Take Me to the Water

PART 6 // Michigan

The drive to Michigan took 14 hours in total and Uncle Calvin didn't say a word the entire time. I didn't even see him cry for my father. He just drove with his eyes fixed on the road ahead while Leah and I sat in silence and let our tears dry on our face. We drove all through the night Saturday, and Sunday morning Uncle Calvin pulled over and got some rest. Sunday afternoon we got back on the road, and early Monday morning we pulled into a small town named Clover, Michigan—our new home.

Clover looked a lot like Georgia to me. There was lots of water and open land. The stores and shops looked run down, and the few people that we saw outside were all black. I felt like I was still back home.

Uncle Calvin stopped at a rest stop and washed up his face and told me and Leah to do the same. These were the first words he'd spoken to us. After we got washed up, he told us that he had to meet a man about a house and that we needed to be on our best behavior. I nodded my head yes, and Leah did the same. I could tell that she wasn't herself. She seemed in a daze, and she didn't speak the entire ride either. We all got back into the truck and Uncle Calvin drove to a dead end road and pulled up to a shabby two story house.

"This is it?" Leah asked, disappointed.

The house was a dingy white color and had a huge porch that wrapped around the front of it. The house was big, but it was falling apart, and it was the only home on the street. The nearest neighbor was a mile away, and other than that, there was only a church close by—and a river, the Pearl River.

My heart raced when I saw the water. As I stared at it, I thought I saw the woman from before. The woman who spoke to me while Leah was being baptized. She was standing near the water, wearing the same dress she had on the day of the baptism. I rubbed my eyes and looked back to the water, and then she was gone. I knew I must have been imagining her, but I was still afraid.

"I don't like this house," I said, pretending to be mad.

"I don't care what you don't like," Uncle Calvin said blandly as he pulled up to the front porch.

A middle—aged black man was waiting outside and he waved to us happily. Uncle Calvin got out of the truck and told us to come on and we followed him up to the porch where the man stood. He and Uncle Calvin hugged.

"My man Cal! Good to see you. Where's Bobby?"

Uncle Calvin looked to me and Leah and then back to the man.

"He ain't gonna make it," he said dryly.

The man shook his head, disappointed, and looked at me and Leah with a smile.

"Well now, aren't these two of the prettiest little girls I've ever seen. My name's Felix."

"Girls, say hello to Mr. Felix," Uncle Calvin said, dryly.

Leah and I said hello with attitudes and shook Mr. Felix's hand. He looked like a cowboy to me, and he was just as country as people in Georgia. He was wearing a fedora and had a gold tooth in his mouth and I thought he looked creepy as he smiled down to us both.

"Come on, let me show you around."

Felix walked inside and we followed in after him. I didn't think it was possible, but the inside of the house was uglier than the outside. The house had 4 bedrooms in total, a huge living room, dining room, and a large kitchen, but all of it was absolutely hideous. All of the paint on the walls was chipping away, and we had to be careful where we stepped because the wooden floors had holes in various spots. The house needed new everything: new floors, new paint, new ceiling, new kitchen. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, we went upstairs and a group of rats scattered across the hallway floor. Leah and I both screamed and hid behind uncle Calvin. Felix thought this was funny.