Stolen Lives

by Joy Redmond

  Ali wanted to run but she stopped and waited for Sister Bea. “I was supposed to give you this,” she said as he handed Ali a large manila envelope.

  “You keep it. My gift to you for helping me take care of Aunt July.”

  Sister Bea said, “Sister July told me to show you where she put—”

  Ali interrupted. “I’ve already found what she hid. And if there’s more you can rest assured that I’ll find it. I’m good at ransacking.”

  Sister Bea merely nodded and walked away.

  Ali had nothing more to say to any of the church sisters. And she was happy that she would never have to walk back into that church again.

  The next day, Ali carried Mr. Puss to Toots’ house. Toots was sitting on the front porch and her eyes brightened when Ali walked up the sidewalk.

  Ali smiled, hugged Toots, and Mr. Puss squirmed as if he wanted to hug Toots too. As Toots took Mr. Puss from Ali’s arms, she asked, “What’s laying heavy on your mind today? I know the look.”

  “I need to ask a big favor,” Ali answered, her eyes filling with tears. “I need to borrow your car and I need you to watch Mr. Puss for me.” She paused a moment, then continued. “I’ll be gone for several hours, but I’m going to find my daddy. At least I hope I do.”

  Toots smiled and said, “You know you’re more than welcome to borrow the car. You borrowed it when you took your driving test and you didn’t wreck it.”

  Ali laughed. “That was one we got over on Aunt July. She never knew I had a driver’s license.”

  Toots laughed too. “Taking care of Mr. Puss is always my pleasure. I just hope you’re not going on a wild goose hunt—”

  Ali interrupted as she patted Toots’ arm. “I know there’s a chance I won’t find him, but I’ve got to give it a shot. You know how much this means to me.”

  Toots’ eyes filled with tears as she said, “I know. We’ve talked about it and it would do my heart good too. So, Mr. Puss and I will be just fine. You get on your way and I’ll pray for you. The car is gassed-up.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Ali said, reaching inside her purse, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill. “This is for the use of your car, and you might need to buy Mr. Puss some cat food. I forgot to grab a can.”

  Toots shoved the money toward Ali. “No, I won’t take your money.”

  Ali shoved the twenty into Toots’ pocket and said, “I won’t take no for an answer. I’ve got a little extra money, and I know you can use it. I don’t take advantage of people.”

  Toots smiled and said, “Fine. If it makes you feel better. Get going now. Mr. Puss and I will be waiting for you. You better come back with good news.”

  Ali hugged Toots, patted Mr. Puss, and said, “Thanks, girl. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Bye. Love you.”

  As Ali hurried away, Toots stroked Mr. Puss and said, “We love you too. Godspeed!”

  Ali slid behind the steering wheel, waved, and began her quest to find the man in the picture.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ali arrived in Evanston by late afternoon. She stopped at a gas station and asked for directions to Winter Hill Drive. She was only four blocks away. She drove down the streets of the nice looking neighborhood. Nothing fancy, but comfortable. She pulled her car to the curb. She checked the address once more before getting out of the car, her heart racing. “It’s the right place,” she murmured. “I just hope the right person lives here.”

  She slowly made her way up the three steps that led to the walkway to the house. She noticed the lawn looked manicured. Beautiful flowers were blooming all over the front yard. She stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door. No one answered. She was about to head back to the car when she decided to walk around to the backyard. Flowers lined the side of the house. Again, she almost turned back, but her feet seemed to have a mind of their own.

  She sucked in a deep breath when she saw a man sitting in a lawn chair under a tall elm tree. He was staring toward the sky as if hoping a familiar face would magically appear.

  Ali walked to his side and softly said, “Excuse me, sir. Are you Clifford Johnson?”

  The man looked at her, gasped and exclaimed, “Jane? Is that you?”

  Ali squatted beside him, patted his hand, and said, “No, I’m Jane Monroe’s daughter. I’m Ali.”

  “You’re Jane’s daughter?” His eyes brighten as he asked, “How old are you, child?”

  “I turned eighteen on May twelfth.”

  The man moved his lips as if doing the math in his head. Then tears welled up in his eyes as he sprung from his chair and raised his arms toward Ali. “My sweet baby girl,” he said softly.

