Sacred Ground
She thought she hadn’t noticed his features but as she drove home she found that his broad jaw, firm mouth, wide forehead, expressive dark eyes and heavy eyebrows had painted a picture in her mind. He had cinnamon-brown skin and his fingers were long and well shaped.
There was no getting away from it. The man she’d made a fool of herself in front of had been very attractive.
She wasn’t supposed to be on duty on Saturday, which was why she’d gone to the morning conference in Florence, but when she’d arrived home, Stanley Worden, a volunteer, had called to ask if she could fill in for him.
“The only scheduled activity is an extra quilting bee. It seems the ladies were a little behind on their present project. They promised to be out by six. Can you do it, Makima?”
Stanley was usually dependable and she thought working at the center might help take her mind off Florence so she’d agreed.
She took a folder from her bottom drawer, one of many numbered from one to ten. All were entitled Grayson Medical Clinic.
She was working on number ten. Perhaps with recent events the tide had turned and she wouldn’t have to go on to number eleven. This was her goal and her daily prayer.
Her project had begun three years ago. Her youngest sister, June, eighteen years old, had been coming from Orangeburg where she and three friends had gone to watch a football game at South Carolina State. A drunk driver had hit the car on the passenger side where June had been sitting. Everyone else had minor injuries but she had suffered the full brunt of the impact.
The only local facility for such trauma had been the volunteer fire department, which did its best to stabilize June so she could be taken to the hospital in Swinton. The multicar midnight freight train delayed them still longer and June’s life had ebbed away by the time they arrived at the hospital.
Since that day Makima had made the establishment of a medical clinic in the Grayson community her priority so no one else would lose a life because the hospital was thirteen miles away on the other side of the railroad tracks, and where emergency care would be available twenty-four hours, seven days a week.
Her work had been tireless.
“Don’t you think that’s too big a project for Grayson to take on?” Gerald Smalls had asked when she’d sought his help.
Gerald was well-meaning and pleasant, but Makima knew he rarely volunteered for hard work. That hadn’t kept her from asking. He was well liked and had a lot of friends.
“It’s a big project, Mr. Smalls,” she’d replied. “All I want you to do is talk to your friends about it. We need to spread the word so when we have the first big rally, hundreds of people will come. You can do that, can’t you?”
“Be glad to, and I’ll get my wife to talk it up, too.”
The first rally was held three months after June’s death. Her father, Arthur Gray Jr., recalled how his father had settled in the rural area of Swinton at the turn of the century, arriving from Mississippi with his wife, Ruth.
“They were looking for a better place to make a living and raise a family. They believed in hard work and used their money wisely. They bought land when they could, educated their children and helped many other people who came here. This community was named Grayson after them and it grew and prospered. Now because of this tragedy, we have an opportunity to do what they did. Working hard as a community we can give Grayson its own medical clinic so that our people won’t have to go into Swinton for every health need, especially our senior citizens who don’t always have rides.”
Makima had asked business leaders, ministers and teachers to speak. After all the questions had been asked and answered, she closed the rally with comments from the families whose children had been in the car with June. She’d asked her mother to speak but wasn’t surprised when she said she couldn’t.
A second rally had been held four months later and this time her mother had been the first to speak.
“I want to thank you all for coming out this evening. This is a special day. I want to show you the first large deposit of money for the Grayson Medical Clinic. Here is the check from the insurance company.” She waved it in the air as the filled auditorium exploded in applause. When it was quiet again she explained the money would be put in a certificate of deposit so it could be earning interest during the time it would take to pull the project together. “This is our seed money and we have faith in God that He will water this seed until its work is finished.”
So much had happened since that day. Some of the grants Makima had written had paid off. Foundations had made some contributions and in Grayson itself, many organizations had held fund-raisers.
The reason she’d gone to Florence had been to speak to a possible donor following the public-health conference. Not only had the donor made excuses for refusing to give funds to the worthy cause, he’d also had the nerve to flirt with her. It’s no wonder she’d been easily upset at the restaurant.
