Practicing What You Preach

by Vanessa Davis Griggs

  “Grandmother and I had this long talk. Do you remember when I came to visit her for two weeks right before she died?”

  Angela thought, then nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Well, she shared a lot of things with me, one of those being things about Sarah Fleming. Grandmother asked me to do her a favor. She said if there was ever a time I could do anything to help Sarah Fleming, to please do it, for her. So when I learned Sarah was looking for an in-home nurse, I applied for the position and got it.”

  Angela started smiling. “So how is she to work for? I know their family was really rich.” Angela had put down her pen, and all I could think about was how much she wasn’t getting done. We had too much to do for this. And I wanted to make it to Bible study tonight.

  Gayle smiled. “Sarah Fleming died a few months ago. But she was a remarkable woman. And I’m not just saying that to be polite, either. She was remarkable. Her mind was so sharp. She had a wonderful spirit, and she was loving and giving, not just to her family, but to people like me.” Gayle pressed her hand against her chest as she spoke.

  “So where are you working now?” Angela asked, her eyes fixed on Gayle.

  “I’m not working anywhere right now. I didn’t take off very much when I was working for Miss Fleming.” Gayle nodded. “That’s what I called her—old habits are hard to break. So I absolutely needed some time off to recuperate. She paid me for the time I never got to take, and on top of that, she left me money in her will, quite a bit, considering I wasn’t expecting anything. She was more than generous in what she paid for my services, more than generous. So I’m sitting pretty as I decide what I want to do next.”

  Angela put the palms of her hands together and brought her fingers up to her bottom lip. “That has to be a great feeling. Knowing you don’t have to worry about money while you take your time to decide what you want to do next.”

  When Angela brought her hands down, Gayle reached over and quickly squeezed one of them. “It really is. Besides giving me time to rest up, I can spend some time with family without having to worry about anything. I can visit my two adult children. They’re both out of college with great jobs now. My daughter, Sherrie, lives in California; my son, Patrick, in Chicago, is interested in politics. I’m healthy and blessed. Life is good.”

  “I, for one, am glad you’re here with me.” Angela picked up the printout again as she began to glance between the paper and Gayle. “You know our family a lot better than I do these days. Your helping me make sure that everybody ends up sitting in the right place at the reception is really a blessing to me. I definitely don’t want to start a family feud at my reception just because I grouped folks at the wrong table. I want this to be a joyous time for everyone. No family drama.”

  Gayle looked as though she wanted to say something but she wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up. Angela must have picked up on it as well. She put the paper down on the coffee table. “Gayle, what’s wrong? Is there something else on your mind?”

  “I was just thinking about Grandmother and something else she asked me to do. I thought that what I’m about to say was going to be a lot easier than it’s turning out to be.”

  “What is it? Tell me,” Angela said.

  Gayle scooted forward. “It’s about your grandmother.”

  “My grandmother? Great-granny talked to you about my grandmother?” Angela had a puzzled look on her face. I felt wrong for being there, so I stood up and tried to find a reason to leave and give them some privacy. Angela looked over at me and shook her head as though she knew I was trying to exit. For whatever reason, she was asking me not to go. Maybe she did understand how much work we had to do and how far behind this was making us. I sat back down and continued with what I was doing. “What did Great-granny say to you about my grandmother?” she asked Gayle.

  Gayle took a deep breath and released it. It was as though she knew what she was about to say would be extremely difficult both to say and to hear.

  “Grandmother asked me to see if I could find your grandmother, her daughter, if I ever got the chance. She told me her name. It’s Arletha.”

  “She said her name?” Angela asked. “No one in our family ever said her name. Not as long as I’ve been on this earth. It was as though she never existed. No one spoke of her; no one had ever even told me her name. So my grandmother’s name is Arletha?”

  “Yes, Arletha Williams would have been her birth name.”

  “Did Great-granny tell you where she is? Was she in contact with her? After my mother died and Great-granny took guardianship of me, I asked her, when I was older, about my family. She wouldn’t talk about my grandmother. She said she didn’t know whether she was alive or dead, but either way, her daughter had chosen not to be part of our family, so there was no reason to ever discuss her. As far as I know, my grandmother never came back to Asheville, and you already know that Great-granny was a homebody who rarely veered far from Asheville’s city limits.”

  Gayle took Angela’s now trembling hand. I had already perked up when I heard the name Arletha. Arletha is not a common name. Interestingly, I happened to know a woman named Arletha. She lived in the community where I grew up, several houses down the street from our house. Her name was Arletha Brown.

  “Do you know if she’s alive, and if so, do you know where she might be? Did Great-granny tell you that much?” Angela began to wipe away a few tears that were now rolling down her face. I could tell this was an emotional discussion for her. I couldn’t imagine not ever having known my grandmother, especially if she was still alive.

  “Grandmother didn’t know. She just asked if I ever got a chance, for me to see if I could find out anything. One of the problems I ran into is legal records. All of grandmother’s children were born at home. You know her mother was a midwife, too. And even though Grandmother’s children’s births were recorded, back in those days, birth certificates and records weren’t kept as meticulously as they are these days. Grandmother once told me that a midwife was required to send in the birth records logged in some kind of a small book, but there were times when it might not have been sent in. Those people’s births were not properly recorded. I haven’t been able to find anything on an Arletha Williams, or an Arletha Black for that matter.”

