by Londyn Skye
The warm reception had not only grated Mary Jo’s ears but every fiber of her being. She was already green with envy and red-faced with anger over the few minutes’ worth of attention that Lily had stolen from her so far. Listening to how long the applause and whistles were going on only intensified those emotions, setting fire to her short anger fuse. Adding fuel to the fire, Julia began to chant loudly for an encore, enticing her friends to join in. With an even deeper scowl now on her face, Mary Jo suddenly whipped her head around and directed her squinted, bloodshot eyes at her cousin. Julia, however, was far too engrossed in her attempts to get Lily to play another song to even notice her cousin’s the wicked glare. The enthusiasm over what the entire crowd was now begging for finally detonated Mary Jo’s explosive anger. “I’m sure everybody would much prefer the orchestra to continue!” she pleaded over the rising sounds of the chant Julia had initiated. She tried to continue to object but her whining fell on deaf ears after being drowned out by an entire room of people now repeatedly shouting “ENCORE!”
Lily was the only one in the room who was paying Mary Jo any attention. She did the best she could not to laugh at Mary Jo, whose face got a shade redder every time she tried to shout over the rising sound of the crowd. Lily was not even embarrassed to admit to herself that she was loving every minute of the most pitiful, childish scene she had ever witnessed.
Amid the echoing chant, Mary Jo turned and caught Lily staring at her. Lily then fearlessly rose from the piano bench and smirked at Mary Jo with lowered eyelids as she bowed to the crowd. Mary Jo furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips, staring at Lily like she was trying to suck her soul clean out of her body. She was warning Lily with her eyes not to even think about addressing the crowd.
“Thank you everyone!” Lily responded, despite Mary Jo’s silent threat. She fearlessly spoke the words with her lowered eyes still locked on Mary Jo’s fire-red face. James finally caught sight of the estrogen-driven exchange between them and felt himself swell with even more pride over the way that Lily was challenging her nemesis. Lily’s deceitful smile broadened, and she finally removed her eyes from Mary Jo to scan the crowd. “Well, since y’all insist,” Lily said with a slight curtsy. “I was only doin’ what was needed to fulfill the bet. But if I had it my way, I’d’ve much preferred to play that song like this…” With lightning speed, her fingers suddenly began dashing across the keys.
For the first time ever, Lily felt compelled to remain standing as she played an extremely up-tempo rendition of Derrick’s song, adding notes and runs here and there, playing with the arrangement on the fly the way she loved to do. Standing tall further added to the beauty of her theatrics and made others feel just as compelled to dance and express the emotions of the music along with her. Derrick was the first to take the opportunity to get closer to Julia. He took her by the hand and began guiding her toward the dance floor. He turned back toward Lily, discreetly pointed his finger at Julia, and then gave Lily a wink and thumbs up as a way of saying thank you for easing the burden of his sexual mission. Lily winked back just as he and Julia began gallivanting across the dance floor.
Still too intoxicated to be mindful of the laws of lunacy, James intentionally tried to add insult to injury by offering a hand to Mary Jo and asking her to dance. She slapped his hand away, gave him a look of pure disgust, and scurried away. James waved his hand dismissively at her back and was immediately grabbed by a drunk older lady who was more than willing to take Mary Jo’s place in his arms on the dance floor. Feeling a similar need to join in, almost everyone else in the room found a partner and followed suit. With alcohol having destroyed everyone’s inhibitions, an array of happy, intoxicated feet suddenly hit the dance floor.
Seeing everyone out of their seats, the cellists and violinists glanced over at Lily, shrugged their shoulders, and pointed toward their instruments to silently ask if she wanted company. Lily motioned her head, inviting them to join her. They smiled, and happily found a fast-paced melody to accompany her. James glanced over at Lily after her new bandmates joined in. He was excited to see a grand smile emerge on her face for the first time in weeks. Warmed by the beautiful sight, his lips immediately followed suit.
