Blessings in Disguise

by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

  “Aunt Teela, please. Can you hear me out?”

  My aunt gave me a sideways glance and pursed her lips. I started to wonder if it was a good idea to come to her in the first place. But I decided there was just no other way. I wanted to find my father as quickly as possible and I just knew my best shot was with my aunt.

  “Well, I need your help,” I said.

  “Just call me the friendly family helper.”

  I looked down at the floor, then back up at my aunt. I just couldn’t find the right words to say what I wanted.

  “Look, Jasmine, you need to spit it out. Ain’t nobody got all day. Whatever your problem is, you not the first and you ain’t gonna be the last to deal with it. So come on here,” Aunt Teela said.

  “Okay.” I nodded. “You’re right, so here goes: I want to know if you could help me find my father.”

  Aunt Teela’s head snapped back as if I’d slapped her. She looked confused.

  “You want what? I mean, you ain’t pregnant?”

  “Pregnant? I’m not even…Never mind that, Auntie. I need you to tell me what you know about my father. I just want to talk to him. I can’t talk to Mom about it, because, well, we both know how she feels about him.”

  “That’s what this is all about? You’re just looking for your father?” Aunt Teela threw her head back and started laughing. “I thought you had gone out there and gotten yourself knocked up.” She hesitated a minute like she was debating whether she should say anything. She shrugged, then shook her head. “Your daddy lives right down the road in Galveston,” Aunt Teela said easily. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but I been telling Jetola for years she needs to be honest with you. You ain’t but about forty-five minutes from him.”

  My eyes got wide. “What do you mean, he lives in Galveston?”

  “Galveston or La Marque, one of them,” Aunt Teela said like she hadn’t just dropped a bombshell on me.

  I shook my head in disbelief. “Auntie, is it Galveston or La Marque?”

  “It’s one of them, just go to a school board meeting, you’ll find him. Shoot, you can’t miss him. You look just like him.”

  “I do?” I was having a hard time processing the idea that my father was less than an hour away.

  “Yes, you do! I mean, just like him. No siree, Frank Sanders can’t deny you.”

  I stared at her. I had so many questions. Had my father tried to deny me?

  “Anyway, chile,” Aunt Teela continued, “he’s the superintendent of one of the school districts or some other important position like that down there.”

  “Did he know about me? Why didn’t he ever try to get in touch with me? What’s he like?” I rushed the questions out.

  “Jasmine, what I done said already gon’ start a holy war. You want more answers, you gon’ have to get them from your mama. Or your daddy.” She pushed back from the table and started putting dishes in the sink.

  “Hmm, wait ’til I tell Evelyn you was just looking for your daddy. Girl, I thought you really needed help with something,” she said.

  “Auntie, you seem disappointed that that’s all I wanted,” I said. It was time for me to go. I had a lot to process.

  “Shoot, I could’ve told you that over the phone, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “Well, sorry to disappoint you by not having really bad news for you to help me with…but I really appreciate your help with this.” I stood up as well.

  “You know your mother is going to be hot with me, right?” Aunt Teela asked, not seeming the least bit worried.

  “I know, and I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” Aunt Teela said. I swore I heard her laugh again as I made my way out the door.

  I had caught the bus straight from Auntie Teela’s to the meeting. I gathered Camille, Angel, and Alexis around so that I could fill them in on the details about my father.

  “So if he’s just right down the road in La Marque or Galveston, then we just go there and find him. It’s not like he’s far away,” Camille said matter-of-factly.

  I sighed. “Yeah, but what do you expect me to do? I can’t just show up at the next school board meeting and say, ‘I’d like to add an item to the agenda—Hey Mr. Superintendent, I’m your long-lost daughter. Where have you been all my life?’”

  “I don’t know about that, but what’s the point in knowing exactly where he is if we’re not going to do anything about it?” Alexis questioned. “Even though he works my nerves, I can’t even think about life without my father. And if something prevented us from being together and I found out he was somewhere, girl, wild horses wouldn’t keep me away.”

