Bring on the Blessings (10 page)

Payne peered down at the faded picture of a dark-skinned man wearing a double-breasted shirt and dusty-looking denims. He was posed with a long rifle in his hand. The star on his shirt was prominently displayed. “Wow,” he whispered, awed.

“Yep. And that there is my grandfather, outlaw Neil July,” she said, pointing to each person in turn. “Next to him, outlaw Griffin Blake. That man there is Griff’s brother Jackson. He was a sheriff down in Texas. That’s my great uncle Two Shafts. He was part Comanche, and that’s my great aunt Teresa.”

“She’s dressed like an outlaw too!” Sheila exclaimed with surprise. She was seated on the other side of Tamar.

“That’s because she was an outlaw too.”

Sheila’s mouth dropped.

Roni and Reggie edged closer to get a better look.

Bernadine had seen the pics before and took great pleasure in the wonder on the faces of the visitors. She was also pleased to see somebody else blown away by the history of the town and its residents.

Payne asked, “When was this taken?”

“Date on the back says 1889. This was after the big shoot-out over at the Liberian Lady.”

Payne couldn’t take his eyes away from his tall, stately looking ancestor. “And he was Seminole?”

“Yep,” Tamar responded. “And proud to be. Was appointed marshal by Hanging Judge Isaac Parker.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Because I’m the July griot. The keeper of the lore. You know what that means?”

He nodded.

“Once upon a time we all had griots in our families. I learned from my great-aunt Teresa starting when I was a little girl. She learned from her mother, the first Tamar, who learned from her mother. Now, most of the family griots are gone, which is why some parts of the race are in such terrible turmoil. They’ve forgotten.”

They all thought about that for a moment, and Bernadine decided Tamar was right. Personally, Bernadine knew her grandparents had come north from Kentucky during the early part of the twentieth century but knew nothing about her great-grandparents at all. Her family had forgotten too.

Payne shook his head. “This is amazing.”

Trent says, “So that makes you Seminole too, Colonel.”

“I see.”

Tamar said, “One day when you have the time, come back by and I’ll tell you the whole story—from the Three Seminole Wars to the Great Walk.”

“The Great Walk?”

“Yep.”

“You mean the Trail of Tears?”

“No. That was the Cherokee. The Seminoles walked from Indian Territory to the Mexican border trying to get away from the slave catchers and the Creeks.”

When he just stared, she smiled and patted him on the arm. “It’s okay. We have plenty of time for all this later, but
on behalf of the July family, welcome. Welcome to all of you.”

It was apparent Payne wanted to know more, but he didn’t ask anything else.

Bernadine was amazed by his soldier’s discipline. Had it been her, she would have asked so many questions Tamar would have had to have her bodily removed. Bernadine also wondered how this startling revelation might factor into the Paynes’ decision to become foster parents.

Trent was leaning against the porch rail, still pleased by the surprising discovery. Who would have ever imagined that the lines of Wildhorse and July would cross paths again more than a century later? Deputy Marshal Wildhorse had been very respected in his day according to all the stories he’d heard. He glanced over Lily’s way and found her watching him. For a long moment, their eyes held. Time seemed to stand still. He studied the familiar lines of her face and thought back on all they’d shared and dreamed about. He looked away.

Tamar asked Bernadine, “You want me to start rounding up everybody for the video?”

“Would you, please? Then we’ll have dinner.”

Tamar nodded at the Paynes and Garlands. “I’ll see you all in minute.” She eased the photo album back into its protective pillowcase, and Bernadine led everyone else to her place.

Soon after the locals and the newcomers found seats, she popped in a DVD prepared by the state’s adoptive agencies. It featured testimonies from both foster and adoptive parents on the kids they’d agreed to take into their lives.
Some were success stories, like the one told by a single mother in Oklahoma who’d adopted four toddler siblings. They’d grown up and were all college graduates. Others told of the heartache of raising children who in spite of being given love and stability never recovered from the tragedy imprinted on their early lives. Some wound up in jail or were drifting aimlessly. One young man who’d been fostered by a couple in Topeka committed suicide on his fifteenth birthday. The parents made it clear that the decision to say yes wasn’t to be taken lightly.

When the DVD ended, the room was silent. Bernadine looked around at the seriously set faces but waited before speaking. She wanted them to digest what they’d seen and heard first.

Reggie broke the silence. “I’m glad we saw that.”

The others agreed.

His wife added, “Gives us lots to think about.”

