"All white seeds in that watermelon," Aaron muttered as he turned abruptly away from the shimmering turquoise water and his friend Michael, both calling to him from behind the iron fence.
He ran toward his bicycle, which lay sizzling under the summer sky, grabbed it by its cooler handlebar grips, mounted immediately and began furiously pedaling around and around the scene of his rejection at a dizzying pace. As he circled through the thick bermuda grass he tried to work it out. But he could find no answers. At last he left the park and headed for home, sweat steaming from his dark skin as he rushed along, oblivious to the floral southern charm of the streets through which he traveled.
Finally, he skidded into his backyard, dropped his bike and turned the garden hose on full blast, spraying himself until the cool water overpowered the tears he only now let free.
"Aaron Lee! Look at the muddy mess you're . . . "
"O.K., o.k., Mama. I'll clean up."
Later, when he didn't pester for a raw potato piece while she prepared home fries, his mother asked, "What's happening, son? I gave you money for a swim in that new pool. Should be seeing a big smile . . . "
"Mama, what's going on . . . "It spells C-O-M-M-U-N-I-T-Y pool on the sign. What's that mean?"
"Why, that it belongs to everyone, like the schools do now."
"No way. They said no blacks."
From a smothering, oniony embrace, "Oh, Baby . . . that's what we thought we'd protected you from, movin' here."
His mother called a neighbor; told Aaron and his father, "There are some real smarties in this town. Says 'Community' but it's owned by a private group and no one can legally stop them. Looks like we move again."
That night . . . asleep . . . Aaron . . . a rich
basketball player . . . he owned the pool . . . the Grand Opening . . . serving
a huge watermelon . . . all black seeds but one . . ..
Copyright 2001 by Evelyn Sichi
Author's Note: Our family saw something similar happen once.
It bothered me so much that we never returned to the swimming pool and I
felt I had to write about
the situation as a reminder that this should never happen to any child.
It also reminded me of a line from the Bible: ". . . no one to put me
in the water. . . "