Excerpt: Does He Know You? Until Death (4 of 4)
Hereās a small snippet of Mercedesā and Samās argument, immediately following the disastrous Christmas Dinner at Nettieās. Iāve added some GIFs for mood. Enjoy!Ā
Samās mouth snapped shut. āOkay, sorry. That was out of line.ā
Mercedes nodded, crossing her arms. āYouāre damn right, it was. Ā But it wasnāt nearly as out of line as everything else you just said, Sam!ā Mercedes covered her eyes, groaning. āOh my God, I canāt believe I didnāt see this earlier. Iāve been so blind. So stupid!ā
āHey, donāt do that.ā Sam stood and quickly crossed to embrace her. āBabe, itās not your fault. Some older folks just have racist views that we canāt change. I was a little surprised by Momma Pat and Mr. Jonesā reaction, but heyā¦.ā
āThey have racist views?ā Ā Mercedes pulled away, visibly disgusted. āSam, I was talking about you.ā
āMe?ā Sam laughed, āWhat? Iām racist?!ā
āI donāt see color? I donāt see you as different? Would I even be here if I cared about the fact that you were black? How would I know about HBCUs, because Iām white?ā Mercedes mocked, eyes wide. Sam frowned, still lost. āOh my god, Sam! You donāt hear anything wrong with what you said?ā
āI know you want me to say yes, butā¦.ā Sam shrugged. That hollow feeling in the pit of his belly returned, more cavernous than before. āWhat did I say wrong? Tell me what I said wrong and I can fix it.ā He reached for her hand again. This time, she did snatch it away, crossing to the other corner of the room.
āAnd thatās another problem, Sam. This whole āditzy blondā thingās been a problem Iāve had with you since the beginning, and Iāve told you this.ā Mercedes turned, crossing her arms. āIt is not my job to teach you everything about my blackness. I am not your personal guide to all things Negro.ā
āWoah, wait. I never said the N-word.ā
Mercedes sighed in frustration, rubbing her eyes. āThatās not even the N-word, Sam.ā She collected herself a moment, fighting the urge to slap him. āSam, let me ask you a question. Do you even consider the fact that Iām black? Like, at all?ā
Samās face scrunched. āOf course I do. Iām always aware of how white I am when Iām around your family. I canāt avoid it.ā
āI didnāt ask you about how white you felt around my family. I asked you if youāve ever thought about the fact that Iām black. What that means?ā She prodded, hoping heād think before he answered.
āMercedes, of course Iāve thought about it. Youāve always been so proud to be black and I love that about you. What Iām saying is that I love you, regardless of how different we are. Ā I donāt see your color or how different you are from me, I just see you.ā
Mercedes exploded. āYou keep saying that! You keep repeating that like itās a compliment, like itās supposed to make me happy! It doesnāt, Sam! Hearing you say that is the most ignorant thing youāve said.ā
āHow is that ignorant? Donāt you love me in spite of the fact that Iām white? How is that any different?ā
āItās different because when people look at us, they donāt think āhow was he ever lucky enough to get someone like her?ā, Sam. They think āWhy is that white man with that dark-skinned black woman? Why couldnāt he find someone like him?ā I get the weird looks and the cold treatment, Sam. Not you. And Itās because Iām black!ā
Sam sighed, softening in understanding. āMercy, theyāre ignorant. I donāt care about what other people thinkā¦.ā
āNo, Sam. You still donāt get it.ā Mercedes did her best to collect herself again, formulating her thoughts. āI am so, soā¦. ridiculously proud to be black. Like, I canāt imagine being anything else. I love my heritage, I love our music, I love our food, I love the skin that Iām inā¦. everything. And I didnāt grow up always appreciating every part of my blackness, because ignorant folk here used to make me feel like I was ātoo blackā or ānot black enoughā and I never quite knew where I fit. But Iāve found my place now, Sam. And, so much of who I am, so much of what you love about me is because Iāve embraced that. The color of my skin isnāt everything I am, but it is a big part of me.ā
āAnd baby, I get that!ā
āDo you?ā she prodded. āBecause if you did, you couldnāt love me in spite of my blackness. Black isnāt just my race and my pigment. Itās my soul, my heart, my rhythm and my backbone. Sam, when you say that, you negate all that makes me me. Itās worse than saying you donāt love me. Itās saying you donāt see me, not fully.ā
Sam reflected, still confused, but battling guilt. āMercedes, Iāā
Mercedes shook her head, holding out her hand to stop him. āSam, please let me finish.ā She took a breath, fighting fresh tears as she revealed a part of herself sheād unknowingly kept hidden. āIāve never said anything because I was afraid of messing up our relationship. But, I think not saying it has messed us up even more, soā¦.here goes.ā She clenched and unclenched her fists, working up her courage.
O-O
A/N: Donāt worry. No breakups on the horizon. But this conversation is LONG overdue. Nettie done started somethinā.....



















