“When I told him I was pregnant, he responded by telling me he was going back to his wife. I was heartbroken. I still intended for him to be a part of your life, but when I met Donna…” My mother paused and laughed. “Boy, I tell you, Donna is crazy with a capital C. I even had to get a restraining order against her. I swore that she would never be around you. She hated me, hated you, and told me on numerous occasions if I had you, she would make our lives miserable. And when Frank went along with her, I just knew it was better off to pretend he was dead. I knew no matter what, I didn’t want you around all that.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. She’d kept me from my father to protect me from Donna’s wrath? Suddenly I felt so guilty.
“Mama, I had no idea,” I said softly.
“How could you?” My mother slapped her hands on her lap. “But enough with this depressing stuff. I took off today so we could spend the day together.”
“You took off from work.” I reached over and put my hand to her head. “Are you feeling okay?”
My mother slapped my hand away. “Ha, ha. Very funny. I thought we could all go to CiCi’s Pizza.”
I groaned. “Mama, I’m too old to celebrate my birthday at CiCi’s. Plus, you know Granny is not going to eat any pizza.”
My mother laughed. “You’re right. Let’s go pick up some Chinese food.”
“That sounds good,” I said as I jumped off my bed. I couldn’t remember the last time I went anywhere with my mother. “Let me throw on another shirt.”
“Put on that cute green top I like,” she said, referring to one of the few gifts she had ever bought me. “I’ll be waiting up front.”
“Where is everybody?” I asked after I’d changed and walked out into the living room.
“I think your sister’s boyfriend took her and the boys to the store.”
“All of ’em?”
“He has his daddy’s SUV.”
“Oh.” The apartment didn’t feel the same without their stuff everywhere and them laying out all across the sofa and floor. I smiled as I thought about how happy I was to be back home.
We locked up and headed downstairs to my mother’s car. “Oh, baby,” my mom said just as I was about to get in the car. “I forgot to pick up this box I ordered. They said they left it right inside by the clubhouse door. Will you run over there and get it for me?”
“Is it my present?”
“It just might be,” my mother smiled.
“Ooooh,” I said as I took off toward the clubhouse.
I looked around outside the clubhouse wondering why they’d leave the door open when it was after six. I gently pushed the door open. Just as I did the lights flicked on.
“Surprise!” everyone yelled.
I looked around the room in total shock. All of my friends were there—Camille, Angel, Alexis. All my siblings. Several people from school. A couple of my cousins. Even Miss Rachel and her niece, Tameka. I turned around to find my mother standing right behind me.
“Happy Birthday, baby.”
I knew I was going to lose it. I hadn’t had a birthday party since I was five years old. “Thank you, Mama,” I said as I threw my arms around her and squeezed her tightly.
“You need to be thanking me,” my grandmother said as she walked up to me. “I’m the one who’s been slaving in the kitchen all day cooking up this gumbo.”
I hugged my grandmother. “Granny, you told me that gumbo was for the church.”
“Well, the Lord lets me lie every now and then, long as it’s for a good cause.” She chuckled.
I laughed as I made my way through the clubhouse. I hugged a few people, stopped and talked to others before Jaquan’s friend, Chris, dragged me out on the dance floor. I started to protest because Chris was a booger bear if I ever seen one. But I decided I would just have a good time tonight and not worry about anything else.
Alexis stopped me right before I got on the dance floor. “Hey, girl. Happy birthday.”
“Hey yourself. Thank you. I can’t believe all of this.”
“Can you believe we kept it a secret? Your mom called us last week.”
“What? I was still with my dad then.”
“I know, but she said she was still having a party for you. Apparently she’d been planning it for a while.”
I looked over at my mom as she talked with some neighbors. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Anyway,” Alexis said, looking at Chris, “I see your dance partner is getting impatient. You’d better get back to him.”
Chris didn’t even try to fake a smile as he all but dragged me onto the dance floor.
I’d only planned to dance one song, but when the next one came on, I didn’t want to leave the dance floor. I had my eyes closed as I made a slow twirl on the dance floor. “Man, I love this song,” I said as I turned back around to Chris. “It’s—”
“Your favorite song in the world,” Donovan said.
I stopped dancing and looked around for Chris, who didn’t look too happy as he danced with Camille on the other side of the dance floor.
“I hope you don’t mind. I just couldn’t stand watching that boy all up on my girl,” Donovan said.
I didn’t know how to respond. “Oh, so I’m your girl now?” I said, raising my eyebrows.
“If you wanna be.”
“What about Tori?”
“What about her?”
“I thought she was your girl.”
Donovan leaned in so close I could feel the heat in his breath. I looked around nervously, hoping my mother wasn’t watching. She wasn’t. But my grandmother sure was. I backed up a little.
“I never have wanted Tori. I wanted you. You can barely go out on dates and you work my nerves. But I still wanted you.”
I suddenly realized we were just standing in the middle of the dance floor, so I started swaying a little bit to the music.
