13

It was midday on Saturday when Leon arrived back in town. I was sitting on the porch swing watching Chad and Pee Wee play

basketball. Marcus had played with them for a little while, but he soon grew tired and retreated to his room. It was nice

seeing him out and about.

Leon parked his truck near mine and slowly approached me. I could tell he wasn’t exactly excited about sharing with Mama what

he had shared with me the other day. He normally walked with purpose. Now he was dragging. He was dressed up as usual. I hoped

Mama would be receptive to what he had to say.

As he stepped onto the porch, I impulsively stood and hugged him, then whispered in his ear, “It’s gonna be okay, Leon. Just

speak from your heart.”

When I pulled away, he had tears in his eyes. “You were always too good for me with your book smarts and your ability to lead.

I’m just an old country boy who can drive a big rig better than most. Your mama’s too good for me too.”

“Not true. We’re all looking for love and acceptance. Nobody is better than anybody else,” I said and patted his back with a smile. “Go get her, tiger.” A good night’s sleep and an early morning conversation with Lish helped me put things back into perspective. She had told me I needed to stop acting like I was pining for Brother Leon.

“You are sad about being alone,” she had said wisely. “That’s normal. But don’t get that confused with loving that man, because you didn’t. Not the way a woman loves a man. There

was zero passion between you and him, and you, girl, need the passion. Period.”

She was right. As many romantic novels as I’d read, I knew exactly what I was looking for. Not textbook love. Not storybook

love. But definitely not the love I felt for Leon. He was more like a brother or an older cousin to me. As much as I liked

Leon, he wasn’t the man I wanted to wake up next to for the rest of my life. Yet now I couldn’t imagine finding love. Most

men my age were still thinking about starting families of their own, and that wasn’t my future, unfortunately. I mean, maybe

there was a man out there who wouldn’t mind adopting a child with me, but from my experience, most men seemed to want biological

children. I didn’t know for sure if that was how Seth felt, but I was too scared to find out.

“Go on and talk to her, Leon,” I said, pushing him slightly, trying to put my feelings aside. “Tell Mama the truth. Tell her

about our conversation, and then, after that, it’s out of your hands.”

He nodded. I knew this was out of his comfort zone. Leon didn’t like displaying his feelings, but I hoped he’d move past that, and I equally hoped Mama would be receptive. They were perfect for each other. I wish I had seen that sooner.

“Boys,” I called out. “Let’s go to town and get ourselves a burger and fries at Mr. Miller’s restaurant.” Both of them immediately

stopped what they were doing and ran to the porch. Mr. Miller was a member of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, where my family

had attended since Mama and Daddy moved to Troy. Mr. Miller and his family had one of the few Black-owned restaurants in Troy.

Integration would lead you to believe that Black folks could go and eat anywhere we pleased, but the truth of the matter was

that the cold reception we often received at a white-owned establishment wasn’t worth the effort. So, as much as possible,

my family and I went to places where we knew we’d be welcomed.

“Th-th-that place we a-a-ate at before?” Pee Wee asked, his face radiating with excitement. He never cared where we went,

as long as we went somewhere. I looked at Chad. His excitement was more tempered, but I knew they were ready for a change

of scenery. Besides, I wanted to give Mama and Leon some privacy.

“That’s the one,” I said. “I’m going to run inside and get my purse, and we’ll be on our way. Y’all keep Mr. Leon company

until I get back.”

I hurried inside, where Mama was heating up leftovers. I noticed she’d changed out of the housedress she’d been wearing. Clearly

she’d heard Leon’s arrival, and her words confirmed my suspicions.

“I see Leon is outside,” she said, sliding the dressing into the oven. “I know he’s probably hungry. Bless his heart. You can finish heating this up for him.”

I kissed Mama’s cheek. “Nope. I’m about to take the boys out for a hamburger. You can entertain Leon all by yourself.”

Mama shook her head. “You need to stop being so careless with the attention you give that man. Brother Leon ain’t gone keep

coming around here if you don’t make him feel like his time and energy matters to you, Katia.”

I kissed her cheek again. “Brother Leon is just fine, Mama. In fact, he wants to talk to you about something. Something important.”

Her face split into a grin and she clapped her hands with glee. “Hallelujah and thank you, Jesus. He wants to ask for your

hand in marriage. It’s about time.”

