I looked at Uncle Palaver, who sat staring down at the floor. He seemed so much younger and unsophisticated. It was as if the death of his sister had driven him back to being a little boy again. Brenda was the one in control, the older one, the wiser one at the moment, and that disappointed me. I had hoped and dreamed he would come flying into our home and lives with all sorts of magical ideas that would ease the burdens, the pain, and the worry.
"Mama's clothes?"
"Celia and I have talked about everything, April. and Uncle Palaver agrees with us."
"Why didn't anyone talk with me?"
"That's what we're doing now."
"I meant before."
"You weren't in any sort of condition to talk about these things. April. Don't make a big deal of it."
I pressed my lips together and sat back.
"Anyway. Celia has called a cousin of hers who owns a house in Memphis that he rents. It's fully furnished. It's in a nice neighborhood near the Memphis Country Club, an area known as the Historic District, and it's not far from a good high school. You'll have your car, so you can drive to school every day."
"I'll go to school in Memphis?"
"Of course in Memphis," she replied quickly. "Where else would I mean?"
"You mean. I'd go live with you and Celia in Memphis?"
She shook her head and looked at Celia, who smiled softly and closed her eyes and opened them. Brenda softened.
"Look, April. I'm old enough to be your guardian, legal guardian. thank goodness, or some government agency might come waltzing in here and butting in on our lives. I don't expect any of our disinterested relatives to come and offer to take you in to live with them. and I can't think of any you'd want to live with. Half of them have sent regrets, and only two cousins have indicated they'll be at the funeral tomorrow. This is the best solution. right. Uncle Palaver?'"
He looked up quickly, as though he had been in a daze himself. "Oh. Yes, of course," he said. "And I'll stick around and do whatever I can to help with the transition,"
"Just run your hand over the house and make it disappear, Uncle Palaver," I said, my eyes filling with tears.
"Stop it. April. You have to grow up overnight, and that's that." Brenda said.
I bit down on my lower lip and nodded.
"We'll enroll you in the public school nearby, and we'll manage. If everyone cooperates, it will go well and quickly."
"Like nothing's happened," I muttered.
"You were never crazy about your school friends here. You're not giving up all that much." Brenda said.
No, not much, I thought. Not now, not with both Mama and Daddy gore,
"It'll be all right," Celia said. "We'll have each other; well take care of each other. You'll see."
I looked at Uncle Palaver. He looked relieved.
"I'll make it my business to see more of you girls," he promised.
"That's for sure."
"The day after the funeral, well do what we have to do with the attorney. Well begin to pack our things, give away what we're giving away. Well need a good deal of our kitchen utensils, dishes, silverware, all that."
"I'll help. In fact. I'll start right away," Celia piped up as if this was some sort of wonderful new event. "Then I'll go on ahead of the two of you and get the house as ready as I can. It won't take much to get us all established." Celia said. "We should have it all done in a matter of days."
"Days?" I asked.
"It's better we do all this as quickly as we can," Brenda said, and then added. "It's less painful for us that way."