Escape

By Shirley Gerald Ware

Escape is a very moving young adult novel that tells an intriguing story about a family placed in the witness protection program. As the story unfolds, Shirley Gerald Ware brilliantly engages her readers in solving the mystery. Just when you think you have figured out the mystery, she skillfully drops another theory.

Young Sally Matthew is portrayed with cleverness and grace. Just when the family thinks they can put their past behind them and live a somewhat normal life, their life is filled with drama. After they settle in their new home and become engaged in the community, they encounter a dilemma that makes it almost impossible to live a fulfilling life. The family is concerned over the mischief and danger that has crept into their lives, nearly taking over it.

Sally Matthew is a very curious teenager who welcomes a good mystery. Like Lula Mae Gifford Smith, the engaging teen sleuth of Deported and On the Run, she is confronted with a mystery that threatens the well-being of her family. She uses her detective skills to free them from the mystery that looms over them. Her story keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The novel is an engaging page-turner filled with mysteries and theories. Hold onto your seat; Escape is a bumpy ride.

Shirley Gerald Ware is currently writing her ninth young adult novel: Three Friends.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers USA
• Release date: Aug 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463922439

Shirley Gerald Ware

Shirley Gerald Ware is the author of eight books and the publisher of a magazine that publishes teens and adults locally and worldwide. She is widely known for writing numberless poems and short stories. Many of her poems were nominated for awards. She was nominated ‘Author of the Month’ by Eye On Magazine.Her novel On the Run is available on ten different channels around the world and is available in many countries including China, Germany, India, Taiwan, and Malaysia. The author studied English Writing at Northeastern University and Psychology at University Of Massachusetts. She gives credit to her mom for the ability to craft stories. Her dad is credited for her ability to never give in to criticism.

Book preview

Shirley Gerald Ware is the author of eight books and the publisher of a magazine that publishes teens and adults locally and worldwide. She is widely known for writing numberless poems and short stories. Many of her poems were nominated for awards. She was nominated ‘Author of the Month’ by Eye On Magazine.

Her novel On the Run is available on ten different channels around the world and is available in many countries including China, Germany, India, Taiwan, and Malaysia. The author studied English Writing at Northeastern University and Psychology at University Of Massachusetts. She gives credit to her mom for the ability to craft stories. Her dad is credited for her ability to never give in to criticism.

Dedication

Dedicated to my Dad and Grandma, Boyd Gerald and Julia Donley Gerald.

Escape is dedicated to the memory of my Dad, Boyd Gerald, grandma, Julia Gerald and granddaddy, Henry Gerald. My dad was born in 1914 and died in 1959. His Mom, Julia Donley Gerald died on December 14th, 1941. She was only sixty –years old when she passed away. Dad was the son of a sharecropper. He married my mom, Marion Leonard at a very young age and they had seven children. Two of their children died before reaching their teen years.

He had three siblings. Two brothers, Barney Gerald, Henry Gerald Jr. and a sister, Louise Howard Gerald. Dad was a very proud man. He fought for equal justice but at times came away disillusioned. His Grandmother, Mary Davis Donley and Granddaddy, Orum were slaves.

They were the property of John Baker, a South Carolina slave owner. In his will, he left my dad’s grandparents, Orum and Mary Donley to his son like cattle.

My son, Darol Ware went on ancestry.com and uncovered all this information about his grandparents. The world we live in today is quite different from the one my dad and grandparents had to endure. Although, we’re not owned and can’t be willed to another human being, our fight for justice and to be treated equal is far from over. The thought of being owned by another human being horrified my son, Darol. His reaction was: How can you will two adults in sound mind to your son? I can only imagine how Orum and Mary Donley must have felt. May they rest in peace, knowing that their kin can no longer be owned and willed to another slave owner.

Sometimes, I am confronted at book signings and readings about how my writings skills materialize. Besides, studying English Writing at Northeastern University and Psychology at University of Massachusetts, my Mom and Dad are credited. My mom is credited for the wonderful stories she told me and my brothers, growing up. My dad is credited for giving me the courage to push forward and never give in to blatant criticism. Rest in peace, Dad.

Shirley Gerald Ware

ESCAPE

Copyright © Shirley Gerald Ware (2018)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Ordering Information:

Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publishers cataloging in publishing data

Ware, Shirley Gerald

Escape

ISBN 9781641821391 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781641821377 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781641821384 (E-Book)

The main category of the book — Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2018)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd™

40 Wall Street, 28th Floor

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Why I Write

I write for my ancestors

That message goes untold

I write for my friends

Those voices have been silent

I write for the old

That can no longer

Remember their past

I write for the young

With a story that needs

To be told.

I will keep on writing

Until my memory fades

And my eyes are blinded

And I can no longer hear

The voices of my ancestors

With a story to be told.

Chapter 1

When I think of all the hardships I have endured, I look up to the sky and give thanks to my mom and my Grandma. One year has passed since the day my dad, Uncle Nick, Granddaddy Peter and I were placed in the Federal Witness Protection Program. My life began falling apart at the age of twelve.

I am sixteen-years-old now, in the eleventh grade, and I’m looking forward to going to college in another year. Since being relocated in the Witness Protection program, my life is as normal as it can be under the circumstances.

Dad and Uncle Nick’s testimony helped put away some very dangerous people. When I think back over what transpired, my body shakes. I went from having only three people to count on in my life to five.

