Ain't No Sunshine by Leslie Dubois Read Free Book Online

my chance. Should I tell her how I felt about Ruthie? Maybe she would tell me that I wasn't crazy for being in love with a colored girl. Maybe she'd tell me everything would work out. But then again, maybe she'd just tell my father and I'd end up with another beating. I decided to test the waters first.
    "Mother, what do you think about whites and coloreds marrying?"
    A crash echoed in the kitchen as my mother dropped a dish. I rushed to her side to help her clean it up.
    "It's illegal," she said, as I picked up the pieces of the broken plate. Her shaky voice was a combination of anger and fear. I didn't understand what brought about these emotions; I thought she liked Ruthie.
    "No, it's not. Virginia made it legal three years ago. I checked." I put the shattered plate in the trash can and watched as my mother nervously twisted a dish towel in her hands. She looked absolutely petrified. I approached her and tried to put my arm around her. "Mother, what's wrong?"
    She jerked away from me. "Stephen, I think you should stay away from Ruthie, okay? It's better that way. Safer. It's safer that way."  She tried to run away, but I pulled her back to me.
    "What do you mean, safer? Safe from what?"
    She shook her head frantically. "He'll kill us all." She wriggled free from my grasp and charged out of the kitchen. She ran to her room where she cried for the rest of the night.
     

Chapter 9
     
    "What's that?  What are you pouring into that…that…whatever you call it?"  Ruthie asked.  She sat on my kitchen counter and watched as I worked on my science project.  It was months before anyone would even start thinking about the science fair, but I had to be ready.  I had already won three years in a row and I wanted to make sure my streak continued.  This year I was working with Chemistry.  I wanted to see if I could use regular kitchen ingredients to create a solvent that would strip paint.  All she heard when I explained to her my experiment was the word 'paint' and she wanted to join me.   "This is a beaker and this is citric acid.  Right now I'm trying to increase the acidic level with –"
    "Why is that paper changing colors?"  Ruthie interrupted me pointing to the counter where I had laid out various strips of litmus paper.
    "Because it's litmus paper and…"
    "What kind of paints are you using?  Water-based or oil-based?"   Ruthie started to giggle.  She really thought she was getting to me with her questions.  She didn't realize that I could never be annoyed with her.    
    I walked up to her and stood between her legs, silencing her with a kiss. She placed her fingers in my hair and pulled me closer.
    "Does that answer your questions?" I asked when I let her up for air.
    She smiled and gave me another peck on the lips. I went back to mixing my chemicals.
    "So when is your father getting back?" 
    Why did she always have to bring up my father? I hated thinking about him when I was with her.
    "He said he'd be back for dinner."  Ruthie looked at her watch.  She wanted to make sure she was long gone before then.
    "Can I make a suggestion?"  Ruthie said after a few minutes.  "As someone who uses paints pretty often, there are many low-cost, simple ways to strip paint or clean it off completely.  I don't think this project is going to come up with anything incredible."
    "Really?"   I asked.  "So what's your suggestion?"
    "Well, from what I can see, you've already come up with about seven really acidic solutions.  Why don't you do an experiment to see what substances they can eat through?  I think that would be more interesting."
    "Why do you think that would be more interesting?"
    "Well, let's say you find a combination of regular kitchen ingredients that can eat through metal," she said, hopping off of the kitchen counter.  She had that look in her eye that she always got when she came up with a new adventure.  I knew the next words to come out of her mouth were going to be imaginative.  "Then let's