James could not take his eyes off the woman he loved as she continued improvising music along with the string musicians. The utmost joy coursed through him when he saw Lily start laughing at all the unorthodox, rhythmless, drunk old men parading around the dance floor like they were teenagers again. It was a much-needed cleansing laughter. Lily’s laughter was due in part to succeeding in her quest to destroy the elegant ambiance that Mary Jo had envisioned. She enjoyed transforming the drab engagement party into a country hoedown and playing the sort of music that true southern folks loved to celebrate to. For the rest of the evening, Lily seemed to control every person in the room through her music, no different than the way she controlled the shadows of her beloved symphony. For that hour and a half, she was suspended in a state of euphoria while living out her dream all over again.
Lily had put everybody in a celebratory mood except for Mary Jo, of course, whose displeasure would have been blatantly obvious to anyone who bothered to look in her direction. Even if they had, nobody would have had an ounce of empathy for her. Most people there inwardly despised her and only tolerated her to continue their business ties with her father. For that reason, they paid no attention to her whatsoever as she stood on the outskirts of the dance floor with her arms folded across her chest. She was not standing on the outskirts alone, though. On the opposite side of the room, J.R. stood guzzling his beer with his eyes glued on his father. The astonishment of Lily’s performance had quickly faded, and his anger returned as he watched Jesse field requests from strangers about the potential of hiring Lily for future events. When his father’s actions began to turn his stomach, J.R. turned his attention to his youngest brother.
Being at yet another party in James’s honor had multiplied J.R.’s lifelong jealousy. He watched with great irritation as James danced with different women, noting the way his eyes were always pasted lovingly on Lily. Witnessing James’s blatant disrespect for the Ghost Rider codes had J.R.’s fury at explosive levels. The fact that James seemed to be exempt from having to abide by their father’s racist rules, instantly caused J.R.’s jealousy to transform into unforgiving hatred. J.R. was unaware of the lie that James had told their father, regarding their mother teaching Lily to play the piano. Jesse never felt obligated to explain to anyone that his wife’s alleged dream for Lily was the reason he was unable to bring himself to punish her and James. Unaware of that, J.R. assumed that James was being allowed to get away with his defiant behavior for no good reason.
J.R. had to guzzle the remainder of his beer before he could bring himself to turn and glare at his father again, who continued to write down booking requests for Lily. Whether Jesse planned to fulfill the requests was irrelevant. The fact that he was not immediately turning people away was visual proof to J.R. that his father would simply continue to dishonor his very own codes and let James and Lily run amok. In that moment, J.R. instantly realized that he was on his own in handling the problem that his baby brother had become. He then slammed his empty beer mug down and stormed out of the party halfway through Lily’s encore performance, all the while conjuring up violent methods of punishments for his brother’s injustices.
What had gone unnoticed to everyone, was the fact that Mary Jo – the event’s honored guest – had slipped out of the celebration as well. Everyone was so engrossed in the impromptu show that Lily was putting on that it was nearly an hour before Mary Jo’s own father even noticed her absence.
After a night of heavily imbibing top-shelf liquor, James Adams had mindlessly made the massive mistake of failing to abide by the unwritten laws for lunatics. He was far too intoxicated to realize that his actions were tantamount to opening the gates of hell and unleashing the evils, not only of Mary Jo Parker, but of Jesse Roscoe Adams Junior as well.
Chapter Ni
neteen
Ghost Rider Code of Ethics
Section 6.2
We uphold the bible as the basis of the constitution of the United States of America, as the basis of The Ghost Rider codes, and as the practical guide for righteous living, as well as the source of all true wisdom. We honor Christ as the Ghost Rider’s only criterion of character.
Slave Code
Section V Article X
Be it enacted that slaves and free Negroes are exempt from the right to dispense medication. Selling, preparing, and/or administering medicine shall result in a public whipping, not to exceed twenty stripes.
“Get up boy! We’re gonna be late for church!” Jesse yelled, pounding on James’s door, jarring him from a deep sleep.
