With a small, puzzled smile she asked, “What do you mean…? Why would we have to learn to work together?”
Biting her lower lip in consternation, Jenny couldn’t believe that she almost let it slip. It was too soon. Her friend had just gotten off a plane from half way across the world, and was not only helping with the housework and the children, but was struggling to cope with the fact there was nothing medically that could be done for her. It would be a bit too much at the moment, emotions were running rampant, with all of them. At least let her get one good night of rest before springing it on her…she thought “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” she said, refusing to elaborate.
Assuming it had been a rhetorical statement, Aisha didn’t press the issue. She helped her friend get cleaned up and changed into the lovely blue gown and robe set she had bought for her.
After spending two hours talking and laughing with Connell and Aisha, plus playing with the children, the pain became too much for Jenny. Buzzing the nurse for her pain medication, she drifted off to sleep a short time later.
*************************************************
As they left the hospital Aisha reminded Connell to swing by the market. If the doctors were right, heaven forbid, her friend’s time was fairly short. She had made up her mind to do everything in her power to make her as comfortable as possible, especially when she returned home. That meant not only helping with the kids, but she would do all of the cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping.
They rode in silence, each wondering if a miracle would be forthcoming from the herbalist, whom Aisha had already contacted. Their thoughts were occasionally interrupted by Abby pleading for the music to be turned back on. In no mood to hear his little angel’s dreadful caterwauling, Connell refused, telling her “Daddy has a headache, sweetie.“
When they finally pulled in to Wade’s Market, Aisha started to get out but Connell grabbed her arm, stopping her.
She turned to face him with a questioning look, and felt butterflies in her stomach when her eyes locked onto his. The way he was looking at her was almost, almost like the night of that party so long ago….
“Thanks Aisha. Thank you for talking to her, I knew she would listen to you. Thanks for…everything.“ he said.
Looking even more closely at him, Aisha knew he was sincere. But so many years of semi-hostility was a little hard to overcome in one day. Feeling a bit uncomfortable she tried to lighten the mood by joking, “No problem. But if you’re really thankful you can push the buggy while I shop. And..for the love of God…no more HANK Sr. Please!”
She actually felt her heart began to thaw when she saw his reaction.
He threw his head back and laughed long and hard, as Abby kept asking, “Why, what’s wrong with Hank, Aunt Aisha? What’s wrong?”
Still chuckling, Connell got out and unloaded the children. Several people that knew him and Jenny stopped dead in their tracks and stared at them as Aisha scooped Shawn up from his arms. A few of them approached cautiously and asked about Jenny, nervously glancing at Aisha the entire time.
Noticing the uncomfortable, curious looks, Connell took no offense and introduced her. “Everyone, this is Aisha, a close friend of the family. Her and Jenny’s been best friends since college. She flew half-way around the world to come visit.”
Their small-town curiosity satisfied, everyone shook her free hand and welcomed her.
As they strolled off Aisha remarked, “They must not see many black people here, huh?”
Connell chuckled and said, “It’s not that, necessarily. It’s like the Doc said, small towns…..”
She found shopping slightly more challenging than she would have thought. She frowned as she read label after label of food items, and finally growled, “Why am I even reading this, what do I know about what’s healthy or not healthy? I’ve always ate what I wanted. Is this Ok for Abby to eat?” she asked as she thrust a box of cereal in Connell’s direction, waiting for his approval.
With a clueless look on his face he simply shrugged and said, “I dunno, I guess…”
She put the cereal in the cart, but when Abby grabbed some chocolate covered cereal and tried to sneak it in she shook her head. “Oh no, even I can tell that’s no good for you! None of that junk for you Abby, I mean it.”
Abby started arguing that the cereal was the best, after all, the commercials had said it was part of a “balance breakfast”, but a single stern look from her father silenced her.
She intended to purchase enough food to last a good long time, so they wouldn’t have to waste precious time shopping when Jenny returned home. Plus, she had already made her mind up to stay as long as Jenny needed her. She had plenty of money stashed away, and had job offers lined up “around the block”, so to speak. She was going to stay put for as long as she was needed.
An hour later they were in the checkout line, with two full grocery carts instead of one. When the purchases were totaled Connell looked as if he was going to faint. Four hundred dollars. He didn’t think that Jenny had spent that much in two months. Wincing, he reached for his wallet to get his credit card, as he never carried more than a couple of hundred dollars at a time.
But Aisha beat him to the punch. She pulled out her gold card and tried to ignore the look of irritation on his face. She paid for the groceries, and the (grateful) owner of the market himself helped them load the groceries carefully into the back of the pickup.
On the ride home, she couldn’t help but notice that he had seemed to revert to his old self again, the way he had always acted around her, after he had married Jenny. He was as silent as a graveyard at midnight, and his mouth looked as if he had been sucking a lemon.
Waiting until they were almost there, she finally spoke. “Connell, I know you take care of your family, Jenny has told me that many times. I just want to help out, that’s all. I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Nodding curtly, he still said nothing.
