Chapter Three
A visit to Paris was just what Gracie needed to get away from the city, even if it wasn’t the city that was bothering her; just the people in it. She needed to feel loved, and she was sure to receive all the love she needed from her parents.
She glided down the graveled back roads that were familiar, yet new. Gracie loved the town where she could easily feel at home. Things had changed, but not majorly. A few new high schools had been built, but the old stomping ground, Paris High, where Gracie was voted most athletic, was still standing strong.
As she drove through the town en route to her parent’s home, Gracie decided to pass by some of the old spots and reminisce. She drove the pass-through road that held the same skating rink where she had plenty of birthday parties. She smiled as she watched a young boy skate past the security guard, in an attempt to leave the skating grounds with rented skates.
She turned onto the street that was not where she’d grown up. It was the new house that her parents had bought a few years back. Gracie thought about when her parents prepared her for a world that was much bigger than Paris. They knew that Dallas was one place that Gracie would eventually touch.
They themselves went down the same path, leaving Paris at an early age only to return when they were ready to settle peacefully. Her parents were young and in love. They had stayed together for more than fifty-five years. They rarely had any conflicts. They both credited waiting for love—instead of looking for it—for their longevity.
They were in total awe of one another. In their middle adult years when people asked if they had ever thought about or wanted children, they honestly said no, in a mutual agreement. They were best friends and were too afraid to hinder their closeness. However, after many happy and content years together, Mrs. Gregory—at the age of forty—woke up one morning and felt like she had more to give the world. When she talked to her husband, Jacob, about her feelings, he felt they had more to offer as well. And indeed they had.
Two years later, Gracie was conceived and born into a loving household that spoiled her beyond compare. Since she had older parents, growing up could have been hard for her in a big city. But since she was in the country, it didn’t make a world of difference. Her parents stayed and raised Gracie in Paris because they were more grounded there.
They were well known because of their neighborhood store. Since Paris was more like a giant neighborhood than a town, things went smoothly. Smooth enough for her to one day consider moving back, but only at a resting age, like her parents.
As Gracie parked her car in front of her parents’ home, she noticed a message on her two-way. Gracie read the message from Kendra: CALL ME NOW. Instead of replying to it, she decided to turn off her pager and her cell phone and begin her visit.
Sitting out front of her parents’ five-year-old home, honking the horn, Gracie was glad to know that her folks were still up and about, able to walk fast, if not run out to the car and help her with her luggage. They gave her inspiration and good genes to look forward to when it was her time to wait for kids to return back home.
Gracie had no intentions of laying everything on the table for her parents to deal with. They had become very fond of Dillian, as she had over the years, and they would only be waiting to hear good news. Plus, bad news would make them think that was the only reason she had come home. She hated to admit it to herself, but if things had been lovely for her and Dillian, she wouldn’t be visiting her parents until the holidays rolled around.
“Hey, girlie! Catherine, come on and look who’s outside trying to pull her own weight and then some!” Yelling back for his wife to make her way outside, Jacob let out a tickled laugh as he called his only daughter by her nickname.
“Hey, Daddy!” Gracie grinned from ear to ear. Just looking into her father’s eyes, she could feel his love. At that moment, she felt that everything would always be okay. “Can you help me?”
Walking closer to his daughter’s car, Jacob Gregory gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and took her bags from her. He had been an athletic man back in his day, and his stories had been the motivation for Gracie as she started on her own athletic journey. She couldn’t recall a time that her father wasn’t in the stands cheering her on. Cheering her up after a not-so-good track meet meant a ride in his vintage Mustang with her driving.
Finally making her way outdoors to her family, Mrs. Gregory was a settled-in, older, and satisfied woman. With just a little bit of aging around her eyes, Mrs. Gregory was surely the mirror that Gracie would look into when she reached that age.
Attempting to run with her hands in the air, Mrs. Gregory was overjoyed.
“There’s my baby. Aw, come give your mama a kiss.”
Pretending that she wasn’t going to give away any kisses to her mother, Gracie knew the fly swatter in her mother’s hand would land on her behind. As it did.
“Girl, don’t think you’re too big for no whooping.” Embracing her daughter, Mrs. Gregory’s heart was always big when it came to Gracie. Gracie was her pride and joy. Her name was originally supposed to be Elizabeth. Catherine said once she delivered her baby girl, it was like God’s grace had brought her through the hard delivery. Thus, she named the child Gracie.
“Come on in here and get you something to eat,” her father said. “I know you probably ain’t eating nothing but berries and fruits. Thinking you’re Ms. Aerobics and all.” Mr. Gregory would always suggest that Gracie add a little more to her slender frame.
“Ha, ha. That’s very funny, Daddy. Just ’cause you like all of this,” Gracie said, grabbing at her mother’s butt, “doesn’t mean that everyone does.” Gracie received a pinch as her mother caught her wrist before she could jerk her hands away.
“All right now! Jake, go ahead and put that stuff in the backroom while me and Gracie go finish dinner.”
“Uh, Ma! I didn’t come down here to cook. I came to eat,” Gracie said as she took off the top layer of her cardigan.
The eye was all she had to give Gracie to let her know who the parent was and always would be. “I wasn’t expecting you until the holidays,” her mother continued as she halted while wiping her hands on her apron. “What brought you this way?”
Hoping that her mother would change her mind about making her help with dinner, Gracie suppressed the pressure with her mother’s question.
