“Because Verdean Williams was my guardian,” she said, making Joel snap his head around. “Mr. Williams served as my guardian during my emancipation and ensured I ate well, did my homework, and finished school. I will pay it forward and do the same for Ayana. I’ll call Judge Tucker today and make the appointment.”

  “Ayana?” Jeffrey pleaded one last time.

  “Goodbye, Daddy,” she said, turning and leaving the room in a silence. In her bedroom, she closed her door. She sat on the bed, staring at the frame poster on the wall of a young girl running through a field of sunflowers. The freedom on the child’s face is what made her want the poster. Doc Tootie had purchased it for her, and she loved it. Today, she felt the same freedom as the girl.

  Finally, she free from that man.

  However, the man was not free from the man the technicians called Mr. Merge. It was what the girl did not say that rang in his head. The blood test. She didn’t want to start talking. No pictures of her mother.

  The man had taken the girl.

  “Shit,” he mumbled, not sure where to go from here.

  CONNIE DEPARTED WITH Jeffery Mitchell cautioning him not to come back to the property. If he came back, Joel was well within his rights to put a bullet in the man and call it a day. However, now she wanted to know about Doc Tootie, her emancipation, and how Joel’s grandfather had been her guardian.

  “You’re not going to do anything to help me get back my child?” Jeffrey said to Connie, frustrated.

  “Listen Mr. Mitchell, that girl is no fool. Her asking for that blood test means she must be aware that you are not biologically related to her, and if you know what’s wise, you will take yourself home and stay quiet,” she told him. “That man in that house is connected to something much larger than both of us, and if he decides to start digging, you’re going to wish to the heavens that you left this alone. Leave it alone and go home. It would behoove you to don’t walk through this high grass. That man is the worst kind of snake. He blends in entirely too well with the background, and before you know it, you’re dying from a bite you never saw coming. Good day to you.”

  “But Miss Braselton...” Jeffrey pleaded.

  “Are you deaf as well as dumb? I told him no on the taking in of that boy, and before he left my office good, I got two phone calls and a fax with all the necessary paperwork, signed, and dotted with not a piece of ink out of whack. He’s connected; go home and shut your mouth,” Connie said, pulling into her assigned parking space.

  Jeffrey Mitchell didn’t want to let Ayana go. He’d spent years grooming her and this week was her sixteenth birthday. The party he’d planned for the two of them on Wednesday night was ruined. All ruined. Thirteen years he’d waited and primed the girl to have it taken away.

  “Fuck!” he screamed into the silence of his own vehicle. “Now I have to start all over.”

  The idea of hunting for a fresh victim made him anxious. “A new little girl. No, why go through that all over again when I can simply find a teenager. There are so many of them scattered about the streets. Yes. Yes. A teenager. A sixteen-year-old or very close in age to be my new baby doll.”

  He would start himself a new family with a willing daughter. But not too willing. He was in fact the head of the family; any ward of his had to understand their place and role in the house. In his mind, it was the only right thing when it came to meeting the needs of the family.

  “FAMILY MEETING! I WANT a family meeting right damned now,” Joel yelled through the house.

  Ayana came from her bedroom door, looking at the man and praying he wouldn’t toss her out for being unclean. She had seen his face when she was speaking, and he knew. He had read between the lines. This was her time to tell her story.

  In his hand he held a gavel. Everyone was encouraged to sit at the table. He held the gavel as he looked at Tootie and the girl.

  “Secrets get people killed,” Joel said. “If we’re going to be a family, there doesn’t need to be any secrets between us. I will pass the gavel and you will speak. No one can talk unless they are holding the gavel. Don’t sit here rambling either. State the facts and pass the gavel on.”

  Everyone nodded. The gavel was placed in the center of the table, but no one picked it up. Joel went first since it was his idea.

  “I grew up in foster care after my parents died in a car accident,” he started. “My father was white, which my grandfather didn’t approve of, and it was years later before he found out my Mom had died.”

  He took a breath, reluctant to say the next portion, but they needed to know. “The last foster home I was in, I was about fifteen. My foster mom was into making pornos with young black men. She only took in young black men to foster, which didn’t raise a red flag with anyone.”