The remaining hurdle for the project was land. She wanted a piece of Mr. Zeke’s property. She’d spent many hours with him and Miss Sarah, his wife, before she’d passed away. Miss Sarah had often called her “my little girl,” and had given her the run of the house.
As a child, Makima had followed Mr. Zeke around, and when she grew up they’d spent time together when he was working on one of his many projects. He’d explained to her how he’d fashioned parts of the house and how he loved working with wood.
When she’d started her drive for the clinic, she’d asked if she could use part of his property. “I have a feeling this is where it’s supposed to be,” she told him.
“We’ll see,” was his answer.
As the months went by she became deeply involved in the legal and medical requirements for a clinic, necessitating long conferences with a number of people in the business, and visiting the kind of clinic she thought would be appropriate. Many other community people helped, but she was the prime mover even though there was a board made up of Grayson residents.
Occasionally she’d talk with Mr. Zeke and mention the land she wanted to buy for the clinic. “The land’s not going anywhere,” he’d say.
The last time she’d spoken with him was a few weeks before his death. He hadn’t been ill and that time he’d said, “It’ll be here.” His death had been a shock to her and the rest of his friends. She’d been prepared to give him a down payment on the land and to get something in writing for the two of them. Now it was too late.
The whole town knew that his heir was a distant New York relative.
Makima was certain that she’d be able to negotiate with him because a New York man would have no interest in living in a small Southern place like Grayson.
She just wanted to be the first to meet him before anyone else had the same idea.
Chapter 4
The chirping of birds outside the window awakened Gabe with their unfamiliar sound. He never heard birds outside his apartment window. They must have been in his dreams.
Then he remembered. For the next three months he’d be awakening in his great-grandfather’s bedroom where he could look out of the window and see acres of land and trees.
Yesterday when they’d unpacked the car he’d chosen this room for himself in the hope that it and the office next door might give him some clue about what he was supposed to find.
Drew had taken the back bedroom and wondered where there’d be space for his belongings.
“The dresser drawers are full of blankets and the closet has clothes in it already,” he’d told Gabe.
“Put it all on the bed in the other room, because we’ll have to go through everything. Put it in neat piles, Drew. Don’t just throw the things on the bed,” he’d added, knowing his brother’s tendency to do just that.
Now he stretched, put his clasped hands beneath his head and contemplated his immediate future as he watched the trees moving gently in the March wind.
Had anyone told him a few months ago that he’d interrupt his and Drew’s lives to come to a nowhere town in South Carolina, he’d have told them they were out of their mind. Yet here he was, expected to look for something in this big house filled with the accumulated living of two people. He didn’t even know what it was he’d be looking for. How could he recognize it when he saw it? Drew thought it’d be a treasure like a chest of jewels or money, but Gabe didn’t think it would be anything so obvious.
Ezekiel’s mind was more subtle than that. His will had told Gabe that he was to explore, discover and carry out the treasured destiny the property had held for six generations. The word destiny was the most intriguing part of the whole business.
He’d marched along in his ordinary life not doing anything unusual from day to day, just going to his job, doing some volunteer work, hanging out with his friends Calvin and Webster, having two unsuccessful love affairs, and that was all until Pop and Ma had died. Their deaths had been the major events of his life and had left him with Drew and a new sense of responsibility.
Those were the facts of his existence so far. But destiny seemed to have a different meaning, like a course of action that had been determined way in the past and couldn’t be changed. You were chosen and you couldn’t escape it. You could turn and shake and wriggle and run but it caught up with you because it wasn’t happenstance. It was destiny.
Gabe felt the hair on his arms stand up. Destiny was a powerful word, a concept not to be taken lightly, he thought, as he lay in the bed of the man who had devised the term for him, Gabe.
Today was Sunday. He wasn’t a churchgoer except in the past when, on occasion, he’d escort his mother, but it might be a good idea to take Drew and walk over to the Grayson Community Church for its eleven o’clock service.
