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"Five rowl behind him

"Roy, where are you?"

"I'oing right back to England? Did you talk to your real mother? Does everyone know about you? Ihis questions off quickly, hoping to stuff a lot of inforht

Of course, for most of our lives Roy and I had believed ere brother and sister Anyone who really cared to take the time and interest could have looked at hiuess My features were so different froht that Mama Arnold could have had me with a differentwe had aliens fro next door And there was no way a poor black family would adopt another child Ken, who never really wanted to be a father in the first place, often coives us children to drive us to drink' Roy told him he didn't need any devil for that He kne to drive himself better than any devil could

Ken and Roy fought a lot, and until Roy grew taller and stronger Ken battered hiton Roy began to stand up to hihts, which nearly shattered Maile heart Roy's love for her was about all that kept him in check-- and his love for me

Once Roy found out I wasn't his blood sister, he confessed his romantic love forbut my brother I told him so many times Up until thebrother, my protector I knew and Beneatha knew he favored ht of all that and made excuses for him whenever I could After Beneatha's violent death at the hands of gang et both of us out of the projects ed Roy to enlist in the ar Roy or me just how sick she really was

Apart froain when he came to visit me in London For a while, lost and confused myself I seriously considered that we could become man and wife I let hi the waters, but it still didn't feel right I kneas breaking his heart but I couldn't get e Perhaps what fate had done to us was cruel, yet I also thought e ht do to each other could be worse

"No, not everyone, not yet," I said "My mother's husband knows, of course, but the community here doesn't know it all and my half brother and half sister still don't know"

"Why not?"

"I don't know Roy It's up to my mother and her husband to tell them"

"They're still ashamed of you Rain That's why," he said

"Probably"

"Who's taking care of you? Is yourthat at least?"

"No," I said "but remember I told you Grandmother Hudson put me in her will?"

"Yeah sure How much did she leave you?"