Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands

Luther comes tapping at the McMahon’s front door the way he did the morning when Marvin had been killed. Lizbeth tells him to come in, and he and Warren perform their ritual of playing the piano. Warren plays “Rhapsody in Blue” carefully for Luther and then Luther plays it back, heavily improvised. Reesa remembers how Marvin had planned to teach her to dance.

Then Luther mentions his second piece of business: his wife, Armetta, won’t go back to work for the Garnets. He asks Warren if he will give her a temporary job, and Warren agrees. She can clean the orange warehouse for two weeks till she can find work with another family.

Then Luther reveals his knowledge that Marvin had been killed by mistake. The killers were actually looking for another young man. They discuss the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall as possible sources of support while they seek justice, and they talk about how all the Black children in the area are terrorized by what has happened.

Reesa’s mother rouses her from a dream. In the dream, people are running up a hill through a grove of what seems to be pomegranate trees. At the top of the hill is a rugged cross labeled with the letters GOLGOTHA. A red neon light flashes oddly, reading “Jesus Saves.” At the foot of the cross, a group of men are brutally beating another man. Reesa yells out “Marvin!” before she wakes up.

Later, Reesa admires the neighbors’ flowers, and she hears Miz Sooky, a White woman, explain why she has an all-white garden. Miz Sooky tells a story about some Black boys who stopped at a gas station without enough money to buy a Coca-Cola. They were forced to drink from the “colored” fountain because they had not noticed, or could not read, the “Whites only” sign. From this story, Miz Sooky was inspired to create a “Whites only” garden.

While walking through the groves, Reesa finally reaches the same gas station and notices for the first time the sign of which Miz Sooky spoke. From the grease marks, she can tell the sign has been there for a long time.

When Reesa steps into the orchard’s showroom, her mother tells her that Armetta, Marvin’s mother, has brought her something; Reesa falls into Armetta’s arms in deep grief. Armetta tells her that people are all clay on God’s potter’s wheel. She explains that God molds his people and makes them as he pleases, and it was Marvin’s time to go; they will see him in heaven. After Armetta’s consoling words, she gives Reesa a gift—a whole plate of snickerdoodle cookies.

Wearing sunglasses and heels, Lucy Garnet, wife of Reed Garnet, pulls into the parking lot. She has come to see Armetta to beg her to return to work. Armetta flatly refuses. As she leaves, Lucy asks for Armetta’s snickerdoodle recipe for May Carol, her daughter. Non-committal, Armetta says that if she can, she will determine the exact measurements and send them.

Reesa has yet another very vivid memory of Marvin. She wonders what her brother Ren is thinking and how he is grieving. Reesa remembers how Marvin taught Ren to love the New York Dodgers and Jackie Robinson. He had explained that baseball is like heaven: God is the pitcher, Jesus the catcher, the Holy Ghost the shortstop, the pearly gates home plate, and St. Peter the umpire. Reesa explains how Marvin would announce their backyard games while imitating Red Barber.