“So, Ross,” Henry Douglass said, leaning back in his chair after pushing aside his dinner plate. “What are your plans after graduation?”
Angela frowned. She knew her parents were hoping his plans were to marry her.
Ross met her father’s gaze. “I haven’t decided yet, sir. I guess what plans I make will depend on the state of the nation. If there’s still a war going on then—”
Henry Douglass waved away whatever words Ross was about to say. “There won’t be. Johnson isn’t stupid. He knows he has played this Vietnam thing long enough and it’s time to pull out and bring our boys home. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they returned in time for Easter.”
Ross didn’t think that would be the case but decided he didn’t feel much like debating with Angela’s father. The man could be fairly pigheaded about things when it suited him. Deciding he needed to escape her parents’ scrutiny for a while he turned to Angela. “How would you like to take a walk?”
Angela smiled. “I’d love to.”
“Get your jacket, honey, it’s chilly outside,” her mother said when she stood.
“I will, Mama.”
Ross and Angela walked quietly through a park that was located a few blocks from where her parents lived. He had come to New York to spend Christmas with her and her parents before going to spend the rest of the time with his grandparents in South Carolina.
For Christmas he had given her a brooch. He knew it hadn’t been the engagement ring her parents had been counting on, but he was not ready to make such a commitment. Besides, something Randolph and Noah said kept nagging at him. They were convinced that he and Angela didn’t share any sort of passion.
They continued walking, side by side, not holding hands like most couples would normally do.
“So, is Randolph spending Christmas with your grandparents in Virginia, Ross?”
Ross lifted a brow and smiled. “No, Randolph is spending Christmas with my grandparents in South Carolina. I’ll be joining them there in a few days.” He knew Angela and his Grandmother Julia talked occasionally, and decided not to mention that Randolph had invited Jenna to Glendale Shores. If his Grandmother Julia found out it wouldn’t be with his help.
He stopped walking and, automatically, so did Angela. He turned to her and captured her wrist in his hand, ignoring the fact that he felt nothing. No love, no passion, no attraction.
Her head rose and she looked at him curiously. “What is it?”
He shook his head. It showed a sorrowful state of their affairs if she had to ask. Didn’t she even have a clue what he was about to do? “I want to kiss you,” he said, spelling it out for her and searching her face to garner her reaction to his statement.
She shifted nervously. “Here?”
“Yes.”
“Out in public?”
His lips curved into a smile that made heat suddenly curl between her legs. Angela blinked, she had never reacted to Ross like this before and could only assume it was because he reminded her of Randolph more so than ever today. Or it could be that she hadn’t had a man since her abortion last month and her body was getting hungry, restless. But still … she had to be careful. He might be testing her.
“A lady never kisses a man in a public place, Ross,” she said, deciding to play it safe.
He pulled her off to the side, under a shadow of trees. “Now it isn’t as public, Angela,” he said smoothly.
She searched his face as he leaned closer to her and followed his lead when he settled his mouth gently on her lips. He just barely tasted her lips, their chests not even touching. But still, she could tell from that brief exchange that with the right woman, Ross Fuller could be a highly charged, highly passionate man. It was there in his taste and the gentleness of his lips as they traced over hers.
Too bad he wasn’t Randolph.
When he released her and stepped back, she studied his eyes but couldn’t read his expression. It had been a test but one totally different than she’d expected.
And as they began walking back toward her parents’ home, a part of her wondered if she had passed.
Seven
Jenna could see the top of the house as the car rounded a bend in the road. Then it was there, looming before them, this huge Southern style home that looked like a throwback to the Civil War era. The architect in her appreciated the design that was two stories, spacious and welcoming. There was a porch in front that seemed to wrap around the entire circumference of the house.
She leaned forward in her seat to look out the windshield to get a better view. When Randolph brought the car to a stop, Jenna stared at him then back at the huge wooden structure that seemed to be built of strong, solid oak, painted a light gray and surrounded by a number of moss-draped oak trees and many flowering plants.
“Your grandparents’ home is simply beautiful,” she told him softly, thoughtfully and truthfully.
“I’m glad you like it. It was originally built right after the Civil War but not this big. Every generation that lived here added their own finishing touch. Grandpa Murphy extended the porch as well as enlarged the kitchen. He also added a guest bedroom and another bathroom when I was a kid.”
Jenna drew in a deep, steadying breath when an older couple opened the front door and stepped outside onto the porch. “Your grandparents?” she asked Randolph, swallowing the thickness in her throat.
“Yes, that’s Gramma Mattie and Grandpa Murphy but everyone around here calls him Bush.” He walked around to her side of the vehicle to open the door. Walking her up to the porch, he held her hands in his, squeezing them reassuringly.
“Gramma Mattie and Grampa Murphy, I’d like you to meet Jenna Haywood, a very special friend of mine.”
Taking Jenna’s hands in hers, Mattie Denison smiled at the woman her grandson had wanted her to meet. “Welcome to Glendale Shores, Jenna. Grampa and I are glad you could come.”
