Read Online Hidden Memories by Robin Allen - Free Book Online Page A

“Ramion talks a lot about his family.” Handing Linnell the Tupperware container, Sage said, “Here’s a cake I made for dessert.”
    “Honey, you didn’t have to do that.”
    “I wanted to,” Sage said. “It’s rum cake. I hope everyone will like it.”
    “Umm, smells delicious,” Linnell said. “Come on in. Olivia and the kids are downstairs.”
    Ramion and Sage smelled collard greens and sweet potato pie as they entered the house. They followed Linnell down the narrow hall, passing the living room and dining room along the way. The large kitchen was bright and cheery, decorated in yellow-and-green wallpaper scripted with the names of herbs and spices. The yellow- and white-tiled floor complemented the yellow valances draping the windows.
    Ramion peeked inside the porcelain pots on the stove. Some food was prepared, while other dishes were still cooking. He tasted a forkful of collard greens.
    “Stay out of my pots, Ramey. You know better,” Linnell chided.
    “I had to taste the greens, Ma. They’re just right.”
    “I know, boy. I been cooking greens longer than you been on this earth.”
    Raymond Sandidge came into the kitchen followed by his seven-year-old grandson, Richie. “Hey, son. About time you got here,” he said, looking at his watch. Raymond Sandidge was narrowly built and, unlike his wife, his body and hair had thinned over the years.
    “Hi, Pops. This is Sage,” Ramion said after a quick hug.
    Sage extended her hand, and Raymond reluctantly shook her hand. “I’m from the old school, I’m afraid. Don’t much like shaking ladies’ hands, but it’s good to meet you. Ramion has talked a lot about you.”
    Sage smiled her greeting at the deep-brown man wearing bifocal glasses. “How are you, Mr. Sandidge?”
    “I’m doing fine. I’ve watched two football games, and I can’t wait for the big game at eight.”
    “Hi, Uncle Ramey,” Richie said.
    “Hey, Richie, what’s happening, little man?” Ramion asked, peering down at his nephew who was tall for his age. Richie was caramel brown, and his black curly hair was cropped on the top and clipped close around his ears and the back of his head.
    “Nothing much.” Suddenly his black eyes lit up behind his brown-framed, square-lens glasses. “We don’t have to go back to school until next week,” he smiled, revealing the gap left by two missing front teeth.
    “That’s great. You deserve a break,” Ramion said.
    Richie looked at Sage and asked, “Are you Uncle Ramey’s new girlfriend?”
    “Yes, I suppose,” Sage replied.
    “I didn’t like his other girlfriend,” Richie said.
    “Humph, neither did I,” Raymond said. “Edwinna looked down on us. Miss High and Mighty.”
    “That’s not polite,” Linnell said.
    “It’s certainly something you’ve said yourself many times,” Raymond said to his wife of thirty-seven years.
    “Go on downstairs,” she said, moving her hands in a shooing motion. “Out of my kitchen. No offense, Sage, but I’m trying to get dinner ready.”
    “I understand,” Sage said, realizing full well that Linnell was trying to get out of an awkward moment.
    Downstairs in the den, Sage met Ramion’s sister, Olivia, and her four-year-old daughter, Courtney. Olivia was petite and wore her reddish-brown hair in an ear-length bob.
    The den revealed a lot about the Sandidge family. From the comfortable, well-worn red-and-black plaid sofa and love seat and a lazy chair positioned diagonally from the 40-inch television, it was obviously a room where the family came together. From a bookcase brimming with VCR tapes, most of them old movies like Casablanca , Duel in the Sun , Stormy Weather , Carmen , Imitation of Life and The Count of Monte Cristo , Sage learned that Ramion’s parents appreciated quality.
    Olivia motioned for Sage to sit next to her on the sofa while she pulled out the photo albums filled with family pictures chronicling their lives from childhood to the present. As they flipped