Chapter 25
The “Giving” in Thanksgiving
In the Barrington’s car, the three free-wheeling spirits were churning out a lively rendition of “Over the River and Through the Woods.” The Hakim’s car was quiet, except for the occasional cooing from Zayn who was drinking a bottle.
Veronica’s SUV was another story. Admeta and Cornelia were chatting in the backseat about how good Mrs. Hakim looked. They were surprised to see her in such good spirits. Both girls agreed that it was the best she had looked in a long time.
Meanwhile, in the front seats, Michelle and Veronica were whispering harshly. Cornelia could tell they were fighting, but she couldn’t hear what about because Veronica had turned up the back speakers blasting Christmas music in Cornelia and Admeta’s ears. The girls tried to ignore them. Occasionally Cornelia caught a phrase or two.
She could have sworn that Michelle asked, “Are you ashamed of me?”
Veronica answered, “No, of course not,” but then her voice trailed off again.
Cornelia was curious about what was going on, but Admeta didn’t seem to notice. She kept going on about how well Mrs. Hakim seemed. Both girls were hoping for a clean bill of health when Mrs. Hakim goes in for blood tests.
The streets of Over-the-River didn’t contain much life. Everyone must have been spending Thanksgiving with their families, inside where it was warm. The girls barely saw anyone pass by as the drove along. The emptiness put Cornelia’s mind at ease. She was still nervous about that part of town, especially after what happened last time.
When they arrived at the soup kitchen, it was already dark outside. The air was crisp and nipped at everyone’s noses. It was the kind of chill that could kill you if you weren’t prepared for it. Everyone helped unload the cars and then proceeded to the kitchen entrance where the girls had been before.
There was a line of people at the front door. Cornelia looked for familiar faces. She saw the man that couldn’t speak English the last time they were there, but there were no signs of anyone else she remembered. She had been hoping to see Oceanna or Talibah. She wondered where they were and how they were doing. When the group arrived in the kitchen, they were greeted by Miss Thompson.
“Samantha, you have really outdone yourself this time!” Miss Thompson said as she hugged Mrs. Hakim who was holding Zayn.
“I thought we’d be running on a skeleton crew tonight. Thank you all for coming,” Miss Thompson said to everyone.
As the group filled the counters with food, the proper introductions were made and Miss Thompson made sure to thank everyone for helping out. Cornelia was surprised to Monica from The Family Connection enter the kitchen from the dining room.
“Well, wonders never cease,” she said, looking at Cornelia.
Then she turned her attention to Mrs. Hakim. They made small talk about how much Mrs. Hakim had been missed at the health fare and how Monica hoped everything was alright. Mrs. Hakim assured her that it was and she almost made Cornelia believe her too. But Cornelia and Admeta knew something that the rest of the people in the room did not, with the exception of the Hakim family.
As soon as everyone was empty handed, Monica started barking out orders. She put Mr. Barrington and Mr. Hakim in charge of carving the turkeys. Cornelia was thankful to see that they had not only already been plucked, but were already cooked as well.
Zayn had fallen asleep on Mrs. Hakim’s shoulder, so Admeta fetched the car seat and she was placed in that, beside her mother who was overseeing the beverages. Everyone else was assigned a dish. Mrs. Barrington was next to her husband, then there was Chad, Cornelia, Admeta, Veronica and Michelle. The children were given coupons for the local drop-in center to pass out to everyone who came through the line. It was good for food or clothing or anything a person needed up to $20. Cornelia didn’t think that was much money, but she supposed that every little bit helped.
There were several other volunteers as well but they were in the kitchen making preparations or out in the dining room setting up. Miss Thompson went around to make a final check to be sure that everyone was ready and everything was in place. Then she opened the door to allow people to come in for dinner. The gate made the same screeching sound it had made the last time the girls were there and Cornelia scrunched up her cheeks.
Miss Thompson gave the same speech she had given last time about proper manners. Cornelia saw some people roll their eyes. It was as if they had heard the same speech a thousand times. Soon the line was filling up with even more people.
The food line went much as it had before, but there were a lot more people there that night. It made Cornelia sad to think that so many people had nowhere to go on Thanksgiving. Part of her felt ashamed because she didn’t think she deserved what she had.
The Hispanic man Cornelia had seen in line was one of the first people to come through. He remembered Admeta and Cornelia and he spoke to them in broken English. Admeta told him that his English was getting better and the man smiled widely. Miss Thompson wasn’t having any small talk, however, and sent the man on his way down the line.
“We’re not having any dilly-dallying today. We want everyone to get a chance in here.”
The man seemed to understand and quickly moved on to Chad who was dishing out stuffing. Inside he welled up with pride. Cornelia didn’t talk about her community service much and he was very proud of her for making a difference in people’s lives. Veronica seemed to be impressed as well, but Cornelia hadn’t noticed.
