“How’d it go?” Thad asked.
“Fracture of the tibia just below the knee. They put him in a cast.”
“He should be glad she didn’t break that stick over his head,” Tamar said. “He had no business hitting her that way.”
“I agree. He wants to know if she’ll date him.”
Tamar rolled her eyes. “First he’ll have to go through Preston and then write her an essay on string theory.”
Griff chuckled. “I told him probably not. Although he may be able to write the essay. Kid’s pretty smart when he’s not being an idiot.” He then asked his grandfather, “Are we heading home tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Good. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night.”
“Thanks, Griffin,” Thad said.
Once they were alone again, Tamar said, “Your grandson is a blessing. Where would you be without him to handle things?”
“Dead already. For sure.”
The fireworks ended a short while later, and as her neighbors and family members left to seek their beds, a weary Tamar closed up the house, looked in on the sleeping Eula, and climbed the stairs to seek her own. “I’m getting too old for this,” she groused to the night. “Way too old.”
As soon as her head hit the pillow she slid into sleep.
She was walking through a large cave. Was she inside the mountain, she wondered. She sensed that she was. Off in the distance drums called softly. The air was filled with the faint, sweet scent of wood smoke flavored with the smells of sofkee, the traditional Seminole corn soup, and tetta poon, a sweet spicy pie made from yams. The now familiar caw of the harpy eagle drew her eyes up to see it perched on a rocky niche high above. No longer wearing a woman’s features, it unfurled its massive wings and took flight deeper into the interior. Tamar followed and noted raptors of all types watching her from the cracks and crevices of the cave’s surrounding walls. Snowy owls, falcons, red-tailed hawks, golden eagles. As she passed them, they each sounded a cry before flying off in the direction the harpy eagle had taken.
The passage progressively narrowed until she was standing in a room carved out of the rock. In the center, a large cooking pot sat atop a small fire. Stirring the contents was a tall thin woman dressed in calico. Her hair was hidden beneath a red headwrap accented with cowrie shells. The woman turned, and a shocked Tamar stared into a face that was her own. The woman smiled. “Yes, it is you, but also me. I am the First. You are the Second, the me that walks the earth.”
As Tamar tried to make sense of that, a young girl stepped out of the shadows. She appeared to be in her teens. Unlike First Tamar she wore a snow-white modern blouse and pleated skirt and on her feet were beautiful shoes made of feathers and jewels. She looked familiar but Tamar couldn’t put a name to her face.
“Thank you for easing my passage,” the girl said. “Let Julia know we will talk when her time comes.”
Tamar’s eyes widened and she scanned the young girl’s features again. Eula!
First Tamar said, “You’ve been doubting your purpose, but you’ve done well by our clan. Go home now. We will meet again.”
Tamar awakened the next morning to rain. Thunder rumbled in the distance. She had a vague sense of last night’s dream. As she sat up in bed, the cobwebs of sleep finally parted, and she remembered. Eula! Grabbing her robe and pushing her feet into her slippers, she hurried down the stairs. The door to the bedroom was closed. She hesitated. She didn’t want to go inside even though she knew she must. Turning the knob, she entered. Eula was lying in bed. “Eula?” she called softly.
Hoping the dream had been wrong, Tamar crossed to the bedside. Eula wore a peaceful smile, which Tamar met with a bittersweet one of her own. Bending over, she placed her ear against Eula’s chest and heard only silence. She straightened and gently stroked a finger down her cheek. “I wish we’d found each other before you got sick. We would’ve had such a good time. Rest in peace, cousin.”
Leaving the room, Tamar walked across the hall to tell Thad that Eula was gone.
Eula had asked for cremation so Tamar and Thad honored her wish. And because Eula specifically asked that there not be a lot of fuss, as she termed it, Tamar chose not to wait for the widespread clan to arrive. Instead, she, Thad and his cubs held a simple ceremony for her in Henry Adams. Seated in the church and listening to the singers raise their voices in the traditional songs meant to ease a soul’s journey into the next world, Tamar thought about her dreams. She hadn’t told Thad or anyone else about them. First Tamar had visited Amari a few years ago, so maybe she’d talk with him about them when he got older, but for the moment, she kept the memory in her heart and wondered how long it might be before she once again looked into the face that was her own.
