How Sweet the Sound

by Vanessa Miller

  “No such thing, Sister Shar,” Monroe said. “Now you were out of sorts today at that hospital. And we know that you’re dealing with a mountain load right now with your ma and pa taking ill. So go on in there and sit with your mama while we go get your things.”

  Sighing heavily, Shar’s shoulders slumped as she admitted what everyone else could already see. “I am awfully tired.”

  Landon held out his hand again. “Give me the keys and I’ll go to the house and get your stuff.”

  She had mixed feelings about leaning any further on Pastor Landon’s kindness, but she didn’t continue to argue with him at that time. She handed over the keys with a grateful heart and then went back to the bedroom and sat with her mother.

  Marlene was already in her nightgown and just pulling up the covers over her shoulder as Shar sat down in the wooden chair next to her bed. “Deacon Monroe and Pastor left already?”

  “Yeah, Pastor Landon and Deacon Monroe are going to the house to bring back some of our things.”

  “That’s mighty nice of them.”

  Nodding, Shar said, “I tried to talk them out of it . . . told them that I could just go over there tomorrow. But they wouldn’t hear of it.”

  “Pastor Landon is a gentleman. He wouldn’t have you lugging all of our stuff over here by yourself.” Marlene was overtaken by another coughing fit. Shar ran and grabbed a glass of water. When the coughing subsided, she sipped the water and then smiled as she said, “Remember how I used to have you taking cakes and pies to Pastor Landon?”

  “I remember, Mama.”

  Getting comfortable as she laid her head on the soft pillow, Marlene said, “Why don’t you bake a lemon cake for Pastor. You know, to show him how much we appreciate him letting us stay in this warm, draft-free house of his.”

  Her mama wasn’t fooling her one bit. She knew that the cake wasn’t just for no appreciation. Marlene Gracey wanted to showcase her daughter’s cooking skills to the most eligible bachelor in the Black Belt. They tried it once before, and Landon had come calling, even asking for her hand in marriage. But after what she’d done to him, Shar didn’t think a lemon cake would get him sweet on her again. To appease her mama, she said, “I’ll get down to the store in a couple of days to get the items needed for the cake.”

  “Mmmh,” was all Marlene said as her eyelids began to close.

  Shar watched her mama sink into the mattress. Her mama appeared to be at peace, so she decided it was time for her to find some peace with the situation also. Yes, she had lost the affection of the only man who truly cared for her and both of her parents had taken ill, but they were still alive. Shar decided to find hope in that. For now it was enough.

  “Shar,” Marlene whispered her daughter’s name.

  “Yes, Mama, do you need me to get something for you?”

  “No, baby, I’m tired right now and just want to sleep. You go get yourself settled in the other room.”

  “Okay, but I’ll leave my door open. So just holler if you need anything.”

  Marlene smiled.

  Standing, Shar prepared to leave, but Marlene reached out for her hand. The two women clasped hands, and Shar waited to see what her mother needed.

  “I don’t want you fretting over me and your daddy. Let God’s will be done and then move on with your life. Whatever the outcome, promise me.”

  What could she say to that? Would God’s will be what she wanted? Or would she be devastated by some outcome that she couldn’t even bring herself to think about? She was weak in these matters, but her mother was waiting for a response, so she simply nodded and left the room.

  23

  Landon wanted to call in sick. After a late night of packing at the Gracey’s house and then packing his own items to take with him over to Deacon Monroe’s house, not to mention the time he spent going from house to house trying to find able-bodied men willing to help over at the Gracey house . . . he was plum worn out.

  But he had no time to lie in bed and nurse his aching back. He had to pick up Joe Peterson, Mike Johnson, and Paul Benson. These men were out of work at the moment, so they had time on their hands to work on the Gracey house. He picked them up and dropped them off. He then dragged himself into church because it was Friday and he still had a sermon to write. He’d gotten sidetracked yesterday after Deacon Monroe scared the life out of him when he said that Shar was in the hospital.

  Landon had immediately assumed that Shar had been hurt. And in truth, she had. When they arrived at the hospital, Shar was in such a state that he feared for her health. He certainly hadn’t planned to give his house to Shar and her mother when he and Deacon Monroe first walked into the hospital. But after seeing her and hearing what her concerns were, Landon knew that he couldn’t allow Marlene to go back to that drafty house, not when he knew that his home was comfy and warm.

  Shar may have ripped out his heart with the engagement, but he would never turn his back on her. But Landon couldn’t help wondering where her fiancé was, and why, other than the vague comment about doing a two-step at Shar’s wedding, Mrs. Marlene and Shar never said a word about plans for Shar’s upcoming wedding. But he wasn’t going to fret over things that weren’t his to fret over.

  Landon sat down behind his desk, opened his Bible, and began reading, trying to pinpoint which scriptures he wanted to build his Sunday sermon on. Twenty minutes into his studies there was a knock on his office door.

  Rubbing his eyes, Landon looked up. “Come in.”

  The door opened, and Nettie swept into the room carrying a plate with aluminum foil over it. “What happened to you?”

  With furrowed eyebrows, Landon said, “Huh?”