  Ali stood. Tears ran down her face as he enfolded her in a loving embrace.

  Choking on his words, he managed to say, “I waited at the train depot that night, but she never came. Then later I got word that she had taken off to Arkansas. I figured she didn’t want to make a life with me, so I went on my way.”

  Ali hugged him tighter, then took a step back. “Did you know she was in the family way?”

  “She said she was late with her period and she thought she might be expecting, but I never knew for sure—but my heart told me I had a child somewhere in this world, and somehow I just knew it was a daughter,” Clifford said softly, wiping away a tear.

  Ali brushed away her tears. “Then you really are my daddy?”

  “Yes, I am, baby,” Clifford whispered, kissing her cheek. “How is Jane?”

  Ali reached for his hand and as she stroked it, she said, “Mama Jane died in a house fire eight years ago, but I want to tell you that she died still loving you—and I know why she didn’t come to the depot that night.”

  A new wave of tears rolled down Clifford’s cheeks as he said, “I’m so sorry to hear she’s gone. I’ll go to my grave loving her too, and it would bring peace to my heart if you could tell me the whole story.” He paused as he gazed upon Ali’s pretty face. “If Jane died eight years ago, who you been living with, baby?”

  “I’ve been living with Mama Jane’s sister, Aunt July. She passed away a week ago. Did you ever know her?”

  “No, I never met any of Jane’s family.” He chuckled. “But I sure heard a lot about them. They were kind of strange people—” He stopped himself and added, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disrespect your family. It was nice of your aunt to take you in.”

  Ali laughed. “Strange doesn’t come close to describing them. But they’re all gone now, and I’m an adult. So the way I see it, all that’s behind me. I’m ready to start a new life on my own terms.”

  “That’s good, baby. We all can’t wait to grow up, but, baby, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Adult life is hard. But I want you to tell me about Jane and why she didn’t show up. It sure broke my heart.”

  “I will,” Ali said, still clinging to Clifford’s hand. “I found a letter that you sent to Mama Jane. I also found a picture of you two together. That’s how I knew your name and your address.” Ali reached inside her purse. “And here is the twenty-dollar bill you had tucked inside. I’ll keep it till the day I die.”

  Clifford stroked the bill as if it were bringing back a beautiful but sad memory. “That was all the money I had to my name at that time. But I would have starved if it meant I would get Jane to join me.” He wiped his eyes again. “Imagine, you finding it after all these years. The Lord does work in mysteries way.”

  Ali wiped fresh tears. “Yes, He does. I had given up until I found the letter, which I still have and I’ll also keep for the rest of my life.” She paused. “Can I ask if you’re older than Mama Jane?”

  He chuckled, a deep chuckle that warmed Ali’s heart. “I was forty-two and your mama was just seventeen, almost eighteen, but she loved this old man and I was so smitten with her young beauty, I’d swum a river to get to her.” He chuckled. “I guess that makes me an old man in your eyes, but I can tell you that I’ve got plenty of life left in me—and I have a new lease on life now that you’re here. I hope
you’ll stay in my life. I sure would like to get to know you better.” He paused a moment as if trying to decide how to ask his next question. Then, looking Ali straight in the eye, he asked, “Could you tell by looking at the picture that I was black before you came all this way?”

  Ali smiled, clung to his hand, and replied, “Yes, I could tell—but your color doesn’t matter to me.”

  Clifford chuckled again. “I’m only half black, but according to the world, if a person has one drop of black blood in them, then they’s all black.” Still chuckling, he added. “So I told the self-righteous whities to kiss my half-black ass and then I chose to live in the black world. That makes you one-fourth black, but you sure look whole white to me.”

  “I’ve got Mama Jane’s facial features and her dark blue eyes, but I kind of got some wild hair that’s hard to control. Strange thing is, it was straight and kind of reddish until I hit puberty. Then the curls kicked in and it got darker. I guess I got that from you.”

  “Well, all I can say is me and Jane sure made a beautiful girl. Your hair doesn’t look wild to me. It’s straight and I don’t see any nappies.” Clifford gave another deep chuckle.

