ELEGANCE

Are we in a row? What are the rules for advancement?

"Dan," the obese woman behind the desk said. 

Dan turned to look at her, then followed where she pointed, in the direction of the front door, which was open to let in some air on this stuffy afternoon. 

There in the doorway stood a meek, little black man, looking somewhat humbled to be there. 

"Benny, What do you want, boy?"  

The black man all but trembled standing in the doorway. 

"Mistah Dan, it's Sally." 

"You gonna tell me she done left you? Is that what she done?" Dan bellowed as loud as he could at the little man. 

"No, suh, Sally is gone." 

"She left you," Dan yelled again. 

"No suh. She just stepped outside to get some water from the well, sir, . . . "

"And she ran off and left you," Dan badgered Benny more, but Benny knew to be persistent. 

"No, suh, she just didn't come back. I called to her and knowing all the other women who have disappeared, I jumped up to check on her and she was gone." 

Dan glared at Benny with his large, imposing frame and terrifying eyes. 

"Bucket was still there, with the water." 

"You sure she didn't leave you like all those other colored women have done to their men?" 

"No sir, Sally wouldn't leave me, sir. I'm good to her."

"That don't matter," Dan roared with his gruff voice, "women ain't no good. Do everything for them and what do we get?"

Benny fretfully mumbled a bit, then managed, Sally's good to me, and I treat her right, too." 

"Don't matter," Dan growled, "bet Sally done up and left you for good, didn't she? Didn't she?"

"Sheriff," the woman at the desk proclaimed once more. 

Dan shot her a look, then glanced to where she pointed this time. He looked out the front of the building and up the road a distance. Dan approached the open door to observe the spectacle he already knew to be. He just didn't know who this one would be. It could be Sally or maybe it wasn't. Benny stepped forward too, never crossing in front of Dan. 

There, coming up the street, was a figure of bright color and adornment. A long dress of bright blue, a pale hat with a large red feather. The person took steps with such grace in the high heels, you'd think she had been a runway model all her life. People around her slowed down or even stopped and stood where they were to observe her as she strolled by. White gloves all the way up her arms. 

Dan continued looking at the figure as she drew near the sheriff's station, where he stood. 

"Helen, are those gloves silk?" Dan asked. 

"I think they are satin," she answered. 

As she approached the two men to enter, they could see she was in a very over-wrought disposition. 

"That's Minerva, isn't it?" Helen asked, as she held the phone. 

"It's Minerva," Benny replied. 

"Yea, it's Minerva," Dan said as Minerva slowed finally at the door. Dan stepped aside to let her enter and she followed suit, giving no look at Benny. 

"Mistah Dan," she acknowledged, then "Miss Helen," as she stopped in the middle of the room. 

"Minerva," Dan acknowledged her back. She held her hand over her mouth. 

"Are you okay, Minerva?" Helen asked. "Why don't you sit down?" she added, motioning to the nearby chair. Minerva stepped to the chair and sat down, her eyes closed. 

"How long were you gone, Minerva?" Dan asked. 

Minerva looked at him and let her vision stray. 

"What day is it?" she asked. 

"It's Monday," Benny answered. "You vanished on Thursday."

Minerva dropped the umbrella with a loud strike upon the tile floor. 

"Oh, Lord," she said frantically, "I've been gone from my kids for five days!" 

Minerva began to wail. 

"I'm getting, . . " Helen began, "Minerva! I'm getting word to Hoover to let them know you've returned and looking very nice." 

"Where my kids?" 

"They were at your mother's," Helen replied. 

Minerva frowned up fitfully. 

Dan looked at her. 

"And let me guess," he stated, "you don't remember what happened." 

"Oh, no, Mistah Dan," Minerva answered. "I did see someone. A woman." 

Dan looked at her in utter disbelief. 

"Are you sure, Minerva?" Helen asked. 

"Yes, mam," she replied. "I'd just sent the kids off to school and kept an eye on them, cuz you know Annie Peach was taken whyle she was walking home from church." 

"Who'd you see, Minerva?" Dan growled. 

"Well, I waited for the kids to round the corner, cuz I knew once they did that, people in the store and near the school would be able to see them, and I turned back to go inside and there was this woman in a white cloak."

"A woman?" Dan scoffed. 

"Yes, sir, and I walked back inside and got some water for tea and looked out the window to see if she was still there, but she was gone, so I walked back to the door to look out and see where she was and I opened the door and as I looked, I turned and there she was on the porch." 

Nobody spoke. 

"Did you get a good look at her?" Dan asked. 

"Minerva, if you describe this person, we'll have our first witness of someone who is doing these abductions," Helen said. 

"Did you recognize her?" Dan inquired. 

Minerva looked off as if she were thinking. 

"No," she answered. "I didn't recognize her. Her face seemed to be covered by a white veil."

