Today's Reading
Joe had been using the rock pillow ever since it emerged from the ground when a tractor plowed the garden in preparation for the spring planting. It was amazing how the soil continued to produce a harvest of stone. The men on the crew had started calling the pillow "Joe's rock." It made Joe think about the patriarch Jacob, who once used a rock as a pillow at a place where heaven opened and a ladder reached down to earth. So far, Joe's rock had only served to keep his head off the ground.
Seventy-five days earlier, the men had planted okra, bush bean, and lima bean seeds in cold frames built on the north side of the garden. They later added tomatoes and a special section dedicated to seedless watermelons. The earlier plants were maturing in the field. The okra plants were covered with light green pods. Fried okra would soon be on the menu for supper in the prison dining hall. Joe liked okra dusted in cornmeal and fried in a cast-iron skillet. The crunchy little pieces were like candy. He felt a tap on one of his black boots. He twitched it to the side. A second, more insistent tap followed.
"Joe, are you awake?" a voice asked.
"I am now," he replied, pulling the hat away from his face and sitting up with his legs crossed in front of him. "I was dreaming about a plate full of okra."
"That's not a dream," said Deshaun, a muscular Black man in his late twenties who'd recently come to faith through the influence of the men on the garden crew. "We'll be eating it tonight."
"And in a couple of weeks we'll have stewed okra and tomatoes," Joe said. "There are blossoms on the tomato plants."
Deshaun sat on the ground beside him. The younger man was serving a sentence of 120 months for robbing two convenience stores and a liquor store in a single night. No weapon was involved. Deshaun was arrested less than a quarter mile from the liquor store. He pleaded guilty.
"My wife served me with divorce papers," Deshaun said, hanging his head.
Joe frowned. They'd been praying for Deshaun's marriage in the Bible study and prayer group held in the building where both men stayed. The young couple had two sons in elementary school. Joe had met Kiesha once when she came to visit. She was a shy, quiet woman.
"I knew it was coming," the younger man continued. "One of my uncles found out she's been stepping out on me. I know ten years is a long time to wait, but she's stuck by me for over two years, and I thought we were going to make it."
"Just because she filed papers doesn't mean she'll go through with it."
Deshaun glanced over his right shoulder at the area where the rest of the men were relaxing. Ray let out a snort that signaled he was sound asleep.
"Maybe, but I can't take that chance," Deshaun said in a soft voice. "I believe I can stop it. My older brother and one of my cousins are willing to pay a visit to the dude she's seeing. They're big boys and should be able to scare him off."
"You don't want them ending up in a place like this," Joe said, shaking his head. "That's not going to solve anything."
"Oh, they'd just talk to him." Deshaun looked away. "Or knock him around a bit without really hurting him."
"Let's go at it another way."
"We tried praying."
"Pray and act," Joe said.
"What kind of act?" Deshaun asked with a puzzled look on his face. "We're locked up in here."
"Promise me that you won't turn your brother and cousin loose. Not yet."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Let me talk it over with Ray and get back to you later this evening."
Deshaun stared across the field toward the metal fence. He closed his right hand into a fist, then released it.
"Okay," he sighed.
* * *
The phone on Ryan Clark's desk hadn't buzzed all morning. That wasn't surprising. He'd been working at the law firm for only two months, and all significant communication about cases was funneled through his boss. Ryan had met with a handful of clients, but only when Tom Clark, Ryan's second cousin once removed, was also present.
...