Colonel Payne asked Bernadine, “When will we need to let you know what we decide?”

“Truthfully, before you leave in the morning. I’m scheduled to pick up the kids Friday. I need to know how many families I’ll have for them. And one thing I need to make clear for everyone is that children like these do not bond overnight. It may be months, even years, before the real child opens up.”

For a moment there was silence as the couples looked at each other. She said to the Paynes and Garlands: “If you all want to use one of the bedrooms to speak privately, please help yourselves.”

They accepted her offer and walked to the back while Bernadine, Trent, and the others sat tensely.

The couples came back a short time later and the answer was yes. Outwardly, Bernadine thanked them graciously but inside she was doing her hallelujah dance.

S
peechless, Lily looked around the luxurious interior of the small private jet. It was done in white leather and trimmed in burnished silver. It sat ten and had a galley kitchen and a small bedroom in the back. The seats were so white they could have been made out of freshly fallen snow.

A smiling Bernadine fastened her seat belt. “Do you like it?”

“My goodness, yes. And this is yours?”

“Yep. It was a gift from one of my Bottom Women sisters.”

“Who?”

Before Lily could explain, the lyrical voice of their Jamaican pilot, Katie Skye came over the speakers. “Ms. B, does it matter which city we fly to first?”

“Nope. Just so we hit all the spots today.”

“Gotcha. Then we’ll start with Dallas.”

“You’re driving.”

They were cleared for takeoff from the Hays airport a
short time later and were soon airborne and heading south for Dallas.

After reaching cruising speed, the still-dazzled Lily asked, “Now, how did you get this plane?”

“I belong to a group called the Bottom Women’s Society.”

“
Bottom
as in hips?”

“No, as in pimps.”

Her eyes widened.

Bernadine asked, “Do you know what a pimp’s bottom woman is?”

“Yeah. She’s his first money machine, shall we say.”

“We shall, and he builds his empire on her back, right?”

Lily nodded. “Or so I’ve heard. She supposedly takes care of the other girls he brings in, handles the house, the finances, etcetera.”

“Well, that’s who my girlfriends and I are. Only our pimps sat in board rooms. We’re all first wives.”

“
Ah.
I get the name now. And one of your girls just gave this to you?” She couldn’t stop staring around.

“Yep, it’s how we Bottom Women roll. This plane was part of her divorce settlement. She hates to fly though, so she gave it to me in honor of my second divorce anniversary.”

“Do you think you all could take in a poor Bottom Woman like me?”

Bernadine laughed. “Sure, why not. We can nominate our friends, and we are friends, right?”

“If you all pass jets around, I’m your best friend.”

Both women laughed and settled in for the flight. It was so smooth and uneventful that Bernadine took it as a sign that the day would go well.

When they began their descent to a small municipal field outside of Dallas, Bernadine’s heart was pounding with excitement and anticipation. She would be fostering the fourteen-year-old Crystal Chambers. According to the phone calls she’d had with Yvette Carr, the social worker, the girl had lots of issues, but Bernadine planned to give her all of the love and support she’d need to get a handle on her life and move forward.

After they landed, Bernadine pulled out her phone. Arrangements had been made in advance for Crystal and Ms. Carr to be waiting at one of the small hangars. She called to make sure they were there, and Katie taxied the plane to the meeting spot. Bernadine left the plane to meet them while Lily stayed on and observed.

The first thing she noticed was the terribly unkempt blond extensions the teenager had woven into her scalp. Lily had seen better heads on mops. The second thing she noticed was Crystal’s sour face, but Lily supposed it was to be expected. The girl had no idea who Bernadine was or where she was going to live. After having been in the system as long as the papers in her file said she had been, one foster parent was probably just another foster parent. The thought tugged at Lily’s heart.

She watched Bernadine and Ms. Carr end their conversation and Bernadine gesture Crystal toward the plane. The girl stopped, looked at the jet, and then back at Bernadine with wide eyes.

Bernadine smiled, the girl climbed the stairs with a look of wonderment on her face, and Lily smiled too.

Crystal entered the plane gushing, “I get to ride in this! Dayum! This is sweet!”

Bernadine said, “Crystal, I want you to meet Lily Fontaine. Ms. Fontaine is my assistant.”

“Hey, Crystal.”

“Hey,” she replied, but her entire being seemed focused on taking in the plane. “Man. Wait until I tell my friends. They’re going to think I’m smoking crack!”

