Never Give Up by W. D. Foster-Graham

Author:W. D. Foster-Graham [Foster-Graham, W. D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781728367972
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Published: 2020-07-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chauntice Berry Varnell

These days, the staff at Fairview’s maternity ward would probably be thinking, Here she comes again. However, on February 28, 1957 nobody batted an eye when Mama was checked in and Daddy took up his post in the waiting room. After all, this was during the height of the Baby Boom. LaVera had broken the string of “dark and stormy night” births in the Berry family, but I, along with my cousin Ellen, had ushered in a new one—snowy day births. Our family track record was such that boys’ names were an afterthought. Daddy, however, was ever proud of his daughters, including his newest one, Chauntice Laverne Berry.

With so much law and order running through our family, it was inevitable that it would rub off on at least one of us, and I was the lucky candidate. Shortly after Daddy was appointed to the bench, during my sophomore year at Central High, I did a class project about him. He had made history in Minnesota by becoming one of its first African American state court judges. Prior to that, he had been a prosecutor who racked up a 98% conviction rate. I did extensive research on his career, and I interviewed him like a teenage version of Oprah. It was there that I tapped into his deep passion for justice, and the seeds of a future attorney took root in me.

Mama and Mrs. Edwards never gave up hope for a Berry-Edwards love match. Even Mrs. Hendricks signed onto the campaign, since her son Kevin and I were both in Central High’s Class of ‘75. Sure, we liked each other, and we were friendly, but that was as far as it went. I’m happy, though, that they finally got their wish through my brother Carter and Mrs. Edwards’ youngest son Julian. Of course, I saw that romance coming miles away. Carter was doing everything in his power to get Julian to notice him. It was Kevin’s brother Wayne, however, that told me how Julian really felt about Carter, after he had given him a good shove in the right direction.

As for my own love life, being a Berry woman, I was never dateless unless by choice. One by one I watched my older sisters falling like bowling pins to matrimony. At LaVera and Derrick’s wedding in 1978—during which LaVera got on my last nerves—I caught her bridal bouquet because I couldn’t get out of the way in time. Mama happened to see that and gave me a glittering Pepsodent smile. Carter also saw Mama’s smile and said with a teasing smirk, “I believe that means you’re next.”

“What do you mean, ‘I’m next’? She might have been looking at you and Julian.”

“Maybe, but I’m not the one that caught the bouquet.”

“Carter, don’t even joke about that. Who knows what Mama might have up her sleeve, now that we’re the only two who aren’t married yet? And then there’s Grandma Berry and Grandma Langston to deal with. Grandma Langston isn’t as obvious about it, but Grandma Berry…”

Carter’s laugh faded.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.