Fat’s Chronicles: Hey Sarah?!

Bobby went on and got himself married. Sarah was a nice gal but she was truly a city gal. She ain’t like gulfport too much. But she loved herself some Bobby. I remember meeting Sarah for the first time. She and Bobby came to Rel’s house where all us cousins go to lay back and cut up. She laughed at everything we laughed at, got up an did the mashed potato just as good as Karren Jean. Sarah really was a nice girl. But she and Bobby didn’t last too long. The love ran dry, I guess. We all knew that Sarah was too good to be true for Bobby. I mean, he worked but he was lazy as all get out and I promise you he was dumb as a box of rocks. We all wondered why a nice girl like Sarah would get with Bobby. Not to mention he moved so slow, he was slow as molasses on a 30 degree day. So we weren’t surprised when Sarah went back to Chicago with her family, but I was a little sad. I missed her company, I had kinda got used to her. She would come dressed clean as the board of health. I even started getten Fannie to make me some upidity close like Sarah’s. But she gone now. One day I came home from school to a room full a soggy faces, which is not common round these parts. I mean, we some hard folks in dis here house. A real fancy looking black detective was in the house trying to see if we knew anything about where Sarah might be caz her folks cain’t find her. Big ma went to prayen and hollering and carriyng on so, I missed what the fine fellow said about when she was last seen. We hadn’t seen her in about fo weeks. So we couldn’t help him. Isa shame tho, caz Sarah really was a nice girl. I just remeber her bright smile and fine fancy hoses she wore on her legs like the white folks. Time went on and we got a newspaper clipping telling us Sarah had been found dead in a back alley. We were so sad, we ain’t have the heart to tell Bobby, so we just let him be, he wasn’t much happy no way, why makem even mo sad. Walking home from school acrros the railroad tracks I thought about Sarah’s nice yellow jacket. It had penny sized buttons in the shape of ship yard anchors. The buttons were a sort of light copper and the jacket was always pressed and straight. After wiping dirt off my shoe, caz Big Ma would call me a dirty heathen, I stood up and saw a lady walking to me. I thought, “She look real crazy walking on the train tracks with those high heel shoes on.” I got closer to her and dropped everything in my hands. She looked surprised. “Hey Fat, ain’t you glad I’m back” I promised God I would never fall asleep in church again an den I said, “He- Hey Sarah?”.