Of course there would be barbecues and maybe a baseball game or two—
“I can think of something,” Lila said mysteriously. “And it’s coming up.”
“What?” Val asked, confused.
Melody knew what Lila was talking about. “Look across the street,” she said as they turned onto busy Grand Boulevard. Melody pointed to a two-story house with a big white sign across the front windows.
“Hitsville U.S.A.,” Val read aloud. “Oh my gosh! Is that what Dwayne was talking about yesterday? That’s Motown?”
“Yes!” Melody and Lila said together.
Val’s eyes became so wide that she almost looked like a cartoon character. Lila burst out laughing.
“This is their recording studio,” Melody said. She thought of Dwayne’s big secret—the audition he was waiting for. But she didn’t say anything.
“Have you ever seen anybody famous?” Val seemed rooted to the sidewalk, but there wasn’t anybody around.
“Well, not yet,” Melody admitted.
“Come on,” Lila waved them along. “Enough star watching for today. Maybe we can catch sight of The Marvelettes over the summer!”
“The Marvelettes!” Melody and Val sighed together. Melody started humming the tune to their song “Please Mr. Postman,” and Lila and Val hummed along.
Four blocks farther down they came to the large, low limestone building that was the Duffield branch of the Detroit Public Library. At the steps, Val stopped to stare. “The colored library is really big!” she exclaimed.
“Colored library?” Lila asked.
Val looked confused. “Isn’t this where we’re going? The colored library?”
“It’s just a library,” Melody said. “Anybody can go to any public library.”
“You’re in Detroit now,” Lila reminded Val. “Not Birmingham.”
“And we go in the front doors, just like this?” Val was wide-eyed again.
“That’s right.” Melody shifted her pile of books and skipped up the steps. “Have you ever read The Secret Garden?” she asked Val. “These kids find a hidden gate, and all kinds of stuff happens. It’s one of my all-time favorite books.”
Val shook her head. “I haven’t read it, but I bet I’ll like it.”
“How do you know?” Lila asked.
“I’ll like it because Dee-Dee likes it,” Val said. “That’s how friends are.”
“Come on, cousin-friend,” Melody said, opening the door. “I’ll show you the children’s section!”
Signs and Songs
“I’m done, I’m done!” She did a little dance right on the living room rug while Lila came in behind her.
“Don’t forget to pick that up,” Lila told her, before tromping up the stairs with her book bag thumping.
“I guess you’re glad school is out,” Yvonne said from the dining room.
Melody nodded. “Yes, but Sharon’s going to New Orleans tomorrow for the whole summer. I’m glad Val’s here already. I can’t wait to call her!”
“You don’t have to wait,” Val said as she appeared from the kitchen.
“You’re here!” Melody laughed, rushing over to give her cousin a hug. “It has been so hard to sit in school knowing that you’re done already.”
“It’s been just as hard waiting for y’all to finish!” Val said, sitting down at the dining room table. “Daddy’s started his new job, and Mama’s looking for a place for her salon, so I could use some company.”
“Yvonne, how come you’re not at the flower shop?” Melody asked.
“Poppa gave me the afternoon off to work on a special project,” Yvonne said.
Melody noticed that the table was covered with poster boards, paints, crayons, and glue. “What are you making?”
“Signs for the Walk to Freedom,” Val said proudly. “Look at the one I just painted.”
Melody read the big blue words out loud. “Freedom Forever.” There were other slogans, too. Justice for All! Fair Housing Now! Separate Is Not Equal! “Wow. This is really cool,” Melody said.
Yvonne nodded. “We’re making as many as we can. I’ll take them to the church. Someone there will pass them out on the Sunday of the march.”
Lila came back down. She had changed out of her school clothes. “Oh, can I help?” she asked.
“Me, too?” Melody asked.
“Sure,” Yvonne nodded. “But Melody, you’d better change out of your school clothes.”
Melody hurried upstairs to put on a pair of shorts. When she came back, Dwayne was stomping through the back door, singing “Summertime.” He stuck his head into the dining room.
Melody was surprised to see him. He was usually still at the factory at this time of day. She looked at the clock and then at Dwayne. When she opened her mouth to say something, Dwayne pulled his finger and thumb across his lips. This has something to do with his secret, Melody thought. She didn’t say a word.
“What’s up with all this?” Dwayne asked.
“Don’t get too close,” Yvonne warned. “You’ll mess up our posters.”
“They’re for the freedom walk,” Melody told him.
“I am not going on any freedom walk,” he said. “I’ve got better things to do.”
“Like what?” Lila asked suspiciously.
“Like none of your business,” Dwayne answered.
“What could be more important than freedom?” Yvonne asked.
“Being lead singer of Dwayne and The Detroiters,” he said.
Yvonne looked annoyed.
Lila said, “You’d better be thinking about college, too. You know what Daddy says.”
“Plenty of people do just fine without a college degree!” he said. “Look at Tish!” He went into the kitchen.
Val stopped tracing the word “Justice” and pointed her pencil at Lila. “My mama says it’s just as important for a colored person to run a business as it is to go to college.”
Yvonne smiled. “That’s because Tish is a successful business owner.”
“Like Poppa, and the people who run the bakery,” Melody added.
“And Berry Gordy at Motown. He’s running a successful music business!” Dwayne called from the kitchen. A few minutes later, he came back into the dining room holding a saucer stacked with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. “Music is a business!”
“Bet you won’t tell Daddy that,” Lila said.
Dwayne rolled his eyes in her