  “My mom slaved over the stove yesterday, fixing the meatloaf that you love so much.” She put the plate down on his desk. “She told me to bring you some of the leftovers, but she wants to know why you didn’t show up to eat it in person.”

  Landon hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Things got crazy after Deacon and I went off to the hospital yesterday, but I am so sorry that I forgot about dinner.”

  “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to. Maybe you should come by the house after Sunday service and give Mama your apologies in person.”

  Landon nodded. “I’ll do that. But can you please tell her that I had an emergency with a few of our members last night and got so involved with helping them, that I didn’t eat at all last night.” He pulled the foil off the plate. “Matter of fact, I didn’t eat anything, but a piece of toast for breakfast. So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll eat this scrumptious meal right now.”

  Nettie smiled, “Let me grab you a fork out of my desk drawer.” She left the room in search of her fork.

  As Landon looked at the mashed potatoes, green beans, yams, and meatloaf, his mouth began watering. He pinched off a piece of the meatloaf and popped it into his mouth. It was so good, he just about moaned.

  Nettie came back into the room holding the fork. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks,” he said as he took the fork and dug in. His belly was enjoying every bite. As a bachelor he didn’t get those kinds of meals every day and sure appreciated when he did.

  Sitting down in front of Landon’s desk, Nettie asked, “You like?”

  “Mmmh.” His mouth was full so he couldn’t respond with words.

  Nettie laughed. “That good, huh?”

  Landon nodded. Kept eating.

  Nettie sat in the chair just watching him, saying nothing.

  It took Landon a moment to realize that she was staring at him. He took his last bite and then looked up. Nettie smiled at him. The smile was sweet and endearing, but Landon had the feeling he was missing something. “What? Do I have some food on my chin or something?”

  “No, I was just watching you enjoy a good meal.”

  “That it was. Please thank your mother for me.”

  Nettie shook her head. “You need to thank her yourself this time. Her feelings are going to get hurt pretty soon i
f you don’t stop by the house sometime soon.”

  He took on an ah-shucks look. “You are so right. I will come over after church on Sunday to show my appreciation to your blessed mother.”

  Nettie pointed a finger at him as she stood. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  Lifting his hands as if he’d been cornered by the law, he said, “I promise. I’ll be there. Nothing could keep me away.”

  Before leaving his office, Nettie asked, “How is Mrs. Marlene?”

  “She’s still a little weak, but I’d say she’s on the mend.”

  “Good, and does Shar need help watching out for her mama on the nights she sings down at Ray’s?”

  That caught him offguard. “Since when has Shar been singing at that nightclub?”

  Nettie hunched her shoulders. “I wouldn’t know. I just overheard a friend of my dad’s saying that he saw her there last week.”

  Landon leaned back in his seat as Nettie left his office. He would have never thought that Shar would use her God-given gift for singing in saloons. But he was discovering that there were a lot of things he didn’t know about Shar Gracey. Landon wished he could will his heart to fall for Nettie. She obviously was still interested in him, and it seemed to Landon that she would look after him. If she could cook anything like her mother, then Landon knew for sure that he would enjoy his meals. He also enjoyed spending time with Nettie. She was easy to get along with. The only problem he had was that he didn’t feel that spark for Nettie that he needed to feel for a woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

  He’d had that spark for Shar. He used to stand outside the church, pretending to be excited about greeting everyone as they entered the building. But in truth, he had been there because his heart did a flip every time he saw Shar walking or running toward the church. He would chat with her about nothing much at all for a moment or two. But in those moments, Landon had felt alive.

  Chastising himself for allowing the image of Shar to sneak into his mind and heart again, Landon stood up and grabbed his hat. As he opened the door to his office and entered the reception area, he told Nettie, “I’m going to visit some of our sick and shut-in.”

  He waved as he left the building. Mother Barnett had fallen and hurt her arm and her back. Her doctor had told her to take it easy, so she hadn’t been able to attend church for two Sundays in a row. Mother Barnett lived alone, since her husband ran off, so Landon wanted to make sure she was all right.

  When he arrived at the house, her niece answered the door and showed him to the back room where Mother Barnett was lying with her arm propped on a pillow. “It does my heart good to see that you are following doctor’s orders, Mother Barnett.”

  “As old as I am, can’t do nothing but obey doctor’s orders.” With a sly smile she added, “My back hurts too bad to move it.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Mother.”

  “Charlotte,” Mother Barnett shouted.

  “Yes, Ma’am?” The girl made her way into the room.

  “Get Pastor Landon a chair so he can sit down for a while.”

  Charlotte grabbed a folding chair from the living room and then brought it back to Landon. “Here you go, Pastor. Sorry it’s not something more comfortable.”

  “It’s just fine. Thank you.” Landon sat down and proceeded to tell Mother Barnett about the goings-on at the church. “The Mothers’ Board sold chicken dinners last Sunday and raised forty dollars.”

  “You kidding. The last time I helped with the fish fry, we only raised thirty dollars. I guess church folk like chicken better than fish these days.”

  “I wouldn’t kid you, Mother Barnett. We made a whopping forty dollars.” Landon was grinning as he told the story. But even though he thought the Mothers’ Board did an awesome job with the fund-raiser, he still knew that earning forty dollars a week on chicken dinners would not get them where they needed to be in order to help people with their home situations in enough time.

