What's Blood Got to Do With It?

by Shelia E. Bell

  Adanya laughed. “I won’t fight you on that. I think you won him over as soon as he smelled the aroma of dog cookies.”

  “Good. Well, I’m out of here. Have a great week.”

  “You too.”

  Bleak nodded and proceeded to walk away.

  Adanya closed the door, and leaned against it while Snoopy sat on his hind parts and watched with bulging eyes and a hanging pink tongue.

  “Snoopy, Mr. Bleak Blessinger seems like a pretty cool guy.”

  Adanya kneeled and massaged Snoopy underneath his chin, an act he loved. He plopped his body down on the tiled floor. “You’re such a softie.” She massaged him a few more seconds before she stood and went to look at the Hope Chest.

  Adanya looked around her new home and suddenly a bout of loneliness flooded her spirit. She was so used to being with her family. Most Sundays, after church she and her parents would have dinner at her grandparents’ house, or they’d all go out to a restaurant. Things were a far cry from how they used to be. She made sure the doors were locked and went to her bedroom and started putting more unpacked items away. For the next few hours, she eased her loneliness by trying to make her house look like a home.

  When she went into the room that was going to double as her office and Anaya’s room, sadness forced a rush of tears to fall along the contours of her face. She imagined the pain and confusion her birth mother must have experienced at the hands of her father. Anaya was such a sweet, innocent woman and for her father to do what he did was an unforgiveable act as far as Adanya was concerned. Adanya went into the bathroom and got some tissue to wipe away her tears. She finished making Anaya’s bed and placed some of the knick knacks around the room. When she finished, she allowed a slight smile to take the place of tears before she turned and went into her own bedroom.

  ◊

  Monday morning, Adanya awoke to the sound of rain pellets pounding down on top of the roof. She sat up, yawned and slowly climbed out of bed. Adanya took her morning shower and then dressed in rain gear so she could take Snoopy out for his morning walk. Snoopy handled his business quickly, something he often did when it was raining outside.

  For most of the day, the rain refused to let up. When Nanette texted her about lunch, she texted back and told her she was going to eat in the ‘The Rat’. No one could ever explain why they called the dining hall, The Rat, but everybody did, including the faculty. They agreed to talk after work.

  Two o’clock came quickly and Adanya left for her short drive home. She barely stepped inside of her apartment when she was met by Snoopy. “Come on, boy. Let’s get this done so we can get back inside before this storm worsens. When she made it back inside and got out of her drenched clothing, she got a towel from the linen closet and used it to dry his wet fur. “I need to get you a rain jacket, don’t I,” she said to him as he patiently sat and allowed her to rub him down.

  In the past, when she came home from work she would be met by her mother, and sometimes her daddy would be home. Either way, she would have talked to them more than once during the day. She missed that ritual.

  After she changed out of her clothes and put on a pair of jogging bottoms and a tee, she went into the kitchen and stuck a breaded chicken patty in her toaster and warmed up some left over tomato soup she had in the fridge. Her cell phone rang. “Hello.”

  “Pretty Adanya.”

  “Hi, Anaya.”

  “It’s raining.”

  “Yes, I know. Are you okay?”

  “I’m scared.”

  “Moth…,” Adanya stopped and then corrected herself. “Anaya, there’s no reason to be scared. Remember, God is cleaning the earth and watering the flowers and trees.”

  “But why does He have to be so loud?” Anaya asked.

  Adanya smiled. Because it takes a lot of water to clean the earth, and the thunder and lightning are God’s angels helping him. You don’t have to be afraid. Where are Gram and Gramps?”

  “In the front,” Anaya answered.

  “Are you in your bedroom?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I want you to get one of the books we bought at the store. Do you remember the book I bought you, the one about Jonah and the big fish?”

  “Uh, huh,” answered Anaya.

  “Good, well I want you to get it, then climb in your bed, get underneath the covers and then look at all of the pictures inside. Don’t think about what’s going on outside. God’s angels are all around you, even if you can’t see them. If you look at your picture book, then I bet before you know it, you won’t be frightened anymore. Okay?”

