The Color of Hope

by Kim Cash Tate

  Marcus nodded. “That’s the Sanders spirit.” He got a plate himself and proceeded to pile it on.

  “Wow. I thought you were just being gracious.”

  “Oh, I don’t play.” He scooped some butter beans and plopped them next to the potatoes and two pieces of fish. “I’ll pack on a couple of pounds for the sake of being gracious.”

  She shook her head at him, following him to the second buffet as he added dessert. They stopped at the beverage station and got bottled water, then walked toward a picnic table that had space. Marcus introduced her to the others at the table—great-aunts and uncles—and they settled on the end.

  Charley pinched off a piece of fish and tasted it. “Mmm, I love whiting. This is really good.”

  “I’m impressed,” Marcus said. “I couldn’t have told you what it was.” He lifted a forkful himself. “So I know Coach Willoughby’s résumé. But tell me about Charley. You grow up playing volleyball?”

  She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Started in middle school, played club through high school, then went on to college.” She took a sip of water. “What about you? Did you play a sport?”

  “Basketball. Point guard.”

  “In college?”

  He nodded. “UNC-Greensboro.” Smiling a little, he added, “We’ve got a game tomorrow morning at the high school. Looking forward to hurtin’ the older dudes in the family, but hoping the younger ones don’t hurt me.”

  Charley laughed. “Sounds like fun. So you grew up in Greensboro?”

  “Raleigh. But I was in Hope Springs a lot, right here at my grandmother’s house. My mother grew up in this house.”

  “Janelle said she and Stephanie are the third generation to live here. That’s pretty cool.”

  “Charley!” Stephanie walked up and took a spot next to her on the bench. “Sorry. Janelle came to get me, and I was in the middle of cheer practice.”

  “Cheer practice?” Charley asked.

  Marcus gave Stephanie a look, then turned to Charley. “She’s a traitor, cheering for the Over 30 team tomorrow morning.”

  “Excuse me,” Stephanie said. “I might be in my twenties, but my husband is on that team, so that’s where my loyalty lies.” She hit Charley’s arm. “Hey, you should join us. It’s a ragtag group of cheerleaders, so it promises to be a riot.”

  “Hold it,” Marcus said. “I know you’re not talking about Charley cheering for the Over 30s. We need some Under 30 cheer support.” He looked at Charley. “You got our backs, right?”

  “I’d definitely have to go with my Under 30 peeps.” She laughed. “But I’ve never cheered a day in my life . . . so enthusiastic hand claps will have to do. Actually, I was planning to go to the school tomorrow anyway, to start moving my things out of the gym office.”

  Marcus eyed her. “But you haven’t made a final decision yet . . . have you?”

  “It was final all summer,” Charley said, “until you threw in that monkey wrench yesterday.”

  “He’s throwing monkey wrenches into everybody’s life,” Stephanie said. “Approached me earlier today about subbing.”

  Charley’s eyes got big. “Wow, really? I did hear there was a shortage of teachers.”

  “That’s what Marcus said.” Stephanie folded her arms. “And I said no. I don’t do little kids if I can help it. Definitely don’t do smart-alecky teens.”

  “You told me you would pray about it,” Marcus said.

  “Mm-hm. And no is still real strong in my spirit.”

  Charley laughed, almost spitting out the water she’d just swigged. “That’s the answer I should’ve given him.” She fist-bumped Stephanie.

  “Oh, y’all are ganging up on me?” Marcus said. “I’m not worried because I know how to pray too—and I’m praying for both of you.” He nodded like he had some inside track. “Don’t be surprised when I’m fist-bumping y’all in the hallway on the first day of school.”

  “Don’t be praying for me,” Stephanie said. “Totally out of bounds and uncalled for. I don’t need you trying to shake my inner resolve.”

  Marcus laughed and countered with a quick reply, but Charley barely heard—because she’d heard something else. That he was a praying man. And the thought that he might’ve prayed for her . . .

  The plan wasn’t working. Everything about this night was fueling her crush on him.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Saturday, July 31

  Stephanie stood on the sidelines during a timeout, rallying cheers for the Over 30 team. “Forty-two seconds to go, and we’re four points down. We’ve gotta pump up our guys! Let’s do the last cheer I taught you.”

  Cyd gave her the same look she’d been giving the whole game. “I’m not doing another cheer. It’s silly. Can’t we just clap and shout ‘Woo’?”

  Stephanie eyed her sister. “You are so pitiful. Cedric’s working himself to the bone, oldest one out there, and all you can give him is a sad ol’ ‘Woo.’” She shook a pompom at her. “Put some oomph into it, girl! Cheer on your man!” She shook her poms outward. “Go, Lindell! I see you, babe! You can do it!”

