Love Knows No Color Pt. 19

"Jason, first I want to apologize for the way James came at you yesterday. I told him to let it go. Not that I'm not mad about that magazine, but it's water under the bridge now. But James is still pissed at you. He tells me you are not disturbed by those photos. Why not?"

"No, I am not disturbed that they exist," I said. "Von told me she'd posed long ago. She thought the photos might have been on the internet, but she didn't know about the magazine until the trial. But put yourself in my shoes. I love her more than anybody else except the kids. I'm not going to let something she did a dozen years ago get between us. We need each other."

"That said," I continued, "like I told your husband, we all made mistakes in the past. To be honest, if I'd have had the opportunity at age 19 to do porn I would have in a heartbeat. I'm well-endowed enough that they would have wanted me, and if you darken my skin a little I look like an Indian. Hell, I AM an Indian. It probably would have made them money. When you're that young you don't really think things through. Instead, I got married early to a woman I never should have been with. In spite of all that, you accepted me without question, and I am grateful for that. Why can't you do the same with Von? She feels bad enough about those photos."

"We accepted you because of who you are," Althea said. "Von is a strong woman who has made us very proud. Of all the children, she's the one who went through the most, and she's by far the strongest. She got where she is on her own. But she needed somebody to be there for her in ways we couldn't. You were never afraid of her strength, you never tried to tear her down. I could see that you cared for her the first time I met you. And you've never given us any reason to doubt your intentions."

"Your daughter is my life," I said. "And about the magazine, thank you for giving it to me. As long as those photos exist, I wanted a copy. That is the love of my life in those photos. Don't take this the wrong way, but she's a very sexual person. And I love that part of her. I miss her deeply when she's not around. That magazine is going to be very special for me, in spite of what it was used for. I hope you understand."

"And tell James for me," I continued, "he is like a father to me. I love and respect you both. My parents are 300 miles away, and y'all help fill the void. But if I am forced to choose between James and Von, she's going to win every time. Don't put me in that position and we'll get along just fine. But I will protect my wife, best I can, against anybody who tries to hurt her in any way."

Miracle had started crying. She'd seen me and wanted to be held. I picked her up from the playpen and gently bounced her on my knee while she laughed and cooed. Althea watched, smiling. "Don't ever change," she whispered. "Please, don't change."

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking, and Althea showed me how to make the chicken breasts with rice that we loved. I had dinner ready when Von came home with Kenny shortly after six.

Monday was card night, and Althea stayed over. Edie came in shortly after dinner, and the others showed up shortly after. Patty had taken to bringing her kids over to play with Brittany and Ethan. Kenny and I took the 4 children plus Miracle down to the basement to run trains, while the ladies broke out the cards and bottles. We could hear the six of them, Tamika and Shaunice were also there, cutting up above us while music played.

Ethan and Brittany were used to running the railroad. They knew where all the tracks went, and the names of all the junctions and sidings on the line. Patty's kids, Willa and Lamar, listened as I laid out the ground rules for the railroad. "First, parts of this railroad are single track. That means on those parts, you need to stop and wait for trains coming the other way. I will act as a dispatcher, and keep an eye on things. If I tell you to stop somewhere, stop and don't move until the other train has passed you. Once it is gone, ask me if it's okay to go before you pull off. There might be another train coming, and we don't want to hit head on and cause a wreck. If you ignore me and hit another train, you will sit out the rest of the night."

I was surprised at how easily they picked up the basics of running the trains. We had no major mishaps that night, other than Lamar forgetting to throw the switch before he left the siding at Spruce Bridge, derailing his locomotive. After seeing how well they were doing, I left Kenny in charge while I went upstairs to get us all some snacks.

While I was getting the snacks together, placing bowls of potato chips and pretzels on a tray along with a half dozen cans of pop, this song came on. "This time won't you save me. This time won't you save me...." I stopped what I was doing, and stared at Von. She saw me looking and asked, "What, boo?"

"Von, that's you!" I exclaimed excitedly. "That voice. It sounds just like you! Who is that? We have to do this song!"

