Black Beauty

White Girl Flow Part 6

Ashley went home and took a short shower, taking special care to cover her head with two do-rags and a plastic shopping bag so her hair wouldn't get wet. Then she gave Ebony a bath while she stared in the mirror and repeatedly caressed her hair. It felt just like white girls' hair.

After Ebony started complaining about her skin turning grey and getting wrinkled, Ashley forced herself away from the mirror, lifted her out of the tub, and dressed Ebony in a pair of teletubbies pajamas.  

Steven, Ebony's dad, will be home in one hour and she wanted everything to be perfect. She sat the child at the kitchen table surrounded by three teddy bears and a white Malibu Barbie and a coloring book. While she colored, Ebony asked the toys about their day, mimicking different voices for each toy. Cora said that was a sign Ebony needed a little brother or sister, but Ashley wasn't having any more kids anytime soon or at all if she had her way. One kid was enough. Plus, she didn't have any brothers or sisters and she turned out just fine.

"Momma, what are we having for dinner?" Ebony asked, as she scribbled with a blue crayon over Cookie Monster's face.

"We are having fried pork chops, macaroni, and green beans," Ashley said as she turned away from Ebony to face the stove. She reached into the cabinets and grabbed a box of macaroni and cheese, opened it, placed the sauce package on the countertop, and poured the pasta into the boiling pot of water.  "It's your daddy's favorite meal," Ashley said, more to herself than Ebony. The song "Forever My Lady" by Jodeci was playing on the radio. She grinned as she remembered her and Steven slow dancing to this song the first time they met while at a friend's house party. She started bobbing her head and moving her shoulders to the beat of the song as she stirred the macaroni to get rid of the clumps. The air smelled like fried pork chops from the food and black cherry incense from the air freshener plugged into the wall.

Ashley poked a fork in the last two pork chops frying in the grease, making sure they were cooked thoroughly. They were white all the way through so she took them out of the pan and placed them in on a napkin to catch the grease. Then she turned to the macaroni. As she stirred, something red dropped into the water. She knew it had to come from her nose, but before she could bring her hands to check, a steady stream of blood fell into the pot, turning the water and the plump macaroni pink.

She took her hand away from her nose, hoping the blood had stopped, but it was still gushing like a waterfall. The flow was creating a pool of blood in the palm of hand. She reached for a dish towel, but a sharp pain shot through her head.  The feeling was so intense it took her breath away and made her knees buckle.  She grabbed the counter to stop her fall while fireworks danced behind her eyelids. When she opened her eyes, she saw streaks of blood on the counter, but vibrant lights were still playing havoc with her sight.

"Ebony," she tried to say, but no sound escaped her lips. All she heard was Jodeci singing about getting to know her. The radio seemed to be playing her death song. "Ebony," she said again, just as another explosion of pain sent her to the floor and everything exploded into nothing.