But Sahara now finally knew the truth. Andre. Andre was a different kind of guy. He would be the guy she, and all of her friends, would be making fun of in her normal world. He hung around his grandmother—one strike against him. He went to church and seemed to like it—another strike. He loved the Lord—a huge strike, especially for a guy. He was athletic—not a strike in itself, but if he didn’t use that to his advantage, why have it? He did well in school, a straight-A-plus student—double strike, unless one had to do well to play sports or to get a scholarship. But a guy who did well for the sake of doing well or to show how smart he really is—not what most guys she knew went for.
But Andre had paid attention enough to see the oak tree there, near her favorite spot. He’d observed enough to realize its flexed arm should be holding a swing. And he’d moved on it, doing something that he knew would benefit her, in spite of how horrible she’d been to him. And he’d done all of this from his heart, taking his own time to do it.
Spiritually, she felt she was at the edge of the water. It was like those people in the Bible, on more than one occasion, who came to a body of water that was impossible to get across. In one of the recants, it had been the Red Sea. In another, it was the Jordan River. At the Jordan, God told Joshua to tell them to stand still in the Jordan. People would likely be surprised at how much she actually read the Bible to even know this.
Nevertheless, her life really was a hot mess. She had to acknowledge that herself. And as she sat quietly on the swing, she couldn’t help but feel like God was telling her that she really needed to stand still, even as she had her own Jordan before her to cross.
Chapter 31
And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
—Joshua 3:10
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the store with us?”
Ma Ray asked Sahara as she stood in the doorway of the front door.
“I’m sure.”
“I can’t believe you would turn down the chance to buy a new outfit,” Ma Ray said.
“Me either,” said Crystal. “Clothes are what you live for.”
“That’s just your opinion of me,” Sahara said to Crystal. “I really don’t care about buying something new to wear to some youth conference. What I have already is fine.”
“Great,” Crystal said. “Then that means Ma Ray can buy me two outfits.”
“Is that right?” Ma Ray said to Crystal with a grin. She turned to Sahara and tilted her head down slightly. “Well, you be good. We’ll be back in a few hours.”
Sahara smiled as they left. “Finally,” she said. “Some real peace and quiet around here.” She went to the kitchen to make a sandwich. For some reason she wanted a fried bologna sandwich. She couldn’t help but laugh since she didn’t really think she liked bologna sandwiches that much. But Ma Ray had a way of making it so good, she decided to try her hand at making one. Just as she was pressing the top bread down on the sandwich with her hand, she heard a hard knock at the front door. She left her sandwich and went to see who was there.
She cracked open the screen door. “Junebug, what are you doing here?”
“I came by to see you,” he said.
“To see me? I thought you were scared of Ma Ray.”
“Nah, I’m not really scared of her. I just try not to give her cause to hate on me. Besides, Ma Ray is not here. I saw her leave a little while ago,” Junebug said. “So, you going to keep me out here all day or what?” He pulled the door open and stepped in.
“We’re not supposed to let anyone in the house when an adult’s not here.”
“Is that right?” He scanned her body from her pulled-back hair to her wine-colored, polished toenails. “Well, aren’t you an adult?”
“Not technically,” Sahara said.
“You’re seventeen. That’s an adult in my book.”
“Well, it doesn’t count in Ma Ray’s book. So you need to go back on the other side of the door.”
He laughed, then sucked his teeth. “Okay, let’s look at it a different way. I’m an adult. Right? I’m in the house. So that should make it all right for me to be in here, since that means an adult is in the house.”
“Junebug, you know good and well that’s not going to fly with Ma Ray. Now, you’ve told me that she’s already gotten in your grill in the past. She was quite civil to you last Wednesday when you came here acting like you were going to some Bible study.”
He smiled. “That’s was good, wasn’t it?”
Sahara laughed. “Oh, yeah. That was real good. So good that Ma Ray invited herself along.”
“Man, old folks are too funny. I couldn’t believe it when she came in with that purple hat on her head, purple and black feathers dangling around, talking about how she was ready to go. Old people don’t have a clue.”
“That’s my grandmother you’re talking about,” Sahara said. “And she has more of a clue and more class than you ever will.”
“Hey, I’m sorry. My bad. I didn’t mean to talk about your relative. I know it’s not cool to talk about folks’ mamas or grandmamas.” He primped his lips and kissed the air a few times. “You and I cool?”
“I guess. But you still need to get up out of here before Ma Ray comes back.”
“Chillax. If your grandmother went to the store, she’ll be there a minute. We have a good hour or two before she could make it back, even if she only went to town, bought a gallon of milk, and turned right back around. And I’ve yet to meet a woman who can ever go shopping, whether it’s for groceries or clothes, and only stay in the store a good minute before she walks out. My mother will go to just get milk and come back with four or five bags, at least, every single time. That’s the way the stores make things. It’s psychological. They set things up to keep you there longer than you ever mean to stay.” He went over and closed the door and stepped back closer to Sahara.
Sahara took a step back. “Stop, now. I’m serious. You really do need to leave.”
