Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“Someone needs to, kid. Just so happens that someone’s gonna be me.” She stood just as the guard opened the door.
“Time’s up,” the guard said. “The colonel’s aide will escort you out.”
“Hang in there, Alex. I can’t tell you everything will be all right, but I can promise to look after your girl and to get a message to your pa.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Ain’t worried ‘bout me. It’s Gracie who’s gonna suffer the most.”
“You have my word I’ll do everything I can for the girl.”
With a nod, Alex let the guard lead him out of the holding cell and down the corridor.
I kept silent, watching Jo like a hawk. I didn’t want to miss even one facial expression. It was easy to see how determined she was. I just wasn’t sure what she’d do next. God knew I was looking forward to finding out.
Chapter Four
Mama Jo
Mike and I spent the better part of the day traveling to the Eastern part of the state. Not the most common place for a black man to live in Kentucky, but not unheard of either. Also, it couldn’t have been easy. Alex’s father owned a garage with an impeccable reputation. The person we talked to when trying to find the place had told us, “Don’t hold it against the garage for having a colored owner. He does top-notch work.”
We got a hotel room. I wanted to get two, but Mike insisted we only needed one. I was pretty sure he intended to make some kind of move on me and couldn’t say I was too broken up about it. Still, I put up what I thought was an appropriate protest. He just grinned and got one room.
The next day, we found Alex’s father. Job Brown had been distressed but resigned to learn what had happened to his son. And no, the Army hadn’t notified him in any way. A transplant from Jackson, Mississippi, Job was a hard-working man just looking to make a living. He and his wife had nine kids with Alex being the oldest. “I was afraid somethin’ like this’d happen. He OK?” Job gave me a concerned, anguished look.
“Got a little roughed up in the city jail, but he’s back at the barracks now. Fort Knox. Colonel Gill is getting him a good lawyer. I know both men personally. They’ll do everything they can for your son, but you have to understand there’s gonna be no way for him to avoid prison time and a dishonorable discharge.”
“Yeah. Figured.” He scrubbed the back of his neck. “Least they ain’t sendin’ him off to Nam. Alex has a good heart, but he’s not real good at followin’ orders. Not ‘cause he don’t want to. Just gets mixed up sometimes if it’s more than something real easy. Gets nervous. Bit… simple.”
“He’s a good kid, Mr. Brown. Just scared. I think learning he was getting deployed pushed him past his breaking point. From talking to him, it sounded like he had a lot on his plate even before that.”
“Yeah.” He frowned. “I told him not to get mixed up with no white girl. Her daddy had it in for him from the first day he found out. Now he done went and knocked her up.”
“I take it you’re not happy about it either?” Mike stepped in, probably figuring I was getting ready to give the guy a piece of my mind. But I got it. It couldn’t be easy for any of them to have a son involved with a white girl whose parents didn’t approve. Not in the current environment.
“Of course, I ain’t happy,” Job barked. “You think I want to see my son havin’ to fight every single day to defend his wife’s honor? It ain’t as bad in Kentucky as it was in Mississippi, but they still get harassed. And now they got a baby they bringin’ into it? No. I ain’t happy. I’m just tryin’ to look out for my son, is all.”
I sighed. “Ain’t we all. Look. Alex has been giving Gracie his pay to keep a roof over her head and food in the house. He’s not gonna have that much longer. I ain’t talked to the girl yet, but Alex said she can’t go back to her parents.” I had a habit of falling back into my southern accent when I was agitated or talking to someone with a similar accent. I inwardly cringed but decided to just roll with it. Besides, Job Brown would be more inclined to cooperate fully if he didn’t think of me as a white woman with a silver spoon up her ass.
“Nah. She got throwed out. The whole town was talkin’ ‘bout it. Said he don’t want no nigger baby runnin’ ‘round his house. Called her white trash and said she could damned well get her stud to take care of her. He was done. Girl’s mama tried to talk sense to him, but the man’s as mean as they come. Next time anyone saw his wife, Luellen was havin’ to explain how she’d run into a door that got her face all bruised up.”