Stepping to a New Day Page 17

  “Okay,” she said. “I have it marked. So tell me what this celebration will involve.”

  He told her about the food and the flags and the games they wanted to play and she listened attentively.

  “Do the fathers know?” she asked when he finished.

  “No. We want it to be a surprise.”

  “Pretty hard keeping secrets around here but it can be done.”

  “Leah’s uncle, Mr. Barbour, has offered to help too, and Ms. Lily suggested we attend the next Ladies Auxiliary meeting so they could do the oversight thing.”

  “Good idea. This sounds pretty straightforward. You’ll need tables, chairs—you can borrow those from the rec—plastic ware, plates, tablecloths, napkins, condiments—you might want to write all this down, Eli.”

  He startled. “Oh, sorry. You’re right.” He took out his own phone and made a list.

  “I’ll have Gary save potato sacks for the sack races. I’ll tell them I need them so he won’t suspect anything.”

  Eli liked having her on their side.

  She asked, “If you think of anything else bring it to the meeting. I’ll also let it be known that I need you children at that meeting so you won’t have to lie about where you’re going or why.”

  “Thanks, Tamar.”

  “You’re welcome. So sorry neither you nor Crystal won the art competition.”

  “Yeah. Thanks. We were both pretty disappointed.”

  “Understandable, but you have a bright future. There’ll be triumphs ahead.”

  “I guess.”

  “Gemma said you’re taking Wyatt under your wing.”

  He wondered if there was anything in town that she didn’t know about. “I’m going to try.”

  “That’s a good thing, Eli.”

  “We’ll see. He doesn’t seem real happy about it.”

  “That’s okay. You weren’t real happy about me when we first met.”

  He grinned. “I was thinking about that on the way over. I was a mess back then.”

  “True, but look at you now. It’s been a pleasure watching you grow into yourself.”

  Eli met her eyes and saw the kindness there. “That means a lot.”

  “Whether it does or not, it’s the truth. No matter where you go you’ll always take Henry Adams with you.”

  He made the split-second decision to seek her advice. “Is it wrong for me to want to go back to California?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “No. The spirit sets up its own call. Have you talked to your dad?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “He’s just going to say no.”

  “And you know that how?”

  “You sound like Crystal.”

  “Lord, I hope not. But then again, she’s growing into herself, too.” Her eyes showed her amusement. “Tell me what you’ve been feeling.”

  So for the next few minutes he poured out his heart and longings. She didn’t interrupt. She simply listened. And when he was done, she said, “Either you ask your dad or don’t. Both offer a path. If he says yes, you’ll open the path that California offers. If he says no, your future will emanate from here. However, if you don’t ask, you may never know what California brings. Does that make sense?”

  He nodded.

  “Step out on faith, son. You can’t go through life cowering because someone might say no. If the Dusters had cowered none of us would be here today.”

  She was right, of course, and although he wasn’t African American the lessons he’d learned about the Dusters and their quest were applicable to his own life.

  “Does this help?” she asked.

  “It does, Tamar. Very much.”

  “Good,” she responded softly. “Keep me posted. I can’t ask Jack for you but I’m here if you need to bounce things off me.”

  That meant a lot, too.

  “Okay,” she said, rising to her feet. “Go home so an old lady can go on with her day.”

  He stood, too. “Thanks, Tamar.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  As he started to the door, she said, “Eli?”

  He stopped.

  “Your mother’s real proud of you. Keep making her smile.”

  With a full heart, he stepped through the door and back out into the afternoon sunshine.

  Buoyed by Tamar’s praise and advice, Eli drove to Wyatt’s.

  “Why do you like skateboarding?” Wyatt asked when he got in the car.

  “I’m an only child and when I started it was something I could do by myself.”

  “Never thought about it that way.”

  Eli said, “Look, if you don’t want to do this and want to do something else, we can.”

  “No. It’s okay. I’ve been looking at videos on YouTube. Can you do all those tricks?”

