Jada closed the door behind Erna. She waved her over to the chair in front of her desk. Jada had to fight down the memories of the day that Reiner had walked into this same room and taken her against the wall. She couldn’t go down memory lane at the moment with his mother sitting in the room.
Jada took a seat behind her desk and waited for the woman to start. Her new hair took years off her and made the resemblance between her and Reiner more prevalent.
“I know we didn’t get off on the right foot,” Erna began.
Jada kept her face void of all emotions. On the inside she was a hot mess, but she refused to show how she really felt.
“And I’ve come here to make things right, Jada. I don’t want there to be any animosity between us and I’m woman enough to admit when I’m wrong. I’m sorry.”
Jada’s mouth flopped opened in shock. She had imagined every other situation possible, but her outright apologizing was not how she’d imagined this conversation going.
“I’m not sure what to say,” Jada admitted.
“I don’t expect you to say much. I see how much Reiner loves you and how happy you make him. When he called and told me about the baby, I knew that I had to come clean. I don’t want to risk losing my son or my grandchild.”
“He told you about the baby?” Jada whispered. She knew that Reiner had been going crazy about the baby. She was surprised he hadn’t taken out billboards around the city to make the announcement that they were expecting.
“Yes, and that’s when I knew I had to come and speak with you.” Erna’s hand shook as she brushed her hair behind her ear.
“Look, Erna, you don’t owe me any explanation—”
“But I do.” Erna stood from her seat and began to pace. “I am not a racist woman. I want to tell you a story that will explain my actions.”
Jada sat shocked in her chair as she watched the older woman pace back and forth in front of her desk. She didn’t know what to say so she figured she’d just let the woman get whatever she needed off her chest.
“Okay.”
“During the sixties, I was involved in the civil rights movement locally, and I’m sure you can imagine how rough it was in Texas back then. Well, anyway, my best friend, Sara Smith, was right by my side the whole time. There were so many marches back then. We were right there in the midst of the protests. The way African Americans then were treated was downright shameful, and we wanted to make a difference.”
Jada was blown away. Erna Strickland had marched in the name of civil rights? Her wall that she had built to keep the woman away from her heart was starting to crack. The past few months, she had built it to protect herself. It had bothered her that Erna couldn’t accept her.
“Sara met a nice young man named James Holden. James was a sweet black man who adored Sara. But no one saw how much Sara and James were in love with each other.”
Dread filled Jada’s stomach as she listened to the story. She was pretty sure she knew how it would end and bit her lip to keep from interrupting Erna, who was lost in thought as she spoke.
“I can remember the day still as if it were yesterday. We had gone to Birmingham for a march, and things got out of hand. The police and the dogs were all over the streets. I can still hear the screams of people as they turned the water hoses on the protestors.” Erna paused and stared down at the floor as if reliving her memories. She brushed a finger across her cheek to wipe the tears from her face.
“And,” Jada gently urged her on.
“We escaped from getting arrested. I remember us running, trying to get away from the dogs and police. When we finally thought that we had put enough distance from the craziness, all hell broke loose.”
Jada sat with bated breath listening to the story. Now she had to know how it ended. She sat forward on her chair as she waited to hear what Erna would say next.
“A few white men had been watching Sara and James and figured out they were together. They were the ones who had taunted them the day before at a diner when we had first arrived in Birmingham, and apparently they had been keeping an eye on James and Sara. Well, that night during the chaos, the men decided that they would get revenge on James for taking one of their white women. Mind you, they didn’t even know Sara. It was Sara who saw the gun first and dove in front of James, taking a bullet for him.”
The tears were freely flowing down Erna’s face and Jada’s. Jada wiped the tears from her cheeks as she sat stunned in her chair.
“Their relationship was never easy. From the moment they fell in love, they had it hard. I never wanted that for my child. When Reiner told me that he was interested in a black woman, all I could think about was Sara and James. I wouldn’t wish what they went through on anyone. Sara died saving James.”
Jada stood and walked around her desk. She stopped in front of Erna.
“What I heard from the story of Sara and James was how much they were in love. They fought together and believed in their love, so much so, that Sara gave her life for James. That is the ultimate sacrifice to show someone how much you truly love them. Reiner and I may not have to go through what couples had to go through during the civil rights movement, but do know this: I love Reiner with every breath in my body. He is the reason my heart beats.” She smiled through her tears as she stood before Reiner’s mother. Just thinking of her sexy football star and she knew that if need be, she would be his Sara.
“Can you ever forgive me, Jada?” Erna asked, searching Jada’s eyes.
Jada nodded, too choked up with emotions, and she watched the older woman open her arms for her. She rushed forward as the tears flowed down her cheeks. Her wall that she had built was officially torn down. She understood that Erna had felt that in her own way, she was trying to protect Reiner.
Erna’s strong arms encircled her and squeezed tight. Jada returned the hug and blamed the tears on her hormones.
“Am I interrupting something?” a deep baritone spoke up from the door.
“Reiner!” Jada’s head flew around, and she caught sight of Reiner standing inside the doorjamb. His large frame filled the doorway. He stood with a confused look on his face.
“It’s all right, honey,” Erna murmured, wiping her face.
“Mom?”
His eyes widened as he took in his mother’s new look. His gaze flew back and forth between the two women, and Jada’s lips turned up in a small smile as she walked toward him. He enclosed her in his arms and laid a kiss on her forehead.
“Do I even need to ask what is going on?” he said.
“Let’s just say, everything’s all right,” Erna announced as she ambled to his other side.
He looked between them, and Jada nodded.
“We’re good, babe.” Jada’s eyes met Erna’s, and she knew that it was a step in the right direction. They would have to get to know each other, and she was confident that they would make their relationship work. They both had too much to lose.
“Well, I need to be going,” Erna said. “Do I pay at the front desk?”
“It’s on me, Erna.” Jada shook her head. There was no way that she would charge her future child’s grandmother.
“Thank you, my dear. You must come back to the ranch next time Reiner comes home.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jada nodded as Erna placed a kiss on Reiner’s cheek then exited the room.
He turned to her with wide eyes. “What did I just walk into?”
“Well, your mother and I had a talk, and we’ve come to an understanding.” She patted him on his chest. She moved to step back from him, but he shut the door and pulled her to him.
“Oh, no. You don’t get to give me a vague answer. Spill it.”
His eyes narrowed on her as she leaned into him. She loved the feeling of his strong muscles around her and counted her blessings for finding him.
She smiled up at him and knew that he was it for her. She couldn’t wait to hold their child in her arms and reached up and entwined her fingers together at the base of his neck.
“Your mother told me a story that made me realize why she was afraid of us being together, and as she was telling the story, it made me realize one thing.”
“What is that?” he asked, brushing her hair from her face.
“How much I really love you.”