A Deal With God: The Power of One (8 page)

“Every Thanksgiving night, Rebeccah’s parents take the boys for the long weekend,” Leon said. “I was hoping Friday night you’d let me take you out to dinner; just the two of us.”

“So you are finally ready to make all your friends jealous by showing off your hot new girlfriend?” Deana joked. “I guess this has become a little more than a girl needing a good stove.”

The game ended at 3:30 and Deana excused herself so she could go home and get ready for work. Leon got up to walk her to her car. This time there was no missed signal; Leon kissed Deana with warmth and passion. She had never been kissed like that before.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the boys looking at her and Leon through the window. She wasn’t sure how they’d react to her and Leon becoming a couple.

Sunday morning, 8:30am found Deana in the Samuels’ kitchen making breakfast. Leon, Mark and Luke appeared to be in good spirits but Matthew seemed a little down. Deana planned to talk to him alone after the church service.

When church ended, many stayed after to mingle in the courtyard. Mark had been keeping Deana’s football in Leon’s truck so they could play on Sundays. Mark wanted Deana to teach him how to throw tight spirals.

“Mark, there are two things to remember” Deana explained. “If you have small hands like I do, only put your pinky on the laces when you grip the ball. Also, the power and velocity is created by flicking your wrist.” Deana set up Mark’s hand on the ball. Matthew was about twenty yards away. Mark threw a great spiral and put the ball right in Matthew’s hands.

Before they left to get home in time to watch the 1pm NFL game on TV, Deana was able to get Matthew alone for a minute.

“I know you saw your father kiss me yesterday,” Deana said. “I’ve been praying this did not upset you. Leon and I are becoming closer and I hope this will be a positive for all of you and not a negative.”

“When I first met you three weeks ago I thought you were really cute,” Matthew explained. “I knew I liked you and I thought you liked me. That is why I wanted you to come to our house for dinner.”

“Thank you Matthew,” Deana replied. “I am really cute and you are too. I do really like you. But, I can like you only in a certain way because I am twenty–five and you are ten. It is wrong for an adult to have romantic feelings for someone your age. These feelings are for adults, like your father and I. I hope you are not mad at me.”

At that minute Leon called out he was ready to go home. The five of them jumped in the truck and headed back to Leon’s. Deana made corned beef and cabbage. Being at least half Irish, she considered it one of her specialties.

Monday was very cold. She did not want Luke to get sick so they worked out inside her half of the duplex. She did her sit–ups and push–ups but instead of running outside, she skipped rope inside. Luke was able to count faster now and he was able to keep her count. She was very proud of him.

At 3:30pm they met Matthew and Mark back at Leon’s house. She cooked her fried chicken dish and helped the boys with their homework.

At 8:30pm the football game was starting and she wanted to watch it with Leon. But it was cold now even inside the house. Deana usually sat in a chair next to the couch Leon sat on. Tonight would be different.

Deana went and got a blanket. She then sat down next to Leon on the couch. She pulled her legs up onto the couch and tucked the flair of her skirt between them so the material would be pinned in by her knees. She lifted Leon’s left arm so her head and body leaned against the left side of Leon’s torso. Her knees and body faced the television. Her feet were up against the back of the couch. Leon put the blanket and his left arm around her. She took her right hand and held his dangling left hand. They looked absolutely perfect together.

6am Thursday morning Deana arrived at the Leon’s house with a fourteen pound turkey, bread, onions and celery for stuffing, real potatoes and a block of yellow American cheese. For the vegetable she had bought three pounds of green beans which she would smother in butter.

Deana mixed the bread, the celery, the onions and the seasonings to make Mrs. Wilson styled stuffing. She then got the turkey in the oven fully seasoned and stuffed before seven. Every hour she took the turkey out of the oven and basted it with its own juices and butter. She did this four times. Having worked in restaurants for so many years, she knew how the food looks is almost as important as how it tastes. The continual basting gave the turkey flavor, but it also gave it a nice light brown coating which made it look absolutely delicious.

While the turkey was cooking she peeled the potatoes, boiled them and then mashed them. She took thin slices of the yellow American cheese and baked the cheese into the potatoes. She boiled the green beans then drenched them in real butter.