Aisha threw her hands up in frustration, rolled her eyes, and gave up. So it’s back to the silent treatment, huh? Well, fine then. We’ve both had years of practice…..she thought.
Connell knew he should be thankful Jenny had such a loyal and giving friend, but he knew it had already started, her coming in and forcing him to accept things. Always having to have things her way. But he would see to it that she knew he was the head of his household, and she would respect it.
********************************************************
“I’m surprised Helen let you come over.” Connell said as he hammered the last of the nails into his fence post. Someone had been cutting their way through the fence near their pond for the past six months. He assumed it was teenagers coming out to fish and drink, since he had found several beer cans scattered around the area.
Ben smiled, pushing the post to test to make sure that it was in place firmly. “She’s up at the farmhouse visiting. When some of those fine, upstanding ladies at the church said you were carrying on with some black woman and parading her around town, she was so pissed she couldn’t stay away. Helen may have her faults, but when she heard that, she wanted to support Jenny by offering a friendly hand to Aisha.”
Glancing at Ben, he shook his head in exasperation. He loved his simple life, and most of the community, but sometimes the small-town gossiping got on his nerves. But he wasn’t going to let it bother him too much, he knew that most of the people were hard working folks who had very little excitement or adventure in their own lives. So most of them loved carrying tales, especially when an exciting stranger like Aisha blew into town, which was rare.
“What’s on your mind? Ben asked when he saw his friend shake his head.
“Oh, just about those Nosy Rosies , that’s all. But hey, Aisha got Jenny to agree to see another doctor. Ben, I never thought I would say this, but Jenny and Aisha are so much alike in some ways it can be scary.” he said, then chuckled at the stunned look on the mans face. “I know you probably never thought you wou
ld hear me say anything nice about the woman, but you should have seen them in the hospital, both of them refusing to give in. In the end, Jenny agreed to stay a bit longer, at least until the doctor Aisha recommended can get here. I’ll tell you, for once I’m glad she’s here, and thankful Jenny has a friend like her.”
“Well, I’ll certainly pray that her recommendation pays off. I believe that woman will move mountains if she has to, to help Jenny.” he replied, happy to see his life-long friend in relatively good spirits, and talkative, considering the circumstances. He had done precious little of either ever since finding out about Jenny’s illness. He could understand it though, if anything ever happened to his Helen he wouldn’t want to live. They had been unable to have children, so unlike Connell, he wouldn’t have any reason to even want to go on.
*************************************************8
Finishing the last of the laundry, Aisha ironed and starched all of Connell’s work clothes and hung them up in the closet. She had also cleaned the house from top to bottom, and thanks to Megan coming over and helping out with the kids, she could work uninterrupted.
Finishing up in the master bedroom, she made her way Abby’s and peeked inside once more, nodding in satisfaction. Surprised at the amount of work it took running a household (with kids and more than one adult) she had a newfound respect for women who chose to stay at home, and even more respect for women who worked and maintained a household at the same time. Give her a cramped Jeep to sleep in (and an occasional hotel room, of course), and traveling from village to village any day over this homemaker stuff.
A short while later, she was just getting ready to start dinner when the doorbell rang. Answering it, she was greeted by a tall, heavy set woman with long brown hair. The woman sort of reminded her of the full-figured actress who was on that television show called ’The Practice’, right down to the row of earrings on each ear. She had a pretty, wholesome look about her.
“Hi, my name is Helen Plummer, Ben’s wife. You went to college with him.” she said as she looked at the woman that was once the object of her husband’s wet dreams. Unable to help it, she felt a twinge of envy. She could clearly see why any man would desire her. She was of average height, her skin was smooth and flawless, she had captivating eyes, and had an unmistakable air of elegance and grace about her, even dressed in the white tank top and black sweatpants.
Aisha smiled and opened the screen door, “Yes, I remember Ben. I’m Aisha Woods . How is Ben doing anyway?” she asked as she stepped aside and motioned for her to come in.
“He’s fine, right now he’s helping Connell work on the fence on the north side of the property. We’re their neighbors as well, we live on the farm closest to here, as you’re headed out towards town.”
“Oh, ok, I’ll have to keep that in mind.“ she answered politely, wondering what to say or do next, until the woman settled the issue for her.
Thrusting a large dish in her direction, Helen said, “I made some tuna casserole, Connell really likes it and I thought it would make things just a little bit easier on you. I’m sure that after all that traveling you don’t want to stand over a hot stove.”
“Well, that was very thoughtful, thank you.“ she replied, then said, “Well let’s head for the kitchen, I could use a coffee break anyway, you?”
For the next two hours the women talked and became fast friends, it was just one of those things. Helen found her earlier twinge of jealousy completely evaporate as she saw first hand that her would-be rival had a natural charm and genuine warmth about her. She even gave her a recipe for chocolate cake, a recipe she boasted only her closest friends and family members were in possession of.
