We are singing the hymn, "How Great Thou Art." Tears are rolling down my cheeks. I don't know how many persons are holding me up. But I see Pastor Donald, standing upright. Stiff neck. Lines etch across his face. No one is holding him up, except God. I see Pastor's heart on his face. His face is bent up in pain. No tears. Just painful somehow. Like the pain of a man being beaten but clenching his muscles to absorb more blows.
****
I remember that day, when Pastor Donald grew frustrated with Bobby and wished Bobby would disappear. How Pastor must regret those words today. Wish he hadn't said them at all. But Bobby had long forgiven him.
Bobby got in trouble all the time. People didn't understand why a PK was always involved in so much mischief. We all encounter problems being part of the Ferocious Five. Mama would say "Val," my name is Valerie, "I know is Aunt Peaches and Uncle Donald boy but stop following him. He's up to no good. Stop talking to Bobby."
But that wasn't possible. Mama hung out with Aunt Peaches all the time, so we were always playing with Bobby and Dwayne. How could we not talk to each other? Plus, the Ferocious Five had a special bond.
People didn't understand Bobby, like the Ferocious Five did. We were loyal to him and he to us. Bobby was like the sun. Dazzling and potent. If Bobby had one chocolate bar, each of us would get a piece. He was kind like that. My baby brother Roger would act weird sometimes. He would make these dramatic loud outbursts, got angry real fast and then calm down in a nano-second. Sometimes, he wanted to be left alone. Bobby was the only one who could keep Roger in check. Somehow Roger listened when Bobby spoke.
When Roger was six years old and Bobby was fourteen, a few guys from church were teasing Roger, saying that he was a stupid retard freak. Imagine, saying that about a six-year-old kid! Bobby wasn't having any of it and rammed his fist solid into the main culprit's face, leaving the boy with a sweet shiner around the right eye. We all loved Bobby. We knew he would take a bullet for us if he could.
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A Dark Sun
RomanceValerie loved Bobby. Bobby loved Valerie. Everyone in the community knew it, though the two tried to keep their relations secret. They were childhood friends who grew to be lovers. But they were black. And black people can find themselves in the...