When Bernadine returned with the doctors and nurses, they went in to check Crystal’s vitals. Bernadine stood outside the door and wiped at more happy tears.
Amari, Preston, and Eli walked over to her. “Can we see her?” Preston asked. The boys’ faces were lined with concern.
“Let’s let the doctors finish up first.”
They’d been at the hospital the whole time as well. Roni was home with Zoey and Devon and was being kept up to date by phone. Reg was the town’s liaison with the doctors, and Bernadine was grateful that he’d been there to break down the medical lingo into plain English so she’d understand just what Crystal was up against.
The doctor and one of the nurses stepped out to talk with Bernadine, and while they were consulting, the three boys slipped into the room.
The nurse inside looked up at their entrance. She was checking all the machines and tubing Crystal was hooked up to. “You boys family?”
Amari answered for them. “Yes, ma’am. She’s our sister. We just wanted to see her.”
The lady looked at Eli. “She your sister too?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She smiled softly. “Come on over, but you can only stay a minute.”
Without her makeup and with her head shaved, Crystal was almost unrecognizable. She appeared younger and more vulnerable. Amari thought her head looked like the head of the ducklings he’d seen on his Spirit Quest but he was happy to see her breathing. Preston too. To their surprise Eli bent down and kissed her cheek. Amari’s and Preston’s eyes went wide.
He saw their faces. “What?”
They both shook their heads in unison. “Nothing.”
Preston said, “She’d never let him do that if she was awake.”
“True,” Amari said softly, willing her to open her eyes and look at him so he’d know for sure that she was okay, but she didn’t.
“Okay gentlemen,” the nurse said. “You’ll have to go now.”
Preston surprised Amari by doing an Eli and kissing Crystal on the cheek. It made his heart tight to see the tears standing in Preston’s eyes even though he tried to wipe them away before anyone could see.
Amari kissed her cheek too, and whispered, “Hurry up and get well, Crystal. We love you.”
When they stepped outside, their parents said it was time to head home. On the way out they waved to Ms. Bernadine, who was talking to Ms. Marie and Leo Brown, who’d just showed up.
“How’s she doing?” Marie asked with concern.
“She’s finally awake.”
“Thank God,” Marie said. “Everyone has been so worried. We’ve all been praying.”
“And it helped, so thank you.”
Leo asked, “Does she need anything, Bernadine? If we have to fly in an orthopedic surgeon or fly her somewhere to get more help, just let me know. I’ll help with the costs.”
Bernadine looked at the concern in his eyes. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
Marie said, “I’m going to join the others, so you two can talk.”
When she was gone, Leo said, “This has to do with Crystal, not you and me, so if there’s anything I can provide, it’s yours. I know how much she means to you, Bernadine.”
She was touched. “Thanks, Leo.”
“And I meant what I said, I don’t care how much it costs.”
For the first time in years, Bernadine was able to look him in the eyes and not want to feed him rat poison. “So it’s going to be you and Marie?”
“I’m hoping. We’re taking it a day at a time. She wants to go slow and I respect that.”
“She’s a very special lady.”
“Yes, she is, but so are you. I’m sorry for what happened.”
“So am I, but we’ve both moved on.”
“Thanks to this town. Pretty good place you all have here.”
“We think so.”
“I may move in.”
Bernadine went still. “Really?”
“That going to bother you?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Throw my millions in with yours, there’s no telling what can be accomplished.”
“True. Just don’t be mad when I send you the bill.”
“I promise I’ll pay whatever it is with a smile.”
She held out her hand.
He grasped hers. “To second chances.”
“Let the church say amen.”
As Bernadine walked with him over to where the rest of her friends were waiting, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her soul.
Crystal came home a week later. Now, propped up in her own bed, her right shoulder and arm in a cast, she asked Bernadine, “So what happened to Mr. Otis?”
“Killed in the storm.”
What Bernadine didn’t say was that the authorities had found him five miles away from where Crystal had been found by the National Guard. The storm had evidently swept him up and then thrown him down so that he landed face up and impaled on the wide jagged points of a large picket fence. All in all, a terrible end to a terrible man. Bernadine had also been waiting for Crystal to come home before telling her the truth about Otis Miller’s true identity.
“I need to tell you something else, Crys.”
“What?”
“About who Otis Miller really was.”
“Who was he?”
So Bernadine began.
The morning of August First dawned sunny and bright. After the near tragedy with Crystal, who was still laid up, the residents of Henry Adams were looking forward to having some fun. Amari and Trent shared a quick breakfast at home, then jumped in the truck and headed to the parade staging area set up in the field across the street from the Dog.
On the drive, Amari said, “I think it’s going to be a good day, Dad.”
“You think so?”
“I do.”
“Then let’s have a good time.”
When they reached the field, marshals Jack and Eli were already at their posts and wearing the official blue and gold vests Sheila had designed.
“Morning,” Trent called out as he drove past them to find a place to park.