After watching Lily come alive at the engagement party, James had an easy time falling asleep when he got home. For once, his mind was not wracked with worry over her mental state, allowing him to relax. The endless rounds of alcohol, the dancing, and the late hours helped keep him firmly planted in the bed on this Sunday morning. He slept like he was in a coma while his body fought to recover from excitement overload, not to mention a severe hangover. The fact that Mary Jo had gone missing halfway through the party had not affected his ability to sleep at all. In fact, James would have slept better with the knowledge that she was permanently missing. But as misfortune would have it, he and Joseph had found her safe at home. James had waited in the foyer, pretending to be a concerned fiancé, while Joseph had gone upstairs to see if his daughter was there. “Oh, thank God,” was the fake sigh of relief James expressed after Joseph had come back downstairs and reported that she was fine. Joseph further explained that Mary Jo would like for him to join them at church in the morning. James had agreed, and Jesse was now seeing to it that he stuck by his word.
James struggled to lift his throbbing head out of the pool of drool he had left on his pillow. He stretched and yawned and wiped the crust out of his eyes, not bothering to move with the slightest bit of haste. He begrudgingly got out of bed, dragged himself to the door, and then went upstairs to the place he had rarely entered since his forced infidelity with Mary Jo. He still got a sick feeling whenever he stepped inside of his childhood bedroom. He could not bring himself to look in the direction of the mattress when he walked in; it brought back visuals that made him just as nauseous as the murder he had witnessed in the woods. He had slept with Mary Jo once more since then during an occasion when he was unable to create an excuse to get out of it. Before then, he had regularly used the excuse of not having prophylactics, but Mary Jo had secretly purchased some and quickly resolved the recurring problem. James was angry about being blindsided. Yet again, though, he felt he had no choice but to concede to her wishes. Just like the first time, Lily stayed firmly on his mind to help push him through the disgusting task of pleasing his “bride to-be.” He went about it just as cold and heartless as the first time as well. But much to James’s dismay, Mary Jo still found it erotic and refused to be deterred by his distant nature. James now avoided events at the Parker plantation altogether so as not to put himself in such a vulnerable situation again. He planned to avoid her again today after church, knowing Mary Jo and her father would be expecting him and Jesse to join them for dinner at their home.
After sifting through the clothes in his closet, James snatched an outfit out that was suitable for church. He then quickly slammed the door shut to his old bedroom, as well as to the painful memories that it had triggered. After dressing and grooming, he marched out to the barn to get the horses and wagon ready. He happened to enter the barn just as Lily was walking toward the exit with a basket of eggs, headed to help Corrina make their traditional Sunday breakfast for all the other slaves. Lily stopped when she came face to face with him. James immediately lit up with a smile when he saw her. “Good mornin’ Lily,” he smiled, resisting the urge to hold her as always.
“Mornin’ Masa’ James,” she replied, unwilling to look at him per usual.
Master. There was that word again that James hated to hear Lily call him. He ignored it, though, figuring it was just habit again by now. He also noticed the way Lily’s eyes had hovered to the ground upon seeing his face. He hoped that that too was just habit and not a sign that she was still angry with him. He was praying that she was feeling better after her stellar performance the night before. Feeling optimistic, he cautiously approached her. “You were amazin’ last night,” he said, placing his hand on her face.
Lily swatted his hand away and took a step back. “You neva’ once thought to ask me if I wanted to touch that damn piano, did ya’?” she asked, staring at him with squinted eyes.
“Lily I…”
“I guess you just haven’t gotten enough pleasure outta exploitin’ me yet, have ya’?”
“Lily no…”
“Or perhaps you just ain’t make enough money off ‘a me on the first go ’round … Masa’ James.”
“Lily that’s not what I meant by that. I…”
“I don’t know why I keep bein’ stupid enough to fall for your games! I should’ve known that was the reason you dragged me in that room to dance with me. You always find a way to soften me wheneva’ you need me to fill yo’ damn wallet!”
