Gospel According to Prissy

by Barbara Casey

  “Supposedly her sister, Tanya, knew him when she worked part-time at Schlage, and that’s how Darnell met him before she moved to Atlanta.” Lara refilled Randall’s and Tyree’s cups with coffee. “It’s really nice of your parents to help with her legal expenses.”

  Beth nodded. “I think they are just so grateful she finally told the truth about me. You deserve all the credit, Lara.” Beth’s eyes brimmed with tears, an indication that the trauma she had experienced wasn’t completely gone. “If you hadn’t gone to see her . . .”

  “The important thing is that she did tell the truth. Anyway, I want to talk about something else now, if you don’t mind. I have been thinking about something, and you three are involved.”

  Everyone looked at Lara, waiting to hear what she was going to say.

  “As you know, as of this past week I am no longer employed.”

  “Yeah,” said Tyree. “I’m sure you don’t need to worry though. With your looks and your smarts, you’ll find somethin’ real soon.”

  “That’s just it, Tyree. I have given it a lot of thought, and I have decided I want to try something different.”

  “What do you think you’d like to do?” Randall had been quiet all morning, and it seemed strange to hear him say something. Beth and Tyree looked at him and then at one another.

  “I want to tell you my idea and see what you think about it.” Lara took a deep breath. “I’d like for the four of us to form a cleaning business.”

  “You mean like maids?” Beth’s eyes were open wide.

  Tyree laughed. “Damn, Little Fox!”

  Randall remained quiet, staring into his coffee cup.

  “Well, now, just wait a minute. Beth, you don’t want to go to college right away. So with a high school diploma, you can sit around your house all day watching television, or you can get a job at a fast food restaurant.

  “Tyree, you’re in about the same situation. You are a little older than Beth and you are a terrific basketball player. But you don’t have your college degree, so what do you want to do with yourself besides just ‘hang out’ and do nothing?

  “And Randall. I don’t know you well enough yet to decide if this is something that would fit into your plans, but my intuition tells me it would. All of us would be equal partners and share whatever money we earn equally. We would also share expenses equally.”

  Lara looked around the table at the three people sitting there. Maybe it was a stupid idea. And saying it out loud like that did make it sound that way. But still, ever since Carole’s neighbor offered her a job cleaning house, the idea had just sort of grown. Lara waited, wanting someone else to say something.

  Finally Randall quit staring at his cup of coffee and looked up. “I think it sounds like a good idea,” he said quietly.

  There was another silence. Then Tyree said, “Hey, man, I’m in. I mean, what have I got to lose, right?”

  “Right,” said Lara as she squeezed his hand.

  Everyone looked at Beth. She giggled. “My folks are going to kill me, but I want to do it. You can count on me.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Lara was feeling the excitement building inside of her. She had been holding back her feelings until she knew how the others felt, afraid of getting disappointed. “I think we’ll need a van, not only for us to ride in, but big enough to haul our cleaning supplies and equipment around with us. We can’t expect everyone to be as well supplied as your mother, Beth. I think I can trade my car in for a good used van,” said Lara. All of the things she had been thinking about came tumbling out. She was happy, and the flush on her face showed it.

  “I can get a van,” said Tyree.

  “How?” everyone asked at once.

  “Never mind. Just let me handle that part.”

  “Tyree,” Lara hesitated, trying to choose her words carefully. After all, she didn’t know Tyree’s financial situation. “If you do get a van, it has to be legal.”

  “Little Fox!” Tyree sat back in an exaggerated shocked pose. “You don’t trust Tyree?”

  “I trust you, Tyree. I am just telling you, all of this has to be legal.”

  “It will be,” he said seriously.

  “Beth, after you have had a chance to talk to your parents about this, I will talk to your dad about doing whatever is necessary to incorporate us. Once that is completed, I’ll contact Mrs. Millicent Dunn, your neighbor who tried to hire Randall and me, and we’ll start from there. She said she knew several others who could use a good cleaning service.”

  Randall cleared his throat. “I have a couple of buddies – war buddies – sort of extended family, you might say. They were banged up in the war pretty good. They can’t hold down a regular job, but they are decent men. They could handle work like this, and they could also work at night if we get any commercial business. Most offices want the cleaning done at night. Right? My buddies could help us out a lot,” he added as though trying to convince the others. It was the first time Lara had heard Randall speak more than a few words at one time. This was obviously important to him.

  “That sounds good to me,” said Lara. “If everything goes as I hope it will, we will do commercial businesses as well as private homes. And like Randall said, most businesses want their cleaning crews to come in at night. What do you two think?” She looked at Beth and Tyree.

  “Sounds good to me,” said Tyree.

  “Me too,” said Beth still giggling. She was obviously enjoying the whole conversation.

  “What shall we call this merry little band of entrepreneurs?” asked Tyree.

  Lara thought for a moment. Her eyes strayed over to the coffee pot where the note was still propped: “We’ll be back to check on you later. The Honor Guard.”

  “How about, ‘Maids of Honor.’”

  * * *

  Beth left to discuss her future plans with her parents. As Tyree and Randall were leaving, Lara stopped both men at the door.

