Cinnamon Chronicles Kiss In The Lace Or Song Of Cinnamon

By Lyrikal Linez

Cinnamon Lyles's used to looking for love in all the wrong places. As a survivor of an abusive childhood and a strained relationship with a mother who refused to believe her claims, she's endured a lingering struggle with self-esteem. After years in an abusive marriage, she's determined to make a better life. One day, she and her young children, Daniella and Will, flee North Carolina and set out for California where she leaps full-force into the world of investigative reporting. But when her career and her dangerous personal life collide, she faces decisions that threaten both her familiy's well-being and the success she's achieved.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beverly Turner
• Release date: Aug 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781974000807

Lyrikal Linez

Beverly Turner is a mother, entrepreneur and an American author of urban fiction and romance from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Her first two books, Cinnamon Chronicles: Kiss In The Lace Or Song Of Cinnamon, and Justice Sings The Blues. She's also the author of Schooling Bitches, Mated By A Thug, and Devil's Playground. Beverly Turner is an entertainment journalist from Fayetteville, North Carolina. She hosts a talk show and blog called  " Lyrikal Linez from a Journalistic View: Let's Talk," which focuses on celebrity and pop culture. She holds a Master's Degree in New Media and Journalism from Full Sail University. 

Book preview

CHAPTER 1:

Mommy, Daniella, Cinnamon's youngest child whispered after she crawled into bed after her bedtime prayer. Cinnamon looked wearily into Daniella's eyes. The tiny, adorable girl with her hair in cute Afro-puffs, was only 6-years-old but was as observant and outspoken as some of Cinnamon's friends from the salon.  

Yes, Cinnamon replied.

Daniella sat up briefly and looked up at her mom.

I want a daddy, Daniella said, her dark brown eyes serious and pleading.

Cinnamon held back tears as she smiled and leaned in to kiss Daniella's forehead.

We'll see what we can do, Cinnamon said with timid resolve.

Then she stood up, turned off the light and walked to the door. Her feet ached from darting around the newsroom all week where she worked as a reporter and from going to school at night twice a week. She was a semester away from earning her master's degree in journalism and though professionally she was doing very well, she frequently felt like a failure in her personal life.

She was 25-years-old with two children, Daniella and Will, 11-years-old. She was thriving as a single mom, but it wasn’t how she planned it.

Her ex-husband and father of her children had been abusive. He beat Cinnamon to a pulp too many times to count, including while she was pregnant with each child. A year earlier, she made the move to get away, to save herself and her children.

As she walked into her room and gently closed the door, Cinnamon wailed a deep sob she tried to hide by burying her face into a pillow. She thought about her hopes and dreams for a happy family, something she'd never known. She thought about her move from Fayetteville, North Carolina to San Diego, California to go to school and escape her abuser. And she recalled the family she missed back home but the future she desperately wanted to build.

Sometimes, her broken dreams seemed like too much to handle. Cinnamon cried and prayed until she fell asleep.

The next morning, Cinnamon rolled out of bed as the sun peeked through the blinds and the birds began to chirp. She went to the kitchen and started doing what she did whenever grief threatened to fill her:

She baked cookies. This time, she made sugar cookies, a dozen of them. It had become a ritual of sorts since she was 12-years-old.

Will arrived in the kitchen first, still in his pajamas. He was tall for his age and hefty. He was also kind and caring as he looked after his mom and sister as best he could.

Mom, you made cookies? he asked her while still halfway asleep. He sat down at the kitchen table and looked at his mom confused. For breakfast? he asked.

Cinnamon laughed. These are for after breakfast, she said, and, of course, for after you clean your room.

Will was an excellent student and Cinnamon was proud of him, especially, for how he smoothly transitioned from school in Fayetteville to San Diego. He managed to adjust to new teachers, classmates, cultures, clothing styles, accents and everything else that came along with moving across country with a maturity Cinnamon admired.

Daniella skipped into the kitchen next. Cookies!, she proclaimed. Will told her the rules for earning the treats.

That's fine with me! she said, My room's always clean, 'cause if you stay ready, you ain't got to get ready! She climbed into a chair, and with her feet dangling far off the floor, she clasped her hands together as if she were an ambassador to the United Nations who had just completed a presentation on world peace.

