Facing the Truth

It was Sunday, the only day that Matheson got to sleep in a little. Hannah's downtown was closed and he didn't have to cover at any other store for once! Finally, a full day off. He couldn't remember the last time he had a full day off.

Since their date two weeks earlier, he found himself calling VaLysia every night after he took his shower and climbed into bed. He would lie there in the dark and talk to her. Sometimes it was late, after midnight and he knew they both had to get up and go to work, but they still did it anyway. It was wonderful to talk to a girl that didn't make demands on him for either sex or material items.

He hadn't faced his parents yet. She was braver than he was and told him that she had talked to Mavis and told her that they were going to continue to see each other. Since he had the day off, he planned on calling her and ask her out to dinner. It was one week before Mavis birthday and the two of them needed to talk about plans for that day and dealing with Mavis and his parents. He made up his mind that he would talk to his parents before Mavis birthday.

He turned over and looked at the clock. It was after six in the morning. He was used to early hours having to get up at five every morning, but it felt good just to lie in the bed and not have to get up. He was surprised when he heard his cell go off and he reached over and fumbled for it.

He looked at the number and while it looked slightly familiar, he didn't know who it was.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Matheson" the female voice said on the other end.

"Hi" he said trying to figure out who it was.

"This is Mavis."

"Mavis?" He was surprised. "Is Val alright?"

"I guess she's fine, boy" Mavis said laughing.

"How'd you get my number?" He didn't want to sound rude, but he knew that's how it came out.

"From your Mama, of course!" she replied laughing. "You're not going to block my number now are you Matheson?"

There was a time that he would have joked with Mavis. However since Val told him what her grandmother said, he felt as if she was a stranger. He was still hurt by her words more than he cared to admit.

"Matheson, I was praying this morning you know" Mavis said when he didn't respond.

Matheson rubbed his eyes wondering where this was going.

"God told me that you're upset with me and that I have to make it right." Mavis continued.

"I'm not upset with you" he lied.

"Don't lie to me, Matheson" she scolded.

He didn't know what to say.

"Look" Mavis said after a long pause on the phone. "I want you to come and get me. We're going to church today like we used to when you were small."

Matheson sat up in the bed. "Church? This is my first day off in months, Mavis! I'm not going to church."

"Matheson, remember how I took you to the altar and you cried and cried because you said that Jesus touched you when I took you down front of the church?"

"Mavis, I was six years old!"

"So you telling me you lied?"

"I didn't lie. That's what I thought…what I felt at the time."

"Well, come and go with me today. I need to see you. I need to talk to you about you and Val."

Matheson paused. What was she going to tell him, that she didn't want her granddaughter with a white boy? He didn't want to hear that!

"Please, baby" Mavis cood in the phone like she did when he was small and trying to persuade him.

Matheson sighed. He still cared deeply for Mavis despite what she'd said.

"You hurt my feelings by what you said to Val" he replied. "I don't know if I want to go to church with you."

"That's the best place to go and get things right" Mavis replied. "I want to explain a few things to you. Don't you want to know the truth?"

Matheson sat up on the side of the bed. "Alright, Mavis. What time?"

He didn't know why he agreed to do as she asked. She didn't deserve his respect after what she'd said to VaLysia, but a part of him was curious. Maybe she wanted to apologize. Maybe she wanted to tell him that she was wrong with her assessment of him.

He quickly got ready. He told her that he would pick her up at nine for breakfast and then they would go to church at eleven. He drove to the assisted living home where she lived. He quickly signed in and walked up to her apartment. She opened the door dressed in a pink suit with a matching pink hat with a pink feather. She looked like the typical church lady.

"Morning, Baby'" Mavis said grinning as if there was nothing wrong.

"Morning" he said sourly.

She made him bend down so that she could kiss his cheek. He accepted it and looked away.

"Sit down" she said leading him to a nearby chair.

"I thought we were going out for breakfast." He replied looking at his watch.

"No, I ate some oatmeal this morning early" Mavis said looking at him.

"I know you're upset with me."

Matheson didn't reply but sat down as she instructed.

She smiled at him. "I prayed for you this morning and the Lord told me to get it right so I got you here to talk to you."

Matheson sat back in the chair and crossed his legs. She then sat directly in front of him on the sofa.

"Look Mavis. I think I understand. VaLysia told me what happened with your Mama and all. I just felt that you should have known I'm not like that!"

"Baby, how was I supposed to know what you're like with women?"

He sat up in the chair and leaned forward getting closer to her.

"You practically raised me! I would think you would have some judgment of my character!"

Mavis shook her head. "You still a baby. You don't know what the real world is like, Matheson. How would I know how you'll act when the pressure comes on you for being with Val."

"I'm not a baby, Mavis" he snapped. "I've been a man for a while now."

