SINS OF THE FATHER

me. I have to find a way to save this child.” He attempted to upright the

over-turned furniture but was only able to move it a couple of inches

off the ground. He hollered out to Gussie, their cook, and told her to

straighten the room before Jane returned home from her afternoon

bridge game. He pulled several bills from his pocket, shoved them in her

direction, walked out to his shiny red 1960 Cadillac, and started to get

in. He looked over at his pickup and decided it was better suited for the

drive out to Ida’s place. He closed the car door, walked over to the old

blue Chevy, hopped in, and started the engine.

He took the scenic route to his forgotten sister’s farm, searching his

mind to find the right words to persuade Ida to help him but drew a

blank. He knew she was still angry with him—with just reason—but he

hoped her love for a good cause would soften her heart to the seriousness

of his present plight.

As he pulled into her driveway, he spotted her piddling around the

vegetable garden, and his heart began to race. Alfred took a deep breath,

hopped out of the truck, and slowly walked toward her.

Ida had watched him pull up and recognized him immediately,

wondering what he could want after all these years. Ida was hoeing the

weeds out of her prized tomatoes and stopped for a second to catch her

breath.

Jo Ann Johnson

30

She leaned on the wooden handle and hollered out, “Howdy Alfred,

you certainly are a sight for sore eyes. What brings you out this way?” He

waved to her and tried to smile, but she quickly saw through it. “Oh no,

I don’t like that look in your eyes man. What’s wrong now?”

He mustered all the strength he could and asked, “Ida can we go

inside and talk? It is a private family matter, and I do not want any loose

lips listening to our conversation.”

Ida loved to make things grow, and it was evident in the simple

beauty of the garden. She always had several of the neighborhood kids

hanging around wanting to learn some of her many skills. She constantly

looked for ways to give them necessary tools to better their lives. She

handed the hoe to one of the Smith boys and gave him a quick set of

instructions as she and Alfred walked toward the house.

Ida stopped at the well that was just outside the back door of her

home and lowered the rope until she heard the bucket splash into the

water. She pulled the pail up from the water and sat it in the windowsill.

Ida grabbed the screen door and held it open inviting him in.

They walked through the house and into the small living room

where she offered him a seat. Alfred thought of the cool well water that

she had just drawn and asked, “Ida could I have a glass of that water?” He

needed a minute to gather his thoughts as his mind raced with memories

of their last meeting. Ida walked over to the china cabinet, pulled out a

glass and went to get the refreshing liquid. She walked back to the utility

room, filled the glass with the water, and wondered what this visit would

cost her. She went back into the living room and handed him the glass.

He took it, thanked her, and quickly swallowed it down. He looked in

her direction, drew a deep breath, and began to break the news to her.

“Ida, I know I have no right to come here and definitely not to ask you

for anything, but I’m desperate and have nowhere else to turn. Please,

you have to help me.”

Ida immediately became impatient with him and asked, “What in

the Sam Hill can I do for you? You are the richest man in town. What

could I possibly do to help you? Anyway, you never wanted anything to

do with me before.”

The Muscadine Vine

31

Alfred looked at the floor and sighed. “I know. I know and I’m sorry!

Can we please just let bygones be bygones? Give me another chance Ida,

and I’ll make it all up to you.”

Ida’s demeanor quickly changed and she screamed, “You can’t make

anything up unless you done figured out how to raise the dead!”

Alfred began to get nervous and lose his usual cool manor. He stuttered,

“Look Ida‚ you have to listen to me. There’s not much time. My

son Cane is madder than I’ve ever seen him, and I don’t know what he

will do!”

“Well, spit it out man,” said Ida becoming impatient with her

brother’s speech impediment. She muttered a quick prayer, realizing she

was becoming angry, and calmed down. She mustered a smile, patted

him on the shoulder, and said, “Let’s not let our emotions take control.

I’ll fix us some coffee while you gather your thoughts.”

Alfred got up from his seat and removed his hat from his rapidly

balding head. He nervously placed it on the coffee table. He was

showing his frustration by losing his cool. He picked up the picture

of Fred and quickly put it down, knowing any mention of her ill-fated

brother would infuriate her thoroughly.

Ida had been watching him from the doorway and sighed as she

walked back into the parlor carrying the cups of coffee. She realized

that he was about to place her in a compromising situation and began

She looked at him and said, “All right Alfred, what is it?”

He reached for his coffee cup and said, “I really messed up Ida. I

don’t know where to turn. She isn’t to blame. She’s just an innocent

baby!”

Ida sat down on the sofa across from him and her mind raced as

his words registered and asked, “Baby, what baby? What are you talking

about man?”

He sat the cup back on the table without taking a sip and said in

a worried voice, “She’s my child Ida and your niece. She cannot stay

Jo Ann Johnson

32

in the hospital another day. People are already talking, and rumors are

flying. The child’s mine and I love her.” Alfred pulled his pipe from his

pocket and continued to explain. “Sally will never forgive me if something

happens to her.” Ida sighed and looked down at the floor as she

looked for the right words to use.