  “Where’d you get those pompoms, anyway?” Cyd said. “I’m gonna burn those things.”

  Janelle laughed, shaking hers. “They’re fun! We found them at the party store yesterday.” She looked down at the three five-year-olds beside her—her daughter, Tiffany; Kory’s daughter, Dee; and Todd and Becca’s daughter, Claire. “Shake ‘em, girls!”

  The three shook their pompoms and shouted, always eager for fun.

  “See,” Stephanie said, “Some people don’t have to be told twice.”

  “How about Libby?” Janelle said. “I see her poms going extra hard when Travis has the ball.”

  “So I saw,” Stephanie said. “Heard her cheering extra loud for him too.”

  “Y’all are funny,” Libby said. “It’s not about Travis. It’s about the Over 30s and Team Wood. And since we’re counting points scored, I’m noting that Travis has the most points on the Over 30 team.”

  “True. But don’t get excited.” Stephanie glanced over to where the “older” guys were huddled up. “We’ve got Cedric and Lindell on our team, and their combined points give Team Bruce the win this morning.”

  “Uh, not exactly.” Charley stood alongside them, pointing to the Under 30 team. “Marcus scored more than their combined points. Team Gladys won this round.”

  Stephanie gave her a look. “Yeah, with you cheering like a mad woman the whole time. I’m about to take back those pompoms I gave you. Sure didn’t take you long to get into it.”

  “I know, it’s fun! I was dead tired when I got here, but the game woke me up.”

  “Girl, you and me both. We were up another couple hours after you left at two!”

  A whistle blew, the guys broke from their huddle, and Stephanie snapped back to cheer mode.

  “Come on, y’all! Let’s cheer our guys to victory!” She threw down her poms and started clapping, chanting, “Swish it, sink it, send it on in! Over 30s are here and ready to win!”

  Family members stood in the bleachers, stomping as Stephanie repeated it two more times. About twenty to thirty of them had shown up; the Over 30s had the numbers advantage since the younger crowd liked to sleep in.

  They all watched intently as Cedric inbounded the ball and passed it to Travis. Travis dribbled downcourt and passed to Kory. Kory took a shot, and it skidded around the rim and bounced back out.

  “Awww!” sounded from Stephanie’s cheer team, then, “Yesss!” when Kory rebounded.

  “Dribble it!” Stephanie called to the cheerleaders. “Dribble it, pass it, we want a basket! Dribble, dribble, pass, pass, shoot, and score!” they yelled.

  “D-E-F-E-N-S-E!” Charley yelled. “De-fense! De-fense!”

  Marcus wouldn’t let Kory get another shot, so he passed the ball out to Cedric, who took a chance on a three-point shot—and made it.

  “Woooooo!” Cyd was jumping up and down. “Go, Ced, go! Go, Ced, go!”
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  “Oh, now you got some oomph in that ‘Woo.’” Stephanie high-fived her sister. “Can’t blame you. That was awesome! Team Bruce! Over 30s!”

  One point down and twenty-seven seconds left, the Under 30s got ready to inbound the ball—then Marcus suddenly called a time-out.

  “Why’d he do that?” Stephanie asked.

  “He must’ve seen some defensive move he wanted to counter,” Charley said.

  Stephanie noticed more and more people, non–family members, coming into the gym and standing off to the side. She turned to Janelle. “Is something happening after this?”

  Janelle looked toward the gym entrance. “Volunteers from New Jerusalem and Calvary come at ten to set up for the service tomorrow.”

  Marcus jogged over when the Under 30s huddle broke. Charley handed him a hand towel and a water bottle. He wiped his face, took a swig, and exchanged a few words. Stephanie watched him jog back.

  She looked at Charley. “This little refreshment stand you’ve got going . . . I’m noticing the only member of your team who’s benefiting is Marcus.”

  “Well.” Charley blushed. “Remember he asked if I would have his back? As I was leaving the house this morning, it hit me that I could offer more than cheer support. It was nothing to grab a towel and a couple bottles of water.”

  “Uh-huh.” Stephanie eyed her. “I’m sure it was nothing.”

  Janelle was waving across the gym. “There’s Trina. She must be on the setup committee.”

  Trina spotted the arm-waving and headed over. “Hey, y’all!” She doled out hugs. “How’s reunion weekend? Are y’all having a blast?” She got to Charley. “Hey, you hanging out with the Sanders family?”

  Janelle answered for her. “We had a great time last night,” she said, “and tonight is our family dinner and talent show at a hotel in Rocky Mount, and there’s a party afterward. I know it’s last-minute, but you’re welcome to come to the party if you can.”

  Trina smiled big. “Sounds fun. I’d love to.” She looked out on the court. “Is the game over? I wanted to get here earlier, but I got caught up running errands.”

