Keeper of Keys Read Online Free PDF

them. My whole body ached and the bottoms of my feet were sore. I wondered if this was part and parcel of the disease I'd recklessly loved myself into.

    Precious smiled and her beauty thinned when she did. The gap in her teeth had always taken away from her loveliness. The men didn't mind though, but I knew that Essence magazine would have.

"You 'bout slept the entire day away." Poor Boy said and leaned back in his chair as Sherry dropped another piece of chicken on to his plate. "It's past noon."

I was leaning over Precious, kissing her on her cheek and inhaling the Dolce Gabbana perfume that sailed up from her bosom. Last time I was there she was still wearing L'air du Temp. 

"Is it?" I said as Precious wrapped her arms around my neck and smothered me in kisses.
"Only quarter past." Sherry said nodding at the clock on the wall. 

I could hear children playing out back, Precious' three and the two Sherry and Poor Boy had. I listened hard and above the dozens of questions being hurled at me for the sound of Alice's voice.

"So what is it Kai, what's wrong?" Precious asked, her eyes rolling from my head down to my feet and back. 

"N-nothing," I was distracted and almost panicked because I still hadn't heard Alice's voice shout out: Ollie-Ollie all come freeeeeee, with all of the other children.

"Had to be something for you to drive all this way three weeks early." Poor Boy was rubbing his swollen stomach as he eyed the bowl of fried chicken Sherry set down in the middle of the table next to the loaf of Wonder Bread. 

My hand was gripping the back of the chair and I tried to pretend like I was interested in what my family was saying to me, tried to act like the only thing that was on my mind was the fried chicken, the loaf of Wonder Bread and the green container filled with grape Kool-Aid Sherry was retrieving from the refrigerator.

"W-where's Alice?"

Poor Boy gave in and reached for a chicken leg. Sherry cradled the container in her arms and opened her eyes real wide. 

"She outside with the rest of them." Her response was sharp, like I should be more concerned with answering her questions, more concerned with that than the whereabouts of my one and only child.

I limped away from them and towards the back door. There they were, miniature versions of who we all used to be. Poor Boy's kids; Richard and Ashley, Precious' three, Chastity, Destiny and Mystery and my girl, Alice.

There we all were over again.

"Alice," I called to her and pressed my hand up against the screen of the door. She was running away from Richard, screaming and laughing with excitement, her brown cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide and clear. My God, I thought, she must have grown at least three inches, the jeans she had on were already creeping above her ankles.

"Alice," I called to her again, but this time I was outside, standing on the warm wood of the deck Poor Boy had put in last summer. I waved at her and began screaming her name, because Richard was gaining on her and the other kids are gaining on him and everyone was screaming and laughing and the dogs were going wild with excitement in their pen, adding to the cacophony with their yelps and barks.

She can't hear me and I need her to hear her name coming from my mouth because I could drop dead right now, right on this new deck with the paint that's already chipping away and my daughter would hate me forever because I didn't even get to say goodbye.

Alice faked left and then made a sharp right just as Richard reached out for her. That's when she saw me.

"Mom!" 

I didn't think she could run any faster, but she does and Richard still has three more feet to move before he can turn right and follow Alice. I want to cheer because my baby is fast and she's only seven years old.

I opened my arms and started down the stairs, barefoot and all and when my feet hit the grass I felt like I might have a chance