“Nothing. I just wanted to come home for the weekend.” She scooped up a spoonful of homemade mashed potatoes.
“So you don’t say, huh?” Pass me that black pepper from the table. How’s the business coming along?” She stopped what she was doing and looked up every once and a while. Mrs. Gregory wanted to make sure she looked into her only daughter’s eyes for the truth.
“It’s doing fine, and Kendra sends her love.”
“Tell her we said hi. What about Dillian? What’s he up to?” With her back to her daughter as she cut potatoes around the roast, Mrs. Gregory arched her eyebrows in secret to see if the truth would be revealed.
“Uh, Dillian’s fine. You need any help?”
“No, hun, I’m fine. And why didn’t he come down with you?”
Gracie’s mind raced. She tried to think as fast as she could for something to say. She didn’t want to lie to her mother, but she didn’t want her mother to worry about her either. “He couldn’t get out of his training classes. Business is steadily booming for him, too. Did I tell you? Ever since he appeared on Morning Texas, he’s been getting all kinds of offers from clients trying to get their swoll’ on.”
“Humph. That’s good. I think you did mention something to me about that. That’s real good.”
“Other than that, everything has been the same.”
Gracie made her way to the refrigerator with a bowl in tow. She knew her parents always kept old-fashioned vanilla ice cream for dessert. For once, she wasn’t going to think about her diet, health, wealth, or anything that usually controlled her life. She just wanted to sulk in her secret pain.
Just as Gracie dropped the last scoopful into her awaiting bowl, Mrs. Gregory dropped her own bomb.
“Really? Well, I wonder why you don’t have on your engagement ring.”
Busted! There was no way of getting around the ring. Dropping her spoon in her bowl full of ice cream, Gracie dropped her head and walked to the table. With her head down and both forearms on the kitchen table, she closed her eyes. She didn’t notice her father come into the kitchen or her mother swat him away so that they could have personal time.
Gracie knew that she couldn’t hide her real reason for leaving Dallas any longer. But she did have the option of telling the whole story or telling a partial truth. She was too embarrassed to let her mother know that Dillian had walked out on her.
In her mother’s eyes and in her own, Gracie was a beautiful woman. She had smooth skin and shoulder-length hair that she mostly kept in ponytails on her workings days. She had the body that most women worked for desperately. No fat nor cellulite to be found on her body, Gracie adopted the love of taking care of her physical being at a young age and cared about staying in shape for herself, first and foremost. Being eye candy for most men wasn’t a big disappointment either. Though she had what most people coveted, Gracie felt she obviously didn’t have enough to hold onto a man. She didn’t know how she was going to tell her mother, but she had to start somewhere.
“I don’t have the ring on, because ...” Gracie choked on her words.
Catherine walked closer to Gracie and took a seat beside her. “Gracie, I’m your mother. If you need to talk about something, go ahead, baby.”
“I don’t have the ring on because I don’t think there will be a wedding. Dillian and I have broken up.” There was no way she could let it all out.
“Oh Gracie, honey. I’m sorry. You should have told me. I may be getting old, but I’m still your mother.”
With tears in her eyes, Gracie wished she could lay all of her new problems on the line with her mother, but she knew she couldn’t. The pain of being walked out on was too much to share. Most people wouldn’t understand where she was coming from. Some might even say that she was taking the breakup too hard. But when you’re good friends with the love of your life and things dwindle and then eventually die, there’s more where the tears come from.
“Thank you, Mama. I should have known I could talk to you about anything. Thank you for listening.”
“No problem. Let me refill your bowl for you; get you some fresh ice cream. We’re not through yet.” Getting up from the small framed kitchen table, Mrs. Gregory grabbed for the bowl of melted ice cream. Singing a little tune of “Precious Lord” on her short trip, she refilled her daughter’s bowl. She wiped her wet hands on her apron and sat back down.
With a new bowl of ice cream in front of her, Gracie listened to her mother talk of love, fear, and time. “Gracie, love comes and goes through people who don’t understand what they have until it’s gone, at times. The fear of love is so strong in men, you know, because they are not often taught that love can be a beautiful thing. They just don’t know or choose not to believe that love can be fulfilling and rewarding.” She continued. “Above all, Gracie, don’t forget you have time. You’re young, beautiful, and healthy. Your dreams may have been postponed, but when the end result comes, you’ll have more to offer. Our time is not the same as God’s time. I like to think of it as Him giving us time to make more room for the abundant blessings we’ll have to receive.”
Gracie looked into her mother’s eyes and let out a sigh of relief. She ate her ice cream as she thought about her future. Giving herself a personal pep talk while her mother continued, she dug deep inside of her being and knew she had to look for the positive in a negative situation. Not wanting to run after Dillian to make things better, Gracie was ready to heal and move forward in whatever direction her future went. Alone.
They sat a little longer than they had planned. Mrs. Gregory got a bowl and filled it to the rim with ice cream as she had done for Gracie. As if she’d heard her daughter’s thoughts, Mrs. Gregory wanted to make sure her daughter knew she was loved.
“You are not alone you know. Me and your father adore you. Why do you think we always trying to get you down here with us?” She shared in a laugh with her daughter. “Whenever your husband finds you, Gracie, he will indeed be blessed with a jewel. Keep living for God, baby.”
Shaking her head, Gracie wouldn’t allow any more tears to be shed. She would enjoy her stay at her parents’, gather strength, and start on her life alone.