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

Page 76

"Dad!" Daniel shouted as he entered the house.

He didn't receive a response.

He remembered the car was out of the driveway and assumed his father had gone out for whatever reason.

As he was about to walk into the kitchen for something to eat, he saw a piece of paper folded and slid under the phone as it hung on the hook.

He took it and read it.

"Annie called. Sounded important. Tell her it was Nancy." was written on the small piece of paper.

Daniel was confused. He wondered what was Nancy.
He took the phone and began dialing.

He listened to it ring while his eyes continued rereading the tiny paper.

"Hello?" Annie answered.
"Hey, darlin'. You alright?" Daniel asked.
"Have you seen my mother?"
"No? She's not here. Is she supposed to be?"
"I don't know but she hasn't come home yet. She was supposed to come home after my daddy's trial."
"Trial? What trial?"
"It has been a while since we've spoken, hasn't it?"
"I'm almost done. I just wanted enough money for us to get there. Can't only go with money for the house, can we?"
"I guess not..."
"What happened?"

Annie took a deep breath.

"Two white men said my daddy beat them up and left them for dead in the middle of the street. My daddy would never do such a thing but they brought him to court, of course, and...I don't know what happened. My mama was supposed to come back and tell me what happened. I've been anticipating this for days, it's been hours and she's still not back."

"Why would two white men say your daddy beat them up if he didn't?" Daniel wondered.
"Your guess is about as good as mine...but it made my mama mad at your daddy."
"Why? My daddy wasn't one of them, was he?"
"No."
"Oh..."
"But they were your daddy's brothers."
Daniel was even more confused now. "My dad's an only child, Annie."

Annie was confused now. She could've sworn she had the story right.

"You don't have any uncles?" she asked.
"Well, I do. But they're my mom's brother and my aunt's husb-..." Daniel finally caught on and looked at the note his father left him one more time.
"Well that's not the point anyway, can you ask your daddy if he's seen my mama?" Annie asked.
"He's not home."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
Annie sighed.

"It was Nancy." Daniel stated.
"Huh?" Annie asked.
"My mother told the police that your father beat up my uncles."
"Wha-..."
"But I'm confused. My uncles don't live nowhere near here." Daniel pondered.
"How do you know it was your mama?" Annie wondered.
"My dad left a note before he left the house. He told me that you called and to tell you that it was Nancy."
"Do you think my mama's with him?"
"I don't know."
Annie sighed. She was overwhelmed now.

"So you're home alone?" Daniel asked.
"Daniel..."
"I'm not tryin' anything! Just...maybe I wanted to come see you. Sounds like you're going through a rough time."
"And if my mama and daddy come home with you here?"
"I'll park a mile away and if they come home I'll just sneak out of your window so he doesn't see me."
Annie thought about it.
"Come on. It's been like a week since I've seen you. What if I look different?"
"I doubt that." Annie snickered.
"You don't know. I could have blond hair and freckles now and you wouldn't even know it. Would you stop likin' me?"
"I don't like you for your brown hair and missing freckles. I like you because you're you."
"Hm."
"I'm not very fond of blond hair though."
"See."
Annie laughed.
"What if my hair is blond?" Daniel asked.
"I doubt it. How would it be blond now?"
"I don't know. But what if?"
"It's not."
"Don't you wanna check and make sure it's still to your likin'? I could be cross eyed, blond, and missing an elbow. Stress of the job can do that to a man, you know."
Annie laughed. "Fine. I'll let you come over for a little bit."
Daniel smiled to himself. "Longer than a little bit?"
"We'll see when you get here."
"I'm on my way."
The two hung up.

Daniel quickly grabbed his jacket and hurried out of the door to jump back into his truck.

While Annie smiled on the phone with Daniel, the moment it hung up, she was back to worrying. Where were her parents? What happened at the trial? Why would her mama leave her so curious? She sat down and pondered on her own. Then the thoughts became negative. Like what if they found her father guilty and her mama was trying to get him free? Could she get him free? He was a negro man up against two well off white men for assault after the mayor's wife told them he did it. And while they might be well off, they weren't 'white man well off' and they weren't 'mayor's wife' well off, they were 'negro well off' and Annie knew there was a difference. There was no way she'd expect him to win that trial. Now she was upset. How long would he have to serve his sentence? She hated him being away from the dinner table for work, how would she take it if the reason he was gone this time was because he was incarcerated?
Annie sat anxiously.
She wished her mama would hurry home and just tell her what happened. The wait was only making her more nervous.

After a few extra minutes of Annie being alone with her thoughts, there was a knock on the door.

She went to it and opened.

"Good evening." Daniel smiled.
"Well now I know you're not blond." Annie stated with a hand on her hip.
Daniel angled his eyes up as if he was trying to see his own hair. "Huh. Would ya look at that?"
Annie snickered to herself and moved aside to let her boyfriend in the house.