The Johnson Sisters

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Table of Contents

As always, I'm going to start out by thanking God for all of His many blessings. Without Him, nothing would be possible. God is the head of my life, and I thank Him for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do in my life.

Five years ago I dreamed of getting one book published, and here I am coming out with my fourth. All I can say is God is good. Never give up on any dreams you have, because they can come true. All you have to do is have faith. Please trust, even now my faith waivers. I doubt this gift that has been granted to me, and I still question if I should be doing this. Don't you know God has sent individuals my way to let me know not to give up? As soon as you are ready to throw the towel in on something, God shows you to keep striving because He has a plan and a purpose for our life. I know writing is my love, but even the things we love don't always turn out quite the way we want them to go, you know. My mother tells me all the time, “In God's time, not your time.”

I want to thank my husband, Wil, for standing by my side and being my motivator. He is the man God has connected me to, my companion, my high school sweetheart, my lover, and my partner through thick and thin. Babe, I'm so blessed to have you in my life. I love you. I appreciate you. You are a wonderful man, and I can't say this enough.

To my children, who are growing up so fast: I love you. The older you get, the more you are interested in what I do, and it's funny because I find you guys are sometimes my motivational speakers during this journey. It's in those moments when I know I have to be doing something right with you. I see your personalities shine and wisdom being spoken, which makes me so proud of you. “Out of the mouths of babes.”

To my parents, Clarence and Rebecca Atkinson, what can I say but thank you? Thank you for always being here for me no matter what. Anything, and I mean anything I need, you are always there for me, and I never take for granted the gift of having you as my parents. I can never repay you enough for what you have done for me. I love you so much, and I'm blessed to have you as my parents.

To my sister, Sabrina Atkinson, who always gives it to me straight, no chaser: you could be a character all by yourself (LOL), and sometimes you have inspired some of the characters I write about. You are hilarious and a joy to be around because you keep me in stitches from laughing so much. I love you, and I'm proud of you.

To my brother, Clarence Atkinson, A.K.A. Duddy. (That's right, Duddy): you are six foot four and my baby brother who I have to look up to. You are so sweet and kind. Please don't let anybody change that about you. You are going to make some woman a wonderful husband one day, but don't rush it.

I want to acknowledge some ladies who've played a major role in my life, who have picked up a phone, texted me, come by my house, took me to the side to talk to me, given me an uplifting card, or just said “I'm here.” These ladies have done that for me, and maybe I shouldn't be writing this when I'm so emotional about this, but I'm going to do it anyway. As women we have to uplift one another, and I'm so thankful to God that he saw fit to place me in the position to receive blessings from these ladies. I don't like to list names because I feel like I always forget somebody, but I'm going to try.

To Rochelle Cicero, Crystal Townes, and Tina Walker: you ladies are the best friends ever, my ride or die as they say, and I love you very much for always being here for me. Not once have I doubted your friendship, which I don't take for granted. You are who I turn to and also the ones who are first to see what's up with me. I love you ladies.

To my wonderful aunties, Patricia, Thelma, and Rosaline: I love you for always supporting me for my entire life. You ladies are so fun to be around. I look forward to our family gatherings just so I can be around you. Although they are few and far between due to the distance, I still appreciate you. Thank you for always supporting me.

To Ms. Patricia Liggon, Ms. Wanda Hester, and Ms. Cheryl Boyd: you ladies exemplify grace with a smile and wisdom galore. I feel like I need popcorn and a soda when I talk with you because I learn so much from you. I love our talks, and I love you very much. Thank you for being here for me.

To Tracey Hodges: I love you. You are the epitome of greatness. You have had some challenges that would defeat the average person, but you have risen above it, and that was because of your faith. During your struggle, you still picked up the phone and checked on me. You don't know how much of an inspiration you are to me. I know we are cousins, but you are like my sister. Even miles apart I know you love me and I love you. Thank you for always being here for me.

To Angela Henderson, my sister from another mother: thank you for everything you do for me. You may not think it's much, but it's more than I can explain. You are such a strong woman. You bend but you don't ever break. That's your faith in God, knowing He will always see you through. You are an amazing woman and I love you.