The Thanksgiving group enjoyed helping the homeless and disadvantaged. Everyone, even the people who had to stand outside in the freezing cold, seemed to be in high spirits. After about a half an hour, Cornelia saw Oceanna’s mother come in the door, but she didn’t see the little girl she had given her barrette to.
When the woman finally reached Cornelia, she said, “Hello. You’re Oceanna’s mother, aren’t you? Is she here?” Admeta gave Cornelia a hard jab in the ribs.
It was so hard that Cornelia yelled, “Ow! What was that for?!” A few people looked over, but then went back to what they were doing.
“Cornelia, I’m sorry, but you are so clueless sometimes,” Admeta said then turned to the woman and apologized for her friend.
“I don’t understand,” Cornelia said, rubbing her right side.
“It’s o.k.,” the woman said. “You were kind to Oceanna. I remember you. She still has your barrette,” she said and then paused, “at least I think she does.
“When DCFS found out we were living in the shelter, they put Oceanna in foster care,” the woman continued and then bowed her head in shame.
Cornelia could no longer feel the pain in her ribs because the pain in the pit of her stomach was much worse. Oceanna had been taken from her mother and Cornelia thought it was so unfair. After all, Oceanna had been well cared for even though she was living in a homeless shelter. Cornelia found herself wondering what sort of people Oceanna had been given to. She just couldn’t imagine. Just then Monica walked up beside the woman and put her arm around her shoulder.
“Don’t you fret, Sherry, you’re coming to the Connection on Monday to work on your resume. We’re gonna get you a job and then you’ll get Miss Oceanna back, right?”
The woman looked up at Monica with tears in her eyes and nodded her head. Monica guided her through the rest of the line. Sherry looked like a lost puppy. Then Monica escorted Sherry to a table where there were people she knew. Cornelia and Admeta looked at each other. Neither knew what to say. They just knew they were sad and wondered what was going to happen to Oceanna.
“What is DCFS?” Cornelia asked.
“Department of Child and Family Services. They’re like social workers who check on kids to make sure they’re being taken care of,” Admeta told her. Both looked sullen.
Although their spirits were dashed, they carried on with their duties. After another few minutes, Monica approached Mrs. Hakim. The two started having a conversation,
but Cornelia was too far away to hear what they were saying. Their brows were furrowed and they kept looking toward the front of the line.
When Cornelia turned to see what they were looking at, she saw Talibah. She was wearing the same tattered clothing and hijab that she had been in when the girls first met her. Cornelia wondered if they were the only clothes she owned. The girl looked frailer than before and her skin was paler. Cornelia wondered where Talibah was going to sleep. The last time she told the girls that she skipped supper in order to get a cot at the shelter. Those who came too late were turned away.
When Talibah arrived in front of Cornelia she recognized her immediately. The girls all exchanged greetings. Admeta asked the girl how she was. She was fine. Cornelia asked her where she was going to sleep tonight. Before Admeta had a chance to elbow her in the ribs again, Cornelia stepped to the side and Admeta’s elbow only caught air.
“Miss Monica said she was going to try to work something out, so I decided to eat dinner. Now that Ramadan is over I do not have to feel guilty for eating,” Talibah said with her thick brogue.
“I tried really hard to stick to my fasting, but sometimes it was just not possible.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Cornelia replied. “I know someone who was sick during Ramadan who couldn’t fast either. It’s o.k.”
Admeta looked at Cornelia with a furrowed brow. She didn’t want Cornelia to tell Mrs. Hakim’s secret. She listened to her every word, waiting to jab her elbow into Cornelia’s side if she said too much.
“You know someone else who is Muslim?” Talibah asked.
“Sure,” Cornelia said and then she thought about the irony of the situation.
Before Mrs. Hakim, Cornelia had never known anyone who was Islamic. She knew nothing about the faith except that some Muslims had murdered a bunch of people in 2001. She had not known that those people were a very small minority of misguided fundamentalists. She hadn’t known that Islam was a peaceful religion. She hadn’t realized that it wasn’t that much different than Christianity or Judaism or any other religion for that matter.
Cornelia looked at the end of the line and wondered if Monica was discussing her plan with Mrs. Hakim. That must have been why they were so intense. Miss Thompson cleared her throat and Talibah knew that was her queue to move along. The girls told her it was good to see her as she walked up to Chad’s station. Talibah smiled and moved on.
When Talibah reached the end of the line, Cornelia looked over to see Monica taking Mrs. Hakim’s place at the drinks. Zayn was still sleeping in her car seat on the floor. Mrs. Hakim told her children to stay put while she walked away with Talibah. As they walked off into the packed dining room, Cornelia lost sight of them.