  “I want to come to your house, Pretty Adanya.”

  “I’ll come to get you in four days, and you can come over here with me and Snoopy. You can sleep in your brand new bed with the red bed covers you picked out.”

  “Okay, Pretty Adanya. Four days.”

  Adanya’s phone beeped. “That’s right. Now go on and get in the bed with your book. I’ll call you back later.”

  “Okay, Pretty Adanya.” Before Adanya could tell Anaya bye, Adanya heard the dial tone in her ear. She clicked over to the other line. “Hey, what’s up? Are you out in that storm?” Adanya asked Nanette.

  “I’m getting ready to leave work. We had a college fair today. Girl, this rain is coming down hard. There’s a severe thunderstorm warning until six this evening.”

  “I hadn’t heard. I was on the phone with Anaya, and I hadn’t turned on my television.”

  “Is she all right?”

  “Yea, she’s just a little frightened because of the storm. But I think I got her calmed down.”

  “You’re already a good daughter,” complimented Nanette. “I’ve missed out on so much with her, Nanette.”

  “The past is done. There’s no way you can turn back the hands of time. All you can do is take one day at a time and make the most of what you have now.”

  “Yeah, I know, but it still makes me angry every time I think about what my family did.”

  “You’re going to have to get over it. In order for you to move forward, you’re going to have to let go of what you do not have the power to change.”

  “Um, hmm, I know.” Adanya flipped the subject. “Are you going straight home?”

  “Yeah. But right now, I’m standing inside the doorway waiting for the rain to let up enough for me to run to my car without getting soaked to the bone.”

  “Be careful out there.”

  “I will. Oh, have you heard from Bleak?”

  “No, and I’m not expecting to. He just came over here yesterday, Nanette. It’s not like the man is going to start ringing my number off the hook. He made a friendly, neighborly gesture and that’s that on that. So don’t start making something out of nothing.”

  “Gosh, I was just asking. Oh, good, the rain is letting up. I think I better make a dash for it while I can. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay, bye.” Adanya reached for the remote and turned on the television. Tickers were on the bottom of the television announcing flash floods and thunderstorm warnings just like Nanette said. A bolt of lightning caused Adanya to jump and she turned the television off and curled up in the fetal position on her sofa.

  Chapter 11

  “Family is not an important thing, it's everything.” Michael Fox

  It was Friday, the day for Anaya to sleep over at Adanya’s place. After Adanya picked her up, the mother-daughter team set out to Target where they spent some fun time sifting through DVDs.

  Anaya insisted on paying for the Shrek 3D movie she chose with a portion of the allowance Mr. and Mrs. Kaplan dispensed to her monthly from the SSI check Anaya received. Afterward, they stopped at McDonalds and carried their meal and movies home. When they arrived at Adanya’s flat, they ate their food after taking Snoopy for his walk.

  “Would you like to go back outside before it starts getting dark? We have a park here. I can take you there. They have a walking trail. They even have swings.”

  Anaya clapped
her hands in joy. “I want to go.”

  “Great. Get Snoopy’s leash again while I tidy up the kitchen and get the trash together.”

  “Come on, Snoopy. Let me put your leash on so I can take you to the park.” Snoopy turned around and around and barked once.

  “Are you ready?” asked Adanya.

  “Yes, Snoopy and Anaya are ready for the park.”

  “Let’s go, then.” Adanya picked up the trash bag. “I’ll put this in the trash bin when we get outside.”

  “Okay. Lock your door, Pretty Adanya. Mommy says you should always lock the doors so strangers won’t hide inside to get you.”

  “She’s right. Always lock the door when you’re in the house and lock the door when you leave the house.”

  “I always remember to do that.”

  “Good for you. Real good,” commented Adanya.

  They reached the giant blue garbage bin and Adanya chunked the bag of trash inside and then wiped her hands, one inside the other. She haphazardly glanced at the building next to the garbage bin. Building E. Bleak’s unit. For a moment, she stood frozen in place. That funny sensation filtered through her belly.