Chapter 17
“Lucas!”
Lying in bed, Lucas opened his eyes and stared sleepily up at Wyatt. “What?” he asked groggily.
“Zoey’s mom said we can help her paint today. Do you want to come?”
“Not really,” he replied without thinking, but Wyatt looked so disappointed, Lucas pushed the covers aside and sat up. “What time is it?”
“Six forty-five. Gram said she’d drop us off on her way to work, but we have to be ready so she won’t be late.”
Lucas groaned inwardly. “Zoey was the one cussing, Wyatt. Not us.”
“I know but she’s my girl. I have to help. Wait until you see the fence. It’s a mile long.”
Lucas had planned on going to the pool, hanging out at the rec, and diving into Harry Potter number five. Painting a fence had not been on the agenda. “Is Gram already up?”
“Yes. She’s cooking breakfast.”
Lucas could smell bacon frying now that it was pointed out. “Okay. Let me brush my teeth and get dressed. I’ll be downstairs in a minute. Is Jaz going, too?”
“I don’t know. I came to you first. I’ll ask her. Hurry up so we don’t miss our ride.”
“Okay. Okay,” Lucas said.
“Thanks, man.”
Guessing this is how brothers were supposed to support each other, he smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Downstairs, Gram and Wyatt were already at the table when Lucas entered the kitchen.
“Morning, Lucas,” she said.
“Good morning.”
“You’re going to help Zoey?”
“I guess. Yeah.” He got a plate and added scrambled eggs, bacon, and two pieces of toast. He sat and poured himself some juice. “Is Jaz going?”
Wyatt shook his head.
Jaz came in on the heels of that. “I told Ms. Gen I’d help her and Tamar get ready for the movies tomorrow.”
Lucas wished he had a legitimate excuse to blow off paint duty but again reminded himself that he was doing this for Wyatt.
They finished breakfast and piled into the car. Nothing in Henry Adams was very far away so the ride was a short one, but Lucas was still getting used to the wide tracts of open land and how quiet it was.
Gram dropped them off at Ms. Marie’s, then she and Jaz went on their way. Zoey and Devon were already working on the fence, but paused when Lucas and Wyatt walked up. To Lucas it did look a mile long.
“Thanks for coming,” Zoey said, looking miserable. She had specks of the white paint on her face, in her hair, and on her tee and shorts.
Wyatt asked, “How long have you been out here?”
“Not long,” Devon answered. “Zoey was already here when my dad brought me.”
She added, “I’m glad my mom said you guys could start helping today. This is hard, and there’s still a bunch to do. I will never do this again.”
“Me neither,” Devon said. “I hated it when I did it.”
“Where do we get brushes and stuff?” Lucas asked.
“Ms. Marie. She’s sitting on the porch with my mom and Tamar.”
Lucas saw them.
Wyatt said, “Okay. Be right back.”
As they set out, Lucas asked, “You sure it’s okay f
or us to help her?”
Wyatt nodded.
“How about the other kids? Amari and Brain? Are they coming to help, too?”
He shrugged. “They’ve had to paint this fence twice since they came to live here, so I’m not sure if they want to do it again.”
“What did they do?”
“They got busted being on some adult websites. Not sure what they did the other time, but this is how Henry Adams punishes kids. Amari said, when his dad was growing up back in the day he had to paint the fence, too.”
Lucas had never heard of kids being punished this way. “Have you ever had to do it?”
“No. Not planning on it, either.”
When they reached the porch, Ms. Marie said, “Morning, boys. Are you here to help?”
