My Name Is River Blue Read Online Free Page A

opportunity to learn more responsibility when he told his son
that he was in charge of me. My new big brother supervised my homework and
chores. He made sure that I took a bath every day, got to bed on time, and was
up early enough in the mornings to dress, eat breakfast, and make it to the school
bus on time. Marcus took the job of caring for me seriously, and I think he liked
having a little brother.
    Marcus made me feel
wanted and worthy, and he always had time to answer questions and teach me. Had
I been older, I would have understood that he knew a thing or two about
prejudice and that it was important to him to help me build my self-esteem.
    The Abernathy house
was old, and although Mr. Abernathy had modernized some parts of it, Marcus's
bathroom still had a huge, claw foot tub with no showerhead. I was used to taking
showers with Sean in the big communal bathroom at the boys home, but I thought
using the tub could be fun.
    The first night
that I took a bath, I stood in the bathroom watching Marcus run the water for
me until it was deep enough and warm enough. Since the tub was the
old-fashioned, deep kind, Marcus had to lift me over the side, but he promised
to find a stool so that I could get in the tub without anyone's help. I told
him that Sean washed my hair, so I didn't get shampoo in my eyes, and he agreed
to help me. The difference was that he showed me how to do it and expected me
to learn to be independent. That's how Marcus did things. He helped me when I
needed it, but he taught me to do as much as I could on my own. Mr. Abernathy
made a stool for me, and I was proud that I never needed Marcus's help with my
bath again.
    "River,
don't you ever forget that knowledge is power. Learn everything you can, so you
can always be your own man." I'm sure that Marcus was passing on the
wisdom that his father shared with him when he was a young boy. It sounded very
much like Mr. Abernathy.
    The best I can
remember, Marcus was the first person who told me that the birthmark on my
chest resembled the state of Florida. Sadie explained that I had a birthmark,
but she never mentioned Florida. Marcus had to show me a map of Florida before
I understood what he meant. He was certainly not the last person to make the
comparison.
    After my bath
that first night, Marcus helped dry me with the biggest, softest towel I had
ever used, and he tied it around me before he watched me brush my teeth. When
he was satisfied that I did a good job, we left the bathroom and met Mrs.
Abernathy, who gave me a new pair of cartoon pajamas. I remember how proud I
was to have something new, and how important I felt when she told me I looked good
in them. When she took me to the family room to show me off to Mr. Abernathy,
he tried to convince me that he liked my pajamas so much that he was going to buy
the same kind for him. I knew he was joking, but he enjoyed teasing me until he
had me laughing as hard as I could.
    While Marcus was
using the bathroom, Mr. and Mrs. Abernathy tucked me into bed and each of them gave
me a kiss on my cheek before saying goodnight and leaving the room.
    When Marcus
finished in the bathroom, he ran to my bed, pulled up my pajama top and blew
raspberries on my belly. I giggled until tears ran from my eyes, and I was a very
happy boy when he gave me a strong hug before crawling into his own bed for the
night. I will never forget how gentle and caring that big black giant was to a
little kid who badly needed to be loved.
    While my
experiences that first night might have been routine for a regular kid with a good
family, those simple things brought me great joy, and I had never been so
happy. I had only just met my foster family, and I already loved them.
    As the days went
by, I became comfortable with my daily routine. I woke up early each morning so
that I had time to eat a hot breakfast before I ran down the long clay driveway
to catch the school bus. I wished that I could ride with Marcus and Tasha, but
Marcus had to