V
He burst into his sister’s room. She was fixing her hair and she saw him in the mirror, panting and regrettably soiled.
“Get out, you little beast,” she said.
Undaunted, he gave his news: “Say, she’s in love with Donald, that other one says, and I seen them kissing.”
Her arrested hands bloomed delicately in her hair.
“Who is?”
“That other lady at Donald’s house.”
“Saw her kissing Donald?”
“Naw, kissing that soldier feller that ain’t got no scar.”
“Did she say she was in love with Donald?” she turned, trying to grasp her brother’s arm.
“Naw, but that soldier said she is and she never said nothing. So I guess she is, don’t you?”
“The cat! I’ll fix her.”
“That’s right,” he commended. “That’s what I told her when she sneaked up on me nekkid. I knowed you wouldn’t let no woman beat you out of Donald.”