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| Soul Matters : A Novel by Yolonda Tonette Sanders 
Chapter One: The Perfect Package It was ten minutes to three, and Wendy was eager to get out of work on time. “Start cleaning up now," she said to her first-grade class. They had crayons, markers, and books all over the place. “Be sure to put everything back where it belongs. After you're finished, line up at the door and wait there until the bell rings.” Much to Wendy’s surprise, her instructions were followed with little resistance. A few students mumbled about not being able to finish what they were doing, but even they cooperated without her having to say anything else. Maybe they could sense that something was different about her. Toward the end of each day the children usually had exploratory time and were allowed to choose among various activities such as reading, coloring, playing educational games, or anything else Wendy deemed appropriate. She normally walked around the classroom and interacted with several students during that time. However, this entire week she had sat at her desk like a watchdog, responding only when needed. “Just a few more days . . .” Wendy murmured to herself. Next Wednesday the school would be closed for Christmas break, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was looking forward to having some time off. Although she was only seven weeks pregnant, she was beginning to feel the effects this pregnancy was having on her body. She used to have the vitality of a three-year-old, but lately she felt like she would lose in a race against Methuselah. She was convinced that the term morning sickness was deceptive. If the feelings of nausea, vomiting, heartburn, and headaches were confined only to a few hours of the day, it would make the first trimester of her pregnancy much more bearable. Instead, she was liable to experience morning sickness at any given moment of the day. While the children were cleaning up, Wendy was on the edge of her seat as she waited for the bell to ring. Thank God it’s Friday. She didn’t think she would be able to make it another day. She was going straight home after work. She would not leave the house until it was time to go to church Sunday morning. After service, Wendy would then go over to her parents’ house to celebrate her father’s birthday. Wendy hoped to feel better by next Friday, when she and her husband, Kevin, were scheduled to go to Philadelphia and visit his family for the holidays. The Ohio native would rather spend her Christmas vacation recuperating from her ailments in the comfort of her own home, but there was no way she could back out of the trip now. Her mother-in-law was ecstatic about the pregnancy and could not wait until they got to Philly so she could show Wendy some of the things she had already bought for the baby. “Keep your hands to yourselves,” Wendy said to two young boys who were shoving each other. “He started it!” David stated, pointing to Jeffrey. “Nuh-uh, he did!” Jeffrey pointed back at him. “It doesn’t matter who started it – both of you knock it off,” Wendy replied sternly. Secretly she knew that David probably was at fault, but she didn’t feel like investigating the issue. David was bigger than the other first-graders in both height and weight. Jeffrey was one of those children who looked like he had been born premature, and his small size made him an easy target for David. Even though David was sometimes a bully, Wendy had taken a great liking to him; probably because he reminded her of herself. Wendy had never been a bully, but she had been heavy and tall as a child. She used to feel awkward standing next to other children in her class. It irritated her when adults would ask how old she was and then say, “You look like you should be older than that.” It wasn’t until the summer before her freshman year of high school that she began to thin out. All of her adult years, Wendy managed to remain a size eight, but she had to work hard at it, contrary to her younger sister, Kim, who naturally wore a six. When the bell rang, it was music to her ears. “Okay, let’s go.” Wendy jumped up and escorted her class to the pickup area. Once they were there, another staff member would stay with them until their bus or a parent came to get them. When they reached their destination, Wendy said good-bye to her students and headed back to her classroom. “Attention, all teachers and staff: Mrs. Phillips, please come to the office. Wendy Phillips to the front office, please,” she heard Donna Burchett, the office secretary, announce over the PA system. For what? Maybe I should go ahead and leave. No one would be able to say for sure that I was in the building during the announcement. Wendy was only a few doors away from her classroom, so all she had to do was grab her stuff and head home. However, she reluctantly turned around and walked toward the office at a medium pace. Her shoulder-length hair often bounced as she walked. Today it was pulled back in a ponytail. Wendy actually hated ponytails and only wore her hair in that style when she worked out. However, since she had been experiencing morning sickness she devoted less time to her appearance. She even had her glasses on, and Wendy normally wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of glasses. “Wendy Phillips, please come to the office,” Ms. Burchett repeated. Coming! she wanted to yell. I hope it is something simple like a signature needed on some paperwork I filed. She dreaded the possibility that a parent would be waiting to speak with her about his or her child’s behavior. “Hi, you paged me?” Wendy inquired as she burst through the door into the administrative office. “Yes, dear. You had a telephone call,” Ms. Burchett replied, exposing the gap between teeth stained from years of smoking. “A telephone call? From who?” Wendy asked, scrunching her eyebrows. No one ever calls me at work. Her friends and family knew that she taught and was unavailable during the day. “It must be from a parent. I’ll take the message, but I’m not calling anyone back until Monday.” “No, honey. It wasn’t from a parent. Someone called from a Dr. Korva’s office.” “Oh,” she said nervously, trying hard to keep her composure and not panic. “I wrote down the number.” Ms. Burchett handed Wendy a piece of paper and pointed to the phone on her desk. “You can call from here if you’d like.” She carefully studied Wendy’s response. “That’s okay. I’ll wait and call later since I’m getting ready to leave anyhow.” “The lady didn’t tell me why she was calling, but it sounded important.” Wendy could tell that Ms. Burchett was fishing for information. Odds were, she had already tried to gather as much as she could from the person who called. Wendy hadn’t told anyone at the school about her pregnancy yet, and now was not the time to make that announcement. “Thanks so much, Ms. Burchett, but I’m sort of in a hurry so I’ll just call back from my cell phone on my way home.” “Okay. I just hope everything is fine,” she said with her narrow, bluish green eyes peering from the top of her glasses. “Are you sick, honey?” “No ma’am,” Wendy said honestly. Her mind was so boggled with getting to a phone to return Dr. Korva’s call that the feelings of morning sickness had been temporarily suppressed. “Then why would someone from a doctor’s office call you?”
Soul Matters: Part 1 | Soul Matters: Part 2 | Order Soul Matters |
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