by BJ Mayo
Jackaleena stared at him, mostly in awe at his sheer size. She stood speechless.
“Come, now, surely you have a name? Is it Mary? Perhaps Cindy? One of the nurses is named Cindy. I know, it is Judith. I like the name Judith.”
“It’s Jackaleena,” she said. “My name is Jackaleena.”
“Jackaleena,” he repeated, “that is a wonderful name. A tribal name. I love Jackaleena,” he said, making great gestures with his hands. “Now, Jackaleena, why are you on my ship? Where are you going? This ship is heading one direction, and it is away from where you just came from. Where we are going is far away.”
“I go to Amerika,” she said.
“America,” he said. “Well, can you tell me why you are going to America? Do you have family there? What would make you get on my ship to go to America with just a sack and the clothes on your back?”
“I go to Amerika to find my purpose.”
“Your purpose?” Rufus asked. “I am afraid I do not understand. What is this purpose you talk about?”
“Margaret at Benguela by the Sea pray for chickens. I see her give part of her money to Jesus Man at the church. I pray for chickens and give part of my bread to feed chickens. Jesus Man send snake to bite man that attached our village. His roosters fly over our wall to be with our chickens. They will make more chickens. Jesus Man answer my prayer. Margaret show me Jesus Man Bible words. I believe them now. She tell me I have a big purpose that Jesus Man will show me. I think my purpose is in Amerika.”
“Mercy, mercy, mercy,” Rufus said. “That is a mouthful of words you just said. I bet you need something to eat and drink and maybe a place to relieve yourself and take a bath? Is this true?” Jackaleena nodded. Somehow she trusted this gentle giant of a man. “Come quickly, Jackaleena, get in my clothes basket with your sack. I will cover you up and take you to a secret room when while we are moving, understand? All right, then, let’s get you in this basket and covered up.”
Rufus picked her up with his mighty hands and lowered her into the basket. There were already several towels and washrags on the bottom. He put her sack in beside her and pulled out three or four towels.
“I will put these on top of you, so you will not be seen. Quiet, now.”
As they began to move, Rufus sang. His low voice was beautiful to listen to as he sang a song she had never heard. He would sing a little while, then hum the song, and then whistle. One of the rubber wheels would sputter off-center and the cart would vibrate for a short while and smooth up again. Jackaleena could still see the glow of the full moon on the canvas liner of the laundry cart. She could hear the quiet plow of the ship through the ocean waters as the mighty propellers pushed the ship along. The sea was smooth as glass.
Rufus stopped. “Okay, child. Let’s get you to the bathroom. I will lift you out and open the door. Be very quiet and tap quietly when you are through.”
Rufus dug through the towels piled on top of Jackaleena’s head, smiling broadly. “Lift your arms up, child.” When Jackaleena lifted her arms, Rufus scooped her up.
Jackaleena, though burning with the need to relieve her water maker, never felt safer than she did then. Who was big enough to hurt her protector? She had never seen anyone so strong and yet so gentle.
“Okay, child,” he said. “Be quiet, please,” as he put her down next to the door of the restroom.
He quietly opened the oblong metal door. The fetid odor that only can emit from a ship latrine engulfed her and Rufus. “I am sorry for the smell. You must breathe only through your mouth, like this. That way you will not smell. Okay? Remember, tap on the door quietly and we will continue our journey to your secret room.”
Jackaleena was safely back in the laundry basket with a pile of towels on top of her, free of the burning pain she had felt since she boarded the small boat at Benguela by the Sea. Rufus pushed the cart along, singing quietly as they circled the stern of the ship, stopping a few times to throw on another towel or two left in towel bags outside doors. Slowly Rufus made his way to the bow of the ship and stopped the cart. He pulled his sash cord from his pocket and tied a hitch on the cart push rail. After testing it for strength, he tied it off to a metal clasp on the deck.
“Child, I am going only a few steps away and no one else is near. I tied the cart so it will not move.”
