Goodnight, Brian by Steven Manchester

Author:Steven Manchester
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fiction Studio Books
Published: 2015-05-14T14:54:53+00:00

Chapter 20

Early Winter 1989

Without complaint, Heidi tagged along with Mama to Brian’s weekly Special Olympics basketball practice. On the ride, Mama spoke in hushed tones so that Brian wouldn’t hear her from the back seat. “I’m worried about him,” the old lady whispered, taking a peek into the rearview mirror.

Heidi looked over her shoulder. Brian was staring out the side window, wearing his usual carefree smile. “Why?” Heidi asked, louder than Mama liked.

“Because your cousin’s a smart boy in his own right, and I recently noticed that for the first time in his life, he’s starting to realize he’s different from other people.” She shook her head, and lowered her tone even more. Heidi leaned in closer to hear. “We just need to watch him and make sure he doesn’t feel bad about being different, that’s all.”

Heidi nodded and then looked over her shoulder once more. Brian appeared no less than overjoyed to be who he was.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the basketball court, while Brian and his friends ran around in circles trying to learn the game, Mama and Heidi sat in the bleachers cheering him on. At one point, he actually scored a basket. Mama screamed out, “Great job, Brian!” Heidi continued to stare off into space, completely lost in her thoughts.

“A penny for your thoughts,” Mama told her.

Heidi shook her head. “It’ll take more than that, I think.”

“You’d be surprised,” Mama teased. “Let’s hear it.”

Heidi turned, so that she was completely facing her grandmother. “I met this boy, Peter Larkin. He’s the football quarterback at my school and he asked me to the dance last week.”

“I don’t see a problem so far,” Mama said.

“Well, he has dark brown eyes that are two shades lighter than his skin.” She paused, waiting for Mama’s reaction.

The old woman never flinched. “So he’s different from you. So what? White, black, green – what difference should it make?” she asked. “Is he good to you? Would Brian like him?”

Heidi nodded, her smile taking up most of her pretty face.

Mama shared her smile. “Then I like him, too. Did you go?” she asked.

“I did…and had the time of my life, Mama.”

“So what could be wrong?”

“Dad wasn’t as understanding – to say the least.”

“What happened?”

“I finally found the courage to tell him and he shot out of his recliner like an angry wild man. ‘Oh, I don’t think so!’ he kept screaming. ‘You’d better find one of your own kind.’”

Mama put her arm around Heidi and pointed toward Brian. He was playing with his tall, black friend – Jerome. “We’re not born knowing bigotry or racism. It’s something we learn along the way…well, some of us anyway.” She shook her head. “I’ll make you a deal. You leave your father to me. Your grandfather helped break him, so I’ll help fix him. For your part, just keep a close eye on your cousin for me. Feeling different can sometimes make you feel bad. When you see it in him, make sure you correct him.

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