"What you want with VaLysia?" she asked bluntly.

He stared at her. "I don't want her for just sex if that's what you mean!"

"You're telling me that you are serious about my granddaughter?" Mavis pressed.

"I like her. I want to see her again. We're going to see where it goes" he replied.

"What will you father say?" Mavis asked. "He won't like it."

"I don't care what he says…or Mom either" Matheson replied.

"Matheson you are still mad with me, I can tell." Mavis said. "Let me ask you a question. If you took your Mama to your friend's house and someone totally disrespect her, would you take her back again?"

"Of course not" Matheson replied. "Not unless they apologized."

Mavis stared at him a moment.

"Your family allowed my Mama to be raped and they turned their heads. Then afterwards they let the rapist come back again and again. He'd go to my Mama's room even when I was small and get what he wanted from her and they didn't lift a finger to help her. She had nowhere else to go. I would hide in the corner and listen to him on top of her and listen to her cry afterwards. Then she'd have to get up and serve him breakfast. I was scared to death of him because he always made my mother cry. He never left her alone for as long as he was alive. Now answer me a question, Matheson. Why do you think I stayed there in that house after I was old enought to leave?"

Matheson stared at her in disbelief. "I have no idea."

"Would you have stayed? Would you have forgiven them?" she asked.

"Probably not." He admitted.

"I wanted to leave that house after my Mama died. I had made up my mind to leave but Ms. Trudy, your grandma was expecting your mama and pleaded with me to stay on. She was a nice woman…good to me. A couple of times she sent my Mama and me away at Christmas to stay with her brother to help him so Mama wouldn't have to suffer that man's attentions. Her Papa and her would get in awful fights about it. She paid me top dollar not to leave. I was so angry about what happened to my mother. No colored man wanted Mama because of my daddy. Everybody knew her shame."

Mavis got up and walked over to him.

"When your Mama was born, I took care of her. Miss Trudy was sick and she died asking me to take care of her baby and not to leave her. Your Mama was only six months old at the time. I promised Miss. Trudy on her deathbed not to leave your Mama and I kept my promise. Every time your mother was sick and she was a sickly baby, or if she cried too much, your grandfather would smack me in the face hard and tell me to do better. I hated him, but I did love your mother and I had loved Miss Trudy so I put up with it. Your grandfather died when your Mama was ten and I've been there with her ever since. The Lord always works things out."

Matheson looked at her and shook his head. "You must hate us, don't you?"

"No I don't. Now you can understand why I am concerned about you being with my baby. I just didn't know how you really would be towards her. I've put up with a lot from your people, Matheson. How do I know who you took after, whose ways you have?"

"I'm not like them, Mavis. I'm my own person" he said. "I'm sorry what happened to you, but it's not my fault. "

"I'm not blaming you." Mavis replied. "I just wanted you to understand my side. I don't hold nothing against you."

She stood up. "Come on. It's time to go."

Matheson didn't know what to say. He was quiet when he pulled off. He couldn't understand why Mavis was so calm about everything that had happened to her.

"Does my mother know about all this stuff?" he asked.

"I don't know. I didn't tell her" Mavis responded. "I don't want you to carry this stuff either. I only told you so you'd understand."

"Understand what?" Matheson said. "How am I supposed to feel? You just told me that my family, my blood kin were a horrible bunch of human beings!"

"I didn't say that." Mavis replied. "Look let me explain it another way. Let's say that there's this man that is a good Christian man and he has to go on a ship to get some goods from another country. His family kisses him goodbye and he gets on his knees and prays to God and asks God to bless his trip and help him get the goods he needs to feed his family. He asks God to bless his efforts. Tell me Matheson, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing I guess" he replied.

"Alright" Mavis continued. "What if there's another man that has a family and he goes out to go to work and he kisses his family goodbye. On his way to work he is kidnapped and taken against his will on a ship and he's there all scared and he prays to God that he will be able to escape and return to his family. What's wrong with that? Should God answer his prayer or should God answer the other man's prayer."

Matheson glanced at her as he drove along "Why can't God answer both of their prayers?" he asked. "God should answer both of their prayers."

Mavis looked at him and patted him on the leg. "That's not possible, Matheson. Because the first man is a slave trader and the second man is an African that was captured. So you see, everybody has their point of view. It's not always cut and dry. I can't be mad at your whole family, because some of them have been good to me. That's why I stayed. But when you wanted to court my granddaughter, I wasn't really sure of what your intentions were. Now do you understand?"

Matheson pulled into the church's parking lot. He turned and looked at her. "I don't know what to say, Mavis"

"Say that you're going to do the right thing by my granddaughter. Give me your word as a gentleman and I'll believe you because you are the grandson of Trudy Matheson and the son of Emily Matheson.

