Page 12

CHAPTER 12

ANOTHER VOW

Until Him

This never-ending abyss I cannot fill

Not with thoughts nor things

Nor food nor folks

Yet always in my ear,

I hear…

Give me more

Never enough

Until him

He’s more than enough

Filling me to overflowing

A warm fire fighting the frigid air

He is everything

— JANINE MCFARLANE

Creative Gifts

H air Beads and Afro Puffs switched up their hair today. Hair Beads wore the front half of her hair in Bantu knots and the back half in a bun while Afro Puffs rocked mini-twists that came down to her chin. The change took a day for the boy to get used to, but the new styles grew on him.

As always, the three kids escaped from the rest of the kids with Afro Puffs in the lead. She steered them toward the back of the maintenance building. The boy and Hair Beads glanced at each other with a question in their eyes but remained silent.

The three kids circled the building, trekking further to a remote area of the orphanage’s campus. When the sounds of the other children faded and they lost sight of the adults, Afro Puffs led them to a makeshift fort. It was small and camouflaged to blend in with the surroundings, which explained why it went unmolested. The adults hadn’t noticed it.

The trio crawled inside and came to an abrupt stop once they registered the scene in front of them. A sign displaying the words Happy Birthday hung above a stool. On the lone piece of furniture sat a chocolate cake, a knife, and small paper plates and utensils lay beside it.

Tears glistened from the boy’s eyes. He turned eleven today, but he didn’t acknowledge it. No one else had either.

Hair Beads took one look at the cake and darted forward with, “Happy Birthday. If you stay standing still, you going to miss out on the good stuff.” She reached for the knife, but Afro Puffs snatched it before the other girl could cut a huge chunk from it.

“He goes first.”

Hair Beads released the knife. “He always goes first,” she said with a huff.

“You went first on your birthday.” The boy refuted Hair Beads, shaking off his shock and closing the distance toward the cake.

Afro Puffs sliced a piece of cake that took up the entire surface of the paper saucer she served the dessert on. She handed the confection to the boy and sliced another piece about three-quarters the size to give Hair Beads.

The other girl looked longingly at the rest of the cake but sat on the blankets covering the floor and ate her slice in silence.

The boy sat next to Afro Puffs. “Where’s your slice?”

She shrugged without providing an answer.

When he realized he wasn’t getting anything else from her, the boy tasted his cake and groaned. “This is even better than last year. How’d you get it?”

Because he hadn’t looked away from Afro Puffs, he caught the darkening tint to her cheeks when she avoided his gaze. “You should try it.” Without waiting for her to object, he forked another piece and pushed it against her mouth.

She opened in surprise and he shoved the rest in. Afro Puffs glared at him while chewing the confection. When she finished, she quietly stood and cut out a small square for herself before returning to her seat on the floor.

The boy hid his grin while eating the rest of his birthday treat. Then he froze and stared at Afro Puffs as if he’d never seen her before.

“What? There something on my face?” She raised her hand to wipe her mouth.

Instead of answering her, he asked, “When are we leaving to find your parents? You already know how to leave the grounds undetected. So why are we still here?”

“I’m not strong enough yet.”

“I think you’re plenty strong,” Hair Beads said. “I mean up here.” She pointed to her head. “Cause when the bigger kids be trying you, you wait until you have an advantage before putting them in their place. I know. I been taking notes.”

“That doesn’t sound like a fair fight.” The boy frowned at Afro Puffs.

“There’s no fairness anything when they’re bigger than me. I make it fair when I take up a chair and knock the sense God should’ve gave them into their heads.” She picked up her cake and ate in silence, leaving Hair Beads to cheer her on and the boy to watch in amazement.

“Why’re you still staring at me?”

“Promise you won’t go off to find your parents without me,” he demanded. The sudden earnestness of his request caused Afro Puffs to drop her plate into her lap.

None of them saw Hair Beads approach the remaining cake while keeping her attention on them.

“I promise,” Afro Puffs said with wide eyes. “I already told you I would. Why’re you pressed?”

The boy rammed his fork onto his plate, surprised when it didn’t sink into his dessert. He placed the saucer beside him and grabbed Afro Puff’s dish to do the same. Then he took her hand in his. “You said I belonged to you. Were you lying?”

“No.” She shook her head to emphasize her response. She stared into his eyes, unable to glance away from the solemnity shining through.

“Good, this is for you.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved a ring woven from baby’s breath flowers and grass. When she looked at him askance, he said, “When I’m grown, I’m going to marry you and give you an even better ring.” He placed a grass ring without flowers on his finger. “And when you’re older, you’re going to put a real one on me.”