Rather than contradict her, I squeezed her shoulders and rushed to my room in search of my purse. It was underneath a pile

of clothes I’d washed this morning but hadn’t put up. On my way out, I peeked inside Marcus’s room. He was sound asleep. When

I got back to the kitchen, Leon was coming inside the door.

“Okay, y’all. See you later,” I said and left before either one of them could say anything to me. This was definitely not

a conversation I wanted to be privy to. “Dear Lord, open her heart and mind to what she is about to hear,” I muttered under

my breath.

The boys were already standing next to my truck. “Y’all ready for some big, fat, juicy burgers and some salty, salty french

fries?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison.

“Well, get in the truck.” I laughed as they battled to see who’d sit in the middle and who’d sit by the window. The twins used to do the same thing, so I knew exactly how to handle the scuffle. “Pee Wee gets the window going and, Chad, you get the window on the way back. Deal?”

They looked at each other and then grinned. “Deal,” they agreed. Chad slid in from the passenger side first; then Pee Wee

slid in after him.

“Can I r-r-roll down the w-w-window?” Pee Wee asked, bouncing up and down in his seat.

“It’s a bit too cool for the windows to be down,” I said, but after seeing his disappointed face, I gave in and told him he

could roll it down until we got to the end of the street. Compromise was always key with my boys.

When he first came to the group home, Pee Wee had told me that he’d never ridden in a car or truck before. He said he and

his mama walked everywhere they needed to go. He then told me that he’d ridden inside an ambulance when his mother had knocked

him unconscious, but of course he didn’t remember that ride. Riding in my truck was as exciting to him as being on the Ferris

wheel at the county fair.

The ride to town didn’t take long. The boys chatted animatedly about our current adventure, which allowed me to ponder the conversation going on back at the house. I couldn’t imagine what Mama’s response might be. Well, actually... I knew exactly what her response would be. She’d ask him if he’d lost his ever-loving mind. I imagined she’d ask me the same question when the boys and I returned. My hope was that at some point, she’d realize she felt the same way about Leon as he did about her.

“Miss Katia, can we stop at the store over there? I want to get your mama a thank-you present from me and Pee Wee,” Chad said,

pointing toward The Mercantile. He must have caught my look because he grinned broadly. “It’s okay, Miss Katia. I got money.

Not a lot but enough for maybe something small.”

I nodded. “Okay. But I don’t want you spending your money.” I didn’t want to say that, with the uncertainty of his situation,

he might need that money soon. “Let me buy the gift for you. It can still be from you and Pee Wee. Nobody ever has to know.”

I eased the truck into a parking spot across the street from The Mercantile. Crowds of people were out shopping, no doubt

already thinking about Christmas.

“But that’s not the same,” Chad insisted. “If you buy it, it’s not from us.”

I could tell it meant a lot to him to buy the gift himself. I decided to acquiesce for now. If I had to slip the money back

into his pocket at a later date, I would. But for now he needed to buy this gift on his own.

“Okay.” I smiled. “I won’t have anything to do with it. It will be all you and Pee Wee. I know Mama will be so excited.”

Both boys grinned, giving each other high fives. Their unselfishness knew no bounds. Most boys their age would be clamoring

to buy things for themselves at the store, and here they were, thinking about my mama.

“Can we go into the store by ourselves?” Chad asked, glancing at me sideways. “We want what we get to be a surprise to you too.”

“No,” I said in a firm voice. “That’s pushing it and you know it. I can’t let you boys out of my sight.”

“Okay, okay,” he said, holding up his hand. It was clear he was about to negotiate the terms. I hid a smile. I loved it when

the boys asserted their independence. I wanted them to be able to vocalize their thoughts and wishes, even if that meant I

had to do some tap dancing of my own to keep up with them.

“Miss Katia, what if,” Chad said, slipping his arm through the crook of mine, “you stayed near the front door of The Mercantile

and me and Pee Wee went shopping? You would still be right there, but we’d have some privacy. What you think about that?”

I shook my head, unable to stifle a laugh. “You boys are something else.”

“I-I-Is that a y-y-yes?” Pee Wee looked at me eagerly.

“That’s a yes. But don’t make me regret my decision.” I looked at them sternly. Both Pee Wee and Chad had stolen before. Mostly

food, and not since they’d been at the group home. The last thing I wanted was for them to impulsively snag something that

caught their eye. “Make sure you only pick up what you have money to buy, and do not spend all of your money, Chad. Is that

clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “We won’t touch it unless we plan to buy it.”

