Chapter 38
Three hours had passed since the girls had completed their phone conversation with the beloved Eds. The sun had reached it's apex and had begun it's trek towards the western horizon, indicating the onset of afternoon in the small, quiet Georgia town of Kingsberg.
The Kanker convoy had arrived in township limits moments ago. The sound of the V8 engine on Rods truck, as well as the squeaky sound of the axles on the trailer it was towing, permeated through the air. Within the truck, Tabby had, of course, taken the driver's seat, with Marie, Lindsay and Lee taking seats behind her in the rear. Due to the fact that Tabby was now allowing Katie to interact with the girls, she had allowed her sister to ride in the cab with the rest of her family, in lieu of remaining in the trailer. Accordingly, May had lifted the center console, taking a seat in the middle of the front row, while Katie rode shotgun.
While the girls in the back remained silent, staring out the windows as the car made it's way down the tree-lines street known as Tuplehockin Avenue, the front seat of the car was quite boisterous. To Tabby's annoyance, May and Katie had opted to pass the twenty minute drive time by singing common folk songs together, ranging from 99 bottles of beer to The Frog Went A Courtin'.
The two women, having run out of ideas for folk songs, turned towards alternate inspiration; after some discussion, it was discovered that both May and Katie were both fans of the Dr. Suess', "The Lorax" animated VHS tape from the seventies (the same VHS tape watched by Katie when she was little was also watched by May). Of course, the two hyperactive and creative women remembered the lyrics to all of the songs, and were in the midst of singing one particular one, changing the lyrics to suit their particular situation:
Don't stand around gawkin'
Turn left at Tuplehockin'
To Mama Dae's church we go!
(Katie alone)
Tabitha's sulking!
Cheer up don't go pouty
Stop acting like a witch!
(Tabby rolls her eyes and inadvertently sings in the next line)
Shut up, you bitch!
(Katie and May share a giggle, prior to continuing)
No more holes in our stockin'
Turn left at Tuplehockin.
To the house of the glorious Father we go.
At the conclusion of their song, Katie and May shared another laugh.
"That was fun!" said May, "What do you want to do next?"
"Hm," said Katie, appearing to ponder deeply for a few moments, at which point Tabby decides to chime in.
"Don't work your brain too hard knucklehead, you might lose all of the wits you have left," said Tabby, "Either way, it doesn't matter cause we're here."
With the conclusion of her statement, Tabby activated the trucks turn signal and maneuvered the vehicle onto a small ramp. The ramp lead to a modest sized parking lot of sorts, surrounding a brown rectangular building with a 50 foot by 100 foot base. Three doors graced the facade of the building, under an ornate overhang that appeared to be in the process of being painted. The gabled roof rose to a height of around thirty feet, the front of which was graced with a tall steeple, under construction and surrounded by scaffolding, and topped with a crucifix. Above the entrance, a large round window was mounted within the bricks, under which several gold letters spelled out four words.
Kingsberg Community Baptist Church
"The community church?" asked Marie, "I though we were going to meet your friend?"
"We are," said Tabby as she placed the vehicle in park, "She told me to meet her at this address when we texted before we left the shore. I guess she's helping the out with a renovation. She was always a leader at heart."
Tabby opened the door, stepping down onto the ground as she turned towards the truck.
"Alright girls," said Tabby, "Time for ya's to meet Mama Dae."
One by one the girls and Katie exited the vehicle, closing the doors and proceeding to follow their mother towards the church. Tabby lead, flanked slightly behind by the characteristically deadpan Lee and the somewhat amazed Marie and May, whose eyes darted around while observing the building with curiosity. Lindsay and Katie lagged slightly behind the main group; the tall blonde was excited to meet someone who she had heard a lot about throughout her life and provided inspiration for her family. Katie on the other hand appeared quite nervous, walking in a slow, lethargic manner, as if she were deep in thought.
After making their way up a few stairs, Tabby proceeded to open the left leaf of the churches wooden double doors, moving to the side and allowing the remainder of the group to enter before her. After releasing the door, Tabby took once again taking the lead as she guided the group through a small foyer, pausing to address the girls prior to continuing.
"Let's make this fun," said Tabby, "Katie and Tiffany, wait out here until I call you in, okay? She has no idea youse two are here, and I'm sure she'll be surprised to meet yas."
The two women obliged, opting to remain in the foyer as Tabby and the girls made their way into the church proper.
As with most typical churches, the large central room consisted of high vaulted ceilings, an ornate alter near the far end, and several rows of pews. Next to the alter was a modest sized wooden stage of sorts, containing a drum set, a few of risers for a choir to stand on, and a large wooden console that appeared somewhat similar to a piano.
