Novela

By Nova White

This book is about a small-town African American girl growing up in the early 1950s with a great desire to have a better life. She wanted to learn about the contributions of African Americans to America other than being slaves. She wanted to live in a world where all people were truly treated as equals and showed respect to all races of people. She wanted to see a world where people simply looked at one another's hearts and intelligence and not the color of their skin. She knew that world was out there, and she was going to find it no matter what. She understood that it would be a difficult journey, yet she would seek it at all costs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887938486

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Novela

Nova White

Copyright © 2023 Nova White

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88793-847-9 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88793-848-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Novela Gets a Father

The Secret Novela Had to Keep

Novela's First Love

The Desire to Learn of African American Contributions

Novela's Junior Year in High School

Novela Arrives at Lincoln University

Novela Gets Her First Job

Novela Meets Her Prince Charming

Novela Moves to Hawaii

Novela Experienced Deep Sadness She Never Knew Before

Novela Leaves the Telecommunication Field

Novela Accepts a New Sales Manager Position

Novela as David Does Battle with Goliath

Novela Leaves Hawaii

Afterword

About the Author

Chapter 1

Novela Gets a Father

Novela was the third child born to a single mom in a small town in the Midwest during the early 1950s, and her name was Tina. Novela and her two brothers were soon joined by a new baby sister. By this time, Novela was three years old. The baby was a pretty little thing, but all she did was cry, and that was quite annoying to Novela. The eldest brother would feed the baby her bottle and change her diapers when their mom was out of the house. Tina would never leave the children home alone except for a short period of time. There was an older woman she had as a babysitter that the children would be left with whenever Tina was going to be away for a long period of time or in the night hours. They would be left with Mrs. Jones, who was a widow and enjoyed children because she had none of her own. The children always had an adventurous time at her home because it was much larger than theirs, and there were lots of things to do when they were at Mrs. Jones. She would often bake them cookies, cakes, or pies.

Tina's favorite thing to do on a Saturday night was to venture out on the town to have a few drinks, dance, and socialize with the other people in the town. Tina had a body that was shaped like an hourglass—extremely shapely legs, a small waistline, and a lovely face that always had a smile that lit up the world.

One night, Tina met a young man named Lawrence. He was not from this place. In fact, he lived about thirty miles away. Lawrence asked Tina for a dance, and that was it. They really got to know one another and started a long-term relationship. Tina was head over heels for this guy and truly infatuated with Lawrence. Tina thought to herself, This could be the man for me. Now he has to meet her sister Sue. Tina valued her sister's opinions and decisions.

Tina was close to her sister Sue and really looked up to her as a mother. Tina depended on Sue for advice and help with her children, although there was not a great deal that she could do for Tina. Sue was married and had two small boys of her own. Sue's boys' names were Jimmy and Frank. They were exceptionally close to Novela and wanted her to be their sister. Sometimes, Novela would go and stay with them for a while and then return home. She did this quite often when she was younger.

Sue's husband Gerry was a thoughtful, wise, and caring individual. Gerry was small in stature, but when he spoke, one would be so impressed with his wisdom as well as his intelligence. He was humble and considerate to everyone. Gerry was very fond of Tina, and there was nothing that he would not do for Tina and her children.

Tina had invited Lawrence to dinner one Sunday evening after church. Sunday dinner was always at Sue and Gerry's home. Tina had spoken of Lawrence to both Gerry and Sue, and they wanted to meet him. Lawrence stopped by Tina to pick her and the children up, and they all drove to her sister for Sunday dinner. Tina was thrilled that Sue and Gerry were finally going to meet her man and wanted their approval of him. Although it was a short ride, Tina thought it felt like a hundred miles away. They finally arrived, and all went inside the home. The house was small but very well-kept. The aroma of fried chicken, baked sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, biscuits, and peach cobbler filled the house. Everybody was introduced, and they sat at the table, said grace, and made their plates. There was a great deal of conversation going around and much happiness and delight. There were questions coming left and right at Lawrence, and he gleefully answered every one of them to Sue and Gerry's satisfaction. He was a hit, and both Sue and Gerry were pleased with him and thought that he would be a great match for Tina and the children. The men went out on the porch to have a smoke, and then it was time for the ladies to clean up the kitchen. It was time to say good night, and Lawrence took Tina and the children back home.

