The Boy She Illegally Brought To The Lavender Field (bwwm)

Chapter 2: The Tragedy of Johnny

The church service was over which meant it was time for Diana to cook for the neighborhood. The men had to stay out of the way and Annie helped and watched as always to learn for when she gets married and has a family of her own.

"Annie..." Diana called.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Take some money and go down to the store to get me some butter and eggs."
"Anything else?"
"No, that's all, honey. Thank you."
Annie found her mama's purse and took the necessary amount of money before she walked to the colored's store.

She hummed hymns stuck in her head from church that morning while she walked.

She heard a truck approaching and assumed it would drive right past her, so she just kept humming.

"Hey!" someone shouted.
She looked up and saw Daniel in his truck with the window down.
She continued walking.
He rode next to her slowly.

She looked at him and he was facing the road.

"Yes?" she asked.
He didn't look at her. "Nothin'."
She continued walking.
He continued riding alongside her.

She stopped.
He stopped.

She clutched her money and looked at him.
"Are you...going to hurt me?" she wondered.
"Why're you askin' me that?"
"Well you wanted to hurt my brother yesterday, didn't you?" she asked.
He chose to ignore that question. "No, I'm not goin' to hurt you."
"Then...why are you following me?"

He took a deep breath.
He didn't know why either.

He kept his head and arms inside the truck so no one could tell it was him talking to this colored girl walking onside the road.

"You need a ride?" he asked.

Every word he said came without a glance in her direction.

The idea of a ride with him didn't sound smart to her. "No, thank you."
"Look, I'm not gonna hurt you." he groaned.
"How do I know that? You hunt us for sport, don't you? That's what your friend said."
"Not you."
"Not me?"
He just stared at the road.
"If I get in that truck with you, it's possible for you to be lying to me and for you to drive off with me inside, and do terrible things to me. And no one would care aside from my family. Nobody looks for us like they look for y'all. I think I'd rather walk. Thank you." She walked away again.
He didn't ride next to her this time. He just watched her walk away.

He leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling of his truck.
He thought about how people would react if they found out he was watching some colored girl.
He'd never been around many black women aside from his nanny. The men were always out and about and maybe he'd see a couple once in a while but he never paid attention to them. He saw them as black first and didn't give himself time to examine their features. He saw skin and ignored them.
Walking in front of Annie and forcing himself to look in her face to see who she was, was a mistake.
She was too pretty.
With sweet eyes, long eyelashes, and full lips. He'd never seen that on a black woman because he'd never looked at them. He could be given a pen and paper and he wouldn't be able to draw what his nanny looked like for the life of him. He just knew she was black. Couldn't remember the rest.

"What's happenin' to me?" he asked.

He watched a truck race past him and pull up beside Annie who'd gotten a good few feet ahead of him.
They spoke through the window then she went around the truck and climbed in.

Daniel's jaw clenched as the truck drove off. He continued on his way to his true destination.

•~~~•

Once everything was cooked, Diana went outside and yelled, "FOOD'S READY!" from her front porch.

The doors to the homes opened and children ran out with their parents following closely behind.

If there was one thing that the neighborhood could agree on, it was that Diana could cook her behind off.

A single file line started all the way from the entrance of her kitchen. She and Annie fixed plates and passed them out. Everyone stood or sat outside and on the porch while they ate and talked.

"Hey there, Annie." said Johnny. He was the only other boy her brother's age on the street just like he was the only other one his age at the church. Johnny was tall and skinny with full lips and a wide nose. He was very handsome and it multiplied when he'd smile.
"Hi, Johnny." Annie smiled.
The two just gazed at each other.

"Alright now, you two are holdin' up my line. Annie, fix his plate while I get Ms. Katherine's." Diana instructed.
"Yes, mama." Annie replied and grabbed an empty plate.

Diana left to hand the fresh plate of food to Johnny's mama. The two would probably start gossiping about the church service and congregation for the next twenty minutes.

"You looked good this morning, Annie. I saw you." Johnny stated.
"Thank you." she smiled as she cut a slice of cake and put it in a napkin then placed it onto his newly wrapped plate. She took his plate and handed it to him. "You looked good too..." she smiled.
"I would...If you like...I'd wanna take you out sometime..." Johnny offered as he stared at his plate, nervously.
"I'd like that..." Annie replied, shy as well.
Johnny looked at her. "Really?"
"Yea." She smiled.
"Alright, well...maybe tonight?"
"Tonight is fine."
"Good. Great." Johnny smiled then walked off to stop holding up the line.

Annie was still smiling ear to ear while she went to go fix more plates for their guests.

Diana walked back into the kitchen.

"So?" she asked her daughter.
"Ma'am?" Annie replied.
"How'd it go?" Diana smiled.
"You left on purpose, didn't you?" Annie said cheekily.
"Well of course I did. The boy wasn't gonna get up the courage while I'm standin' in his face. I think he's got more sense than that." Diana said and began fixing a plate.
Annie giggled. "He asked me to go out with him tonight..."
"Did he now?"
"I'm a bit nervous..."
"I bet you'll have a nice time though. Johnny's a real sweet boy from real sweet people."
"Yea..." Annie's smile still hadn't gone away.