Plenty Good Room

by Cheri Paris Edwards

  “She loves me?”

  “Yes, baby girl, Sienna loves you. You are the most stable person she’s had in her life, and she admires you and she loves you deeply, and what’s more, Tamara . . . you love her, too.”

  Tamara inhaled deeply and then sighed as she opened the book and read the words again: “God loves you. Never forget that.”

  Denise Jackson looked at her curiously and asked, “Is that your friend’s Bible? Is that why it seems to mean so much to you?”

  “Yes, it is my friend Yvette’s Bible. It was given to her by Reverend Davis, a long time ago. He was so very kind to her when no one else was.”

  “You and she must be very close. She seems to have shared a lot with you.”

  Tamara turned and opened the nightstand drawer then. She moved aside a worn copy of a paperback book, Hind’s Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard. Then from inside a large brown envelope she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Denise Jackson.

  The older woman put on her glasses and began to read silently. “Why, this says something about a Tanisha Yvette Bailey being an emancipated minor . . . Is this your friend?”

  “My name is Tamara Britton, with no middle initial.” The younger woman gave Denise Jackson a small smile and said, “I couldn’t think of one for ‘Y’ . . . Tanisha became Tamara, and Bailey became Britton.”

  Not fully understanding, Denise Jackson looked down at the paper again and then gazed up at Tamara.

  Tamara continued in a low, emotionless voice, “I lived as a runaway most of my life when I was young. I was abandoned by my parents, victimized within the system, and then finally, finally set free. I was ashamed of who I was and what type of life I’d come from . . . and so I made up a whole new identity.”

  “Oh, baby girl,” the woman said compassionately, at last comprehending fully the gist of what Tamara was telling her.

  Tamara shook her head sadly and then continued to speak, “It was no good, though, Mrs. Jackson, because I still could not run away from the memories of what happened to me. Now I know that my mother died of a drug overdose, my grandmother lives in the projects with my nephew, my aunt is in prison, and my father is alive, and I’ve met them all. The funny thing was that I’d told the lie so long, it was almost as if Yvette was a separate person, and so when I saw my relatives, I still did not even claim them as my own.”

  Denise Jackson was quiet as she took in all this new information. Suddenly the woman sat up alertly, and her expression was quizzical. “But, baby girl, I thought you said that the man you found in California was Sienna’s daddy.”

  “He is,” said Tamara as she watched the woman carefully.

  The woman’s eyes widened, “But, you were looking for your daddy . . . Oh, Lord, so what that means . . .”

  “What that means is that Sienna Larson and I are half sisters,” said Tamara as she turned her swollen eyes from the woman and stared unseeingly toward the bedroom door.

  Denise Jackson shook her head and said with an astonished look on her face, “Imagine that! The two of y’all sisters and never knowin’ it . . . Ain’t that something? My, my, my . . . sho’ ain’t no doubt that the Lord does work in mysterious ways!”

  “He sure does, Mrs. Jackson.” Tamara added quietly, “For the longest, I’ve been searching for my family, and months ago my own sister, Sienna, showed up on my doorstep, and she’d been with me all this time.”

  The older woman chuckled, “It’s just a human trait, Tamara; sometimes we just cain’t see what’s right in front of us, for lookin’! But, don’t you worry baby girl, He’s gonna work this all out—just you wait and see.”

  Tears filled the younger woman’s eyes again. “Do you think so, Mrs. Jackson? Do you really think God will bring Sienna home?”

  “I know He will,” said Denise Jackson firmly. “I know He will.”

  50.

  Finger-Poppin’ Time

  “How you feeling today, girl?” asked Lynnette. To Tamara’s surprise, her friend had stood by her resolutely during the past week. Not only had Lynnette come into the office to work each day, she also had called her several times each evening, making it her business to help keep Tamara’s spirits up anyway she could.

  Time was passing, though. It was already Friday, and Tamara still had not heard one word from Sienna. “I’m okay,” she replied. “I was really praying that we would hear something this week, though . . . School is back in session, and I was hoping hard that she would appear there.”

  “Don’t you worry, Tam . . . She’s gonna show up,” said Lynnette reassuringly, but she looked worriedly at Jayson, who was standing behind Tamara.

  Tamara continued, “Last night Isaiah came over, and we searched all through the west side of town, but we didn’t see her anywhere. He’s been asking people at school, but so far he’s had no luck, either.”