  “I don’t know what happened to me the other day on campus. I can’t seem to remember – or what happened afterwards. I just know that when I woke up, it was the next morning, I was home in my own bed, and I was wearing the Blue Bulldogs tee-shirt Tyree had given me. Can either of you help me out here?”

  “I saw it all the time during the war,” Randall said. “Flashbacks. Something you try to suppress resurfaces for some reason – usually because of stress or when you get overly tired.”

  “I brought you home,” said Tyree. “And your secretary stopped by. She had seen us leave campus and was worried about you.”

  “Sylvia?”

  “Yeah, Sylvia. That red-haired woman. She knew you weren’t feeling good.” He grinned.

  “And the tee-shirt?”

  “She put that on you after I suggested it might make you feel better. Then Randall here came and stayed with you while Sylvia took me back to the campus to get your car. She didn’t think you’d want it left there all night.”

  Lara continued looking at the two men. “Why do I think I saw a man in a wheelchair next to my bed with mud on his face?”

  Randall and Tyree looked at one another and then down at the floor. “That’s Doc,” said Randall finally. “He knows all about herbal medications, and he gave you something to help you relax.”

  “I see,” said Lara. “Does he always wear that stuff on his face?”

  “Yeah. He’s still fighting the enemy.”

  “Is he one of the men who will be working with us?”

  “That’s right. Doc’s his name. Jimmy is the other one. Jimmy got his arm shot off, but he’s strong. He can do things with one arm that most men can’t do with two.”

  “I see,” said Lara once again. “Well, gentlemen, I think we are in for one heck of a new adventure. Thank you for looking after me.”

  Tyree smiled. “Any time, Little Fox.”

  After the men left, Lara changed clothes and got ready to meet Miriam Temple for lunch. On her way, she drove over to where Sylvia lived in a small apartment complex n
ext to the campus. She and her boys were loading the last of some boxes and furniture into a U-Haul rental truck.

  “Boy, am I glad to see you. I don’t mind telling you, you scared the pure mud out of me yesterday.” Sylvia had come out of the house when she heard Lara drive up. “How are you feeling? I tried calling to check on you, but you didn’t answer, so I figured you went to the courthouse. I heard Beth was released. Thank goodness.”

  Lara hugged Sylvia and gave her a bottle of Taboo cologne she had been saving for her. “Just a little ‘thank you,’” said Lara.

  The two women sat down on the porch swing. After Lara explained about Leona’s call, Sylvia just shook her head. “Well, I hate to say it, but what could that woman have been thinking anyway, marrying a man so much younger like that, especially a raving lunatic. I mean, when you lay down with dogs, you’re bound to get fleas.” She took Lara’s hand and squeezed it. “You are all right, though, aren’t you? I mean, even forgetting Leona for the moment, I’ve always heard the three major causes of stress is divorce, changing jobs, and moving. You’ve been through all three during these past few months. Not to even mention the trial.”

  “Actually, I am better than all right.” Lara told Sylvia what had happened during the court proceedings.

  “All I can say is, thank goodness Darnell finally told the truth.”

  Lara glanced around at the mess that always comes with moving. “There’s more,” she said. “Beth, Tyree, Randall and a couple of his buddies, and I are starting our own cleaning business. We will clean private residences as well as commercial businesses.”

  Sylvia sat forward and stared at Lara. “When did all of this happen?”

  Lara laughed. “Just now. I have been thinking about what I wanted to do, of course, ever since the rumors started circulating about the college closing. Everything has just sort of fallen into place. I feel like the time is right.” Lara smiled at Sylvia and immediately started crying. “I am really going to miss you, friend. You were right there for me when I had no one else.” Lara took a tissue from her purse and wiped her nose. “It isn’t exactly the same thing as raising your sons on a farm, but if things don’t work out in Ohio, you can always come back here and join us you know.”

  “Thanks, Lara. I’ll keep that in mind. After all, who knows?”

  Sylvia walked Lara to her car. “It sounds like everything is working out for you, Lara, but please be careful, at least until Leona does whatever it is she is going to do. I have a feeling she will dump Jake’s ass, and if she does, he’ll be wanting to take it out on you. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I know,” said Lara. “You be careful too.” Even though Sylvia had never discussed her childhood with Lara, Lara sensed that Sylvia had also been victimized in some way. Maybe victims recognized something in each other, some little part that never healed. And it made them soul mates, just as children brought up with no siblings seemed to be drawn to each other. On some level, it was a part of their identity recognized only by others who shared the same experience. Lara would probably never know the cause of Sylvia’s pain. Sylvia had moved on and was at another place in her healing now, beyond Lara’s. Lara waved goodbye to her friend hoping that she too would some day reach that place Sylvia had found – the place where it didn’t hurt so much.

  * * *

  Miriam was already holding a table at Smoke Stack’s Restaurant when Lara got there. She smiled and waved when she saw Lara come through the door.

  “This is one of my favorite places to eat. It is so nice of you to invite me. I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” said Lara sitting down in a chair opposite Miriam. The waiter handed her a menu. “As you know, the college is closed now, and everyone is scattering in different directions. I stopped by to tell my secretary good-bye on the way here.”