  Joel swallowed hard before saying the next part. “When I decided I didn’t want to take part in her meat show, she had the other boys hold me down and she stomped me. She stomped me so hard and damaged me to the point I can’t have children of my own.”

  Dex lowered his head, trying to hide his tears. Joel placed the gavel into the middle of the table. Tootie picked it up next. The tears welled in her eyes as she held onto the piece of wood, wondering why in the hell Joel had a gavel. She sucked in her breath and let go of the pain which held her hostage for so many years.

  “My grandfather ran moonshine,” she told them. “He sold to the worst people in the state, but he also drank far too much of his product, which put him out by eight each night. My grandma was out like a light by seven.”

  She wiped away the tears that ran down her cheeks. She hadn’t spoken this to anyone ever, and this would be her first time actually telling another soul what those men did to her. The pain was nearly doubling her over, but she’d come through it because they had a right to know.

  “Three men, the Robinette brothers, came to steal Pap’s shine, but the youngest brother, a crazy one, he came for me,” she explained. “He hurt me really bad, and my Granny didn’t believe in doctors, so she let the hurt fester the whole weekend. By that Monday, she had to call the doc. It was too far gone, and they had to do a hysterectomy. I had just turned 13.”

  Joel kept his eyes on the table. He wouldn’t look at her because he didn’t want his woman to think he was feeling sorry for her. He needed Tootie to keep talking.

  “Pap stopped drinking after that, but he had cirrhosis. Six months later he was gone. A year later, Granny was gone too, and I was alone,” she said. “I was big for my age anyway and didn’t know nothing about the world outside of schooling. Your Grandpa saw me burying Granny and came to help me. Every week, at the edge of the fence between the property lines, he put out a week’s worth of food for me.”

  Joel looked up at her, his eyes simmering with tears he refused to shed as he listened to his woman speak the truth he’d never known. His grandfather had never mentioned any of it to anyone.

  “I was sixteen when the school found out I was living out there alone,” she told them. “Verdean called Judge Parker, the senior, not his son who is the judge now, and got me emancipated with him as guardian. I was allowed to live in my own house. Each Christmas, Verdean gave me a hundred dollars in small bills, which paid for enough propane for a year, since it was only me. Oh yeah, he had a propane tank sent, which is what I still use out there. He put in an indoor toilet for me since Pap and Granny still used an outhouse. Your grandfather saved my life.”

  Tootie lay down the gavel.

  Dex picked it up. “This is the worst family meeting ever.”

  He sat the gavel down, but gently pushed it towards Ayana, who picked it up and looked down the table. The fear had left her and the story she told was far less horrific than the other two, but she spoke.

  “He never came into my room,” she explained. “I never went into his, and I kept my door locked at all times. I usually avoided things like doing dishes while he was close by because that meant a tug and rub. I hate doing dishes, and I hate when people walk up behind me.”

  No one spoke.

  “Last week, his brother Amos showed up and caught me doing my morning routine,” she told her new family. “I thought he was going to help me get away from the man, but instead he was placing orders for his turn. That’s why I left. That and I asked how he, as my Uncle, could ask for such a thing. He said we weren’t related.”

  Everyone was looking at her.

  “That’s why I asked for the blood test. In my heart, I knew he wasn’t my real father. We look nothing alike, plus he has a lot of allergies and I inherited none of them,” she said. “I love nuts and there were never any in the house. Finally, I’m free of him.”

  She set the gavel down. Joel looked at Dex, wondering if he wanted to use the gavel last. Dex shook his head no.

  “Ayana, do you want to look for your mother, or your parents, because I will help you,” Joel offered.

  “No, I don’t,” she said. “Over the years, I fantasized about it, praying one day, I would be in Walmart, and she’d call my name, but I don’t even know if Ayana is my real name. I don’t even know if I want to find her. She’s had a chance to mourn and heal. Me showing up now, would only open more wounds.”

  “Or she could be very happy to see you again,” Tootie told her.

