Little Black Book

Little Black Book.docx (17 KB)

Sade and Joe Grant were your average middle-income family were enjoying their new life. It was slow and easygoing quite unlike their previous home in New York City. Their four acres were lined with pine and oak trees, and nestled in the middle of their rural community. The oak trees hovered over the main highway as if they were forming a safe haven for travel through the area; it was the perfect stop for travelers passing through to take pictures and take samples of the beautiful gray moss hanging from the trees. It didn’t matter that there was a cemetery across the road. Occasionally, the travelers would actually walk over and admire some of the headstones.

But this life didn’t all start there. Both Sade and Joe had grown up in the South. As a matter of fact, it was the same state, yet different areas. They met while she was visiting her grandmother and he was traveling with his family to shop. It was called it “going to town.” Everyone went to “town” on Saturdays to shop and catch up on the happenings, often congregating in the Brick Store parking lot. Sprinkled throughout the lot were stacks of old bricks that many used as seats. For hours, the shoppers would continue the conversations they'd had the week before. And when the day was over, they would negotiate a ride back home.

After meeting, she found more reasons to visit her grandmother and he more reason to shop. They continued to see each other and fell madly in love. Soon after completing their schooling, they decided to get married and move to the nearest larger town to work. The living was easy, but after six years, they realized that the income just wasn’t enough. By this time, they had added two boys (Tom and Joe Jr.) and one little girl (Mae) to the family, three mouths depending on them to survive. Growing boys eat, just as much as baby calves, and little girls want hair ribbons and lacey socks.

It seemed like everyone was moving to the “city” where there were more opportunities and the pay allowed you to really live. With an agreement that the grandparents would keep the children until they found an apartment, Sade and Joe set out to secure jobs and a place to lay the five heads. Joe found a job as a mechanic and Sade began working as a house-hold technician. "Maid" just didn't have the same ring. While domestic jobs didn’t pay a whole lot, they did have fringe benefits. The madam was always giving Sade clothes, shoes and food for her family. Sade also became privy to the secrets of Italian and Jewish cooking. Along with their recipes, she learned the culture of the families and the rituals that they practiced. It was these experiences that she later used to educate her children on various cultures. Sade's families loved her and she returned the affection grateful for the opportunities she was afforded. The family also had more creative dinners because of it.

Joe on the other hand was learning the auto industry and how to make repairs. He not only learned what to do with a 3/16th wrench and how to bleed a brake line, but he also discovered the art of boxing through one of his employers. This extracurricular activity became a frequent pastime and source of income for Joe (when he won) and would later be passed on to his boys.

On weekends, the Grants joined other family who had also migrated to the city for trips to the mountains and picnics in the park. Life was good and all was well.

One day, Joe and Sade gathered the children together for a family chat. Joe told everyone that after eleven years, they would be getting a baby sister. The children who were now in their early teens, were jumping up and down with excitement. They could hardly wait to see what their new little sister would look like. Just a few months later, she was born and instantly became the apple of their eyes. The eldest brother was especially fond of her, calling her his “Baby Tooger.” He protected her like she was his own. No one was allowed near her unless he was there.

When the baby sister (Ro Ann) started Kindergarten, Sade and Joe decided the city had gotten too rough to raise such an adorable little girl. They wanted her to have the luxury of playing in the free open country without fear of the streets taking her innocence. So back to the South they went.

Four acres of land, a side garage, two gardens, a hen house, pigs pen and a barn….that's good life in the South.

Although Ro Ann was the apple of Joe Jr’s eyes, she was unequivocally daddy’s little girl. She climbed in his lap, she combed his hair, she watched him fix cars (still his trade) and she fell asleep in his arms. The two were inseparable.

One day, many years later, Joe said to Ro Ann, “If anything happens to me, take the little key from my dresser drawer and unlock every lock you can find.” Puzzled she asked why, but he just repeated what she was supposed to do. As the years passed, she would replay that conversation, but still couldn't make any sense of it.

When Joe passed away, Ro Ann did just as he had said. She found the key and noticed that it didn’t look anything out of the ordinary. Still, she began the hunt. Seeking to be inconspicuous, she tried different tumblers each day. She tried in the front of the house, in the back of the house and in the “otherside” (the name her mother gave the storage room). The teeth on the key just didn’t align with anything.

As she sat on the side porch one day, exhausted at the thought that she could not find the mysterious lock, her eyes locked on the doors to the barn. Could it be there, she thought? There gleaming in the sun was a padlock on the door. She slid off the porch and walked down to the place where only her dad would go, and where he kept all of the things he brought from the city and corn for the hogs.

She slowly pushed the key into the lock and turned it ever so gently. Like a spring, the shackle loop popped away from the base. Her heart beating like a drum, she opened the door and walked inside. The dust was as thick as fog on an invisible night. She scanned the barn in the area of his belongings. She started to move things around and pulled an old croker sack from behind his boxing bag. It wasn’t enough to peak her interest, but there seemed to be evidence that there was movement in this area from time to time. Something kept telling her to look inside. Inside she could feel something small and square. Afraid to stick her hand inside, she turned it upside down and allowed the contents to fall to the ground. She took her shirt wiping the particles of sand, earth and who knows what else away. Then she saw it: a little black book.

As she flipped through the pages, a journal of treasures came to life. Right there in her hands were her father's own words. At the back of the book, she found a bank book securely tucked in a flap. When she opened it, she found the sum of $20,000. Her dad had been tucking away a little nest egg (in a croker sack) just for her. She held the little black book close to her chest and cried. She looked toward heaven and whispered, “Thank you, Daddy. I’m still your baby girl.”