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"Good afternoon, Mrs. Randolph," he said.

"Please get me a Chopin vodka and club with a twist of lime, Maurice," she commanded with the tone of someone who desperately needed a drink. She looked at Mama. "Did you want to order something to drink, some wine perhaps?"

"We've got water," Mama said nodding at the glass of water.

"Fine. That will be it, Maurice."

"Merci, Mrs. Randolph," the waiter said and hurried off to do her bidding.

Although I knew I was being rude, I couldn't take my eyes off her. She had perfect skin, rich with a tint of apricot in her high cheekbones and a slight dimple on the left side of her jaw. Gold teardrop earrings hung from her lobes, each earring with a tiny diamond in the center. When she put her hands on the table, I saw the biggest diamond ring I had ever seen. From advertisements in magazines, I knew her watch was a Rolex.

"Let me begin by telling you, Mrs. Arnold, that if you called me as part of what I'm sure was your husband's attempt to extort more money from my family, you're ..."

"I don't want any of your money. I curse the day we took one cent and the truth is, I never saw much of it and neither did Rain," Mama shot back at her. "I didn't need a bribe to take in this child," she added nodding at me.

My mother looked at me again, this time permitting herself a longer gaze. Her lips softened.

"You're very pretty," she commented, finally addressing me directly.

"And very smart," Mama said. "She gets A's all the time."

My mother's smile widened. She looked down at the table and shook her head.

"Well, there's no genetic resemblance there. I barely got through my Bachelors of Arts program," she said. She took a deep breath.

The waiter brought her drink and she seized it and took a long sip. Then she nodded at the menus.

"Let's order something to eat."

Mama finally showed some lack of confidence. "What are you going to have, Rain?" she asked.

"You'll like the crevettes an safron, Mama," I said.

"I will?"

"Do you know what that is?" my mother asked.

"Shrimp in saffron sauce," I replied.

Her eyebrows lifted.

"I took French as my language elective," I said. "I told you she was smart," Mama bragged.

"I'm not sure about the entree below it," I admitted. "I know canard is duck but the rest..."

"That's a raspberry sauce. It's my favorite," my mother said. "Is that what you'd like?"

"Yes," I said.

She called the waiter and gave him our order.

"Well," she said sitting back and contemplating Mama, "you got me here, Mrs. Arnold. You have the floor."

"The floor?"

"She means tell her what you want from her, Mama," I said softly.

"Oh." Mama looked at me and then at her. She shook her shoulders and straightened her back like a proud hen, something she usually did when she was about to make some dramatic statements. "I know you don't know anything about us and about what kind of life Rain's had all these years. I did the best I could with what I had. I had two other children, a son and then after Rain came to us, a daughter. Beni," My mother said. "Named after my mother Beneatha."