Page 2: Marie was a wreck, and so was our chapter. I stepped up. I made arrangements. And I told the chapter we were gonna clean up our city. And we weren’t gonna let that bullet through Gerald go through any more of us. And some of us even got arrested for that. I got arrested a few times. But I’m not complaining. I made it out. Gerald wasn’t so lucky. We buried him with his beret and one of the homemade pins. It felt like none of us could decide whether we wanted to pull him out of the casket or jump in with him. I don’t know how this ends. There are some white folks, sitting in their houses, nursing their babies, playing board games and eating meatloaf right now. There are white folks standing with us, pulling rubble off of fallen neighbors, calling us friends and promising to protect us. And there are white folks who have been very clear that they would rather drown this country in fire and blood, than let us be free. I believe, my dear Josie, that there is another life where we do have that house together. It is down the street from my grandmother and we play bridge with her every Sunday. She is surprised at how much scotch I can handle and how bad I’ve gotten at the game. She and you teach me how to crochet and we give some of our creations to the children going to school who seem to shiver on their way up the road in the winter. And at night And every night, I look into your eyes and I say, “Josie, I love you. And nothing means more to me than that.” And I kiss you. I kiss you like no one is watching. And after a while, people stop watching because our love is as instinctual as the Earth flying around the sun. But in this life, my spirit and my abilities have to belong to more people than you. You will always be my home, but this is my city. And it’s on fire. And it’s crying like a newborn. And it’s hurting like a woman going through labor and I have to see it through. We could