  “Why would you look for Arletha Black? Great-granny was a Black but she married a Williams.”

  “It’s possible, not that I’m saying it’s the case, but it’s possible Grandmother might have had Arletha before she married,” Gayle said. “If she did, it would have been recorded as Arletha Black. I’ve been searching for Williams, but I’m a realist, too.”

  I thought it was interesting that the Arletha I knew had a last name that was a color, Brown, and this Arletha could have been a color, Black.

  Gayle continued explaining. “I did what I could, given my other obligations at the time, but I’ve run into nothing but dead ends.”

  “So you don’t know any more than any of us. Except Great-granny did at least tell you her name, which is more than she ever told me. And you’ve known all of this since Great-granny died and you never said a word to anybody? The least you could have done was say something to me about it,” Angela said. “I don’t have anybody like the rest of you do. If there’s a chance my grandmother is alive and still out there, I would like to have known that before now.”

  “Angel, it’s not like you kept in touch with any of us after you moved down here. Besides, Grandmother asked me not to say anything to you unless and until I was able to locate Arletha.”

  Angela leaned forward and pursed her lips. “So you’ve located her?” She held her breath.

  “No,” Gayle said. “And I had all but quit looking. Then I was talking with a woman, a relative of Sarah’s actually, after the will was read. She counseled me on how bad secrets, especially a secret like this, can be for everyone involved. She felt I shouldn’t keep this to myself or from you. She felt you at least had a right to know what I knew.”

  Gayle stood up an
d took a few steps away from Angela. “When I was telling this woman about it, I just happened to mention Arletha’s name. She then told me she’d met a woman in Birmingham, Alabama, named Arletha. Since Arletha is not a common name, it was something to follow up on. She had her phone number, and she gave me that number.”

  Angela stood up and walked over to Gayle. “Here in Birmingham? That Arletha lives here? So have you called yet?”

  Gayle nodded as she sat back down on the couch. “I have.”

  “And what did she say?”

  “She asked if this was some kind of a sick joke, then she hung up on me. When I tried calling her again to explain myself better, she told me to stop calling and harassing her. She said if I called her house again, she would report me to the proper authorities and let them take care of me.”

  “It’s her,” Angela said as she began to pace back and forth in front of the sofa like a caged lion. “I just know the Arletha you called is my mother’s mother.” She turned and faced Gayle. “Well, we’ve got to go see her. We have to find out for certain, once and for all. We owe that much to Great-granny.” Angela began to pace again as she continued, “We need to go see her today. That’s what we need to do. There has got to be a way to find out where she lives.”

  As soon as Angela said that, I looked at all the work we had left to do and the little time we had left to do it, and I realized how unwelcome a distraction this was.

  “I checked to see if there was an address listed in the phone book for her, and there’s not. Besides, Angel, you’re getting married in a few days,” Gayle said. I slowly began to exhale and thanked God for Gayle’s voice of reason during this volatile time.

  “That’s one of the reasons why I was debating whether or not to mention this now,” Gayle said. “The timing is all wrong.”

  “Give me her phone number.” Angela held out her hand. “I want to call her myself.”

  Gayle got her purse, took out a piece of paper, and handed it to Angela. “Chances are this woman isn’t your grandmother, Angel. Now don’t go and let this interfere with the life you’re about to embark upon with Brent. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything to you just yet.” Gayle shook her head. “I knew this would be a mistake.”

  “Yes, you should have.” Angela headed for the phone. “And I’m calling her right now.” She picked up the phone and held it. A smile came over her face. “If it turns out this woman really is my grandmother, then what better time for me to find out than right before my wedding. In my spirit, I don’t believe this is happening by some sheer coincidence.” Angela looked at the paper as she pressed the numbers. “I mean, look at the timing of all of this. It’s almost like it’s some sort of setup.”

  After a minute, with the phone at her ear, Angela looked up at the ceiling. She clicked the end button and slowly placed the phone back into its base.

  “What happened?” Gayle asked.

  “The number is no longer in service.” Angela went over to the couch and gingerly eased down onto it. I could see she had just had the wind knocked out of her. I knew all too well what that felt like.

  Gayle sat down beside Angela. “I’m so sorry. I knew I shouldn’t have brought it up now. I should have followed my first mind and just kept this information to myself.” She leaned over and hugged Angela. “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to forget I ever said anything. Okay? You know your grandmother’s name. It was Arletha. We don’t know where she is or even if she’s still alive. You’re getting married on Saturday. So let’s just get back to the happy place we were before I opened my big fat mouth. Let’s finish seating family and friends and concentrate on the glorious day you’re about to embark upon. Angel, please don’t let the devil steal your joy. Not now.”

  Angela shook her head repeatedly. “I can’t.” She looked at Gayle. “And I’m not sorry you said anything.” Angela looked down at the paper again. “If this Arletha Brown happens to be my grandmother, I want to know. I know other family members and close friends are going to be attending my wedding. But can you imagine how much it would mean, not having my mother alive to be here for this, not having Great-granny here, but finding my grandmother, if she’s still alive, and to have her sitting out there in the audience?”

