Page 17

Never Be Resurrected

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Right after breakfast the following morning.

Mama told me to take Baby Celeste up to the turret room. "I'll come for you when the drapery man leaves," she said. "He'll be here soon."

This first time we weren't locked away that long. He was only coming to measure the windows, but two days later. Mama had the carpet people scheduled and they would be at the house most of the day because they were doing three rooms. She had decided to have my room done as well as hers and the living room, and she had picked out the carpet, a rich almond color.

Baby Celeste had always been good for the short stays, but this first seemingly unending one was far more difficult for both of us. For one thing. Mama and I had forgotten we would be locked away for too long without going to the bathroom. The turret room had no bathroom, so we would have to go down a flight and the carpet people might be working on my room or Mama's. I began to panic as soon as I realized our oversight,

Baby Celeste had been toilet trained before she was quite two. She was truly advanced in every which way. Just before lunch, she asked to go potty. I opened the door and waited at the top of the short stairway in anticipation of Mama coming up with lunch. As soon as she saw me, her eyes flared with anger.

"What are you doing? Where do you think you're going? I told you to stay inside until I came for you. They are all still here," she cried in a loud whisper.

"Baby Celeste has to go potty, Mama. We forgot about that.Ill have to sneak her down."

I could see from the expression on Mama's face that she had truly forgotten herself. She thought a moment, then shook her head.

"No, you'll use one of the old chamber pots," she decided. "I'll get it.."

"Chamber pots?"

She handed me the tray of food, entered the room. and went directly to a large trunk.

"Take it. Noble." she insisted when she found the pot. "Our ancestors did it this way before there was indoor plumbing. You and Baby Celeste certainly can."

"What about toilet paper, Mama?"

"Use the napkins I gave you on the tray."

I shook my head and looked back at Baby Celeste, who was standing anxiously, expecting to be carried down to the bathroom.

"She won't understand," I said.

"Then make her understand and keep it quiet, ea on," Mama said. "Just do it and don't contradict. And keep from looking out the windows. The carpet men are having their lunch outside and we don't want them to see you pee/sing out and asking me all sorts of questions."

She practically pushed me back into the turret room. This time, she made sure the door was locked, too.

I turned to Baby Celeste.

"Potty," she said.

"I know." I set the chamber pot down. You go potty in there," I said, pointing.

To my utter surprise she turned, lowered her panties and piddled in the pot. She did it like someone who had done nothing else all her short life.

Later. I had no choice but to do the same.

I had never seen a chamber pot before, and that piqued my curiosity about the rest of what had been brought up here and stored away over the years. I was always afraid of disturbing anything, but with all this time on our hands, I sought new ways to keep us both distracted.

Beside the minors and old dressers and tables, cartons of clothing were packed in mothballs. I found baby clothes, too, baby clothes I knew hadn't been mine or Noble's. Baby Celeste stood looking at the garments, touching whatever I touched. There were even old shoes and boots, and in one carton we found all sorts of hats. I amused myself and Baby Celeste by putting on some of the boots and hats. She wanted to wear them as well, and we had a good time with them along with gloves and belts bedecked in costume jewelry.

Suddenly. Baby Celeste turned as if she had heard something. Her eyes grew small the way Mama's did when she was concentrating. I watched her work her way in between an old dresser and some cartons. She stopped when she found something that caught her interest and called to me. I followed and leaned over the dresser to see what she was up to. and I saw she had found a small ebony wood box with gold trim. She held it up so I could see it better. It had been hidden behind everything else so long that a layer of dust covered it. I took it gently from her.

"What have you found, Celeste?"

I turned it around and saw that it had a key to turn on the back of it. "Its a music box," I explained.