“You don’t really want me to go.”
“Yes, I do.”
He smiled, then ticked his head. “Nah, you’re just trying to give yourself what you need to exonerate yourself, should you have to. You’ll be able to say you told me to leave and I didn’t. Fine. I’m down with you using me in that way. But you know you’re bored out of your skull, and your body is probably screaming for some fun and excitement.” He primped his mouth again. “I know females like you.”
“Junebug, look. I’ve gotten in so much trouble that if I get caught doing one more thing, I know it’s not going to turn out good for me. I don’t need the trouble now.”
“Girl, trouble is your middle name.” He softly stroked her face with the back of his hand.
“Stop that,” Sahara said, trying not to show her uneasiness. “I’m trying to tell you what’s going on.”
“And I’m trying to tell you that I know you want to have some fun. I’m here to help you get there. We could go up to your room. That way, if your grandmother comes back, we would hear her. And if I need to hide like before, I can do that, then sneak out just like I did the last time.” He walked up on her and tried to kiss her on the neck.
“Stop it, I said! Now, I told you: I’m in trouble already. I don’t need any more added on right now. That little marijuana joint you gave me the other day—”
“Mary Jane. How was she? Did you enjoy her? You know that I have a whole bag on me right now. Other stuff, too, if you’d prefer. We could really go to another place.”
“I didn’t enjoy her, because I didn’t smoke it,” Sahara said. “In fact, Ma Ray saw it and put her foot down when it fell out of my pocket.”
“She put her foot down?” Junebug said.
“Yes. And by that, I mean she literally put her foot down. She stepped on it.”
�
��You weren’t able to salvage it? You know it would have still worked.”
Sahara released an audible sigh. “You’re missing the point.”
“Well, I know your grandmother probably didn’t know what it was.”
Sahara shook her head, rubbed her face with her hand, then clapped her hands with each word that she spoke. “Why… would … she … not know what it was?”
“Because”—he held the s and pushed his face close to her face—“she’s probably never seen one before. She likely thought it was an old-fashioned cigarette or something. You know that’s the way they used to roll tobacco for cigarettes back in her day. They would buy the paper, put the tobacco in it, just like we do our stuff, roll it, lick it, and smoke away.” He smirked. “No filter, no nothing. Just God’s pure, naturale plants.”
“You have got to go,” Sahara said as she walked over to the door and held it open.
“Not until I get what I came for.”
“There’s nothing here for you,” Sahara said, her hands raised up.
He walked over to her and stepped to her again. “Oh, I beg the differ.”
She pushed him off of her. “Leave, please.”
“Why are you acting like this? You know you want to get with me. I felt it that very first day when we were outside. You’re just one of those girls who likes to tease … to play hard to get. Okay, if you want to know that I really want you, we’ll skip the games. I really want you. Now you tell me what you want from me, and we can get this party started.” He dipped his head in a dancelike manner. “But I know your kind. I know the signals when they’re being sent out. And I can tell you that you want me, just as much as I want you.” He licked the tip of his index finger, touched her on her bare shoulder, and made a sizzling sound. He grinned.
Sahara began to pray silently. She really didn’t know what to do at this point. Junebug was tall and muscular. She knew she was no match for him or his strength. Just then, a car pulled up.
“Who is that?” Junebug asked, stepping back so as not to be seen.
“That’s Ms. Tootsie’s car,” Sahara said, looking out.
“You talking about telephone, telegram, tell-a-Tootsie?” He stepped back some more. “Is she coming in?”
Sahara could tell he was not a fan of Ms. Tootsie’s. “I’m sure she’ll be here in a minute. You’ve got to get out of here. If she finds you here, we’re both going to be in a lot of trouble.”
“Just get rid of her. Tell her Ma Ray’s not here.”
“Ms. Tootsie’s not going anywhere. She’ll just stay and wait on Ma Ray to come back. They do a lot of canning and stuff together. You need to leave, and do it so she doesn’t see you.” Sahara looked out again. “She’s coming! Quick, go out the back door!”
“Dog!” Junebug said. “Ain’t this the devil?!” Junebug started to leave. He stopped and turned around. “Just so you know: we’re not finished.” He then blew her a kiss.
Sahara listened to be sure he’d left. She heard the back door open and close. She released a sigh, then stepped out on the front porch and smiled. “I’m so glad to see you,” she said.
Andre looked behind him. “Say what? Who are you talking to?”
Sahara smiled. “Stop acting. I’m glad to see you.”
“You’re glad to see me? Okay, where are the cameras?” He looked high and low, pretending to search for a hidden camera.
She waved him off. “You’re so silly. Ma Ray’s not here.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You know?” Sahara said with a puzzled look.
“Yeah. She called and asked me to come get you and bring you to Claudine’s Boutique. She said she found something she thought you’d love. Asked if I wouldn’t mind coming by the house to get you and bring you there.”
“Are you serious?”
“Serious as a heart attack.”
“Wow,” Sahara said. She looked up at the sky. “Wow, God. Thank You.” She began to nod. “You’re good!”
