“Yessir.” I say.

“Because I hear you like to move around a lot.”

“Yessir,” I say. It’s true. Most maids stay with the same family all they lives, but not me. I got my own reasons for moving on when they about eight, nine years old. Took me a few jobs to learn that. “I work best with the babies.”

“So you don’t really consider yourself a maid. You’re more of a nurse-type for the children.” He puts his paper down, looks at me. “You’re a specialist, like me.”

I don’t say nothing, just nod a little.

“See, I only do taxes for businesses, not every individual that’s filing a tax return.”

I’m getting nervous. This the most he ever talk to me and I been here three years.

“Must be hard finding a new job every time the kids get old enough for school.”

“Something always come along.”

He don’t say nothing to that, so I go head and get the roast out.

“Got to keep up good references, moving around to different clientele like you do.”

“Yessir.”

“I hear you know Skeeter Phelan. Old friend of Elizabeth’s.”

I keep my head down. Real slow, I get to slicing, slicing, slicing the meat off that loin. My heart’s pumping triple speed now.

“She ask me for cleaning tips sometimes. For the article.”

“That right?” Mister Leefolt say.

“Yessir. She just ask me for tips.”

“I don’t want you talking to that woman anymore, not for cleaning tips, not to say hello, you hear?”

“Yessir.”

“I hear about you two talking and you’ll be in a heap of trouble. You understand?”

“Yessir,” I whisper, wondering what this man know.

Mister Leefolt pick up his newspaper again. “I’ll have that meat in a sandwich. Put a little mayonnaise on it. And not too toasted, I don’t want it dry now.”

THAT NIGHT, me and Minny’s setting at my kitchen table. My hands started shaking this afternoon and ain’t quit since.

“That ugly white fool,” Minny say.

“I just wish I knew what he thinking.”

They’s a knock on the back door and Minny and me both look at each other. Only one person knock on my door like that, everbody else just come on in. I open it and there Miss Skeeter. “Minny here,” I whisper, cause it’s always safer to know when you gone walk in a room with Minny.

I’m glad she here. I got so much to tell her I don’t even know where to start. But I’m surprised to see Miss Skeeter got something close to a smile on her face. I guess she ain’t talk to Miss Hilly yet.

“Hello, Minny,” she say when she step inside.

Minny look over at the window. “Hello, Miss Skeeter.”

Fore I can get a word in, Miss Skeeter set down and start right in.

“I had some ideas while I was away. Aibileen, I think we should lead with your chapter first.” She pull some papers out a that tacky red satchel. “And then Louvenia’s we’ll switch with Faye Belle’s story, since we don’t want three dramatic stories in a row. The middle we’ll sort out later, but Minny, I think your section should definitely come last.”

“Miss Skeeter . . . I got some things to tell you,” I say.

Minny and me look at each other. “I’m on go,” Minny say, frowning like her chair gotten too hard to sit in. She head for the door, but on her way out, she give Miss Skeeter a touch on the shoulder, real quick, keep her eyes straight like she ain’t done it. Then she gone.

“You been out a town awhile, Miss Skeeter.” I rub the back a my neck.

Then I tell her that Miss Hilly pulled that booklet out and showed it to Miss Leefolt. And Law knows who else she passing it around town to now.

Miss Skeeter nod, say, “I can handle Hilly. This doesn’t implicate you, or the other maids, or the book at all.”

And then I tell her what Mister Leefolt say, how he real clear that I ain’t to talk to her no more about the cleaning article. I don’t want a tell her these things, but she gone hear em and I want her to hear em from me first.

She listen careful, ask a few questions. When I’m done, she say, “He’s full of hot air, Raleigh. I’ll have to be extra careful, though, when I go over to Elizabeth’s. I won’t come in the kitchen anymore,” and I can tell, this ain’t really hitting her, what’s happening. The trouble she in with her friends. How scared we need to be. I tell her what Miss Hilly say about letting her suffer through the League. I tell her she been kicked out a bridge club. I tell her that Miss Hilly gone tell Mister Stuart all about it, just in case he get any “inclination” to mend things with her.

Skeeter look away from me, try to smile. “I don’t care about any of that ole stuff, anyway.” She kind a laugh and it hurts my heart. Cause everbody care. Black, white, deep down we all do.

“I just . . . I rather you hear it from me than in town,” I say. “So you know what’s coming. So you can be real careful.”

She bite her lip, nod. “Thank you, Aibileen.”

chapter 23