At 11:15am, Deana, Matthew, Mark, Luke and Leon loaded up the Dodge Ram and headed to Leon’s parents house in south Athens. Deana was very nervous about meeting Leon’s parents, brother, sister–in–law, and niece.

On the way Leon did his best to describe to Deana the five new people she would be meeting.

“You will love my mother Gracie,” Leon started. “She is a sweet, easy going Christian woman. She gets along with just about everyone. I think her secret is she is on the quiet side and keeps her opinions to herself.”

“My father is the opposite,” Leon explained. “He is very outspoken. He likes to be called Colonel. He was in the military in the late 1950’s. He served between The Korean War and The Viet Nam conflict. He never really saw heavy action, but don’t tell him that. He is in a wheel chair. He had a stroke a few years ago. He likes people to believe it is from a combat injury. He has a problem keeping his hands to himself. The first time he met Rebeccah he grabbed her inappropriately and she never forgave him. It caused a lot of hard feelings. If you want to ignore him and stay away from him I would understand.”

“My brother Lester is four years older than me,” Leon continued. “He is thirty–six. He was a Parade All–American award winning football player. He’s even taller than me. I’m 6’1, he is 6’3. He played Division 1 college football for The University of Georgia. He hurt his knee his junior year. By the time his knee was completely better, he was close to graduation. In his day he was a phenom. He played tight end. There was no pass he could not catch. He married his wife Claire fourteen years ago. They have a daughter Julie, who is eleven.”

“Claire is thirty–three years–old. Claire has been the ‘it’ girl since she was like four years old. She has won beauty contests, Little Miss Georgia pageants and State Fair pageants. She was the Homecoming Queen in high school. She has done modeling. She was the girl the parade sponsors wanted riding on their floats during parades. She’s never been a big fan of mine, but she got along real well with Rebeccah. I hope she is nice to you also.”

“Julie can be a pain in the butt. I guess many eleven year old girls are. She also is very beautiful but I’ve never liked her attitude. I’ve never really liked the way she carries herself either. She would be easier to deal with if she were more respectful.”

“So that is what you have to look forward to today. I hope I didn’t scare you off.”

“You gave me quite a bit of information to process,” Deana replied. “I just hope everyone likes me. I said a little prayer last night. I hope it helps.”

There was one thing Leon did not tell Deana. He had told Lester and his parents how pretty she was. Lester told Claire the rumor was Leon’s new girlfriend was very attractive. This did not sit well with Claire at all. She wasn’t nineteen anymore. On top of that, she and Lester were trying to get pregnant again. So it wasn’t like she could go to the gym and get into great shape like Deana. The weight gain from the pregnancy would make it hard for her to compete.

What really hurt Claire was the way Lester responded the first time he met Deana at the elder Samuels’.

When Leon, Deana, Matthew, Mark, and Luke got to the elder Samuel’s home, Leon brought in the huge pan with the turkey and the stuffing. Matthew carried in the cheese mashed potatoes and Mark had the green beans. Deana, carrying Luke, walked in last.

As she entered the foyer a large man said loudly, “My Lord, what a firecracker! If that girl was seven or eight inches taller she would be completely unstoppable. Put the baby down and let me get a good look at you.”

Deana was not completely sure what Lester meant and she was very uncomfortable. She was wearing church clothes. She had on the long tiered skirt and the full jacket. She was carrying a three–year–old. It wasn’t a response she was expecting.

Deana asked Mark if he would go get the football out of the truck. That way she could be outside with the boys for a little bit. She wasn’t quite ready for more Lester. She needed time to figure out Lester’s statements and how she wanted to proceed.

As they threw the football, Gracie came outside and walked toward them. Deana stopped playing and walked over to her meeting her half way.

“I am so sorry for seeming disrespectful,” Deana said. “When Lester called me a firecracker, I looked at his wife’s face and I could see how badly what he said hurt her. I did not know how to react. I was hoping maybe Leon could sort this out before dinner.”

“You did nothing wrong honey,” Gracie said. “That was just Lester being Lester. Trust me, Claire is used to it by now. Lester obviously thinks you are hot.”

“As a Christian woman,” Deana replied, “I put the onus on myself to be humble and demure. The meek shall inherit the earth.”

