…Sufficient… Author: G. Lloyd Helm #LiteraryFiction

Posted: January 11, 2021/Under: Uncategorized/By: Christine Young

…Sufficient… Mason College was a liberal southern school trying to peacefully integrate in 1967-68, but the Ku Klux Klan has different ideas.

…Sufficient…: Literary Fiction

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BLURB: …Sufficient…

The title …Sufficient… is taken from Matthew 6:34. “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow will take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Stephen Mitchell discovers the true depth of that quote when none of the plans he makes ever seem to work out and he finds himself in the midst of the battle for equality on many fronts.

EXCERPT: …Sufficient…

The aromas were thick and delicious when they reached the church kitchen. Roast turkey, country ham, greens with bacon, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes with cinnamon, and pumpkin pie. There was also old-fashioned Brunswick stew complete with short pieces of corn on the cob and squirrel meat. Pinto beans. Iced tea, both sweet and bitter, and lemonade finished out the service line.

The dishes were stacked at the beginning of the serving line just like the cafeteria at Mason, with silverware wrapped in a napkin and drinks at the end.

Stephen felt himself looking anxiously for Jackie Bookman, but somehow doubt she would be there kept picking at him. He was almost convinced his doubts were right when they started serving at noon and she was still absent.

“Looks like your friend isn’t gonna help after all,” Paul said.

Stephen shrugged. “Ah well,” he said, looking toward the entrance just in time to see Jackie coming in. She wore another pair of form-fitting dark-green pants and a lighter green blouse that made his breath catch. She waved as she stepped in and came around the end of the line. “Where do you want me?” she said.

“Better get an apron from over there,” Paul said. “Then you can stand right here by Steve.”

“Okay, good,” she said, sounding chipper as a mockingbird.

She went to get the apron and was back in a moment.

Stephen served a big spoon of mashed potatoes and poured gravy over them and handed them down to Jackie who put a spoon of dressing and gravy. Each person she served got a hearty “Happy Thanksgiving.”

A young lady with creamy chocolate skin stepped up. Stephen thought he recognized her from last year. There were several black students mixed into the crowd this year. “You’re looking better this year,” she said to Stephen.

Stephen grinned. “Yeah, I guess. I rode the bus this year.”

The young lady smiled and moved on, getting her dressing and gravy then moving on down the line.

“What happened last year?” Jackie asked.

“I had black eyes and a swollen nose.”

“How come?”

“I had a disagreement with a couple of Memphis cops. Almost got arrested,” he said lightly.

Jackie’s chirpy mood seemed to suddenly darken. “What happened?” she asked.

The line had grown much longer so he said, “I’ll tell ya later,” and kept dishing.

In a couple of hours, the line slowed down and Stephen and Jackie took a break. They got glasses of iced tea and sat down across from one another.

“So how did you get beat up?” Jackie said.

“Driving while black,” he said.

Jackie’s eyebrows pulled down questioningly, so Stephen explained about being stopped.

“Why on earth were you in the car with a bunch of nigras?” she asked.

Stephen looked at her, and blinked, remembering Bill Thinning’s answer about why he used the word nigger.

“They were my friends. One of ‘em was my roommate. They were going to Memphis and I needed a ride.”

“But—” Jackie began

Stephen cut her off. “The Ku Klux Klan killed my roommate Robert a couple of months later.”

Jackie didn’t go on with whatever she had been about to say, then said, “I remember that.”

“I dreamed about Robert last night,” Stephen said, suddenly finding a catch in his voice so couldn’t go on.

Jackie looked at him and saw the tears forming in his eyes. She reached across the table and took his hand. After a moment she said, “Well, I hope you don’t bear any grudges.”

Stephen looked a question at her. “My daddy’s a Memphis policeman,” she said.

Oh shit, Stephen thought.

KEYWORDS

1968, Integration, Memphis, Assassination of Dr. King, KKK

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LINKS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sufficient-G-Lloyd-Helm-ebook/dp/B08CWPD3HX/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=…Sufficient…+Helm&qid=1594869319&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sufficient-g-lloyd-helm/1137310787?ean=2940162783251