They nodded. Lucas gave Tamar a quick glance. He still worried that helping Zoey wouldn’t be okay with the adults and expected her to say something to that effect. Instead, Ms. Marie handed them brushes, plastic paint trays, and some rags. “There’s plenty of water down there. Make sure you drink it so you don’t fall out in the sun.”
Lucas wondered how long Wyatt planned to stay. They were supposed to be chilling at the pool, not risking heatstroke because some dumb girl couldn’t control her mouth.
Zoey’s mom said, “Thanks for being Zoey’s friends.”
Lucas didn’t want to be a friend, he wanted to be elsewhere, but he walked with Wyatt back out to the mile-long fence and kept his grumbling to himself.
Having dropped Jaz off at the rec, Gemma turned in to the parking lot of the store and smiled upon remembering the annoyance on Lucas’s face when he got out of the car at Marie’s. He was obviously not down with helping Zoey handle her punishment, and Gemma understood. Back in the day Ms. Miami would’ve gotten the belt for pulling a stunt like that, but Gemma applauded him for agreeing because Wyatt asked him to.
The store hadn’t opened the doors to the public yet, so once inside, she went through the regular check-in routine and made her way to her assigned checkout lane. So far, there’d been no news on the assistant manager job. She was doing her best to be patient and hoped Gary would make the announcement soon. The rumors were that three people had applied, including Wilson “Elvis” Hughes, but she didn’t know how true they were.
She was signing in to her register when Gary Clark’s voice came over the speaker system. “Good morning, everyone. Doors are about to open. Have a great shift.”
And Gemma’s day began.
It was a slow morning, but what it lacked in traffic it made up for in small-town drama. Mrs. Beadle was escorted from the store again for yet another incident of drinking while shopping. A pair of college boys were caught with packages of steaks stuffed down their jeans. Their wide-legged walks caught the attention of Colonel Payne’s security crew, and the kids were collared before they made it to the exit. Pictures of someone’s bare behind began appearing on the shelves a few days ago, and so far, the high-tech cameras had been unable to identity the culprit, who, from the pictures, looked to be a hairy white male. A few more were found that morning nestled in the freezer amongst the bags of frozen corn and beneath bottles of fabric softener. The amused staff had taken to calling the derriere selfies butties and couldn’t wait for the person responsible to be exposed.
On Gemma’s way to lunch, she was stopped by head cashier Sybil Martin. “Mr. Clark wants to see you in his office,” she said, and without further explanation, rushed off. Sybil seemed to be in a constant rush lately, probably because Alma still hadn’t returned and Sybil was being forced to do her job. Alone.
Gemma smiled at Gary’s secretary, Myra, and knocked lightly on his closed door. When he called her in, she stepped inside. “Thanks for coming. Have a seat please.”
With butterflies in her stomach, she complied and wondered if this was about the job opening or if she was going to be blindsided by something terrible.
“First, congratulations. You’re my choice for assistant manager.”
Her jaw dropped. She wanted to jump with joy but forced herself to stay seated. “Thank you.”
“You’re an outstanding candidate and I’m looking forward to working with you.”
Gemma didn’t know what else to say other than thank you, seven hundred more times, so she sat and listened.
“And, so you’ll know, I’m going to be letting Sybil go.”
Gemma stilled.
He continued. “With Alma gone, it’s clear just how unqualified she is to be head cashier.”
Gemma agreed. With her in charge, the cashier schedule was in chaos. A few days ago, they’d been short three people and yesterday, too many people had shown up for the morning shift. She asked hesitantly, “Is Alma coming back?”
“No. She’s resigned. Apparently, there are family issues needing her attention.”
His tone made Gemma wonder if he’d seen the playback of the visit by Alma’s sister but she didn’t ask.
“In reality though, I fired her. For harassment. I saw the tape of the two of you in the break room and the one of you and her sister. It wasn’t the first time she’s tried to bulldoze her way over an employee, and she’d been warned.”
