Then Sings My Soul

By Anna Christian

Told from the points of view of Hazel Porter, her mother Sarah (Ma'dear), 17 year-old Tricia, and 14 year-old Shanell; A single mother struggles to raise her two teenage daughters while dealing with the stress of losing her job and caring for her ailing mother. When she allows her ex-husband Donald to use their apartment address as a drop box, she inadvertently places the family in danger. The story of family relations, teenage angst, secrets, blackmail, and murder.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anna Christian
• Release date: Mar 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370286478

Anna Christian

I am the author of four books, Daniel's Wife, adult contemporary fiction, 2010; The Big Table, an illustrated children's book, 2008; Mrs. Griffin is Missing and Other Stories, a preteen mystery novel, 2005; and Meet it, Greet it, and Defeat it! The Biography of Frances E. Williams, Actress/Activist, 1999. I also write two blogs "Celebrating Life" on blogspot.com and a readers' blog on Goodreads.com. The Newcomer is my latest book in the Bobby and Sonny Mystery series for preteens. I teach a Creative Writing/Life Story class at the Moreno Valley Senior Center.

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THEN SINGS MY SOUL

By Anna Christian

Published by Dadielte Production at Smashwords

Copyright 2015

http://anachristian.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Tricia

Chapter 2 - Hazel

Chapter 3 - Shanell

Chapter 4 - Ma'dear

Chapter 5 - Hazel

Chapter 6 - Ma'dear

Chapter 7 - Tricia

Chapter 8 - Ma'dear

Chapter 9 - Hazel

Chapter 10 - Shanell

Chapter 11- Ma'dear

Chapter 12 - Tricia

Chapter 13 - Hazel

Chapter 14 - Ma'dear

Chapter 15 - Hazel

Chapter 16 - Tricia

Chapter 17 - Shanell

Chapter 18 - Ma'dear

Chapter 19 - Hazel

Chapter 20 - Tricia

Chapter 21 - Shanell

Chapter 22 - Ma'dear

Chapter 23 - Hazel

Chapter 24 - Tricia

Chapter 25 - Ma'dear

Chapter 26 - Hazel

Chapter 27 - Ma'dear

Chapter 28 - Tricia

Chapter 29 - Hazel

Chapter 30 - Ma'dear

Chapter 31 - Shanell

Chapter 32 - Tricia

Chapter 33 - Hazel

Chapter 34 - Ma'dear

Chapter 35 - Tricia

Chapter 36 - Hazel

Chapter 37 - Ma'dear

Chapter 38 - Hazel

Chapter 39 - Tricia

Chapter 40 - Ma'dear

Chapter 41 - Hazel

Chapter 42 - Ma'dear

Chapter 43 - Hazel

Chapter 44 - Tricia

Chapter 45 - Ma'dear

Chapter 46 - Shanell

Chapter 47 - Tricia

Chapter 48 - Hazel

Chapter 49 - Tricia

About the Author

Chapter 1 - Tricia

I was standing in the center of this huge stage like at the Apollo Theater; the dark velvet curtains behind me were closed. It was just me, out there alone. The spotlight was glaring in my face so I couldn't see the audience, but I knew the place was packed. The applause almost blew me away. I felt so proud. I bowed and threw a kiss as I ran towards the wings. I felt as if I'd won a million dollars, but I was tired, so very tired. All I wanted to do was sleep.

In the distance, I heard this faint sound of a bell and feet shuffling. Somebody tapped me on the shoulder; somebody was laughing as I shifted my body. Slowly, I raised my head.

Damn, I thought, not again.

The classroom was almost empty except for Mrs. Stern, my English teacher, who sat at her desk grading a stack of papers.

Don't you get enough sleep at night, Miss Porter? Mrs. Stern's voice sounded harsh. A short stocky woman, who wore thick sweaters and polyester pants in her always-cold room, glared at me.

I'm sorry, I said as I picked up my books and hurried to the door. I didn't realize how tired I was. It won't happen again, I promise.

Just a moment. I'd like to speak to you.

I glanced at my watch. It was three o'clock and school was over for the day. I had a rehearsal in the evening and a lot to do before going.

You'd better start staying awake. Your grades are going down, she said, staring at me like I was something she ate that didn't agree with her.

I know, Mrs. Stern. I looked down at my long fingernails. They needed to be filed and polished. I wondered if I'd have time this evening.

You're missing several homework assignments, and you've hardly turned in any class assignments. She flipped the pages of her grade book. You're a senior. This is not the time to slack off unless you don't intend to graduate.