“Dad, look!” Amari said excitedly. “Some of the bands.”
It was 7:00 a.m. Parade participants had been asked to assemble no later than eight for the ten o’clock start. Three school buses were parked at the edge of the field. Kids in shorts and tees, their instruments in hand, were milling about.
“Looks like a parade to me,” Trent replied.
Trent parked, and as they got out, they were greeted by Malachi, wearing a sleeveless tee and the blue pants of his Tenth Cavalry uniform.
“Morning, you two.”
“Hey, O.G.,” Amari called. “You look like a real soldier.” Amari could see the other members of the troop a few feet away. They were laughing, talking, and getting their horses ready for the ride down Main Street.
“Gotta come correct,” Mal told him proudly. “The legacy of the Ninth and Tenth demands it. Everything from our saddles to our caps are as authentic as we could make them. We’ll put our coats on when the parade starts.”
Amari knew from his class work tied to the history of the parade that the Black men of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry patrolled the western United States from the U.S. Canadian border to the Rio Grande. The soldiers were the only law in a lot of areas that had no law back then.
“Come on and let me introduce you to my guys.”
Amari shook a bunch of hands and received lots of thanks for coming up with the idea for the parade.
Moments later, Lily and Ms. Bernadine rode up on individual golf carts. Preston was on the cart with Lily, and Amari would be riding with Ms. Bernadine. He got in, waved good-bye to his dad, and headed off to get things under way.
By nine thirty everyone was lined up and Amari, carrying a clipboard, was seriously beginning to question whether this parade had been a good idea. First of all, the kids who were marching in the p
et parade had everything from geese to goats, both of which kept trying to mix it up with the horses. After a goose charged the horses for the third time, causing the horses to rear and almost throw their riders, Amari threatened to kick the goose’s owner out of the parade if the bird wasn’t controlled. The goose’s name was Gus, but Mal said his name was going to be cooked if it charged his horse one more time.
The goat, named Buster, apparently didn’t like dogs and kept trying to butt any canine that made the mistake of coming close. Buster’s owner, a ten-year-old girl from Hays, had to borrow a leash from one of the dog people in order to keep Buster at her side. Even then, Buster was dragging her all over the place. Her teenage brother stepped in and took hold of the leash and Buster was no longer able to terrorize, but Amari vowed to keep an eye on him. He ran a weary hand over his fresh haircut and hoped Preston was having better luck with the humans on his end.
He wasn’t. The choirs were supposed to march in back-to-back each singing a different song. However, two of the choirs were singing the same song and an argument broke out over which choir was going to change. Neither wanted to, so he, Roni, and Lily came up with a compromise that put one of choirs at the front of the parade line and the other at the end.
Farther down the line the frats were talking smack to each other and wanted to fight. One of Sheriff Dalton’s deputies had to step in on that one and threatened to take everybody to jail if they didn’t start acting like they had some sense.
Bernadine was dealing with the local politicians. They too were jockeying for what they thought would be the best positioning. The plan had been to have them march in between the three bands, but they wanted to be first. They soon found out that this was her town’s parade and she gave them the option of getting with the program or watching the parade on the sidelines with their constituents. They got with the program.
By the time ten o’clock rolled around the adult parade coordinators were searching for over-the-counter pain relief to ease their throbbing headaches, and Amari and Preston were looking for ice cream.
However, the parade went off without a hitch. The choirs rocked, the bands played, and the frats and sororities stepped.
The Black Farmers marched behind the Black Cattlemen’s Association. They were trailed by Trent and the other fathers of Dads Inc. Mal and his Buffalo Soldiers rode proudly astride their mounts. Even the pets behaved—although Gus’s owner had to carry him, and Buster the goat strained at his leash the entire way.
Bernadine couldn’t believe the number of spectators. They lined Main Street from the Dog to the Power Plant, waving and cheering. Television crews from all over the state had turned out in force, and the marshals ran out of the flyers that had been printed up to explain the history behind the celebration.
The final choir marched by but their voices were suddenly drowned out by the thundering roar of jet engines. Everyone looked up. Sleek blue fighters were rolling and diving and streaking low across the sky. The Blue Angels had arrived.
Preston and Amari began jumping up and down and screaming with joy. The jets stayed only a few minutes but it was more than long enough to knock the socks off everyone in attendance. They disappeared as quickly as they’d appeared, but the resulting buzz in the crowd was enormous.
Preston made his way to the colonel and ran and leapt into his arms. The grinning colonel enjoyed the moment. “How was that?”
“That was so cool! Aw man! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
“I gotta get back to work.”
“Go, go. We’ll hook up later.”
Preston hurried off to judge the pet races, and the smiling colonel watched him until he was swallowed up by the crowd.
The pet races turned out to be another questionable idea, Amari decided. The first race, which had some cats and hamsters, turned out to be a mistake when a couple of the hamsters were chased down by the felines and sent to hamster heaven.
