No Room for Mercy (71 page)

“Okay, okay,” Jazzy said lowly. “Now, Ben, you know
the story about that day? What all happened?”

“Yes ma’am. From what I been told…”

“Wait a minute, Ben,” Dominique chimed in. “We gone
play a song and we’ll talk off air. For everybody listening,
again we’re looking, we’re looking for a Mary Holland.
Mary Holland? If you’re listening, and know of your brother
Sam, give us a call at 8-0-0-3-2-6-3-6-8-7—that’s eight
hundred fan four for those listening—eight hundred fan four.”

Dimples was out the door dialing the radio station’s number the
moment Dominique had given the station’s number. She hopped
into her husband’s pick-up truck and sped over to Ponderosa
while Spoonie and Tyke called members of the family.

*******

The phones inside WKLV studios in Las Vegas were ringing incessantly.
Callers were calling in from all over the country. People claiming to
be Mary Holland were asking to speak to the Dee-Jays, eager to tell
their stories. The show’s producers knew what to ask, however,
and none of the callers’ stories fit either the description or
the circumstances. Call after call was being rejected until one of
the show’s producers stood up and tapped on the plexi-glass
window separating the producers from the studio.

Rolanda looked around and saw her producer pointing to her personal
line so she picked up.

“There’s a young woman on line seven saying her name is
Dimples.” the producer said in an excited tone.

“I don’t know nobody named Dimples,” Rolanda
snapped.

The producer returned to the line and said, “I’m sorry,
miss. Rolanda says she doesn’t—”

“Tell her the name Ne`Ne`!” Regina said through tears.
“Miss! Please don’t hang up on me! I’m, I’m
Ben cousin I swear! Tell, ask Rolanda if she remember the name
Ne`Ne`, please! She used to call her show all the time from Jackson,
Mississippi I swear on everything I love! Tell her! Ask her for me!”

The producer placed Regina on hold and said, “Rolanda? This
lady Dimples on line seven said her sister Ne`Ne` used to call your
show all the time from Jackson, Mississippi.”

Rolanda had talked to literally thousands of callers over the years,
but yet and still, she remembered one of her favorite callers from
days long gone. Ne`Ne` had been dead for over eleven years now, but
still, she was able to contribute to the family. Even in her time of
rest, Ne`Ne`s life still held value years later.
Regina’s
twin had not died in vain. Through her, hope was established.

“Is Ne`Ne` on the phone now,” Rolanda asked with a smile.

“No, this is her sister Regina,” the producer replied.

“Okay put her on,” Rolanda said as she hung up her
personal line and picked up on line seven. “Hello, caller?”

“Hello?”

“You’re on with the Fantastic Four, baby, this is Misses
Jones speaking.”

“Misses Jones,” Dimples said as her eyes filled with
tears. She was running inside Ponderosa calling for her mother while
she was on hold. “Please say you remember me and my sister. We
called you all the time when we were teenagers in—”

“Ghost Town! I know, and I remember, sister! How you doing,”
Rolanda asked happily.

*******

Back in Oklahoma, Bena and AquaNina was sitting on the patio having
just finished wiping Bena’s car down when they saw Martha and
Twiggy’s truck turn onto the ranch. The tractor trailer sped up
the driveway. Bena had never seen Martha or Twiggy drive so fast.
Worried something was wrong, she told AquaNina to call her mother.
When ‘Nina got up to enter the home, Martha began blowing the
horn furiously. The truck came to a screeching halt and Martha exited
the truck yelling for Mary.

“What’s wrong?” Bena asked worriedly.

“We found, they got Sam son on the radio! Where Mary? He’s
looking for Mary!” Martha said as she, Bena and Twiggy ran into
the house.

“Naomi! A man on the radio talking about he Sam son!”
Martha screamed as she ran through the house. “Naomi!”

“In the library, Martha!” Naomi yelled aloud.

Martha and Twiggy ran into the library where Naomi met them with a
face full of tears. Kimi, Koko and Walee were laughing aloud as
Kahlil watched in appreciation.

“You’re wrong, Martha!” Naomi screamed. “Sam
had not a
child
—but he had
children
!” she
cried happily as she ran and hugged Martha. “He had
children
Martha!”

Martha saw Mary on the phone. She was laughing and talking loud,
obviously thrilled over the situation at hand. There was a flurry of
activity inside Ponderosa. DeeDee was smiling proudly at his family,
Siloam was shedding tears, Dawk was amazed and excited, wondering
what his uncle’s son was like. Tiva couldn’t wait to see
her cousins for the first time.

Bay and AquaNina were in the kitchen with Spoonie and Tyke, who’d
ran across the land from the guest house with Tacoma to share in the
moment. They were listening on the lap top they’d toted with
them.

Bay couldn’t believe her ears. As far as she knew, everybody
that was on the ranch was all there ever was in life. There were no
more family members alive; but if her ears were correct, she had
cousins somewhere out there in the world. Who were they? What were
they like? She was giddy over all the possibilities as the Staple
Singer’s’ song
Let’s Do It Again
came to an
end.

“Alright now friends, ohhh, this is epic, I don’t think
this has been done ever in the history of radio!” Rolanda
stated excitedly. “Ben you there?”

“I’m here, Rolanda.”

“Mary, you there?”

“Yes! Yes, I’m here, Rolanda!” Mary answered, her
heart thumping with joy and anticipation.

“Okay, here’s your question Mary—on the day you
arrived looking for Sam Holland, where were you and what was the
scene?”

“I was on Stony Brook Lane, or maybe it was drive,” Mary
responded immediately, recalling the day vividly in her mind. “I’m
not sure if the street is correct, but I remember what happened like
it was yesterday. I was in a white Chevy Caprice, me and my twin
daughters, Ne`Ne` and Dimples, and their friend Sandy Duncan, a white
girl. I remember I knocked on the door and this guy answered and it
looked as if he was in an argument or something by the look on his
face, but I asked anyway. I asked that guy did he know my brother Sam
and he said—”

“Okay, okay,” Dominique said through proud tears as she
cut Mary off. “Ben?”

“Yeah, go ahead, Dominique.”

“My husband is here in the studio with us, Ben, and the details
this woman is giving, the people she described and what she is
saying? It could have only been told had she actually been
there—this—this is your Aunt Mary Holland, Benjamin,”
Dominique said, her voice cracking as The Spinners’ song
Sade
began to play over the airwaves. “This is the Fantastic Four
Show,” Dominique said as tears of joy dripped down from her
pointed chin. “We’ll, we’ll be back after these
messages, everybody.”

To be continued