Shadows of St. Louis Read Online Free PDF Page A

picket line?" John said with a mouth full of potatoes.
     
    "What are you trying to say, boy?" Joseph asked. Everyone grew silent. Henry's mother pushed her food around and around her plate. The twins Walter and Willie turned red with anger. Thankfully, their oldest brother Fred wasn't there. He would have likely punched John for the insolent remark. Fred enlisted in the army just after the United States joined World War I the month before. Henry felt Fred's decision had less to do with patriotism and more to do with earning a paycheck to feed his wife and children.
     
    Henry and John were the only Millers with jobs at the time and thus, the only ones bringing in any money to the house. Their father and three eldest brothers were all on strike from the Aluminum Ore Company.
     
    "I'm saying that it's been two months since the strike started. Henry and I are working ourselves into early graves trying to keep food on the table while you three walk around holding a sign all day."
     
    Joseph banged his fist on the table. "What would you have me do? They're giving all the jobs to the darkies for half the wages we deserve."
     
    "Half is better than nothing," John said. Henry wondered when John had gotten so bold. Of his four older brothers, John was the one most like him. Shy, reserved, and pensive. That was probably why they were the only Millers that didn't work for Aluminum Ore. It was their way of differentiating themselves from the other Miller men. So, instead, Henry delivered milk and John worked for the paper.
     
    Joseph stood from the table and glared at his son. Henry feared the wrath of his father. He often got into fistfights with Walter, Willie, and Fred. Henry often thought their fights were more about releasing anxiety than actual anger since they usually ended with bear hugs and laughter. He and John were never involved in these demonstrations of manhood.
     
    Instead of striking him, however, Joseph stormed out of the apartment.
     
    Lillian cried into her hands. Walter glared at John, ready to pick up the fight where their father had left it. Willie grabbed his father's plate and scraped the potatoes on to his.
     
    "Don't cry, Mother," Henry said, reaching for her hand. "We're going to get through this."
     
    "How? How are we going to do that? I heard even more Negroes are moving here from the south. There won't be any jobs left for decent white folk. The Negroes are ruining this family and this country."
     
    "They need to go back to where they belong," Walter said.
     
    "Yeah, back where they belong," Willie chimed. Never having an original thought of his own, he usually just repeated whatever his twin brother said.
     
    Feeling a sudden surge of courage, Henry said, "How can you say that? White people brought them to this country against their will in order to work and then when they try to do just that, you say they should go back to where they came from."
     
    The room was silent again. Even John stared at him curiously.
     
    "Are you defending Negroes? What in tarnation has gotten into you?" Walter said.
     
    "Yeah, what in tar — what has gotten into you?"
     
    His family continued to stare at him waiting for a response.
     
    "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I don't know what I was thinking." Henry's courage quickly waned.
     
    "Damn right you shouldn't have said a thing like that. You're talking crazy," Walter said.
     
    "Crazy talk," Willie added.
     
    Trying to change the subject, Henry said, "I'm going to a reception at the Grande Hotel Saturday night."
     
    "Good. We could use the extra money," John said, his focus returning to his potatoes. The tension in the room dissolved as the only sound became the clanking of forks against plates.
     
    Henry wanted to let the conversation end there. He didn't actually tell a lie. It wasn't his fault that they assumed he was working at the hotel. His conscience weighed upon him. What would happen Monday morning when he didn't have any money to give his