Chapter 22 #2
“Why don’t you ride up front with Paulie, where there’s more room, dear,” she said to Sophia as she slid across the backseat and clasped Willa’s hand.
As they pulled away from West Oak Forest Academy, Paulie slipped Sophia a peppermint. She rested her head back on the soft leather of the seat as she listened to Mrs. Pride coddle Willa with sweet words.
“Wait until you see the gorgeous dress I bought you to wear for Thanksgiving dinner.”
“Grandma Rose, you shouldn’t have.”
“Yes, I should. Nothing but the best for you, my little dove.”
While they giggled and spoke in what felt like a secret language, Sophia sucked on the peppermint and looked out the window as the highway miles passed. It didn’t take long before the smooth kiss of tires to the road lulled her to sleep.
Sophia jolted awake as soon as the car stopped. She looked around to catch her bearings.
Mrs. Pride said to Willa, “Your mother has insisted that I drop you off at the library, but we’ll take your bags to the house for you. Willa, go straight there, please. No dilly-dallying on campus.”
“I know my way to the library, Grandma Rose,” Willa said with a smile. “Come on, Sophia.”
Once the car pulled away, Sophia looked around and asked, “Where are we?”
“Howard University. Have you never been here before?”
“No.” She had heard about Howard University. It was where Mrs. Brown, her school counselor at Brooks High School, had attended college. Her diploma was proudly displayed in a thick wooden frame on her office wall.
As she followed Willa across the yard, she asked. “Your mother works here?”
“Yes, she’s lead archivist at the library. I practically grew up on campus,” Willa boasted.
While Sophia had been feeding chickens and milking cows, Willa had been surrounded by college kids and driven around in a chauffeured car. No wonder Max wanted Willa and not Sophia. Who would want a girl like her?
As they climbed the stairs to the library, Sophia wondered what an archivist did, but she didn’t want to appear foolish for asking dumb questions, so she just took it all in silently.
As soon as the girls passed through the heavy door, Willa skipped ahead to the front desk and wrapped her arms around the waist of a slender woman wearing a mint turtleneck and pink lipstick.
“Wilhelmina, welcome home, sweetheart,” the woman said, pulling Willa into her arms and hugging her so tight that Willa opened her mouth and exaggerated trying to draw breath.
“Mommy, I can’t breathe.” She pulled away, grinning. “This is my roommate and best friend, Sophia.”
Willa’s mother turned toward Sophia, giving her a smile that started with her lips and danced around in her eyes. “Pleased to meet you, Sophia.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mrs. Pride.” Sophia extended her hand.
“Willa has told me all about you. And please, Ms. Eleanor is just fine. My mother-in-law is Mrs. Pride,” she said good-naturedly.
“Mommy, is it okay if Sophia stays with us for Thanksgiving break?” Willa tugged on her mother’s hand like a small child.
“I don’t see why not. I’ll just need to check in with your parents to make sure it’s okay,” she said to Sophia.
Sophia fidgeted with the cuff of her coat sleeve. She could feel heat rising in her throat. “Our… power is unreliable on the farm, so unfortunately, there is no way to contact them. I assure you that it is fine. I’ve told them all about Willa too, and they won’t mind at all.”
Ms. Eleanor tipped her head to the side, and Sophia could feel her looking at her inquisitively. But then she rolled her shoulders back and smiled.
“Well, girls, I have a few more things to do before we leave. But go explore the library, and we’ll meet at the information desk at five to head home for dinner. I made crab cakes.” She gave Willa’s elbow a last pat and then headed up the stairs to the second floor.
Sophia chewed the inside of her cheek, feeling ashamed but also grateful that Ms. Eleanor hadn’t pried further.
“This is like my second home.” Willa waved her hands. “What do you like to read?”
“History.” Sophia pulled her satchel up over her shoulder.
“Well, I’m more into romance. Boy-meets-girl type of stuff. I’ll be in the novel section. History is over there.” She pointed to the left.
“Okay, I’ll go grab a few books.”
“There’s a lounge area in the back, near that window. That’s where I’ll be,” said Willa, skipping off.
As Sophia watched Willa head in the opposite direction, she exhaled.
Finally, a moment to herself. The library smelled like coffee grounds and morning dew.
The earthiness eased the tension in her belly.
Sophia walked in the direction that Willa had pointed but saw only books on politics, psychology, and religion.
“Ah, a new face. Can I help you, friend?”
Sophia turned to see an older woman with tight curls pushed away from her forehead. She wore a plaid dress with a high neckline and cap sleeves.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m doing a project for school on…” Sophia wasn’t quite sure how to phrase it. “Negro children from Germany adopted in the U.S.”
The woman looked taken aback. “Oh, my. Now, that’s interesting. How did you come to that topic?”
“A friend from school. He’s Negro but was adopted from Germany and brought here when he was little. He didn’t know much, but I was wondering if there was any press surrounding it or any books I could read,” Sophia asked.
The woman reached for the glasses hanging around her neck and pushed them up over her nose. “Well, you must be referring to Ethel Gathers and her efforts to move brown babies out of orphanages in Germany to the U.S. She’s an extraordinary woman. Let me see what I can find for you.”
Sophia felt something light up inside her. “Yes, maybe that’s what I am looking for.”
The woman smiled before heading off to find what their archives held. “I’m Dorothy Porter Wesley, and I oversee the largest collection of Negro history in the world. I’m sure I can find what you are looking for in my collection. Come with me.”
Mrs. Porter Wesley took off at such a speed, Sophia nearly tripped over her own feet, trying to keep pace with her.
When they arrived on the lower floor, they entered a room that felt like someone had broken the thermostat at sixty degrees.
Sophia shrugged back into her coat as Mrs. Porter Wesley led her back to a second room filled with wall-to-wall reel boxes.
There was a big gray machine shaped like a boxy bell with a television-like screen in the center of it.
“Let’s take a stroll through the microfilm and see what we can find for you,” Mrs. Porter Wesley said, pointing Sophia to the two seats in front of the machine.
Mrs. Porter Wesley studied the reel boxes before taking a few off the shelf. Sophia sat next to her and watched as she expertly scrolled.
“Jackpot,” she said. “I think this is what you are looking for.” She made space closer to the screen for Sophia.
Sophia read the headlines. Ebony: “Homes Needed for 10,000 Brown Orphans.” Jet magazine: “German ‘Brown Babies’ Arrive in U.S.”
“Yes, this is perfect,” Sophia said, feeling Max’s story bubble up inside her.
“Wonderful,” Mrs. Porter Wesley said. “What school did you say you attended?”
“I’m in high school. West Oak Forest Academy.”
“Ah, you must be friends with our little Wilhelmina.”
“Yes, she’s my roommate.”
“Well, the first opens the doors for the next. You remember that, and don’t let them intimidate you. Always remember that you deserve that seat at the table. You’ve earned it, now do something amazing with it,” Mrs. Porter Wesley said. “Now, let’s get copies of those articles for you.”
At the top of the stairs, Sophia thanked Mrs. Porter Wesley and then carefully shoved the articles into her satchel bag. She decided in that moment that she didn’t want Willa to know what she was up to. It was Max’s secret, and she intended to keep it close.