“Of course not. Who wants to read legal papers. They’re so boring. I never read contracts. That’s what lawyers are for, isn’t it, Daddy?” I looked up at him. He was smiling at me. He loved me. He had given me this beautiful new room and let me buy new carpets and drapes and all the new furniture I wanted. He loved me and he had his important lawyers get me a divorce and I didn’t even have to go to court. I moved near him and put my arm around his waist. “We’re mighty proud of you, Sweet Sister,” he said. “You’re settling down to be a fine little mother.”

“Momma and Daddy are going to be the adoptive parents if anything happens to me,” I explained to Charles William and Irise.

“It’s to make sure the boys are safe,” Daddy added.

“They’ll be his heirs if anything happens to him,” I laughed. “Just think how mad it would make Dudley to have to share the money with my children and with me.”

“Charles William, you and Irise want to witness this?” Daddy said. “Then James Myers can go on and get it filed in the morning.” He held out the pen. Charles William and Irise stood up.

“I don’t know if we should,” Charles William said. “Malcolm was my roommate, Dudley. It might not be a good idea for us to sign it.”

“I want you to,” I said. I held on to my father. “I want you to sign it. It doesn’t matter anyway. I promise you I’m not going to die.”

“I don’t know if I should.”

“For God’s sake you’re only witnessing my signature. You don’t have to like what it says.”

“I’ll sign it.” Irise took the pen and began to sign her name below mine on all the pages. Charles William stood with his head bowed looking at his feet. When Irise was finished signing the papers he took the pen from her and signed them too. Then I showed them to the door. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Dee,” he began, but I would not listen to it.

“My daddy knows what he’s doing,” I said. “He’s the one who takes care of us, Charles William. He’s the best friend I have. Besides, I don’t want Mrs. Martin to get hold of my children. She might ruin them.” I stood in the doorway looking out at the snow. Whatever person I had been six hours ago in Montgomery, Alabama, had disappeared. I was back in my father’s house. I was my daddy’s indulged and happy little girl. All I had to do from now to the end of time was eat from the bowl he held.

Chapter

26