Just South of Home

CHAPTER ONE Red Velvet Miracle
It wasn’t a mirage but a miracle. Two thick slices of red velvet cake sat on the table in front of us.
Ellis fidgeted on the couch next to me and struggled to keep his hands in his lap. My little brother knew he shouldn’t make any sudden moves. No grabbing the fork on the linen napkin. No stuff- ing his face with cake. Not yet. For all we knew, it could be a trap.
Our grandma-who we addressed as Mrs. Greene- only made red velvet cake on holidays or for the Heritage Festival. Today was just a regular Sunday. This meant our grandma had baked the cake for us, which didn’t make any sense. Mrs. Greene said I acted too much like Mama, and Ellis was a mannish
hellion. I never thought in a million years I would get my grandma’s county-famous cake served on her good plates for no reason.
Ellis and I sat frozen in Mrs. Greene’s parlor, afraid to even breathe. Her fancy clock above the fire- place chimed four times and broke the silence. Mrs. Greene still wore her church clothes: a pale blue dress cinched at the waist and a strand of pearls around her neck. She didn’t look like a grandma, which I guess was her intention. She was tall and slim with skin as bright as a sunrise, and her glossy black hair framed her face, which she had set in her trademark frown.
“What you two afraid of? It’s cake not a snake. You can eat it.”
Ellis jumped to the edge of the couch and grabbed his fork to take his first bite. Mrs. Greene didn’t have to tell him twice. I scooted closer to the table and reached for my fork but stopped when Aunt Gina came into the parlor.
“I can’t get over how big you two are getting! Growing like little weeds,” she squealed.
Even though Aunt Gina now lived in Chicago, she was born and raised in Warrenville, so her voice remained slow and sweet. Aunt Gina was like a fun county fair that came to town once a year. Mama called her a free spirit. Today she wore red slacks with a bright blue blouse and funky purple shoes. Her hair was a halo of bouncy brown curls.