He needed to know the people here and what they could tell him about his great-grandfather. The best way to begin in this small town was at the church.
Also, he needed all the assistance he could get from whatever source if he was to carry out his destiny.
Makima got to church at ten-thirty. She loved being in the main auditorium by herself. She would sit in the corner, close her eyes and absorb the sense of peace and tranquility the sanctuary gave her. Her forbears had obtained the land and built the first church on this spot. Sometimes it seemed to her that she could feel their presence and their joy at how the church had grown to serve and nourish the community.
It was here that she’d finally come to terms with the senseless death of her sister. It was here that she came to pray over the knotty problems encountered with the clinic project. And it was here that she’d come for healing after Reggie had walked out of her life.
She hadn’t slept well last night. She’d dreamt that the flirt from the foundation had followed her to the restaurant and had tried to get her to sit at his table at the same time that the tall stranger in the black jacket had snatched their food away. She’d made herself wake up, got a drink of water, and eventually had gone back to sleep.
She hadn’t felt rested, so she’d paid special attention to her appearance as a way of getting herself in the proper mood for church. She dressed in a navy blue two-piece knit with white trim, navy pumps and perched a stylish confection of blue straw and ribbon on her hair.
Now as she sat with a bowed head, she prayed for a peaceful mind and spirit so she could ascertain God’s will for her next step about the clinic. Surely it was His will that such a facility be built, since its whole purpose was to serve the people. That being so, surely He would make it possible for her to obtain the land Mr. Zeke had promised her. She asked God’s blessing on her negotiations with the New York man, the heir to the property.
Makima lifted her head as she heard the first footsteps of people coming for the morning service. She slipped out the side door and made her way to the vestibule to her place as part of the welcoming committee whose function was to greet the worshippers.
An unbroken stream of people came up the steps where they were welcomed, handed a program and ushered through the double doors, which now stood open. Once the choir marched in they would be closed.
Makima greeted Miss Selina Moore, who was walking with a cane this morning. “Let me help you to your seat. Arthritis bad again?”
“It sure is, honey, but I wasn’t going to let it keep me from coming out. Your folks all right?” Miss Selina was a retired teacher who’d taught school when Makima’s father had been the principal.
“They’re fine. They had to go to Orangeburg today but I’ll let them know you asked about them.” She settled Miss Selina in her favorite seat and hurried back up the aisle.
The vestibule was crowded with almost-latecomers. Deacon Miller called her over.
“Makima, I want you to meet someone. This is Mr. Zeke’s great-grandson, Gabriel Bell, and his brother, Drew Bell. They’ve just arrived from New York.
“Gentlemen, this is Miss Makima Gray. She knows everything about our church and about the community, too.”
Makima felt the blood drain from her face as she met the eyes of the tall stranger from the restaurant. Only her iron will and pride kept her on her feet as she extended her hand to the Bells and made a polite response.
“Shall I show you to your seats?” she asked as people moved in behind them.
“No, thanks. We can seat ourselves,” the tall one said formally. He was evidently as shaken as she was. The boy was different. He was trying to keep from smiling and there was a sparkle in his eyes when he looked at her.
A few moments later the choir marched in and the vestibule doors were closed. Makima usually sat in the front of the church to be on hand if needed, but now she crept into the last row and was thankful to make it there before she collapsed.
She was numb.
How could this have happened? The man she’d spilled her salad on was the same man she had to persuade to sell her a piece of the land he’d inherited.
Was this some cosmic joke being played on her?
She opened her bag after a few minutes to look into her compact mirror. She was still colorless so she made quick repairs and settled down to try to compose herself. It was useless. All she could think about was that Gabriel Bell lived right here in Grayson and now that she’d seen him here, somehow she had the impression that he was not going to be the kind of person who took one look at Grayson, tucked in his tail and ran back to the city.
He’d looked solid in his dark gray suit, white shirt and blue tie. A man not interested in staying would hardly have made it his business to come to church the day after he’d arrived.
