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Within Her Grasp

By Donna L. Rich

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Not that Marzie Spencer noticed the man who crossed the sidewalk in front of her, but his pleasant, dignified appearance drew her attention, to say the least. The well-dressed gent sent a glance in her direction while she assisted Patricia Wingate in getting her second-grade class from the school to the park. Of course, she noticed him, but what would he have to do with her? 'Marzie, you've spent your life resisting the song within. Have you grown to be no more than a wrinkled bead of bittersweet catering to your cynicism and regret?'
He stood out in Pleasant Tides, Georgia, where a growing number of men her age hid potbellies under their polo shirts and catered to their quest for youth by riding Harleys and buying big boats. Nevertheless, even this specimen of perfection reminded her of the imperfection of men.
Patricia glanced back at the group of twelve students who were sandwiched between Marzie and three other grandparent mentors from SKAP, the Skilled Assistant Program. The group had formed in order to teach underprivileged kids how to read. Patricia slowed while Marzie caught up with her. “Who’s that man, Marzie?”
Embarrassed to the core that anyone would notice her watching a strange man, she redirected Patricia’s attention. “No one I know, but Gabriel DuBois is quite a shrewd fellow for a second-grader.” Marzie brushed a lightning bug from the leg of her khakis while the group continued across the park to the playground.
“Be very careful how you react to him, Marzie. He’s smarter than you think. Just because he can’t read doesn’t mean he’s not intelligent. He’s learning to work the system and us. I’ve known him to outsmart me on many occasions.”
Marzie understood why. The Creole mix child with light-brown skin and curly blond hair had learned to fend for himself with an absentee father and negligent mother. “I’ll be watchful. It takes a good deal of trickery – especially from an eleven-year-old – to fool me. I’ll help him learn to read, but he won’t wrap me around his finger. I promise you that.”

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