The next day, Sue told Tina how happy she was for her and that he would be a great mate for her and wished her well with that endeavor. Tina gazed at Sue and gave her a million-dollar smile. By this time, Tina and Lawrence had been dating for about a year. He had asked Tina to the dance for the following weekend, and, of course, Tina said yes. Sue was excited for her little sister that there could be someone to help her raise and provide for her children. Tina only had a third-grade education, and it was difficult for her to take care of four children on her own. Saturday night came, and Tina was dressed at her best when Lawrence arrived to pick her up from the club.

Once they arrived at the community club, they danced and drank, having so much fun that Tina did not want the night to end. The DJ started to play a series of slow songs, and they danced to every one of them. Then suddenly, Lawrence got down on one knee and made a marriage proposal to Tina, and she was caught off guard but managed to say, Yes, I will marry you. Lawrence reached for Tina's hand and placed a beautiful ring on her finger. The ring was made of gold with a small diamond in the center. The people all began to gather around them and offered their congratulations and wished them the best of luck with their future together. Lawrence and Tina knew they could not have a fancy wedding. Actually, they were not going to be able to afford a wedding gown, a tux, and definitely not money for a honeymoon. Tina did not care. She was completely overjoyed and at a loss for words for the first time in her life.

On the way home, all Tina could think about was sharing her wonderful news with Sue. Lawrence and Tina quickly started making arrangements for the wedding and how soon it would take place. The two of them decided that they were going to tie the knot in two weeks and that they would ask Sue and Gerry to be the bridesmaid and best man. They would file for whatever paperwork would be required and simply exchange their vows in front of the justice of the peace at the courthouse. Tina was going to wear a simple black dress and Lawrence a black suit.

The next morning, Tina walked over to Sue's home to share her exciting news, and naturally, Sue was excited for Tina. Tina showed Sue the ring on her finger with a huge smile on her face and a heart filled with glee.

Sue inquired as to what Tina was going to wear and offered her most expensive gold earrings as a wedding gift. They hugged one another and cried for a long time as they stared into each other's eyes. They thought of their mother, who had died during childbirth when Tina was very young. Tina cleaned other people's homes and worked in the fields and orchards. Tina chopped and picked cotton, picked strawberries, and picked peaches on orchids in Florida. Tina had no one that she could count on for help except Sue.

Her mom (Kelly) had died when Tina was three years old. Henry (Kelly's husband) had been left to raise eight children on his own. Henry was a free man now, but he had been born a slave. Henry was married to a beautiful young Indian woman and became a preacher. Kelly was a tall, well-built woman with a beautiful smile and was simply gorgeous. Kelly was of Cherokee descent. Kelly wore her long straight black hair down past her waist. Novela had been told that when her grandmother Kelly walked, it was as if she was gliding in elegance and that she was so beautiful that the White people would often take pictures of her. There was never one picture for Novela to see; she could only envision a portrait of her grandmother in her mind.

As she was growing up, Novela really wished that her grandmother was alive and that she could get to know her. It made her extremely sad when other girls would speak about things that they did with their grandmother or things that their grandmother had bought them. She wondered if her life could have been different if her grandmother had been alive, and then she came back to reality. Novela realized this simply just was not possible; her grandmother was gone.

Henry was certainly not going to win the father of the year award. He was a womanizer and often left his eight children alone to care for themselves while he was out on the town with various women. Tina's oldest sister (Sue) was left to cook, bathe, and care for all the other seven siblings, and she was only ten years old. Henry would be gone for days at a time, and there were usually only beans and flour to make food from.

When Novela was four years old, her mother married Lawrence, who then became her father. Lawrence was seven years younger than Tina. Lawrence was a good baseball player and wanted to play professional baseball someday. This was a dream Lawrence would give up on after marrying Tina. Lawrence and Tina had to provide and take care of four small children now. Lawrence gave the four children his last name. During this era, it was not required for individuals to adopt children. They simply gave them their last names.

When Lawrence married Tina, this caused a great deal of friction between him and his mother (Louise). Louise did not accept Tina as her daughter-in-law nor Tina's children as her grandchildren. Louise was concerned that Tina was seven years older than Lawrence and