She wondered what he’d thought when he saw her and realized from Paul Miller’s introduction that she lived in Grayson.
She closed her eyes. Images have power, and probably his image of her kneeling at his feet and dabbing ineffectually at his jacket would always be with him and associated with the name of Makima Gray. She’d have to change that.
She began to look around for him and his brother. Had they sat in the central section or on one of the side sections? There they were just four rows in front of her in the central section.
Gabriel sat up straight; she liked that in a man. His dark hair was cut short, his neck well trimmed. When he’d looked at her, his eyes hadn’t been as cold as they’d been in the restaurant. His primary emotion, like hers, had seemed to be astonishment.
The church secretary read out the names of visitors and invited them to stand and be recognized. There was warm applause when Gabriel and Drew Bell stood. Later when the minister came to the pulpit he greeted them again.
“Mr. Ezekiel Bell was a founding member of this church,” he told them. “Everyone called him Mr. Zeke. He was known throughout the community as a caring man who would help anyone when help was needed. His wife, Miss Sarah, taught school here many years and together they contributed a great deal to Grayson. He was a magnificent craftsman, as his house will testify. He lived well beyond his three score and ten years, for which we are all grateful. He will be missed and we are happy to welcome you, his great-grandsons, to Grayson.”
When the service was over, people were going to want to meet him and his brother. It was her job to see that it happened.
Personal discomfort had to be put behind her. She was in God’s house doing God’s work.
When the final prayer was over, she straightened her shoulders and went to the aisle. She ignored Gabriel’s look of surprise.
“I’d like to take you around and introduce you to some people,” she said with a warm smile. “Miss Selina Moore wants to meet you because she was a dear friend of Miss Sarah’s and they taught school together.”
Mr. Nelson came next, then Mr. Weber who had the only drugstore in Grayson, and after them enough people that Makima felt it was time to move the Bells out of the church. Gabriel was friendly and relaxed but Drew was looking dazed. Maybe they didn’t do this in New York churches.
As they came out onto the steps, a stylish young woman flashed a smile at Gabriel, stuck out her hand and said, “Hi, I’m Alana Gray, Makima’s sister, and I’ve been waiting to meet you.” She was one of a small group of young people.
“Glad you waited,” Gabe said, returning the handshake and the smile. “I’m Gabe Bell and this is my brother, Drew.”
“I’m Bobby Gray, Makima’s brother,” said the man in the group. “And this is Valerie Wolf and her brother, Jeff.”
Valerie was a petite brown-skinned girl with a Cupid’s-bow mouth and long eyelashes. Jeff looked to be about Drew’s age.
Alana seemed to have taken over the conversation with her exuberance as she explained that they were all planning to go to a movie in Swinton later and then get something to eat and asked if Gabe, Drew and Makima wanted to join the party.
Gabe glanced at Drew and, seeing that he and Jeff were talking, excused himself but said Drew might want to go.
“I have another engagement,” Makima said. “I won’t be through in time to go with you. What’re you going to see?”
Jeff named the movie that had good reviews in the action-suspense category, and arrangements were made to pick Drew up at five o’clock.
Gabe turned to Makima. “Thanks for the introductions,” he said warmly. “I enjoyed it. I didn’t expect people to be so friendly. I’m looking forward to a real visit with Miss Selina so I can hear more about my great-grandmother.”
“Now that she’s retired she truly appreciates visitors, Mr. Bell.”
“Please call me Gabe. That’s what I go by at home.”
“Gabe,” Makima said, “could I make an appointment with you?” She shifted her bag from one hand to another.
He looked surprised. “Certainly. What about?”
“It’s a business matter and will take some time. Are you free tomorrow?”
He looked even more puzzled. “Just name a time that’s good for you and I’ll make myself available.”
Chapter 5
“Drew, I’m so proud of you, man,” Gabe said as they walked home from church. He nodded to a couple who spoke to them in passing.
“Why? What’d I do?” Drew said in surprise.
