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  Ebony turned to Nina with tears in her eyes. “I told you.”

  Nina was leaning against the wall between the living room and the entry way trying to give mother and daughter some space. But when she saw the look of desperation in Ebony’s eyes, she knew she had to intervene. Nina rushed over to Gloria and put her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Please listen to her, Ms. Jones.”

  She brushed Nina’s hand off. “How can I listen to this?” She pointed at her daughter. “Ebony wasn’t raised like this. We are a Christian family with morals.”

  Donavan had been sitting on the stairs in the entryway. He stormed into the room, stood in front of Ebony’s mother and said, “If your family is so Christian, then why don’t you practice some of that love the Bible talks about?”

  “Donavan!” Nina admonished.

  “No, Mama, she’s wrong,” Donavan said as he turned back to Gloria. “I’ve been in trouble myself, and because my parents are Christians, they forgave me and stuck by me.”

  Gloria slumped back in her seat. “But things like this aren’t supposed to happen to Christians.”

  Head still bowed low, Ebony said, “I’m sorry I disappointed you, Mama. But you’re not perfect either. Before you started going to that church, you had three children by three different men.”

  Gloria’s mouth fell slack. “How dare you bring that up in front of these people.”

  “I’m not trying to embarrass you, Mama. But if God forgave you, don’t you think He can do the same for me?” There was pleading in Ebony’s voice, and it melted her mother’s heart.

  Gloria went to her daughter. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she held her. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. We’ll make this right, I promise.” They held each other and cried. Held onto one another tighter, and then cried some more.

  Nina and Donavan walked into the kitchen, made a couple of sandwiches, and headed back toward the living room. When they returned and Donavan saw that Ebony and her mother were still crying and that his mother’s eyes were beginning to water, he told his mother that he had some homework to finish.

  Nina smiled at her son and let him escape. The last place he wanted to be was in a room full of crying women. Like father, like son.

  Nina allowed Ebony and her mother time to bond as she sat across from them silently praying that God would mend this broken family. She knew first hand that God could do just that. Nina, Isaac, and Donavan had been living separate lives for many years. She and Isaac both loved God and tried to do His will, but they just couldn’t connect. And their disconnection caused Donavan to stray. Almost caused the end of their family. But God…

  Nina said, “When you two get home, don’t forget this moment. Don’t forget to love each other. It’ll help you get past the pain.”

  Ebony pulled away from her mother’s embrace and walked over to Nina, bent down in front of her, and said, “Thank you.”

  Tears filled Nina’s eyes as Ebony hugged her. “I’ll miss you more than you’ll ever know. You are precious to me.”

  Ebony gathered her things and left with her mother.

  ***

  “What am I suppose to do with Cynda’s child?” Isaac was treading back and forth in the living room of Keith’s small home while Iona slept in the spare bedroom. He had much on his mind, most of all, Nina. She’d been told a little over a year ago that she would never be able to have another child. How could he now bring her a child that he had with another woman?

  When he first met Cynda, about twelve years ago, he had been dazzled by how gorgeous she was. He had already been dating Nina for about a year when he met Cynda, but his and Nina’s relationship was on the outs. Nina hadn’t been happy with his life style; hadn’t wanted to be a part of his world. At that time, Isaac thought if he spent time with Cynda, she would take his mind off of Nina. But it didn’t happen. The more time he spent with Cynda, the more he disliked her. She was shallow and self-centered; Thought the world owed her something just because she was beautiful. When he cut her loose, her vindictive behavior sent ripples of tidal waves through his life. But he had no idea that it would eventually turn into a tsunami.

  Nina loved him. He knew that without reservation. But he had put her through so much mess during there rocky years together, and even more during their years apart. Would this child prove to be the final straw?

  Isaac turned to Keith. “You still want to marry, Cynda?”

  “I never used the word want,” Keith corrected him.

  “Point taken. But do you still believe that God wants you to marry her?”

  Keith put his head in his hands. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

  “Look, why don’t we see if we can get her out of jail before any decisions are made?”

