I hung up and stood with my hand on the receiver staring out the window. I had my hand on the telephone that had connected me with my friend. Before that I had talked to Klane. I was here in the world, connected to people, surrounded by people, people were all around me in every direction. Together we kept it whole, kept it from breaking. Nothing should break off. Klane should not go to jail. Delmonica had fallen on a knife. That was a break, a tear. But it was a web. It was flexible. If a part broke we could mend it.

I shook it off. I hated it when I began to think that way. I could barely tolerate such knowledge, such poetry, so much drama and beauty and fear.

I went into the kitchen and found Fannin feeding the boys scrambled eggs. They were in their high chairs with little pieces of scrambled eggs on their trays and arms and hands. Jimmy even had a piece in his hair. A little pat of scrambled egg right above his left ear. A golden flower in his shiny auburn hair. “You little precious,” I said, and picked it off and returned it to the tray. “You angel baby, you.”

“Where you going so early in the morning?” Fannin asked. She was in a bad mood today. That was clear.

“My maid from Alexandria’s in trouble, Fannin. I have to talk to Charles William about it. But don’t tell Momma and Daddy. Is Momma up yet?”

“She’s in her bedroom. What’d she do?”

She gave me a hooded half-trusting look. Killer ants, I should have been thinking. Webs and poison, hunting groups, feeding frenzies, death by war, we come from such terrible old odds. But I didn’t know enough to think such things. I just had to have an ally and the first black face I saw was going to have to do.

“She killed someone.” It was the first time I had said it out loud. “I don’t think she meant to though. I think it was an accident.”

“I want to go,” Little Malcolm started screaming.

“Me going with you too,” Jimmy chimed in. They both started trying to climb out of their high chairs.