  Anaya infiltrated her thoughts. “Come on, Pretty Adanya. Let’s go.”

  Adanya shook her head slightly to clear her mind. She jogged a few steps until she reached Anaya. “We have a swimming pool near the park.”

  “For real?” Anaya’s eyes opened wide. “I can swim like a fish.”

  “You can? Who taught you how to swim?”

  “The swimming school. I can swim like a fish.”

  Adanya giggled. “Then when it gets warmer, we can go swimming. Would you like that?”

  “Yep. I like to swim. I swim like a fish,” she said again. “Mommy and Pops said it.”

  “Well, if Mommy and Pops said it, then I’m sure it’s true.” They reached the park and Anaya took off running with Snoopy keeping up with her. The park was deserted, all accept for a teenage couple who were cuddled on one of the benches. Adanya watched Anaya get on the swing. She continued to hold on to Snoopy.

  Adanya followed and stopped behind Anaya. “Why don’t I hold on to Snoopy while you swing?”

  “Thank you, Pretty Adanya.” Anaya pushed back against the swing until her feet left the ground, and she sailed forward then backward. With each movement, she swung higher and higher. Shrill screams of joy pursed her lips.

  Adanya’s phone signaled that she had a text message. She reached inside pocket of her pea coat jacket.

  “Hope u had a good week.”

  “Bleak?” Adanya smiled. She had not seen or heard from him since his visit. She pretended that it hadn’t affected her one way or the other, but the truth of the matter was she had truly enjoyed his company and hoped he that she might see him again. Before all the family drama, she had her father to spend time with. Now there were no more father-daughter outings, no more deep conversations around the fireplace in the winter, or long walks at Tom Lee Park where she and her daddy talked about her future, and engaged in father-daughter conversation. She missed her father’s companionship.

  Kenneth Anniston knew her like no one else, including her mother. Of everything that had happened over the past few months, the wound couldn’t quite seem to heal. The wedge the family secret caused between Adanya and her father was far too deep.

  Adanya pulled herself from her thoughts and looked at Anaya who was singing and swinging. Adanya felt her hands begin to tremble. “Girl, what’s wrong with you?” she whispered. “The man only sent you a text. Don’t read anything into it,” she chastised herself. “Should I respond? I mean, why wouldn’t I?” She felt Snoopy’s tug. “Anaya, honey, will you be all right if I walk Snoopy to the doggie area? It’s right over there,” Adanya pointed to the front of where she stood, not far from the swing area.

  “I’m having fun, Pretty Adanya.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right over there where you can see me. Don’t go anywhere.”

  “I won’t.”

  Adanya walked Snoopy around the special doggie area. When he stopped at a nearby tree, she used the time to text Bleak. “Thank u. I did. hope u had 1 2.”

  Beep.

  Adanya read his reply. “Plans 2nite?”

  Adanya looked over her shoulder. Anaya was still swinging. Snoopy pulled her by his leash. Adanya stroked her brow. “Umm.” She texted, “Yes plans with my mom And u?” she sent the text.

  “@ home working.”

  “Pretty Adanya.”

  Adanya jumped, and Snoopy immediately started barking when he felt his master jump. “Ew, you scared me.” Adanya placed one hand over her heart. “I didn’t hear you come up.”

  “I’m sorry.” Anaya looked sad.

  “It’s all right.” Adanya patted her mother on the back of her shoulder.

  “I want to go home.”

  “Anaya, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by what I said.”

  “I want to go,” she repeated.

  “But I thought you wanted to spend the night with me and Snoopy.” Adanya felt disappointment form inside. “Don’t you want to sleep in your new bed?”

  “I want to watch my movie; the one I bought with my own money.” Anaya pointed at her chest. “Snoopy is ready too.”

  “Oh, that’s what you mean. I thought you were talking about going to your house. All right, all right. No problem. We can go. It’s going to be dark soon anyway.”

  Anaya removed Snoopy’s leash from Adanya’s hand. “Come on, Snoopy. We’re going home. I have a new bed, and I have Shrek 3D,” she said to the dog who walked slightly ahead of her.