“Alfred Fitzgerald, I heard you were sleeping with your maid, but

I didn’t believe it. I thought you learned from your father’s mistakes.”

“Ida, you know that’s not fair. You know my father loved you and

your mother.”

She shook her head from side to side, as she tried to reason with

him. “A man’s so-called love doesn’t make sinful ways okay. Do you have

any idea how hard it was on me growing up hated by all because of the

color of my skin? It’s not right,” cried Ida. “It’s not right at all. You have

a curse and it’s started all over again. It is a generational curse! God help

us all!”

Ida threw up her hands in exasperation and walked over to the

picture window as her mind raced back to her own childhood. She had

put up with so much cruelty as a young black child growing up in a

white body. She had been abused more times than she could count. She

hated her so-called father for standing back and allowing it. Now, Alfred

was starting the cursed tradition all over again. Tears ran down her face

as she realized the grief the child would have to endure. She shuddered

at the thought of it. Alfred followed her, seeing how upset she was. He

searched for the right words to comfort her. He placed his hand on her

shoulder and turned her to face him. She could see he also had tears in

his eyes and was more desperate than she had ever known him to be.

“Ida I promise, if you help us, no harm will come to either of you.

She needs you. You have to take her. No one else will understand.”

“Look Alfred Fitzgerald, I’m almost seventy years old. I can’t do it

again, and I’m much too old to care for an infant.”

Alfred pleaded, “She’s your blood Ida, and you can’t turn her away.

Please, you have to help her.” Ida took a deep breath and blew the air

out.

“I’ll help you, Alfred, but only until you find a permanent home for

The Muscadine Vine

33

her. I will give you three months and not one day longer. Do you understand

me? She needs much more care than I can give her.” He nodded

his head in agreement and a flood of relief came over him as he processed

her words and hurried to the door.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He stopped, turned around, and

walked back to her, grabbed her around the waist and swung her

around. She felt a moment of happiness as she looked back to the short

time when they had been carefree kids growing up as brother and sister,

sheltered from the turmoil of the racist south. Alfred walked over to the

coffee table, grabbed his forgotten Texas size cowboy hat, and hurried

out the door to his truck.

She walked to the door, watched him as he drove away, and wondered

how she would ever manage to care for a tiny infant at her old age. She

let her mind wander back to her dear husband Julius and a time when

the house was filled with laughter and a time of thankfulness.

Ida was so grateful for where God had taken her. She had been at

such a low point in her life when she cried out to him. She was not

raised in a Christian home and didn’t have a reason or desire for a relationship

with him. Her mother had talked her into marrying a local

minister named Julius Caesar Carter. He was a tall eloquent man of dark

complexion and a quiet demeanor. Julius loved Ida the first moment

he laid eyes on her. The Lord had described his future wife to him in

a dream almost a decade before they met and he had waited patiently

for God to send her to him. He was ten years her senior and a much

older man than Ida had expected to marry but Julius was relentless in

his pursuit of her. He would drop by her family home every Sunday

afternoon with a special gift for her. He would find Ida and her sisters

sitting on the front porch eagerly waiting for their latest gift. He would

slowly walk up the front porch with his hand behind his back concealing

the latest treat.

The front porch was the focal point of the small home and it covered

the entire front of the house. If you squatted down you could look

between the floor boards and see the bare dirt underneath the house.

Jo Ann Johnson

34

It stood on gray brick blocks that were stacked around the house. In

the summertime you could climb between the bricks and play made up

games. When the sun was brightly shining you could even play tic-tactoe

in the loose earth. Julius had found out from her family and friends

all of her favorite treats and would surprise her with homemade candy

apples, black licorice, or coconut kisses that she would share with the

rest. Ida thought he was very sweet but she did not love him before their

marriage but through many trials and tribulations had grown to love

him dearly.

Julius and Ida tilled the soil and became very successful farmers

amassing several hundred acres of farm land. Life seemed pleasant and

Ida flourished in her life with Julius. They cleared out several acres of

land and planted crops of cotton, wheat, corn, peas, and many types of

melons. Year after year their crops grew and prospered. Their melons

were plump and as sweet as sugar. The early spring rains nourished the

tender stalks of corn as they grew and stretched their magnificent shoots

toward the heavens. The couple opened a small grocery store where they

sold most of the produce that was harvested. At a time when most of the

country was experiencing a depression, they were blessed beyond their

dreams or expectations.

Ida smiled as she thought of her dear husband. He had been such

a wonderful father to their three children. She knew he would welcome

the child into their home with open arms if he were still alive. Somehow

she found strength as she relived the memory of him and knew she

was being called to a new mission. She would have to lean on her sister

who thankfully lived next door to her with her family. She shrugged her

shoulders and closed the door hoping she could handle dealing with her

brother, since it was for such a short time. She would not allow him to

hurt her again no matter what the cost, but she would do whatever it

took to protect her niece.

As Alfred drove back to the hospital, he devised his impromptu

plan to save his baby girl’s life. Ida would be the major contributor to

35

his schemes whether she liked it or not, for he was a big man and always

got what he wanted.