Jackaleena could hear him walk away, and her heart began to pound. She remained very quiet.
Rufus walked slowly to his favorite spot at the front of the ship. He always felt like he was flying over the water in that spot. At this time of night, there was no other person usually awake except the captain. The first time he ventured to the front of the ship at night, the captain put a spotlight on him and called down to see what he was doing. Rufus knelt as if to pray and looked up. The captain immediately turned off the spotlight and never turned it on again for his nightly ritual. The captain could nearly perfectly time when Rufus was going to be at the front of the ship after making his towel rounds.
Rufus looked quietly at the beautiful full moon, at the many stars in the heavens that his eyes could see, and the moon’s reflection on the still water. He listened to the quiet movement of the ship through the waters. “My Savior, it is I, Rufus Obedeiah. I am standing here looking at the beauty of things You made. I am thinking about the depth and countless grains of sand in the ocean floor below, all of the water in the oceans, all of the stars in the sky, and here am I. It is hard for me to comprehend Your grace on one man such as I.”
Jackaleena listened quietly as Rufus prayed his unusual prayer. She lifted her head and lifted the towels so she could see. She smelled the wonderful ocean smell and felt the cool breeze on her head as the boat moved. She put a towel back on her head and kept her eyes just at the top of the cart. She could see Rufus a short distance away, his mighty frame silhouetted in the moonlight.
“I will never understand why You saved a man such as me, with all I have done, but You did. You know what I did to other men while defending my tribe. I have told all of these things to You. But somehow You already knew. You knew the extent of my unspeakable anger when in battle. I will also never understand how, from the beginning of time, when You made every speck of sand in the ocean floor, all of the waters of the ocean, all of the land upon the earth, all of the stars in the heavens and all animals, trees, and people.
“How is it that I have come to be in the possession at this time in the world and history of this small young child? Surely it is at Your will. How is it that at this point and time in the world and history that this young brave child in the basket ever got to the ship and now is in my basket? It seems to me that You intended her to be in my care, as I do not think she has anyone else to care for her except You, and now You have handed her to me. She tells me she is going to America, which is where this mighty ship is going.”
Rufus laughed at the thought of the roosters and the chickens.
“My Savior, she is but only a small child, but she believes in You because You sent her roosters to make more chickens after she prayed. A simple prayer from a child that You answered and she believed in You as I do forever. So now, You have delivered to me, Rufus, this little girl that is going to America on this ship, and I must care for her. I must care for here without her being seen by others and make sure she is fed and clothed and gets to where she is going to in America. She told me she has a purpose, but I am not sure she knows what that purpose is. I think only You, my Savior, know what that purpose is. As You have put me here at this moment in time in the history of the world to take care of this child, I am asking that You please guide me on what I should do. How do I know what her purpose will be? I do not know where to take her or how she will get there.”
Jackaleena could not make out all of the words Rufus said and what they meant. She heard and understood enough to begin weeping quietly. She was amazed to hear a mighty man pray in such a way to his “Savior.” She could feel that he was talking to Jesus Man, but she never heard him say it.
Peace came over her. Never had the world looked more beautiful. The full moon—with Rufus’s mighty body framed in the middle, he looked like a giant man in the moon. The beautiful array of endless stars. The arrangement of stars that only a master builder could make. Some in straight lines looked like a drinking cup, while others were clustered so close together they looked like a cloud. She thought about the depth of the skies and stars. Jesus Man is truly powerful. No one is more powerful than him. Everyone she met to get her to this laundry basket with a towel on her head, Jesus Man had sent them at the exact time she was coming by. That only meant he knew everything about her and where she was at all times. It meant that he knew about how Joao Cubala found her on her way to Benguela by the Sea, her village, the soldier boys and the snake that killed. It means that he knew before she that the big white ship would carry her to Amerika.