The girls were shocked at the number of people they had fed. By the time the line thinned out it was standing room only in the dining room. Miss Thompson was trying to get some people to hurry up so others could have a chance to sit down and eat. The girls chuckled at her demeanor. No one in the dining room seemed to mind her pushiness. Everyone was just happy to be full.
When the last person finally went through the line there were still left-overs. Miss Thompson was tickled pink because she could save it for lunch on Friday so they wouldn’t have to do so much cooking. As the crowd began to thin out, Cornelia could see Mrs. Hakim sitting at a table with Talibah talking. After Miss Thompson pulled the gate down, Mr. Hakim picked up Zayn’s car seat gently so as not to wake her and joined them. Raja and Nazeeh helped the rest of the adults clean up and pack away the left-overs. When all was said and done, Monica told everyone they could go home.
“What about the Hakims?” Cornelia asked.
“Did you come here with the Hakims?” Monica asked.
“Well, yeah. I mean no, not in the same car…”
“Well then you don’t need to worry about them, now do you, Miss Cornelia?” Monica said very matter-of-factly.
Cornelia saw a twinge on Veronica’s face and she thought she might say something to Monica about her brash attitude. Admeta saw it too, so she jumped in to diffuse the situation.
“Can you give me a lift home Mrs. Drake?” she asked Veronica.
“Mrs. Drake,” Michelle repeated mockingly with emphasis on the “Mrs.”
“Michelle!” Veronica shouted. Everyone turned to look.
“I am sick and tired of this. I am not ashamed of you. If changing back to my maiden name will make you feel better then I’ll do it. If you want me to stand on the table, dance a jig and shout to the whole world that I’m a lesbian and I’m in love with you, then I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever you want, but you have to stop with this already!”
Everyone in the room froze except for the senior Hakims and Talibah who were too far away to hear the ruckus. Cornelia’s face was burning with embarrassment. Everyone else just looked confused. Monica put her hands on Raja and Nazeeh’s shoulders and led them to the table where their parents were sitting before they could hear anything else.
Michelle and Veronica stood looking at each other for a moment before Michelle leaned in for a kiss. Cornelia was mortified, not because two women were kissing but because one of the women was her mother. She would have been just as embarrassed if her mother had been kissing a man.
Miss Thompson laughed and said something under her breath, then she shook her head and walked into the kitchen. The Barringtons followed and so did Admeta and Cornelia. No one quite knew what else to do. It was an awkward situation all around.
The Barringtons said their good-byes and started to walk out to their car. Cornelia and Chad quickly stole a kiss and then he followed his parents. Miss Thompson walked out to put some garbage in the dumpster. Admeta and Cornelia stood quietly for a moment.
“So what do you think they’re saying to Talibah?” Admeta asked in an attempt to take Cornelia’s mind off of her mother’s outburst.
“I have no idea, but she said something about Monica helping her find a place to sleep.”
“Do you think the Hakims might be bringing her home to live with them?”
“Can they do that?” Cornelia asked.
“Sure. I guess. There’s probably some paperwork or something to fill out, but I don’t see why not.”
“That would be really cool,” Cornelia said and the girls smiled.
They heard the door open behind them and Michelle and Veronica walked in, hand in hand.
“Mother!” Cornelia said loudly.
“What, CC?” Veronica asked innocently.
“Look, I don’t care who you date or what you do behind closed doors, but do you have to make a public scene?”
“Are you homophobic all of the sudden?” Veronica snapped.
“No, I already told you, mom, I don’t care if you date men, women or circus animals just as long as I don’t have to see you doing stuff! It’s gross! You’re my mom!”
Everyone stood still for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. Cornelia was the only person not amused.
“What?” she asked.
“Circus animals, CC?”
“Well!” Cornelia screamed but then she broke down and laughed too.
That made everyone laugh even harder. Before they could stop, the noise of their laughter was interrupted by a scream coming from the side door. The women looked stunned for a moment, but then Michelle led them all outside. Cornelia’s heart started beating quickly but Michelle seemed calm. Cornelia thought she was fearless. She liked that about Michelle.
When they arrived outside, there was no sign of the Barringtons but Miss Thompson was up against a wall in the alley beside the soup kitchen. There was a man standing in front of her and several other teenage boys were standing in a semi-circle around him. Miss Thompson’s hair was tussled but she still looked as fierce as a bulldog.
“You go on home, ya hear?!” she yelled at the man in front of her.
“What the hell is going on out here?!” Michelle screamed and all of the boys turned around to
face her.
Cornelia recognized one of the boys. It was Admeta’s brother, Jorge. Admeta must have seen him too because she ran over to the boys and started screaming at them in Spanish. Veronica and Michelle started to run after her, but Cornelia stopped them.
“That’s her brother,” she said to them. Both women looked shocked. Cornelia was more worried than she let on.
