Suddenly Mitch tugged Sassafrass’ sleeve. “Come here, Sassafrass. I gotta talk to ya. Some dudes just came in lookin’ for me. I owe ’em some money from when I was usin’ an’ I gotta get outta here, or pay up. Could I exchange that coke? I swear to ya we’ll still get to Louisiana this year . . . Sassafrass please . . . I don’t wanna haveta deal with these suckers anymore.”

Sassafrass was stiff and bewildered for a minute. She had lost the evilness of their reality; she hadn’t been part of anything but joy, and here was something else. She kept thinking she was lost in the depths of Hell and nothing would get her out of L.A. Then she looked up almost smiling and surprised herself. She didn’t care about her dreams, if her truth—her real life—was hurting, and Mitch was real life, and needing from her something she could give, and did.

“Sure. Get rid of it. It’s bad karma anyway. How we gonna go to a new life commune on ol’ dead life money?”

And the two of them got back to their business of being conjured by the rooted blues. Every once in a while, Washboard Sam would scream:

“Goddamn chile. Come on. Goddamn babeee, come on. Come on. Heah. Ohhhhhh, goddammmmm chile, come heah. I got it, heah.”

Chapter 11

My dearest Sassafrass,

I was so glad to hear that you are staying in Los Angeles for a while longer. It’s not that I don’t want you nearer to me, only I don’t think it’s a good idea to take the white folks to court to get back land they’ve owned since before the war, to give to Negroes who are descendants of slaves.

I think I understand what you are trying to do, but remember we all have to live in this country together, and I believe that the Negro people have enough land to get by with right now. As a matter of fact, did you know that one Geechee after another is selling little parcels of land right off those islands? The white folks are going to build resorts and hotels like in Puerto Rico; won’t that be something?

Anyway, that should show you that Negroes don’t want any more land, they are selling the land they do have! Why don’t you all get some land from the Colored that are selling? That way you could leave these white folks alone. It seems downright unpatriotic of you, Sassafrass, to attack the white folks in the middle of one of their wars. If you must come back to the South, why don’t you stay here? Charleston is as lovely as ever, and you could go out to eat, or sit anywhere you want, any place, any time. It’s not like when you were a little girl, not at all.