The Mighty Miss Malone

There’s a saying that bad news comes in threes, and Deza wonders if it means three pieces of bad news per family or per family member. It certainly seems like the latter, because bad news just keeps coming for the Malones. After a month, Mr. Malone has neither written nor sent money. The Carsdales decide to move to Europe, leaving Mrs. Malone facing the prospect of sudden unemployment. And then, Mrs. Malone announces that she’s moving the rest of the family to Flint. She thinks she’ll find work with a wealthy White family there thanks to Mrs. Carsdale’s connections, and the family can stay with Mr. Malone’s mother until they get back on their own feet. Deza won’t be starting private tutoring sessions with Mrs. Needham in the fall, after all.

Deza falls into a depression, retreating to her parents’ bed to sleep away the days after Mrs. Malone goes to the Carsdales’ and Jimmie goes to Dr. Bracy’s for work. Eventually, her mother realizes what’s happening and forbids Deza from going back to bed. But Deza can’t stop—at least not on days when Clarice doesn’t show up to drag her to the library.

When Mrs. Malone comes home from work one day with Mrs. Carsdale’s recommendation letter, she is excited as she puts it in the family’s “filing cabinet”—their couch cushions. She feels hopeful about the future, but Deza is cautious. She wants her mother to read the letter first to make sure it says nice things. But Mrs. Malone says that would be wrong and beneath her dignity. Fortunately, Jimmie isn’t so scrupulous. He helps Deza open the envelope secretly. Deza was right to be worried. Mrs. Carsdale mostly complains about how hard her (incredibly luxurious) life is, then tells her friend Mrs. Nelson to hire Mrs. Malone—who has taken what Mrs. Carsdale feels is an inappropriate amount of time off to tend to her own health and her children’s—only “at [her] own peril.”  

Jimmie and Deza hatch a plan. Mrs. Malone has started taking Jimmie to work with her, where he’s earning some money by packing up their belongings. He steals a few sheets of Mrs. Carsdale’s high-quality writing paper, two envelopes, and a fountain pen. Then, while her mother and brother are at work, Deza practices Mrs. Carsdale’s handwriting and forges a replacement letter praising the “kind and loving” Mrs. Malone in effusive terms and offering her the highest recommendation. She puts this in the envelope and stashes it under the couch cushion.