The song turned out to be Save Me by Nikki Minaj. We'd done one of her songs before but I didn't know much about her. This was different. While Von's voice was passable for Rihanna, and Macy Gray, this song was dead on. I knew what the next song we'd learn together was. Save Me. And I wasn't going to take no for an answer. Strawberry Letter 23 could take a backseat. THIS was the song that would be our signature. I grabbed Von's hand. "Baby, let's play some music." I dragged her downstairs, with the others following. "Kenny," I called. "Shut down the railroad and meet me in the game room."

It turned out the song was on a cd Edie had brought over, Pink Friday, and I sent her back upstairs to get the cd player. The other ladies, and the kids, took their seats as we tuned up the instruments. When Edie arrived, we listened to the song again, this time with Von singing along. "Wow!" Kenny said. "I see why you wanted to drop everything."

We started learning the song the way we always did, in small segments. As we often did, we had to come up with our own arrangement. Although we lacked a drummer, we made do without one. I played both the bass part and the drum part on my guitar. It gave us a funky sound, and this song was no exception. Kenny played one of the keyboard parts on guitar, while Von played the higher one on her synth. Edie backed Von as she sang.

After an hour or so, we had our version down. It really didn't sound much like the original, but I thought it was good nonetheless. I knew we'd play it for the first time next weekend at the Memorial Day cookout at Althea's. Von's cousin the DJ was just going to have to understand. We were going live this year, at least for one set.

With the song learned to our satisfaction, we played a couple others for the gathered audience before everybody went back to what they were doing. We ordered out for pizza, which thrilled the kids. Soon, I bid the others goodnight and headed off to bed. I had to be in DuBois in the morning.

Wednesday was another milestone for us. We finally officially opened the extension on the railroad, and the trains started rolling up the mountain through KR on a regular basis. Shavonda had ordered a cake for us, and we had a celebration of sorts with more pizza and cake before we commenced qualifying people to run over the new line. We added a new run, the zigzag which mimicked the coal trains on the real line, and Shavonda had the honor of running the first one.

That evening, Kenny asked about mountain railroads in the area. We were going to the motel in Bedford this weekend anyway after Barbara picked up the kids, so we invited Kenny and Edie along. I told Kenny that the mountains weren't as spectacular up here, but there were twice as many trains. We made plans to spend Saturday at Cassandra and Altoona, Sunday would be exploring the mountains around Bedford, and Monday morning we'd head back to Pittsburgh for the cookout. All in all, it promised to be a fun trip.

The rest of the week went quickly, and Friday was light as well. I was back in the yard by 3pm, and got home before the evening rush hour. Von and Kenny had left the store early, and while we waited for Barbara to pick up the kids Edie arrived. We quickly loaded up the Jeep with our bags, and sat on the porch with the kids awaiting their grandmother. While we were sitting, I came up with an idea.

We all came from different musical backgrounds. Since we were getting an earlier start than anticipated, I suggested we head for the record store in Milvale. Once there, everybody could pick out one cd for themselves, plus one they'd recommend for each of the others in our group. My hope was that by giving each other CDs that the other person may not have heard of, we could cross pollinate our musical taste. It would be interesting to see what music would wind up in the car for the weekend.

Arriving at the record store, I told the clerk that everyone was going to purchase 4 CDs each, and to put the total on my card but not to let me see what the CDs were. After we were done with the record store, we walked around the corner to the hobby shop just to browse. Once there, looking at the various locomotives and cars in the cases, Shavonda spotted a long nose SD40-2. That was the locomotive she'd been in the cab of, not long ago. I ended up buying it for her, telling her that it would be her assigned locomotive whenever she ran the zigzag train.

We left Milvale about 7pm, and worked our way over the mountains taking 30 east from Latrobe in the twilight. The night was dark, with just a sliver of moon in the sky. But that was fine by me, as it only brought out all the stars. We worked our way past the windmills, then dropped over the edge of the Allegheny Front. I stopped at the overlook where the ship hotel once stood, and we stood gazing out over the wide valley below. I was reminded of that night two years ago when Shavonda and I took our first road trip together.