  “Maybe not all but I’m pretty good. I’ll show you my trophies sometime.”

  The wonder on Wyatt’s face made him chuckle. “I ride like a boss, kid. Don’t believe me—just watch.”

  Wyatt grinned.

  And with that, Eli drove them toward Franklin for Wyatt’s first visit to a skateboard store.

  Inside, Eli nodded at the proprietor, a guy named Mike, and introduced him to Wyatt. He suggested one of his beginner’s boards and they looked at a few. Eli rejected a couple of them because the balance was a bit off when Wyatt stood on them and another because the paint job was flat-out ugly.

  Wyatt asked, “Are there any with maps on them?”

  Mike stopped. “Maps.”

  “Yeah. I want to be a cartographer.”

  Mike seemed confused so Eli translated. “He wants to study maps.”

  “Oh.” But he looked at Wyatt like he’d come from Mars.

  Eli told Wyatt, “You can probably find some decals online for your board.”

  “Good.”

  In the end, they found a board to Eli’s liking, along with a helmet and pads for his knees and elbows. Mike threw in a cheap pair of gloves as well. Once the purchases were rung up they headed back to the car.

  “Thanks, Eli. Never had anybody do something like this for me before.”

  Eli saw the sincerity in his eyes. “You’re welcome. Just trying to be a friend.”

  And they drove back to Henry Adams.

  When he walked in his dad said, “I just got a call from Sam’s parents. She wants to finish out the year at Franklin High with her friends.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  Upstairs in his room, all he could think was: so much for that.

  Marie wasn’t trying to be a friend to Rita Lynn, but she was sitting at her laptop waiting for their Skype connection to start so she could apologize and cross her high school nemesis off her 12 Step List. She’d already made her peace with Trent, who’d reacted in much the same way as his father in declaring he was just happy to have her back in his life. Marie wasn’t sure how Rita Lynn would react so when her face came up on the screen Marie drew in a calming breath and said, “Hey, Rita Lynn.”

  “Hi, Marie. How are you? Good to see you.”

  “Same here. Look. I just wanted to apologize face-to-face for my actions during your trip.”

  “Not necessary.”

  “I think it is.”

  “I hurt you, Marie. You going off on me was a normal reaction.”

  “But I could’ve acted like an adult. As Genevieve said, my beef with you was forty years old.”

  “True, but I’ll be visiting Henry Adams a lot and I just want us to go forward. We’re too old to be rolling around on the floor.”

  Marie found herself smiling at that. “You’re right. So, pax?”

  “Pax. How are things there? What’s Gen up to?”

  “She just moved into her new mobile home.”

  “How exciting.”

  They talked for the next thirty minutes, which Marie found amazing, and when they were done and Rita Lynn signed off, Marie sat back and smiled. She’d made amends with everyone now and it felt good to be at peace with
herself again.

  She was picking up the phone to text Genevieve to let her know how things had gone with Rita Lynn when she heard a knock on the door. She went to the window and didn’t recognize the dark blue minivan parked in the driveway but opened the door. A well-dressed woman in a business suit stood on the other side. She had light brown skin and appeared to be about Lily’s age. “Ms. Jefferson?” she asked.

  Marie heard traces of the South in her voice and replied warily, “Yes.”

  “We’ve never met but my name’s Brandy French. I’m Brian’s wife.”

  “Brian?” The name took a few seconds to register. When it did Marie’s heart sped up. He was the son she’d put up for adoption. “Has something happened to him?”

  The woman shook her head. “No, ma’am, but I wanted to talk to you. Is it okay if I come in? I promise not to take up a lot of your time.”

  Curious as to what this was about, Marie opened the screen and stepped back. “Come in.”

  The woman gave her a nervous smile. “Thanks.”

