In Search Of Dreams

Episode 12

“Lori, where have you been, girl?” Elliot asks
when she walks up the steps to the front porch.

Elliot is sitting in a rocker, a glass of water in
his hand.

“You out of sweet tea?” she asks, looking at his
glass as she walks past him.

“Yeah. Make me some more?” He stands and
follows her into the house.

“You can make your own. I showed you how.”

“It’s still better when you do it.”

“Lazy. Right now all I wanna do is go up to my
apartment and collapse onto my bed. But since I
do need to talk to you, I’ll stay down here with
you and make your tea.”

“You gon’ tell me where you was?”

“That’s what I need to talk to you about.” She
drops her purse on the kitchen table and takes
her shoes off, setting them near the door.

“We’re suin’ Mr. Alined,” she tells him, facing
the sink.

“We’s doin’ what?”

“We are suing Eugene Alined.” She turns around
and faces him. “Daddy’s death was a
preventable accident. I was just havin’ a
meeting with Robert Carter. Remember
those boys from after Dr. King’s speech? Blonde
Mr. Charlie is a lawyer.”

“You didn’t think you should tell me before you
runned off to discuss this with your pretty white
boy?”

“I think you just answered your own question,
El,” she snaps, turning back to the coffeemaker,
dropping teabags into the receptacle where the
coffee filter and ground coffee should go.

“What?”

“You don’t trust him. That’s why I didn’t tell
you.”

“You could have gone to the colored lawyer.

Jameson.”

“I could have, but I didn’t. I called Rob.”

“How did you know he was a lawyer?”

“Marcus told me. You know, the other one? He
was at Daddy’s funeral.”

“How’d you get his number?”

“Phone book!” she shoots back, getting flustered
at Elliot’s inquisition.

“And you knew his last name and all?”

Lori sighs and closes her eyes. “Fine. Rob
gave me his business card when he shook my
hand.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know, Elliot! But I’m glad he did. And
he’s already working on the case, and I’ve
already signed the paperwork.”

“I thought you say ‘we’ was suin’ Mr. Alined.”

“Fine. I am suin’ Mr. Alined. You are involved
because you’re my brother, though. You been
done wrong by this, too,” she reminds him.

“Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think I
don’t walk around down here with all o’ his stuff
and not feel the stab o’ him bein’ gone? You
can at least go upstairs to your own place!”

“Sorry, El.” She sits while the tea brews, pulling
his hand in between hers. “Look. This is us
going up against The Man, don’t you see that? I
got help. Even the warehouse manager is with
us on this.”

“Was he that huge white boy you was talkin’ to
with Duncan and Ezra?”

“Yes.” Lori nods and sq££zes his hand, and
proceeds to tell him everything they told her
Friday evening.

“So that’s it. You gonna get us killed. No judge
is gon’ care about the death of some colored
man in a warehouse,” Elliot says. “Whitey thinks
we’s all just so much trash. One dies, so what?

Just get another’n.”

“If that’s your attitude, maybe I don’t want you
to be involved,” Lori says. “Rob seems to
think that we have a very strong case against
Mr. Alined.”

“Oh, Rob thinks,” Elliot rolls his eyes.

The coffeemaker gurgles, signaling its
completion, and Lori stands, shoving her chair
back into the table roughly. “I am disappointed
in you, Elliot,” she says over her shoulder. “You
want rights, but you’re not willing to go out and
ask for ’em. That warehouse ain’t safe. For
anyone. I thought about this all weekend.

Prayed about it Sunday. Think about what Daddy
would want, Elliot, what he would do. And
Mama, too. She always told us to hold our
heads up high and proud, even if we was wearin’
secondhand clothes and your belt was a bit o’
rope. Don’t let nobody take advantage of you.

Try to do what’s right. I think this is what’s
right. If you don’t want no part of this, tell me
now, and I won’t trouble you with any o’ the
details.”

Lori is pouring sugar into the pitcher, stirring,
yelling at Elliot by yelling at the sweet tea in
front of her.

“Lori…”

She slams the wooden spoon down on the
counter. “I ain’t finished yet, Elliot. If you don’t
want to help, then don’t, but don’t try and stop
me and don’t get in my way.” She turns around
and looks at him. “But if you want to do right by
Daddy, if you want to poke The Man a little, let
him know we’s payin’ attention, then help me
with this.”

“Your pretty way o’ talkin’ gets less pretty when
you’s mad,” Elliot smirks at her.

“Shut up,” she says, trying not to smile back.

“Mama and Daddy done raised you better than
they did me,” Elliot sighs. “You’re right. It’s
time for me to be the man o’ the family and do
the right thing, even if we don’t win…”

“Then we can hold our heads high knowin’ we
tried.” Lori turns back to the sink to take the
pitcher and put it in the fridge.

“I’m sorry, Lori”

“Elliot, Mama and Daddy didn’t raise me better
than you. I just paid closer attention,” she says,
going over and hugging him.