Two for One....Gauthier

Here are two short takes from Ronald Gauthier’s stories in aaduna’s Second Anniversary 2013 Issue available NOW at www.aaduna.org

Ronald Gauthier

#1

THE TEENAGER AND THE DYER BILL…

     “The sisters did what black women were forced to do then when negresses pulled the bodies of their men from smoldering ashes with the stench of death in the air. Or, when they had to cut the charred, thick rope from around their men’s necks as the men swayed from trees. Or when their husbands, sons and lovers were bullet-riddled and heaped on the blood-caked ground. These women washed too many black men in tender loving care and prepared their prematurely dead sons, fathers, and husbands for burial. They assumed the burden of making a life for the surviving family members. They prayed and taught the men in their clan to be careful, not to cross the racial line; to bow and apologize, grovel and even beg, all to stay alive. The women in Richard’s life, his mother and aunt, had the extra burden of forgoing their grief for a while until they found safety. They fled the white men in town who were not satisfied with killing Silas but deciding to slaughter all his kin. They escaped to West Helena, far away from the murder, but still in the violence-soaked land of the South. They ultimately ended up in Jackson, Mississippi.”

*****

#2

BLACK BOY…

     “Jamal chuckled nervously. He shot a quick glance across the dance floor near the entrance. The insurmountable VIP section with its flashy lights, ballooned canopied tables and purring comfort, luster and laughter, beckoned and tantalized him at the same time. This one area, off limits to folks not part of the “Black Hollywood,” was strictly for the important clientele: the rising rap stars, the athletes and the beautiful fly girls who surrounded them, concert promoters and their entourage. Only the best of the Atlanta hip-hop world got into the coveted lounge, a place so pricey and exclusive that rappers like P Diddy and Ludicrous tossed money out to the crowd while the music pumped and the dancers beseeched; jumped frantically, and snatched floating bills from the warm air.  The most sensual women Jamal had ever seen, beauty pageant material with impeccable bodies flowing in saffron, honey chestnut, mahogany, white, off-white, beige and midnight, sat like queens in the special lounge, the one off limits to men like him, the irrelevant and moderate.”

Check out the complete Gauthier stories in the fiction section of aaduna’s Second Anniversary 2013 issue.  Visit www.aaduna.org and ENJOY!