"Was she a colored woman?" asked Helen. 

Minerva looked at her, then turned to Dan. 

"No," she said, "I want to say she was white, but I'm not sure. I know she wasn't colored. She came at me and frightened me so much I must have fainted dead away. Oh, Lord!" 

Seemingly oblivious, Dan asked Helen, "you get hold of Hoover?"

"He said he'd send Joe and Carl here to get Minerva," Helen replied, then added, "what do you want to do about the clothes?"

Minerva sat up. 

"Oh you can have them," she said forcefully, leaning the bright red umberella against the desk and then starting on the hat. 

"Pin gotta be here somewhere."

"Minerva, Minerva," Helen spoke to her, "just don't worry about it now. None of the items seem to have been stolen anyway."

Minerva looked at Helen, then Dan, rather defeated as she sat in the finest garments she had ever experienced upon her frame. 

"I don't won't you think I stole them," she said again, like poor Eddie was done." 

Dan heard the name Minerva spoke, but said nothing. He looked out across the street at the large black woman making her way down the sidewalk. He could all but hear those pristine heels tapping on the sidewalk. He knew she had never wore heels like that before, so how was she able to manage such perfect balance now? 

A white woman with two small children approached. Dan watched as she talked to the black woman in such lavender finery. He knew everyone was aware it wasn't doing any good to force the kidnapped victims to return any of the attire, as it seemed to result in more women being abducted. 

The white woman all but hoveled to the black woman as she admired the fine garment. Dan couldn't hear them, but knew the white woman was asking permission to see how the dress feels, and the black woman allowed her to touch it. 

The two women then parted, the white woman continuing on with her children. The black woman never had any inclination of stepping out of her way. The white woman stopped and looked back at the beautiful gown, then turned forward again to wipe at the front of her plain cotton blouse. 

Two black men slowly stepped into the doorway. 

"Oh, Lord, Uncle Carl, Minerva wailed, standing up. She actually retrieved the umbrella as if out of habit, as tho it completed her ensemble. 

"Mistah Dan," the younger fellow said, "we come to get Minerva. Is she free to go?" 

"Why wouldn't she be, Joe? She hasn't done anything. Take her and get her out of here!" 

"Yessuh," the young man said under his breath, "come on now, Minerva. Let's go home." 

"How are my kids?" she asked, fretfully. 

"They're fine," Carl answered growing fainter as he moved away. "Momma been watching them." 

Dan continued to watch them as the worried concern seemed to give away to whoopin' and cheering. 

"They celebrating yet?" Helen asked. 

"Yea," Dan said quietly, then looked to see Benny, still sitting in the room. 

"I guess you think it's funny how white women feel seein' all your colored women running around in all those nice clothes?" Dan grwoled at Benny. 

"No, suh, Mr. Dan," Benny replied weakly, "I just want Sally back."

"You think it's real funny, don't you?" 

"No, suh, Mr. Dan. I told Sally she better not ever wear any of those white women's garments. They're not made for her. They're for respectable women like Miz Helen." 

"Are you lookin' at a white woman, Benny?" 

"No, sir, Mr. Dan," Benny gasped. "I just want Sally back. I want Sally back." 

"Well, what did you do with her?" the sheriff asked. "You kill her?" 

"No, sir. She went to get water this morning," Benny said tearfully. "Just want Sally back." 

Dan looked out the front door once more, then back to Benny. He reached over and grabbed the tiny man and hauled him before the open door to look out into the streets. 

"Look at all those colored women in those rich clothes," Dan yelled, then followed, "they was supposed to be turned into the office here, to Helen, or take them to Miss Shay's boutique. 

"I don't want them," Helen said almost insultingly. "Miss Shay don't want them either. What's she supposed to do with a bunch of clothes that been worn by colored women?" 

Dan shot Helen an angry look, all but snarling, then turned back to Benny, who he still held by the scruff of the neck. 

"We told you boys if you're stealin' them clothes, you need to tell us where you're stealin' them from," he said, slightly tossing Benny as he let him go. Benny stumbled away, but remained standing. 

"Ain't stole nothing, Mr. Dan." 

"All those colored women didn't pay for those dresses, did they?" 

Benny hung his head down. 

"Did they?" 

"No suh," he finally answered, "but nobody wanted them, so they just wore them." 

Dan looked out once more to see four black couples enter under the 'COLORED' sign on the restaraunt, laughing and happily cutting up. 

At the white entrance, the white women were entering in pale cotton flower printed dresses. 

"You like seeing Ted get lynched?" 

"No, suh," Benny said, shaking his head and becoming upset. 

"They told Ted if he wanted to be a smart-aleck about them women's clothes, they'd show him what we do with smart-alecks and lynched him. Did you like that, Benny?" 

Benny sobbed out his words. 

"No, sir," he said, crying more, "I didn't want to see that happen to Ted." 