“I work as a waitress,” Deana continued. “Everyone tells me if I work at the chicken restaurant in the next town wearing shorty–shorts and a too tight white T–shirt I could make double the money. But that’s just not me. Yes, we make jokes about how ugly our conservative uniforms are. Because we parade around men all day, sometimes I thank the Lord for the ugly uniform.”

Gracie was very much impressed with Deana’s candor. When Deana spoke Gracie could feel Deana’s emotion and sense her honesty. Deana offered, “I will come in and help you put everything together for dinner if you want me to, Gracie.”

“Thank you, Deana, that’s a good idea. Claire doesn’t exactly have the reputation of being a wiz in the kitchen.”

This time Deana entered the home from the side into the kitchen with Gracie and away from the men. Claire and Julie were assembling the plates and pans of food to take into the dining room. Deana’s turkey looked so much better than Claire’s, Deana hoped no one would notice or at least not say anything.

Deana outstretched her hand and shook hands with Claire. “I’m Deana,” I apologize about earlier. I was a little caught off guard. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

“I’m glad you didn’t engage Lester,” Claire replied. “You had every right to be put off by what he said.” Julie gave her mom a strange look but did not say a word.

Deana introduced herself to Julie. “I’m Deana, you must be Julie,” she said extending her hand. Julie halfheartedly shook it. “I’m friends with your Uncle.”

“He said you are his girlfriend,” Julie replied. “Is that true?”

“Tomorrow is our first formal date other than us going to church together,” Deana qualified. “So technically we are dating. So yes, I am your Uncle Leon’s girlfriend.”

“You look a lot younger than my Uncle. What if someone thinks you are his daughter?”

“Julie, enough!” Claire intervened. “Let’s not tell Deana who she should or should not date.”

Deana was thinking to herself, maybe I should have gone back to Tampa for a couple of days.

The boys were coming in from outside, the ladies were bringing the food into the dining room for dinner. The men were in the living room watching football.

Deana walked over to Lester. She looked him right in the eyes. “I apologize if I came off as disrespectful to you earlier. It was not my intention.”

Lester really didn’t even listen to what Deana said.”What you have done with the boys, Leon included, is really amazing,” Lester stated. “They look great. You’ve made a big difference. You are a very interesting young woman.”

“If I am to take interesting as a compliment,” Deana responded, “Thank you.”

Lester chuckled and shook his head.

Deana went over to the Colonel. “I’m Deana, she said. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” When she extended her hand he seemed to have trouble extending his. When she went in closer, she could swear he tried to smack her on the butt. She remembered what Leon had said earlier. She quickly spun away. The Colonel got a little of her skirt but no body parts. She got behind his wheelchair and rubbed his shoulders and told him he must have been a really strong man.

Rubbing a strange man’s shoulders was not a natural occurrence for Deana. However, she realized getting Leon’s parents to like her would be vital for her to have a successful relationship with Leon.

“What do you mean used to be strong, young lady? I still am,” the Colonel boasted.

“Dinner is served,” Gracie said.

Deana went to help the boys get cleaned up for dinner. “Make sure you eat Aunt Claire’s turkey also, I don’t want to offend her.”

“Her turkey looked terrible, Deana,” Mark replied. “Aunt Claire is just not a good cook.”

“Please keep that to yourself Mark, we don’t want anyone with hurt feelings.”

Deana’s plan did not work. Everyone, Julie and Lester included, went right for the Deana turkey. Deana’s turkey looked better, tasted better and her stuffing was incredible.

You’ll never guess who the first one was to bring this to Claire’s attention. Yes, it was Lester.

“Claire, I know what I’m getting you for Christmas,” Lester joked, “cooking lessons from Deana.”

Deana was absolutely mortified. She wished in the worst way she had her Stratus with her. She wanted to get in and drive a long, long, way away.

Deana kept her head down the rest of the meal. She didn’t even want to look up. To make matters worse, she had taken three slices of Claire’s turkey. She was trying to be nice. It had to be the worst turkey she’d ever tasted.

After dinner, Deana and Claire cleaned up. Not a word was spoken. Deana felt so bad for Claire, but she didn’t want to say anything to make things even worse.