Looking For Trouble by Trice Hickman

amass more wealth than even his father had obtained, and be blessed to have a loving wife, a beautiful and successful daughter, loving grandchildren, and would live nine decades in peace and happiness—was too much for his rational mind to absorb in the here and now. She knew that prophesies and spirits didn’t exist in his structured world, which was ruled by logic and reason. So instead of telling him what had been prophesized to her by a nineteenth-century ghost and witnessed by her own eyes, she simply told him what he needed to hear at the moment.
    â€œOpenin’ up that bank ain’t just your dream, baby. Your mama and daddy, me, and all your ancestors been dreamin’ right along with you. Trust in God and let him lead you in the right direction. He showed you a sign today. That woman over at the hotel ain’t the one for you, baby.” Allene grunted. “But there’s somebody out there who is. Somebody who’s real, with a pure heart. She’s gonna come to you when you least expect it, but when you need it most. You watch and see.”
    John looked up into the sky as Allene was doing. “Grandma, you’ve never told me anything that wasn’t true. So, as unlikely as what you said seems, I’ll try to be as optimistic as you are.”
    â€œSounds like you done gave up on love.”
    â€œWell, kind of. I’ve had a lot of women, but I’ve never been in love. I don’t even know what that feels like.”
    â€œBaby, you just wait. Things are gettin’ ready to change.”
    John laughed and shrugged as he shook his head.
    â€œOne more thing,” Allene said. “Use your book learnin’ for startin’ that bank, but use the God-given common sense runnin’ through your veins for everything else. Every friend ain’t good, and every enemy ain’t bad.”
    â€œFirst you tell me I’m going to find true love, and now you’re telling me I need to watch my back?”
    â€œThat’s right. That’s exactly what I’m tellin’ you.”
    â€œGrandma?”
    Allene knew what he was going to ask, so she quickly responded to him. “I just get a feelin’ about these things. I can’t tell you why or how I know. But when God puts somethin’ on your heart, you have to pay attention.”
    John smiled. “I woke up this morning with a feeling that something great was going to happen today. Now I know that I wasn’t wrong. Your wisdom and love are the greatest gifts I could have. I love you, Grandma.” John leaned over and gave Allene another kiss on her cheek.
    â€œI love you, too, baby.”
    Allene and John enjoyed another hour of conversation before he headed back across town to the hotel.
    â€œLord, thank you for givin’ my grandson some smarts,” Allene said aloud as she watched John’s car roll away. “Keep that woman away from him, and let him see her for who she really is before it’s too late.”
    She rocked back and forth in her chair, thinking about what John had told her. “King,” she whispered, freeing the word from her mouth. It had curdled like sour milk in the pit of her stomach. A queen and a princess were in John’s future, but there was no room for a King.
    Allene had done her best to maintain her composure when John had uttered his girlfriend’s last name. As soon as she heard the word “king,” she had wanted to drop to her knees and pray. But she knew she couldn’t alarm her grandson, so instead she rose from her chair, went into her kitchen, and poured two glasses of lemonade. She said a prayer she had been rehearsing all morning—the one that Susan had branded into her memory over the last eight decades. It was a prayer of protection, meant to form a shield against anything that was rooted in bad intentions. Then she parted her lips and took a small sip from the glass meant for her grandson.
    When she