Forgivin' Ain't Forgettin' (18 page)
Cassidy pursed her mouth. “I think you’re dreaming.”
It was corny, but he responded, “Only about you.”
A child’s giggle turned Trevor’s head, and he discovered a little girl in the kitchen entrance. Brittney slid in and stood next to her sister. “Well,” he said, pushing out of the chair. “I’m glad you small folk are here. I have good news. Grandmom Grace called and invited us to her cookout again. I told her we’d be there.”
“Yes,” Brandi shouted, punching the air with a fist.
A good feeling took root through Trevor. Not totally, but to a large extent, he’d been living in limbo, permitting grief to keep him from engaging in the activities he and the kids loved. But it was a new day, time to walk ahead. He didn’t know how far he would get. But going to Grace and Houston’s barbecue today would be a step in the right direction, not only for him but also for his children. And he wasn’t taking these steps alone. As a child of God, he was never alone. “We’re going to leave soon, so get on your swimwear.”
A soft question drifted up to him. “Can Cassidy come with us, Daddy?”
Shock left Trevor speechless. This was the most Brittney had spoken to him all day. And her brown eyes, wide with waiting, were staring pointedly at him. He unclamped his tongue from the roof of his mouth. “That’s up to Cassidy, pumpkin.”
All gazes settled on Cassidy, and Trevor felt bad that she’d been put on the spot this way. The look she gave Brittney was soft and apologetic. “It’s sweet of you to think of me, but there’s a singles’ meeting at the church tonight I’m planning to attend.”
“What time is the meeting?” Trevor asked.
“Seven.”
“I’ll get you back in time.”
They studied each other before turning to the girls. The optimism on their small faces pulled on Trevor’s heartstrings. He knew Cassidy’s heart was being tugged as well, and after a long pause, she gave her decision.
T
he smooth sound of R&B played in the background, and the hickory-smoked scent of an outdoor grill in progress wafted through the air. The Armstrong lawn was a green stage littered with chairs and tables and people of all ages. Most of the guests were already eating the hamburgers, baked beans, coleslaw, seafood salad, corn on the cob, and the many other appetizing items Grace had prepared. Grace waved and hurried across her property to welcome the Monroes. “We have on our suits,” Brandi blurted as soon as Grace was in hearing range. She hiked up the hem of her T-shirt so Grace could see.
“You look so cute,” Grace cooed as good as any grandmother. She bent at the waist, giving Brandi and Brittney one kiss and one hug each. She straightened and embraced Trevor. “I’m glad you came.” Trevor squeezed Grace hard, sending her the private message that he appreciated her going the extra step, giving him that call this afternoon and reminding him that she loved him.
As if standing on hot coals, Brandi bounced from foot to foot. “Can we go swimming?”
“I don’t see why not,” Grace replied.
The girls ran toward the in-ground pool. Trevor lifted his voice. “Be careful,” he called after them.
“Don’t worry,” Grace said. “I have two of the neighborhood girls who lifeguard at the Y helping out.”
Trevor slowly withdrew his attention from the children and focused on Grace. “I have someone I would like you to meet,” he said, and cupped Cassidy’s elbow while Grace’s eyes sparkled like a mother who was happy her son had finally brought a nice girl home.
“How was the potato salad?” Grace asked later, joining Trevor and Houston at the grill. She stood between the men and looped her arm around Trevor’s middle.
He placed his arm around Grace’s shoulder and kissed her temple. “Awesome as always.”
“I set some back for you to take with you.”
“Thanks,” he said.
“I talked with Cassidy. She seems like a good down-to-earth soul.” Grace looked at Houston. “She teaches at that school where Blanche’s grandboys attend.” Houston nodded as he sipped punch from a tumbler and Grace stared up at Trevor. “You and the girls bring Cassidy over for dinner one evening, you hear?”
“Uh-oh, son, you better watch out.” A chuckle ended Houston’s warning. “You see that look on her face. It says matchmaker.”
Grace snatched up the flyswatter and whacked her husband’s behind. “My face says no such thing.”
“Yeah, that’s why them three are ready to eat this boy alive.”
Trevor glanced over at “them three,” a cluster of three females who’d been staring at Trevor as if he really were their next meal. He shook his head at Grace, a light smile of
No hard feelings
on his lips. “Should’ve known you were behind that.”
“I only hinted that you were a good catch.” She rubbed Trevor’s back. “Just looking out for you, baby.”
