He Thought He Was Never Mine by Perry Terrell

He Thought He Was Never Mine

By Perry Terrell

         It was love at first sight for Krista Porter and Vernon Peyton.

         Krista’s church from the poor side of town was invited to Vernon’s church for a good old fashioned, back in the day fellowship. Pastor Elliott was very excited to accept the invitation for his members. He had heard about the posh surroundings and bountiful feasts Pastor Turner would have for his guests. Pastor Elliott felt that a good treat from his church with the leaky roof and a feast of bologna sandwiches with Kool-Aid and one cookie per person would lift many of his members spirits. He knew there would be fancy cakes, different kinds of hot and cold drinks, gourmet sandwiches and probably some hot food served. And that’s not to mention rubbing elbows with the rich and influential.

         Mr. and Mrs. Porter, Krista’s parents, took her shopping to buy her a nice new dress to wear. The boys on Pastor Turner’s side of town were from rich to filthy rich and Krista might just snag her one. Her parents couldn’t afford much more than just getting by from pay check to pay check. And, she was thinking the same as her parents.

         The service was very inspirational and very short. One hour and the whole thing was over. Then it was time to fellowship and eat.

         Krista and Vernon arrived at the punch bowl at the same time. Their eyes met and he offered to pour her some punch. There was four different kind, so he asked her which kind she wanted. Krista was so mesmerized with Vernon’s good looks, she could barely answer. She had to point to the kind of punch she wanted.

         Vernon introduced himself and asked her name. Her name could have been Puppy and he would have said it was a pretty name. Krista was the prettiest girl he had seen in his life.

         There were a couple of available seats, so Vernon asked if she would sit and talk with him. She had no intentions of saying no, because he was the handsomest boy she had ever seen in her life.

         They sat down with their cake and punch and asked each other all of the questions two people just getting to know each other would ask. What school do you attend, where do you live, do you have sisters and brothers, what do you like to do, what is the name of your church, etc. Then to top it off, as Krista had hoped, Vernon asked if he could call her sometime.

         Every day that week following the church service, Vernon drove his Jaguar over to the poor side of town and picked Krista up and took her places, fun places. They went to the movies, skating, to a play, to the mall, an expensive restaurant and finally a picnic in the park on Saturday.

         They kept seeing each other after school every evening until the places they started going were where they could be intimate. That was just fine with Krista because she was in love. She had no idea how Vernon felt about her because she was afraid to ask him and he never said. But she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

         There was only two weeks left for school and since both of them were graduating, Vernon was college bound. Krista had planned to work her way through college and Vernon’s parents just had enough money to go ahead and pay for his education.

         They did not go to each other’s graduation ceremony because both were on the same day.

Finally, Krista was concerned and mentioned to Vernon that she had not met his parents, siblings, and none of his friends. She knew deep down that she did not fit in with his life and lifestyle, but she had hopes for the transition.

         It had been six months since they met, so Krista felt she could talk to him and ask him whatever she wanted. She also felt she could express her feelings for him.

         Vernon told her that he couldn’t take her home with him because his parents would not approve. Naturally, she needed a better explanation than that, so she asked him why. She asked him didn’t his parents, the rest of his family and friends know that they were dating.

         He told her that they were just friends and that he already had a girlfriend.

         Krista was terribly confused. She wanted to know where was that fathom girlfriend since they had been seeing each other on a steady basis for the last six months; and why wasn’t she at church the Sunday they met.

         Vernon explained that his girlfriend was a year older than him and was in college already. And that she would be home for the summer. He went on to tell her that he would be attending the college his girlfriend attends and that they would not be seeing each other anymore.

         Krista was destroyed but she kept her composure.

         Vernon went on to explain that his parents did not want him to get involved with a girl that was from the section of town that she lived. It would bring shame and disgrace to his whole family, especially his grandparents.

         Krista couldn’t believe what she was hearing. But she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her show broken hearted emotions that would boost his ego.

         She calmly told him that she agreed that they should not see each other anymore. He agreed and she got out of his Jaguar and went back in her parents’ house.

         The next day, Krista told her parents that Aunt Georgia had asked her to visit her in San Francisco and she was going for a couple of weeks, maybe a month. She told her parents that there was a City College there and the tuition was much less than any other college she had researched. Therefore, if it were alright with Aunt Georgia, she would stay with her and go to college there.

         Aunt Georgia was her father’s sister and they had stopped speaking years ago for some unknown reason. She would send Krista gifts from San Francisco, so her parent’s thought she was telling the truth. And they did not do anything to verify her story. They were just happy for her that Aunt Georgia was speaking to at least one member of the family.

         Her parents made her promise to keep in touch on a regular basis and she agreed. They were going to give her a ride to the bus station, but the car wouldn’t start. They wanted to know what happened to Vernon and why wasn’t he giving her a ride. She told them that Vernon was going on a trip overseas with his parents for the summer and would be gone the whole time; and they agreed to take some time apart to evaluate their relationship.

         Once again, her parents did not question nor try to verify her story.

         Krista was happy that her parents car would not start which resulted in her taking a taxi. She didn’t want them to see where she was really going. Besides, if they had a good enough car, they could have driven her from Shreveport, Louisiana to San Antonio, Texas. She didn’t have much money saved and that was as far as she could go.

         When she finally arrived in San Antonio, she went directly to the YWCA. She told them that she had just graduated from high school, would be looking for a job. And by the way, she revealed that she was two months pregnant by a rich boy that was too ashamed of her to introduce her to his family and friends. The administrator appeared to understand and gave her a pamphlet to read.

         The first thing that caught Krista’s eye was their mission statement which stated, “At YWCA San Antonio, our mission is to eliminate racism and empower women. Every day, we get up and do the work of justice through affordable and accessible childcare, teen development, mentorship, economic empowerment, and breast cancer services.”

         The words that caught her eye was “empower women.”

         Usually there was a wait to get a room, but they just had a young woman to find an apartment and they had a vacancy.

         Krista was lucky enough to be given a job at the Y where 7 months later she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy that looked just like Vernon.

         She kept replaying Vernon’s words of him saying they were just friends. Everyday she looked at that little boy, she would tell herself that they were more than friends. Vernon would always be hers.