With this thought, she became blissfully at peace with the killing of her parents. Toto, she realized, was just a man who fooled people. She never saw him do any of the things he said he could do. Jesus Man makes people meet at the exact spot in time that he wants them to meet, and for the reason they should meet. She would have to ask Rufus why he called Jesus Man his Savior. Surely, she reasoned, I have a big purpose in Amerika.
Rufus lifted his mighty arms towards heaven. “My Savior, please help me to do my best job with this child. Already she has stolen my heart. Her mighty bravery to get on the ship makes my heart and my eyes cry. She is so little, and I have never helped a little girl child. But since You sent her here, I will do my best. But I ask again, please let me know where You want her to go and how she is to get there. When we come to port in America, she will have to claim asylum as I did. Maybe I can help her with that portion of her journey when we get there. I am sure that since You got her to me that You have already worked out who will receive her across the water in America. I hope whoever it is will be good people and take care of this little girl so she can make her purpose. I thank You for my life and that You have kept me alive to breath the air that you made, smell the ocean that you made, look at the stars and moon that You made, ride on the mighty ship carrying this precious creature that You have sent me. It seems to me she is going to have a mighty big purpose. Amen, my Savior. Amen.”
Jackaleena, though overwhelmed with emotions, ducked her head into the basket and pulled the towels back over her head. She could scarcely contain her joy from listening to the prayer that Rufus prayed to his Savior.
Her stomach was growling loudly as she could hear Rufus’s footsteps nearing the basket. He said nothing, only hummed. He untied the sash and folded the cord into his pocket. He began to push the cart slowly.
Jackaleena heard different sounds as Rufus made his way below deck and down long, steel corridors. The loose wheel occasionally vibrating along the way. Rufus was greeted by several people as they made their way along. Ship porters and other service workers spoke as Rufus passed them. She could smell the good smells of the galley as they passed. Cooks were busily peeling and chopping potatoes and onions, meats and other vegetables. Placing them in freshly washed bowls with covers. To the refrigerated bins went all of that.
Jackaleena’s mouth began to water as the wonderful smells of the kitchen wafted through the canvas siding of the cart.
Rufus stopped and visited with one of the men in the kitchen. This man had a voice that did not sound as deep as Rufus but was kind. “Mr. Rufus need some food?” he asked, holding his stomach.
Rufus laughed mightily. “Yes, indeed, Mr. Jole,” he said. “What have you got for me tonight?”
“Perhaps some bread and cooked meat? Maybe some banana or pineapple?”
“Anything sounds good to me this time of night, sir. And as you know, Rufus did not get to be this big without eating a lot of food.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Rufus. I like you. You always make me laugh with what you say. I think you make me laugh to get more food out of me,” Mr. Jole chuckled. “Let me see what I can get for you, so you not go hungry.”
Mr. Jole scurried around the kitchen with his potato sack, poking into food of all kinds. He put in several cans of meat, one pineapple, and a few bananas.
“I know you like my fresh-baked bread, Mr. Rufus, so I give you two loaves. I am also putting in some cold milk from our ice room. That will make the bread even better.”
Rufus was rubbing his stomach and laughing. “You are going to make me fat, Mr. Jole. But I thank you, my friend. You are a good friend.”
Mr. Jole handed Rufus the potato sack full of food. Shaking hands, Rufus departed, humming his song. “May God Almighty Savior watch over you and bless you, Mr. Jole,” Rufus said, waving his hand.
“Yes, may he do so,” said Mr. Jole.
He placed the potato sack beside Jackaleena and whispered. “Soon you can eat, child.” Rufus wheeled the cart along and finally stopped. She could sense him looking both ways before he opened a door. Once inside, he pushed the cart another short distance and opened another door.
Flipping on a light switch, he peered inside the tiny servant’s quarters, a seldom-used room on the second level below deck. It had a vent tube for air, a small electric fan, a small lavatory, showerhead and latrine, and cot and clothes rack. There was a small steel tray welded to the wall with a small canvas chair in front of it.