“No sticky f-f-fingers,” Pee Wee said in a serious voice.

I reached over and ruffled his hair. “That’s right, silly boy. No sticky fingers. Let’s get out of this truck so y’all can go shopping. That money is about to burn a hole in Chad’s pocket.”

We got out of the truck and stood for a minute as the traffic drove by. Then I took Pee Wee by the hand, Chad took his other

hand, and we crossed the street.

Before we walked inside The Mercantile, I faced them. “Repeat the rules, Chad. You’re the oldest, so you’re in charge.”

He nodded solemnly. “We’re supposed to find what we’re looking for and not touch anything unless we plan on buying it. And

I am not to spend every dime in my pocket.”

“Good.” I turned to Pee Wee. “Anything you want to add?”

“No st-st-sticky fingers,” he said with a nod.

“Exactly.” I made sure not to crack a smile. “I will stay over there by the front of the store, but if you need me, come there

and find me. Also, do not put your hands in your pockets for any reason. Why is that?”

“’Cause white folks all the time thinkin’ we stealing something,” Chad said.

“I wasn’t specifically referring to white people, but yes, we don’t want to raise anyone’s alarm when we enter into their

stores. Speak to people. Look them in their eyes. And keep it moving. Okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they said.

“Alright then. Let’s go.” Pee Wee rushed to open the door for me, holding it as Chad and I walked inside. I was happy to see

a familiar face at the register. It was Mrs. Gayle Cherry, the white lady who lived about a mile from our house.

“Hello, Katia,” she said, greeting me with a smile. “Happy Saturday after Thanksgiving. Who are these boys with you?”

I knew the boys were self-conscious about being from the group home, so I fudged my answer a bit. “Friends of the family.

The taller one is Chad and the other young man is—”

“Mason. M-m-my name is M-M-Mason,” he said. “Pleased to m-m-meet you, m-m-ma’am.”

Chad and I smiled at each other. I, of course, knew Pee Wee’s real name, but he’d always insisted on being called Pee Wee.

I wasn’t even sure if Chad knew his real name. Pee Wee had told me that Pee Wee was the nickname his daddy had given him.

It was interesting to hear him use his birth name in this instance. I guess he wanted to come across as a big boy, and maybe,

in his mind, Pee Wee sounded childish.

“Pleased to meet you, Mason, and you too, Chad. What are y’all here for?” Mrs. Cherry asked.

“Presents,” Pee Wee said. Chad gave him a look, and then I knew. They weren’t here solely to get something for Mama. They

were here to get something for me as well. I pretended like I didn’t hear the s at the end of “present.”

“These young men want to get my mama a present.”

“Well, that is the sweetest thing ever,” she said. “Y’all should go over to aisle three. There’s some toilet water over there

that Mrs. Daniels might like.”

“No, ma’am,” Chad said quickly. “I don’t think she’d be wanting no toilet water. We want to get her something nice.”

Mrs. Cherry, to her credit, didn’t crack a smile or laugh at Chad’s misunderstanding. “Oh, Chad. I apologize. I should have been clearer. That’s another name for perfume. Don’t ask me why someone came up with toilet water. Seems downright silly, doesn’t it?”

Chad grinned. “Yes, ma’am. But now that we know what it is, we’ll go check it out. Is it okay if we smell it? We’ll be careful,

and we won’t drop any of it. Promise.”

“Absolutely,” she said. “You smell as much as you want. And if you need my assistance, you just call out for my help.”

Chad and Pee Wee thanked her and slowly walked away. I was proud of them for taking their time and not rushing through the

store.

“They are some well-mannered young boys, Katia,” she said. “Whoever is raising them is raising them right.”

“Thank you,” I said. I turned back toward the direction they’d gone, fighting the urge to go hover over them. They soon returned

and Chad asked me to turn around. I heard Mrs. Cherry ask if they wanted her to wrap the presents. I could hear Chad whispering,

and I pretended to be engrossed in a display of Tide laundry detergent near the front of the store.

“I’ll put your purchases in this bag, Chad,” Mrs. Cherry said.

I felt arms around my waist. It was Pee Wee. “Gran is g-g-going to l-l-like her present.”

I gave him a firm hug. “Of course she is. As long as it’s from you boys, she will absolutely love it.”