  “I’ve learned a trick or two on how to tame it down—”

  Before Ali could finish her sentence she heard voices coming from the side of the house. She turned her head and saw a woman and two young boys walking toward her. She quickly smoothed her hair.

  Clifford took a step and held his hand toward the woman. “Ali, this is my wife, Dorothy, I call her Dot.” Pointing a finger he said, “These two boys are your brothers, Jim and Tim. They’re twins. I was double blessed with them.”

  “I have brothers?” was all Ali could say.

  Dorothy seemed to smile from ear to ear as she hugged Ali and said, “That old man has always said he had a daughter in this world somewhere and he’s been praying that someday he’d find you. I’ve prayed with him, and now here you are. My, my. This is one special day. You’re beautiful, baby.”

  Ali smiled. “I’m glad you accept me. I was afraid to come here today because I wondered if Clifford had a family and I might cause trouble.”

  “The only trouble you could cause would be not coming back. You’re family, baby. Cliff has told me all about your mama and he’s grieved for her too. We all have first loves that we never forget. But he’s got enough love in his big ole heart for the whole world. So you don’t worry about it. My prayers have been answered too. Now, I’ve got a daughter. These two boys are a handful, but I think you’ll get to like them once you’re used to them.”

  The boys held their arms open and Ali hugged them tightly. “I have brothers!” she said again, her eyes brimming with tears of joy. “How old are you two?”

  In unison they answered, “Thirteen, almost fourteen.” Their smiles warmed Ali’s heart.

  Clifford put his arm around Ali and said, “Can you stay for supper? We’d sure love to have you. And if it isn’t asking too much, we’d sure like for you to spend the night, seeing you’ve come a long way.”

  Ali looked into his eyes and said, “I’d love to. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. But I need to find a pay phone and call my friend. I borrowed her car and she’s expecting me back tonight.”

  “We got a phone, baby,” Clifford said as they all headed inside the house.

  Ali stood in the spacious kitchen, looked around, and inhaled the lingering smell of bacon. She felt warm and fuzzy inside.

  Clifford took Ali’s hand and led her into the living room. “The phone is over there,” he said, pointing to an end table beside the couch. “You call who you need to and I’ll go help Dot in the kitchen,” he said with a deep chuckle and added, “if she don’t run me out.”

  Ali made the call and Toots squealed, laughed and cried. Then Ali said, “I’ve gotta go. I’m running up a bill. I’ll see you tomorrow and tell you everything.”

  She hung up the phone, took a deep breath and walked back into the kitchen and asked if she could help, but Dorothy let it be known that she didn’t like anybody in her way when she was cooking, not even Clifford.

  Ali sat down at the table with Clifford, where Dorothy had placed a pitcher of iced tea with five glasses.

  Clifford poured Ali’s glass full, then poured one for himself. Ali picked up the glass, wondering what it would taste like. The first swallow didn’t suit her taste buds but she continued drinking. This devil’s spit is pretty good once you get used to it. By the time she and Clifford had finished the tea, Dorothy began setting food on the table. Everything looked and smelled delicious.

  Ali couldn’t remember eating a meal that tasted so wonderful. Not even when she had her first pizza. Dorothy sure did know how to fry chicken like none she had ever eaten. And the collards and cornbread was to die for. She didn’t want to act like a pig but she took second helpings of everything. She noticed Dorothy’s eyes lit up and she figured that Dorothy took it as a great compliment.

  What a wonderful family I have, Ali thought, and her heart warmed as if it was a burning ember.

  After they had eaten, Ali helped Dorothy clean the kitchen, then they all went back outside, pulled lawn chairs under the elm tree, and conversation came easily. Ali loved how Clifford chuckled as she told her life stories. He even chuckled at the parts that Ali had never found anything funny about. But as he chuckled, she did see it as being funny in hindsight.

  After Ali had told her new family her life story, Clifford shared his. Dorothy told of her life before and after she had met Clifford. It was obvious that she adored her husband. Ali had never felt as loved and wanted. Dorothy was a jovial person and the twins were real comedians.

  They talked and laughed until midnight. Clifford finally stood. “I know you’ve got to be worn out, baby. We need to get you a bed fixed, and it’s way past the boys bedtime. They have to get up early and go mow yards.”

