The Little Black Book of Secrets We Keep

Gracie Love strolled into the courtroom while people stared at her. Some of people were thankful that she had the opportunity to tell her truth and some of the people looked angry. The people who looked angry were perhaps, misled by the stories of people who tried to get away with several crimes. The Robinson family wanted Gracie to keep her mouth shut, but the truth had been held in her heart and mind for much too long. She braced herself firmly on the arm of her husband, David Love who was there to support her as they took a seat on the wooden bench closest to the door.

Moments later the bailiff said, “All rise, this court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Mary Washington presiding.”

The bailiff’s piercing blue eyes swept the courtroom twice before he said, “Everyone here in the case of, The State of Indiana versus Joseph Robinson and Lula Robinson, filed as case number 00019782010, please come forward.”

Wearing a brand-new suit, probably “borrowed” from Suits Galore Outlet Store, and a fresh haircut, Joseph tried to look professional for a change. Perhaps he thought putting new clothes over old smells would kill the odor. But a few pinched noses and grasps for fresh air as he walked past proved his tactic didn’t work. Lula wore a floral dress and a hat wide enough to fit everyone in the courtroom on the brim.

Gracie tried to calm her nerves. She smoothed out the skirt of her tailored brown suit which fit perfectly over her petite frame and grasped her husband’s hand one last time as she stood. David’s reassuring nod and dark brown eyes, glittering with compassion and love, only served to bolster her strength.

Judge Washington adjusted the papers in her folder as she took mental notes of the people in the courtroom. “Attorney McEnrow, you may proceed with your opening statement.”

Attorney McEnrow a tall, handsome man with deep set gray eyes, shiny gray hair swept to the side, and a suit that said he came for business, confidently walked to the front of the courtroom and addressed the judge.

“Your honor, my job here is to present evidence and testimonies that will prove that the defendants committed a serious crime, and then attempted to cover it up by committing another crime. Mrs. Gracie Love has been both a witness and victim for years of deceit, distrust, disrespect, abuse, and torment.”

“She has found the courage to come forth not only for herself, but also for the millions of children who have endured un-cried tears, untold stories, and unbearable pain from the sting of child abuse. My duty and mission here is to bring justice, where justice has been long overdue. In doing this, it is my hope that this process will be a liberating experience for both my client and for all of us who will witness this case unfold.”

“We are here today so that the truth can be told.” “Thank you, your honor this concludes my opening statement.”

Attorney McEnrow turned to face Gracie as he walked to be seated next to her. Gratitude showed, as she nodded and let out a sigh of relief followed by a few tears. The journey of what seemed to be a million miles began with the first step in the right direction.

The first person on the stand was the dispatcher who had taken the frantic call of a little girl in need of help. The short slender woman with blonde hair and hazel brown eyes looked at Gracie as she prepared to be sworn in to give her statement.

The court bailiff was interrupted as Joseph coughed and almost doubled over as though in pain, when the dispatcher said the words, “the whole truth.”

Judge Washington leaned forward and asked, “Mr. Robinson, do you have a problem with the whole truth, this early in the trial?”

Joseph looked up at her and said, “No your honor.” She leaned back in the chair and replied, “Okay then, we expect to be able to carry on without your interruptions.”

Attorney McEnrow proceeded, “To begin my task I would like to present my first piece of evidence. On the night in question, an only recently identified child made a frantic call to 9-1-1 to report a crime.”

The audio recording was shared. “Help me please! Please, please!” Ten-year old Gracie held the phone to her ear with one hand and the hand of her grandmother in the other. With a trembling voice she pleaded for help.

“I am Gracie and he is trying to make the police take me from my grandmother. He pushed her. Then she passed out and she is on the floor, but she is not breathing right.”

The dispatcher replied, “We will send someone right away.”

A sudden explosion of pain rendered Gracie speechless. Another ferocious slap made contact with her face, this time making her gasp for air as she fell back on the floor.

The woman’s voice on the other end echoed through the air, “Hello…..Hello….are you there? Is anyone there?”

Gracie’s sobs mingled with the sounds of scuffling overhead.

“You better get up from there!” Joseph yelled.

He turned to face Lula and yelled, “Quit dragging and find my coat woman.”

Joseph kept a grip on Gracie’s shirt collar to hold her in place.

Lula turned to face both of them. “Don’t just stand there, go and find her keys. We’re going to have to take her car because we can’t make it on foot.” She tossed a gold necklace, a small black notebook, a box of antique coins and keys in the bag.