Matheson leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "You have my word as a gentleman" he promised.

VaLysia got up Sunday morning and decided to go to the gym. Normally she would take her grandmother to church, but her grandmother called and told her that she was hanging out with friends. That was fine with her.

Matheson called her every night before he went to bed and he told her the night before that he had the day off. She couldn't believe it! It had been two weeks since their date and he promised to call her that afternoon.

She thought about their date often as well as what happened afterwards. She found herself thinking about him all the time...and remembering his kisses and caresses. She forced herself to workout an entire hour and left the gym feeling rejuvenated.

She decided to stop at the WalMart on her way home and pick up a few items in order to make her lunch for the upcoming week. She hoped that she could just run in and out of there. She wanted to get home and shower and relax until Matheson called.

On her way back to her car after making her purchases, she heard someone calling her.

"VaLysia!"

She turned around to look and see who was calling her and was filled with dread when she saw her uppity and mouthy cousin Tameka. Tameka was tall and slim with light brown eyes and long shoulder length hair. She was a beautiful girl and wore a lot of makeup, even to WalMart apparently. Tameka was her father's sister's child. She had perfect caramel colored skin and a full bosom. She walked up to VaLysia extending a long nailed hand.

"I thought that was you, Cuz." she said laughing.

"Hi, Tameka" Val said popping the trunk of her car.

"Just coming from the gym I assume" Tameka said looking at her outfit. "You know you can shower and change there and put on some decent clothes don't you?"

"I chose not to do that, Tameka" she replied slamming the trunk.

"You talked to Nana lately."

Nana was her father's mother.

"No. I don't talk to her, Tameka."

Tameka laughed. "You ought not to be like that, Cuz. She is after all your grandmother. You got to have a thick skin. You know she's old and set in her ways."

"Yeah, but you're not the one that keeps being called 'mailman's baby' either" Val replied.

"Look, she knows you're family. She's just kidding." Tameka replied. "Besides, she hasn't called you that in ages!"

VaLysia didn't reply but walked around to the drivers side door and opened it.

"Look, I saw you the other day when I was coming out of the nail salon. You were going down Federation street." Tameka said giving her a fake grin.

VaLysia didn't remember what she was talking about.

Seeing her confusion Tameka continued. "You were in a black beemer, girlfriend with this white dude."

Val didn't reply but Tameka knew by her expression that she now knew what she was talking about.

"So...who is he? Is he your boyfriend or something?"

"He's a friend, Tameka." she replied patiently.

"Girl, you don't have to be all shy about it. He was cute and driving that car I know he got money! I told Grandma all about it, Chile you should have seen her face! You know what she said?"

"I can just imagine" Val said dryly.

"She said, "You know Val and a white boy would make some pretty babies." Ain't that funny?" Tameka laughed and Val crossed her arms across her chest.

Tameka continued talking when Val didn't respond to her comment.

"You know, I followed you to see where he was taking you." She appeared a little embarrased at her confession. She then looked at Val and gave another fake grin. "I mean, I just wanted to be sure that he was on the up and up"

Sure you did, nosy heifer! Val thought to herself. Her cousin could be irritating at times.

"So I saw he stopped at Cagney's. My my...that's a nice restaurant. The prices are pretty high there. Girl you must be giving some pretty good head to get a man like that."

You would think so, skank Val thought eying the outfit she had on.

"Then you know me...being curious and all...I kinda wrote down the license number of the beemer...you know just to see if it was his or a rental and I have connections at the DMV."

"Oh really" was all Val could say.

I ought to smack you like you stole something! Val thought to herself.

"Anyway imagine my surprise when I found out that the man driving was Matheson Hendricks. I googled him and found out he's the heir to the Hannah's Bakery. I said to myself, my little cousin has hit it big! I told Nana too. She was really impressed."

"I gotta go!" Val said opening the car door. She didn't want to hear anymore.

"Look, you gotta go see Nana. I mean she is after all still your grandmother." Tameka said.

"I'll think about it." Val replied.

"Look, I know you think that she was hard on you because you're the darkest one in the family...the black sheep so to speak" she giggled at her own joke. "But hey, let bygones be bygones."

"She kept telling my father that my mother cheated and that I wasn't his" Val hissed. "I don't have anything to say to her!"

"Yeah, but the DNA test you and your father took proved that you were his." Tameka insisted. "Let it go!"

"I should never have had to take it in the first place." Val spat. "Papa did it to shut her up! He always knew I was his. Even that didn't satisfy her. She then said to my face that it must have been some sort of freak accident of birth me being dark. She all but called me a birth defect!"

"Cuz-"

"Look Tameka, I gotta go." she replied cutting her off and slamming the car door after she got in. She quickly started the engine and sped out of the parking lot leaving her cousin standing there with that stupid grin on her face!