“Are you talking to God?” Andre asked.
“Yeah. I was just thanking Him.”
“And to think: Ma Ray said you’d likely give me a hard time.” He looked up. “Thank You, God. You really are good!” Andre said.
Sahara looked back at the screen door, then back to Andre. “I need to get my purse,” she said. “Then we can go.”
She went back inside, ran upstairs, got her purse, and locked the front door on her way out.
Chapter 32
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
—Joshua 5:13
After fumbling around in her purse for a few minutes, Ma Ray finally found the key to the front door and unlocked it. She kept the car keys separate from her house keys since she didn’t like having them on the same ring. She’d let Sahara drive back from the store, and on the back road home she’d allowed Crystal (who had her learner’s permit) to drive the rest of the way home.
The girls were excited because they’d each found two fabulous outfits. Sahara had expressed total surprise in the outfit Ma Ray had picked out for her, then gotten Andre to come and get her so she could see it before she purchased it.
“I started to just buy it, and if you didn’t like it, then return it,” Ma Ray said. “But they didn’t have that many of them, and I wanted to be sure that it was the right size. Just in case you did like it, I didn’t want your size to be gone.”
“Ma Ray, I’m so glad you sent for me,” Sahara said as she rubbed her hands over the sunflower-colored pants outfit. “I love this! I can’t believe you have such great taste. It’s like you really know what I like when it comes to clothes like this. But I can’t believe you actually paid this much for it,” she said, gazing at the price tag still attached.
“Well, I thought it was beautiful. And I thought you’d look beautiful in it. What’s the point of having money if we can’t exchange it for things that make ourselves and the ones we love happy? In my eyes, that’s really all money is good for. We sure can’t take any of it with us when we leave this place.”
“Yeah, but for what it cost, I never could have gotten Mama to buy it. Not for me, not in a million years,” Sahara said.
“Well, I’m just glad everything worked out. And I’m glad you didn’t give poor Andre a hard time when he came to get you. I started to call you and let you know, but I figured you might not answer the phone,” Ma Ray said. “Besides, the art of surprise works every time.”
“It was funny, though,” Crystal said. “Ma Ray kept saying she had a funny feeling in her spirit. She kept saying it like something was bothering her. The next thing I knew, she was asking the lady in the shop if she could use the phone. She called over to Ms. Tootsie’s house and asked for Andre.”
Sahara pressed her hand up to her nose and mouth and shook her head.
“What’s wrong?” Ma Ray asked Sahara. “Why are you looking like that?”
Sahara took her hand down. “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about God, and how maybe God really does hear us.”
“You had doubts that He doesn’t?” Ma Ray said.
“Sometimes. I’ve just seen too many people pray and believe for stuff that never seems to happen.”
“Oh, God hears us, now. I don’t doubt that for a second,” Ma Ray said. “We may not always get what we thought it was going to be like, but God hears us always. And He will show up in ways we never expect.”
“Sort of like Andre coming over when he did,” Sahara said.
Ma Ray tilted her head slightly. “Now, I don’t know if we can say God was answering a prayer just because Andre showed up at the house today.”
“You never know,” Sahara said. “And I’m not talking about those outfits, either.”
Sahara and Crystal went upstairs. Ma Ray sat down in the living room to ca
tch her breath. She pulled off her shoes and began to rub her foot. That’s when she happened to notice that her Swarovski crystal Maxi Swan was gone. It was easy to notice that it wasn’t there, since it was one of the larger swan crystals. That’s what she’d learned from Freda, who was as honest as the day is long. Freda’s father had given Freda a smaller Swarovski swan. The one Boaz had given Ma Ray was around six inches tall, six inches wide, and cost around five thousand dollars.
When Ma Ray had learned that bit of information from Freda, she’d demanded that Boaz take it back. But of course, he wouldn’t. He’d told Ma Ray to keep it and pass it down as a family heirloom, after she was gone, if she liked. But in the meantime, she could enjoy it. So she’d put it in the living room. Everyone who saw it was impressed. Most folks had seen the smaller versions, but few had seen one that size. It gave her great joy to say that her son had given it to her as a gift. What a special child he is.
Now, the swan wasn’t there. She was praying it hadn’t been broken or whoever had broken it was just too afraid to tell her. With her shoes still off, she went to the kitchen to take her medicine. While in there, she looked in the trashcan to see if there was any evidence of broken crystal. She didn’t see anything. After taking her two pills, she set the glass on the counter, went back, and retrieved her shoes and purse, then went to her bedroom.
There was a tap on Ma Ray’s bedroom door as she slipped her silk muumuu on. “Come in,” she said as she tugged it down and straightened it.
“Ma Ray?” Crystal said.
“Yes, baby. Come on. I’m decent.”
Crystal smiled and twirled into the room as she showed off the blue jean outfit Ma Ray had bought her. The skirt with beads and rhinestones flared out as she did her spins.
“My, my. Isn’t that the prettiest thing,” Ma Ray said.
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