Arriving at the motel, we quickly unpacked the Jeep and went to our separate rooms. Soon, Edie and Kenny were in our room, with the black cherry rum and E&J flowing freely as we listened to the CDs we'd bought, munching on the Sheetz hoagies we'd bought on the way. Miracle lay asleep in her carrier. I wondered how much longer we'd be able to use it, as she was getting bigger by the day. Already she weighed over 15 lbs., and as much as I loved having her in the baby sling, she was starting to hurt my shoulders if I carried her too long.

We opened the bag of CDs we'd bought earlier, and distributed them amongst us. There were some interesting titles there. Kenny had gotten me Grateful Dead's Terrapin station. "It's as close to prog as they got," he said. Von had gotten me Blueberry Boat by The Fiery Furnaces, and Edie gave me A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular by Hooverphonic.

"I know you and Von like trip hop," she said, "And this one is extra heavy on the bass. I think you'll like the groove."

I handed Edie Simple Things by Zero 7. "I think you'll like the soulful feel of this one, even if the singer sounds more like Von than you." I gave Kenny a Mars Volta cd, Frances the Mute. "It is a lot heavier than you're used to, but there is a 31-minute jam on here you'll love." And I gave Von a Best of Aretha compilation. Of all of them, Von was the hardest to buy for. I really wasn't sure what she had and didn't have. After all, our music was on the ipods and by this time was up to about 13000 songs. Honestly, we really had no idea what was on there. There was just too much music there. But I knew how Shavonda loved to sing along when we were in the car, and I couldn't wait to hear what she could do with Aretha's music.

Later, after Shavonda had dismissed Edie and Kenny, telling them to go get their freak on, we were finally alone. The lovebirds had retreated to their room. We stood on the balcony, arms around each other gazing at the starry night.

"Jason," Shavonda said softly, "Thank you for everything. Thank you for making me believe again. I don't know what it was about you, but I knew you were the one when we first talked on the phone. I can't explain it. I just knew."

"What made me different?" I asked. "I know I wasn't the only one. You're too beautiful not to have had men chasing after you."

"I did," Shavonda replied. "And I would give in to the urge every now and then. But there was nobody I wanted Mama to meet. And if she found out about them, she'd run them off. After what Tony did, she was very protective."

"You have no idea what I went through after Tony," she said. "I was in love, or I thought I was. Tony was fine at first, but after I became pregnant he started getting abusive. I stayed with him thinking I could change him. Then, in one day I lost everything. I lost the baby, and I lost him too. I almost lost my life because of him, and others died in the crash that killed him. For a long time, I kept blaming myself for what happened. Taking care of Grandma kept me focused while I healed. That and running the store. And when Grandma died, I never felt so alone."

"But you weren't alone," I said. "You always had your family."

"Yes, but Tony had alienated me from them. Mama hated him. She loves you. After he did what he did, I had to rebuild my family ties. Luckily, Mama welcomed me back with open arms. Daddy was a little harder. He came around eventually, but it was awkward. That's why he reacted the way he did to the photos." She sighed, and took a deep breath. "I often wonder what my life would have been like if I'd have met you before Tony. How many kids would we have had? Things like that."

"We might never have gotten together," I said. "I was married, and even though it was hell I wanted to make it work. Besides, would we have been ready for each other back then? Sometimes we must go through some shit in order to appreciate the good things. Would I have recognized you for the blessing you are? And would I have had the courage to show the world our love, knowing that we'd be despised for simply being together? I was not the person I am now."

"You might be right. All I know is I'm so glad you're here." Shavonda turned to me, looking into my eyes. "Thank you for taking a chance on me. I lost so much with Tony, but I got it all back and then some with you. I have three kids who adore me. I have a man who isn't afraid of me, and doesn't need to control me. And I finally have somebody who loves me back the way I deserve."

"That goes the same for me, boo," I said quietly. "I never thought love like this existed. I never thought I'd meet somebody I trusted enough to bare my soul to, who would love me for who I am, not who they wish I was."

We retired to the room, where Miracle was, mercifully, still sleeping. By now, it was well after midnight, and I was exhausted. We took a quick shower together before curling naked in each other's arms. Soon, we were fast asleep. In the morning, Shavonda woke me at the crack of dawn with a deep kiss. We made love leisurely in the early morning stillness before getting dressed and calling Kenny and Edie. When they were dressed, and we had Miracle fed and changed, we headed off for breakfast at the diner.

