by Pat Simmons
“Sweetie, I’m glad you and your father are speaking again.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt him. I really thought he was going to ban me from the house.”
Cheney smiled and faced her. “You’ll always have a place to stay. You never have to worry about that.” Kami was quiet, so she continued. “I’m hurt that you never opened up about the pressures you were facing at school. Why?”
“Mom, I’m getting too old to tell you and Dad everything.”
Here we go. Cheney stopped adding her seasoning. She stared at her daughter and waited for her to look at her. “Really? Since when did we cease to be important in your life?”
Kami sighed and rolled her eyes. “I know family is always important. I’ve been taught that all my life, but I’m the only girl, and I need girlfriends to talk about stuff, like you have all the aunties. I’m not a baby anymore. I’m seventeen, not seven.”
“True, but I’m your mother, and I’m trying to protect your body, heart, and soul. If I suspect something isn’t right, then I will ask, and if you lie to me, our relationship will be compromised.”
Kami huffed, glanced away, then faced her again. “Mom, you’re going to have to trust me and leave me to make my own mistakes.”
“Those two things don’t even belong in the same phrase. I see a mistake with Tango. You made it seem like he was a perfect gentleman with a good head on his shoulders.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Kami questioned, seemingly clueless to the obvious. “He’s smart, strong, and popular.”
“Does he appreciate you for your inner beauty and not only what he sees on the outside? Does he see your strength? And popularity isn’t always the best. Many times, it’s overrated. People in the limelight feed off attention.”
“You don’t think I’m good enough for him?” Kami asked on the defensive.
“Don’t get it twisted,” Cheney raised her voice, then regrouped and changed her tone. “Is he good enough for Kami Jamieson?” This was supposed to be about maintaining their closeness. “What about God? Do you talk to Him about things?”
When Kami was silent, Cheney feared her daughter was willing to walk away from the safe haven into a world of wolves ready to destroy a lost sheep.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it, God whispered Proverbs 22:6.
The problem was it appeared Kami had already made up her mind to depart.
Kami was ready to get out of St. Louis. Her mother thought the pressure was at school, but in all honesty, it was just as much at home. As the oldest girl, she had been an example all her life to her brothers, cousins, and at church. She had done all that, but it didn’t give her the freedom she craved to make her own decisions as she tried to figure out her life.
The afternoon was bittersweet as family and friends packed the deck and backyard, many of them bearing goodbye gifts as if they would never see her again. The little girl inside of her didn’t want to leave, but as she told her mother earlier, she needed breathing space to make her own choices. Being with Tango had been one of them. He wasn’t perfect, but neither was she.
“We’re going to miss you, and not because you’re our babysitter,” her aunties and uncles said repeatedly. “If you need anything, let us know.”
Kennedy and Lauren, her favorite little cousins, gave her long-stemmed roses as their lips trembled. Tears were not far away.
She nodded as her emotions choked her until the tears flowed. She didn’t realize how much she would miss them—all of them. Yet, it was a good thing. Being away meant she could talk to Tango. Hopefully, he would visit her. Yes, her mother fell in love with the wrong guy before her daddy, but that had been her mistake. Her biological mother, Beth Fields, was a fifteen-year-old teenager who had neglected her and was involved with a drug dealer—that had been Beth’s mistake. Those were red flags. Kami had 20/20 vision and could keep from making those same mistakes.
The next morning at Lambert International Airport, Kami fought back more tears as her family lavished her with hugs and sorrow in their eyes. Suddenly, her brothers seemed more adorable than annoying. Just think: Pace would be on the receiving end of the same attention at the end of August when the family would drive him to Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. Hopefully, she would be home before then. She was proud of her brother.
Pace planned to double major in engineering and forensic science and had earned scholarships from top colleges and universities across the country, including St. Louis’ prestigious Washington University. He chose to leave home and head to Alabama, impressed by the Tuskegee legacy started by Booker T. Washington. The school ranked high on the list of top historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Aside from the campus having the sole distinguished honor to be listed as a national historic site, Pace wanted to be counted among the alumni like scientist George Washington Carver and have a connection to the bravery of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. Her parents were proud of his decisions and selection. If they would just give her some freedom, Kami planned to make them proud too.
After one final round of hugs, Aunt Queen whispered, “Time to go, sweetie.” The two waved and headed toward the security checkpoint. Kami glanced over her shoulder for one last look. None of the adults or children were smiling. She turned away. Neither was she.
In the terminal, Kami was in awe at the way her aunt captured attention from men and women with mindless effort as they strolled to their designated gate. Although Kami thought she looked cute in her tan romper and sandals, all eyes were on Queen who dressed sophisticated for someone in her late thirties. One day, Kami hoped to be the envy of every girl too because of her boyfriend who was by her side.
Once they boarded the plane, Kami claimed a window seat as this was her first flight. She was used to family trips by car with her parents driving. She was scared from hearing the horror stories about crashes on the news, but was still excited to experience a plane ride for herself.
Queen patted her arm, careful of the Band-Aid covering the tattoo. Kami could remove it now that she wasn’t in her parents’ presence. It had pretty much healed anyway. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll be keeping me company this summer.”