  “Only a few seconds left,” Stephanie said. “It’s been exciting.” She paused. “You knew about the family basketball game?”

  “Travis told me,” Trina said.

  Stephanie stole a glance with Janelle. Since when did Trina talk to Travis? Maybe he’d mentioned it in passing at church.

  The whistle blew and the Under 30s got ready to inbound the ball again.

  Libby had gone up into the stands for a moment, but at the sound of the whistle, she hurried back. “Where’s our cheer, Steph? Let’s pump it up!”

  Stephanie shook the questions from her head and shouted, “Aggressive!” Everyone knew what she meant and began chanting,“Be aggressive, B-e aggressive, B-e a-g-g-r-e-s-s-i-v-e, aggressive, B-e aggressive!”

  The Under 30 team inbounded the ball, and Marcus got it right away. He made a fast break for the basket, but Travis stole the ball from him.

  Libby pumped her fist, jumping up and down. “Go, Trav, go! Team Wood! Over 30s!”

  Travis tried to pass to Kory, but Kory was being blocked, so Travis took it to the net and dunked it, beating the buzzer.

  A thunder of cheers rose from the sidelines and bleachers. The cheerleaders ran out onto the court. Stephanie found Lindell and bear-hugged him. “Babe, y’all did it! Y’all did it!” He was covered in sweat, but she was too excited to care.

  Cyd hugged Cedric. Janelle and the little girls tackled Kory. And Stephanie looked around for Travis. Libby was high-fiving him, and they shared an excited hug. Stephanie’s gaze then moved to Trina, who was watching from the sidelines.

  Travis held up his hands to get people’s attention. “I hate to break up the celebration—believe me, it will continue throughout the day—but we need to set up chairs and equipment for service tomorrow. We older guys want to thank you for cheering us to victory.” He wiped sweat from his brow. “If you have any Advil, we’d appreciate the donation.”

  Stephanie made her way to Libby. “Hey, Lib, why don’t we all stay and help set up?”

  “Steph, you know I’m not into the joint service thing. Plus, I’ve got a lot to do to get ready for tonight, which includes a quick nap.” Libby already had her purse on her shoulder, car keys in hand. “I’ll meet y’all back at the house.” She stopped to say something to Travis and was gone.

  Stephanie couldn’t help it. Her eyes followed Trina as she approached Travis. They didn’t hug, but the way she smiled at him, the proximity between them, the flow of conversation . . . there was a familiarity there.

  Janelle joined Stephanie. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

  “Yep.” Stephanie sighed. “You’ve been down here this summer. Had you noticed anything between them?”

  “Not really.” Janelle had her eyes on them. “I’ve seen them talking at church, but Travis is friendly with everybody, so I didn’t think twice about it. But now . . .”

  Stephanie sighed again. “You know Libby’s falling for him again, much as she refuses to admit it.”

  “I know.” Janelle turned to Stephanie. “But remember that talk we had with Libby in the spring? She knows she and Travis can never be together while she’s running from God. He’s a pastor. And he wants to be married. His wife will be someone who loves the Lord. Libby knows that.”

  “In her head,” Stephanie said. “Doesn’t stop her heart. She and Travis were right there with the rest of us, up half the night.”

  “This thing with Trina is probably nothing,” Janelle said. “They’re just friends.”

  Stephanie glanced at them again, now helping with setup. “You just had to invite her to come tonight, didn’t you?”

  “I felt bad,” Janelle said. “I knew we couldn’t invite all of the Soul Sisters, but once she saw that Charley had come, my mouth just started moving.” She added, “But that was before we knew about her and Travis . . . or . . . whatever we want to call it.” She sighed. “If Trina comes, this could be a mess.”

  “I don’t think it’s an if.” Stephanie glimpsed them laughing. “She’s coming.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  In the ballroom of the Rocky Mount Hilton Saturday night, Libby waited anxiously. She’d surprised the family by showing a video produced for the occasion, compiled of reunion photos and footage taken over decades of time. Priceless memories from the earliest years got them laughing and talking as hairstyles and clothing on the screen revealed changing times. Babies now grown and relatives now deceased drew comments of wonder and reflection. The latter were especially poignant, as the music changed and they remembered those who had passed, including Janelle’s husband, David. There was a photo of him at a reunion only four years ago, smiling big as he held baby Tiffany in his arms, little Daniel at his feet.

  But none of this would compare to what was coming. The video appeared to be ending now, the music fading, and then—

  “How’s everybody doing?”

  Gasps sounded around the room and everyone leaned forward as Grandma Geri stared straight at them. She was sitting up in her bed, pillows propped behind, wearing the frailness of her last weeks.