Will sighed and shook his head at his smirking sister as Cinnamon prepared three bowls of oatmeal and sliced bananas for her children and herself. The family prayed over their meal and then Daniella continued, So, it's Saturday. What are we doing today, Mommy?

Cinnamon paused in awe of how Daniella seemed to have forgotten her plea for a father the night before and neither child seemed to notice Cinnamon's swollen eyes from a seemingly endless night of crying.

Will had known his father, Titan, for about five years before he went to prison and another four years after he got out of prison. He loved his father, but he didn't like him, on account of how he treated his mother. He had been there in their Fayetteville home to witness and overhear the abuse over the years, despite Cinnamon's best efforts to shield him from as much of it as she could.

Daniella, however, was too young to remember knowing her father as an abuser, which was a relief to Cinnamon.

Well, she responded as the children stirred their oatmeal, I have a few important things to take care of today. So, while I'm doing those things, and because you're both such wonderful children, she paused, you're going to the San Diego Safari Park! she announced loudly and exuberantly as if she were Oprah.

Both children hopped out of their chairs and started doing the 'we're-going-somewhere-fun dance' and Cinnamon delighted at the sight of her children full of joy. She wondered when she had last been as happy as these two.

The children scarfed down their breakfasts, thanked their mom, nearly tossed their bowls into the sink and scurried to their rooms to get ready for their adventure.

Soon after, Cinnamon dropped Will and Daniella off at her friend Shayna's house. Shayna was taking the pair, along with her own children, to the Safari park, as well. Cinnamon was sure to pack enough cookies in Will and Daniella's backpack, so they could share them with their hosts.

Cinnamon and Shayna were friends who met a year earlier when Cinnamon first enrolled Will in a San Diego school. The two moms sat side by side at a PTA meeting and whispered funny comments to each other about the school's nationally-recognized educational program yet inexplicable lack of potato salad making abilities, as evidenced by the meeting's buffet option.

Shayna was married to a Jeffery, a Navy bandmaster and the couple had five children, two sets of twin boys, 11, like Will and 9-years-old, in addition to a younger daughter around Daniella's age. The girls shared a passion for learning about animals and because of his military benefits, Jeffery, had obtained discounted passes into the animal park.

Cinnamon said goodbye to her children for the day and hugged Will just long enough to embarrass him in front of his friends. Daniella, of course, was not too proud to give her mom a big hug before she jumped into Shayna's minivan.

Cinnamon agreed to pick them up at 9:30 that night and she stood and waved to her darlings as they pulled away from the curb.

On the way home, Cinnamon stopped at Starbucks for an English black tea to go with the cookies and once she arrived home, she ate six cookies. Then she ate three more. Then she ate two more. Then she ate one.

She worked on a class assignment for her Master's Degree and about five hours later, she had finished and submitted her assignment.

Then she turned on CNN to get caught up on the day's news.  Immigration, terrorism, cyberattacks. Cinnamon turned off the TV. Even up-and-coming reporters needed a break from the news sometimes, she reasoned.

She cued up one of Oprah Winfrey's motivational speeches on YouTube and proceeded to pretend she was talking to Oprah while she mopped the floor, filtered through stacks of mail, put laundry in the washing machine and re-cleaned Will's room. (She discovered he had only pushed his toys, electronics, books, and backpack under his bed instead of in the closet and on shelves like she had taught him.)

Yes, Oprah! Yes, I'm feeling that! Cinnamon said as she put her hand in the air in agreement as Oprah talked about a seemingly infinite series of Aha! moments. Yes, Oprah! Tell it!

After a while, Cinnamon finished her cleaning routine and she figured she'd burned at least some, if not most, of the calories from the cookies she'd eaten earlier. So she ate another cookie and took a nap.

She woke up just in time to pick up her children from Shayna's house, and when she arrived and knocked on the door, Shayna answered and welcomed her inside. Her home was warm and cozy and filled with family portraits on every wall. It was beautiful, Cinnamon thought. A home full of love.

Will and Daniella emerged from a hallway and appeared radiant from being in the sun all day. They thanked Shayna and Jeffery for the trip, as Cinnamon patiently ushered them toward the door. It didn't seem like they wanted to leave.