“I was hoping to spend a lot of time with Tango and get a summer job.” Kami shrugged. “Dad was going to help me buy a car like he did Pace last year.”
“And you will. I have friends who have friends.” Queen’s eyes twinkled, and she nudged her. “It’s going to be okay with your family too. From what I’ve learned from my brothers and cousins, the Jamieson men love hard. One argument won’t keep your father from loving you. It’s like the vow, until ‘death do you part,’ except it’s between father and daughter.”
Kami mustered a smile. If she ever got married, she wanted a man who would love her hard like her father did her mother. It was fierce. She thought maybe she would have that with Tango because he wasn’t scared of anything. “Thank you. Dad and I made up. It’s Mom, who I thought understood me, who is questioning my decisions.”
The flight attendants gave a demonstration of safety points, then took their seats. Kami was in awe with the take off as they climbed higher in the air and away from home. She didn’t know how long she’d stared out the window, admiring the clouds when an attendant asked if she wanted something to drink. No sooner had she finished her soda, that her trash was collected, and the captain told them to prepare for landing.
“Welcome to the oil capital of the world,” Queen said as they debarked at Tulsa International Airport. “Well, we used to be at one time. I don’t live far from downtown.” Queen chatted away as they strolled through the terminal. There her aunt went again—the walk that Queen should have patented because Kami doubted any woman could duplicate it. Kami even tried to mimic the strut but didn’t possess the confidence to pull it off on their way to baggage claim. When her aunt reached for their luggage, it was comical to see two men scramble to retrieve it for them.
> Next, they caught the shuttle to Queen’s Lexus from short-term parking. Behind the wheel, her aunt activated her Bluetooth. “Call Parke Jamieson.” He answered after one ring. “We made it, dear cousin. Please let the others know.”
“We all were tracking your flight. You landed exactly twenty-one minutes ago,” he scolded then chuckled.
Kami rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Stalker.”
“I heard that.”
She imagined his smile. One by one, her brothers got on the phone and asked about the plane ride. Chance, the youngest, wanted to know about hijackers. Her mother hushed him and came on the line.
“Remember, we all love you. Be a young lady at all times, have fun and take Jesus everywhere with you.”
“Okay, Mom.” Even hundreds of miles away, her parents were still setting rules. Seconds later, there was a chorus of good-byes and I love yous, then her family was gone.
“Don’t let the St. Louis Jamiesons worry you. You’re in Tulsa Jamieson territory now.” Queen winked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s another thing. You don’t have to be formal with me and call me ma’am or even aunt. You’re not a little girl anymore. I’m thirty-nine and okay with you calling me Queen.” She straightened her shoulders.
“Okay Aunt—I mean Queen.” She would have to practice that. It almost sounded disrespectful to call an adult by her first name. But she was an adult too, so that’s what they did, Kami mused.
“I live in Gilcease Hills. You’ll like it,” Queen said as she got onto an expressway with a similar name.
Less than fifteen minutes later, she drove through an entrance that boasted a welcome home sign. Stately ranches and one-and-a-half brick story houses alluded to tranquility in the neighborhood. Tall buildings from downtown gave a picturesque backdrop. Without the Gateway Arch peeping though buildings, Tulsa’s downtown lacked the allure tourists felt when they visited St. Louis.
Blinking, Kami didn’t want to think about home, so she admired her surroundings. “This is a nice area.”
“Thank you. We have a clubhouse, tennis courts, pools, picnic area, yada, yada, yada. It’s made up of ten villages, and I live in Summertree Village.”
Queen turned into the driveway of a large ranch house with a majestic archway over the front door. An oversized floral wreath complemented the front door. The attention given to her flowerbeds was impressive along with the other landscape. Queen’s house was probably the best in the neighborhood, or the village as she described it.
“Wow. This seems too big for you to live here all alone.”
“It won’t be this summer.” Queen’s eyes sparkled as she parked in the garage. “Besides, it’s not that big. I have about twenty-two hundred square feet with three bedrooms and two baths.”
“I don’t know how many square feet our house is, but with three brothers, it seems small.”
Stepping out of the car, they removed their luggage from the trunk and walked into the house. Queen deactivated the home security system right away.
A large kitchen overlooked the living room. Rich wood cabinets matched the gleaming dark hardwoods that began where the ceramic tile-covered kitchen floor ended.
“This is huge!” Kami spun around to take it all in. “Cool. You don’t have to worry about sharing baths, food, or the TV.”
The décor was understated and spotless. The furniture, wall hangings, and window treatments appeared strategically placed to show someone really did live there, and it wasn’t staged as a model home.
“I’d rather live in a house full of love than be lonely.”
“Lonely?” Kami was stunned. “But as pretty as you are, I would think you had a lot of boyfriends.”
Queen laughed. “I’m a single woman who has a lot of friends. The right one hasn’t come along yet.”
That surprised Kami. She was lucky the right one had come along in her life, which was why she couldn’t risk losing Tango over the summer.
“Come on. I’ll show you to your bedroom.” Queen rested the car keys on the counter.
