Chapter 23

We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.” J. Campbell

 

Adanya walked inside the doorway of Elizabeth City State University. It was her first week in her new position as professor of communications.

The position in Adanya’s eyes was nothing short of a burst of God’s favor over her life because it seemed to have come out of nowhere. The university itself was ranked second in US News and World Report's 2012 Edition of Best Colleges, and number fourteen among the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Adanya felt fortunate to be part of the Language, Literature, and Communications Department.

One of the professors at Rhodes had casually mentioned the vacancy position during a meeting one evening. Adanya had heard of the prestigious university, but never dreamed, thought, or desired to teach there, let alone move to North Carolina. But after doing some research on the university and what they offered, Adanya became intrigued by the prospect of the chance to take her life to another level.

Nothing was changing in Memphis, and she had resigned herself to believe that nothing would, at least not anything positive. So she bit the bullet, applied for the position, was interviewed on three separate occasions, toured North

Carolina, and now here she was – in a new city, with a new apartment, a nice salary, and the chance for a new start in her life.

Three weeks before she moved, her grandparents told her that Annalisse’ divorce from Kenneth was finalized. Her father was living with Carla and their kids.

Adanya missed Anaya most of all. The fact that Anaya was her mother, Adanya had plans to make her a priority in her life. But she hadn’t expected to make a major move. She promised Anaya, and Mr. and Mrs. Kaplan that she would visit Anaya as much as possible, and that she would even send for her to visit North Carolina, if they would permit it.

Adanya talked to Nanette everyday either on the phone, on one of the social media sites, or text.

 

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“In today’s lecture on literary criticism I will share with you three major subjects for discussion. First we will look at trends in African American literature. Next….”she continued.

She was in her element, doing what she loved. Standing in front of her class, she was adorned in a slate blue dress pleated from the waist down, with a V-style neckline. The dress complimented her figure and her profession.

The move to North Carolina had been a bold one. Adanya didn’t know anyone other than the staff she’d met during her interview sessions. There was one lady, Belinda Garrett that Adanya especially connected with. Like her, Belinda was single. She was a few years older than Adanya, also relatively new to North Carolina, and loved hanging out. She helped Adanya unpack and get settled into her new apartment when she first arrived in the city. Belinda also adored animals. She had two dogs and three cats, and Snoopy seemed to enjoy meeting some canine and feline friends of his own. At the end of the school day, Adanya had plans to go with Belinda to a restaurant called Caribbean Cuisine. Belinda had told her that it was known to serve some of the best jerk chicken around the city. She had been in the city less than a month, but already Adanya felt that her life was on a far better track. She felt like she was breathing new air into it. As she walked to the faculty parking area, she actually smiled. Looking upward, the sky was clear. The fall weather in North Carolina was perfect.

A few steps from her car, she stumbled, fell to her knees, and in the process dropped her laptop case and her car keys. “Oaahhh.” She tried getting up but was halted by a piercing pain coming from her left ankle.

“Hold up, let me help you,” the deep baritone voice offered. Before Adanya could look up to see who the voice belonged to, she felt a strong, sturdy hand grab hold of her hand. His other hand wrapped around her waist as he helped her to her feet.

“Thank you,” she said as she looked into charcoal colored eyes. He smelled good and definitely looked good and had concern written all over his face.

“Are you all right? I saw when you went down.” He looked around the perimeter of where they stood. “What made you fall?”

“I…I don’t know. I just stumbled over something. Probably my own feet.” She started laughing.

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” He turned her loose and Adanya took a step closer to her car.

“Ahhh,” she winced in pain.

The stranger grabbed her. “Whoa, looks like you may have twisted your ankle. Is that your car?” He pointed to the vehicle in front of them.

“Yes.”

“Are you going to be able to drive? Do I need to help you back inside? Or can I call someone for you?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you.” She looked at him again and then turned and walked to her car.

“Oh, here are your keys.”

“Thank you.” Adanya hit the remote to unlock the car. She opened the door and sat down inside.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just feel like an idiot. It’s so embarrassing.”

“No need to be. I’m just glad I was here to help. By the way, I’m Johnathan.”

“I’m Adanya.”

“Nice to meet you, Adanya.”

She smiled. “I don’t know about that. I mean I wish it could have been under other circumstances.”

He smiled. His tone was jovial. “I haven’t seen you around. Are you new to ECSU?”

“Yes. I’m in Literature and Communications. You teach here?”

“Yes. Aviation and Science Program.”

“Impressive,” she said and smiled. Her smile turned into a frown when she tried moving both feet inside the car.

“Sounds like you might need to take a trip to the ER.”

“I don’t think so. I’ll go straight home, ice it, and prop it up. I can’t afford to miss work already. This is my first week.”

“Well, welcome to the home of the Vikings. Look, why don’t you let me call someone for you. Or, if you’d like I can drive you home. I don’t mind, and I promise I won’t bite.”

Adanya shook her head in jest. “Really, I’ll be okay. But thank you, Johnathan.”

“Will you at least take down my number and call me when you make it home.”

