When Everything's Said & Done Read Online Free PDF Page A

here.”
    “Really,” Brenda said, her eyes a bit too large. “Now look-a-there.” Annette tugged on Michael’s arm. “Brenda was always the first one of us to spot a good-looking guy.”
    They laughed and walked toward the house. The clapping from the backyard was almost as loud as Stevie Wonder’s singing. When they reached the back Laura was standing at the gate. She had a handful of homemade sugar cookies. Nebia stood beside her.
    “Hello, Miss Laura. Miss Nebia,” Michael said with respect. “I told Annette I’d be back. The party seems to be going good.”
    “It is,” Laura said, wiping cookie crumbs from her mouth.
    “Mama,” Annette said softly, “I thought the doctor told you not to eat any sweets.”
    “This lit-a-bit of cookies is not going to hurt me,” Laura replied.
    “Why aren’t you suppose to be eating any sweets?” Brenda’s forehead wrinkled with concern.
    “The doctor says I got a touch of diabetes and I just need to lose a few pounds and watch what I eat. That’s all.”
    “Diabetes!” Brenda repeated the word as if she had never heard it before. “Why didn’t anybody tell me about this?”
    “Because I knew you were going to act just like you’re acting now.” Laura leaned toward her. “But this isn’t the place or the time to talk about it. ” She turned to Michael. “How was Memphis?”
    “Good. Memphis was good,” Michael said.
    “It went real good, Mama,” Annette chirped. “Michael bought a car.”
    “Is that right? What kind did you get?”
    “It’s just an old Nova, Miss Laura. Something to get around in until I can get one of those small business loans I’ve been applying for.”
    “Do it, girl. Come on, now,” erupted from behind them. Some of the guests had formed a semicircle on the grass. In the middle were two adolescents holding a wooden closet rod. Right now it was moonlighting as a really low limbo stick.
    “All right. Here I go,” Cora warned as she tied her long, white linen dress in a knot between her thighs. Cora threw her arms out and leaned back. Her smile was wide and bright as she laughed at her own antics, and the ends of her beaded corn rowed braids dangled above her shoulder blades. Cora shrieked when she couldn’t bend any further. She was on her butt, but her laugh was louder than anyone else’s.
    “That’s my sister, Cora. Fresh from L.A.,” Annette explained.
    Cora lifted her arms and a young man responded, pulling her up, off the ground. “Ohh,” she moaned and placed her palms against her butt cheeks, then started laughing again. Cora caught sight of her family and walked stiffly in their direction.
    “Cora, when are you gon’ grow up?” Laura chastised her, but there was unadulterated love in her eyes.
    “I am grown. Mama.” She threw an arm around her mother’s shoulders and gave her a hug, then started to whimper again. “Oh, my butt.”
    “Is it broken?” Michael asked, smiling.
    “I hope not. It’s still got a long, long way to go.” Cora replied.
    Brenda shook her head. “Never mind her, Michael. She’s always been this way. No matter how we’ve tried to teach her better. And since she’s been living in Cali fornia she’s worse than ever.”
    “O-o-kay. So that’s how it is, huh?” Cora looked Michael up and down. “I gather this is somebody I am suppose to impress.”
    “This is Michael, Cora.” Annette gave her the eye. “The one who moved upstairs in the efficiency.” “Michael.” Cora nodded her understanding. “Now I get it. All right. Let’s start over.” Cora turned her back to them, untied her dress and smoothed out the wrinkles. When she faced them again she offered Michael a regal hand in greeting. “How are you, Michael?”
    “Just fine, thank you.” He grinned.
    “So you’re the man who stole my baby sister’s heart,” she accused with a straight face.
    “Cor-ra,” Annette howled.
    Michael let go a throaty laugh. “Is that what I’ve done? I hadn’t heard it