Jenna smiled at the small-framed woman with soft brown eyes that immediately made her feel welcome. “Thanks for inviting me.” She then turned her attention to the huge bulk of a man who stood next to the small woman. He was staring at her with such intensity that she began to feel uncomfortable all over again. Then suddenly, she saw the corners of his mouth lift into a smile. It was a smile that reminded her of Randolph and Ross whenever they smiled.
“She’s pretty, Randolph,” his grandfather said as his smile widened. “You may have to keep an eye on your uncle Duncan while she’s here,” he added with good humor, taking Jenna’s hand in his. “Duncan is my seventy-year-old brother who thinks he’s twenty and still appreciates a pretty girl when he sees one,” he said as an explanation. “I’m glad you could visit, Jenna.”
“I’m glad I could visit, too,” she said, returning his smile. Her small hand was almost swallowed by his and she wondered how a woman as small as Mattie Denison could be married to a man as huge as Murphy Denison. He wasn’t big in an overweight sense, but big as in tall and muscular. She wondered if this was where Randolph and Ross had gotten their height and muscular build.
Mattie Denison had Randolph bring Jenna’s luggage inside while she showed her the room she would be using during her visit. Jenna thought it was a beautiful room with handcrafted furniture. She found out later that Randolph’s grandfather had built much of the furniture in the house.
“Don’t forget to call your parents to let them know you made it here all right, child. There’s a phone in the kitchen and another one in the living room.” At Jenna’s nod, Gramma Mattie smiled again and said, “It will be another hour or so before dinner is ready. You can take a nap and rest up if you like.”
After she was left alone, Jenna glanced around. It was the type of room one could spend hours reading in or being downright lazy. There was a huge window that overlooked the backyard which had a barn-type structure painted the same color as the house. There was also a pier with creek-fed pockets of marshland on both sides, jutting into a huge waterway that eventually led to the oce
an. As she unpacked her things she wondered where Randolph’s room was. Deciding to call her parents, she left the bedroom and walked to the kitchen, which was easy to find due to the aroma of fresh bread baking. Mrs. Denison was in the kitchen, taking the bread out of the oven when Jenna entered.
“I thought I’d call my parents now,” Jenna said, wondering where Randolph was as she picked up the phone and began dialing. The question on her face must have been obvious when she saw his grandmother smile at her. “Don’t worry none. Randolph ain’t deserted you. He and his grandpa are out front talking. He’ll be inside shortly.”
Jenna nodded. She hadn’t meant to be that obvious. “Thanks.” Her father answered the phone and moments later after talking to both her parents she hung up. “My mom wants to thank you again for inviting me.”
The older lady turned to her. “You’ll always be welcome here, Jenna. And I have a feeling that this won’t be the last time Randolph brings you here. I suspect there’ll be other visits.”
Jenna smiled. She hoped so. “Is there anything I can help you with, Mrs. Denison?” she asked as she watch her mix ingredients into a pot over the stove. The smell of chili filled the air.
“Nah, and you may as well get used to calling me Gramma Mattie, especially since Randolph says you’re the one he’s gonna marry. And if you are, I’m downright tickled pink. That grandson of mine has good taste. You’re such a pretty thing.”
“Thank you.”
“I mean it. I can tell you’re a person who will make him happy, although I know the two of you have a long road ahead of you.”
Jenna nodded. She and Randolph really hadn’t talked about what they would do once they were finished with school. She had another year left in college and he had two years of law school to complete. “This is such a beautiful island,” she said as she sat down at the table.
“That’s what I thought the first time Bush brought me here. I knew how much he loved this place and knew if I loved him I might as well be prepared to love it as well since this would be my home.”
“Do you ever get lonely? Especially since the only way off the island is by ferry.”
Gramma Mattie smiled. “There’s too much around here to do to get lonely. Bush had me pregnant within the first year that we married, so there was our boy, Murphy Junior, to take care of. Then two years later our Adrianna was born. That’s Randolph’s mother. Murphy Junior died in a boating accident a week short of his fourteenth birthday, and that was probably the only time I ever regretted living here. There was so much around here to remind us of him. He loved the outdoors, especially the water and that was what took him away.”
The older lady stopped stirring the ingredients in the pot. “That’s why Ross Fuller, Senior became so much like a son to us when he married our Adrianna. He was such a wonderful person and he loved our daughter very much.”
“How did they meet?”
Mrs. Denison began stirring the pot again. “Over yonder on Hilton Head. That’s where my family is from. I had a sister living there at the time and Adrianna had gone to spend a week with her. Ross Senior, who was twenty-two at the time, just happened to be there that particular week visiting a friend from college.” She chuckled. “Must have been love at first sight for those two. Before he left to return to school, he and his friend took a boat over here and talked to Bush and me. He wanted us to know that he intended to marry Adrianna once he finished law school. In one week he had made up his mind that he was in love with her and wanted her for his wife. Since she was seventeen and had just finished high school, Bush and I told him he would have to wait a little while beyond him finishing law school, since we intended for her to go to college. Her daddy and me had made plans for her to attend Savannah State. We figured if he loved her as much as he said he did, he would be willing to wait for her.”
“Did he?”
