Work Order: Interracial Love Story

Chapter Five

The rain could be heard outside of Vanessa window.

She was snuggled up on her bed reading that dreadful book for her literature class…

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Excerpt from Unthinkable: The Novel

Georgia. 1904

The day I met him was a rather odd one. You see coloreds and white folks were not supposed to be around each other. It was against the rules. I was always the one to break the rules though, my mother said one day I would pay. Who would know that day would come so soon?

It was spring time.

I remember because I had on my favorite flower printed dress that momma made for me. I should let you know, that my dearest friend is a white girl, and we don’t care if we are seen together. She is the sweetest person you could ever imagine and has the prettiest blue eyes. On the day that we had enough courage to actually meet with her family, was the day that I fell so deep in love.

That it would be my drastic downfall.

There he was, standing on her porch looking at the sun set. Martha talked about a man that she had been in love with, but I had no idea this was him. His grey eyes were piercing. As they gazed upon me, I felt as if he could see right to my soul. I should have turned the other way…

I couldn’t, his stare drew me in closer. I have never fancied a white man in my twenty years of living, they always seemed shifty to me. And daddy always said, "a shifty man ain’t up to no good."

“Lily, I would like to introduce to a dear friend of my family, Marshall. Marshall, this is my closest friend Lily.” Well, when she introduced us, I about had a heart attack! The man didn’t do anything! He just stood and stared at me! My face felt as if it was on fire. Never had a man stare at me so, I’m guessin’ Martha felt my unease because she pulled me into her house. Without saying too much, her family loved me. It was so hard to find whites who saw coloreds as their equal. Especially here in the south. I just knew Martha was a blessing. Her brother Arthur, who was Marshall’s best friend, was a fascinating boy, always gettin’ into trouble.

My love…Marshall, stood quietly to the side when we all were laughing and talking. Martha told me that he was a very quiet person, that's why she loved him all the more. I should have stayed away from him, but what we had was too strong.

When I went to put my dishes away in their kitchen, I ran right into him. He held me so tight that I wouldn’t fall. I found myself wanting to stay within his arms forever….

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Vanessa marked her page in the book and then sat it on the nightstand next to her bed. Tonight was the night that Olivia was going out on her date with Gabriel. She tried to not let it affect her, but she couldn’t help it. In her dreams she replayed their hour together on the beach. She shouldn’t have went with him, at least then, she could just think of what she felt for him as a little crush. Now that they have shared their passion for each other together, not to mention that toe-curling-kiss, she could never pass-off what she felt off as a crush.

A soft depressing sigh left her lips as she laid back on her bed just listening to the rain beat against her window. She hadn’t seen or heard from Olivia all day. At that moment she didn’t even care. A part of her resented Olivia for being the one who would end up with Gabriel, but she knew she was doing the right thing.

Vanessa lay restless for another thirty minutes before there was a knock on her door. She dreadfully rose from her bed, not caring that her hair was all over the place. She jerkingly opened the door only to lose her sense of reality. She gazed into the man's oceanic eyes and felt the return of butterfilies.