Daddy
Gabriel
It took me a minute to realize that something was wrong. Jeanie was staring at the next table. I didn’t know it was possible for a woman of color to grow pale, but sure enough, her lovely skin seemed to have gone grey, and her expression seemed haunted. Once the waiter left I twisted around to see who she was looking at.
There was a tall, slim man and a shorter, round woman. When the woman turned to look at Jeanie, and I saw her eyes, I realized it had to be her family. My suspicion was confirmed when the woman said, “Ella Jean,” and Jeanie whispered, “Mom.”
Jeanie never talked about her family. Any time I tried to bring it up, she slammed it shut like an old book. I pieced together that she had lost a sister, and that for some reason she blamed herself for her sister’s
