Loves Redemption by Kimberly Terry (best books to read for teens .TXT) 📕

solicitor for many years and he knows how important this is for me and he assures me he will find you, darling.

“Along with all of my worldly goods I send you this videotape and all of the contents of this small package.”

She held up a container filled with pictures and cards and directed the contents toward the camera.

“These are the correspondences your mother and I exchanged, along with the pictures

Lizzy would send to me of you her and your father.

“I love you very much, darling, and please find it in your heart to forgive not only me but your grandfather as well. I love you, Maya…”

* * * *

“Maya you’ve had a lot of challenges thrown in your path from early in your life and yet

you’ve persevered to become this incredible woman. I can’t even imagine having had to do

without family like you had to at an early age. I know you had Ally with you, but it’s not the same as having loving parents to care for you. I don’t want you to think I’m being judgmental, it seems as though life has thrown you as many curve balls as they have for some of the women at Imani House, yet you were able to maneuver around them. I think it shows a lot about your will and determination,” he said as he listened to her speak of her deceased grandmother.

Silently acknowledging his words, Maya remained quiet and settled her body closer

against his. She thought of the residents of Imani House, the majority women, and how she

shared a similar background with many of them.

Mark had led a life of privilege and would never really be able to understand what it was

like to be poor and have to struggle to make ends meet. He would never be able to fully

understand what it was like for her, as a black woman, who’d grown up in a poverty stricken world, unloved and discarded, to rise above her circumstances and forge a better life for herself than those around her had.

“You’re right when you say life has thrown me a lot of curves, more than some, and

thankfully a lot less than others. But I’m not sure I can dismiss the will or lack of will of others who’ve had to deal with adversity as well. I think everyone deals with adversity as well as prosperity in their own unique way. I really believe there’s a thin line separating all of us from one another. Accident, fate, or genetics--we all have a story that’s brought us to become the person we are as an adult,” she began.

“And life is full of coincidences. There’s a thin line of coincidence and luck, affecting

everything from our DNA to who parents us. Based on that, anyone at anytime, could have a

different outcome in life.”

“That’s true. I guess I don’t understand why two people can come from similar

backgrounds, with the same opportunities presented to them, and one can end up overcoming

their life obstacles and the other doesn’t. I’m probably not saying it in a real politically correct kind of way, but I really don’t understand.”

“I don’t think anyone else does. At the same time what’s the definition of success? You

don’t always know what’s going on inside the ‘successful’ person’s head. You may think that person has it all together. But on the inside, they are a literal mess. Some people are better able to hide the mess than others,” she finished with a half smile.

“What about you, baby? Are you ‘hiding the mess’?”

“Oh yeah,” she laughed. “Some of it still lingers. I’ve worked hard, and continue to work

hard at cleaning up most of mine. It’s a lifelong process for all of us. Some have a head start over others. You wanted to know how my race has affected me in life? How it’s altered my

perception?” she asked him.

“Yes. You never really bring up the issue. Jordan and I once talked about it, and I

realized then, you’ve never shared with me that part of your life.”

Maya could hear the question in his voice. “It’s not that I don’t want to share my life with you. Being black is who I am, Mark. I can’t hide that from anyone, and neither would I want to.

I’m proud of my heritage, the good and the bad. Being a black woman in a white male-

dominated society has taught me one thing,” she said with a humorless laugh.

“What’s that?”

“Ultimately, it’s up to me to determine my success. I grew up in a poverty stricken area.

There were blacks, Hispanics, and whites in my community. I saw the good and bad in each one of them, no matter what race they were. When you’re poor and disenfranchised, race will always take a back seat to survival. Like I said, we all have mess,” she laughed somberly. “What about you? Do you have any mess to hide?”

Mark always considered himself blessed not to have had to deal with most of the crap he

came across on a near daily basis in his duty of police officer. He’d come from a ‘good’ family, had never lacked for anything. He’d gone to private schools and gone to college and law school without worrying about how it was going to be financed.

He’d never had to work while in school like some of his classmates, and had interned at

his dad’s law firm as his first job. He supposed some would say he’d been born with the

proverbial silver spoon in his mouth.

The disappointment of not joining the law firm had caused a separation between him and

his dad and brothers. Only his mother understood his need and love to do police work. His

grandfather had started his career as a beat cop and had worked his way up to chief of police.

Mark had admired his grandfather, and knew police