The second race had some of the bigger animals, like Buster the goat, Gus the goose, and a couple of hogs named Mutt and Jeff. Most of the dogs had opted to compete in the obstacle course set up on the other side of the field and were over there minding their own business.
As the second race began, things went okay until Buster the goat saw the dogs on the course and charged off in that direction. The other animals followed, and before anyone could react, the goat and his buddies were causing havoc. Dogs rose to the challenge, barking and charging back. People ran. The course’s gates and chutes were knocked over as the big hogs, Mutt and Jeff, powered their way through. One lady fell and broke her ankle trying to get out of the way. An ambulance had to be called to take her to the hospital. It roared up with lights flashing, and Preston and Amari got an earful from the sponsors of the obstacle course over who was going to pay for the damage.
By the time the choirs sang at seven that evening, neither Amari nor Preston wanted to hear the word parade ever again, because even the choirs acted up. The feud between the soloists that Roni thought she’d taken care of broke wide. The woman she’d designated as the soloist began to sing but out of the back row came another voice. The one who’d lost was singing the solo too. As everyone looked on in shock, it became clear why the second singer hadn’t been tapped. Soloist number one had way better pipes. In the end, someone nudged singer number two off the edge of the riser and she landed on the ground in the dark.
A fabulous fireworks display would end the celebration, and as it began a tired and glum Amari and Preston came over and sat down on the ground next to Bernadine, who was watching the show from her golf cart. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“This was a disaster.”
“No it wasn’t. Everyone had such a good time all they’ve been asking is are we going to do this again next year. They liked the food, the parade, the history exhibit, and the fun.”
Both boys stared.
“Really?” Amari asked.
“Yep.”
By the light of the fireworks Amari and Preston looked at each other with surprise.
Lily drove up.
Bernadine asked her, “So how many lawsuits are we looking at?”
“Eight, so far. The lady with the broken ankle, the people who owned the hamsters, the obstacle course sponsors, and the woman in the choir who wound up in the dirt.”
“Total damages?”
“Give or take, fifteen, twenty thousand.”
“Do me a favor. Once everything is all totaled, send the bill to Leo.”
Lily laughed. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope. He wants to help out, so we’ll let him.”
“Okay,” Lily said. “I’m going to go watch the rest of the show with Devon and the Garlands. I’ll see you in the morning. And Amari and Preston. Good job.”
They were still stunned.
Bernadine said gently, “You two were looking at this from what went wrong, but the people who came looked at it from what went right. So like Lily said, good job. The Dog’s closed, but tomorrow, the ice cream’s on me.”
They grinned.
“Now shoo. Go find your families and enjoy the rest of the show.”
To her surprise, they gave her a kiss on the cheek and ran off into the dark.
Of course they were going to have to rethink the pet races if they did indeed decide to throw this again next year, she told herself, but all in all the August First celebration had been a great success.
She looked up at the fireworks display exploding against the night and sent up a thanks for all her blessings. Yes, there were still things to be resolved. Zoey still hadn’t spoken. Riley and Cletus were now back in Kansas, and rumor had it there was going to be a big trial. Marie and Leo were still seeing each other, and she had no idea how that was going to turn out. And was Jack James really sweet on Rocky, as Lily swore he was? Bernadine didn’t know what to make of that, but having lived in Henry Adams for a full year now, she knew that anything was bound to happen in the little town she’d
purchased on eBay, so she didn’t worry. Everything would be resolved in its own time.
Looking up, she saw Malachi walk out of the darkness and head her way. When he reached her side, they shared a smile and he gave her shoulders a tender squeeze. She scooted over to make room for him on the golf cart. He draped an arm over her and together they watched the fireworks fill the sky.
That night, Amari dreamed he was driving again, but then he realized he wasn’t driving. He was actually flying on the back of a big hawk. He could feel the wind in his face and the bird’s powerful wings pumping up and down. This time there were two suns. The one behind him from the other dreams had almost set, but a new sun was rising bright in front of him. He knew where he was going now. Home. Happy, he shouted with joy, and the hawk turned its head and looked back at him. The face was Tamar’s. His Tamar. She winked, turned her head back around, and they flew on toward the brightly rising sun.
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Book Club Questions
1. Forgiveness and personal growth are two of the themes threaded through A Second Helping. Discuss these themes and the character(s) who exemplify them best.
2. Who got the most out of Amari’s Spirit Quest, Amari or Tamar? Explain your choice.
3. What does Eustasia Pennymaker see in Riley Curry that would make her support him in spite of what she knows about him?
4. Will Bernadine continue to open her feelings to Malachi? If yes, why? If not, why not? And what role might Leo play in Bernadine’s future relationship with Mal?
5. Two new characters were added to the mix. Discuss Jack and Eli James and the impact of Henry Adams and its residents on them.
6. Crystal says Eli was kind of cute. Would you like to see a relationship blossom between them? Or do you think it will never happen?