I glanced down at my watch again and then at Mrs. Stern. I'll get everything caught up before the end of the semester.

Just like that, huh! Every year you students think you can goof up all year long and then, just before school ends, make it all up. Well! It doesn't work that way in my class. Either you do the work now or you fail. Is that clear?

I nodded impatiently. I knew she was right and I did want to graduate Is that all? Can I go now?

She turned back to her papers dismissing me with a wave of her hand. Thank goodness. I rushed down the steps, out of the building and across the quad.

*****

I made it to the corner just in time to catch the RTD home. The bus prodded along, stopping at every other corner to take on more and more passengers. One advantage of leaving school late was I didn't have to ride with all the other rowdy kids coming from Truman High. I couldn't stand their juvenile behavior.

Move to the rear of the bus. Plenty of seats in the rear, the burley bus driver yelled as the people standing shifted barely an inch. One skinny lady squeezed through the wall of bodies and found a seat beside a sweating man who was asleep. His head kept bumping against the window. I stifled a laugh

Finding a window seat in the back, I watched the houses go by. My part of the song we would be rehearsing tonight jumped into my head. It was a tricky arrangement. Since I've always had a good ear, I didn't have much trouble learning it. Singing backup for a local artist was fun though I would love to sing backup for somebody like Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey. Now wouldn't that be something? Better yet, what I really wanted to do was sing solo and maybe someday I would.

The bus stopped on the corner of La Brea and 56th. I hopped off feeling free and easy. It was a beautiful spring day and if I was a little kid, I'd skip all the way home. The block was empty except for a few children riding their tricycles along the sidewalk and the man across the street who mowed his lawn like he loved his grass more than his wife who scowled at him from behind the window. Every day he mowed it. And if he wasn't doing that he was down on his knees searching for weeds or planting flowers.

When I reached our building, I climbed the steps up to our apartment. After putting the key into the lock, I pushed open the door.

Shanell, I'm home, I called as I threw my purse and backpack down and walked into the living room.

*****

My baby sister Shanell was fourteen years old trying to be twenty. All skin and bones, 5'1, shoulder length brown hair that she kept in a ponytail, light brown eyes and honey complexion. Cute. She was at that awkward stage, half way between playing Barbie dolls and playing with boys. She was smart, much smarter than I was when I was her age but she didn't half try to get good grades. But who was I to talk.At one time, I could get Shanell to do anything I wanted her to do like give me her allowance, or do my chores, and she'd do them without question. Whatever I'd tell her, she believed. It was really funny. Now that she thinks she's grown we barely get through a day without arguing.

I stopped in my tracks, a cold feeling washing over me. Shanell leaped up quickly grabbing the front of her blouse.

A young boy about the same age smiled sheepishly up at me.

I..., Shanell stuttered. This is Johnny, Johnny, my sister.

A little taller than her, Johnny had a dark brown complexion and light gray eyes that seemed to sparkle. His hair was cut in the latest fashion with lines going every which a way, like Sinbad, the comedian. Johnny wore a white Fubu tee shirt, stone washed jeans and Nikes. He jumped up, not meeting my stare. Nice to meet ya, he said and shook my hand as he picked up his backpack. At least he had manners. Nell, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow in class.

He was gone before I could say a word.

I looked at Shanell, my anger rising. Then I noticed she had on one of my best blouses. Her eyes avoided mine as she gathered up her books and straightened the covers on the couch. When she moved to leave, I blocked her way.

I know what you're thinking but we was just studying. She pushed past me brushing against my shoulder.

I'm not gonna fight with you, I said. But you better be careful. You know Momma said not to have anybody in this house when she's not home.

So, I guess you gonna tell? Shanell stood with her hands on her hips like she was ready to fight me.

I put my hands on my hips, not giving an inch. I looked down at her. No, I'm not gonna tell. But if I come home and find him or any other boy with you alone, you're gonna wish I hadn't. My voice rose to meet Shanell's challenge. And another thing. Take off my blouse! You got your own clothes.

Shanell unbuttoned the blouse, threw it at me, and stormed out of the room slamming her bedroom door. I sank down on the recliner, tears filling my eyes. 'I will not cry,' I told myself. My relationship with Shanell had gone down the drain since she reached her teens. We were drifting farther and farther apart. I tried to think back to when I was her age. Was I like her when I turned fourteen? Always ready to fight, always arguing? I didn't think so. I knew I needed to talk to her about boys and sex. Momma never seemed to have time. She didn't like to discuss things like that. Every time I tried to say anything to my sister, she'd get mad and start to argue.

