Excerpt from Buses Are a Comin' by Charles Person, Richard Rooker, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Kenneth lived with Papa and Grandma. He knew sorrows I did not. Kenneth never knew his real father, and his mother died on his fifth birthday. So, Papa time, for me, was also Kenneth time.

I'd knock on Papa's door and let myself in. There Papa would be in his blue-and-gray plaid flannel shirt with his ribbed undershirt peeking through as he rocked away in his chair. His crossed legs held the book he was reading, and the bottom of a laced brogan shoe showed a small hole revealing Papa to be a man who not only wore his clothing stylishly, he wore his clothing out. The barbershop smell of bay-rum aftershave splashed on Papa made me want to sink my nose into his cheek. I gave him a hello hug.

"Hey, Bo," he said. I was Charles to my teachers, Tony to Mom, Bo to Papa. Where Bo came from is a mystery, but it's what he called me, and it stuck.

"Hey, Papa," I replied. "What are we going to do today?"

Kenneth joined us.

Papa was a carpenter by vocation, a coin collector by avocation, and a voracious reader. The first thing Papa did in the morning was open his Bible and read. Papa loved his Bible. He loved teaching Kenneth and me the role Africa played in the Bible—Moses and Zipporah, Abraham and Hagar, and the kings and queens of Africa. I think Africa was as important to Papa as Jesus.

"Well, Bo," he said, "I want to teach you and Kenneth more about Haile Selassie."

We already knew Haile Selassie was the current emperor of Ethiopia and that Papa revered him. Haile Selassie painted a picture in Papa's mind of the wealth and power the ancient royalty of Africa possessed before imperialism came and took the riches—and the people—for their own. Haile Selassie in his regal robes, proud posture, strong face, and determination was as important a person for me to learn about as President Roosevelt.

"You are like Haile Selassie, Bo, because people called him many names—Jah, Janhoy, Abba Tekel, and HIM."

I liked HIM the most because it stood for His Imperial Majesty. I could imagine me being HIM someday.

"Does having lots of names sound like anyone you know?" Papa asked me.

"Me." I beamed. "Me, Papa."

After we talked about leadership and being strong and imagining our futures, Papa turned to woodworking.

"Let's make more progress on the birdhouse," he said.

Another time I went to Papa's, Kenneth opened the door with a curled smile that ignited excitement in me. His shoulders rose in the giddiness that says in a secretive way, "I know something you don't know."

"What?" I asked. "What?"

"Wait till you see."

I entered Papa's house.

"Papa says it's time."

Papa joined us in the doorway. His hand held out a small gold piece of metal.

"Boys, here's the key."

As soon as we saw it, we knew where to head. We ran to the black trunk in the corner of Papa's living room. Bulbous silver metal protected each of its eight corners like shoulder pads on a football player. Tarnished, scraped banding along each edge spoke to its age. We inserted the key into the lock and turned. The clasp fell open. Kenneth and I each unlatched one of the two metal hasps on either side of the lock.

We lifted the lid. It seemed like forever I had wanted to know the answer, and a million times I had asked, "What's in the trunk, Papa?"

"It's not time," Papa would say.

And the now I wanted would be postponed again.

The shallow tray covering the lower and larger portion of the trunk contained commemorative coins and old books that looked as fragile as brittle autumn leaves. Papa lifted the tray out of the trunk to set it on a table. That was the mistake.

"Boys, look at these. Look at these coins. These are colored folks on here. These are our people. This is our money."

He tried to capture our interest. Kenneth and I tried to obey. But our eyes wandered from his lesson on the table to the bottom of the trunk.

Excerpted from Buses Are a Comin' by Charles Person and Richard Rooker. Copyright © 2021 by Charles Person and Richard Rooker. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.