“Hey, I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to stay home today. If you have any issues at the shop, just give me a call, okay?”
“Sure, no problem. Do you need me to bring you anything?”
“No, I’ll be fine. I’m just super tired and need a mental health day.”
“Okay, but seriously, if you need anything, let me know.”
“Will do. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, love. Take care.”
“You too.”
I end the call, deliberately omitting any conversation about being mugged. I’ll have to tell her soon enough, and she’ll see the trauma to my face, but I just can’t deal with it right now. I get up and make my way to the kitchen for some tea. No coffee for me this morning, since I need something to comfort me.
The pains from yesterday are now just a dull ache. As I prepare my tea and toast a bagel, I hear the text message alert from my phone. I sit down with my breakfast and hit the text icon. I have a message from Ancestry! I get up to fetch my laptop so I can view the site in more detail when I retrieve the message. Butterflies flutter in my sore stomach as I anticipate what I’ll read. Will my match want to share information? Will I get any answers? I move the cursor to the messages tab and pull up the message from bjpatrick.
Hi Salynda! I’m Barbara Jeanne, my friends call me Barbie. I’m 25, from Green Springs, Mississippi. I’ve never been to Chicago and don’t believe I have any relatives there. I’ve made my family tree public for you so that you can review it. I actually come from a small family. I’m an only child, and my mother was an only child. My father has an older brother. I’m very curious about our match, so I’m going to speak to my daddy and see if he has any ideas. Maybe we can talk directly via text or cell. My number is 662-555-4490.
The butterflies are still in my belly as I sip my tea. Wow. My head is spinning too. I don’t know what to think. I’m happy about such a positive response, but a little fearful about what I might find out at the same time. Mississippi! Coincidence? That’s where Mama said my father is. Will Barbara Jeanne get any answers on her end? I hope to find out soon. I click on her family tree, and a bunch of names and boxes pop up, some with little leaves in the corners. I start with Barbara Jeanne and trace the boxes. Her parents are Saundra Lee and Elijah David Patrick. As Barbara Jeanne related, her father has a brother named Sanford Harrison Patrick. The tree goes on to show her maternal and paternal grandparents and great grandparents. The names mean nothing to me, so I suppose I’ll need to wait until I hear more from Barbara Jeanne.
Chapter 5
Barbara Jeanne was excited about a possible family scandal. DNA didn’t lie. Her pretentious mother would go running for the liquor cabinet at the thought of an interracial relationship in the family. Personally, she thought it was pretty cool. What was this beautiful black woman’s relationship to her white Irish family, revered as founding members of the town of Green Springs? Her money was on her father’s side of the family, since her mother was an only child of parents who had her later in life. She was anxious to discuss it with her father. She pressed the button for Daddy on her phone and put it on speaker so she could finish getting dressed.
“Hi, Daddy! How about taking me to lunch today?”
“I think I can manage that. Meet me at the club at noon?”
“It’s a date. See you then!”
Barbara Jeanne guided her sporty polar white Mercedes Benz GLA 250 4Matic SUV up the winding driveway of the country club. She stopped at the front entrance, opened the driver’s side door, and exited with an elegant display of legs, which had the valet drooling as she handed over her keys. She ascended the steps to the large, double oak doors of the club as a doorman opened them for her to enter.
“Miss Barbara Jeanne. How wonderful to see you.”
“Thank you, Myles. You, too. Is my daddy at his usual table?”
“I’m sure he is, child.”
Barbara Jeanne waved her thanks and headed into the dining area of the club, which featured plush carpets, elegant furniture, fine china, and sparking crystal chandeliers. Sure enough, she spotted her father at his favorite table by the window overlooking the terrace and the golf course. Despite being a retired military officer, Elijah Patrick still looked every bit the soldier. To everyone else he was “the Colonel,” but to Barbara Jeanne he was Daddy.
“Hey, Daddy!” Barbara Jeanne kissed him on the cheek.
“Hey, Barbie doll!” Elijah Patrick greeted her with his pet name for her. She hated the nickname when others used it, but her father was the one person in the world who she didn’t mind calling her Barbie. She’d fought against it as a child, but eventually realized it was a losing battle. “I ordered you a Diet Coke and your favorite salad.”
Barbara Jeanne took the chair across from her father. “Thanks, Daddy.”
“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?”
“Oh, Daddy! Can’t a girl have lunch with her favorite person for no reason?”
“Of course. I’m just teasing you.”
“Actually, I do need to ask you about something. Remember a few months ago, we took the Ancestry DNA test?”
“Yes, how could I forget? I remember your mother insisted we take it so she could trace our ‘pedigree’ as she likes to call it. You know how enamored she is with the lineage of the Patrick family name.”
Barbara Jeanne grimaced at the thought of her mother’s snobbery. So ironic, since Saundra came from a working-class family and married into the money and prestige. “Well, Daddy, I got a message from a new close match yesterday.”