“My God, Lily, no! Please, just let me explain, I…” James reached out for her, but she quickly sidestepped him and walked out of the barn without looking back. “Shit!” he exclaimed under his breath, now realizing how his bet could have been misconstrued as using Lily for money. He felt she was totally justified in her anger, especially considering the awful things he had said about her during the showdown with his father at Winter Garden. William had also warned James about pushing Lily to play without consulting her after making that mistake at his fundraiser. That valuable lesson had not once crossed James’s inebriated mind at the engagement party. He was now forced to deal with the consequences.
James spent the entire ride with his father to church mentally kicking himself for his mistake. The high he was riding on after watching Lily perform had now quickly come crashing down. He had landed back in reality as he arrived at the chapel, knowing he had yet another upset woman to contend with.
“Mornin’ sweetheart,” Mary Jo said to James as he slid into the pew next to her and Julia. She gave him a peck on the lips and then smiled.
“Mornin’,” James replied, looking at her oddly after she turned away. He immediately noted how eerily calm Mary Jo was as she took hold of his hand and waited quietly for the church service to start. He was expecting outrage, a nasty attitude, or a tongue lashing, but there she sat, smiling at passing church members as they were escorted to their seats by ushers. To say that James was surprised would be an understatement. He glanced over at Julia and she shrugged. She was just as taken aback by how quiet her cousin was. James shrugged in return and then proceeded to just enjoy the silence while it lasted. Between Lily and Mary Jo’s unexpected attitudes, James conceded to the fact that he would never truly understand the complexities of a woman’s mind. He shook his head, accepted it, and hoped the sermon would be far less confusing.
For James, the sermon was nowhere near confusing. He felt as though it was directed right at him, like every word coming from the preacher’s mouth had been delivered to his tongue from the heavens above. Even the two scriptures the preacher began with seemed to have been plucked from the bible by the hand of God to be delivered to his ears:
Galatians 6:9 Let us not grow weary of doing good. Do not give up. For your work shall be rewarded.
James 5:15 The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. He who have committed sins, confess your sins in prayer and they shall be forgiven.
There was no greater time to have such messages reinforced in James’s life. Both messages drove James to walk to the front of the altar when the preacher asked for people to come forth who needed prayer. Normally, James sat firmly in his pew watching with skepticism, but he was void of that feeling on this day as he stood there waitin
g to have the hands of the preacher laid upon him for prayer. As soon as his shoulders were touched, he closed his eyes and felt his legs become too weak to hold him. As the entire church collectively prayed for him, James dropped to a single knee, bowed his head, and prayed to be forgiven for his infidelity. Considering the scripture from the book of James, he even prayed to heal Mary Jo’s mental sickness, and for God to give him the strength to forgive her. James then begged God to give Lily the strength to forgive him. Lastly, James prayed hard for what he wanted more than anything else in his life: freedom for the woman he loved, and a healthy baby born into freedom as well.
As James was on bended knee, Lily was indeed in the process of trying to free herself, but not in the way in which James was currently praying for. “Is it ready yet, Corrina?” Lily asked after catching her outside alone scrubbing a skillet.
Corrina stopped scrubbing but would not turn to look at Lily. “Is what ready?”
“You know what I’m talkin’ about,” Lily replied, sounding aggravated by the fact that Corrina seemed to be playing dumb.
Corrina began scrubbing the pot even harder. “I’m missin’ one ingredient.”
“Why’re you doin’ this?!”
Corrina dropped the pot in the pail of murky water and turned to look at Lily with a scowl on her face. “Doin’ what?!”
“Lyin’ to me!” she bit back. “You’ve had plenty ‘a time now! I stole the ingredients you said you needed from Jesse’s pantry! I’ve done your chores so that you can have free time to prepare what I asked for! But every day I get one excuse afta’ the otha’ from you! You promised me you’d help me, but now you don’t seem to give a damn!” Lily yelled, her bottom lip quivering as she suddenly began tearing up.
“Hush up now, girl!” Corrina looked over Lily’s shoulder to see if they had gotten anyone’s attention.