“Girl, you leave those dishes. And I mean that! I’ll get to them later.”
“But—”
“No ‘but’s! One thing you have to understand, Cassie, is that I’m lady of this house, and though your Uncle Hammer takes care of everything else, I take care of this house, and what I say about this house, that’s what goes!” She laughed good-naturedly. “Right, Hammer?”
Uncle Hammer looked at me and lit another cigarette. “Leave the dishes, Cassie.”
I put the plate down.
“Now, come on, follow me,” said Aunt Loretta. “All of y’all now.”
We did as ordered. We gathered our luggage and followed her upstairs. Aunt Loretta led the boys to a room the three of them would share. There were two twin beds and a sofa that unfolded into a bed. The boys were more than pleased. She then led me to a room of my own. I had never had a room of my own before. It was beautiful, like out of a movie. She showed us the bathroom, which was large and spacious and had not only a tub but a separate shower stall too. The floor was tiled in gray and coral ceramics, and so were the walls. It was elegant.
“Now, you all figure out your own schedules about this bathroom, but don’t worry about your Uncle Hammer and me. We’ve got our own bathroom off our bedroom.”
None of us had ever heard of such a thing, but we marveled at it. So, this was California. The boys, out of courtesy, let me have the bathroom first, and I chose to shower. It was exhilarating. I had never had a shower before. The house on Dorr Street and the one on Everett, in Jackson, had no shower, and, of course, down home on the land, there wasn’t even a bathroom, only a round washtub into which I had to squeeze myself for a bath with water drawn from the well and heated on the wood-burning stove. After the shower, I eyed the tub, looked around the sun-filled room, and promised myself a long, luxurious soak later. Aunt Loretta had already told me to take advantage of all the bottles of bubble bath and lotions lined along the tile shelf encasing the tub.
I figured to like California.
Once we all had a chance to clean up and unpacked the Mercury, we headed out, taking both the Mercury and Uncle Hammer’s Cadillac. Aunt Loretta went with us. She said she wanted us to see the sights after we went to the trucking company. I rode in the Cadillac with Uncle Hammer and Aunt Loretta. At Stacey’s insistence, our first stop was at a car wash. Stacey always demanded a clean car, just like Uncle Hammer, from whom he had gotten his love of cars, so Uncle Hammer understood. After the car wash, we went to the trucking company. Stacey and Uncle Hammer went into the trucking office, but the rest of us stood by the cars. It was a warm day and the sun was shining. Aunt Loretta was quite a talker and we laughed and talked with her, enjoying her stories, until Stacey emerged and said, “Cassie, they want to see you inside.”
“Me?” I asked. “Why do they want to see me?”
“Uncle Hammer told Mr. Strickland about you.” Stacey glanced over at Christopher-John and Man. “Fact, he mentioned all of you were looking for work, but Mr. Strickland said he only needs one driver right now. Thing is, though, he said there might be an opening for Cassie in his brother’s office in Los Angeles.”
I stepped away from the cars, totally surprised. “Los Angeles?”
“That’s what he said. Uncle Hammer knows Mr. Strickland’s brother too. Actually, said he knew him before this brother here. Says he’s a good friend. You interested?”
I went with Stacey. As we entered the office, Mr. Strickland came over to greet me. He was an older gentleman, older than Uncle Hammer. “Your brother has been telling me quite a bit about you, Miss Logan,” he said affably as we all sat down in comfortable chairs next to Uncle Hammer. “Understand you’re looking to find a job in California.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, I don’t have any openings myself that might suit you, but my brother might. He has several businesses down in Los Angeles with a partner of his. Primarily, he’s in the insurance business, but he’s also doing a bit in real estate too, and now he’s expanding into a little local trucking serving the Negro community. He’s got an assistant to help him with the insurance and another with the real estate, but he just told me the other day he’ll be looking for someone to assist in taking care of the trucking paperwork. Of course, he could hire someone down there, that wouldn’t be a problem. But I’m sure because of your uncle and his recommendation, he’d hire you with no hesitation, sight unseen. Stacey here tells me you know how to type and that you’re a quick learner. Now, I know you’re a college graduate, so I don’t know if you would be interested in this kind of work.”
“I could be interested, but I’ve never worked in an office.”
“No need to worry about that. You don’t even need shorthand. Typing is the only manual skill you need. The main thing is that you present yourself well and learn the office routine. You can do all that, I think you might be helpful in my brother’s operation down there. If you’re truly interested, I can contact my brother. He’ll go with my recommendation of you and, of course, that of your uncle.”
I glanced at Stacey and Uncle Hammer. All of this was so unexpected.
“I am interested,” I said, “but what about the salary?”
Mr. Strickland laughed. “Got a lady here after my own heart. First things first! But to tell you the truth, Miss Logan, I don’t know right off. I’ll check with my brother. One other thing. Hammer tells me you’ve never been to Los Angeles and that you don’t know anyone there.”
“That’s right.”
“If you decide to take the job, I’m sure my brother and his wife will welcome you to live with them. Now, my brother’s wife is in a wheelchair and she needs some help getting around and taking care of the house. Would you be willing to take care of those duties in exchange for room and board with them?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”
“So, can I tell my brother I’ve found just the person to work with him down there?”
“Well, Mr. Strickland, the job—if the pay is all right—and the living situation both sound good to me. But my decision depends on my brothers and what they’re doing, so I’ll need to think about it.”
“Far as your brother right here,” Mr. Strickland said, nodding toward Stacey, “I don’t think that’s a problem. We’ll need to test-drive him and I’ll be doing that myself personally in a few days. Can’t do it before then. I’ve got to run up to Sacramento tomorrow, but if he passes the test-drive, he’s got a job. You keep that in mind.”
“I will,” I said.
* * *
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