Read Online Vivid by Beverly Jenkins - Free Book Online Page A

narrowed.
    Abigail said, "Oh, all right, maybe
there won't be a next time."
    Vivid smiled. Yes, she liked the Grayson
women.
    Nate looked from aunt to doctor, shook his
head, and said, "I'm going to wash up and change."
    Dinner that night was glorious. Vivid sat
at the table in a fresh clean skirt and blouse and knew that her mother would
have been appalled at the amount of food she had just consumed. Her mother
believed that a lady never ate more than a nibble of this and a dabble of that,
but Vivid had always had a healthy appetite, and as long as one didn't display
the table manners of a cretin, she didn't feel it necessary to apologize for
enjoying well-prepared food. Besides, she'd been eating train and coach meals
for what seemed like months. She was close to starving.
    "There's more turkey, Dr.
Lancaster."
    "I can't eat another bite, Abigail. Thank
you."
    Vivid could feel Nate Grayson watching her
so she turned to him. "Yes?"
    "Just wondering where you put all
that food, Lancaster."
    Vivid felt embarrassment stroke her
cheeks.
    Abigail smiled over her teacup and said,
“Behave," to her nephew.
    Vivid made it a point to ignore Grayson
for the remainder of dinner. He seemed content to let her be, though on more
than one occasion Vivid looked up to find herself under his speculative
scrutiny.
    When the conversation dwindled to a close,
Vivid could not hide the large yawn that escaped her. She was tired, but the
excitement of this new adventure made her want the day to continue. Abigail had
other ideas. "Nate, take her over to the doc's place and make sure she
gets settled in. Magic, you go on, too, and help the doctor unpack what she
needs for the night."
    "That really isn't necessary,"
Vivid offered. "If you point me in the right direction, I can find
it."
    "Nope. Nate, go with her. Take Magic.
I'll be over after I clean up here."
    Abigail steadfastly refused Vivid's offer
to help with the dishes. "Young woman, you can barely stand. Get on over
to the house before you fall asleep on your feet and Nate has to carry
you."
    That got Vivid moving.
    The little house she would be occupying
was set in back of the main house. The land surrounding it had been cleared for
acres around. She could only imagine how long it must have taken the Grayson
ancestors to carve out this small paradise.
    "How long has your family been here,
Mr. Grayson?"
    "Since '37," Magic answered for
him. "Pa Grayson got freed and came here all the way from Carolina."
    "Did he come alone?" Vivid asked
her.
    "No, there were thirty-four people.
They came here and founded Grayson Grove. Do you have a family, Dr.
Lancaster?"
    “Yes, I have parents and two older
sisters. Jessica and Alicea."
    They stepped onto the wooden porch and
Grayson opened the door and held it aside for the ladies to enter. The front
room was small, consisting of a blanket-covered cot against one wall and a
small desk and chair against another.
    "This is where Doc saw his patients
till he got drunk and fell off the roof of the Emporium and died," Magic
volunteered.
    Vivid stared. Grayson offered nothing but
a stern look in his daughter's direction.
    In the back there were three more rooms: a
bedroom, a kitchen, and a room equipped for surgery.
    "How many people are in your
community?"
    "Almost three hundred if you also
count the Black folks in Casapolis and Calvin Center."
    "Spread out over how many
miles?"
    "Most are within a few, some as far
away as ten, twenty. Why?"
    "Because I need to meet everyone, get
their names, ages, medical histories."
    She saw the odd look on Grayson's face and
asked, "Is something wrong, Mr. Grayson?"
    "Doc never did that."
    "I'm not Doc," she said with a
smile. She then turned to his daughter. "Magic, why don't you help me
unpack?”
    Since the bulk of Vivid's belongings were
still at the station, it only took Vivid and Magic a few moments to transfer
the clothing and toiletries into a big Saratoga trunk sent over by Abigail. When
the job was done, Magic