1975

Cinnamon faced the wall with her eyes closed. She felt rather than saw Leigh walk into the room. The scent of Estée Lauder Youth Dew perfume filled the air.

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“How is she?” Leigh whispered, asking Velma, her oldest sister. Cinnamon had been with Gloria six months since Leigh picked her up in Haiti and Jesse was arrested. She attended school and hadn’t phoned or reached out to Leigh. Velma shrugged, not wanting to speak.

 

She suspected Cinnamon wasn’t sleeping. Velma beckoned for Leigh to follow her from the room. Cinnamon heard the door closing softly as a tear slid down her cheek. She felt completely empty inside and didn’t want to return to Center City but she knew Leigh would insist and though at almost twenty, she was technically grown, she would go home. It was time to, there was no longer a reason to stay away. As a Dubois woman, she had to suck it up, square her shoulders and face the world.

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Ten days later, Cinnamon and Leigh flew back to Florida, secrets between them. There was also a lie that Leigh would take to her grave with her.