Charlotte’s a goner. But I don’t thank we should say nothing to her right now. She need to feel this. All of it. I just hope she can tell by how quiet it is in here that we all on her side. All of us is wiping our eyes on our sleeves, so I go grab a handful of napkins off the bar and hand one to everybody. I keep one for myself.

“I can’t read mine right now. Lewis, can you go? Please?” Charlotte say this with a softness I ain’t heard since she was a little girl. When I look at her, I’m wondering if I wasn’t too harsh with her on the phone. I was mean. And I know it. Now I’m thanking maybe it felt like I was just one more person who didn’t care or didn’t understand how she felt.

“All right, then,” Lewis say, “I’ll go.”

“May 3, 1994

“Dear Janelle:

“I know you probably think I’ma light into your ass about George but you done been through enough over that sorry son-of-a-bitch, and I’m hoping that by the time you read this he’ll be sucking lifesavers in a cell. He gon’ get his. God will see to it, but I don’t wanna waste another drop of my precious energy talking about him, so I’m skipping the subject. I want you to know how proud I am that you finally took a stand. You always been so wishy-washy, Janelle, and I ain’t ashamed to say it, cause it’s true and you know it. You different. And even though all of us kinda make fun of some of the shit you do I hope you know we don’t mean no harm by it. I just don’t know no black people that go to psychics and get people to deal some cards to tell you shit you already know. What really baffles me is why you keep going back. And how much do this mess cost? Do you ever get any answers to your problems or do they just generalize? I also don’t know too many folks who celebrate every single holiday by putting all kinda shit out in they yard like you do, but the one thing I have always liked and loved about you, Janelle, is that you did the shit anyway. You didn’t really give a damn who laughed at your big bunnies or your groundhogs or even them inflatable secretaries sitting at a real typewriter on your front porch, which was pushing it, but I didn’t wanna say nothing, not to mention all them flags flapping in the wind and folks not knowing which country you from, but you didn’t care, did you, baby? You did it cause you enjoyed doing it and because it was your way of being creative. The same goes for all them college classes you been taking for the last fifteen years. You speak like you educated even if you ain’t got no degree and I love hearing you and Shanice talk cause y’all speak English the way it was meant to be spoke. I want you to know that everybody that graduate from college ain’t smart, so please don’t feel bad about that, Janelle. It’s some very stupid educated people in the world, cause if it wasn’t, don’t you think the world would be in better shape than it is? Think about it. But not right now. The point I’m trying to make is this: all these years you been trying to figure out where your place is, where you fit in, what you can do that’s gon’ make you successful, I don’t think you realize you probably already found it. Look in your garage! It’s full of all kinda stuff. Look in your house. All them ruffles and ridges and shit should tell you a thing or two, like maybe you should be doing something where you can putz around and make things pretty, as corny as some of it is, but hell, it’s a lotta people out here just like you who love corny stuff.