I turned just in time to see Chad walk toward us with a bag. His smile was bigger than any I’d ever seen on his face.

“You didn’t spend all of your money, did you?” I looked at him intently. He grinned wider.

“No, ma’am.” He patted his pocket. “I still got some money. I could buy us our burgers and fries if you wanted me to.”

I shook my head. “You’ve spent enough. Let’s go so we can get our food and head on back home.”

We said goodbye to Mrs. Cherry and headed out the door. None of us noticed the man standing outside. As soon as we exited

the store, he roughly grabbed Chad’s arm.

“Come to Papa, you son of a—”

“Take your hands off of him!” I yelled, reaching for Chad, but the man pulled him out of my reach while simultaneously pushing

me away. I almost fell, but I didn’t care about myself. I only wanted to get Chad away from this man. “Let him go!”

“Let me go,” Chad whimpered. “Let me go, Cobra.”

“It’s okay, baby,” a woman’s voice said, getting out of the beat-up Chrysler parked in front of the store. “Cobra ain’t gone

hurt you. I told him that was you. We was right over there at the thrift store. Mama gone take you home.”

“St-st-stop!” Pee Wee screamed.

“Go back inside, Pee Wee,” I yelled. “Now!”

He immediately ran back inside the store. I was grateful for his obedience. I needed all of my attention on Chad.

Lena’s thin body was dressed like a woman of the night, in all red—go-go boots, short skirt, and halter top—with a matted

wig on her head. I didn’t understand how she wasn’t shivering, but she didn’t seem aware of the cold. Her eyes were bloodshot,

and her skin appeared ashen. It was clear that she was high on something. I prayed she wasn’t so far gone that she wouldn’t

listen to reason.

“Lena,” I said softly. “This isn’t the way. A judge has to—”

“Shut up,” she snapped. “Don’t say nothing to me about no judge. This ’tween me and my boy. Get in the car, Chad.”

“Let me go, Cobra,” Chad grunted, pulling and twisting, but the big man had him in a tight grip.

“Please let him go,” I ordered. “You have no right to hold him like that. Let him go.”

Vaguely, I remembered that name. Cobra. But where? Then suddenly, it all came to me. This was one of the men who’d hurt Chad. In that moment, my fear increased exponentially.

“I said let me go, Cobra!” Chad yelled, continuing to try to break free, but the man only held him tighter, laughing like

a hyena.

“That’s Mr. Cobra to you, punk,” he said, and I noticed he had a knife pushed against Chad’s right side.

I began to sweat in spite of the cool temperature. Cobra had light skin and an awful scar on his face, and his teeth were

nearly all rotten. He grinned at me wildly. He was high on something too. “Chad, my boy, you, me, and Lena is about to go

for a ride.”

By this time a sea of white faces stood at a distance, staring. I scanned the crowd, hoping to see even one familiar brown

face, but there was none. In that instant, I knew we were the entertainment for the afternoon.

“Mr. Cobra,” I said, trying to sound calm. “Let him go. Let him go and I won’t say anything to anyone. Tell him to let Chad

go, Lena.”

As if in response, he waved the knife toward me, and people shrieked, yet no one came to our aid. “Lady, you don’t make the rules. This son of a dog owes me a dance. Don’t you, Chad? Lena don’t like to dance with me no more, so I reckon you’ll have to do the two-step with ole Cobra tonight.”

“Noooooo,” Chad wailed and tried to pull away, but Cobra was at least a good fifty or sixty pounds heavier. Cobra repositioned

himself and held the knife to Chad’s throat.

Lena let out a nervous laugh, tugging at a halter strap that had slipped down her shoulder. “Stop all that, Cobra. You ain’t

gone do nothing.” She reached out and put her hand on Chad’s arm. “He ain’t gone do nothing. Just come on. We need to get

gone ’fore the ofays call the law. Come on now.”

I heard someone holler for the police, but if any cops were around, they didn’t respond. I didn’t have time to worry about

them. I was a pro at defusing tough situations with my boys. I prayed God would give me strength to talk this madman down.

“It’s okay, Chad.” I tried to make my voice as soothing as possible. “Mr. Cobra, you seem like a reasonable man. The police

will be here any second. Just let Chad go and you two be on your way.”

“You ain’t the boss of me!” he yelled. “I aim to take this boy, and maybe you, too, if you keep running your mouth.”

