Guilty By Association
Page 32
I give you power over beasts on earth and in the air, God spoke from Genesis.
“But I had no power over my life. With one good punch, I can knock the wind out of that mutt,” he said in anger.
Yes, but you have no authority to take the animal’s life. I grant permission over life and death, God spoke.
What does that dog have to do with anything? Kidd asked himself. Reeling from the shock of the news, it was difficult for him to remain focused. His mind was scattered, yet the Lord broke through with a message Kidd would not forget.
He was your natural father, but I am your heavenly, permanent, and forgiving Father. I have already set a work in you, and I will finish it. When you close your eyes, I am there.
“Yeah, but he wasn’t there for me and how many others? Lord, I can’t comprehend this.” Kidd sniffed, but dared a tear to cloud his vision. He kept walking and crossed Hereford Street, continuing until he reached January Wabash Park. Flopping down on a bench, he said aloud, “Thanks, Dad, for being a loser and planting that seed in me and my brother.”
I purchased you with a price. The old is dead, God spoke to him. I washed your sins as white as snow.
With his head down and eyes closed, Kidd began praying. He couldn’t remember what words he uttered, but he knew he was pouring out his heart. Suddenly, the sound of a horn penetrated his consciousness. He ignored it until the driver became persistent.
Opening his eyes, he watched as Eva parked Cheney’s car. He didn’t have the strength to stand and meet her halfway, so he just stared as she approached him. Immediately, her presence gave him renewed courage. As soon as she was within arm’s length, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist. Kidd had no words; resting his head on her stomach spoke volumes to her.
Eva rubbed his back and kissed the top of his head. “I love you, Kevin. Please tell me that means something to you right now.”
He didn’t want to share this mental breakdown of devastation, disappointment, and sorrow. But his Eva was there, and he thanked God for her. He glanced up into her eyes and saw love, not pity. “Right now, and until I take my last breath, your love means everything to me.”
Kidd didn’t track the time they remained glued to each other. The couple looked like an exquisite ebony figurine suspended in a moment of eternal embrace. Finally, he pulled back and was about to kiss her. At that moment, he was mesmerized by the hint of a smile on her lips. Eva’s lids fluttered, but her eyes didn’t open.
She looked so peaceful in the face of the emotional storm that was raging within him. Although Kidd was typically portrayed as being fearless, fear was beginning to grip him on the inside. Darkness tried to overpower him, taunting him with the charge that he and his brother were cheated.
“Eva,” he whispered, as he tried to regulate his breathing.
“Hmmm.” Sitting quietly by his side, she answered.
“Will you pray for me?”
“Say no more. I’m already talking to God. Why do you think my eyes are still closed?”
Chapter Forty-Seven
The last weekend in September
The organist played the prelude to the bridal procession. “Show time,” Eva whispered, then inhaled deeply and exhaled. She waited for her cue to make her entrance. Her father lovingly patted her hand that was looped through his arm.
Her wedding dress was exquisite, crafted with yards and yards of white taffeta and satin. Tiny pearls were sprinkled throughout the bodice and dotted her long sleeves in a pattern of miniature roses. For a personal touch, her bridesmaids—Angela, Dawn, Cheney, and Hallison—placed fresh pink and white rose petals on her long train. When she walked, some would fall and create a trail of flowers.
Eva was sure Mrs. Beacon stole the show. Since neither she nor Kidd had grandparents, and they had become fond of Grandma BB, they included her in the ceremony. Their request seemed to encourage her to work harder at her therapy. Her only demand—as if she had a right to have one—was for Dino, her boy toy and nurse, to usher her down the aisle.
Looking lovely and graceful, the bride and groom’s mothers were escorted to their seats. Following them, Eva was sure her flower girls, Kami and Shayla—Eva’s cousin’s daughter—were crowd pleasers. Earlier, the two girls primped in front of the mirror in the makeshift dressing room, chatting, and shaking their long curls. As they walked to the altar in their pale pink tea-length dresses and satin slippers, the girls released butterflies from rose-decorated birdcages. The seventy-plus degree temperature was perfect for the butterflies to take flight.
“Eva, you are so beautiful. You know your future husband is counting the minutes. If we don’t start down that aisle soon, he’ll come looking for you,” Kenneth told his daughter.
Eva gave a nervous chuckle. “You were right, Daddy. Kevin was the one.”
Kenneth winked. “I know. I’m convinced he’ll be faithful to you and God. We had a very long talk—twice. You can’t get better husband material than that.” He kissed her on her cheek.
Eva smiled; she knew that basically her father threatened Kidd. Now the time had finally come. She took the first step, then two, and before long, Kidd’s image came into view. The angry Black man she had first met, God had delivered. In his place, God gave her a good Black man to love. Thank You, Jesus, for that.
Never taking his eyes off her, Kidd didn’t wait for Eva to make it to the altar. Instead, he made an unrehearsed move and marched up to her father. Kenneth wasn’t prepared for the unexpected change in plan, but he gave his daughter another kiss and allowed the anxious groom to take her the rest of the way.