Houston snorted as he brushed his secret sauce on a batch of ribs. “You call karate-killer Debbie looking out for him? The woman’s looking more like a man every day.”
“Oh, she is not,” Grace responded. “She looks terrific. She’s worked very hard to get her body like that.”
Trevor glanced at the ladies. He knew exactly which one Debbie was because her biker shorts and spandex vest fit like a glazed topping over a physique that supported Grace’s argument. As a man who appreciated the gym, Trevor admired Debbie’s exercise ethics.
Grace poked Houston in the shoulder with her finger. “Her sport’s not karate, it’s wrestling. She’s competing next Saturday, so make sure you find time today to wish her well.” Grace rolled her eyes to the corners. “That is, if you’re not afraid of her.”
Houston flexed his arm as if to say,
Not a chance,
as a smile grew beneath his gray mustache. Grace’s aunt Alcie hobbled toward them. “Those ribs ready yet, Houston?” Her voice sounded like a scratched record.
“Not yet, Auntie,” Grace answered.
“You’ll be the first to get a plate when they are,” Houston promised. “I heard you forgot your teeth, but not to worry, these babies are tender ’nough for you to eat without ’em.”
“I’m countin’ on it.” Alcie’s grin was all gums as she turned around with her cane and shuffled back to her chair in the shade.
“Oh, look.” Grace lit up with delight. “Dolly and Pete made it. Let me go say hello.”
Houston put down his utensils, wiped his hands on his apron, and grabbed her arm before she could go. “Not so fast, young lady.” He tilted his head, his white chef hat leaning, too, as he pecked Grace on the mouth. “I love you,” he growled.
Grace blushed like a new bride and walked off to meet the latest arrivals while Houston grinned like he’d just won a million dollars. Trevor took it all in with a sigh as the voice flowing from the stereo system sang, “Love is a beautiful thing.”
Cassidy stepped behind the podium and gazed across the crowded auditorium. The weather was sunny and warm, and on Sundays like this, many of the parishioners who ordinarily attended the second service came to the first so they could spend a large fraction of the day enjoying outdoor activities.
Cassidy cleared her throat and held her head higher. Standing in front of a class of children was easy. Standing in front of hundreds of people was another story. But all the jitters in the world could not discourage her from making this announcement. “I’m before you on behalf of ACES. If you haven’t heard, we lost all of the books in our library.” A murmur rippled through the congregation. “The good news is, we’re starting a readathon tomorrow, and the ACES children need your help.” Cassidy explained that the ACES students had been asked to read ten public library books in three weeks. A sponsor would give one dollar for one book read. “If any of you would like to sponsor a child, there’s a . . .”
Cassidy swallowed what was left of the sentence as she stared at Trevor. He was seated on the left side, about twelve rows back, middle of the row. She had warned herself not to look at him, but somehow her brain lost control of her eyes. Cassidy clutched the sides of the wood podium, a scatter of tingly pimples springing up on her arms. Being aware of a man was a terrible thing, especially when you didn’t want to be aware of him. But no matter how many people were in the room, she always knew exactly where Trevor was.
Cassidy glanced at Clement Audrey. He smiled and nodded that she should continue. She smiled at the congregation, focusing on no one person, as she regrouped. “As I was saying, there’s a sign-up sheet on the announcement board for anyone who would like to be a sponsor. You can sponsor a child for one book or as many books as your pocketbook or wallet can support.”
“Amen,” someone shouted.
Cassidy presented another smile, this one more cheerful. She said a few more details, offered a word of thanks, and hurried out of the pulpit to her seat between Lena and Dunbar. She found it difficult to concentrate on the rest of the service. Mental flashes of the Armstrong barbecue merged with Pastor Audrey’s sermon, and Cassidy admonished herself for not being fully focused on the message. Trying to do a better job of paying attention, she sat up straighter and flipped through her Bible to the scripture Pastor Audrey asked the congregation to find. As he read the selected passage, Cassidy tuned out his voice and once again began entertaining memories of the barbecue and the peaceful scene that played out much later as she apologized to Trevor for the way she responded to him upon learning he’d had her car fixed. The razor tongue she slashed into Trevor from time to time was not a reflection of her heart. The truth of Cassidy’s heart was that she liked Trevor. More than she was comfortable admitting with words or deeds.