  “Well now, I bet that was something to see . . . sure wish I had been there.” Mother Barnett rubbed her arm as a look of agony crossed her face. “But this old arm been hurting me something powerful.”

  In a joking mood, Landon asked, “How’s that knee?”

  Mother Barnett smiled. “Surprisingly, it’s about the only thing that doesn’t hurt on me today. So you know what that means, don’t you?”

  “This must be a good-news day.”

  “That’s right.”

  Landon guessed that there would be a light in her front window tonight. After they chatted for a while, he told her that either he or Deacon Monroe would be around to check on her next week.

  He left Mother Barnett’s house and headed for Provident Hospital. Three of their members were in the hospital; Deacon Monroe had managed to visit with two of them before he found Shar in disarray. Landon was going to visit with the last one on their list and then he would add Johnny Gracey to the list and check on him that day also.

  Landon was in the hospital about an hour before he had a chance to see Johnny. Normally only family was allowed to visit with the seriously ill patient. But since Landon was clergy and the hospital staff knew him well, they allowed him to go in.

  Johnny’s eyes were closed as Landon entered his room. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and very quietly began praying for the man who, if things had gone the way Landon had planned, would have been his father-in-law. But things never go as planned, as Mother Barnett’s life had shown.

  When he finished praying, Landon lifted his head to see that Johnny’s eyes were slightly opened. He was having a hard time breathing but still wanted to talk. “Th-thank you . . . for . . . coming by . . . Reverend.”

  Landon put a smile on his face, trying to cover up the concern he felt for this man. “How are you feeling today, Mr. Gracey?”

  Clearing his throat, he managed, “I’ve been better. That’s for sure.”

  “Well, I’m praying for you. And I’ll be adding your name to the sick and shut-in list so that the Mothers’ Board can begin praying for you, as well. And you know those women got some powerful prayers. Must be living right, is all I can say,” Landon added.

  “You done more than enough for me when you allowed Marlene and Shar to stay at your home.” Johnny shook his head. “I don’t cotton much to charity. Like to do things on my own, but what you done for my family—” Fresh tears glistened in his eyes as he added, “I could die a happy man, just knowing that Marlene don’t have to go back to that drafty house.”

  “Hey, there will be no talk about dying. Not anytime soon anyway.” Landon wagged a finger in Johnny’s face. “Your wife and daughter would be devastated, so you have no choice but to get well. You got me?”

  Johnny held up a hand in surrender. “I promise. I will not die . . . yet.”

  “That’s better. Now I have some positive news to report back to your family.”

  Johnny half-heartedly laughed at that comment, then he turned serious as he looked Landon straight in the eye and said, “I didn’t do right by you and Shar. I sent her away from you, and now I’ve ruined both of your lives.”

  “I’ll get over it, Mr. Gracey. Don’t you worry about me. And I’m sure that Shar doesn’t concern herself about what could have been either.”

  Johnny shook his head. “Shar’s changed since she’s been back. She don’t have that same fire in her eyes. Something happened to her back on them roads. And I have only myself to blame for it.”

  This revelation mystified and angered Landon. What could have happened to take the fire out of Shar’s eyes? Had someone done something to her? Was it Nicoli? Landon was determined that he would get to the bottom of the matter. “Do you think her fiancé did something to her while they were on the road?”

  A puzzled look was on Johnny’s face. “What fiancé?”

  Had Shar not told her family about the man she planned to marry? “His name is Nicoli James. I met him when the choir came to Chicago a few months back.” />
  “Well, I sure never met him. Shar didn’t bring him around me and her mama when she was in town that week.”

  “I met him, sir. He seemed smitten with Shar. Even told me that they were engaged.”

  Johnny closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. “I wonder if this Nicoli is the reason that Shar’s been singing in that saloon.”

  “So you know about that?”

  Johnny shook his head. “Told me that a friend set her up in that club so she could make some money. But Shar never would have dreamed of making money that way before she went out on the road. And I’ll tell you something else. She might be performing and earning money for it, but she don’t have that same love of singing that she used to have.”

  Landon remembered mentioning the choir to her the night before. He also remembered that Shar hadn’t given him an answer. But Landon hadn’t thought anything of it at the time. “Why do you think Shar has lost her love for singing?”

  Johnny shook his head as though it was painful to even think about. “That girl has been singing around the house since she was two years old. But ever since she came back home, the most she has done is hum . . . and that didn’t even go on for long before she stopped herself from doing that.”

  “You don’t say,” was all Landon was able to get out of his mouth. He truly had become perplexed by the news Mr. Gracey had laid on him. Shar loved to sing. If that had somehow been stolen from her, then Landon had found the answer to his questions about her actions the day before. He had known that something other than her parents’ illnesses was stressing her.

  The curtain was pulled back, and Shar walked in. “I see that you’re awake,” she said to her father as she walked into the room.

  “Sure am. I knew you’d be around to see me today.” Johnny hadn’t lifted his head from his pillow, but his eyes were a bit brighter as he watched Shar walk toward him.