  “I can get her a lawyer. I can do that much for her,” Keith said.

  “All right, and I’ll stay here with Iona until we know something concrete,” Isaac told his friend.

  Keith smirked. “Scared to face the little woman, huh?”

  “That way I can be here to see if Iona’s no-good mama can get out of jail. Then I’ll at least have an answer for Nina as to whether or not we will be keeping Iona, or if Cynda will be able to do it.” They agreed on a course of action and then went to bed.

  But Isaac couldn’t sleep, or rather he didn’t want to sleep. He knew what was coming and fought hard to not let it over take him again.

  People always wondered how God was able to get big-bad Isaac Walker’s attention. God hadn’t been subtle or lovingly kind with the way he dealt with hard-headed Isaac. No, Isaac was so bad God had to drag him to the altar via a first class trip to hell.

  He would never forget the smell of decay, death, and dying he endured on his guided tour. Pain still consumed him every time he reminded himself that his brother, the original Donavan, now resides in hell – forever. Donavan had only been fourteen when he was murdered during a back alley crap game and he had never committed his life to Lord. So when his life on earth ended, a torturous life in hell began and Isaac had been forced to watch it happen. He wished he could forget the agony on Donavan’s face that he’d witnessed as the demon’s tortured his frail body.

  But things like that were impossible to forget when he was forced to relive them over and over again in his sleep. Try as he might, Isaac couldn’t keep his eyes from closing. And no sooner than they did, he drifted back into the place where hundreds of menacing spirits stood, growling and snarling. The demons were of varied shapes and sizes. Some were as big as a grizzly bear with heads like bats and ten-inch fangs. Some were small and monkey-like, with big hairy arms. Still others had large heads, large ears and long jagged tails. The most dreadful of all were the smaller piranha-like imps. They infested their victims in swarms and gnawed at their flesh.

  As it always happened, when he was forced to experience this episode, two of the big grizzly demons stepped from the pack carrying Donavan like a Ken doll. One of the demons put his spear in Donavan’s flesh. Isaac heard his little brother scream and beg for mercy.

  Isaac ran to the demons screaming, “Noooo!” as if he would be able to change destiny this time around. Never mind the fact that he hadn’t changed the outcome the sixty-five other times he had relived this episode in the past ten years.

  The demon lifted his spear again, positioning it for Donavan’s chest cavity. Isaac grabbed the spear and tried to yank it out of the demon’s hand, but its grip was much stronger than anything Isaac had ever known. The demon swatted Isaac to the ground. Venomous fluids oozed from his mouth as he hissed. His beady eyes centered on Isaac. With his lip curled and fangs fully exposed, he lunged.

  Isaac scurried out of the way. Scrunched in a corner, he was forced to witness every painful moment of Donavan’s torture. Two demons grabbed Donavan’s arms and stretched him out crucifixion style

  “Donavan, run!” Isaac called out to his brother as another demon lifted his spear. The spear pierced Donavan’s left shoulder.

  “Aaar
rhhh!” Donavan yelled.

  “Nooo!” Isaac yelled as the demon pulled the spear from Donavan and lifted it to impel him again. Isaac was no punk, and he wasn’t about to take this mess while hiding in a corner. He got up and ran full speed toward the offending demon. He jumped on its back and tried to pull the spear from his hand.

  The demon hissed and cackled as he shook Isaac off his back. He picked Isaac up like he was a Raggedy Andy doll and threw him across the room. Isaac hit the wall. Whoosh– his breath exited his body as he slid down the wall and landed on a heap of limbs. Dazed, Isaac shook his head.

  The nine-foot tall demon turned jaundiced eyes in Isaac’s direction and pointed at him. “Stay there,” he ordered.

  Isaac climbed down from the pile of limbs and ran back to the demon.

  Jaundiced eyes was waiting for him. He put his spear down. Isaac advanced and then, the demon spat green slime on the ground. He picked Isaac up by the collar and pimp smacked him and threw him against another wall.