Arched doorways accented each room from the kitchen to living room and even the hall. While Kami’s sandals barely made a sound, Queen’s heels echoed down the house to the bedroom. Kami knew Queen was an engineer, and engineers made a lot of money because that was what her brother was going to be, but wow.
The guest bedroom had massive white furniture and a window seat tucked into another arched enclave in the front part of the house.
“I love it.” Kami was in awe of the size.
“Great. Make yourself at home. Hungry?”
Kami’s stomach growled before she answered. “I guess I am, Aunt Q—I mean Queen.”
Her aunt nodded, seemingly pleased that Kami had caught herself. “Remember, no titles. You’re grown in my house.”
Grinning, Kami closed her eyes and balled her fist. “Yes! Since, I’m grown, can I call Tango?”
“You’re not that grown. I promised your mom I wouldn’t go against their wishes regarding talking to him.”
“Figures.” Kami twisted her mouth in disappointment. No longer mad at her father, she pegged her mom as the villain who was supposed to be on her side. “My mother is trying to ruin my life.”
“I may have said the same thing to my mom once. When she passed away, I learned all the things she had said and done for me were to save my life.”
“What do you mean?”
“If only I had listened.” She paused and frowned as if she was considering saying more, but changed the subject. “Now, unpack, then I’ll take you to Sweet Lisa or perhaps Tijuana’s Grill and Cafe for a California burrito for a late lunch or early dinner.”
“Okay,” she said, but Kami’s mind was still on her parents. She had listened to them. Now, they needed to listen to her. Dating had changed, and Kami wouldn’t be denied her first love.
Chapter Six
“Besides the Oil Capital Historic District, we’re also known for our building art deco,” Queen said the next day, glowing as she played tour guide as they drove around downtown Tulsa. She pointed to the skyscrapers’ designs to prove her point as they turned onto Boston Avenue, “My office is inside the Philcade Building. It’s one of eight buildings that was connected by secret underground tunnels that ran eighty feet long.”
Underground? Kami calculated slavery had ended almost sixty years earlier. Her father made sure she and her brothers knew Black history in the Americas—North and South. Since she was biracial, he wanted her to know the full story, and no lesson would be complete without mentioning the various escape routes from the South and Southeast through Ohio and New York to Canada. Even in a different country, freedom wasn’t guaranteed. Sadly, some escapees were re-enslaved, but she didn’t recall anything about Oklahoma being part of journey.
Queen chatted away, “I love being a Jamieson. I’ve learned so much about our heritage after getting to know my brothers and cousins. Although I knew Tulsa had historic buildings and neighborhoods, I really didn’t appreciate it until I met your father,” she paused to honk her horn when another driver weaved into the lane without signaling.
“Tell me about the secret tunnels,” Kami pressed, her interest piqued.
“Originally, a wealthy oil man named Waite Philips built them in the 1920s for workers to transport freight to the Philtower and Philcade tower.”
Kami scrutinized the tall buildings. “I guess he wanted to make sure nobody would forget the Philips name.”
“Right. Rumor has it that the tunnel was used to conceal bootlegging activity. When the Chicago riots were going on, they thought the craziness would spread here, so rich men used the tunnels to hide their amassed assets.” She shook her head. “Then, sadly after Charles Lindbergh’s baby was kidnapped and murdered, they got scared they could become targets, too, and be forced to pay out large sums as ransom for one of their family members.”
Who would kill a baby? Taking a life saddened her.
The
evil from the rulers of the darkness in this world and the spiritual wickedness in real high places. That’s who would harm a child, God whispered.
Recalling the passage in Ephesians six, she shivered to shake the negative thoughts from her. “Can we go inside one of them?”
Queen stopped at a red light. “Most are closed off now. But we’re not far from Convention Hall, which was used during Tulsa’s 1921 race riots. I had a great aunt who escaped death, but everything she owned was destroyed.”
Kami twisted her head in disgust. “So bullies have always been around,” she said to herself.
I came to set the captives free, God whispered Luke 4:18.
“Throughout every generation.” Queen turned on South Detroit Street. “Hey, check out the old Southwestern Bell Main Dial Building. It’s historic.”
Kami perked up. “My mom has worked at the phone company forever. She got me my first cell phone.” She pouted. “Probably cut off my service by now.” Maybe her aunt would take pity on her or get a tinge of a guilt trip about keeping Kami away from Tango. Neither seemed to be working. So much for being grown in Queen’s house.
The tour ended late Tuesday, and Queen returned to work on Wednesday, leaving Kami at home. By mid-day, she was bored in her new surroundings with no one to talk to. She had her tablet to read eBooks and play games, but not to go online. Her parents even closed her social media accounts. Kami knew how to set up dummy Facebook accounts, because some of her friends had multiple ones. At the time, she thought that was dumb. Now, she wished she had done it too. How was living in Tulsa a vacation when she felt tortured?
It had been six days and counting since she’d last seen Tango. Five days since she’d spoken to him. Was he thinking about her? She hadn’t spoken with her family either since the night she’d called to describe Queen’s fabulous house. If she was going to cut ties with them for the summer, she decided not to call them every day. But how did people live without a personal cell phone? She couldn’t stand being home alone without one. Kami wanted to scream.