  I decided to say what was really on my mind. “I just can’t believe he’s been less than an hour away and he has never even tried to contact me. Maybe I should just leave well enough alone,” I said, defeated.

  Angel, who had been quiet most of the time, finally spoke. “I think you should go meet him, hear what he has to say. Then decide after that if you need to ever be bothered with him again.”

  “We’ll go with you,” Alexis said. She looked around at the other girls. “My cousin is a private investigator, so I’ll have him do a little digging first, check to see if he’s in Galveston or La Marque. Then we’ll see if it’s even possible for him to be your father.”

  “Your cousin could find all of that out?” I asked.

  “Girl, please. My cousin is the best in the business. If there’s dirt to be found, he’ll find it. Then we’ll see which night they have their school board meeting on. We’ll make sure we’re there early to catch him before he goes in. If not, we can stay late if we have to,” she said.

  I stared at my friends. They were serious as a heart attack. It was amazing how close we’d grown over the last year, especially because we were all so different. I couldn’t help but smile.

  “It’s great knowing y’all got my back,” I said.

  “Always,” Camille said.

  “That’s what friends are for,” Alexis sang.

  We all playfully groaned. “Please, do not break out into the Dionne Warwick song,” Camille said.

  “I’m mad that you even know who sings that song,” I told Camille.

  We laughed until Rachel came in and started the meeting.

  17

  T he lunch bell had just rung, and people came racing out of the classrooms and into the halls as if someone was giving away free money. I stood by my locker wondering how no one was ever run over during these stampedes. Usually, I’d wait for my girls near Camille’s locker, but I wanted to have lunch with Donovan today.

  When he walked up and gave me a kiss on the cheek, I nearly melted right there in the hallway. It didn’t hurt that Tori had walked by at that exact moment.

  “I thought we could get pizza for lunch,” he said as he took my hand and led me toward the cafeteria. I surveyed the packed and crowded cafeteria. Several cliques were in their normal spots.

  Camille, Angel, and some other girls were off in the corner near the vending machines. And in the middle of all the chaos, Donovan took me by the arm and carefully guided me past the punkers, the skaters, and the cheerleaders, who sat staring at us. Even though it had been two months, people were still having a hard time understanding how the newest, cutest boy in school wanted me.

  We walked over to a table near his teammates.

  I sat down and Donovan went to get our Papa John’s pizza from the vendor. The cheerleaders were still staring at us. I had no doubt Tori was dogging me out, but I knew she was just sick because she wanted Donovan. She wasn’t used to rejection.

  “I hope you like sausage. They ran out of pepperoni,” Donovan said as he came back to the table. He put the box down in front of me. Before sliding next to me, he dug two sodas out of his pockets.

  “By the way, our basketball banquet is coming up. I’m supposed to be getting an award. My coaches from New Orleans are coming up to present it to me. I was supposed to get it before the hurricane,” he said. />
  “Oh, wow. What’s it for?”

  “It’s for being a McDonald’s All-American. It’s supposed to be a really big deal.” He took a sip of his soda. “But what would make it special was if you were there to share the award with me.”

  I blushed. Donovan always knew the right things to say and do. He was unlike any boy I’d ever met. I couldn’t even believe I was getting all wrapped up in a boy. I was getting like Camille. But the funny part was, I wasn’t even complaining.

  I was a little worried that Donovan would pressure me for sex—I just didn’t think I was ready to take it there. I heard all the time how the boys were always trying to get in your pants. Donovan asked me about having sex one time and when I told him I was a virgin, he seemed happy and hadn’t really brought it up since. Come to think of it, he never did say whether he was a virgin or not. But as fine as he is, I doubt it very seriously.

  “Do you get any money with that award?” I said as I realized he was waiting for an answer. “Can I share that, too?” I joked.

  He leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips. “You know it, baby. What’s mine is yours.”

  “It must not be any money with it.”

  “Nope. Not a dime.” He laughed.