  Isaac didn’t get up.

  The demons then brought another person into the room. It was Iona. He closed his eyes tight to this new pain. Both of the grizzly demons took one of Iona’s arms and pulled her until she stood crucifixion style. A third demon walked toward her with spear in hand.

  Iona looked to Isaac with fear in her eyes. “Daddy, daddy, help me,” she cried out.

  The spear toting demon turned to Isaac and said, “If you don’t want her, we sure do.”

  “Nooo!” he screamed as he jolted upright in bed. Panting, he wiped the sweat from his face and declared to the forces of darkness, “You can’t have her. My family belongs to the Lord.”

  9

  Keith couldn’t sleep either. He stayed up half the night praying and petitioning God for a way to save Cynda without sacrificing himself. In the end, he relented. He would marry Cynda and love her and she would break his heart, just as the prophet Hosea’s heart had been broken by Gomer – the prostitute God had required him to marry.

  Isaac was right about one thing. Keith did feel responsible for his mother’s death. He’d done everything he could to get Dorthea Williams off drugs, but she couldn’t let it go. He’d finally given up; walked away. The night he told her he wanted nothing else to do with her was the night she turned her last trick.

  He wouldn’t give up on Cynda. He promised God that he would go the distance to ensure a better life for Cynda and Iona. He mortgaged his house and hired the best lawyer he knew. If she was going to beat the charges against her, Jim Reid was the man for the job.

  Jim and his wife, Marline, attended the same church as Keith. He’d always enjoyed fellowshipping with Jim and now he was putting his future wife’s life in this man’s capable hands.

  Reid worked his magic and was able to get Cynda released on house arrest until her trial. One catch: since Iona was in the house when the incident took place, Cynda was not allowed to remain the custodial parent.

  “Is the child’s father able to take custody?” the judge asked during custody hearing.

  “We haven’t heard from him in ten years,” Cynda answered.

  “Well, if the father cannot be located, we will have to put the child in foster care.”

  Nostrils flaring, Isaac, who was sitting in the back of the courtroom with Keith, stood up. “I’m Iona’s father,” he said. “I’ll take her.”

  Cynda began to scream vulgarities at him. “You can’t just give him my child!”

  The judge had to bang the gavel to get her to shut up. “That’s enough, Miss Stephens.” Cynda continued on with her obscene rant.

  Impatiently, the judge asked, “Is he the father?”

  Cynda turned fiery eyes on Isaac. “He thinks he is, but I’m a prostitute, judge. Anybody could be Iona’s daddy.” With a glint in her eye, Cynda added. “She might even be yours, Your Honor.”

  He banged the gavel once again and then pointed at Cynda. “I can tell you right now, Ms. Stephens, this is not the Maury Show. This court does not have time to sift through possible fathers for your daughter. You should be grateful this man is willing to step up to the plate.”

  “Your Honor, Cynda doesn’t care anything about her own child. She would rather let you send my daughter to a foster home than tell you the truth,” Isaac said.

  The judge jotted a few notes down on his note pad and then turned toward back to Isaac. “I’m ordering a DNA test. If the child is yours I will make sure that you receive full custody until Ms. Stephens can prove to this court that she is a responsible citizen.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor,” Isaac said, then added, “I’m going to need to receive temporary custody papers so I can enroll her in school while we are waiting on the DNA results.”

  The judge jotted more information on his note pad. “Bring the child back this afternoon for the test, and my clerk will have the documents you need waiting.”

  With that, Cynda had to be removed, kicking and screaming from the courtroom.

  Isaac and Keith left the courtroom shortly after Cynda and the team of security guards that carted her back to jail. Isaac fumed, “She acts like I am thrilled to be the father of her child. Who would want a child by that nasty wh-”

  “Look Isaac,” Keith said, cutting him off. “If you don’t want to take Iona home with you, just leave her with me.”

  “I don’t need you to take over my responsibilities. I got mine.” Isaac stalked away from Keith mumbling about Cynda being a no-good gutter snipe.