Gemma hated being petty but she was pleased she’d gotten the axe. Sybil’s fate gave her pause though, mostly because of her status as a single mom. “Everyone knows Sybil isn’t qualified to be head cashier and truthfully, she and I don’t get along, but how about she be moved back to a cashier position? She has a son. She needs her job.”
Gary studied her silently for what seemed like such a long time, she thought maybe he hadn’t wanted her opinion, but finally he nodded. “And that’s one of the reasons I chose you, Gemma.”
She was confused.
“You’re qualified on paper, but your empathy put you above the other candidates. The assistant manager deals directly with the staff. You hire. You fire. And even though Alma’s mini me has been treating you badly, you’re able to separate yourself from that and do what’s best for her as an employee.”
“I’m a single mom, too. I know how hard it can be trying to make ends meet.”
“Your first duty will be to give me some recommendations on who should replace her.”
Gemma paused. “Do I have to tell her?”
He smiled. “No. I will.”
She blew out a breath of relief. “Okay.”
“Myra has some paperwork pertaining to your new position for you to look over and sign. Your first full day on the job starts tomorrow at eight a.m., which will also be your report time from now on. Will that be a problem with the kids?”
She did some hasty thinking. “No. We’ll work it out.”
“What about your classes?”
“The term ends in about two weeks, and we only meet two evenings a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
“Then we’ll work your training around that. There will be some night shift involvement too, so you can learn what goes on around here when we’re closed. Stocking, maintenance, that sort of thing.”
Her head was spinning. Amari, Preston, and Leah were part of the night stocking crew and she knew they’d help her get acclimated.
They spent a few more minutes discussing the ins and outs, and then Gary walked her into what would be her office. She looked around the space and fought back her tears. It was small with a window that overlooked the open field behind the parking lot, but she didn’t care about the size or that it once belonged to Alma. It was hers now. A year ago, when she first moved back to Kansas without a job or a place to live, she never imagined ending up here. And as if having read her mind, Gary said, “You’ve earned it, Gemma. You’ve worked hard.”
Emotion clogging her throat, she whispered, “Thanks for your faith in me.”
“You made it easy. Now, go home, tell the kids. Have a celebratory burger at the Dog then be back here in the morning. Eight o’clock sharp.”
Determined not to let the tears escape in front of him, she nodded. After he exited, she look
ed around the space again and a few tears did escape. Dashing them away, she took in the desk with its computer on top and the chair pushed in close. She eyed the coat rack and the small bare bookcase against the wall. This is mine! Mine! Walking to the window, she looked out and there below in the parking lot was her old gray Taurus. She still hadn’t heard anything from the sheriff, but presently didn’t care. The car now belonged to the new assistant manager, which meant she’d have a dedicated parking spot, and she laughed at the crazy change in her status. Gemma Dahl, former pregnant teenager and town pariah was now somebody, and it felt amazing.
She didn’t know if Gary had made the announcement over the speaker system or what, but by the time she finished up the paperwork with Myra and went back downstairs to grab her purse from her locker, seemingly everyone knew about her promotion. Her co-workers applauded and shouted congrats as she made her way through the store, causing the customers to stare on curiously. She got a thumbs-up from Otto Newsome in the meat department, and a series of exaggerated bows from smiling butcher Candy Stevens, whose purple hair was now highlighted with strands of emerald green. She ran into Edith in the locker room and Edith hugged her tight. “Congratulations, Gem.”
“Thanks, and thanks for being such a good friend. We’re going to need a new head cashier. Do you want the job?”
The older woman shot her a look. “Like I told you before, I’m smarter than that.”
Gemma laughed. “If you think of someone less smart, let me know and I’ll add them to my list.” She already had one candidate in mind.
“Will do.”
Feeling like a million bucks, Gemma left the store and was on her way to her car when she heard someone call her name. Turning back, she saw Sybil approaching. Bracing herself because who knew what the woman had to say, Gemma waited for her to close the distance.
“What can I do for you, Sybil?”
“Mr. Clark told me how you went to bat for me so I wouldn’t get fired.”
Chasing Down a Dream Page 24