Over Pancakes and eggs, the conversation turned to interracial relationships. Edie and Kenny were new to this. Even though they had been dating for a year, things were different now that they were living together. They had some adjusting to do, particularly Kenny. As I explained to him, now that he was with Edie, he'd be living in her world. When he was with her, racism would find him. When he was alone, he'd be back in his world. "Just remember, as irritating as it is that these people treat you differently when you're with her," I said, "you can escape it when she's not there. But Edie can never escape racism. If you love her, you'll be there for her. You'll stand by her. Always let her know that you're not ashamed to be seen with her. Tell her that you're proud of her, that she's your queen no matter what. And every day, tell her how beautiful she is."

Shavonda looked at me with a knowing look in her eye. We didn't have to speak, she knew what was on my mind. Next time we went shopping together, we were going to give Kenny a demonstration in racial stereotyping. I was going to show Kenny how Shavonda and Edie would be followed around the store while we were ignored.

After breakfast, we headed north to Altoona. I showed Kenny the Juniata shops where locomotives were repaired and rebuilt. He was impressed by the vast array of locomotives in various stages of overhaul, from the initial dismantling down to the bare frame, to newly completes locomotives waiting to be placed back into service. Once we were done, we stopped at a supermarket by the shops for some burgers to grill on the mountain.

We headed through the city streets to the outskirts of town, where we picked up a road that followed the railroad deep into the mountains past the lakes where the city held its water supply. At the uppermost lake, the railroad, high on embankments, looped around in a horseshoe curve. THE Horseshoe Curve, the spot that drew railfans from around the world to witness the age-old battle of heavy trains and steep mountain grades.

We paid our admission to the park, and lugged our cooler and grill up to the park itself, taking the incline rather than walking the steps. We also took a blanket for the baby to play on, and several of her toys. It was an enjoyable afternoon, with grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. And trains. Lots of trains to make Kenny's first visit special. We even held Miracle up by the fence to see them. I think the horns scared her, but I held her, rocking her gently and telling her it was all right.

In late afternoon, we moved on, stopping at the tunnels at Gallitzin, the top of the mountain, and Cresson where the helper locomotives were serviced. We ended the day at the railroad park in Cassandra, chatting with a couple of other railfans as the sun set. They mentioned something about a 590 coal train starting up the mountain out of Johnstown. We stayed, even though it would be well after dark when it arrived.

We could hear the train growling long before the headlight rounded the curve in the distance. We watched from the overhead bridge as it slowly ground its way towards us, thrilling to the sheer sound and fury as the locomotives passed beneath us at full throttle, followed by heavily loaded coal cars creaking past at about ten mph. The headlight from the helper locomotives shone dimly over the loads of coal, growing slowly closer until the locomotives thundered beneath us, crept around the curve and slowly disappeared. I stood on the bridge with my arm around Shavonda for probably a half hour as we listened to the sound of the train clawing its way through Lilly, Cresson, and finally throttling back at Gallitzin in preparation for the descent to Altoona.

"Doesn't that just give you chills?" Shavonda asked as we made our way back to the Jeep. I smiled. She got it. She understood my fascination with the railroad. I had grown up with this sound. It had been an integral part of my childhood. "Jason, why do the trains sound different here than at the farm?"

"Different types pf locomotives," I replied. "At the farm, most of the locomotives are EMD, which growl. Here, the helpers are EMD, but most of the others are General Electric. GEs chug, almost like a steam locomotive but much faster."

We made our way back to the motel, each couple retreating to our respective rooms for the night. It had been a long day.

That night, I pulled the folding chairs from the Liberty, and we sat on the balcony talking. Shavonda had been planning some things, and clued me in on what was up. "I booked us a couple of new events to sell our stuff at," she said. "They're a little different than what we've done in the past with the festivals. The first one is the Juneteenth celebration in Market Square next month. They contacted me and invited us to be one of the vendors. I am going to bring a lot of the African themed pieces I have in the Ellsworth store, and see how they sell. If we do good there, I am thinking about opening another store dedicated to the African stuff. I just have to figure out where would be the best location for it."