  They sat and Marie sensed the visitor choosing her words. “First of all,” she said, “I didn’t know Brian had come to see you, but when I found out I was pretty mad at the way the visit turned out.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Tell me if I’m wrong, but if I’d put a child up for adoption and that child suddenly turned up out of the blue, I’d assume the child wanted to get to know me, at least a little bit.”

  “You aren’t wrong.” The day had been painful. The visit left her so brittle she thought she might shatter into a thousand pieces.

  “I want to apologize on behalf of me and the girls. Your granddaughters.”

  A startled Marie searched her face.

  “When I found out how cruelly you’d been treated, I wanted to take a belt to him. He doesn’t think sometimes. At all.”

  “Oh, Brandy,” Marie whispered. “Thank you for this, but why are you here?”

  “Brian felt real bad after I broke it down and explained to him how you probably felt, and we’d like to start over. We’d like to have a relationship with you. Him, me and the girls. Is that okay?”

  Marie began to cry.

  Brandy got up and took her hands. “Please don’t cry,” she said through her own tears. “I’m so sorry he’s an idiot. And for what it’s worth, his adopted mom, Janice, was pretty mad at him, too.”

  Marie looked up.

  “She sends her regards and would like to meet you one day if you wouldn’t mind. She raised him but you gave him life. She said a child can never have too much love.”

  Marie felt like she’d stepped into another dimension. “Are you in town on business?”

  “No ma’am. I came all the way from Memphis just to see you. Took me a bit to find Henry Adams, but I’m here.”

  “Oh my lord. Is he with you?”

  “No ma’am. Too ashamed to show his face. I’m here as the lead scout so to speak. He wasn’t sure you’d agree to see him again.”

  “I would love to see him again, and I would love to have a relationship with you and the girls, and meet his adopted mom.”

  “Good. I feel so much better. Do you want to see their pictures?”

  Marie realized she was shaking. “Yes. How old are they?”

  “Dina is sixteen and Andrea is fourteen.”

  Brandy handed over her phone. “They favor their dad a lot, which means they favor you a lot.”

  Marie could barely see them through her tears. “They’re lovely.”

  “They come from lovely stock.”

  Marie laughed. “May I keep you?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be here until the Good Lord turns out the lights.”

  Marie stood, opened her arms, and Brandy walked into the embrace. Marie whispered, “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me, too.”

  As Marie savored the fullness in her heart, Reverend Paula’s advice rose in her mind: Make peace with yourself so your blessings can flow . . . Marie was glad she had.

  For the next two hours Brandy and Marie forged a bond Marie had craved since giving up her son at birth. When time came for Brandy to return to the airport for the evening flight back to Memphis, they made arrangements to meet again, this time with the rest of her family. “Is it okay if we come back for Mother’s Day?”

  Tears stung Marie’s eyes again. “Yes. That would be very okay.”

  They shared a final parting hug and Marie knew her life was now complete. Heart full, she watched Brandy back the van down the driveway. As she drove away, Marie waved, wiped her tears, and picked up the phone to call Genevieve to share her spectacular news.

  After talking with Marie, Genevieve put down her phone and wiped away her own joyful tears. What exciting news. She was so elated for her best friend and couldn’t wait to meet the son and his family. She was also happy for herself. Her furniture had arrived. Gazing proudly at it and all the beautiful touches supplied by her friends, she decided that she and Marie were the two most blessed women on the planet.

  She was on her way to the kitchen to cook her first meal when the doorbell sounded. She opened the door and there stood Terence.

  “I know I probably shouldn’t have just dropped by without calling first, but I brought you a housewarming gift.”

  She was so glad to see him and he was so good-looking it took her a moment to remember her manners. “Come on in, please.”

  He entered and looked around. “This is nice.”

  “It is, isn’t it? Have a seat.”

  “No, I’ll only be a minute.” He reached into his coat and withdrew a small square object wrapped in gold foil paper. He handed it to her. “Brought you something to thank you for your kindness. The girls said gold is your favorite color.”

  Gen was having difficulty breathing. “It is. May I open it?”