“Sirens!” Joseph said, peering out the front window. “They’re coming. We must leave now, get to the back door! Gracie gripped the curtains, trying to lock her body into place. Oh, how she wanted to remain with her grandmother. Gracie knew someone needed to help her. However, Joseph overpowered Gracie and they disappeared into the night.

Reflections…

Coming in from day one of the trial that seemed to Gracie like the trial of the century, she immediately attempted to put the events of the day behind her. She smiled at David to mask her pain as she had become accustomed to, but he could see her pain. He always did his very best to bring joy to her life.

David began to dream out loud with Gracie, “So honey, are you ready to start planning for our 10th year anniversary celebration?”

Gracie was quickly angered by his question and gave David a defiant look. While she had mastered many arts, she had not yet mastered the art of communication.

“So why do you want to hop on the bandwagon and tell me what to do just like everybody else?”

David intentionally decided he was not going to feed into the negativity so he replied to gain understanding. “Perhaps you are struggling to hear me properly due to everything that is happening in your life right now. I am not here to hurt you; I am here to help you.” Gracie fired back at David, “I don’t know who you think you are talking to, but since I’m the only one in the room with you I’m going to assume you were talking to me. Since you brought up the subject of struggle, let me tell you a thing or two about struggling, Mr. I know all the answers. Struggling is facing abandonment from both your parents as a child. Struggling is being lost in the world and having to be an adult when you are a child. Struggling is being homeless. Struggling is trying to learn how to trust and love all over again, after you’ve been hurt over and over again. But I don’t expect you to know anything about struggle since you inherited the family car dealership, the family land, the family house and $20,000 of extra spending money.”

David stood in disbelief as he stared at his wife. “Now I know that you are under a lot of pressure right now, but your communication is unacceptable. I don’t owe you or anyone else an apology for my success.”

“The true measure of a person is when you can maintain and be a good steward over what you have been given. Many people receive an inheritance and they lose it because they don’t know how to handle success. Please don’t try to blame me for the life you had. None of us can change our past, but we can work toward a better future. You keep talking about your past and allowing it to hold you back. Have you ever considered releasing the pain of your past so that it does not consume the rest of your life? Do you have the answer to that Gracie?”

Gracie was silent as she submitted her barriers for the sake of hearing wisdom from David. Once he realized that he had her full attention he really put his foot down.

“I hope you enjoyed venting your anger at me because that’s the last time I’m going to stand for it. I hope you don’t allow your past to trap you from the potential awaiting you in the future. You need to understand that I can only help you when you let me in, but I cannot do your inside work for you.”

In that moment Gracie chose to begin her journey to true peace. She opened a box that had been sealed from her childhood to reflect. Then she discovered a small black notebook that contained secret ingredients to the recipes that were passed down from more than two centuries. Her great grandmother used it to record important birthdays and wedding days of various family members. Her grandmother used it to record addresses, book notes, family birthdays and business secrets. Her mother let it collect dust. Then Joseph stole it or perhaps it was a copy that he stole and came close to killing her grandmother for the secret that he thought would lead him to collect $20,000.

When Gracie discovered the small black notebook, it was like discovering a valuable piece of a puzzle that would help her connect with her ancestors. Her Grandmother had the foresight to have an original with the title, “The Little Black Book of Secrets we Keep.” Then she had a copy that did not have the title written inside. As Gracie read through the small black notebook, she began visiting the addresses recorded in the notebook. One of the addresses was for a storage company.

When she arrived with instructions from the small black notebook to access the storage unit, she discovered more than she expected. There was a treasure chest that included book copyrights and patents from her family members. It included secret ingredients to create recipes that could build multigenerational wealth. It included patents for inventions that her grandfather created. It also included an address and telephone number for their family bank.

When Gracie visited the bank, the branch manager smiled and said, “I have been looking forward to meeting you.” The branch manager shared fond memories of her grandmother as she accessed the bank account. Gracie received $20,000 as an inheritance from her grandmother. There was a separate account with seed money for Gracie to start the business of her choice. Once the business plan was written, David and Gracie planned the anniversary celebration of their dreams and it led to brighter days for their marriage. The little black book of secrets turned out to be the vital piece of evidence that allowed the court case to be solved. The little black book of secrets we keep also turned out to be the vital piece of evidence that led to inner peace for Gracie.