The blond tresses looked even worse up close. The tight jeans looked sprayed on, and the sleeves of the worn white T-shirt were rolled up to show off the tattoo—a blunt with smoke rising from the tip etched on her thin bicep.
Lord have mercy
.

“Who’d you get this plane from, Ms. Bernadine? Your boo?”

Bernadine chuckled, “No. Got it from one of my girlfriends.”

“Girlfriend? You lesbian?”

Bernadine blinked. “No, but a few of my friends are.”

Crystal shot a look at Lily, “You one?”

“Lesbian? No, but if I were, would that be a problem?”

“Hell, yeah!” the girl said as if that was a stupid question and took a seat.

Bernadine knew this was not the time or place for a tolerance lesson, but one would be coming very soon.

Katie’s voice came over the speakers asking everyone to buckle up, and the jet began the slow rollback to the runway.

“Where we going now? To your mansion, right? If you got a jet you gotta have a mansion to put it in, right?”

Bernadine and Lily shared a look before she answered, “We’re going to Alabama to pick up an eight-year-old boy named Devon.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s going back to Kansas with us too.”

“So it’ll be just the two of us?”

“Nope. Then we go to Miami to pick up Zoey.”

“Zoey? What kind of wack name is that?”

Bernadine overlooked that. For now. “Then to Detroit to get Amari. Last stop will be to pick up Preston in Milwaukee. Do you like flying?”

She shrugged. “Never been on a plane before.”

Lily handed her a stick of gum. “Here. Chew this. It’ll keep your ears from stopping up.”

Crystal looked confused but she stuck the gum in her mouth and turned her eyes back to the view out her window.

Bernadine and Lily shared another look, then settled in for the flight to Alabama.

When they landed again, they taxied into another small airport and over to one of the hangars for their rendezvous with Devon Watkins and his social worker. This airport was not as modern as the one in Dallas. Dallas was technically considered part of the South, but this was
the
South. You could see it in the rural landscape surrounding the little airport and you could see it in the faces of the men and women going about their jobs.

Crystal asked, “Where are we?”

“Near Birmingham, Alabama.”

“Okay.” They were the first words she’d spoken since leaving Dallas, and Bernadine hoped it wasn’t because she’d been terrified about being up in the clouds.

“What do you think about flying so far?”

“I like it.”

“Good. I like to fly too.”

Bernadine stood and looked out the windows at the gray corrugated metal hangars they were slowly passing. “I don’t see anybody. Do you?”

Lily didn’t either.

“Is that them?” Crystal asked, pointing a finger crowned with a long fake pink-and-white nail.

Bernadine saw a tall blonde white woman holding the hand of a small brown-skinned little boy wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and tie. “I think so,” she called to Katie. “This is them, Kate.”

“Okay.”

When the jet halted, she got off and walked over to where the woman and the boy stood waiting. “I’m Bernadine Brown.”

“Lorna Stevens,” the woman responded, and extended her hand. “Nice jet.”

Bernadine returned the shake and the smile and looked down at the boy holding Lorna’s other hand. “You must be, Devon.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Pleased to meet you, Devon. I’m Bernadine Brown.”

“Pleased to meet you, too, ma’am.”

The flowered pillowcase near his feet apparently held his belongings “Are you ready to go?”

He looked up at Ms. Stevens with a solemn glance then replied, “Yes, ma’am.”

He seemed so wooden and resigned, Bernadine wanted to hug him and never let him go.

Lorna Stevens bent down and said to him softly, “I’m jealous. You get to fly off in a fancy jet plane and I get to go back to my office and do paperwork.”

He smiled a little.

She touched his cheek. “You stay well now Devon Watkins, hear?”

“Yes, ma’am. God be with you.”

“You too, angel.”

She stood and met Bernadine’s eyes. “Take real good care of him, Ms. Brown. He’s very special.”

“I will. I promise.”

She nodded.

Bernadine took his warm hand in hers. He picked up the pillowcase, and she led him over to the waiting jet.

If Devon was awed by the plane’s luxurious interior, he didn’t show it. Instead he stood silently in the aisle as if waiting for instruction. Bernadine introduced him to Lily.

“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Fontaine.”

“Same here, Devon.”

“This is Crystal Chambers.”

The teen gave the little boy and his suit a critical once-over. “You just come from a funeral?”

Confusion filled his face.

“The suit,” she explained. “Where I come from only time you wear a suit is to a funeral or to court.”

“I wear this all the time.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I just do.”