  “Of course.”

  She pulled off the paper. It was a CD of Wes Montgomery’s greatest hits. “Oh my.”

  “I hope you don’t already have it.”

  “I don’t,” she said, flipping it over to read the names of the selections it held.

  “I had Leah order it for me. She said Amazon would get it to me faster than trying to find it in a store.”

  “Amazon is amazing. This has all of his classics, including ‘Bumping on Sunset.’” It reminded her of their first meeting. Going forward, she’d always associate the tune with him.

  “Yes, it does.”

  “Thank you so much. This was very sweet of you.”

  “Glad you like it.”

  “I do.”

  They stood in the silence, pretending they weren’t staring at each other and failing miserably. Gen wanted to ask him to stay for dinner but she wasn’t that bold yet. He solved the issue by saying, “I’ll let you get back to your evening.”

  An invitation to stay and have dinner almost slipped out. “Thanks for dinner. I mean for the CD.” Embarrassment burned her cheeks.

  He smiled. “Can I take you to the movies tomorrow night?”

  When she finally regained her ability to speak, she said, “Yes. I’d like that.”

  “Good. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  She walked him to the door. “We can start your lessons whenever you have the time.”

  “Okay, let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks again for the CD.”

  “You’re welcome. See you tomorrow.” He gave her a wink and walked back out into the evening’s fading light.

  Genevieve closed the door and with her back pressed against it slowly melted to the carpeted floor. Kicking her feet with joy, she crowed, “I have a date, ladies and gentlemen. A real live date!”

  CHAPTER

  14

  Having received a text from Calvin that he’d be by around three, Paula drove over to the nearest fast food place to grab breakfast and stopped by a small grocery for provisions to get her through the weekend. As she placed her items on the belt, the ca
shier, a short Black woman with a kind smile, asked, “You visiting, ma’am?”

  Paula wasn’t offended. This was a small town and unfamiliar faces stood out. “Yes. I’m here for my grandfather’s funeral.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Tyree Grant.”

  The cashier paused in the midst of ringing up her order. “Della’s daddy?”

  “Yes. I’m his granddaughter, Paula.”

  The woman studied Paula’s face. “You’re not Della’s child.”

  “No, she’s my aunt. My mother was Patricia. Della’s older sister.”

  The woman seemed to be thinking, then said, “I remember now. You’re Anna Lee’s niece.”

  Paula froze.

  But the woman was checking the display on the register and didn’t notice Paula’s shocked face. “That’ll be fifty-five seventy-two.”

  Moving like a zombie Paula swiped her debit card and was handed the receipt. The woman finished by saying, “Condolences on your loss, honey. If you see Anna Lee, tell her Gaylene said hi.”

  “Thank you. I will,” Paula managed to whisper.

  Outside in the car, Paula sat and drew in a couple of deep breaths, hoping to calm her racing heart. Anna Lee’s niece? All her life, Paula wondered who her father had been. Her mother always waved the question away by saying it didn’t matter and after a while Paula stopped asking, but she’d assumed her mother had gotten pregnant after leaving Blackbird by a man in California. She cast her mind back to her teen years with her grandfather and vaguely remembered Anna Lee having an older brother, but couldn’t recall if she’d ever met him. For sure she didn’t know his name. She drew trembling hands down her face. Were she and Anna Lee really related? After driving to Tyree’s to put the food away, she got back in the car and headed to Anna Lee’s.

  “Paula!” Anna Lee exclaimed happily when she answered the door. “Come in. How are you, honey?”

  “I’m well.”

  “Have a seat. It’s so good to see you.”

  The gold couch and chairs were encased in plastic. “Good to see you, too.”

  For a woman who’d gone to school with Della, Anna Lee Spivey with her red bob wig, long fake nails, and carefully applied makeup was still a beautiful woman. The skinny jeans and low-cut blouse showed off a trim but buxom figure. There was gold in her ears, hanging from her neck and circling her wrists.