The Promise of Jesse Woods by Chris Fabry

Author:Chris Fabry
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: FICTION / Christian / General, FICTION / Coming of Age
ISBN: 9781496414632
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2016-06-02T04:00:00+00:00

I waited until my parents left for church, then drove up the hollow to Jesse’s place, but there was no car in the driveway. The little house she and Daisy had lived in had been torn down but a trailer sat on a slab of concrete. It wasn’t a brick house, but getting indoor plumbing was a huge leap. People in the community had pulled together for Jesse and Daisy. Even people from the church. There was no light on inside the trailer. I knocked on the door but no one answered. I went to the church parking lot and watched people park and file inside, the scent of mildewed carpet and the sound of the heater firing up swirling in my memory. My mother had said Jesse worked with the youth on Wednesday nights, and as long as I could avoid Earl and his relatives, I figured I could snag a few minutes with her.

Younger children were taken to the steel building in the back, clad in gray shirts with medals and patches sewn onto them. I noticed an older woman get out of her car and recognized Mrs. Talmage. She was the go-to person for anyone with an ailment or medical problem because of her nursing background. Her husband had died recently—my mother had informed me. It was a car accident or a heart attack or maybe both. I hadn’t paid attention to the description of the events or the obituary she had sent. As Mrs. Talmage passed two men smoking on the front steps of the church, she stopped and said something, wagging a finger.

Several teenagers noisily took the steps two at a time and laughed and pushed each other. When Basil Blackwood pulled up in the same red truck I remembered, the sight of him caused those outside to scurry. He leaned forward as he walked as if there were some unseen tether propelling him. His imposing figure and our history caused my heart to race.

It’s always in situations like these that you think of the things you’d say if you ever had the chance. And I had a few words for Blackwood I’m sure my father wouldn’t want me to say.

Earl drove up and let Jesse out near the front. She had on an Awana leader’s shirt and hurried toward the metal building. I wondered if she’d have to give up the shirt once people found out she was pregnant. And then I wondered if all of that were true.

Earl parked and followed her inside. I watched the door close and drove away.

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