Once at the altar, their eyes locked until her pastor, Elder Taylor, cleared his throat. He was ready to begin.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God and before these witnesses to join together this man and woman in holy matrimony. Kevin, do you take Eva to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love, comfort, honor, and keep her—for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her—so long as you both shall live?”
When Kidd answered, Elder Taylor asked Eva the same questions. Then he addressed Kidd again. “Kevin, I understand you have something to add to your vows.”
What was he doing? This wasn’t part of the script. Eva knew whatever he was about to say, it would make her cry and ruin her beautiful smoky eye makeup Dawn so artistically applied. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself.
“Eva, you are really my Eve. I believe God reached into my stony heart and placed you there. I was a lonely man until God brought us together. Part of me was missing—and that part was you. I will be forever grateful to Him for giving you to me.”
A tear dropped from Eva’s eye. She sniffed and wished that she had a tissue. But she couldn’t look away; she didn’t want to break the trance.
“Thank you for becoming one with me, for forsaking all the doubts and misgivings you had about me and loving me anyway.” Kidd kissed her hand. Then he allowed Elder to finish reciting the vows until the conclusion.
Elder Taylor bowed his head and Kidd and Eva followed. “Lord, in the name of Jesus, we thank You for the union of this godly couple. Strengthen them when they are weak, rebuke the spirit of division, and bind the forces of any man or woman who would try to tear them apart. Lord, may You get the glory out of their lives, so that others may be encouraged to know that marriages do work and last. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Before these witnesses, I now pronounce you husband and wife—Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Jamieson.”
Guests cheered. The Jamieson groomsmen: Ace, Parke, Malcolm, and Cameron, whistled and hooted with pride. Grandma BB stood, aided by Dino, and whirled her cane in the air. Flashes of light exploded around them when the photographer and guests snapped photos of their first kiss as a married couple and their jumping over the broom.
At the reception less than an hour later, Kidd swept Eva off her feet when guests circled them for
their first dance as husband and wife. Ace scooted a chair into the center that was decorated with satin ribbons and a pick satin cushion. Once Kidd placed her on it, the string quartet serenaded them.
“What are you doing?” Eva whispered through clenched teeth. She wanted to be all smiles for the cameras. This was also not part of the program. She and Kidd had agreed to skip removing her garter in front of their guests. Eva wanted that to be a private moment shared between the two of them.
“Trust me. Close your eyes.”
When she did, Kidd began to pluck the pearl-covered hairpins that Dawn had strategically placed to keep Eva’s hair swept up. Guests cheered him on, as flowing curls cascaded to her shoulders.
“Do you have any idea how much time it took to do that?” she asked, opening one eye.
Then she felt the weight of something on her head. Opening her eyes, she reached up and fingered … a crown? Kidd came around and knelt before her.
“What is this?”
“I figured since I’m royalty and all, I deserve a queen. And baby, you are my crowning glory. Plus, I got the idea from one of your bridal magazines. Great tips.”
Kidd winked and kissed her passionately.
BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
Compare Kidd’s attitude with that of someone in your life.
Why didn’t Kidd’s mother, Sandra, feel her sons were paying for the sins of their mother?
Discuss Kidd’s bargain with God. Have you ever bargained with God and what was the outcome?
What is the message you are left with at the end of the story?
How did Parke and Cheney’s children affect Kidd?
Was Eva’s father right to give Kidd a heads-up?
Eva used her mother forgiving her father as an example of being patient with Kidd and his commitment to God. Agree or disagree?
When did Kidd’s relationship change with Parke?
Eva’s friend Dawn was determined to meet men. Discuss her tactics. Were they appropriate?
How often would you visit your friend or relative in a nursing facility?
ABOUT BOOK 2 IN THE JAMIESON LEGACY:
The Guilt Trip, coming summer 2012
We shouldn’t always believe everything we hear. God can block the sins of the father with blessings to his children.
Aaron “Ace” Jamieson is living a carefree life. He’s good-looking, respectable, can hold down a job, but his weakness is women. If a woman tries to trap him with a pregnancy, he takes off in the other direction. It’s a lesson learned from his absentee father that responsibility is optional.
Taleigh Reed has a bright future ahead of her. She’s pretty and has no problem catching a man’s eye, which is exactly what she does with Ace. Their chemistry is undeniable and their passion explosive, but there’s one catch. Trapping Ace Jamieson is the furthest thing from Taleigh’s mind as she is determined to be a good parent, whether she remains single or blessed to find a good man who loves her and is willing to accept her child and possibly adopt him.
But Ace’s big brother and cousins don’t plan to let the child who represents the twelfth generation descendant of a royal African tribe leave the fold. Whether Ace decides to accept his responsibility or not, his family embraces Taleigh to Ace’s shame.
The family has decided to turn Ace over to the Lord instead of laying a guilt trip on him to accept the responsibility of his child and choose the blessings from his heavenly Father to overpower the sins of his earthly dad.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
I hope you have enjoyed Kidd and Eva’s story. If this is your first introduction to the Jamieson family, welcome.