Mattie Denison smiled as she placed a lid on the pot she’d been stirring. “Almost. Adrianna got pregnant during her second year of college. That’s when we found out that she and Ross Senior had been sneaking around seeing each other. We didn’t know that on several occasions he had come down from DC and visited her at school. I guess one of those times their hormones got the best of them.” She wiped her hands on her apron as she walked over to the refrigerator to take something out. “But one thing I can give the boy credit for,” she continued, “is that when he found out Adrianna was pregnant, he married her without wasting any time, even when his own mother told him she would disown him if he did. He proved just how much my girl meant to him and married her without his mother’s blessings. And I can truly say that he loved her completely until the day they died in that car accident.”
At that moment Randolph and his grandfather wandered into the kitchen and Randolph smiled when he saw her. “You’re all settled in?” he asked as he joined her at the table.
“Yes, and I have such a beautiful room and the bed looks so comfortable.”
For the next hour or so Jenna listened as the older couple brought Randolph up to date on what had been happening on the island since the time he had left for Knoxville. It seemed a group of white men had visited the island and made everyone on Glendale Shores an offer to buy their land. And the price they offered wasn’t all that bad.
“Will you sell?” Jenna asked, then blushed after wondering if she had stepped out of line by doing so. She quickly apologized.
Murphy Denison waved off her apology. “There’s no need to apologize. If what Randolph tells me is true, then you’ll be in this family one day,” he said, leaning against the counter of the spacious kitchen. “And the answer to your question is no. I won’t sell. The way Old Man Denison had his will set up when he deeded this place over to his former slaves was that only a person with Denison blood can inherit this land. Now there is one exception and that’s the case of a godchild or an adopted child. If a Denison legally declares someone as their godchild or adopted child, then even without Denison blood that person can inherit land on this island as well, although a situation like that hasn’t happened yet. So far all Denisons on this island are Denisons by blood. And the ones who are in a position to inherit this land have pledged they won’t sell. That’s the only way we can keep what is ours. There aren’t too many places in this country where black folks own beautiful land such as this, and can boast of all-black communities and townships. Hilton Head, Glendale Shores, St. Simons and Sepalo are all that’s left of a black heritage we need to hold onto. We owe it to our ancestors to keep our land and not let others come in and take it away.”
During dinner Randolph mentioned to his grandparents that this summer after graduation he and Ross had thought about working for Martin Luther King, Jr. as he went about increasing black voter registration.
Everyone remembered two summers ago, when three civil rights workers who had volunteered for the Mississippi Summer Project to register black voters, had been murdered by law enforcement officers and members of the Ku Klux Klan. Their killers had still not been brought to justice.
“Do you think things will be better this summer?” Mattie asked Randolph as she passed around the bread. She didn’t want to think that her two grandsons would put themselves in any danger.
“I hope so,” Randolph said, taking a huge piece of bread off the platter. “It’s bad enough that Americans are over in Asia fighting the Vietcongs and then here they are fighting each other.”
“The boys will be fine, Mattie,” Murphy Denison said, seeing the look of worry on his wife’s features. “I think it’s admirable that Ross and Randolph are willing to stand up for what they believe in.” He then shook his head. “But what really has me concerned is this group that calls themselves the Black Panthers. Where King is preaching nonviolence they are preaching violence and that worries me.”
Jenna nodded. She was worried as well, especially since Johnny had decided to leave college and join the group. She mentioned as much to Randolph when they went for a walk after dinner.
&nb
sp; “The only thing you can do, Jenna, is pray that he keeps his head on straight and doesn’t get caught up in the hatred that group is preaching. Although I do understand their issues and concerns, I don’t believe violence is the way to go about changing things. I hate to see so many brilliant minds creating their own ideology as to what the correct measures should be in order to ensure equality for black people. The last thing we need is to become a divided people. Blacks need to stay united for the cause. That’s the only way we can get what we want in this country.”
As they continued to walk Jenna found it hard to believe that it was less than a week before the new year and that it was the dead of winter. Here on the island there was a tropical warmth to the point that she didn’t need a sweater. The early evening was quiet and shadowy and the only sounds that disturbed the peaceful setting were those of various insects swarming about in the thickets. Large lanterns that hung from several posts illuminated the path leading to the area where they were headed. Randolph wanted to show her a pond that was fed by an underground spring. They walked together holding hands, sharing that special closeness they always shared whenever the two of them were alone.
When Jenna heard the ripple of water she knew they were close to their destination. And then she saw it when he led them through a small clearing. Her heart stopped beating for a split second when she gazed at the beauty of her surroundings. “Oh, Randolph,” was all she could manage to say.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes! It’s beautiful.” And although she didn’t say it, the first thing that came to her mind was that this would a beautiful spot for a wedding. It was so picturesque. She could just see herself pledging her life to him in this very place.
“When we used to stay here during the summers, Ross and I would go swimming in this pond all the time. We used to have loads of fun, just the two of us.”
Jenna tilted her head and stared up at him. She knew the answer to the question she was about to ask but decided to ask anyway. “You and Ross are very close, aren’t you?”
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