Ben and Connell were both surprised when they came into the house. Music was playing and the women were sitting in the kitchen looking through recipe books, planning a large meal for Jenny’s return home from the hospital. Ben was speechless as Aisha greeted him with a hug and a peck on the cheek, and didn’t know what to think as he looked at his wife, expecting her to give him the evil eye. She was actually smiling instead.
Standing, Helen hugged him herself and informed him that Aisha would be coming over to their place for a visit soon. Bidding everyone goodnight, the two of them left.
Waving to them as they got in their car and drove off, Aisha turned and looked at Connell, her smile disappearing. He was dirty and sweaty, and was headed towards the sink to wash his hands for supper. “You can go shower, I’ll have dinner ready for you by then.” she said, doing her best to make the command sound like a suggestion.
“I’m not ready to shower, and I’m hungry now.” he said.
“Well, I for one don’t want to eat at a table with someone smelling like a barn animal.” she replied, putting her hand on her hip and tilting her pert nose in the air as if smelling something unpleasant, which indeed, she was.
Not in the mood to argue, he turned and stomped off towards his shower, mumbling the entire time about how bossy women got on his nerves, but was surprised to see that she had cleaned his bathroom. The three days worth of dirty work clothes had been picked up, presumably washed, and she had even mopped the floor, it was spotless. “Damn, I didn’t think she would even know how to use a broom, except to ride it, the bossy witch.” he mumbled, although he was secretly pleased.
*******************************************************
In the kitchen, Aisha heated the tuna casserole, rolls, and placed the salad she had made from freshly picked vegetables on the table.
“You didn’t have to wait on me to eat.”
Laying the plate in her hand down on the table, she turned to see Connell standing in the doorway, fresh out of the shower. “I hate eating alone, I do enough of that while I’m on the run, going from assignment to assignment.” she said as she sat down and began shoveling food onto her plate.
He took a seat beside her, then surprised her by taking her hand in his, saying grace. “Father, we thank you for the meal we are about to receive, and we ask you to please give us strength in the days to come.”
Raising his head and opening his eyes he looked at Aisha, unable to read the expression on her face. She seemed to be in a trance, then blinked twice as if rousing herself.
Glancing down, she pulled her hand out of his grasp, almost as if she had forgotten about it. “You never struck me as the religious type.” she mumbled as she picked up her fork.
Giving her a bashful look he said, “You would be surprised at what I believe in. We all need something to hold on to.” he replied, noticing that she seemed a bit bothered when it came to the subject of religion, so he changed the subject. “Ya’ know, all these years Jenny has never said anything about your family.”
Looking up at him sharply for a moment, then back down at her plate, she shrugged. “Not much to tell. I went to live with my grandfather when I was thirteen.” She paused, taking a sip of sun tea, knowing he wanted to hear the whole story she had never even told Jenny. Sighing, she put her tea down, suddenly losing her appetite.” My parents were in this group. Well… they still are in the group, last I checked. This..group of people, are fanatical in their beliefs. They believe they’re the descendents of what they call “The Tribe of Eden,” and that makes them the true chosen children of God, actual descendants.“ she finished with a snort.
Connell looked at her, one eyebrow raised, waiting for her to continue.
With another heavy sigh, she continued, “ They live their lives in a constant state of repentance, wearing sackcloth and ashes. Well, figuratively speaking. See, they think that the world is such an evil place because of the “original sin” of Eve eating the fruit, then tempting Adam with it. They strive to become as “pure” as Adam and Eve were before that supposedly took place. They live their lives literally devoid of pleasure, except sexual intercourse I suppose. And even then it’s warped on how they view it. Because of Eve’s sin, women are completely subservient, and never question their husbands. Ever. They mus
t pay for *her* sin, until of course they are literally free of sin themselves. That includes impure thoughts. Anyway, they also believe that once they all have cleansed themselves, collectively, that God will finally allow them to re-enter the Garden of Eden. God will show their leader the location of the lost Garden, they will journey there, then God will shield them as he destroys the wicked one last time, similar to the Great Flood, only this time by fire.
“So it’s…it’s a cult.” he stammered. “No offense.”
With a wan smile, she picked up where she had left off. “Remember the part I mentioned about women being completely subservient? Well, the day I turned thirteen my father informed me I would have the honor of marrying one of the Tribe Elders. And I do mean an elder. The sick shit was in his late sixties. My own father told me it was a great honor, and that God had chosen me to bear the mans children. I ran away that night with only forty dollars, hoping to get in contact with my grandfather. When I finally got in contact with him I told him what had happened. He came and got me, took me in, and took care of me. Neither my father, mother, nor anyone else ever reported me as a runaway, because of their distrust of authorities. My father did call my grandfather one night not long after though, and I remember my granddad yelling at him, swearing, telling him if he ever showed his face again he would shoot him on the spot. I had never heard grandpa swear before. I never heard from my family again, I was simply branded as an “undesirable” after that I suppose, it’s what they label rebellious women in their group.”
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