Days later, Cassidy was still thinking about all this as she snacked on grapes while the other two women updated their gossip files. “Have you heard about Deacon Stanley?” Almondetta asked, dabbing at her lips with a snow-colored napkin.
“No.” Yaneesha released the word with a combination of dread and too much drama as she cleaned the lenses of her eyeglasses with the edge of her shirt.
Almondetta began her oral report, and Yaneesha put on her glasses. The young woman’s eyes grew big, indicating there was still space in her life for more of Deacon Stanley’s business. But before Almondetta could broadcast additional details, Cassidy excused her way over the church mother’s voice, then said, “Four of our seniors have birthdays next week. I’ll visit two and, Yaneesha, you can take two.” Making sure she included Almondetta, Cassidy suggested, “Since you don’t get out much, I thought it would be nice if we wrapped the presents here and you wrote a special message on each card.”
“Yes, that’s fine,” Almondetta answered in the soft but severe manner Cassidy disliked but accepted as the way Almondetta spoke. Yaneesha helped herself to a second cinnamon bun. “They’re from Seconds,” Almondetta said. “Delicious, aren’t they?”
“Ummm-hmmm,” Yaneesha hummed, then spoke without shame, “And so is Trevor. I’m going to marry him one day.” Yaneesha went on for several minutes about the home she and Trevor were going to build, the cars they were going to drive, the cruises they were destined to sail.
“Trevor is a wise choice,” Almondetta said at the end of Yaneesha’s plans. “Stay away from those deacons and preachers. Most of them are like doctors—too busy taking care of others. You want a man who’s going to be at home in bed with you instead of sitting at the bedside of every terminally ill parishioner.” Almondetta smoothed a wrinkle out of the tablecloth. “Can you cook? As big as you are, you ought to know how to cook a husband a decent meal.”
“I cook in the bedroom, and that’s where it matters the most,” Yaneesha said with confident twinkles in her eyes as she raised her palm for Cassidy to slap with
Amen
.
Cassidy passed on the invitation while Almondetta voiced her opinion. “That may be so, young lady. But you just make sure you aren’t slinging your meals all over the church. A God-fearing man like Trevor ain’t about to eat out the same pot as another.”
P
ork chops smothered in gravy. Creamy mashed potatoes seasoned with bits of bacon. Green peas and mushrooms glazed with garlic and butter sauce. “And a beautiful woman, too,” Trevor gloried, placing a bouquet of lilies on the table. He rushed Brenda away from the stove and into his arms, close to his heart.
“Happy anniversary,” she said, and tied her arms around his neck as she reared slightly, resting her back against the support of his locked hands. The joy in her eyes was a reflection of what he felt, but unable to adequately express the enormity of his emotions with words, he spoke with a kiss that put the anniversary meal Brenda had prepared on hold until much later.
“ . . . not speaking tonight,” Cassidy said.
Trevor immediately gazed at the woman across the room as he came back to live in the present. He’d been dwelling on the past so deeply he didn’t remember parking his vehicle or unlocking the front door or walking through the house to the kitchen. He stared at Cassidy as she wiped the countertop with a dishcloth. Trevor wondered how many times she had said hello and received nothing in return. “Hi,” he responded, doing his part yet leaving his heart out of it. He dropped a bouquet of flowers on the table and strode to the refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle of grape soda, untwisted the cap, and guzzled a third of the beverage with high hopes Cassidy wasn’t going to say anything about the drink’s sugar content. He could certainly do without her rebuke tonight, considering the way his day had shaped up. The craziness started this afternoon when a teen employee, packing a nine millimeter handgun and a grudge against the world, threatened to blow out the brains of another teen employee. After the police arrived and things returned to normal, Trevor received a call from one of his delivery van drivers. The largest van in the fleet of four, stocked with the monthly order of breakfast pastry he supplied for a band of local schools, had been a player in a fender bender on I-95. Trevor was thankful the driver was fine, the van would only be out of commission for a week, and the packaged baked goods had survived without a scratch.
Cassidy folded the dishcloth and hung it over the front of the sink. She carried a bowl of fresh strawberries to the refrigerator. “The girls and I had strawberry-banana smoothies for dessert. Aunt Odessa taught them one of her favorite hymns while they put on their pajamas, and we made sure they were tucked in. There are plenty of leftovers if you would like dinner.” She smiled slightly at him and then at the flowers. “Well . . . good night,” she said, walking toward the back stairs.