Shayna must have noticed.

Maybe next time, they can spend the night, she said. Will and Daniella excitedly asked their mom if they could accept the offer.

That sounds great! Cinnamon said. I'm sure they would love that, thank you.

Although Shayna and Cinnamon were friends, Cinnamon hadn't yet brought herself to share the details of the abuse she'd escaped just weeks before they first met. Shayna only knew that Cinnamon had come to San Diego for her school and work, and she preferred it that way.

One day, when Shayna asked Cinnamon about the children's father, she told her he was on a big construction project near Fort Bragg that required him to stay in Fayetteville. The truth is, she wasn't exactly certain where he was, just as long as he stayed away from her and their children.

CHAPTER 2:

Cinnamon barely slept that night. Daniella asked for a daddy – again—and Cinnamon was overwhelmed with images of Shayna's home. The family photos equally impressed and saddened her. She wanted a husband, a good husband, who looked after her, cared about her. She realized she had never been in a healthy relationship and Shayna and Jeffery's relationship was the closest to a healthy relationship she'd ever seen, that is, outside of Barack and Michelle's.

During her night of tossing and turning, Cinnamon thought back to her first encounter with a man when she wasn't even a woman yet herself. She tried to block it out.

It didn't happen, she told herself many times over the years.

She sat up and punched her pillow. It didn't happen, she thought with each punch until she was too exhausted to continue. She finally fell asleep a few hours before it was time to get up for church.

Cinnamon woke in a horrible mood. She snapped at her children. Will couldn't find his tie under his bed.

It's in the closet! Cinnamon scolded him for not cleaning his room properly.

Daniella wanted to wear a turquoise tutu with a shirt from the animal park featuring a peacock on it and her brother's black blazer.

You both have two minutes to get dressed properly for church and get in the car! Cinnamon said in her I'm-getting-ready-to-erupt-in-anger tone of voice. Her children knew that voice all too well.

Cinnamon had selected their San Diego church based on a recommendation she received from an elderly woman in line at the grocery store a few months prior. The church was larger and more diverse than her church in Fayetteville. Cinnamon thought it was great because it meant there wouldn't be too many people in her personal business like she had experienced throughout her childhood and adolescence.

This Sunday's sermon was about the power of forgiveness. It started out general enough, but then the preacher, Pastor Sherman Reeves, said something that triggered Cinnamon.

Sometimes, we wait for an apology before we choose to forgive. But that apology isn't always coming. You've got to forgive anyway! Reeves shouted. Forgive anyway, he said again.

Cinnamon, with her children by her side, closed her eyes and in an instant, she saw his face: the man who raped her when she was 12-years-old. She hated him. But it wasn't even him who she was angriest at, as, in another quick instant, she saw the face of the person who had hurt her the most, perhaps even more than her husband who abused her years later.

It was her mother's face she saw.

Tears streamed down Cinnamon's cheeks, to her chin and dripped onto her shoes. An elder noticed she was crying, tapped her on the shoulder and offered her a box of tissues.

The pastor continued, Forgive anyway!

The choir went into a song about breaking every chain and the congregation sang along. Cinnamon excused herself and walked and then ran outside. She hid behind a church pillar and sobbed. She could hear the choir from where she stood.

Eventually, Cinnamon gathered herself and went back into the church. When she returned to her seat, Will and Daniella hugged her. Surely, they couldn’t understand the depth of how much their love meant to her, but even though they didn't know all about her journey – their love was the only pure love she knew.

That afternoon, when they returned home, Cinnamon went straight to the kitchen to figure out what to feed her children. She was dizzy and emotionally drained.

It's okay, Mom, Will said as Cinnamon stood staring into an open refrigerator. I'll make us something to eat.

Cinnamon turned to her son and looked into his worried eyes. Thank you, she said. Then she walked into the living room, sat on the couch and fell asleep.

She dreamed about when she was only a year older than Will was now. She remembered the awful situation she found herself in when a supposed friend of the family had lured her to his house, only five houses from the house she shared with her mother, on account of promising a surprise gift.

She recalled how he walked her out to his backyard and showed her the honeycombs he