  “We don’t know that she is still alive, and we definitely don’t know that this Arletha Brown is your grandmother. Chances are more likely that she is not. All of this is sheer speculation. It’s a distraction. And even if you wanted to, we have no way of locating Arletha Brown to find out one way or the other,” Gayle said.

  I sat there debating what, if anything, I should do at this point. If I kept my mouth closed, maybe they would drop this, at least until after the wedding. But if Angela’s thoughts were on finding this woman, we might not get anything done, and everything she and I had worked so hard to accomplish these past months would be ruined.

  “Well, I’ll just see what I can do. I have to at least try and find her. I’ll get on the computer. I’ll start calling around to see if anyone has heard of her,” Angela said. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to give up so easily when I could be so close. I’m not.”

  “I think I may know where she is,” I said. Both Angela and Gayle turned and looked at me. “Arletha Brown. I believe I know where she lives. At least, I used to.”

  Gayle and Angela exchanged looks, then Angela stood as she looked at me. “Melissa, can you take us to her house? Please. Can you take us now?”

  I nodded. “Sure. But I don’t want you getting your hopes up. I don’t know if she still lives there. She may be in a nursing home. She might have died. And like Gayle said, it’s very likely this Arletha is not the woman you’re looking for. I just know we have a lot of work here to do on this wedding, and you really don’t need to be distracted right now. So if this helps you to get back on track, I’ll take you, but only on one condition.”

  “What’s that?” Angela asked.

  “If she no longer lives there or if she says she’s not who you’re looking for, that you’ll drop this. You’ll put this out of your mind, at least until after the wedding,” I said.

  Angela shook her head, then nodded, then shook it again before she nodded again and said, “Of course. Of course. If you take us and it turns out she’s not the person we’re looking for, we’ll come back here, finish what we need to do for my wedding, and I’ll work on searching for her after I get back from my honeymoon.”

  Angela looked toward heaven. “Thank You, God. Thank You, God. Thank You.” She looked over at Gayle. “Now, don’t tell me this isn’t God. Don’t tell me it’s not God.”

  Chapter 7

  These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.

  —Jude 1:19

  Sasha called Marcus. This wasn’t his weekend to have Aaliyah, but Sasha said it was an emergency and she really needed him to get her.

  “And if you don’t mind, instead of bringing her back on Sunday, could you possibly keep her until Thursday for me?” Sasha asked. This was becoming a habit.

  “Okay, so what’s the emergency this time?” Marcus asked.

  “Look, Marcus, either you can get your daughter this weekend and keep her or you can’t. I told you it’s an emergency. Now if you just don’t want her—”

  “Sasha, don’t do that,” Marcus said. “You know I have never said I didn’t want my child. Never. And I’m not going to allow you to even try and go there with me.”

  Sasha’s voice changed to a softer, more patronizing tone. “Oh yeah, that is right. You were the one who was pushing hard for me to have a child when you knew good and well I wasn’t ready. I married you when I was twenty; had her when I was twenty-two. I’m only twenty-seven now. Maybe if you had listened to me more, things would have turned out differently between us.”

  “So what are you trying to say, Sasha?”

  “I’m just pointing out the fact that at twenty-two, I wasn’t ready to have a child and that you were the one who kept pressurin
g me until I finally gave in. You knew I was dealing with a lot of stressful things, being married for only a year. Maybe, just maybe, if you and I had waited to have a child, things might have turned out differently for us. Not that I don’t love our daughter, because you know I do.”

  Marcus sighed. No matter what else he may have thought about his ex-wife, he did know that she loved Aaliyah. “Sasha, all I asked you was: What’s the emergency?”

  “And the answer is: It’s none of your business. In case you’ve forgotten, you and I are no longer married. Remember that little thing called a divorce that became official two years ago? You know, that legal piece of paper you fought me on tooth and nail, causing us both to have to spend more money than we would have, had you just signed the thing. Well, here’s a quick refresher course on what that document means. It means you, Marcus Antoine Peeples, no longer have a right to know what I, Sasha Antoinette Bradford Peeples, am doing.”

  “I know what it means, Sasha. All I asked is: What’s your emergency this time? Last month…” Marcus stopped and began to count to ten.

  He and Sasha did this very same thing every single time something like this came up. She would ask him to do something, claiming something either came up, happened, or some other reason she desperately needed his help. He would find out later the only emergency was some party she wanted to go to, a shopping trip to another city with one or several of her girlfriends or some other type of girls’ night or girls’ weekend out, or her just feeling like she needed a break.

  A few times her emergency had turned out to be a weekend trip with some guy she had “fallen in love with” who, at the time, was definitely “the one.” The same guy who would later send her into a state of depression. She would then need Marcus to keep Aaliyah because she was too depressed to take care of her. He knew about some of these guys because during a few of her bouts of depression, she also needed someone to talk to. She ended up talking to Marcus, the only person who seemed to care enough to reach out and check on her when she withdrew, to try and help her get better.