Blessings From the Father Read Free Page A

cloudy.
    Thirty minutes later, Mariah had parked her car in the housing parking lot and walked inside her home. After she opened the door, popping sounds of grease frying and the aroma of catfish greeted her at the door.
    Mariah’s eyes scanned the gray-colored cinderblock walls, and the run-down furniture that hadn’t been replaced in years. The house was always clean, warm, and cozy. Still it had an old-timey feel to it.
    As she sniffed the air, Mariah knew that her granny had prepared her favorite Friday night meal: fried catfish, spaghetti, and there was probably a bowl of creamy coleslaw chilling in the refrigerator. Rosemary stood at the stove, holding a long-handled meat turner in her hand. She quickly turned over the fish. She glanced at Mariah, smiled, and said, “How was your day, dear?”
    â€œI don’t even know how to explain all the emotions I felt today, Granny,” Mariah answered her grandmother after she hung her jacket on the coat rack.
    â€œWell, that’s to be expected.” Rosemary nodded her head. Her black hair, threaded with strands of gray, was pulled into a bun. She wore a shapeless blue dress that covered her bulky shape. Rosemary’s complexion was dark like her daughter’s and granddaughter’s. Her figure had expanded over the years, but the twinkling in her eyes and the will to see her granddaughter succeed hadn’t ever diminished. Rosemary’s husband, Joseph, was a soldier in the Vietnam War and had been declared MIA. His body had never been recovered.
    The couple had moved to the housing project when it was newly built, before it became a haven for criminal activity. They lived there for five years before Uncle Sam sent Joseph his induction papers.
    Rosemary remained in Altgeld Garden. She swore she wouldn’t let some knuckleheaded boys run her away from the home she shared with her late husband. The gangbangers pretty much left Rosemary alone since she’d fed most of them in the school cafeteria and had been a mother figure to more than a few of them.
    Rosemary was able to make ends meet from the wages from her job and the monthly stipend she received from the Veterans Administration. Other than her daughter’s drug addiction, Rosemary was content with her life.
    A coworker at the school mentioned to Rosemary how she enjoyed the wonderful minister and choir of Christian Friendship Church. She absolutely glowed when she told Rosemary how she was moved by the preaching and teaching of Reverend Lawrence Dudley. She invited Rosemary to visit the church. Several weeks later, Rosemary, with Mariah in tow, paid a visit to the church. Before long, she and Mariah joined the church membership. The two had been members of the church for over twenty years.
    â€œIs there anything I can do to help?” Mariah asked her grandmother. She sat at the kitchen table with her hands folded.
    â€œYou can set the table,” Rosemary directed her granddaughter. “The fish will be done in a few minutes. There’s nothing that tastes better in the world than eating freshly fried catfish hot out of the skillet.”
    â€œSure.” Mariah walked to the cabinet and had removed two plates and set them on the table when the doorbell rang. “Are you expecting anyone?” she asked Rosemary.
    â€œNo, but that don’t mean anything.” Rosemary turned the jet off under the pot of spaghetti.
    Mariah walked to the front door, she peeped out the hole, and a smile curved along her lips. She opened it and Raquel and Sonyell walked inside the house.
    â€œNow, you didn’t think we were going to miss out on the latest happenings with our best friend and Granny’s cooking did you?” Raquel smiled. She was a plus-sized redbone-colored woman with slightly slanted eyes on a cute face. She changed her hairstyles regularly. This week, she sported an auburn weave that fell midway down her back. Raquel was the comedian of the group. She