“Ain’t nobody taking her nowhere,” Lena snapped. “You always—”

“Let the boy go,” I heard a familiar voice order.

I turned from Lena in time to see Seth grab Cobra from behind and wrestle the knife from the man’s hand. I quickly reached

out for Chad and pulled him close, his body trembling.

“Cobra,” Lena called out as she hopped back into the passenger seat of the car. “Come on. We’ll get Chad later. Come on.”

Cobra pushed Seth away and ran for the driver’s side. He and Lena raced off just as the police drove up.

“Bring him inside,” I heard Mrs. Cherry say from the door of The Mercantile. “Y’all move and let her and the boy in.”

She stood with her arm around Pee Wee, who was crying in loud gulps. As I led Chad to the door, Pee Wee hurled himself into

my arms, nearly knocking Chad and me to the ground. Once we were inside, people were coming toward us, but Mrs. Cherry shooed

them away.

“Lord, have mercy,” Mrs. Cherry said, escorting us to some chairs she’d pulled out. “What was that all about? Who was that

monster trying to get at this boy?”

Chad slumped into a chair. I noticed he was still clutching the bag with the gifts he and Pee Wee had bought. I sat down beside

Chad and pulled a crying Pee Wee into my arms. I just shook my head at Mrs. Cherry as I held the boys as close to me as I

could.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Y’all just get yourselves together.”

I saw Seth talking to a policeman. I knew they’d want to speak to Chad, but he wasn’t up for talking. Since Seth had wrestled

the knife away from Cobra, Chad hadn’t uttered a word.

“Chad,” I whispered. “Chad, honey. Are you alright?” I knew it was a ridiculous question as soon as the words came tumbling

out of my mouth, but at that moment I didn’t know what else to say.

“Don’t. Let. Him. Get. At. Me.” Chad said each word as if uttering it hurt.

“No one is going to get at you,” I said. “No one.”

He nodded, tears streaming down his face. Seth and the policeman walked into the store together. Seth hung back, but his eyes stared straight at me. I mouthed, Thank you , to him.

As the officer came toward us, Chad began shaking his head back and forth. I was afraid he might jump up and start running.

“It’s going to be okay,” I said over and over, trying to calm him as well as myself and Pee Wee, who was holding on to me

for dear life.

When the officer neared us, I stood, extracting myself from Pee Wee’s death grip. I glanced at the man’s badge and saw that

Perryman was his name.

“Officer Perryman,” I said, reaching out to shake his hand. He paused, then accepted my hand for a quick handshake. I didn’t

care if he didn’t want to shake hands or be cordial to me. I just wanted to buy as much time as possible for Chad. “My name

is Katia Daniels, and I am the executive director at the Pike County Group Home for Negro Boys. Sir, these two boys are in

my care. Chad here is traumatized. Is it possible for us to make a statement once I get him back to my house, where they both

have been staying for the holidays? You can follow us there,” I said.

He looked at me for a moment, and then his eyes shifted from Chad to Pee Wee. Before he said anything, Mrs. Cherry inserted

herself between us.

“Hello there, Officer Perryman. Good to see you. How’s your mama?” She had a huge smile on her face.

He smiled back at her. “Just fine, ma’am. Mama was grateful for the casserole you sent over the other week. She’s feeling

much better.”

“Good,” she said, placing her hand on his arm. “You do right by my friends here. They’ve been through a lot today. You hear?”

“Yes, ma’am, Mrs. Cherry.” He then looked back at me. “I will follow you to your home, ma’am.”

I didn’t want to take a chance that he might change his mind. “Let’s go, boys.” I hugged and thanked Mrs. Cherry.

Chad got up slowly and took my hand. I squeezed it. I then reached my other hand for Pee Wee’s. When we got close to Seth,

Chad barreled into his arms. Seth held Chad close, patting him on his back. I reached for Chad’s arm. We needed to go. I didn’t

want the policeman to change his mind.

“I’ll follow y’all back home. I’ll be right behind you,” Seth said reassuringly.

I was grateful he was going back to the house with us. I felt as if my strength was waning, so knowing he’d be there reassured

me.

“Let’s go, boys,” I said as we all made our way out of The Mercantile. I prayed that Chad would be able to tell the police

what they needed to know. And then I prayed he’d be able to somehow put this awful ordeal behind him.