Page 86 of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Book
“You could play his brother.”
“Fuck that. I’m way too handsome.”
Jeb laughed. “Or you could play a Confederate general.”
“Another goddamned bad guy,” Mitch grumbled.
“But there is one upside. They’d have to create a statue of you for the role. Bet you could take it home when you’re done. Something like that might look pretty sweet in your backyard.”
“Oh,hellyeah.” Mitch instantly perked up. “I always wanted a statue.”
“I’m sure you did, bubba,” Jeb told him.
“You know what? This is great.” Freshly inspired, Mitch picked up his pen.
“But before you start, you better reach out to Beverly and the Wrights if you want to tell their story.”
Mitch groaned. “What?”
“I know.” Jeb patted his brother on the shoulder. “It’s a bitch giving people their due. But I promise—you’ll get used to it. In time, doing the right thing may even start to come naturally.” He poured a cup of coffee and setit down on the table in front of Mitch. “I’m going back to sleep. You wake me up again and I’m gonna come down shooting.”
“Hey, before you go, I got something for you.” Mitch pulled a document from the back of the spiral notebook and handed it to his brother.
“What is it?” Jeb asked. “I don’t have my glasses.”
“It’s your fucking due,” Mitch said. “The house is all yours. All you gotta do is sign.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not a real villain,” Mitch said. “I just play them on TV.”
Chapter 35
Happy Ending
“I hear I have some big shoes to fill,” said Dr. Bamba.
“Oh yes,” confirmed Georgia’s 2034 Realtor of the Year. Melody loved the chitchat. It was the best part of having her own real estate agency. Talking to folks from other places had given her a lot to think about over the years. “Dr. Chokshi was beloved round here. We sure hate to see him go. But we’re absolutely thrilled you’re taking over his practice.”
“Thank you. Where is Dr. Chokshi going, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Back to Queens—that’s in New York City, you know. His parents are getting older, and he wanted to be near them. But we did hold on to him for ten years. Sent him back with a nice Georgia girl, too.” Melody slowed the car and pulled to the curb. “Oh no,” she said when the doctor reached for her seat belt. “We’re not at the listing yet. I just wanted to point out a few of Troy’s highlights. That right over there is our new heritage museum. We’re real proud of it.”
“The big white mansion with the columns?”
“Yes, ma’am. I mean,Doctor. One of our finest citizens left the house to the town in her will. Now her great-granddaughter oversees the museum. It tells the story of all the peoples who built Troy and the Muscogee village that came before it. I thought I knew a lot about our history, but every time I go there, I learn something new. A lot of it’s tough for people to hear, but it’s important, you know? It’s like finding out you were born with a health condition. Maybeyou didn’t do anything to deserve it. But if you ignore it, nothing’s going to get better. You gotta look at the problem before you can fix it.”
Melody took her foot off the brake and guided the car back onto the road.
“The mayor mentioned there’s an educational fund?”
“Yep, Bella oversees that as well. Her great-grandma, Wilma, was a wealthy woman. Before she died, Ms. Cummings established a fund that would help put all the kids round here through school. They get a bonus if they come back to Troy when they’re done. Oh, look over there. That’s our library.”
“That’sthe town library?” A beautiful modern structure sat between a 1980s-era bank and the local post office. It looked less like civic architecture than a temple to books.
“Yes, well, we had an unfortunate incident a while back. I only bring it up so you won’t be surprised when you hear. There was a young man in town who got involved with some nefarious types. He was plotting a massacre when two local heroes stopped him. He ended up shooting himself.”
“Oh no!”
