A couple of years later and the week before senior prom, Sadie Ann found herself without a date having broken up with Matt Adamson, the football team’s All-Region quarterback. Knowing she could not show up alone, Sadie Ann set out on the quest to find a date to outshine Matt. She pondered for hours until she decided on the unthinkable. She would get Leroy to ask her … Leroy Edens was an All-State running back with a full ride to State University, not to mention valedictorian for the senior class.
Leroy would be prom king without a doubt, and Sadie Ann was a guarantee for queen so they would be the perfect pair. Just a few hints to her closest friends were the charm and Leroy broke up with his girlfriend of nearly two years to ask Sadie Ann to the prom.
Leroy thought Sadie Ann finally came around to understand black and white didn’t matter and that the two of them were made for one another. He showed up with a simple corsage for Sadie Ann only to find Matt Adamson posing for pictures with Sadie Ann. She simply laughed and told Leroy that Matt called the night before and begged her to go to prom with him. She half-heartedly offered to call Leroy’s ex-girlfriend but never so much as neared a phone.
Instead of heading to the prom, Leroy headed home and promised himself that he would never again be Sadie Ann Jennings’ fool. He would one day show her what a bitch she was and get his revenge. In the meantime, Leroy Edens set out to make the best of every opportunity life offered. In the years since graduation, Leroy played impeccable football while earning his business degree. Instead of heading to graduate school following graduation, Leroy was taking a professional football contract.
Back Home
Leroy Edens was always quietly succeeding in life with little or no recognition by anyone other than his mama. He was the first black valedictorian in Jefferson High School’s history, and the first football player to go to State University on a full scholarship. Therefore, no one should have been surprised when Leroy was drafted to professional football. Perhaps it was the nearly one million dollar contract that got everyone’s attention back home because during all of his previous trips home no one seemed to care.
Yet in two days, Leroy would be the grand marshal of the Memorial Day parade, making history once again in this little redneck town by being the first black man asked to fill that position. Leroy would not have agreed but for his sweet mama. He watched all those years as she toiled to make a way for Leroy and his three siblings. Leroy’s daddy died in a logging accident when Leroy was just a baby. Nonetheless, Leroy’s visit would be a short one as he would be leaving for camp in two days and had lots to settle before that time. The most important of the details involved the purchase of the Jennings family home. The home had been for sale for nearly two years with no offers. When Leroy’s manager made a cash offer for less than half of the asking price, Leroy was pleased to learn Mrs. Jennings jumped at it. Remaining anonymous until the sale was complete was only part of Leroy’s plan.
Leroy planned to buy and close the old diner as well to hopefully leaving Mrs. Jennings and Sadie Ann with no choice but to see employment in their former home as the help. What sweet revenge that would be for Leroy!
Mrs. Edens had long cautioned Leroy not to be consumed by his need for vengeance. She had no idea the gift she would be receiving soon. Just last night as they were catching up, she told him that the Jennings place sold with the family moving into the rear of the diner until they found somewhere else. She lamented over this misfortune that had befallen her former employer reminding Leroy just how good his mama truly was. Rumors were rampant about town as to who would be the new lady on the hill as many had often referred to Mrs. Jennings in years past. Leroy could barely keep himself from spilling his secret, but he wanted to present the home to his mother after the parade tomorrow.
Sleeping in after his late arrival, Leroy awakened to an empty house. A note on the kitchen table informed him that his mother and sister were off to neighboring LaFayette to pick up Mrs. Edens’new dress for tomorrow’s parade. Leroy smiled at the idea of his mother splurging on a new dress instead of reworking an old one as she nearly always did. Feeling the rumbling deep in his belly, Leroy decided to make a visit to the Jennings and the diner. He wanted to see if they were still as uppity now that they were practically homeless.
Donning an oversized hoodie and basketball shorts, Leroy slipped behind the wheel of his daddy’s old pickup. His mama refused to sell this truck, even when the family could have used the money over and over. Thankful for his mother’s devotion, Leroy pulled the old jalopy onto the street and headed to breakfast.
The Plot