To authors Ni'chelle Genovese, Victoria Christopher Murray, and Ashley Antoinette: thank you for your patience when I have questions about a business I sometimes don't understand. Not only are you amazing authors whose work I love to read myself, but you are also humble enough to help me. A lot of authors don't do what you guys have done for me, and I thank you and appreciate your guidance.

To Sonia Gravely, Tammie Earick, Catherine Settles, Danielle Johns, Sha-Nae Mack, Rico Gill, and Shannon Brown: you all are wonderful individuals. You don't know how much you have touched my life. Who said work couldn't be fun? I think we spent more time together at work than we did with our families at times, but having you all around made work great. Thank you so much for being here for me.

To Ashley Kasey, who said she wanted her own paragraph because she crazy like that. She stood and watched me type this, and if you knew her, you know she meant it. (LMAO) Thanks for being here for me, keeping me laughing and in trouble at times at work because you know we can never be together because you know they think the two of us are troublemakers. I'm not. I can't speak for you. (LOL) Thanks for keeping a smile on my face and for being a great friend.

All of you at some point during this challenging time in my life have been there, said something, allowed me to vent and even cry without question. You pushed me when I didn't think I had the strength to continue trying. Sometimes somebody can say the right thing that's like a bell going off in your spirit, and I know God sent you and continues to send some of you my way as confirmation for me. You have helped me in ways you can't imagine. I'm so blessed to be surrounded by greatness. They say watch the company you keep, and I can say the company God has positioned around me are definitely some prayer warriors. If I forgot anyone, please don't think I did it on purpose. As they say, blame it on my mind and not my heart.

Special thanks to Carl Weber and Natalie Weber. Carl, thank you for this opportunity. I told you I was going to continue to bring it, and I'm doing that. Without you, I wouldn't have had my start. And Natalie, thank you for continuing to put up with all my e-mails. I feel like a pest sometimes, but you always respond to me and help me when I need it, and I thank you for that.

A special thanks to the editing staff and graphic designer, Lonnie Baskerville, on this book. You are amazing, and I appreciate what you have done. Thank you.

I want to thank Randi Jo Wines and everyone with the Gainesboro library in my area for always supporting me. You all are amazing.

And last but certainly not least, I want to thank all my family members who have supported me and encouraged me. A special thanks to my fans, who have supported me since book one. You all are awesome. Thanks for your feedback and support. To all the readers who took a chance on Tresser Henderson books, to the booksellers who carry my books, to the book clubs who have chosen my books, to all the other libraries who include my books in their establishment and to the online Web sites who've supported me, thank you.

 

I was sitting behind my mahogany desk when an administrator walked in, handing me a folder on a case I needed to call on and resolve. Being the director of underwriting for a major insurance company was daunting. I loved my job, but like anything, at times it really became too much for me to handle. Today was that day. I hadn't had a chance to breathe since I walked into this place. One issue after another walked in or called needing a resolution.

I knew I needed to hire a new manager to handle things ASAP. It had been a week since my manager quit on me. I mean, she just walked into my office, placed her badge down on my desk, and walked out. I ran after her, wondering what was going on. This was so sudden and done in such an abrupt fashion that it caught me off-guard. I needed to understand why she was choosing to make this decision.

“What's going on, Samantha? Why did you put your badge on my desk?” I had asked, stepping outside my office, looking at her saunter away.

“I'm quitting,” she said, stopping and turning to look at me with frustration written all over her face. As nicely dressed as she was in her deep coral short-sleeved sateen jacket with matching straight-leg pants with black pumps, Samantha looked vibrant. Her outfit brought happiness to the space, but her demeanor was one of being overwhelmed.

“Why?” I asked.

“Vivian, I appreciate you taking a chance with me and offering me this position but I can't do this anymore. I'm not cut out for this.”

“But you are doing so well,” I said. And she was. Samantha had managed to move from mail clerk to manger in three years. Anything she worked on was done with flawless determination. I mean, she did make some mistakes, as most of us did, but she would correct them with no problems and keep on with her day. Sometimes when you gave feedback to someone on what they did wrong, they took it badly. Some believed they never made mistakes. Some blamed someone else for their mistakes, but Samantha took hers in stride. She was harder on herself than I ever had to be on her. So, for her to give up like this was surprising to me.

