She had seen Mama use fire too often to drive away evil. I thought. This happened because of the things Mama had told her?

"That was bad. Celeste. You were bad,"

"No." She shook her head and pulled her hand out from mine.

"You were. You must not do anything like that again," I said sternly.

"You're bad. too. We have to work in the garden." She turned and ran out of the kitchen.

Betsy was mean and selfish, but maybe she wasn't so wrong about all of this. I thought sadly.

Baby Celeste wasn't growing up right. I lifted the bassinet and carried it and Panther to the living room where Baby Celeste had curled up on the sofa. She had her thumb in her mouth and her back to me. I set Panther down gently, then went to the sofa and stroked Baby Celeste's hair.

"We were going back to the garden, but you shouldn't have hurt little Panther. Celeste. That's not the way to clean him."

She shook her head, kept her thumb in her mouth, and closed her eyes.

"Do you understand me? He's just a baby. What did he do to make you want to do that to him? Tell me."

She didn't answer. She held that thumb in her mouth. A thought came into my mind. a thought both terrifying and intriguing. I turned her slowly to me.

"Did someone tell you to do that, Celeste?'

She nodded.

"Who? Who told you?"

She pointed toward the doorway, but I saw nothing.

"Was it a man?"

She nodded.

"What did he look like? What color was his hair?"

"My hair." She touched her head. Then she turned her back to me again and closed her eyes.

I sat there, unable to speak, unable to move.

until I heard Mama drive up.

The moment she entered the house and looked in at us, she knew something was wrong.

"Why are you in here on such a beautiful day.

Noble?" she demanded before I could speak.

I felt a great exhaustion, a deep emptiness. I didn't have the strength to find answers that would soothe or please Mama. This sense of helplessness made me numb. All I could do is stare back at her.

She stepped farther into the room. looked at Panther in the bassinet, and then at Baby Celeste, who had turned and sat up to look at her. Her eyes moved from one face to another.

"What happened here?"

"When I wasn't watching. Baby Celeste lit one of your black candles and put it in the bassinet under Panther's foot to burn him."

Mama looked at her and then back at me.

"Why weren't you watching?"

"I was upstairs."

"Doing what?"

"I brought something to Betsy."

"Did she do her chores? Is the pantry finished?"

"Yes. Mama." 'Why wasn't she more concerned about what Baby Celeste had done?

Her eyes widened and then she fixed them on me. "'Where's that girl? Why wasn't she watching her own child?"

Betsy had heard her enter the house and had come dawn the stairway quietly. She was still wearing Mama's dress and all the makeup.

"You think you're going to blame it on me?"

she said. spinning Mama around. When Mama confronted her, she gasped at the sight of her in the dress and with all that makeup on her face. "It was all your precious special baby's doing." Betsy smiled.

"I'm sorry I mean your cousin's baby."

"What is the meaning of this? Why are you in that dress and where did you get the makeup?"

"Don't you recognize the dress?" Betsy said.

twirling. "Oh. I'm sorry. I needed to make some alterations. I hope you don't mind."

Betsy's audaciousness stunned Mama. She stood there staring at her and then turned to me.

"What's going on here, Noble?"

"Yes. Noble., what's going on here? Your mother has a right to know. Tell her,"

"Stop it!" I snapped.

"Stop it? That's exactly what I intend to do,'

Betsy fired back at me with her hands on her hips.

"I don't know what you're up to now. Betsy, but you have put yourself back months with this behavior.

I couldn't justify giving you a single penny of your father's trust," Mama told her.

Betsy held her smile. "Oh, you're going to give me a lot more than that, Sarah. Isn't she. Noble? Or should I say. Celeste? What should I call you? Sarah, what should I call her?'

Mama gasped audibly as her hands lifted and fluttered like baby birds to the base of her throat. She took a step back and shook her head.

"What are you saying? What is she saying?"

Mama asked me. "Tell her what I"m saying."

"Stop, please," I begged. "I'm doing what you asked me to do."

"It's not enough anymore. I haven't got the patience for any of it. You listen to me. Sarah." Betsy continued, heartened, encouraged, and strengthened by Mama's signs of retreat, "The whole world is going to find out what a sick thing you did here, making her behave and act like a boy. And the whole world's going to know about your precious Baby Celeste, who is just as sick as the two of you.

"Unless," she continued, now merely a foot or so from Mama. "you turn over all my money to me immediately. You go to that locked-up phone and you call the attorney and tell him to have my check ready tomorrow. Hear me?"

Mama shook her head. She couldn't speak.

Betsy smiled. "What actually happened here, Sarah? If that's really Celeste, where's Noble?... Well?

Tell me!" she screamed into Mama's face.

"No!" I cried, and lunged forward to pull Betsy away.

Baby Celeste started to cry and that woke Panther, who joined her in a chorus of screams and wails while I struggled to pull Betsy away from Mama.

"You go make that call. Sarah. You go do it now. I'm warning you!" Betsy continued. waving her fist at her face.

Mama continued to shake her head, then she hurried to the stairway.

"Where are you going. Sarah? You better be going to make that phone call," Betsy shouted after her.

Mama didn't look back. She climbed the stairs, pausing at one point to steady herself with the rickety balustrade. She looked about to faint.

"Mama?" I cried up at her.

She turned and stared down at me with such hateful accusation in her face. I felt my heart shatter like brittle china under my breast. It brought tears to my eyes. I shook my head and whispered, "Mama.

please."

"Call!" Betsy screamed. "I want to get out of here tomorrow!" Mama continued up and disappeared.

"How could you do that? I was doing everything you wanted," I bawled.

"Oh, stop it. You should be grateful and thanking me on your hands and knees. You won't have to pretend to be a boy anymore, but you better see to it that she does what I asked her to do. You go impress her with my determination, hear me? And I want some money and the keys to the car right away, give you ten minutes. Go up and get it and come right down. Do it!" Betsy ordered, pointing her finger at the stairway.

I looked at Baby Celeste, who was clutching herself and sitting on the sofa. Tears streaked down her cheeks almost as fast as Panther's had. Panther was crying so hard as well that the bassinet rocked.

The children." I said.

"Oh, they'll live. Just do what I said." Betsy gave me a shove toward the stairway. "Now."

I started up the stairs slowly.

"Move it. Noble Celeste. You were a freak after all. I was sure you were gay. Maybe you are." She laughed, then turned and shouted at the children, "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

I hurried the rest of the way, hoping to act the money and the keys and get her out of the house as quickly as I could. At the moment that seemed to be the only solution there was. Mama's bedroom door was open. I stopped in the doorway and watched her clearing off the vanity table slowly and putting things away. She moved as if she were walking in her sleep.

Betsy had thrown garments all over the room.

"Mama. I'm sorry', She came in on me at night... Mama..."

I heard something, and at first it confused me, but as I entered the bedroom. I understood she was humming to herself. I recognized it immediately, a song she often sang to Noble and me when we were young.

"Mama?"

Instead of answering me, she started to sing.

"If you go out to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise...

"Mania, please listen to me." I touched her arm.

She turned and smiled.

"If you go out into the woods today..."

"Mama?"

"...you'd better go in disguise."

She turned away, continued to clean up, and returned to humming.

I watched her for a few moments.

"Noble Celeste!" I heard Betsy shout from the bottom of the stairs, "I"m not going to be here all day!"

I looked around and saw Mama's purse. While her car keys and some money, then closed it.

She was singing again.

I hurried out and down the stairs.

"Did you get it?"

"Yes." I flung the keys at her.

She caught them and smiled. "What about the money?"

"Here's all I can find." I handed her the bills.