Crystal wasn’t buying it. “Ms. Brown, we’re going to have to get him some real clothes. If we’re going to be flying on jets and living in a mansion, he’s gotta dress way more tight than this.”

“I don’t own a mansion, Crystal.”

“Yeah, right.” She then stuck out her hand to Devon. “Welcome to the family. Have Ms. Lily give you some gum so your ears don’t pop. You ever been on a plane before?”

“Once to San Francisco and the other time to Washington, D.C.”

Crystal looked impressed. “Well, get a seat and buckle up. We got three more stops to make.” She then yelled into the comm console. “We’re ready back here, Ms. Katie.”

The pilot responded with a laugh. “Thank you, Miss Crystal.”

Bernadine buckled her seat belt. She could have kissed Crystal for welcoming Devon the way she had. It proved that beneath the bad hair and the drug-thug tattoo beat a good heart. She vowed to remember that when times ahead with Crystal got hard, because she knew they would.

Next stop, Miami. This time the social worker was a young Black man, and beside him, standing no bigger than a minute was Zoey Raymond.

While Bernadine went outside to facilitate the transfer, inside the jet Crystal barked, “A White girl?”

Devon made his way over to Crystal’s side of the plane so that he could see out too.

Lily, who’d known about Zoey’s race, said, “Yes, Crystal, a White girl. She’s got a lot of issues, and I expect you to be as nice to her as you were to Devon.”

Devon said quietly, “She looks sad.”

Lily agreed. The little face was as pale as milk, but the bowl-cut hair and bangs were so black they made her appear almost ghostly. She was a pretty little girl though. Bernadine would be pairing her with the Paynes. They thought Sheila would be the perfect foster mother to give the girl all the special love and attention she’d need.

Crystal asked, “So what’s wrong with her?”

“She’s mute.”

Crystal looked confused.

“She doesn’t speak.”

“At all?”

Lily shook her head.

“That’s rough.”

They all watched silently as Bernadine and Zoey walked toward the plane. Devon quoted just loud enough to hear, “And when the demon had been cast out, the mute spoke.”

Lily turned to him. Crystal did as well.

“Mathew nine, verse thirty-five,” he said.

Crystal groaned like only a fourteen-year-old can, “Oh Lord. A Jesus boy.”

Lily gave his thin shoulder a small squeeze and said reassuringly, “You keep quoting the Word, Devon. We’re
going to be needing all the Scripture we can get before this is over, I’m betting.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Crystal must have taken Lily’s warning seriously because when Bernadine and Zoey got on, she said, “Hey, Zoey. I’m Crystal. Back there is Devon. They told us you can’t talk, so I don’t expect you to say hi or anything. Welcome to the family.”

Zoey dropped her head a notch in what could have been shyness or recognition or who knew, but she didn’t act afraid, and that gave Bernadine hope.

Devon said, “Hey, Zoey, you can come sit with me, if you like.”

She looked up at Bernadine, who replied, “Up to you.”

Zoey let go of Bernadine’s hand. Dressed in a battered pair of jeans and matching shirt, her pale feet stuck in green flip-flops, she went down the aisle and settled into the seat next to Devon.

Crystal was turned around watching. “She get her gum, Ms. Lily?”

Lily grinned. “I’m on it.”

“Make sure she’s buckled in, Devon,” Crystal added.

“I will.”

And once everything was done, Crystal called to Katie, “We’re ready back here, Ms. Katie. Fire this baby up!”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

A few minutes later, they were winging their way north to the Motor City.

There was no social worker waiting with Amari Steele,
but there were two uniformed police officers standing to his left and right. Bernadine had never seen an eleven-year-old in leg irons and handcuffs before, and she stared stunned as she viewed the scene from the jet’s window.

“Is that him?” Crystal asked.

Bernadine sighed, “I think so.”

Obviously impressed by the shackles and the po-po escort, Crystal said, “Now that’s gangsta.”

Devon and Zoey looked out at the window and then shared a silent glance.

Bernadine left the plane and walked over and introduced herself.

The female officer said, “Sorry about the hardware, but he got away from us a little while ago. We wanted to make sure he was here when you came to pick him up.”

Amari shrugged. “It was a Chrysler Prowler. I’ve never driven a Prowler before.”

They went on to explain that he’d given them the slip once they arrived on the airport grounds. They found him behind the wheel of a Prowler.

“You can release him now.”

Amari grinned. “Thanks, Ms. Brown. Excuse my manners. I’d shake your hand but I’m a little tied up at the moment.”