“Really.”

“She said her pussy was that good.”

I grit my teeth at her bluntness.

“But turns out it wasn’t as good as mine and ’Londa’s.”

“So—you mean your mother knew George was doing this to you guys all along and didn’t do anything about it?”

“She didn’t want to believe us. She believed him.”

“You mean nobody reported it?”

“Report it to who? If your own mama don’t believe you, who else gon’ fucking believe you?”

“Didn’t you tell somebody else? Relatives?”

“She told ’em ’Londa wasn’t right in the head. Which wasn’t no lie at the time.”

“But what about you?”

“I gave up a long time ago. I didn’t get out the bed for six months, till they put me on this medication. But, hey, ain’t nothing wrong with ’Londa’s head except she just hates Mama big-time, and that hate done turned in on her.”

“And you don’t?”

“I feel sorry for her, really.”

“Why?”

“For being so pitiful and stupid. I think something is wrong with her, to tell you the truth. The man she got now—Charlie-Z is his name—she took him from a woman who supposed to have been her friend. They lived right across the street. They been knowing each other since high school. But Mama say she ain’t done nothing wrong. She said she can’t help it if Sheila’s man got tired of her. But Mama like taking things that belong to somebody else. It took me a long time to see that this how she got all her men. It’s like a game she play to see if she can win. But what do she really win? These ain’t real men. They pretend to be good, but inside they smelly rotten. I don’t know why she can’t see it. She the main reason I don’t care if I never love nobody, ’cause, if love can do to me what it’s done to her, I don’t want none.”

“What about Yolanda?”

“What about her?”

“Where is she? And how is she?”

“She’s around. She do a little crack. Let me stop lying. She do a lotta crack. But I think she might be in rehab now. She in and out. She keep trying to get it together, but it’s hard for her. She ain’t spoke to Mama in going on four years.”

“Why not?”

“ ’Cause she said she ain’t gon’ never say another word to her until she apologize for not admitting that she knew George did what he did to us.”

“Why won’t she do that?”

“ ’Cause she still swear up and down he didn’t.”

“But you all know that she knew.”

“Oh, hell, yeah. She knew.”

“Don’t you hate him?”

“More than burnt toast.”

I nod my head up and down in agreement.

“How old is your daughter now?” she asks.

“Almost thirteen.”

“She’s gon’ be fucked up, I can tell you that right now. Ain’t no getting around it.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. But I’ll tell you something, JaDonna,” I say, rising to my feet, “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure she doesn’t get fucked up, and I’m going to start by stopping George from doing this to someone else.”