  Keith caught up with Isaac and apologized. “I didn’t mean to upset you. It just seems like you don’t want to take Iona.”

  “Iona has nothing to do with this. It’s not her fault that her mother is a--”

  Keith held up his hand. “Then take her home, introduce her to your wife.”

  “It’s not that simple, Keith. I can’t just walk her in the front door and say surprise, honey, I’ve got a daughter. What’s new with you?”

  Keith rubbed his jaw. “I guess you’ve got a point there. But you’re married to Nina, Isaac. She will understand.” Keith smiled at his friend. “Matter-of-fact, the Nina I know would welcome Iona with open arms.”

  “Well, the Nina I know is still grieving over the fact that she can’t have any more children.” Isaac closed his eyes and shook his head. “I got to go pick Iona up from school. I’ll talk with you in a couple of days.”

  Isaac lifted his face to God. “I need your help with this one.” His shoulders slumped from the weight of his troubles as he walked away from his friend.

  Keith’s heart went out to him. He hoped that he and Nina could work this out. But right now he had his own problems. He left the court house and went to his office to talk with Janet. As usual, faithful Janet was seated behind her desk typing away.

  She looked up and smiled at Keith. “About time you decided to come to work.” She lifted a Burger King bag off her desk and handed it to him. “I figured you were running around taking care of so much stuff that you wouldn’t have time to get lunch. I picked you up two chicken sandwiches. No pickles, lots of mayo.”

  Again, Lord, why not Janet? The smile on his face was awkward as he said, “Thank you, Janet.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked.

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  He hesitated. “Come into my office for a minute, okay?”

  She followed him, then closed the door and sat down in one of the office chairs in front of his desk.

  She had on a beige pants suit that tastefully accented the curves of her body. She looked good in that suit, but she looked good in all of her clothes. Instead of sitting behind his desk, Keith plopped down in the chair next to Janet. They stared at each other for a moment. Keith scratched his throat and then broke the silence.

  “You know how much I depend on you, right?” he said to Janet, looking her in the eye.

  Janet nodded.

  “And you know that I think you are a wonderfully spi
ritual person, and well… how much I enjoy your company, right?”

  Slowly, she answered, “I think so.”

  Nervously, Keith cleared his throat. “So, anyway, I have been praying and seeking God for the woman I’m supposed to marry.” He saw the smile on her face and turned away from it. “God showed me who that woman is, and I just wanted to tell you about it before I talk to her.”

  Her hands went to her hips. “Excuse me.”

  “Well, to tell you the truth, I had hoped God would tell me to marry you.”

  She held up a hand. “Are you telling me that God told you to marry someone else?”

  Elbow on the armrest of the chair, forehead in his hand. “Yes, that’s what I’m telling you.”

  “Why?”

  He saw the tears forming in her eyes and could do nothing to stop them from falling. But he could at least tell Janet the truth of the matter. “She’s headed to prison, and it’s partially my fault. If I had obeyed God when he first told me to marry Cynda, she probably wouldn’t be in this predicament. But I wanted a woman like you – someone thoughtful and kind.”

  She stood. “I don’t understand you, Keith. You say you want a woman like me, but instead of getting to know me better, you’re just going to marry some woman who might be headed to prison?”

  “It sounds crazy, I know.”

  She walked out of his office. He got up and followed. “What are you going to do?” Keith asked.

  Janet sat down behind her desk. “I’m going to get back to work.”

  He looked at her as if she was crazy. “Just like that?”

  Shuffling some papers, she asked, “What do you want me to do, Keith? We never really got anything going. I know we both thought something would happen, but hey, I am not about to fight against God.”

  “So you’re going to continue working here?”

  With a wicked smile, she told him, “Yeah, I’m going to act like some of the women in the church that want to be the pastor’s wife so bad that they secretly hope his current wife passes away in her sleep. Except I don’t need your future wife to pass away, just maybe get a long prison sentence. Then you’ll come to your senses.”