. “I know what folks say about his daddy, Aunt Nadine. I think everybody got it wrong about him just like some folks get it wrong about us. Ain’t like I’m walkin down the aisle with him tomorrow.” Her face bloomed with heat. It wouldn’t be tomorrow but it would happen nonetheless.

“Where is lil Annie?” Jeanie’s voice came from the front of the house and got closer. “I know Big Mama gon’ be HOT if she find out.” Jeanie stormed into the kitchen and took in the faces of her grandma, aunt, and baby sister. “So she already know?”

Nadine nodded. “And she don’t care. Annie grown now. Grown enough to handle gangsters courtin’ her.”

“I knew it,” Jeanie walked over to her sister. “I knew that night you came out his office that he was gon’ want you. You too good and trustin’ sometimes.”

“Stop!” Annie held up her hand. “Stop talkin to me like I’m a stupid child that don’t know what the world like. It took him three years to even get to this point. If he wanted to hurt me, he had chances before now. If he’s gonna hurt me, then I guess that’s a lesson I’ll have to learn just like everybody in life got to.” 

“Does Mama know?” Jeanie asked, her arms folded across her chest?

“No, and you ain’t gon’ tell her, Jeanie.” Annie turned back to her breakfast. “If you pick up that phone and dial her, you ain’t gon like what Imma do to you. Let me tell her when I get back home.”

“So how will it work with Smoke bein here and you back in Mississippi?” Jeanie asked.

Annie shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “He courtin’ me, I’m not courtin him. That’s for him to figure out but I’m goin back home. Go ahead and eat somethin while ya here, Jeanie. Chicago ain’t feedin’ you right.”

“I hope you know what you gettin into, lil Annie.” Jeanie shook her head and picked up a biscuit.

The phone rang for the second time that morning. Nadine got up silently to answer it. After a few moments she called for Annie. She handed her niece the phone without looking her in the eye.

“Hello?” Annie didn’t need to hear his voice to know who was calling.

“I shoulda figured you wasn’t gonna make it easy on me,” Smoke chuckled. “Called all over Chicago tryna find you. How ya doin?”

Annie tried to ignore the way her heart fluttered at the sound of his voice. This was basically a business arrangement not anything for her to get all excited about. “You wouldn’t’ve had to call all over Chicago if you asked the right questions the other night, Mr. Moore. Got my sister and aunt Nadine goin’ crazy.”

“You right. I was just happy you said yes, I guess I forgot to ask where you were stayin.”

“Now, I ain’t said yes to anything yet, Mr. Moore. You gotta ask the right way.”

“And then you’ll say yes?”

“Maybe. Maybe somebody else will get to me before you.”

“They won’t have the chance to, baby, I promise you that.”

Instead of being frightened by the danger in his voice, it sent a pleasant tingle through Annie. “Well, I won’t wait forever so you better get on it.”

“I will, baby, I will. How long you in Chicago for? I wanna take you out.”

“Til Sunday. Where you tryna take me?”

“Hmm, a few places. Ain’t like the Delta up here. Got a lot more to see.”

“Oh, I would’ve never guessed,” Annie said sarcastically rolling her eyes.

“Stop rollin yo eyes at me,” Smoke said firmly with a hint of playfulness in his tone.

She almost dropped the phone. “How you know—”

“That pretty face ain’t changed much since the last time I saw you. You rolled those big brown eyes at me a few times three years ago.”

“Who knew Smoke Moore could be a sweet talker? You say that to all your women or am I special?”

“Ain’t no other women. Just you, baby.”

“Mmhmm, where you trying to take me?” She listened as he described where he wanted to take her.

***Back in Clarksdale***

Marcy was all questions when the three women got in the car. “How’d it go? Did ya get the deed back? Annie, you like Chicago? How was Jeanie? I gotta go up there and see my baby soon. What about Nadine, Peter, and the kids? They doin’ all right?”

“Marcy, just get us to the house,” DeLaurine instructed her eldest child. “I need to put my feet up.”

Once they got home and unpacked the car, Annie attempted to take her luggage upstairs but was stopped by her mama.

“How was your first time in Chicago? Jeanie show you around?”

Annie’s eyes lit up at the memory of her short time spent with Smoke. “It was fun. Jeanie ain’t have much time to show me around but we spent a lil time together. I got to see a lot.”

Marcy nodded. “So did Nadine take you around?”

“Let me go put my things away and I’ll tell you.”

Marcy eyed her daughter curiously definitely catching a weird vibe. “Okay, hurry up so I can hear all about it.” She looked for Helen and found her in the kitchen storing stuff they brought from the North in the cabinets. “How’d it go, Helen? Why Mama and Annie actin’ like that?”

Helen chuckled. “It went fine. Annie had a good time. I saw Marcelle and Marceline. Lil Marcy say she want to come down and visit soon. And Marcelle! Oh, he’s doin’ so good up there. Helping with all the court cases they got goin on about segregation. Aunt Nell did a good job with them two.” She smiled sadly. “She was up and about. Couldn’t get her to sit down for a second.”

Marcy’s heart ached thinking of her niece and nephew sent to live with their aunt up north. “That’s good to hear. Y’all get the deed back?”

Annie walked in. “We will. Mr. Moore ain’t never intend to keep it anyhow, I don’t think.”

“Mr. Moore?” Marcy asked. “And how much will it cost to get it back from him cuz I know it ain’t free.”

“Well it will be when I marry him to get the deed back,” Annie tried to say as casually as possible but her voice cracked slightly at the end.

“When you do what?” Marcy was sure she heard wrong.

Annie took her mama’s hands in her own. “Mr. Moore’s only request was that I marry him and we can get the deed back. It ain’t a big deal at all.”

Marcy’s brain short-circuited for a moment before she moved Annie to the side and walked out of the kitchen. “Where is your Big Mama? Mama! Mama!”

“I know you ain’t callin me like you the one brought me in this world and not the other way around. What you want Marcy?” Big Mama stepped out of the dining room with her hands on her hips.

“What the hell is Annie talkin’ about she marrying Mr. Moore? I let you take her away from here and she come back engaged to him? Why you give her up like that?” Tears sprang to Marcy’s eyes.

Annie joined them. “She didn’t. I reckon both of y’all feel the same way about Elijah, mama. I agreed to his terms myself.”

“Oh so now it’s Elijah?” Marcy looked back at her mama. “Why you ain’t stop it? Offer more money?”

“You think this what I wanted, Marcy? The girl is grown and got a mind of her own. He wouldn’t accept no money anyway. None we had.”

“What you mean by that, Mama? What Junior got himself into?”

“I don’t know! Enough that he went beggin the Moore twins to save his behind and now my Annie got wrapped up in this mess too.”

“You want to marry him, Annie?”

“If he ask nice enough.” Annie shrugged. “I know you got your mind made up about Elijah but I promise, he is really sweet to me. Even if he can be a lil stubborn sometimes.”

“Why you talkin like you already got to know him, Annie?” Marcy’s eyes flashed in anger and disbelief. “You been seein’ him?”

“No! Just the three times. Once in the healing shack three years ago, when we all went to his club the night after we got to Chicago, and when he showed me around. Aunt Helen was there every time.” She left out the time in his office knowing that it would not help to be completely truthful right now.

“Three years ago. Huh.” Instead of trying to make sense of what she was hearing, Marcy dipped her head as tears fell down her face. “And you wanna marry him?”

“I want to get the deed back, Mama, but I think if I marry him, he’ll be good to me.”

Scoffing, Marcy shook her head and turned away from her youngest child. “You don’t know shit, Annie, but I guess you’ll find out.”