“Well, my child, you may lift your head, now. This is where you will live until we get to your purpose in America.” He lifted her out of the basket and peeled the towel off her head. Her legs were still a little numb from remaining rigid in the small boat and riding in the laundry cart. Rufus lifted the food sack out of the cart.
“This is your food. Drink the milk while it is cold. Don’t overeat and make yourself feel bad. Here is your bed. It looks like there are two blankets here. This is your latrine, with plenty of paper,” motioning to the toilet-paper rolls on the floor. “I will see what else I can get to make your life easier while you are onboard the ship. Here are some pills you take with milk if you start to feel sick with the ship moving through the water. Do not wait to take them when you are sick. Take them before you get sick, do you understand?”
Jackaleena nodded.
“Child, no one will bother you here. You must lock the door from the inside with this hasp. I will tap on the door like this when I am here. Two short taps, stop, and two more short taps. Anything else, do not open the door. I will come by in the morning after you have had a chance to eat and sleep. You cannot go out in the daytime, only at night, with me, in the laundry cart. Understand?”
Jackaleena trusted him and nodded. He put his mighty hand over the top of her head.
“Child, we will get you to your purpose. I promise.”
He reached over and kissed her on her head.
“I promise I will do that. Yes, sir. I do indeed.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The news of Cotton Banks’s death caught me by surprise. His widow, Maude, called me at the station and told me Cotton had a massive heart attack during the night and died before the ambulance got to their home.
Maude was crying so hard she could barely speak. “We had such big retirement plans, Alfie. You know Cotton only wanted to work to make it through his twenty-fifth year.” She paused. “We been married nearly thirty-seven years. He was only fifty-eight years old,” she said, her voice trailing off.
I listened with everything I had while my eyes misted up. “Maude, if there is anything I can do, anything at all, you let me know and it is done.” Maude blew her nose and he could hear her pulling tissues out of a box.
“I don’t know. I don’t really know how I can go on without Cotton. He was my everything. Cotton was a great man and a great father to our two sons. I want you to be a pallbearer, Alfie. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes, ma’am, I would be honored to do that for Cotton.”
“Well, there are only five or six men he ever really talked about being his true friends, and you were one of them. You know he picked his friends ver
y carefully, and was a good judge of people. He never took kindly to anyone lying to him or about him, Alfie. If he called you his friend, you must be a very good man.”
“I don’t know about that, Maude, but I try real hard. Being as this just happened, do you have any idea when the service will be?”
Maude burst into full tears. I could feel a wave of compassion and grief come over me. “They have to do an autopsy first. Seems surreal, with all of the autopsies that Cotton ordered, and now he has to have one done on him. He probably would have laughed about that. He always told me not to make a big fancy funeral, and ‘just dig a hole and toss some dirt on top of me, by a good tree.’ We have owned our plots at the cemetery since we was early-on married. Cotton had all of our business tied up in a neat bow, so there is not a whole lot for me to do. He paid for our turnkey funerals, caskets and all, in monthly payments. I just never believed we would actually have to use them. Cotton was a quiet man. But he could make a dollar go further than any person I ever saw. He kept up his life insurance all these years, and there is enough there where I never have to worry about anything.”
She kept talking while I just listened and yes-ma’amed from time to time. She was going longer talking without coming apart and it was probably good to let her talk it out. So I just listened.
“I am sorry to go on and on, Alfie, but he—we were high school sweethearts, you know, neither he nor I ever dated another person. I could never love another man.”
“No, ma’am. I understand.”
“Alfie, this is Monday. I will call you on Thursday. I am kind of thinking about Saturday morning. Cotton always liked the morning time. Said God always starts a new day with a rooster crowing, birds a-singing, and cows a-grazing.
“Goodbye, Alfie. Thanks for listening.”
“Goodbye, Maude,” I said as I hung up the phone.
It was quite rare that I could not get a grasp quickly of the worst of situations. This was one of them. Cotton was not only a close friend, he was the JP of Spring. His testimony was going to be needed at the Jenna Couch investigation over what he found at the lake house. That was out the window now.