“I thought I could handle this job, but I can't. I've never been this stressed out in my life. Then I hear they are going to give me another team to manage,” she said, putting her finger on her temple.

“I've heard the same thing, but nothing has been set in stone yet,” I said.

“I already have forty-seven people under me, Vivian. I don't think I can handle another twenty-four. All of this downsizing and putting more work on the ones who are here just to save more money for the bigwig's pockets is bull.”

“I know this job is stressful,” I agreed. Everything she was saying were exact things I had thought about and argued to the higher-ups about myself, but in a business like this, you had to take one on the chin, do your job, or you could be without one.

“I don't want you to leave. Let me see what I can do. Give me two weeks. This way you can put in your notice and exit the right way. If I can't change things within that time, I will not stand in your way of leaving if you still choose to do so,” I offered.

Samantha stood looking down at the gray carpet tiles , pondering what I was saying.

“Two weeks. That's all I ask. This will also give you time to find something else if you still feel like you need to leave.”

She nodded, saying, “Okay. I'll do that.”

Two weeks came, and as much as I had hoped I could change things, I couldn't. My power was useless when it came to downsizing and the overworking of individuals. Samantha never changed her mind, and she did leave the company. I can't say I blame her. Her last few days here, she seemed relieved with her decision, and a part of me envied her. She left despite the great money she was making, but this goes to show money isn't everything. Happiness most of the time outweighed finances, especially when it came with the cost of losing yourself.

Right now I didn't mind the stressful distraction. It wasn't like I had someone to go home to. This lifestyle afforded me the life I always wanted for myself. I grew up in the small town of Chase City, Virginia, a town known for having only two street lights. I grew up on five acres of land in a three-bedroom, one-bath house in which my five sisters, my mom, and dad lived.

Three girls slept in one bedroom and two in the other. So, needless to say, we had an argument about something every day. The one bathroom situation was enough to cause World War III because we would battle to be the first one in. Most times we had to do our hair sitting on the edge of our bed, holding a mirror between our knees in order to get ready and be out the door on time. Bathroom time had to be timed. We only had twenty minutes each to do what we had to do in the bathroom, and that time flew. You were always reminded your time was up when you heard a tap at the door letting you know it was time to get out.

We didn't have running water for seven years of my life. I can still recall having to go to my aunt's house, who lived down the road, to get water in as many jugs as we could. Water needed to be heated on the stove in order for you to take a bath. There was no central air, so when it was hot as hell, we had to fight over who was going to sit directly in front of the fan to cool off. We heated the house in the winter with a wood-burning stove, which still to this day I consider to be the best source of heat. My dad would get it so hot in the house we had to open windows to cool off.; but when morning came and no one got up during the night to refill the stove, it felt as if we were lying outside in the snow, and it was then we wished we had that heat we let escape once we opened the windows to get some reprieve from the heat.

Back then, I didn't think we were poor. My parents never let me feel as though we were. We always had a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food. Most of the vegetables were grown in the very large garden my parents planted every spring. You name it, we grew it. My mom cooked every night, and most times there were no leftovers. As many mouths as she had to feed, you can see why.

I am the oldest of our clan. Then comes Renee, Shauna, Dawn, Serena, and Phoenix, who was the spoiled baby of the bunch. I have to say we were all close. Unfortunately, about seventeen years ago Renee was killed. Her death was so devastating to our family. She was only sixteen and the one I was closest to growing up, since we were only a year apart. I miss her so much. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her beautiful spirit.

We, as sisters, vowed on the day of her funeral to always remain close, no matter how hard it got at times. All we had was each other. To keep the closeness we even moved to the same city of Roanoke, Virginia. I was surprised by that. I thought Phoenix would be down in Atlanta, or somewhere trying to act in California. I'm still waiting on the day when she was going to break the news to us that she was moving away. You never know what to expect with the Johnson sisters.