Adrienne Reeves - Sacred Ground

“Now that we’re going to have our own vegetables we can experiment with our cooking instead of eating the same old things day after day.” Gabe was serious but he was also giving Drew a new idea.

“Yeah, and you know what? The first time something comes up in the garden we can invite Mr. Williams over for dinner,” he said with enthusiasm as he swallowed a large bite.

“Good idea,” Gabe agreed. “By the way, Mr. Moultrie called to see how we’re getting along.”

“Did you tell him we haven’t found anything yet?”

“He didn’t even ask. He knows we just got here Saturday. I asked him how Great-Grandfather looked because I hadn’t seen any pictures around here. Have you?”

“No. I was going to tell you the same thing because it’s weird not to have a single picture of your family.” Drew looked puzzled. “Don’t you think so?”

“I guess they’re all packed away.”

“What’d he say Great-Grandfather looked like?”

Gabe repeated the description faithfully.

Drew listened, not eating. “Wish I could have seen him,” he said.

“Me, too,” Gabe echoed.

After lunch Gabe had great hopes of finding a clue when he returned to the office and opened the two-drawer file that stood beside the desk. What he found was that his great-grandfather had been a clipper. Folders labeled with many subjects were filled with clippings from newspapers and magazines.

He literally groaned. How in the world could he read all that stuff? But if he neglected to, would he be missing what he was supposed to discover? No wonder he was to be here three months.

He flipped through the folders: world history, U.S. history, black history, philosophy, religion, travel, South Carolina, North Carolina, weather, the environment, health, gardening, mechanics, carpentry, people in the news, the arts, food, and education.

Hadn’t Moultrie said this man had to teach himself to read? Obviously he’d carried the love of it all through his life.

When he, Gabe, died, what would he leave behind that people could go through and be impressed by? If only Moultrie could have brought him here while Great-Grandfather was still in this house so he could have absorbed some of the richness of his life!

There were also folders containing the plans for this house. Some of them had been drawn by an architect and others by Ezekiel Bell Jr. To Gabe’s untrained eye they looked equally professional.

He found statements and receipts for all of the lumber, the wiring, the nails and the hardware, everything that went into the building of the house. It was as if it had all been meticulously collected and saved for an accounting.

He scanned the folders again and made the decision that they would have to wait. If after he’d gone through the whole house and hadn’t found the clues, then he’d come back and read every item in every folder.

He sighed with relief as he closed the folder drawer. He was halfway down the stairs when the phone rang. He hurried back to the office and picked it up with a breathless “Hello.”

“Hello, Gabe, this is Makima. Were you running? You sound out of breath.”

Gabe collapsed in a chair. “I was halfway downstairs and had to come back up. I guess Great-Grandfather never got around to cordless phones.” Now, this call was a surprise. What did Miss Gray want this time? He noticed she’d called him Gabe instead of that haughty Mr. Bell she’d used before she stomped out the door yesterday.

“I want to apologize for the way I left your house. I lost my temper and said the wrong things to you. I’m sorry.”

In his surprise Gabe didn’t respond immediately, which seemed to make her hurry on.

“I was just so disappointed and I let that emotion take over. I hope you can forgive me,” she said.

“It’s all right, Makima. We all lose our tempers sometimes.” Her apology sounded sincere and he was glad.

“How are the two of you settling in?”

“Pretty well.”

“Have you met Sam Williams yet?”

“He came over and had breakfast with us. He’s a very interesting man.”

“He and Mr. Zeke were good buddies.”

“So I understand. He didn’t want the garden to die and today he showed Drew how to care for it and Drew seems to be interested.”

She laughed. “That sounds just like him. It was good talking with you, Gabe, and I hope to see you around.”

“Thanks for the call, Makima. I appreciate it.”

She’d been wrong and had seen it after she’d calmed down. Not everyone, however, would have called to apologize. Especially a pretty woman. So he truly did appreciate it.

It was a big plus mark for her.

Even so, he wasn’t going to let himself be drawn in by her good points or her physical attractiveness.

Been there, done that, and had been badly hurt.

Drew was his family now and that was all he needed.

The sky was overcast and March winds had started to blow. Makima was glad she’d worn a pair of warm black pants and a long-sleeved red sweater.

“I’m going out for lunch, be back about one,” she told Eugenia Palmer, the program director, who sat at the receptionist desk when Makima wasn’t available.

“Have fun,” Eugenia said as she opened her lunch bag. Her sprouts on low-carb bread, plus an apple and a thermos of green tea were guaranteed to bring down her weight if she persevered and she was determined to make it work.

Fun wasn’t exactly what Makima anticipated, but she did enjoy her weekly lunch hour at her parents’ home as long as she could avoid certain subjects.

Today, only her mother greeted her. “Dad’s not going to be with us?” Makima was disappointed as it had been two weeks since she’d seen him.

“He had to go to Swinton to see someone. Said to tell you he’s sorry to miss you.”

Odessa Lines had been raised in the genteel home of a prominent minister. When the neighbor boy, Arthur Gray, had begun courting her, Reverend Lines had refused consent until Arthur had a steady job. Arthur and Odessa had both become teachers, but when Makima arrived, Odessa stayed home to raise her children. Arthur went into administration, rising steadily until he became principal of the high school.

Odessa closed the door behind Makima. “You warm enough, honey? It’s turned chilly so I made your favorite—vegetable-beef soup.”

Makima followed her mother into the spacious kitchen where the table was set for two.

“No wonder it smells so good in here,” Makima said appreciatively.

Her mother set two steaming bowls of soup on the table where there were already thick chunks of crusty bread and butter.

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