After changing my clothes, I went into the kitchen and started dinner. Momma would be home at five and I knew she'd be tired. She had school that evening so she wouldn't have time to talk. I had rehearsal too, so Shanell would be alone again tonight. I would take her to rehearsals, but she wasn't interested in my singing career. If she did come, she'd spend the time grumbling and complaining.

Momma came home at 5:30, took off her shoes, threw her briefcase and purse on the coffee table and sank into the living room chair.

Shanell, get me a glass of water, she yelled.

I sat on the arm of her chair. The smell of Momma's L'air Du Temps perfume filled my nostrils. How was work? I asked.

She shrugged. Oh, it's okay - the same thing everyday. She looked up at me. How was school? You keeping up your grades?

Yeah, I lied, hoping she wouldn't ask me more questions. I promised myself I'd do better.

Where is that girl? Shanell, you hear me calling you?

I got rehearsal tonight, I said.

Tricia, you know I don't like you going out on a school night.

I'll be home by nine.

You be careful. You may think you're grown, but you're still only seventeen.

Momma never discouraged me in most anything I wanted to do as long as it wouldn't harm me or anybody else. She said when she was growing up her mother always criticized her, made her feel like she couldn't do anything. She was determined not to raise her daughters that way.

Shanell came in all gloomy with a glass of water filled with ice. She handed it to Momma and turned to leave. Momma looked at her and then at me.

What's the matter with you two? Looking so moody. You've been fighting again?

A pleading look on her face, Shanell's eyes met mine. I could see she didn't want me to tell Momma about Johnny.

No, I answered. She took one of my blouses and wore it to school without telling me. That's all.

Shanell sighed. She went over to Momma and sat down at her feet. Momma stroked her hair. How many times I got to tell you, honey. You got your own clothes. Leave you sister's alone.

I didn't get it dirty or nothing. I just borrowed it to wear with my green skirt. Tricia, you can borrow my clothes any time you want, she said, sliding up into Momma's lap and curling up like a baby.

That's stupid! I said. Now why would I want to wear your clothes?

Hush! Momma gently pushed Shanell to the floor. You're too big for this. Get up now. Go do your homework and let me rest for a minute.

I started walking to the kitchen, glancing over my shoulder at her and Momma. She stood behind the chair kneading Momma's shoulders. I shook my head. My sister was a stone manipulator.

*****

After dinner, Momma hurried out to school. She was in her second term at the University of Phoenix, taking evening classes to earn a degree in accounting. Her dream was to get her C.P.A. and open her own office. At the moment, though, she worked as a bookkeeper in the accounts department for Vincent Aircraft Manufacturers, a large firm that depended on government contracts. Lately, with contracts being awarded to other companies, Vincent started cutting back on their staff. Momma said rumors were flying as to who would be the next to go. This made working there stressful.

Momma talked to me about it because she said since I was the oldest, I should know what was going on and be prepared for whatever happens. So I was aware of the pressure on Momma and tried to do all I could to make home life as pleasant as possible even if it meant hiding my own and Shanell's problems from her.

I'm going to the studio, I said as I combed my hair back into a French twist and put on some lipstick. Do you want to come with me?

Shanell looked up from her books. Do I look like I want to go?

I just thought maybe you'd like to. Anyway, I won't be too long. You know where to reach me if you need to. I headed for the door. Oh, if Darien calls, tell him to pick me up at the studio.

She didn't answer.

*****

I jogged to the bus stop. It was a warm evening; looking up I could see a few stars in the sky though the streetlights hid most of them. Down the street I saw the bus lumbering in the distance like a tired old man, swaying from one side to the other. If the bus didn't stop at every corner, maybe I'd only be a few minutes late.

The studio was on Hollywood Blvd. in an old building that looked like it was built before the flood. Wide marble stairs led up to a long narrow hallway on the upper floor. Whenever I walked up and down those stairs, I imagined what it would be like to be a movie star with my adoring fans, waiting to greet me and ask for my autograph. The steps had seen better days. They were dirty and in need of a good scrubbing. The studio was on the second floor. Fluorescent bulbs along the high ceiling didn't do much to brighten the cold hallway. Some of the lights flickered off and on as I rushed along. On each side of the hall were wooden doors with numbers stenciled on them; a few had name plates fastened to them. Nobody I recognized. Most of the offices were probably vacant. Harry, our manager, a hustler if there ever was one, rented the studio for us to rehearse.