Uncle Nick and Granddaddy Peter have brought so much joy to my life. I am always careful not to let Granddaddy George know how I feel about my new added family. He gets a little jealous at times. He would always be very special to me, but sometimes I liked to tease him with Granddad Peter. For 14 years, Granddaddy George was the only granddad I knew.

Having two granddaddies to fuss over me, suits me just fine. Uncle Keith is my mom’s adopted brother. I rarely see him. He has his own family and lives in New York City. Although Uncle Keith is not real kin, he is family to me. Uncle Nick, my dad’s twin brother, is such a joy to be around. I couldn’t ask for a better family; I have two uncles and two granddads who adore me.

It gives me great joy, seeing my dad, and to chat with his twin brother. Their behavior is as different as night and day. Dad is the serious type, but you can just never tell when Uncle Nick is being serious; he loves to joke. He, no doubt, inherited Granddad Peter’s personality. I love my new enlarged family. For so many years, I watched my dad’s deep sadness. I am happy to see that his sadness has lifted.

If only Mom and Alex were around to share Dad’s and my newfound happiness. I wake up every day feeling thankful for the happiness that I now enjoy. Finding and reconnecting with his brother and his father was a good thing for Dad. He too now has a family besides just me that he can enjoy.

We have been through a lot together, my dad and me. I never noticed it before, but looking at Dad and Uncle Nick, they both have the same smile. Uncle Nick always jokes that he is better looking than his brother. They have quite similar features, but you can easily tell them apart. Dad is maybe an inch taller and has more hair.

They used to kid around about who would go bald first. It was no surprise to me when they pooled their money and decided to go into business together. The big surprise came when they announced that they had purchased a florist shop. I thought that opening a flower shop was more of a woman’s type of business. I just couldn’t picture Dad and Uncle Nick arranging flowers; they’re way too rugged for flower arrangements.

One day, they learned that a couple in nearby Yahoo, New Mexico were nearing retirement and considering moving to Florida. Dorothy and Anthony Reeves wanted to move nearer to their grandchildren and they wanted to sell to someone in the community. Mr. and Mrs. Reeves had owned that little shop for over fifty years. It had been passed down to them from Dorothy’s parents. But their only daughter, Katherine, had gone to college out of state, and after college, she wanted nothing to do with running a florist shop. She had married a Senator and she now lives in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Dorothy and Anthony were disappointed; for years the Reeves never spoke to their daughter, but recently they’d forgiven her not returning home after college. They had hung pictures of their granddaughter, Katherine on the flower shop’s walls.

Since their daughter had no interest in the shop, they’d finally decided to sell it. But their conditions for any purchaser turned some interested buyers away. They wanted the new owners to keep as much of their family’s heritage intact as possible by keeping the shop’s name: HARRIS FLOYD FLORIST. Anthony explained that they had inherited the florist business from his wife’s father. He too had wanted to change the name, but Dorothy wouldn’t allow it. My dad was able to dig up information that the little flower shop on Main Street had been serving the community for nearly seventy-five years, he explained. And the Reeves were very hard negotiators.

Mrs. Reeves came across as the sweet grandma type. People from outside of the community faced an impossible task trying to bargain with them. Dad and Uncle Nick turned out to be the perfect candidates to buy the shop, and even to bargain with them.

Dad says there is nothing wrong with loving the business you inherited, but the Reeves were silly about the demands they placed on others. Uncle Nick thought maybe they had a touch of dementia. Dad said that their demands were well outside of the norm, that they had lost touch with reality in their efforts to sell their business but still maintain control. If they didn’t give in, he and his brother would be forced to look for another business to purchase.

Dorothy Harris Reeves was the hardest to deal with. Anthony Reeves was more willing to give in than his overbearing wife. The brothers quickly realized they would be better off dealing with Mr. Reeves, but he still had to get his wife’s approval. It would be very convenient for them to purchase the Reeves’ Florist Shop, as it was only a half mile from our home. The stress of dealing with the Reeves demands was getting a little too much for Dad and Uncle Nick.

Just when they’d decided they would have to look for another property to open their business, the phone rang. Mrs. Reeves wanted to talk. She made it very clear that she wished to sell to someone who shared their love for plants. Uncle Nick let the Reeves know that he loved anything that would bring in profit.

The brothers played along with the Reeves, letting them think that they had a love for plants though they didn’t truly consider themselves plant lovers or haters. In the end, after agreeing to the purchase price, the Reeves agreed not to put any of their wants in writing. Dad said that he felt like a load had lifted from his shoulders when they finally closed the deal.

But Mrs. Reeves made one more attempt to convince my dad that changing the name of the shop would cut down on profit. Since the florist had been in this same location for fifty years, she argued it would be a terrible blow to the community if they changed the name.

Dad let her know immediately that the shop’s name would be changed from Harris Floyd Florist, her dad’s name. She wasn’t pleased with the name change but said that they had been searching for months for the perfect candidate to buy their florist. You and your brother are the closest we’ve come to finding the perfect buyer, she said.

To satisfy the Reeves, Dad and Uncle Nick decided to mount a plaque in the florist shop explaining the generations of Harris and Reeves owners. Mrs. Reeves was overjoyed on learning of Dad’s plan. Mr. Reeves graciously thanked them for making his overbearing wife happy.

In Mrs. Reeves, I saw my deceased Grandma Ada. Grandma Ada was very likable, and I gathered that Mrs. Reeves could be agreeable and easy to like at times too. She was a very hard negotiator though.