  “Or she could be more fucked up than the house you just left,” Dex said, his eyes growing wide. “What? Sometimes, you end up where you’re supposed to be. I say if that big grey dog on the porch has finally stopped barking, why send a cat to play with his tail?”

  “Dear God Joel, you’ve rubbed off on this kid,” Tootie said, covering her mouth with her fingers. “Well, what’s next for this family?”

  “I think we all need fresh starts,” Joel said. “I’m going to give Tootie my last name; you guys want it too?”

  Dex was frowning at him. “Is that your way of asking us if we want to be adopted by you and take the last name of Thomas?”

  “Yeah, it will make school enrollment this fall so much easier,” Joel added.

  “You really need to work on the way you say things, Mr. Joel. That was really kind of sideways, plus, we have two more coming right? When will they be here?”

  During the discussion, the three at the table failed to notice the dust plume from the drive. They weren’t listening to the sound of the car doors, but Joel knew. His cameras had picked up the expected mid-morning arrival. The light tap on the door made him stand up slowly and go greet his guests.

  “I’ve been expecting you,” Joel said with a smile.

  The tall man, very tanned with black hair and wire rimmed glasses, stepped through the door. Behind him were two young boys, one black, one white. The moment he spoke, the kids knew who he was.

  “Good morning, everyone,” the Archangel said, looking at Joel. He held out his arms, and Joel walked into them for an embrace and a gentle kiss placed on Joel’s temple, and then Dex saw it.

  He saw the love.

  He saw affection between two men which was nonsexual.

  He also saw a future for himself and the man they called Mr. Merge. Dex wasn’t so sure about those two boys, but there was room. If Mr. Merge could make room, so could he.

  “This is Kevin Dale and Cody Green,” the Archangel said, pushing the boys forward. “Kevin is 13 and mute. Cody is 12 and deaf.”

  Dex was frowning. First, there was the crazy family meeting. That insanity was followed by finding out how Mr. Joel became unable to have kids, piled onto the stack was learning how Doc Tootie also became unable to have kids, was way too much in his mind. It was good that he knew, but now there was a kid who couldn’t hear and one that couldn’t speak.

  “What are we, the dysfunctional Brady Bunch?” Dex asked, going to the couch and flopping down. “How in the world am I going to teach them boys how to be good members of this family when one can’t hear me and the other can’t answer?”

  “Dex, it is my responsibility to teach them,” Joel said, using sign language and saying welcome to both boys. “Ayana, show them to their room.”

  “You know sign language, Mr. Joel?” Dex asked surprised.

  “I know all sorts of languages,” he replied, looking to the Archangel. “Gabriel, come on in. This is Dr. Regina Musgrove. She’s agreed to be my wife. We’re heading into town to do the blood test and paperwork. I don’t have a sitter, so you’re gonna have to stay here with the kids until we get back.”

  “What?” Gabriel said, looking appalled at the idea.

  “Yep, shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours,” Joel grinned, grabbing Tootie by the hand. “You can officially speak the words of God over us when we get back and join us in matrimony. Also, I need to adopt all them kids and give them my last name, which you might want to ask the two new ones if that’s what they want. Ayana, make Uncle Gabriel something to eat, please. Tootie and I will be back in a couple of hours. Have fun.”

  Gabriel looked around the place at the four pairs of eyes gawking at him. Joel and Tootie had left him. Alone. With four kids. Dex spoke up first.

  “Yeah, he said you were used to him,” Dex informed the Archangel. “I can’t ever see getting used to anything that man says in one big run on sentence. He’s a bit much. Also, nice to meet you in person and thank you. I love it here. He was a good choice for us.”

  Ayana peered out of the bedroom for the boys. “Yeah, what he said.”

  Chapter Fourteen – Embitter

  Uncle Archangel...

  The old farmhouse seemed warmer to Gabriel. It hadn’t been too many years since he’d been inside, but the presence of the children had changed the entire vibe of the place. In his estimation, versus his opinion, which he tried on a constant basis to never interject into any scenario, a farm needed kids. His home, where his grandmother had made the best meat pies East of the Mississippi, had always lacked that feeling. The only kids who’d graced the place were him and his two brothers. He loved his grandmother’s farm and was happy to make it his home, which held a lovely wife and soon, if the Lord were willing and the Creek didn’t rise, there would be children.