“You kept your cool when we were introduced to Miss Gray and acted like you’d never seen her.” Drew was growing too fast for the investment of a suit but he looked fine in his tan slacks and navy sport coat.
Drew’s face lit up and his laugh was one of pure youthful enjoyment. “Yeah, that was something, wasn’t it? She looked like she was gonna faint. I sure didn’t want to make her feel any worse, so I just played along with you.”
“You handled it like a man and I know she must have appreciated it.”
“I’m not a clunk all the time, you know.” Drew hid his pleasure with bluster.
“All that stuff the preacher said about Great-Grandfather was pretty cool. I kinda wish I could have met him.” There was a wistfulness in his voice that found an echo in Gabe.
They crossed the street and as they came to their block, Drew said, “This might not turn out to be too bad. I didn’t expect people to be so friendly. Jeff sounds like he’s okay. He’s just four months older’n me and he likes swimming, too.”
Gabe felt relieved. One of his concerns in coming to South Carolina had been about Drew finding friends. He’d have to check Jeff out, but meanwhile all systems seemed set to go.
“Your turn to fix lunch,” he reminded Drew as they were upstairs changing their clothes.
“Do I hafta?” Drew grouched automatically.
“Yeah, you have to. There’s plenty of food in the refrigerator. Call me when it’s ready.”
Gabe had decided to use this opportunity to introduce Drew to cooking responsibilities since he wouldn’t be going to school on a regular basis.
He’d made arrangements with Drew’s school for home studies and tests. He didn’t know how that was going to work out but at this point it wasn’t high on his list of priorities.
Drew produced monster sandwiches and chocolate-chip cookies for lunch. He drank a quart of milk while Gabe had apple juice.
“Not bad,” Gabe said when the meal was over.
“Best thing is no dishes to wash.” Drew gathered up the paper plates and napkins and sailed them into the trash can. That was a compromise Gabe had agreed to. Dishes were only for dinner. Paper ware for everything else.
Valerie and Jeff came by for Drew promptly at five, assured Gabe they’d take care of him and gave him Valerie’s cell number. The movie started at six, then they’d eat and should be back around ten, Valerie said.
Gabe went up to the bedroom and began a thorough search through every piece of clothing in the tall dresser. Each shirt, underwear, pajama set, pair of socks, handkerchief and scarf was gone over. He’d told himself at the outset that he must be methodical, so he took his time.
His CD player provided music for the laborious task and meanwhile he let himself relive what had happened at church.
Walking to church with his brother in the March sunlight and then being met by all kinds of people who smiled and said, “Hello,” as if they knew him had lulled him into a pleasant sense of comfort. It had taken one critical instant to snatch him rudely awake.
The deacon who’d officially welcomed him and Drew was about to let them proceed into the sanctuary when he called a woman over to meet them. Gabe scarcely heard the introduction, he was so shocked.
All he could take in was that the girl who had spilled potato salad on his jacket and embarrassed him to the max lived right here in Grayson. She was standing right there in front of him. What were the odds of that happening?
Thankfully Drew hadn’t said anything. The girl looked like she was about to faint so he cut the moment short and went on into the church. Drew had said, “That’s the same lady from the restaurant, isn’t it?” Gabe had nodded a yes.
The service began and since it was so similar to his mother’s church service, he knew when to make the right responses as part of the congregation.
He’d been touched and surprised by the minister’s remarks about Great-Grandfather. There was something to be said after all about small towns where people stayed all of their lives.
The minister began his sermon. Gabe couldn’t have said what it was about because he was thinking of the girl whose last name was Gray.
How awkward was it going to be with both of them living in Grayson? He thought the deacon had said the girl knew everyone in the community. That meant she had status and it also meant they’d be bumping into each other while he was here. That could be a problem.
Did she have a job? He could find out and avoid the place. He didn’t mind being cooperative for the brief time he’d be in Grayson. She, on the other hand, had a life here. He’d keep a low profile and that should take care of it.