  “Tam . . . I know that after all you’ve been through, you, more than any of us, know that God’s got her in his sight. She’s gonna be all right,” said Jayson. “Besides, she has to come back. You know that child’s not finished terrorizing you yet!” he added with a smile.

  Tamara smiled as she twisted one of the small earrings that she’d worn every day since the girl had been gone. “It’s amazing, Jay-Jay; I really do believe she’s okay, because I truly believe God is watching her, and I know that He loves her.”

  Jayson looked serious, and after quickly glancing toward Lynnette, he asked, “Tamara, tell me if you mind me asking . . . I know that you said that you were a runaway, but how did you manage to live like that so long?”

  “Jayson! That’s not really any of our business!” said Lynnette as she shot him a warning look. “Tamara, you know that you do not have to answer that nosy boy’s question.”

  Tamara smiled at the two of them. “It’s okay. I can understand why you have questions. I know for you it probably seems hard to understand. Actually, looking back at it all now, it’s difficult for me to figure out how I survived. I really don’t know how I did it . . . I suppose it’s like Mrs. Jackson said—God was with me all the time.”

  “He had to be,” said Lynnette. “Girl, you were a mere child during some of those times you were off living on your own. Anything could’ve happened to you. It had to be the Lord that kept you through all of that. All I can say is that He must have some real special plans for you!”

  Jayson asked, “But, Tam, weren’t you scared?”

  “Yes, I was very frightened at first, but because of the bad stuff that happened to me in foster placements, I became more frightened of being in the homes. Living in any home became scarier than living in the streets.”

  Jayson shook his head and stroked his goatee. “And to think I was believin’ that you was weak and everything; but, little girl, you got me beat! You are one strong cookie to have made it through all that you have!”

  Lynnette threw back her microbraids, which were hanging loose and free today, and said, “I agree with that.” She smoothed down her off-white lightweight wool and then pulled the sleeves of the matching lamb’s-wool turtleneck sweater. “Baby, it’s whenever we think we are weak that somehow God gives us just what we need to be tougher than we ever thought we could be.”

  “It’s funny that most of the time, I don’t feel very strong at all . . . but I guess I am, aren’t I?” Tamara said with a half smile. “And even when I’m not, I’ve learned now that God does care for me and He’s always with me. It’s so strange that the very man who fed me and treated me with kindness back then was the stepfather of the minister in the church I now attend.”

  “Girl, that’s not strange; that’s just God.” Lynnette widened her large eyes and pursed her lips. “It’s like the Word says: ‘God won’t give us more than we can handle’ and ‘He’ll always give us a way out when things get really tough.’ Minister Davis was your way out back then Tamara. God put him in your life at exactly the moment you needed him most. It just goes to show, the Lord always knows what He’s doing. Shoot,
the Word says He knows how many hairs we have on our head.”

  “And the Lord gotta be the man to know that about you, Lynn, since yo’ hair count changes by the week, every time you get a new weave,” said Jayson with a smirk.

  Lynnette rolled her eyes and then threw him a derisive glare. “Well, at least I got some hair to count—more than I can say about you!”

  Tamara giggled, happy for their verbal sparring this time, since it gave her an excuse to laugh for a moment.

  “Sounds like we’re having fun over here!” said Joan Erickson.

  The three of them became quiet as they exchanged quick looks, perturbed that the woman had again slipped up on them quietly when they seemed to be playing instead of working.

  Joan turned her attention to Tamara, though, and said in a voice that seemed full of genuine concern, “I’ve heard about everything you’ve been through, Tamara. This type of news just travels, so don’t feel bad. Please, know how much I admire you for having the willpower not just to live through such a harrowing early life, but to also actually have overcome it all with such style and grace. Know that your experience makes you invaluable to the youth we serve and their families, and I don’t think that we could have a better person working for us here at the Care for Kids Agency.”

  Tamara was dumbstruck by the woman’s unexpected kind words. For so many years she’d been ashamed of her past and had separated herself from it so carefully that she’d almost begun to believe that all the bad things she’d experienced so many years ago had happened to another person.

  She had only been fooling herself, though, and she knew it when Sienna ran away and it all came crashing down upon her. Since then she’d received only support, concern, and comfort, rather than the retribution and judgment that she’d imagined people would respond with once they learned the truth about her. Even though Sienna was still missing, Tamara was thankful the truth was out, because she felt lighter and freer than she ever had in the past.

  Then, to Tamara’s complete surprise, Joan Erickson reached over and hugged her around the neck hard. She could smell the expensive Chanel no. 5 cologne in the woman’s hair as she said in her ear, “If I can help you in any way, please let me know. Please.”