  “I just got here, so your timing is perfect. It is such a shame,” said Miriam. “The college has served the community well. With the economy being in the state that it is, I guess Rocky Mount just couldn’t reciprocate.”

  The waiter came back over to the table ready to take their order. Lara quickly glanced over the menu. “I believe I’ll have the cob salad and iced tea.”

  “I’ll have the same,” said Miriam. “I need to watch my girlish figure.”

  Both women laughed. Lara liked Miriam. She was an open and honest person who seemed to be motivated by the universal qualities of all that was good and just. Her self-deprecation only added to her charm. Lara didn’t have any doubt that the woman seated across from her was intelligent and hard-working. How else could she run a woman’s prison and do it so well?

  “I am glad that mean business with the Parkers’ daughter is cleared up.” Miriam unfolded her napkin and spread it across her lap.

  “I know. We were all pretty concerned.” Then looking at Miriam, “Do you know Darnell by any chance? I understand that her sister was serving time at Braden.”

  “I only met her once when she came to visit Tanya, her sister. I believe Darnell was living in Atlanta at the time, from what I remember, and she was only here visiting for a few days.”

  “And then there is the grandmother and that precious little girl, Prissy.”

  “Oh, then you have met Prissy?”

  Lara explained how she had gone to talk to Darnell before the trial. “She’s a smart little girl. She can even quote scripture.”

  Miriam laughed. “Believe me, I know Prissy well. She was born at Braden. In fact, Darnell came to visit Tanya right after Prissy was born.”

  And so the story came out about how Prissy and her mother were the first residents to move into the family wing, and how much Prissy impacted the lives of all the women serving time. “It’s just amazing how she can comprehend what is going on around her and then quote something from the Bible that is fitting. Of course, it is her own interpretation – she usually throws in a Santa Claus or magical fairy or some other character of fiction – but it always works for my girls. At least it did.”

  Lara listened fascinated. “Is there any explanation for Prissy’s ability?”

  “Nothing definite. Of course, as a psychologist, I am interested and have even tested her. The tests have ruled out some things that might be behind it, but nothing seems to definitively explain it. For example, I know she isn’t autistic savant. She doesn’t exhibit any of the behaviors characteristic of this, such as having difficulty making friends and sustaining conversations, or being aloof and unemotional. Prissy’s quite the opposite. She makes friends with everyone, and her curiosity about all things is astounding. Because she has chosen to memorize the Bible and nothing else, I thought she might have a photographic memory, but on a selective basis. But this doesn’t really explain how she is able to comprehend the meaning of the scripture and apply it to contemporary situations. I suppose if I had to call it anything, I would say that Prissy is a child prodigy.”

  “Like Mozart when he performed before Austria’s Archduchess Maria Theresa at the age of six?” asked Lara.

  “That’s right. And there have been many others, of course. The question has always been, are prodigies born or can prodigies be made? Is this an accident of genetics, or can it be forged through environment? So far, scientists haven’t been able to explain this phenomenon, although it appears to be a combination of timing and talent and circumstances, all occurring during the same moment. And ethnicity and geography are irrelevant. Case studies show that some of these exceptional children keep their special abilities throughout life, but many seem to lose them at around age ten. It might have to do with puberty. At this point we don’t know if Prissy will sustain her talent, or develop new talents. All I know is, she seems to hear the voice of the Lord and has the ability to translate it into ministering to the needs of others. I guess there’s really no need for me to try to ‘put this in a box’ and define or categorize it as though it is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit mentioned in Corinthians. It doesn’t matter. Prissy simply has the ability to pick things up in t
he Spirit and is able to speak to the needs and issues of the people around her.” Miriam sipped her glass of iced tea. “It might be nothing more than the gift of prophecy, as her mother called it.”

  And now she will be staying with the grandmother?”

  “Only until after Darnell’s trial. Hopefully, if all goes well, we’ll be able to have her back then. I don’t mind telling you, the girls – the women who live at Braden – really miss her. I had already started checking into a suitable school for her to attend once she turned six.”

  “Did you find one?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did. There is a small private school right here in Rocky Mount that takes exceptionally gifted children. It’s called Hope School, named after the Hope family. Edna Hope first established the school under a State charter forty-five years ago. Now the Hope family continues to operate it. They have children enrolled from all over the country. I think Prissy would love it – she is so outgoing anyway. And being around other children who are like her in some ways would also help her to understand that she is different and learn to accept it as she grows older. It is important that she not ever feel something is wrong with her because she is different.”

  Miriam fiddled with some lettuce on her plate. “Lara, I want to talk to you about something that I hope will be of interest to you.”

  Lara listened while Miriam told her about the work program she had started at The Rock, and how now it looked like she would be given the funds to do something similar at Braden. “You have met some of the women who live there. Obviously they wouldn’t be there if they hadn’t made some mistakes. But I think all of them are capable of giving back to society in some way and by doing that build up their own self-esteem. This work program will give them the direction.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more. Any kind of stimulation, whether it be intellectual, spiritual, or creative, is good for anyone. But especially for these women who might not feel as hopeful as they could. I certainly wish you all the success with it, Miriam.”