Mercedes' Mountain

Chapter 1

Mercedes' Mountain

A Love Story

Jewel Adams

Copyright 2005 Jewel Adams

All Rights Reserved

Tis a glorious omen to be driven by a quest,

tis glorious indeed, to find answers realized

and elusive dreams fulfilled!

Chapter 1

A soft sigh accompanied the deep breath that escaped me as I looked into my rear view mirror and watched the city of my birth slowly fading into the horizon. I probably should have felt something akin to sadness. After all, my family was still there. My heart should have been tied there to some degree, but Brooklyn had become terribly stifling to me through the years and my life had become too predictable, and I was tired of being predictable. I was a forty year old woman needing to escape. I needed to escape my life, to experience something new. I can't really say I needed to find myself, because I already did that long ago.

Mama told me she knew I would one day begin my search for the freedom I'd longed for since I was a child. It was only a matter of time. I and my two brothers and sister had lived our whole lives in Brooklyn. Until me, no one in the Simmons clan had ever ventured out of the state of New York. It's as if there was an invisible rope, tying us, no, binding us to the city. I hacked my way through that rope one strand at a time until the threads were finally unraveled enough for me to break free. I couldn't help wondering how I had become so weak that I let myself be trapped this way. How could a forty year old woman not have control of her life? I let it happen, and it was up to me to do something about it. So now I have. I've broken free.

I left some pretty disappointed people this morning, but it couldn't be helped. As hard as I tried, I couldn't suppress this ever growing yearning for something different. It was a powerful need that now filled my entire being. Now it was time for me to take up my quest and begin that journey to discover what I've been missing.

I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear and slipped on my favorite pair of Ray Bans. I couldn't help smiling as I thought of my new place of residence. I'd found it during one of my occasional perusings of the internet. The ad read, "Three bedroom cabin in Maggie Valley, North Carolina." And that was the end of the description. But after seeing the small picture of the home that was posted with the ad, as well as a few shots of the inside, I didn't need any more description. I just knew I wanted it. In some strange way, I felt that my destiny was connected to the place. For me, destiny had been slow in coming, but better late than never.

My mouth again turned up into a sly smile as my father's reaction to my decision came to mind. To say he was unhappy about it was an understatement. Having a father who was the son of a Baptist preacher, and who was also himself one of the most well known Baptist preachers in New York had never been easy. Truth be told, it was torture, but he had always been a good father and I've always loved him very much. And talk about the prestige that comes with being his daughter! With his televised broadcast every Sunday, as well as the Wednesday night meetings, my family has continuously been in the spotlight.

Daddy has always been a good man. He is honest to a fault. Always has been. And while our family home isn't a mansion, it is one of the largest in the neighborhood. Growing up, my sister and brothers and I were always provided with a more than adequate lifestyle. Mama and Daddy put both of my brothers through law school and my sister through nursing school.

I however, was the non-conforming one. My first and only love has always been dance. Ever since I was five, I've been fascinated with ballet. I loved the freedom and beauty of the dance. Mama talked to Daddy about enrolling me in a ballet class. Daddy said he didn't think it was a good idea. He said he didn't want me to feel uncomfortable around all the white students. Truthfully, I think the only person that was uncomfortable was Daddy.