After eyeing their surroundings, Tabby's eyes were eventually drawn towards the front of the church. Kneeling adjacent to the pastors podium was a woman of African American descent. The woman's black hair was cropped short on the sides, with the top consisting of loosely tasseled, well maintained curls. She wore a loose fitting green t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of brown women's boots. Proportion wise, she was no taller than Tabby when standing, and of the same, somewhat overweight build. Her back was turned to the group which, combined with the fact that she was fully concentrating on applying paint to the preachers podium, made her oblivious to the rapidly approaching footsteps.
Tabby adopted a sly smile as she made her final approach, stopping around seven feet away from the woman as she placed her hand on her hip.
"Geez, Dae," said Tabby in a playful manner, "Don't you know all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl?"
The woman shook her head slightly as she placed her paint brush down on the floor. As she did so, she removed her rubber gloves, snapping them off as she began to speak in a bold, feminine voice containing heavy AAVE intonations.
"After all these years she still got the sass," said the woman as she slowly turned around with a smile, "Tabby Kanker, come give me some love girl!"
Rodeeia opened her arms outward, at which point Tabby stepped forward, embracing her friend with a heartfelt smile.
"Rodeeia!" said Tabby in an excited manner, "It's been so many years, you're looking good! You haven't changed a bit."
"Get the hell outta here with that nonsense," said Dae as she playfully punched Tabby. She then took hold of the sides of her hips, "You see this here junk in the trunk?"
Tabby giggled.
"You know what the hell I meant," said Tabby, "At least you were spared until your thirties, I've been a whale as far back as I can remember."
"Pssh," said Rodeeia, "Whale my ass, you mean a shit brick house! You may have had a little extra, but with those double d's you never had any trouble making the boys heads turn."
Tabby and Rodeeia shared another smile, at which point Rodeeia took notice of the Kanker sisters.
"So," asked Rodeeia, "Who are these three fine young ladies you have with you today?"
Tabby clicked her tongue.
"Well," said Tabby as she placed her arm around Lee's shoulder, "I'm sure if you think hard, you'll realize who this is. I'll give ya a hint, she just turned sixteen."
Due to the almost uncanny resemblance between the two women, as well as the provided ball park age, Rodeeia was almost immediately able to formulate the correct answer. The woman's brown eyes widened with surprise, placing her hand over her mouth as she did so.
"My Lord," said Rodeeia, "Is that...Annalee?"
"Yep," said Tabby, "Crazy huh?"
Rodeeia made her way over towards Lee, gazing upon her with an expression of curiosity.
"Look at you," said Rodeeia, "The last time I saw ya you were in diapers, now you're all grown up, walking tall and sexy just like your mama."
Lee blushed as Marie and May emitted slight giggles.
"And how about these two angels," said Rodeeia as she turned towards Marie and May, opting to examine Marie first, "Wait, don't tell me...I know who you are. You look just like your mama too. You're Marie, right?"
"Yep," said Marie, as she emitted a giggle, "Nice to meet ya Ms..."
"Williams," said Rodeeia, "Used to be Parker until I lost my marbles and got married, but that don't matter anyway. We're like family, so you can call me Mama Dae just like everyone else."
Rodeeia paused prior to posing another question to Marie.
"You were just a baby when I left the city too," said Rodeeia, "Me and your Aunt used to hang out all the time, and your mama would tag along too, but she'd usually do her own thing. Speaking of which, what about the time..."
"Geez Dae, I wasn't that bad!" yelled Tabby, interrupting Rodeeia and prompting the woman to gaze in her direction. For a brief moment, she and Rodeeia shared a deep stare, a stare that, while conducted in silence, seemed to illicit an air of seriousness and confusion in Rodeeia.
"To be honest, I'd rather the girls not hear about our little escapades," said Tabby, "I don't need them getting any wrong ideas about our lives."
Rodeeia stared into Tabby's eyes with perplexity for a few moments. After finally shaking off her feelings, she proceeded to turn towards May with a smile.
"Hmm," said Rodeeia, "Let's make this three for three. I have a hunch your last name is Lonergan, am I right?"
"Yes," said May in an exuberant manner, "My name is Annamae, I'm my moms third daughter."
"Third daughter?" asked Rodeeia as she turned back towards Tabby in surprise, "Ah, I see this is you and Roddy's daughter, huh? How come you never told me about her being born?"
"Sorry Dae, I guess we lost touch," said Tabby, "There was a lot going on at that point in my life and...well, that's not important right now. I'm just glad that we have this opportunity to see each other again, I hated that we drifted apart."
"Listen," said Rodeeia, "No matter how far we live apart, and no matter how long we don't talk, we'll always be tight. Don't be stupid like that."
Rodeeia delivered a small slap to Tabby's arm, at which point she adopted an expression of sadness.
"So," said Rodeeia, "What's my girl Katie up to? I haven't talked to her since I moved either. I've been trying to get in touch with her for years, but it's like she wiped herself lff the face of the earth or something. I would figure her crazy ass would have some kind of cooking show on the Internet or something, but nope, nothing."