When I got to the door marked Markum's Studio, I pushed it open and stepped inside. The studio wasn't very big. A medium size room with a piano in one corner, three mikes set up in the middle, a couple of folding chairs, and a partition separating the control room from the main room. It was kind of drab looking; one spotlight lit up the center area where we rehearsed, leaving the rest of the room in shadows. This wasn't the kind of place you could relax in.

Gracie stood beside the piano following Kanisha as she played the melody of our newest tune. She looked up and waved.

Gracie was twenty-six, plain looking with medium brown complexion and light green eyes that stopped people in their tracks because not many would expect a black person to have green eyes. I liked Gracie. She was a little on the chubby side and all the time in a good mood; she never put people down. She liked to tell jokes she heard from work. Only when she told them, she usually botched them up and that made them funnier. Gracie worked the day shift in a bar on Western. We met when we were members of Bethel Baptist Church choir. We became good friends even though she was nine years older than me. Don't mean to judge as Momma always said, but Gracie was kinda wishy-washy; I mean we couldn't always count on her. She told me once that she was just as committed to becoming a professional singer as I was. She also said that as soon as she made enough money, she was going see her son who was living with her aunt in South Carolina. She hadn't seen him in five years. We never knew when she was gonna up and leave us high and dry.

Gracie had a great laugh. When she laughed everybody around her would start laughing even though they didn't know the reason. She had a good voice and though not a lead voice, nobody could harmonize like her.

When I came in, Kanisha, the other part of our trio, grunted like she usually did, a permanent scowl on her face. A serious, almost hard looking lady, Kanisha was the type who didn't take no stuff from nobody. She and Gracie were around the same age, maybe a little older. The total opposite of Gracie, she was close to 6 feet, and all skin and bones like somebody from one of those poor third world countries. Practically bald because she had cut almost all of her hair off, she wore long dangling earrings, a nose ring and rings on all her fingers. She dressed in dark tee shirts, black pants and combat boots even when we performed.

The woman had an attitude problem. We didn't get along so well. In fact, if it wasn't for singing, we probably wouldn't ever speak to each other even if we were the last two people on earth. Not that I have anything against her; it was just that she was one of those negative people; always ready to start an argument over the smallest thing. Kanisha smoked weed and did other drugs whenever she could get her hands on them. From time to time, I knew she sold drugs, small time though. But she wasn't hooked or at least I didn't think so and as long as she didn't push anything on me, I didn't care.

Gracie told me once that Kanisha was a whiz on the typewriter. Whenever she felt like it, she worked off and on for a temporary agency. Her main love though was writing songs. She composed and played the piano like she typed. The other good thing I could say about her was that she had a good voice and the three of us together were dynamite.

’bout time you showed up. You know we gotta be outta here by nine, Kanisha said pushing me into a dark mood. If I didn't care about singing, I woulda took off a long time ago. I didn't need nobody jumping on me. But I wasn't in the mood for a fight so I held my peace.

We worked on a new number for about an hour. For some reason, I couldn't get into it and I told Gracie. She helped me through my part and I felt better since we had a gig this weekend. I'd use the money from it to pay for a dress I had my eye on at Marshalls.

Our career was still in its early stage though we'd been singing together for a little over a year. When we started out, we sang at whatever functions popped up, every chance we got—singing contests, and local festivals. Then, some months back through some connection Kanisha had, we started singing backup in recording studios. It was fun, but hard work. Kanisha wrote fantastic songs. Though we hadn't gotten a chance to record anything she wrote for us, we were always hoping. Her reputation as a songwriter was growing, and so was our reputation as a group. She was the one who got us a manager. Harry was an okay manager as far as that goes. I knew he was making money off of us, but we let that slide as long as he got us paying gigs singing backup.

*****

You want a ride home? Gracie asked as we ended for the night. We walked downstairs together. The cool air felt good after that stuffy studio. Everybody smoked but me and by the time we finished I felt like I'd smoked a pack of cigarettes.

No thanks. Darien's supposed to pick me up. I expected him to be at the curb waiting but he wasn't. The boulevard was jammed packed with cars and strange people, a lot of them into heavy metal with powdered white faces, black tee shirts with Iron Maiden or Ozzy Osborn decals on their chests, death head medallions around their necks, and black tights.

"I'd wait with you but I gotta get