I first started the Guilty series while I was researching my family tree. I decided to incorporate some of my genealogy findings into Guilty of Love, thus creating my Jamieson characters as tenth generation descendants of a royal African tribe. As a unique tool to track down relatives from my family tree, I decided to give a few characters the names of my ancestors with tidbits about their lives. My hope is that some of the readers would connect the dots and locate me.
I started with Charlotte—my maternal grandmother—and gave that name to Parke’s mother. I had no specific reason why I chose the last name Jamieson, except that it had a distinguished ring to it, or so I thought.
While writing, I continued searching for my maternal grandmother’s grandmother, whose name was also Charlotte, with a last name of Wilkerson. But I ran into some problems when I got to the 1870 census. Charlotte Wilkerson, along with her two sons, William (my great-grandfather) and his brother Samuel, were nowhere to be found. So I asked some fellow genealogy enthusiasts for their help based on the information I had.
What they were able to uncover blew me away. It appears that Charlotte was actually a Jamieson all along. I felt it was confirmation from God that I was on the right track.
On the 1860 census, Robert Jamieson was the slaveholder over Charlotte, giving her the name Jamieson. In his household, lived John Wilkerson (my great-great grandfather) who was listed as a teacher in the academy. Needless to say, my heart still beats wildly when I think about how God manifested His will in my writing career.
In this story, Miss Jessie Atkins was my grandmother who passed away in a nice nursing facility. And yes, my hand was on the door handle when the staff was calling me for death notification. I got to her bedside and was able to rejoice that I had a grandmother in my life for more than forty years. The year she lived with me, Grandma often thanked me for taking care of her. I will always remember her saying, “I thank you. You never know whose hand is going to give you that last piece of bread.”
HERE IS MY PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER JESSIE BROWN WADE COLE ATKINS’S FAMILY TREE:
Jessie was a twin to Louis Wade. They were the third generation of twins.
Jessie’s mother was Minerva Brown (my great-grandmother). She was born in Arkansas in 1891 and died in 1988 in St. Louis.
Jessie’s father was Odell Wade (my great-grandfather). He was born in Arkansas in 1888 and died in 1972 in St. Louis.
Minerva had twin brothers: Ellis (who lived to be 100 years old) and Louis. Minerva’s mother was Nellie Palmer (my great-great grandmother was a twin to Solomon). Both were born in Arkansas in 1874. Nellie’s mother was Minerva Palmer born 1848 in Arkansas. Yes, I also have three generations of Minervas in my family.
Minerva’s father was Joseph Brown. I am still researching his side. With a last name of Brown, it’s not easy.
Odell’s mother was Callie Young Lowe (my great-great grandmother and of the Choctaw tribe). She was born in Arkansas.
Odell’s father was Winston Wade (my great-great grandfather) was born in Tennessee in 1856. His date of death is unknown.
Winston’s mother was Manurva (my great-great-great grandfather). She was born in North Carolina in 1822 or 1828.
Winston’s father is unknown, but his father was born in Virginia.
Manurva’s father was possibly Jacob Jordan (if so, my fourth great grandfather). He was born in 1801.
Whew! That’s all, folks.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m proud to be an alumna of Emerson College in Boston. It was fun to revisit and give my tribute to “Beantown” for the memories.
Shout out to my play bro, Mik Johnson, who welcomed me into the family as his eleventh sister—no kidding. Ma Johnson had ten daughters and five sons, so while I attended Emerson, I was a card-carrying member of the Johnson family. Mik answered his phone ready to take my calls.
I praise God for Faithful Church of Christ on Woodrow Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, where Suffragan Bishop Hershel Langham, placed me—this baby saint of a few weeks old—under the watchful care of the Johnsons to nourish me and help me grow into the saint that I am today. Praise the Lord!
To the First Lady of Bethesda Temple in St. Louis, Missouri, Sister Juana Johnson, who has been a fan since book one. Thanks for setting aside time to take my calls and share your stories on your journey to become a director of nursing.
Thanks to author, Tim Pinnik, for sending me copies of old newspaper articles.
I could handpick my brothers and sisters at Bethesda Temple who have blessed me, but I’m afraid I would leave someone out. So thank you all for the thumbs up when I walk into the sanctuary.
To my wonderful agent, Amanda Luedeke, with the MacGregor Literary Agency. If it wasn’t for the ACFW conference, I never would have found a jewel. Go, Amanda, it’s your birthday!
To the readers, friends, book clubs, and churches who have lifted me up in prayer every time I begin a new chapter, thank you.
To my former editor, Joylynn Jossel, may God bless you for embracing my vision. To freelance editor, Chandra Sparks Taylor, you have been holding my hand from the beginning. May God bless you for blessing me. The staff at Lift Every Voice Books—thank you for letting me take you on the Jamieson Legacy ride.
Now on to the really important folks:
Jesus—my Savior, Wonderful Counselor, King of kings, Lord of lords, Redeemer, Deliverer … thank You for using me as Your vessel to inspire, entertain, and show readers the richness of Your promises.
To my husband, Kerry, after 28 years of marriage, his support is unwavering, especially since he wants to retire and have me take care of him for a change—that’s a lot of pages to write.
LOL to my recent graduate, Simi—congrats and to my firstborn, Jared—oh, the testimony is coming!