  Adanya moved slowly because she was still pleasantly surprised to hear from Bleak. “u no what they say about all work.” She hit the send button.

  “Makes lots of money?” he texted back.

  “that 2 but no time 2 spend it,”

  “Ur mom there 4 the night?”

  “Ooooooh, what should I say?”

  “hey, u still there?” he texted again, probably because she hadn’t replied to his previous text.

  Adanya was caught up with Anaya and Snoopy who were making the turn toward her building. Adanya was often in awe of her mother’s uncanny abilities to recall places, memorize numbers, and the full lyrics to hundreds of gospel tunes.

  “Why are you slow, Pretty Adanya?”

  “I’m coming. I was sending a message on my phone. That’s all,” Adanya answered and approached the door to her flat. She retrieved her key and opened the door. As they went inside, Adanya’s phone beeped again.

  “Is somebody testing you?” asked Anaya.

  Adanya smiled. “It’s called texting and how do you know about texting anyway?.”

  “I know how to use a cell phone,” answered Anaya. “Mommy lets me talk on hers sometimes.”

  “That’s good. I tell you what, take off Snoopy’s leash for me and hang it up. Then why don’t you get a bath and we can get ready to watch our movies. Would you like that?”

  “Yes. I want to see my movie.”

  “I’ll go to my room and get ready, and you have your clothes in your bedroom. There are clean towels in the bathroom.”

  “Thank you,” answered Anaya in her always polite manner.

  Anaya disappeared into her room. Adanya walked toward her bedroom while she speed called Nanette and told her everything that Bleak had texted. “What should I tell him?” she asked Nanette.

  “See, I told you that you should have been listening to my advice all along. But nooo, you were always so wrapped up in your daddy. Now you don’t even know what to say to a man who obviously finds you appealing or something.”

  “Look, I don’t have time for the I-told-you-so. I have Anaya here and we’re supposed to be watching movies tonight. I don’t know what to tell him.”

  “Listen, you said that he asked if your mother was going to be there for the night, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Just tell him the truth. Tell him that she’s there fo
r the night. If you want to see him, this would be the perfect time. I mean, think about it. You’ll have Anaya there with you, so you wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable.”

  “Yeah,” Adanya paused. “But he doesn’t know about Anaya.” “Doesn’t know what about Anaya? Are you talking about her being autistic?”

  “Uh, yes. I don’t want her to feel awkward. I don’t know how well she’ll take to him. As for Bleak, I don’t want to put him on the spot either.”

  “Just go with the flow. Invite the man over. It’ll be a purely innocent night of watching a movie. Put on some popcorn, fix something to drink, and sit back and enjoy the company. What movies do you have?”

  Adanya chuckled before she answered, “Shrek 3D and The Preacher’s Kid.”

  Nanette laughed into the phone. “Can’t get more innocent than that. Go for it, girl.”

  “Yea, you’re right. But I’m still a little on edge.”

  “About what?”

  “Why would he consider coming to my house when he’s never met my mother?”

  “Duh, I don’t see anything wrong with it. Frankly, I think it’s a good sign if he agrees to come over. That says something positive about the guy.”

  “Okay, let me go. I’m going to text him back.”

  “Okay, good. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  Adanya ended the call and proceeded to text Bleak. “goin 2 watch couple DVDS w mom. Free 2 join us”

  No answer. Adanya stripped down out of her clothes and walked into her bathroom. She started the shower. By the time she was ready to step into the shower stall, she still had not heard back from Bleak. Guess he decided he doesn’t want to be bothered. Adanya pretended like it didn’t bother her one way or another. In a way it didn’t, because as long as she had her mother with her, she knew she was in for a special night. She felt her body being massaged by the jetted shower heads. The heated water relaxed her body.

  “Anaya,” she called out after she finished her shower.

  “Yes.”

  “What are you doing?” Adanya asked as she finished drying off. She dressed in a lightweight pair of low rider slacks and a waist length, short-sleeved, tangerine shirt.