Tabby giggled.
"Well, why don't you ask her?" asked Tabby, "Time for surprise number one."
Tabby turned towards the far archway.
"Come on out mystery guest number one!" said Tabby in a playful manner.
At the conclusion of Tabby's statement, Katie began to sheepishly make her way around the door frame and into view. The thin, somewhat emaciated woman smiled as she made her way towards Tabby and Rodeeia in a nervous manner, eventually taking an arms length position from Rodeeia.
"Hi Mama Dae," said Katie as she approached, "Remember me? You're sista from another mista..."
Rodeeia's eyes widened with surprise.
"Mama K?" asked Rodeeia.
Katie shook her head up and and down, smiling as she did so. After a few moments, small tears began to form in Rodeeia's eyes, at which point she dashed towards Katie.
"Come here and give me some love girl," said Rodeeia as she embraced Katie in a tight manner, prompting Katie to return her embrace as tears formed in her eyes as well. The Kanker girls merely observed with smiles; even Tabby could not resist tearing up, despite her apparent distaste for Katie.
"Where you been girl?," asked Rodeeia as she pulled away, gazing into Katie's eyes with happiness, "I've been trying to get in touch with ya for years, I'd never thought I'd see the day where you ignore anybody, especially your sworn sista!"
"I'm sorry Dae," said Katie, "It's just, lots of things...I've been through...eh, you can probably just tell by looking at me, can't you? I'm surprised you recognized me."
"You kiddin'?" asked Rodeeia, "No one else in the world has pretty blue eyes like yours, but I have to say it's a little odd to be able to see em. Where those sexy shades you always wore? I didn't think you'd ever get rid of them."
Katie adopted a saddened expression.
"Yeah," said Katie as she gazed towards the floor, "I lost them around twenty years ago, and I was never able to find them..."
There was a slight pause, at which point Rodeeia took hold of Katie's chin, lifting it upwards as she examined her eyes intently.
"I ain't gonna lie," said Rodeeia, "Either you haven't slept in weeks, or you've been through some kind of meat grinder. What the hell happened to you girl?"
Katie paused.
"Nothing," said Katie in a sheepish manner, "Just tired, that's all."
Rodeeia remained silent for a few moments, staring at Katie with a sardonic expression. After a few moments, Rodeeia placed her hand on Katie's shoulder.
"No matter for now," said Rodeeia, "I'm just glad to see that happy face again."
Katie smiled as Rodeeia turned towards Tabby.
"Alright Tabb," said Rodeeia, "Whatcha got for me next? Is E...
"Well let's just find out," said Tabby, interrupting Rodeeia mid-sentence, "You're gonna hit the floor when you see who's behind the next door. Come on out mystery guest number two!"
Tabby giggled as Rodeeia turned towards the entryway, where the tall, lanky form of Lindsay proceeded to emerge with a slight smile. Rodeeia's face once transformed into surprise as Lindsay made her way towards her position; with Rodeeia slowly placing her hand over her mouth as she did so.
"Oh my Lord," said Dae in a frantic manner as she began to back away.
"What's wrong Dae?" asked Tabby.
"You got some explaining to do," said Rodeeia, "Either you Kankers have been working some of that crazy ass voodoo magic again, or Chuckie Stat finally pulled off one of those cloning machines, cause I see someone I shouldn't be seeing standing before my eyes."
Tabby giggled.
"Well it makes sense," said Tabby, "You are seeing half of her genes!"
Rodeeia turned back towards Lindsay, taking a few steps towards her as she gazed up into her almond shaped eyes.
"Little T," said Rodeeia, "Or should I say Little Big T...you were only a few weeks old the last time I saw ya, but damn girl, you look just like your mama. Only difference is you have Chuckie Stats eyes, and don't have glasses!"
Lindsay giggled.
"Thanks," said Lindsay, "That means a lot to me, Rodeeia."
Rodeeia turned towards Tabby.
"And they even sound alike," said Rodeeia as she turned back towards Lindsay, placing her hand on her hips as she did so, "How tall are ya, 6'5"?"
Lindsay blushed slightly, due to the concept of her height being a source of embarrassment for her. She soon responded in a quiet manner.
"6'7"," said Lindsay.
"6'7"!?" said Rodeeia with surprise, "An inch taller than Mama. Let me guess, your a B-Baller too, right?"
"No," said Lindsay, "I don't really play sports, just some light cross country running. Not that I'd be any good anyway, I have no coordination."
Rodeeia clicked her tongue.
"I've heard that one before," said Rodeeia pondering her thoughts as she continued to stare into Lindsays eyes. After a few moments, she turned back towards Tabby and Katie.