Adanya hesitated, but then dismissed any reservations she had about him. After all, he was in the private faculty parking lot, and he looked innocent, and on top of that he was totally nothing but nice to her.

“Sure. What is it?”

Johnathan gave her the number. Adanya added it to her phone contacts.

“Promise to call or text me,” he said.

“I will.” She reached for the door, but Johnathan took hold of the outside door handle.

“I’ve got it,” he said and closed the door. He stood back from the car and watched as Adanya drove off.

True to her word, after calling and telling Belinda about her fall, Adanya called Johnathan. After several rings, his phone rolled over to his voice mail. Her first thought was not to leave a message, but then she changed her mind.

“Hi, Johnathan. It’s Adanya Anniston. You know the lady you saw practically kissing the pavement earlier.” She laughed into the phone, amazed at herself. “I told you that I would call.”

Her phone buzzed as a call came in. It’s him. She hit the swap icon on her phone. “Hello.”

“Hi, there. You make it home okay?”

“Yes, I was just leaving you a message.”

“I was on another call when yours came in. Sorry about that.”

“Oh, no problem. I was just calling you because I promised I would.”

“I’m glad you made it home safely.”

“Thank you.”

“How’s the ankle?”

“Too early to tell. I just made it in the house so I haven’t had time to work on it. But I will.”

Snoopy started barking. “Hold up, Snoopy.”

“English bulldog?”

“Excuse me,” said Adanya.

“Sounds like an English bulldog.”

“He is. How can you tell?”

“I love dogs. Their barks fascinate me. If you ever notice, each breed has a distinct type of bark.”

Adanya hobbled toward the door, opened it, and let Snoopy out on the patio area of the one bedroom bungalow-style apartment. She’d have to go out and clean up behind him later, but right now all she wanted to do was get some relief from her aching ankle.

“So, you’re telling me that you can tell what breed a dog is without seeing it just by listening to their bark?” Adanya was amused. Already she found Johnathan to be not only handsome, but entertaining as well.

“Not all the time, but I’m pretty good at it. But, let’s not talk about that now. I want you to do whatever you have to do to feel better because I’d really like to see you again.”

Adanya didn’t know what to say or how to respond. She didn’t know if this man was married, had a girlfriend or boyfriend for that matter. For all she knew, he could be a bigamist like her daddy. It was just hard for her to trust a man again. She thought about her daddy, and it made her sad.

“Hey, look don’t get all quiet on me. I just want to have a chance to sit and talk to you under different circumstances. You know, when you feel better. Tell you all about ESCU.”

“Okay. Why not.”

“Good. Now get some rest. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to call you again.”

“That’s fine. And thanks again, Johnathan.” “No problem. I’ll talk to you later, Adanya.” “Sure, goodbye.

Adanya nursed her ankle the remainder of the evening. By the time she got in bed for the night, there was still some swelling, but after calling her gram and explaining to her what happened, she took three aspirin and mixed them in with some green alcohol. She shook the concoction until she was satisfied that the aspirins had fully dissolved. Following her grandmother’s instructions, Adanya rubbed her ankle and leg down with the mixture. Afterward, she got two pillows and placed them at the foot of her bed and propped her leg up on them. Much to her surprise, and just like her gram told her it would, it had started to feel much better.

Her phone rang. It was Belinda. “Hey, girl.”

“Hey, Belinda.”

“How’s your ankle?”

“I have it propped up on some pillows. I rubbed it down in alcohol and aspirin, so it’s actually feeling better.”

“Alcohol and aspirin?”

“My gram’s remedy. And it seems to be working.” “Cool. Do you need anything?”

“Naw, I’m fine.”

“Did you eat? I can bring you something if you’d like.”

“No, I don’t want you to do that. I ate a sandwich and some chips. That was plenty for me, but I appreciate it.”

“Okay, just checking with you. Are you going to try to come to work tomorrow?”

“Girl, yes. I just started. I do not plan on missing when this is my first week.”

“You can’t help it if you fell. You have to take care of you, girl.” “I know, but I think I’ll be better in the morning.”

“Do you need me to pick you up?”

“Now, that’s an offer I might accept. I don’t know how much weight I’ll be able to put on my foot in the morning.”

“I have a pair of old crutches over here from a couple of years ago.”

“Oh, what happened to you?”

“I tore my ACL. I had to have surgery and I was on crutches for a minute. I never got rid of them.”

“That’s right on time. Bring them with you in the morning.” “Okay, I will. Well, I’m going to get ready for bed. I’ll call you in the morning when I’m on my way.”

“Okay, Belinda. And thanks too.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Adanya twisted and turned for the first half of the night. Her ankle had started to throb. She rubbed it down again and soon was able to doze off.

North Carolina may not be so bad. Everyone seemed to be nice and meeting Belinda made Adanya feel like she wasn’t alone in the strange city. Also Johnathan seemed especially nice too.

Adanya smiled when an image of Johnathan flashed in her mind. She couldn’t wait to call Nanette and tell her about his chivalry.