  Tamara felt herself soften under the woman’s kind words and said, “Thank you, Joan. Thank you.”

  “See, I told you she does have a heart after all,” said Jayson when she walked away.

  “Boy, shut up! You ain’t told us nothin’! You the main one always talkin’ ’bout the woman,” said Lynnette.

  “Now, don’t start again, okay?” said Tamara, but when she looked up to smile at Jayson, he was looking over her head at something or someone behind her.

  “Tamara, somebody is here to see you, girl,” said Lynnette. “It’s that fine man from your church—you know the one I mean.”

  Tamara spun around to see Isaiah Perry standing in front of her.

  Instantly concerned, she began to question him. “Isaiah! Nothing bad has happened, has it? You haven’t heard any bad news about Sienna, have you?”

  Isaiah shook his head and smiled widely, and then suddenly from behind him, Sienna’s small face popped out around the corner of a neighboring cubicle.

  “Ain’t nothin’ happened to me!” The girl postured and saucily clicked her tongue loudly. “Shooot, I can take care of myself . . . Ain’t nobody gonna mess with me!”

  Jayson twisted his lips and replied in a low voice, “I can believe that, little Miss Thang!”

  Tamara’s face lit up when she saw the girl, and she jumped out of her chair happily. “Sienna! Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

  Sienna gave her a pouting look before saying in a hurt tone, “You the one said you was tired of me and everything.”

  Tamara looked into the girl’s eyes and said, “Yes, I did, Sienna, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am for saying that. I was angry, and I said things I should not have. I did not mean it . . . I did not mean it at all.”

  “You didn’t?” The girl’s stare was skeptical for a moment, and her voice lightened. “Really, Tamara? You didn’t mean it?”

  “I didn’t. Come here, Sienna,” said Tamara as she moved closer to the girl.

  Tentatively the girl walked over to her, and as soon as she was close enough, Tamara grabbed her by the arms, pulled her close, and hugged her hard. When she looked at Isaiah, her eyes were wet with tears, and so were his. “I’ve missed you so much, and I’ve got so much to tell you.”

  “Okay, okay, enough of this mushy stuff,” the teen replied, quickly wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “And don’t think I’m cryin’, either, ’cause I ain’t no punk like that . . . I just got somethin’ in my eye,” she added hastily.

  From behind her Tamara heard Joan Erickson say, “Tamara, why don’t you take the rest of the day off? Lynnette and Jayson can cover for you; and you and Sienna can enjoy a long weekend.”

  Tamara looked at her two coworkers—her two friends—and Lynnette grabbed her coat and said, “Don’t worry, we got it covered, Tam. Enjoy.”

  “If you like, I can drive you two ladies home,” said Isaiah. “It will give you time to talk.”

  Tamara gave him a grateful smile and said quietly, “Thank you, Isaiah.”

  Sienna took over the conversation then as she began chattering mercurially, jumping from subject to subject while making it clear to everyone that she’d lost none of her spunkiness while she was away. “Mr. Perry, we probably gonna have to stop at the store. Shoot, I know Tamara ain’t got nothin’ good to eat since I ain’t been in the house, now, do you, Tamara? And, Tamara, can we get some movies or somethin’? You know, a sista gots to have somethin’ to do on a long weekend.”

  Suddenly the girl stopped talking and looked around, as if she’d just noticed that all the attention was on her. Clicking her tongue in her now all-too-familiar fashion, she cut her eyes toward Tamara and asked sassily, “Why everybody lookin’ at me?” She rolled her neck dramatically and added, “Y’all act like y’all ain’t never seen a person befo’!”

  Tamara couldn’t help but laugh loudly before chiding the girl gently, “Sienna, hush! Let’s go.”

  “She-e-e’s ba-a-ack!” said Jayson with a huge smile. He looked bemused and shook his head from side to side, noticing how Sienna now held Tamara’s deep-brown hand firmly in her own pale freckled one. He whispered to Lynnette, “I just would’ve never guessed it—sisters, you know?”

  Isaiah heard his comment and, with a smiling glance over his shoulder, replied, “It wasn’t for us to know, Brother Jayson, but God knew, and He always works all things out for the good!”

  “I’ll give you two snaps up on that one, brotha man, ’cause I’m wit’cha when you right!” said Lynnette with a tilt of her head and a saucy double pop of her red-manicured fingers. And wearing a huge smile on her face, she watched the three of them walk away.