Instead of running up to Jorge, Admeta headed straight for the man who was standing in front of Miss Thompson. Cornelia didn’t understand why. The two began shouting at each other, but they were still speaking Spanish and Cornelia had no idea what they were saying.
“What are they saying?” Veronica asked.
“I’m not sure. They’re talking too fast,” Michelle said. “He keeps calling her little sister, that’s all I can catch.”
“That’s not her brother,” Cornelia interrupted, “the guy in the red coat is Jorge.”
“Well he’s definitely calling her little sister,” Michelle said. “Could she have more than one brother?”
“Yeah, I think she said she has four.”
“Well that guy must be one of them,” Michelle replied.
The three women watched the scene play out. They were ready to pounce if necessary, but for the time being they were waiting to see what would happen. Admeta was putting her finger in the man’s face and Cornelia was worried he might hurt her, but all he did was laugh. The rest of the boys were laughing too.
The leader said something to the boys and all of them walked away laughing except for three boys. Cornelia figured they were all Admeta’s brothers. Jorge looked over at Cornelia and blew her a kiss. Cornelia scrunched up her face in disgust and shook her head. She relaxed a little knowing that the boys were Admeta’s brothers. She hoped Admeta could talk them into leaving Miss Thompson alone.
Then the leader spoke in English, “Why didn’t you tell me Miss Thompson was a friend of yours, little sister?” the leader said and then laughed. His accent was much thicker than Admeta’s. Cornelia remembered that Admeta’s oldest brother, Raoul, wasn’t born in America. She figured that must be him because he was the leader of the gang.
Then Raoul turned to Miss Thompson and jerked his head to the side as if he was telling her to leave. Miss Thompson didn’t hesitate. She ran right past the three women back into the soup kitchen. Before she closed the door, she yelled back at the group of boys.
“You know I’m gonna get the police down here!” she screamed and then slammed the door shut behind her. The boys laughed, but Admeta was on fire.
“You just leave her alone! Leave and don’t ever come back here. These people are trying to help people! They’re good people, Raoul!” Admeta shouted.
The boys were still laughing and they grabbed Admeta playfully and tossed from one to the other in a circle.
“Hey!” Cornelia yelled.
“CC, this isn’t a good time,” Veronica cautioned.
“Oh, look, pretty little white girl wants to save you from your own brothers, Addy. What are you two? Lesbos or something now?” Jorge asked and then all of the boys were laughing again. Cornelia heard Michelle grimace. She could see frowns on Michelle and Veronica’s faces out of the corner of her eye and she was sad for them. She wanted to speak out, but she thought anything she said would just egg the boys on.
“Get off of me!” Admeta screamed.
“Come on now, little sister, is that how you’re going to treat your brothers on Thanksgiving? You already ate without us,” one of the other boys said.
“Shut up, Vuello!” Admeta yelled at the boy. Cornelia guessed that the other boy in the green coat was Manuel. Raoul suddenly got a very serious tone.
“Yes, why did you get up early this morning and leave without us, pequeña hermana?”
“Why?! You have the nerve to ask me why?!” Admeta screamed and then broke free of the grip he had on her arm.
“This is why! Just look at you! What were you going to do to Miss Thompson if I hadn’t come out here?” she asked. Cornelia wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer to that question. Raoul looked over at the three women who were still looking on with anger and fear in their eyes.
“This is a family matter, pequeña hermana. We’ll talk about it at home. We have to go. That Thompson woman called the cops.”
“Go then! No one is stopping you,” Admeta yelled and then took a few steps back. The women could hear sirens in the distance. Raoul heard them too. He signaled to his brothers the same way he had signaled to Miss Thompson, and the boys started walking away. Raoul stood staring at his little sister for a moment and then he joined his brothers and their pace quickened. They soon disappeared around the corner and all of the women breathed a little sigh of relief.
Admeta walked back over to the women and they asked her if she was o.k. She said that she was, but they kept asking if she was sure.
“Look, I’m fine, o.k.? My brothers would never hurt me,” she said with an odd sense of pride and indignation.
“Admeta, do you want to spend the night at our house tonight?” Veronica asked.
“Thanks, Mrs. Drake, but I’ll be fine. Besides when my brothers are running the streets they don’t come home to sleep. It will be just me and my dad. By the way, I’m sorry for what my brother said, you know…”
“It’s o.k.,” Veronica interrupted, “you aren’t responsible for what your brothers say or do.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to spend the night?” Cornelia offered.
“Yes, I’m sure, CC,” Admeta said.
With that the women got into Veronica’s SUV and headed to Admeta’s house. They weren’t going to wait around for the police. They spent the ride in silence, everyone quietly reflecting on the evening’s events. The sound of Christmas music filled the car and a few snowflakes began to fall. The ground was still too warm for the snow to stick, but it was beautiful coming down and both girls looked out their windows to watch and wonder.
Writers on the Storm Page 25
