Page 9 of Secrets

Remembering what Mama Irene told him, he stepped off the porch and walked toward the gardens that he’d been laboring in for days. It was so satisfying to see them developing. The colors, green leaves, smells, and so much more had him feeling more satisfied than any win of his career.

As he approached the area he’d been planting in the last week, he noticed a shadowy figure kneeling by the tomato plants. Stepping as lightly as a man his size could, he approached the figure, then realized who it was.

“Millicent?” he asked softly, fearful of scaring her.

“It’s okay. I heard you,” she said, not looking up. “I’m good at hearing people coming toward me.”

Trevon frowned at her but kept inching closer. When he was in the row next to her, he knelt beside her, feeling the dampness of the earth on his knees.

“What are you doing out here all alone?”

“I like it out here at night,” she said with a half-smile. “I know that it’s safe, and there’s never anyone here. It’s so peaceful and quiet, I can almost hear the plants growing.”

“I didn’t mean to bother you,” he said, staring at her. He started to stand, but she gripped his forearm and then released it.

“You don’t have to leave. I don’t mind that you’re here. It makes me feel better. Safer.”

“Do you feel unsafe?” he asked.

“Sometimes. It’s another reason I come out here. It helps me to feel brave, even though I’m not.”

“I think you’re very brave,” he said with compassion. “You’ve obviously come here to start a new life and do something different. That’s pretty brave.”

“Did they tell you? The others, did they tell you about me?” she asked.

“No one has said anything about you to me,” said Trevon. “But I’m an awful good listener if you’d like to talk to me. I have noticed that you’re very shy around people, especially men, and it seems that maybe you went through something pretty awful. I’d be happy to listen.”

“You’re not going to like me very much once you find out about me,” she said, wiping the dirt from her hands. She started to stand, and Trevon stood before she could even get up. He held her elbow, helping her up. “Thank you.”

“Your past doesn’t define you, Millicent. No person’s past does. We aren’t responsible for mistakes made in our youth, for things our folks did, or stupid decisions we made in times of pain.”

“Did you make bad mistakes?” she asked.

“I’ve made a few. I didn’t help a friend when I should have. I didn’t step in and stop him from doing something really foolish. I’m not sure I could have stopped him, but I think about it all the time.”

She nodded and slowly started walking between the rows. He followed, keeping pace with her, not wanting to move too quickly.

“My older brother is in prison,” she said in a flat tone.

“That’s not your fault,” he said.

“No. I mean, I testified against him, so that is the reason he’s in jail. But he made the decisions about what he was doing to get him there. Does that make sense?”

“Yes. Your brother is a criminal,” he said with a half-grin.

“A murderer. He killed, beat dozens of people to death, and made me watch. Him, my father, and other brother. They’re both dead now, but Jay is still alive. He was always the meanest.”

“But he’s in jail, Millicent. He won’t hurt you from there, and the men here won’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen.”

He noticed that they were walking toward her cottage, and he just shuffled along beside her, not saying anything. Mama Irene told him he should come out to the gardens at night, and now he had, and he knew why. Millicent.

Millicent made a turn on the path, heading into the flower gardens. He was surprised, but secretly happy about it. The fragrance immediately hit him, and he inhaled.

“That’s what I do as well,” she smiled. She placed her finger at her lips, quieting him, and he stared down at her, puzzled. As they approached the flowers, he could see why.

“Lightning bugs?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” she smiled. “I like to think of them as fairies with lanterns. I tell myself they’re going from flower to flower to sprinkle them with magical dust to make them grow.”

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