I should get these instead of a headband, she thought. She was about to take a pair from the rack when she changed her mind. She turned and saw the same man from the jewelry display. He looked at her suspiciously. Suddenly, Melody felt uncomfortable. She hurried over to Dwayne, no longer excited about shopping for herself.
Dwayne was holding up two black jackets. “How about one of these?” he asked.
“Oh! That’s the one you need,” Melody said, pointing to the one with the shiny gold buttons.
A young man came around the aisle carrying an armful of boxes. Dwayne held up the jacket with the shiny buttons. “Excuse me, what’s the price on this?”
The man with the boxes gave Dwayne an annoyed look and brushed roughly past without answering. Dwayne shrugged and slipped the jacket on. Melody nodded her approval. It seemed to fit perfectly. Dwayne looked at the edge of the sleeve for a price tag, and then held his arm up high. “Can I get a price on this, please?”
“You can’t afford it,” a man said.
Melody turned to see the same man who’d stood behind her at the necklaces and the barrettes. Had he followed her?
“Take it off,” the man said coldly.
“I have money,” Dwayne said, frowning.
Melody looked toward the front counter. Mommy always said to ask nicely for a manager if you had trouble in a store.
The man shook his head, and Melody noticed that he was wearing the same blue jacket as all the other clerks. She suddenly suspected that he hadn’t been standing behind her by mistake.
“I can guess what your kind really came in here for,” he hissed.
“What do you mean?” Melody asked. “What’s he talking about?” she whispered to Dwayne. Then she saw a look cross Dwayne’s face—a look she’d never seen before. It was like anger and fear and something else all mixed together. Dwayne slowly took off the jacket and carefully hung it back on the rack, shaking his head.
“Wait,” Melody said, tugging at her brother’s arm. “You need a suit.”
“Not at this price,” Dwayne said quietly.
“I’ve had enough of your type,” the clerk said. “Get out. And take your little shoplifting companion with you.” His eyes flashed right at Melody.
“Shoplifting?” Melody’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not true,” she protested. “We didn’t steal anything,” she said louder, her heart pounding. “We’re just shopping like everybody else!”
“Dee-Dee, no.” Dwayne didn’t raise his voice. “Let’s just go.”
“You’d better go. Get out, before I call the cops!” the man shouted.
Melody realized with a sinking feeling that the man who was shouting was the manager. Dwayne was pulling her toward the door. She didn’t want to stay, but she couldn’t move. How could that man have accused her of doing something so horrible? As they left the store, Melody knew that Mommy had been wrong. That manager would never have helped them. He was the trouble.
Outside, Dwayne wouldn’t look at Melody. He started walking so quickly that Melody had to almost run to keep up with him. She brushed away tears. Her insides were shaky, as if she’d just escaped something dangerous. Melody wanted to ask her brother if he was as upset as she was, and what he would do about his audition suit. “Dwayne?”
He spun around so quickly that she had to step back. His face was like a mask, as if he didn’t feel anything at all.
“Should we go tell Poppa?” Melody asked.
Dwayne shook his head. “That won’t help. Besides, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me, and it won’t be the last time.”
Melody stood very still. Would that happen to her again? Would she be accused of shoplifting when she was just shopping? Then Melody felt a prickle of fear for her brother. What if the store clerk had called the police? Who would the police have believed, Dwayne or the clerk?
Melody took a deep breath. “Yvonne says we have to change things. That’s why we have to march! That’s why we’re walking with Dr. King next Sunday.”
Dwayne put his hand on Melody’s shoulder. “I don’t think a march is going to change things for me. Don’t you see now? I have to use my talent to become a famous singer if I want things to be different.”
Would people really treat Dwayne fairly if he was famous? Melody wondered. “I understand that you want to be famous,” she said. “And I believe in you, Dwayne…”
“But?”
“But what about everyone else? Shouldn’t we try to change things for people who aren’t ever going to be famous? People who are just ordinary, like me?”
Dwayne cracked a half-smile. “Now you sound like Yvonne. The answer is yeah, everybody has to work to make things different. But we don’t have to do it the same way. Everybody’s got the power for change inside themselves. Music is mine.”
Melody was shaken by what had happened in the store. But the idea that everybody had some great power inside made her feel more hopeful than she had just a few minutes ago.
“By the way, Dee-Dee,” Dwayne said quietly, “you are not ordinary.”
“I’m not?”
“Nothing close. I can’t wait to see how you’re gonna change the world, girl.”
What Feels Right
Life is such a puzzle, she thought as she weeded her flower bed. How can some people be so unkind? If we all have the power to change things, why don’t we? Dwayne had told her that she would change the world. How could she, when she was having so much trouble picking out one song to sing?
Melody was in the backyard getting water from the hose when she heard a car pull into the driveway. Val suddenly appeared around the corner of the house. “Val!” Melody said. “What are you doing here?”
“Do you want to go for a ride? Daddy and Mama want to check out some houses. Your mama said you can come, too.”
Melody thought a fun outing might be nice after the way her morning one had turned out. She slipped off her gloves, tossed them onto the back steps, and followed Val.
Mommy was standing in the driveway, leaning toward the open window of the burgundy four-door Ford Fairlane. She was talking to Tish. “Well, I want to hear every detail of the house hunt when you get back!” Mommy said as Melody and Val climbed into the backseat. Charles tooted his horn twice and pulled away.
Cousin Tish turned to the girls from the front seat. “Now, y’all sit back. We’re just doin’ a cruise by some houses we saw listed in the newspaper. It’ll be fun.”
Melody nodded and pressed her head back against the soft seat. Tish turned the radio on. The DJ on the local station was reporting news about all the details of the freedom walk coming up in a week.
“Have you decided what you’re going to sing for Youth Day yet?” Val asked,