  “So, Mr. Uncle Archangel Gabriel, you run this covert arm of the government with these men who take out the bad trash?” Dex asked, his eyebrows arched.

  He circled the Archangel, looking him up and down. Slowly, Dex went to the kitchen and filled a glass with ice, added water, and placed it on the table. Ayana came into the kitchen next, pulling out frying pans and collecting items from the refrigerator.

  “Are them kids hungry too?” Dex asked, making glasses of water for them as well and waving them over to the table.

  “I am a theologian,” Gabriel answered. “That’s a fancy word for a man who studies the word and the belief of God.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Dex said.

  “I did answer the question. I am a theologian for the government,” he explained. “I study the belief of God as put into practice by cultists and extremists who use religion to control others. My job is to keep watch over these groups.”

  “And what? You send in Merge, Exit, and One Way to take out the trash? I’m asking because, I don’t know, maybe after I get older, and Doc Tootie fixes my feet, I might want to be a part of your team,” he told Gabriel. “I can be Dead End or something cool like that.”

  “What’s wrong with your feet?” Gabriel asked as the sound of meat sizzling in a hot pan pulled his attention away from the boy.

  “Ooh, I see what you did there,” Dex said, watching Ayana reheat last night’s leftovers. He extended his hand, offering Gabriel a seat at the table. He did the same for the two boys.

  The food was quickly plated and brought over. Kevin and Cody joined Gabriel, taking a seat, ready to eat. Dex used his hands to signal no go and to stop. He mimed hand washing and pointed to the bathroom. Both boys stood up and went to the bathroom to do as Dex asked.

  “I didn’t see what he did,” Ayana said, setting a plate of hot food in front of him. “Also, I want to be a part of whatever it is that Dex is talking about.”

  “You need a traffic sign if you’re going to work for Mr. Uncle Archangel Gabriel,” Dex clarified.

  “Oh. Okay,” she answered, looking up at the ceiling. “I want to be Crossroad. Bad people change their ways once they come in contact with the Crossroad. Ooh, I like that! Crossroad is coming for you! Is that how it works? Do I get to do dangerous stuff like hunt down bad men and snip off their pee-pees?”

  “What?” Gabriel said, taking off his glasses to see her better. He soon realized without his glasses she was even more of a blur to him. “No, that is the entirely wrong way to see anything.”

  “I heard Mr. Merge mention Wrong Way. Is he doing okay?”

  Kevin and Cody had returned to the table. They nearly drooled at the sight of the food, yet they waited for Gabriel. He bowed his head to say the blessing, and suddenly he felt warmth in his hand. Dex had lipped his hand into Gabriel’s right hand, Ayana was on the left, connecting Kevin and Cody to the prayer circle. Their eyes were closed as they waited for him to offer thanks for the meal. Surprisingly, the words were brief, and Ayana and Dex took a seat along with the new members of the tribe.

  “Did you cook this?” Gabriel asked looking at the perfectly prepared steak.

  “I did. Cooking is my contribution to the household,” she told him. “So far, I like it here. I feel safe.”

  She said it to Gabriel but was looking at the new arrivals. Dex asked what Ayana was thinking as she looked at the new family members. “So, what’s their story?”

  “Why don’t you ask them?”

  “Because you said one can’t hear me and the other can’t talk,” Dex said. “We can avoid the discomfort of them trying to eat and use their hands trying to explain stuff.”

  “What if I don’t want to tell you?”

  “That’s cool, but it will make it easier for them to transition here on the farm if me and Ayana know what their triggers are,” Dex said. “I don’t like nobody standing over my bed. Ayana don’t like nobody coming up behind her. So, that’s why I’m asking. You know, to avoid meltdowns, breakdowns, and people screaming nonverbally with those mute noises. That’s scary and will make the hairs around my neck stand up.”

 

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