"I'm just about finished here for today," said Rodeeia, "The storm took the roof off of the church, and destroyed our stage, instruments and some of the pews in the process. I've been working with the rest of the congregation to help restore this thing back to ship shape condition. I guess God figured he needed to shake things up a bit for us by sending that Hurricane through, it did bring us closer than ever as a community."
Rodeeia pointed towards the stage.
"Plus, we were able to get ourselves a couple of nice little additions to accompany our choir," said Rodeeia, "A big ole Hammond B3 Organ and a nice little drum set to boot."
"Wow," said Marie, gazing towards the large wooden organ, "I thought that was just some kind of rare piano I never saw before."
"You a musician?" asked Rodeeia.
"Sure am," said Marie, "I play the piano, but I think the organ pretty much the same."
"Nice," said Rodeeia, "I'd let ya give if a try, but it isn't working right now. Our electronics technician is coming tomorrow to fix it, but he has no idea how to play or tune it to the right notes...that's something' we'll have to figure out."
"I've got an an idea," said Tabby, "How bout we come back tomorrow and help ya finish up the painting, and the installation of the new pews. Then Marie can help your guy tune the organ. She can tell ya what notes playing just by listening to it, just like a person can see colors. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."
"Alright, it's a deal," said Rodeeia, "But only if you and your family come back to my place and share a nice family dinner with the Williams tonight. And don't worry about having a place to sleep, cause if you don't want to stay out in the trailer, we got plenty of room for everyone in the house tonight . Ya'll can meet my husband and my twins, and we can catch up on everything we missed in each other's lives over the years. Sound like a plan?"
"Sure does," said Tabby, "We'll be over tonight."
"Good," said Rodeeia, after which she turned towards Lindsay once again, staring up into her eyes with a determined expression.
"As for you," said Rodeeia, "After dinner, I got some cool exercises that will help you with your coordination for cross country. I didn't get the state Gym Teachers award for nothing, ya know?"
Lindsay nodded in a nervous manner, after which Rodeeia turned back towards the girls.
"While I finish cleaning up, why don't you girls go check out the organ," said Rodeeia, "That way you'll know your way around somewhat when the tech gets here tommorow."
"Awesome," said Marie, "Thanks Dae."
One by one, the Kanker girls and Lindsay excitedly made their way towards the church stage. Marie quickly lifted the cover to the Hammond, beaming with joy as the black and white keys gracing it's two manuals came into view. As she and May conversed happily near the organ, Lee and Lindsay shared a conversation of their own, gazing upon the drum set as they did so.
As Rodeeia observed the girls antics, Tabby and Kate joined her left and right side, respectively.
"I gotta hand it to ya!" said Rodeeia, "You raised some fine girls Tabby. And Little T's got a great role model to look up to in the event God needed Big T on his basketball team in heaven."
"Thanks Dae," said Tabby, "You were always one to tell it like it is."
"Heard that," said Rodeeia, "Speaking of which, there's something we girls need to discuss."
"What's that?" asked Tabby and Katie simultaneously.
"I love ya girls to death, and I'm glad ya'll are here ," said Rodeeia, "But why do ya'll gotta bullshit me like that?"
Tabby and Kate shared expressions of confusion as Rodeeia, still staring in the direction of the girls, performed a hitchickers thumb towards Tabby.
"Judging by the way you are acting, what my 20/20 vision eyes can see, and an absence of one of your key players, I can somewhat piece your dilemma together," said Rodeeia, "We can discuss it in private later. It's obvious you don't want them to know."
Rodeeia lowered her right hand, proceeding to lift her right hand and point towards Katie in the same manner.
"You on the other hand, I don't mind asking straight out," said Rodeeia, "What the hell are you on, and how long have you been on it. I want a straight, honest answer."
Katie quickly adopted a saddened expression, pausing for a few moments before finally responding in a quiet voice.
"Heroin," said Katie, "13 years this August."
"WHAT THE FUCK GIRL!" yelled Rodeeia in a loud whisper, "If you're serious, Imma bout to beat your ass!"
"She's serious," said Tabby, "But in her defense, she's gone to rehab and no longer uses actual heroin. She pops methadone pills to stay herself."
Tabby turned towards Rodeeia.
"And also for your awareness," said Tabby, "Prior to two days ago, we haven't spoken for thirteen years...ironic how much of a a coincidence it is, losing piece of shit."
The two sisters shared a growl as Rodeeia gazed upon them in a perplexed manner.
"Okay..." said Rodeeia, "It's obvious a lot of nonsense has happened since we lost touch, but we gonna overlook that for now. I can only pray your family finds a way to repair the unbreakable love ya'll once shared."
Upon completion of her sentence, Rodeeia took a few steps towards the exit. She then proceeded to turn, addressing the women with one final question.
"But for now," said asked Rodeeia, "What are ya'll in the mood for for dinner tonight?"
