“No.”
“You own it.”
“It belongs in the lobby.”
“One small chandelier?”
“Jordan.”
“Fine.”
The elevator opened onto the twenty-third floor.
Their suite overlooked the city.
Jordan ran to the windows.
“Whoa!”
Naomi entered more slowly.
Her phone had not stopped vibrating.
David.
The general manager.
Her attorneys.
Corporate communications.
Everyone wanted instructions.
Naomi turned the phone face down.
For five minutes, she simply watched her son stare at the city.
Then Jordan asked, “Are you going to fire the lady?”
Naomi sat on the sofa.
“Come here.”
He walked over.
She patted the seat.
Jordan sat.
“What do you think I should do?”
“Fire her.”
“Why?”
“She was mean.”
“That’s true.”
“She thought we were stealing.”
“Maybe.”
“And she made that security man come.”
“Yes.”
“So fire her.”
Naomi smiled slightly.
“If someone makes one bad decision, should that always be the end?”
Jordan thought.
“No.”
“What if they make the same bad decision many times?”
“That’s worse.”
“Yes.”
“What if they say sorry?”
“That matters.”
“Does saying sorry erase what happened?”
Jordan shook his head.
“No.”
Naomi nodded.
“That’s why adults investigate.”
Jordan made a face.
“That sounds boring.”
“It often is.”
“Can I eat another fry?”
“They are your fries.”
He ate one.
Then asked, “Was she mean because we’re Black?”
Naomi stopped.
There was the question.
The one she had hoped could wait a few more years.
She looked at her son.
“I don’t know everything that was in her mind.”
Jordan waited.
“But I think race may have been part of the assumption she made.”
Jordan looked confused.
“Why?”
Naomi wished she could offer a satisfying explanation.
There wasn’t one.
“Some people grow up seeing certain kinds of people as successful, wealthy or important.”
“White people?”
“Sometimes.”
“And not us?”
“Sometimes.”
Jordan stared at his fries.
“That’s stupid.”
Naomi almost smiled.
“Yes.”
“Grandma says stupid people can learn.”
“She does.”
“Can Claire learn?”
Naomi looked toward the window.
“I hope so.”
Saturday evening, Evelyn Grant entered the Ashford Grand through the main doors for the first time in almost twenty-five years.
Naomi waited near the chandelier with Jordan.
Her mother stopped just inside.
For several seconds, Evelyn said nothing.
The lobby had changed.
Different furniture.