It was my “aim” now to stop him. I did. “Wait a minute, Tucker. Perhaps I’m being too hasty. What do you plan to do?” Again I leaned back in the chair, still watching him. I could see his eyes now, but they were as emotionless as the disks of light had been.

“Plan? I don’t understand, sir.”

“Plan. What exactly are you planning to do with the land? Why do you want our land? Why can’t you buy someone else’s land?”

“I just wants to do some farming, is all.”

“What kind of farming?”

“Just farming. Corn, cotton, just farming.”

“But why come to me?” I leaned forward and balled my fists. And this is strange. I found I was taken up very much in this mock drama, found myself caring a great deal. “You must know we’ve never sold that land to anyone. Why should we start now?” He just stared at me. “And why must it be on the plantation? We have land to the south of town. It’s better land anyway.”

His lips hardly moved. “I don’t want that land. Now will you sell me some land on the plantation?” The tone of his voice was almost irritated, almost angry.

Perhaps I’m a southerner after all because his almost surly attitude got to me and I snapped at him. “You shouldn’t speak that way, Tucker. It can get you into serious trouble.”

And he came right back at me, made me feel ashamed of myself. “We ain’t white and black now, Mister Willson. We ain’t here for that.”

I felt very tired now, and dropped all my defenses. “But don’t you see, Tucker, if I’m to sell you our land, there has to be a concrete reason. You know I can’t just give it to you. I suspect you wouldn’t even take it if I did. You want to pay for it.” I resorted to finance and added, “And I have to know you can meet the payments on it.”

“I ain’t making no payments. I got enough right now.”

“How do you know? I haven’t told you the price yet.”

“I have enough money to buy twenty acres, and besides, you know whatever I got to offer is enough.” We stared at each other for what seemed like a long time.

“I know, but say it so I can hear it, Tucker. It’s important that I hear it.” I found myself almost pleading with him.

He nodded. “I want that land on the plantation because it’s where the first Caliban worked, and now it’s time we owned it ourselves.”

“What else?” I was leaning forward now, anxious.