"He thought he was funny!" 

"No, sir, wasn't funny at all." 

"And we said, if ya'll don't stop stealing them clothes, somebody else will get in trouble, didn't we?" 

"Nobody was stealing any clothes," Benny wailed. 

"We told you to stop stealing!" 

"We wasn't stealing. Mr. Hugo wasn't stealing anything, and he got killed."

"Told you to stop, Benny!" 

"I didn't steal anything. None of us did," Benny cried. 

"Old Hugo was a good colored," Helen interjected. 

"Hated to see that happen to old Hugo," Dan said, as if he were being sympathetic, "buy all these white boys were getting mad at all your colored women in those clothes." 

"We wasn't stealing them." 

"Some of them boys said they were going to get you next, Benny," Dan stated. "I had to talk them out of it." 

Benny wiped at his tears. 

"Yes, sir," he stated.

"I know, sir. I thank you for that, sir. You saved my life." 

Out on the street, two black women laughed loudly as they spoke to one another. They wore long white dresses. One had a dazzling blue shawl, the other one wore what appeared to possibly be her own wrap. Dan wasn't sure. Each woman wore a hat that exquisitly matched her dress. 

"After Hugo was lynched, to send you boys a message, how many women disappeared next?" 

"I think it was four," Helen stated. 

"It was five, sir." 

"Was it five?" she inquired, then spoke, "I guess it was." 

Benny sniffed. 

"One from each corner of the county, near about, wasn't it?" Dan snarled. 

"Near about," Helen said. 

"That was Willie's granddaughters, wasn't it?" Dan spoke more calmly to Helen. 

Helen seemed to think a moment, then stated, "I believe Willie's granddaughters vanished a week later. All four girls were cousins to each other. Each girl lived a good hundred miles apart from each other. Then they all showed back up a day later, three did, then Alma came back, all in those French gowns."

"What was it saying, Benny? The more we punished you, the more of your women who would be given pretty clothes?" 

Benny just looked around and frowned. 

"I don't know, sir," he said quietly. "We was just afraid, trying to figure out what to do. All your white folk hanging around our homes at night." 

"And still your women vanished, didn't they?"

"Yessir," Benny mumbled very quietly. 

"And you boys got no idea what was happening, do you?" 

"No, sir." 

"I find that really hard to believe," Dan responded in an almost condescending manner. 

There was a slight pause, lengthy enough pause, like a hesitation. 

Then Benny spoke. 

"Maybe it was those white men hanging around our homes who were taking them away while we slept," Benny stated, almost believably. 

No one said a word. Helen looked at Dan, who didn't move. Benny looked Dan in the face after his comment, then lowered his gaze. 

Still nothing was said. 

Benny gave a slight glimpse to the sheriff's face to see Dan almost statue-like, seemingly not even breathing, unblinking. virtually enraged. 

Finally it was Helen who said something. 

"Benny, I think you need to go on home and wait and see if Sally shows up," she said, "and you no good and well no white men are going to put colored women in nice clothes and dresses."

"Yes'm," Benny stammered, "no'ma'm, no white man would." 

"So just go on and leave now and wait for Sally at home."

"Yes'm, Miz Helen, you right," Benny said as he slowly moved past the still unmoving sheriff. 

"Mistah Dan," he mumbled as he inched out the door and slowly walked down the street heading out of town. 

The sheriff quietly gazed out into the bustling street. 

Three young girls, about teens, two black, were making their way up the other side of the block. Dan couldn't make out who the white girl was, but she wore a bright blue dress, while the two black girls were in bright beautiful outfits. The girls entered the COLORED entrance of the theatre, including the white girl. 

Dan looked across the rest of the bustling street. 

"Hated to see old Hugo killed like that," he finally said. 

"Old Hugo was a good man," Helen stated. "Real good man." 

"I guess they didn't care," Dan spoke quietly. "Only thinking of themselves and how to make their women look nicer than anybody else. All they care about." 

"Well," Helen began, "they could have just scared old Hugo, and not lynch him." 

"There had to be a message sent," the sheriff stated forcefully. 

"I know it," Helen spoke softly. 

"Still don't know who these perpetrators are," Dan stated. He then watched a woman in a bright outfit with frilly trim  on her equally frilly dress walking toward the east, where some other people were talking to her as she departed from them. She hesitated, spoke a bit more, seemed to present the bright red skirt of her outfit, then walk on. 

"Got to get on home," the sheriff spoke. 

"How's that, Dan?" Helen asked. 

Dan watched the woman briskly walk down the street, then round the corner heading down a country road. 

"Sally," he said, "making her way home to Benny. She's already been released, it seems." 

Dan looked at two elderly white women in dark dresses, then back down the street heading out of town. 

"I guess they just don't care," he said quietly. 

"They just don't care."