  We continued kidding around as we finished up our lunch. Just before the bell rang, Camille and Angel stopped by our table.

  “Hey, Donovan,” Angel said.

  “Hey ladies,” he greeted them.

  “Jaz, are you riding home with us today?” Camille asked.

  I looked at Donovan before answering. “It’s okay with you, right? I mean, we can hook up later.”

  “Oh, yeah.” He nodded, stuffing the last of his pizza into his mouth. “You know I got practice after school, so I’ll call you later.”

  “So, meet at my locker?” Camille said.

  “Alexis called. She got some information about that meeting in La Marque,” Angel commented.

  My eyes grew wide. “No way!”

  “I told you we’d handle it,” Camille said. “But we can talk about it later.”

  I was shocked. It had only been a couple of days. I never expected anything to come of that.

  “My locker at three forty-five,” Camille tossed over her shoulder, before she and Angel mixed into the crowd flowing toward the cafeteria doors.

  I had a hard time making it through the day. I could hardly concentrate.

  Alexis and Trina met us after school at the Starbucks in Meyerland Plaza. Camille and Angel wouldn’t give me any info until we got to the coffee shop, saying all Alexis had told them was that we should meet at Starbucks.

  Once we arrived at the coffee shop, we saw Trina and Alexis already sitting at a small table in the corner.

  “Ewwww…What’s wrong with you, Jasmine?” Alexis said as we approached the table. She must’ve been talking about the distressed look on my face. “I would think you’d be happy about getting information on your father.”

  “Nah, it’s nothing like that,” I admitted as I sat down.

  “Well, what’s wrong, then?” Trina said.

  I sighed. “Well, it’s just Donovan asked me to the basketball banquet, and of course I have nothing to wear.”

  Alexis laughed. “Who would have ever thought Jasmine Jones would be worried about what she’s wearing?”

  “On the real.” Camille chuckled.

  “You’re joking about not having anything to wear, right?” Trina said. “I mean, you saw how easily we solved that problem for the homecoming dance.”

  “No, I’m not joking,” I replied. “And the homecoming dance was a onetime thing.”

  “Girl, please, you know all you gotta do is go pick up something at the mall, and I do mean ‘pick up,’” Trina joked.

  I rolled my eyes. That was Trina’s answer to everything. “Come on, y’all, I don’t even want to get into that right now. Let’s talk about what you found out,” I said, turning my attention to Alexis.

  The banquet was a whole three weeks away. I figured if nothing else, I’d find a way to buy a new dress before then. I’d been saving a little money in a jar hidden in the back of my closet. I had about fifty dollars. Worst case scenario, I’d use that.

  Alexis shifted in her seat. You could tell she was excited. “Okay, my cousin did some checking. It’s a woman over the Galveston School District and an old, fat, Jewish man over the Texas City School District, which is right next to La Marque. I figure the woman is out and so is the old, fat, Jewish man, unless there’s something you’re not telling us, Jasmine.”

  “Yeah, right. I’m half Jewish.” I swatted at her. “Quit playing and finish.”

  “Okay, it was pretty much the same story at all the districts in that area down there, except for the La Marque School District. Wanna guess what their superintendent’s name is?”

  I looked at her, stunned. “Frank?”

  She nodded. “Dr. Frank Sanders. A tall, good-looking black man.”

  I leaned back in my seat at a loss for words. Could that actually be my father?

  “Turns out, he is married,” Alexis continued. “Has been for twenty years. Pretty straitlaced. Clean record, pillar of the community. Oh yeah, except for a little affair he had sixteen years ago.”

  “My mother?”

  “I’m assuming so. My cousin said he wasn’t able to find out who it was with since it was so long ago. Only that his wife filed for a divorce, saying he had been unfaithful. She ended up staying with him.”

  I shook my head in disbelief, trying to take everything in.

  “Your cousin is off the chain,” Trina said.

  “Tell me about it. He has his own private investigation company and can find out just about anything,” Alexis said.

