Ice Cream Sundays
by
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He told someone to tell me to come outside. I did not want to go before the church service was over. Curiously I whispered, "How does he look?" She said, "Come on and find out for yourself!" Slowly we walked nervously to the front door. As I was standing at the front door, there was a guy at the bottom step looking up at me. I moved gradually to the church steps when he said, "Come on down." When I approached him, he said, "Let’s go for a walk down the road." We learned a lot about each other in the few moments that we shared. We exchanged names, goals, and desires. As we talked, I did not lose focus on the fact that we (my sister and I) must be home before the sun went down. That evening my sister and I promised to keep this secret between us. So, for the rest of the week, I was bubbling all over! I had nothing on my mind but going back to church in hope of seeing him one more time. This secret lasted for about a year. By then, I was 17 and he was 21. My father did not know this secret relationship. My friend had qualities that no other young man in my small town had. He had a job, owned a car, dressed really well, and wanted to be married. To me! And most of all, he wanted me to go back to school and get my education. So he decided to take me home one day. This made me very nervous knowing how furious my father would be. It felt like my heart was in my throat. My sister and her boyfriend were with us. As we drove into the driveway, daddy was on the porch. My God! When he recognized who was in the car, he went directly into the house and came out with his gun. He said, "Get out of this yard before I shoot you!" My friend turned and said, "I’m not afraid of you! I’ll. . ." Immediately I said, "No Jared, go home, please!" We continued to meet each other at church on Sundays, but I felt that things were not the same. I had a feeling that he was going away. Later, he told me that if he stayed, he would have to kill my father. The last Sunday we met, he said to me, "I will be leaving tomorrow at 7 o’clock in the morning. Be on the porch so that I can see you before I leave." That Monday morning before 7 o’clock, I was standing on the porch. My father asked me, "What are you standing on the porch so early in the morning?" I did not know what to say. Then all at once, I heard a horn blowing. I knew it was him. I gave my last wave good-bye! After the car passed by, my father asked me another question, "Who was that?" I still did not know what to say. My mother broke up the conversation. She said, "Jack, are you ready to eat?" I was glad that was over, but my mother jumped all over my father. I eavesdropped and heard my mother telling my father about himself. She said, "I’ll be glad when they get grown so that they can have some freedom." I thank God and my boyfriend for leading me down the right path. I never had a doubt in my mind; Jared was the right man for me. When he drove by the house that morning blowing his horn, he carried the old me with him and a new me had to step in to start all over again. I never saw him again.
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About the Book
Ice Cream Sundays
She was jailed and brutally beaten by two policemen at the age of fourteen, all because of an unfaithful husband’s infidelity. Being so young, this destroyed her confidence in the legal system. At the age of eighteen, she was forced to marry a man she did not love to pay back a favor between her father and his friend. Receiving the first slap across the face a year later revealed the ugly truth about this man called her husband. These catastrophic nightmares lingered for five decades. The betrayal and mistreatment made life unbearable, to the point of seclusion. But, her strong spiritual belief in God, her willingness to work hard, the love of her children, and wit is how she gained freedom. In spite of the fact that she possessed no diploma or degrees in higher education, she greeted each of her seven children with great admiration as they received high school diplomas and college degrees.
About the Author
Born on August 1, 1927 in a rural township in the Eastern part of North Carolina, Luella R. Thomas was the fifth child of thirteen children. Lacking the education and wealth to succeed, she worked diligently as a housekeeper and a laborer for much of her life. Knowledge was obtained from everyday experiences and challenges that no formal institution could provide. Life was a good teacher. The greatest teacher, of course, was the church. Gospel music and songs offered spiritual relief from some of her troubles. She felt compelled to jot down a few lines on anything she could find, even cardboard boxes, to express some of her most horrible nightmares. As years passed, she became a caregiver for the mentally challenged, homeless, and the elderly including her father. She is now highly regarded as a zealous advocate of truth and integrity by her family, the church and the community. Luella is also the matriarch of the Thomas clan with her seven children being the first benefactors of her loving influences.