  “I’ve got to be at work kind of early too,” Dorothy said, “but the old lady I sit with sleeps a lot and I’ll get me a nap or two. I’ll have to pull out the roll-a-way for you. I hope that’s okay.”

  Ali laughed. “I could sleep on a rock pile and be comfortable tonight. I’ve never been as happy. I can’t believe I found my daddy, and my brothers are a bonus. And you, Dorothy, are a jewel. This is a day that I’ll remember as the best day of my life. That’s the truth, sure enough.”

  They went inside, and soon, Dorothy had the roll-a-way ready with fresh sheets and a warm blanket.

  Clifford enfolded Ali in his strong arms. “Baby girl, you’ll never know how much happiness that you’ve brought us. It’s been one of the best days of my life too. I just hope we have more like them.”

  “I hope so too,” Ali answered and she felt her eyes sting.

  They all hugged and said goodnight.

  Ali snuggled under the blanket on the roll-a-way. She closed her eyes and whispered into the darkness, “Dear Mr. God. Thank you for helping me find my daddy. Thank you for giving him a wonderful wife like Dorothy. Thank you for my two brothers. I don’t guess I’ve got another thing to ask you for. You’ve given me all I’ve ever wanted. A family. Yours truly, Ali Monroe.” She softly giggled as she thought, I know I’m not writing a letter, but I’ve been praying this way since I was six. It just comes natural for me. I think God might get a kick out of it.

  The next morning, Dorothy was up early, cooking breakfast.

  Ali rubbed sleep from her eyes and wandered into the kitchen. “Something sure smells good.”

  “I hope it is, baby. I’ve got bacon, eggs, grits and the biscuits are about ready to come out of the oven. Take a seat. Them boys will be in here any minute, so you better get your helping first. I can’t fill them up. Sometimes I think I’ve got hollow legs.”

  By the time Dorothy had the biscuits out of the oven, Tim, Jim and Clifford came into the kitchen, dressed and ready for the day.

  It was wonderful being able to eat breakfast with a big family. Ali laughed so hard she almost choked when Tim
and Jim started throwing biscuits at each other and Dorothy threatened to bang their heads together.

  Clifford chuckled deeply. “She’s always threating, but she never does anything. Them boys are a handful. But they’re just being boys.”

  Dorothy chuckled. “If I banged their heads as much as I threaten, they wouldn’t have any brains left. But you two need to behave. We do have company. Now act like you’ve got some sense.”

  Tim and Jim laughed, and Ali laughed with them. She could tell they were full of mischief and had no fear of their mother and probably no fear of much of anything.

  After breakfast, Ali said her goodbyes after promising that she would return as soon as possible. Before she went out the front door, Clifford said, “Hold on, baby girl. I’ll write my phone number down for you. It’s unlisted and I want you to know that you can call me collect anytime you want. I sure hope I hear from you soon.”

  Ali took the piece of paper, kissed Clifford’s cheek, and then headed for the car before she cried. She slid under the wheel, started the car, and as she pulled away, she looked over her shoulder. “I have a family. I hope I can come back for a visit soon.” Her heart felt as if it would explode with happiness as she drove back to Morrisville.

  Ali pulled the car into the driveway by early afternoon. Toots ran to the car holding Mr. Puss. “Hurry up, girl. Get outta that car. I’ve got to hear about your trip. I can’t believe you actually found your daddy!”

  Ali stepped out of the car, stretched and reached for Mr. Puss. “Hey, big boy. Do I have a story for you. You’ve got a granddaddy, a grandmother, and two uncles. Us two whities have a black family. Well, half black.”

  Mr. Puss meowed and patted Ali’s cheek with his paw.

  “I’ll tell you all about things after you fix me a glass of water. I’m parched and my heart is about to explode.”

  “Sure. Sit in the swing and I’ll be back in a jiffy,” Toots answered as she hurried inside, adding, “I can’t wait.”

  For the next two hours, Ali shared her story about her new family. Tears of joy flowed down their cheeks as the tale unfolded. Then Ali said, “I think Mr. Puss and I need to get on home. I’ve got a lot of things to take care of.”