CHAPTER TEN A HOME OF ONE’S OWN
CHAPTER
TEN
A Home of One’s Own
It did Cora a world of good to see Benny, even though she couldn’t stop worrying about him.
She used to feel a kind of satisfaction when he’d pass and get away with it, bringing her back little soda-pop trophies from stores that were off limits.
This life he’d chosen was a whole ’nother level of dangerous.
Ever since she’d seen him, she’d been thinking about Benny’s GI mortgage, and the more she considered it, the more she felt sure it was the answer.
She still hadn’t spoken to Roscoe about the divorce.
She’d wanted to catch him in a good mood, but he seemed irritated all the time.
He acted like everyone was against him, and she didn’t know how to ask for a divorce without making him think she was against him too.
But if he had a home, something of his own to be proud of, a place he belonged, he might be okay to let her go.
When she told Roscoe about Benny’s new house he snorted. ‘Good for him.’ He didn’t look up from his cards, searching the piles, trying to finish off his round of solitaire.
She pressed on, explaining about the GI guaranteed mortgage he’d gotten without needing a down-payment and the rock-bottom interest rate they’d offered him just for being a vet.
‘Like I said, good for him.’
She sat a little closer to him on the couch and said, ‘I think we should buy a house.’
He gave her a look that told her he thought she was crazy or just plain dumb.
‘We could get that mortgage,’ she said.
He gathered the cards and shuffled them. ‘Haven’t you seen what’s happening with the GI bill? It’s not for us. I thought you’d figured that out by now. Benny sure has.’
‘I want to try,’ she persisted. ‘I’ll find the house. All you need to do is come with me to get the mortgage.’
He laid out the deck in seven neat piles, top card face up. ‘How many times does it take for you to get it? They’re never going to let us have a thing.’
‘It’s the law, Roscoe. They can’t stop us if it’s the law.’
He placed his cards, running them down in order, laying out his aces. ‘Did you know the colored water fountain is broken downtown? It’s been broken since I got back from the war. The white one works just fine, though. You can believe that.’
‘Roscoe—’
‘They’re not interested in letting us have what they have. It doesn’t matter what the law says.’
She watched him place his cards, draw three from the stack, close up a row. ‘Momma hasn’t had her own place since Rosewood,’ she said, trying a new tactic.
He glanced at her and looked back at his playing cards.
‘But, now, here’s a chance, after all these years, to own a home again.’
Momma was his soft spot.
‘And all you need to do is come with me to sign some papers.’
He placed a nine of clubs down with a snap.
‘Don’t you think it’s worth a try if we could do this for her?’
He looked at her then, a gentling around his eyes.
‘It would mean so much, Roscoe. And you’re the only one who can make it happen.’ She held his gaze as she plowed on, her voice low and strong. ‘If I find a place, will you please come with me to get the loan?’
Roscoe rubbed his hand over his face and leaned away from her into the cushions. ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘I’ll do it for her.’
Cora thanked him in a burst of relief. She felt like she should hug him, but he held himself so stiff, she settled for patting his leg in a way she hoped showed gratitude and affection. ‘I’ll start looking right away.’