Blessings From the Father Read Free

place, so I can give you both the two-cent tour. Maybe I can get Granny to come too. I suppose I can treat you all to lunch, courtesy of Harold Ellison.”
    â€œAren’t you the big spender?” Rocki giggled. “I’ll call Sonni and see what she’s up to. Maybe we’ll stop by to see you later. Gotta run.”
    Mariah pressed the end button on her cell phone and sat motionlessly. She leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. She spoke aloud to her father. “Harold Ellison, why didn’t you ever come to see me? I don’t understand that at all. Were you ashamed of me? Were you married when I was born? Granny struggled for many years trying to provide for us. I began working when I was sixteen. Most importantly, what made you decide to leave this house and everything else to me? Don’t you have other relatives? I can’t believe you lived this close to me and never once inquired about or attempted to take care of me, when it’s obvious you had the means to.”
    Shadows danced on the wall as daylight faded and Mariah rose from the couch. She put on her jacket and decided to head back to Chicago. She took a last look at the house and then opened the door, locked it, and walked to her car.
    During her junior and senior years of high school, Rosemary insisted her granddaughter receive some formal education or training after high school. Mariah was a B-average student and didn’t particularly wish to attend college. Rosemary was like a bulldog on the subject and Mariah eventually attended Olive-Harvey College the fall semester after her high school graduation. Mysteriously Rosemary provided the funds for Mariah to attend college, just as she had pulled out all stops to ensure Mariah was dressed lavishly for her senior prom.
    When Mariah questioned Rosemary as to where the money came from, Rosemary smiled and said she had a little something set aside. Two years later, Mariah received an associate’s degree in child development, preschool education. Mariah especially enjoyed a few of the electives she had taken: child, family, and community relations, along with consumer economics, and a class on the national government.
    She later took a grant writing course and after receiving government funding, Mariah opened an office in Altgeld Garden and became a community activist as well as an advocate for abused young women and children in the housing project. Mariah had found her calling in life and truly enjoyed what she considered her life’s mission. She learned early on that she couldn’t always make a difference in all of her clients’ lives, but when she did, a sense of accomplishment filled her soul.
    As time elapsed and Mariah began to make progress with community issues, her achievements had been written up in several local newspapers. The teen pregnancy rate had dropped and more girls were participating in child parenting classes. Mariah was never more proud than when the elite Chicago Tribune newspaper wrote a piece profiling her work. Rosemary cut the articles out of the paper and pasted them in a scrapbook.
    Rosemary worked at a local elementary school in the cafeteria. She had a strong sense of self, along with a strong work ethic, and she willed that trait to her granddaughter. Rosemary was determined her granddaughter would not share the same fate as her daughter.
    Rosemary and Mariah were long-time members of Christian Friendship Church. Until Mariah received her driver’s license, she and Rosemary took public transportation to the church. Mariah followed Rosemary’s lead and worked in the Sunday School department. It was there that Mariah discovered her love for children and found her niche: teaching.
    As Mariah drove home, she wondered if God had another plan for her. Maybe He was leading her to Hammond. Perhaps there was work to be done farther up Interstate 94. Her future, which had always seemed so clear, had suddenly become a little