Book Two My Green, Green Grass: Making Hay

By Linnet Brown

Jerri told Andrea the remaining portion of her story. She told her of the manner in which she joined effort with her parents, relatives, and friends to achieve outcomes she never dreamt were possible. At the end of telling her story, Jerri said, Well, Andrea, I am done.

Jerri, if you were going to write your story, what title would you give to this part of it? asked Andrea. I know. The green grass situation has now been changed. But you are using the changed experience to teach important lessons. So, what happens when the green grass changes?

It dries up and becomes hay. And the same sheep that wanted the green grass from over the fence can still eat the hay, only in a different form, said Jerri.

There you go, girlfriend. You made hay . . . you could say, I made hay while the sun was shining, replied Andrea.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493163007

Linnet Brown

Linnet enjoys working with children. Over the years she has worked with children in different professional settings, which were; Teacher, Day Nursery Manager and Qualified Social Worker. Linnet also fostered young people for over ten years. Linnet is a Christian and uses stories to teach moral values to children and empowering them to reach their full potentials. Over the years Linnet continues to be involved in charity work for children. She is currently offering financial support to children in Africa and the Caribbean towards their education. Linnet has written other story books for children and teenagers.

Book preview

MY

GREEN, GREEN

GRASS

BOOK TWO

MAKING HAY

LINNET BROWN

The author expressed her gratitude to God and other contributors.

Copyright © 2014 by Linnet Brown.

Illustrated by Ivan Earl Aguilar

ISBN:                  Softcover                     978-1-4931-6299-4

                            eBook                          978-1-4931-6300-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 02/12/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Preface

Chapter 1   Settling In

Chapter 2   Getting Parents Together Again

Chapter 3   Evidence of Hope

Chapter 4   Sought Help

Chapter 5   Hope and Joy

Chapter 6   The Breakthrough

Chapter 7   Another Breakthrough

Chapter 8   The Dinner

Chapter 9   A Second Chance

Chapter 10   Changes and Commitment

Chapter 11   The Feeling of Belonging

Chapter 12   Testing the Waters

Chapter 13   Heartbreak

Chapter 14   Uncle Ben’s Idea Brought Hope

Chapter 15   Assistance Came from Another Source

Chapter 16   Counting Blessings

Chapter 17   Way Forward

Chapter 18   Jerri’s Nineteenth Birthday Party

Chapter 19   The Truth about Peter

Conclusion

This world is a university and everyone a student. We learn valuable lessons every day and in different ways. We have a duty to remind others of what they have forgotten and also to leave pointers for those who are coming behind.

Preface

J erri had promised to tell Andrea the remainder of her story, but she had forgotten. So one day, Andrea reminded her. Hey, Jerri. I am still waiting for you to give me another dose of your experiences, she said.

Tell me when you are ready, said Jerri.

I’m ready and waiting, replied Andrea.

But you have to remind me where I left off though. Grab a drink and come. I have some time to spare this afternoon, replied Jerri.

Should I get something strong? Just kidding, said Andrea. And both girls giggled. So both girls took tins of drinks and other snacks and sat in their favorite chairs.

Okay, remind me of what I had told you the last time we met, said Jerri.

I will. But before I do, there is something I meant to ask you at the last time we spoke. What is Chelsea like? I am hearing a lot of what she is doing for you but nothing about her, said Andrea.

"Oh, that. Chelsea is a year my senior. We were classmates in secondary school, but I never knew that she was a Christian until I saw her at my dad’s church. Her parents are Caribbean Indians. She said that her dad passed away when she was about five years old. Chelsea said that she was her dad’s favorite little girl, and they were very close. She said that when her dad was dying of cancer, he asked her to promise him that they would meet in heaven.

Chelsea said she always remembers that promise as she grew up. And at age nine, she got baptized. She said that she learned to love Jesus too. The man she is calling her dad is actually her stepfather, but most people do not know this. Here is a picture of us together. Jerri showed Andrea a photo on her mobile phone. I have told you already that her mother is a nurse, said Jerri.

She is pretty. Sorry about her dad, said Andrea.

That’s okay, replied Jerri.

"Okay, back to why we are sitting here. Let me try to remember what you had said the last time. You wanted to get involved in street activities with other children your age, but your parents—more so your dad—got in the way. Your parents had separated due to religious reasons when you were almost fourteen years old, and so you lived with your dad. You and a few classmates formed a study group. The group had grown to fifteen in no time, and before you knew, it had become a full-blown gang. You usually attended religious meetings with your grandmother and then your dad, but you stopped in favor of the gang. The gang began to get involved in petty crime such as robbery and shoplifting.

"When your dad found out about your antisocial behavior and put you under curfew, you lied about him and moved in with your mother.

"Your mother seemed not to care about what you got up to, but you found out that she really cared. But based on the lies you told her, she did not want you to run away from home, so she let you be.

"One night, you missed being kidnapped and killed, but you did not see that as a reason to leave the gang until the morning after a party when an incident caused you to make a decision about your life, which led you to leave the gang.

You then moved to live with your grandparents in another city and began attending secondary school there. Then after a few months, your dad got a transfer and moved to live with you and your grandparents.

"Then you met up with Dean during the Easter break, and he gave you some good news about yourself. He too had left the gang and fled to another city where you met him. He also told you how things had changed for him too.

You told me of your desire to bring your parents back together and tell your friends in the gang about your new life. That was where you had stopped, said Andrea.

Well done, Andrea. You have a good memory, said Jerri.

I know, replied Andrea. Another thing, Jerri. How did you feel before you knew it was Dean who was in the bed with you, thinking that he knew that you had slept with someone else?

It did not matter because our relationship was a pretense one. I had believed that he slept with someone too until he told me what had happened, replied Jerri.

Okay, just wondering, replied Andrea.

Let me remind you that I called my dad’s parents Nan and Granddad and my mom’s mother Grandma, said Jerri.

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Chapter 1

Settling In

"O kay, back to the story. Everything went on well with me at home with my grandparents because I was living with my dad again and visiting my mother. I had Dean and Chelsea to talk with, and my grandparents were great—I even attended church with them. The secondary school I attended was nice, and the teachers and classmates were very nice to me and made me feel comfortable. Nevertheless, I was not happy knowing that my parents were living in separate homes. I had really wanted us to be a family again although my parents usually argued a lot.

Thinking back it was my mom’s voice I usually heard shouting when there was a disagreement. I can still recall an incident that took place one night that I felt was hilarious. One night, my mother was shouting at my dad because he had refused to eat the meal she had prepared. While my mom carried on shouting at him, he rested his head on the dining table. My mom kept carrying on and on, then after a few minutes, I heard my dad snoring. My mom had no option other than to stop talking. I ran to my bedroom and laughed until tears came to my eyes. It was so funny, said Jerri.

Ha ha ha! That is really funny, said Andrea.

"After a few months of living with my grandparents, I had returned to feeling like a normal teenager again and being my old self.