“Want ed sounds like past tense to me,” I said, finally loosening up.
“Then I want to be with you. You know I’m flunking English,” he joked.
I laughed.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Donovan. You just don’t know the drama I’ve been through these last few days.”
He stopped dancing again. “I know. Angel and Camille filled me in. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
My eyes got big. I know my girls didn’t sell me out like that and tell him about me getting arrested.
“I know how bad you wanted to have a relationship with your dad. I hate that his wife just up and decided she didn’t want you there.”
I relaxed as I realized Camille and Angel had only given him part of the story. I should’ve known they’d have my back. Maybe I’d tell Donovan what really happened one day, but right now, that was a part of my life I’d just rather forget about.
“Yeah, but it brought me and my mom closer,” I said.
Donovan smiled that near perfect smile. “As my grandmother always says, sometimes our blessings are disguised and things that are good for us are right there in our face.” He stared into my eyes as he said that. It gave me goose bumps.
“That’s funny. My grandmother says the same thing,” I replied.
“Must be in the grandmother’s manual or something,” Donovan said as he leaned in closer to kiss me. I closed my eyes and waited for his lips to meet mine. Instead, I felt a cold palm against my face. My eyes shot open to find my grandmother’s hand right in the middle of me and Donovan.
“Wanna know what else is in the grandmother’s manual?” my grandmother snapped. “‘Thou shall cut any nappy-headed little boys that try to kiss your granddaughter right in front of you.’”
Donovan burst out laughing. And for once, instead of being embarrassed, I laughed right along with him.
Blessings in Disguise
ReShonda Tate Billingsley
Reading Group Guide
Description
Since joining Rachel Jackson’s after-school church grou
p, Alexis, Jasmine, Camille, and Angel have become the best of friends. Between mentoring local elementary school girls and spending many a sleepover sharing juicy gossip, these four friends are practically sisters. But when Alexis and Jasmine get caught up in their own problems, will they drag their friends into trouble, too?
Rich girl Alexis has the perfect life, but things aren’t always what they seem. While the world outside sees a happy, loving family, Alexis watches as her mother and father grow more distant and cold, leaving her afraid that her parents might file for divorce. Determined to keep her family together, Alexis will do whatever it takes to fix their marriage, even if it means doing something drastic to get their attention.
Meanwhile, Jasmine is used to being the glue that keeps her family together, looking after her siblings and cleaning the house while her mother works back-to-back jobs. Tired of being a babysitter and housekeeper extraordinaire, Jasmine decides to move in with her father. But the change of pace isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as she uses her newfound free time to steal a dress for the school dance.
Reading Group Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the different family problems that Jasmine and Alexis face. Which girl faces the more difficult challenges? How do they each search for support?
2. Discuss the evolution of how Jasmine views her father. How does her opinion and understanding of him change throughout the course of the book? What are the biggest factors influencing the way she thinks about him?
3. Mrs. Lansing made the difficult decision to place her daughter Sharon in a home. She says that she did not have a choice (p. 71), but did she? What were the direct and indirect consequences of her actions? Did others in the Lansing family have a role in her decision-making process?
4. Because her mother works long hours to support them, Jasmine often relies on her extended family network. What specific means of support do her aunt, grandmother, and brothers and sister offer her? What about her friends at Good Girlz?
5. Money and theft are major themes in the story. Do Jasmine and Alexis think of money differently? Do you think it’s odd that Alexis, whose family has money, is an instigator in their plot to steal?
6. Is Jasmine’s new relationship with Donovan a positive or negative influence on her life? How does the relationship make her think and act differently than she did before?
7. Jasmine’s father lies to her about his knowledge of her existence and Jasmine’s mother fails to tell her the entire truth. Which is worse? How does each parent’s version of the story influence what happens to Jasmine and how she makes decisions?
8. Was Donna Sanders wrong to make her husband choose between her and his newborn daughter? Donna is a religious person—is such an ultimatum a religious approach to the problem?
9. Does Frank Sanders love his daughter Jasmine or does he accept her out of guilt? As an administrator in the school system is he a good role model?
10. Do you think that Trina deserves to go to prison? If not, what would be a just punishment?
11. Many of the characters make very questionable decisions. Which one affected you the most? If you could have one character make a different decision, which would it be?
12. What does the title Blessings in Disguise refer to? What are the many blessings Jasmine has throughout the entire story, but fails to see until the end?
13. Is there a concrete lesson to be learned at the end of the story? What is it? Is there more than one lesson? If so, which is more important?
Enhance Your Book Club
1. The Good Girlz is a great way for young people to work together for the betterment of the community. Have your reading group work with a local church or community youth group and lead them in a reading and discussion of Blessings in Disguise.
2. Because of Hurricane Katrina, Donovan had to move to the Houston area for school. Work with your reading group to donate to the Red Cross at redcross.org or find other methods to support the gulf coast recovery effort.
3. Feeling creative? Have a group member draw a sketch for every major scene in the book. Before you know it you’ll have your very own comic book!