  “You think he can find out where Osama bin Laden is?” Trina asked.

  Camille blew a breath. “Do they ever shut up on your planet?”

  Trina shrugged and leaned back in her chair. “I could use the reward money, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “Man, this is great news,” Angel said to me.

  “I think so,” Alexis said. “I did some checking on my own and found out the La Marque School Board meets the first Tuesday of every month at seven. So, I figured we just need to show up about thirty minutes early and catch your dad before he walks into the building.”

  “Just like that, huh?” I asked.

  “Just like that.” Camille added, “Girl, I’m all excited about this. I can’t believe your daddy’s been right here in the same state, same city almost, and you had no idea.”

  “I know.” I gazed out the window of the coffee shop. I couldn’t believe it, either. But what I really couldn’t believe was the fact that this man had a daughter less than an hour’s drive away and he had no interest in her whatsoever.

  “Did he know about me?” I asked without looking away from the window.

  “I don’t know,” Alexis said. “That’s all my cousin could find out. At least, that’s all he would find out for free.”

  I didn’t want to admit it to my friends, but I was most worried about what would happen if I went to see him and he refused to claim me. To have my own father reject me again would be devastating. And to have him do it in front of my friends…I just didn’t know if I could handle that.

  I closed my eyes. Maybe telling them about this hadn’t been a good idea after all.

  “So I guess the question is, are we going to La Marque or not?” Angel said.

  This was all so overwhelming to me.

  “Hey, guys, I really love you all for what y’all did. You know, with finding my dad and all, but I’m just not ready yet. I mean, how often do they have these school board meetings?” I asked.

  “Once a month,” Alexis said.

  “Well, maybe by next month I’ll be ready to go. Right now, I just can’t. I hope you guys aren’t mad at me.” I offered up a weak smile.

  Oh, I was going—I just wasn’t going with them. Nope, to have my mother totally embarrass me
was one thing, but to then have my father do it as well? That was a chance I didn’t want to take. But I was definitely going. I couldn’t wait until Tuesday.

  18

  I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and said a silent prayer. When I was done, I exhaled and walked around the corner of the massive building. I didn’t know what I would do if this didn’t work. I hadn’t planned that far in advance. I had lied to Aunt Teela and told her that I had my driver’s license so she’d let me use her car to drive down here. That had been like pulling teeth. I think Aunt Teela gave me the car just so I would have to come straight to her house when I got back and I’d be able to fill her in. Luckily, I did know how to drive, thanks to driver’s ed and a few spins around the block with Alexis as my coach.

  It took me a minute to get down there because I was careful to drive the speed limit. I parked, then walked up to the door of the administration building and pulled it open. There was a receptionist sitting at the desk. She got a strange look across her face when she saw me walk up to her desk.

  “Um, I’m here to see Mr. Sanders. He’s the superintendent, right?” I was so nervous, I thought I was going to pass out.

  The woman looked at me like she had seen a ghost.

  “Dr. Sanders is here. But do you have an appointment? He’s got a meeting he’s preparing for,” she said, looking nervously around.

  I looked around the lobby. I saw a closed door straight ahead with his name on it. I thought about just running back there and telling him who I was. The woman must’ve read my mind.

  “Why don’t I tell him that you’re here? What’s your name?” She finally smiled.

  “Um, my name?”

  “Yes, dear, your name. You can’t go in to see the superintendent if I don’t know your name. How will I announce you?”

  I fought back the tears that were threatening to come through. I was this close to finally meeting my father, something I’d dreamt about for years. “My name is Jasmine, um, Jasmine Jones,” I mumbled.

  Before we could finish our conversation, a voice rang out.

  “Miss Brewisky, I need you to…” He stopped speaking. When I looked up, I thought I was staring into a mirror. Sure, he was an older man, but he was tall like me, had the same cheekbones, same eyes, same color skin, even the same sandy brown hair. He was frowning from confusion, but there was no denying we had to be related.