A Conversation with ReShonda Tate Billingsley:
1. Growing up, were you a member of a group like the Good Girlz?
I wasn’t, but I wish that I was. I did have a core group of friends that I could count on to have my back. I think, especially in your teens, having that bond with your friends is wonderful.
2. Authors often remark that they put a little bit of themselves into their characters. Do you identify with any of your characters? Who were your inspirations for Jasmine and Alexis?
Do I ever! I used to think my mom was the meanest person in the world. I don’t have a problem admitting that now, because I so appreciate her now for those very things I couldn’t stand growing up. All of my characters are inspired by myself, my friends, my relatives. I took bits and pieces of several people to create them.
3. Both Alexis’ and Jasmine’s families are key parts to your novel. Why did you choose to tell the story from Jasmine’s point of view?
I wanted Book 2 to be Jasmine’s story. While all of the girls have problems, Jasmine’s was a bit more complex. I think a lot of people can relate to wanting a different life growing up. I wanted to hammer home the point that all that glitters ain’t gold.
4. Your writing career has been enormously diverse, with both fiction and nonfiction books. What do you like to write best, and why? Do you have a favorite book that you have written?
I absolutely love writing. But I have to admit I enjoy fiction more. I just wanna make stuff up! I think because my day job (I’m a television news reporter) requires that I stick to the facts, I love the ability to escape to a world where I can make my characters say and do whatever I want them to say and do. As for a favorite book—that’s like asking a mother to pick her favorite child!! (lol). I really do love them all. I had so much fun creating characters that it’s really hard to say which one I like the best.
5. Faith and moral living play a large role in much of your writing. As a writer, why are these important themes for you?
Absolutely. While I write to entertain, I also want to inspire. I want to help people make good choices in their own lives. I want people to see that it’s okay to fall. All that matters is how you pick yourself up and keep going.
6. What made you think of a series with each book having one of the Ten Commandments as its theme?
It was again, all about inspiring young readers. I wanted to teach a strong biblical message without sounding too “preachy.” And I wanted to take an everyday issue and relate it to one of the Ten Commandments. I’m pleased with how it turned out.
7. Previously you were a professor at Langston University. What similarities and differences have you found between teaching and writing? Which do prefer?
One of the things I loved about teaching was playing a role in the shaping of young minds. As a professor I was able to help direct and change lives. I had students who had no idea what they wanted to do with their lives and, after my class, not only did they know what they wanted to do—they did it. That means the world to me. And I love being able to have that same effect through writing. I love them both because they each provide a sort of personal enjoyment and fulfillment.
8. What other writers do you like to read? Which authors influenced your decision to become a writer?
I love Dr. Maya Angelou. The first novel that had an impact on my life was I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I knew after reading that book, I wanted to tell stories as well, stories that had an impact on people. I also read a lot of contemporary authors including Jacqueline Thomas, Victoria Christopher Murray, Jihad, Eric Jerome Dickey, and a host of others.
9. Why did you decide to include Hurricane Katrina in your story? Were you or people close to you directly affected by the storm?
As a TV reporter for fifteen years, I’ve never covered a story that affected me like Hurricane Katrina. In all my years as a
journalist, I’ve never shed a tear while covering a story until Katrina. It pained my heart to watch that devastation. Some of our friends ended up staying with us after the hurricane and their lives would never be the same. Donovan is actually inspired by a young athlete who was good enough to go pro directly from high school in New Orleans, but his life was completely uprooted after the hurricane. I’m happy to say that he is now playing college basketball.
10. In your own life, what has been the biggest blessing in disguise? What did it take for you to recognize the blessing? My mother. Growing up, my mother was strict. While all my friends could hang out until two in the morning, she wasn’t having it. She even showed up at a club one time (in her hair rollers) when I missed curfew. I thought I would die of embarrassment and I absolutely couldn’t stand my mom. What I didn’t realize then that I do now was that was God’s way of keeping me on track. He was working through my mother to make sure that I could become the woman I am today. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my mother and all her strict rules was the biggest blessing I could have ever known.
Don’t miss the next Good Girlz adventure
With Friends Like These
Coming in April 2007
Turn the page for a preview of With Friends Like These…
Camille
“M y name is Tameka Adams and I don’t want to be here.” Tameka made the announcement like she was at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Personally, I wanted to tell her to beat it, then. I know one thing, if she was coming to join our group, homegirl was gon’ have to lose the attitude. I mean, I know she’s Rachel’s niece by marriage and all. But her and her funky attitude needed to go.
Rachel is our group leader, the founder of the Good Girlz community service group. Don’t let the name fool you, though. We all are far from good. Rachel started the group here in Houston as part of some youth outreach program at Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, where her husband was pastor. Her old snooty church members didn’t want her to start the group. But even though she’s First Lady, Rachel marches to a beat of her own. She told those old biddies where they could go. Now here we are, a year after we started. And even those people who didn’t want us at first, are now feeling us.
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