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  Although Janet had some seriousness to her tone, after uttering the words, both she and Keith began to laugh. Keith then covered her hand with his and said, “I’m sorry.”

  ***

  Keith went back to the jail so he could have a moment alone with Cynda, who was jumpy and anxious.

  As soon as she sat down, she asked, “So when can you get me out of here?”

  They talked between a glass partition. Both held a telephone to their ear so they could hear the other. “Well, first I need to know if you have family here in Chicago,” Keith asked.

  “What do you need to know that for?”

  “In order for them to put you on house arrest, you need to have someplace to go.”

  Cynda shifted in her seat. “I ain’t got no family. Only person I ever had besides Iona was my grandmother, and she died twelve years ago.”

  Keith wanted to just take Cynda into his arms and hold her. She put on this tough girl façade, but he saw through her.

  “Why can’t I just go to your house?”

  Here was his chance. He had to convince Cynda to marry him and Keith thought that if she had to pick between jail or life with him; surely, she would pick him. “The only way you can stay at my house is if we are married.”

  Her head jerked. “What?”

  “I’ve been praying about this, and I believe that God wants me to marry you.”

  With a smirk she asked, “What did you do to God?”

  “This isn’t about me. It’s about what God wants to do for you.”

  Cynda laughed at him. “You’re willing to marry a soon-to-be-convicted murderer. Man, you are ate up, for real.”

  “You can’t live in my house if we’re not married.”

  Cynda was silent for a moment, but she quickly turned an accusing finger on Keith as she asked, “Why’d you let me spend the night a couple days ago if you are so moral and upright that you can’t have a woman live with you unless you are married to her?”

  “That was for one night. I wasn’t going to let you and your daughter spend the night on the streets. But this is different. You will be in my house everyday and night for months before all this mess is resolved.”

  Cynda sneered as she mockingly asked, “Too much temptation for you, Daddy?”

  Way too much. “If you want to marry me, I’ll take you home.”

  “I don’t want to marry you or anybody else. Got it?”

  He stood. “Call me if you change your mind.”

  Cynda rolled her eyes, and watched Keith walk out of the visitation area, leaving her in this place to fend for herself. No matter, she had taken care of herself for as long as she could remember. Nobody looked out for her. She watched her own back.

  Cynda was beautiful and she knew it. God should have been more careful with His beautiful people. But maybe it was like her grandmother had told her when fat o’ Suzy Stelson busted her lip and sent her running home.

  Cynda’s grandmother opened the door and demanded to know what had happened to her. “Fat o’ Suzy hit me,” Cynda cried.

  “Well, what made her hit you?” her grandmother inquired.

  “She told me that I was a whore just like my mama. And I told her she was just mad because Jerome didn’t like ugly and neither does God.”

  Grammy pulled Cynda into an embrace. “Chile, God don’t care nothing ‘bout pretty or ugly. What God don’t like, is wrong.”

  And hadn’t her life been wrong since the day she was conceived? Her daddy was some married Hispanic man. That was wrong. Her mother wanted to be with her pimp even though he abused her until the day he killed her. Something was definitely wrong with that. She’d never experienced love in all her twenty-nine years; just a bunch of users. God just didn’t like her. And that was wrong.

  “Hey, Cynda, we heard you off'd Spoony. Is that a fact?” a big, muscular biker chick asked when she’d been placed back into her community cell.

  Lying on her musty cot, Cynda glanced up and snarled, “Get out of my face.”

  “Oh, so you think you’re bad now? Kill one played-out-pimp and all of a sudden you don’t have to speak to us common folk no more.” Cynda ignored her. “Oh, so you don’t have to answer Big Rosa? Is that what you think?”

  Cynda kept her head turned and her mouth shut. She just wanted to be left alone. Was that too much to ask?

  An instigating inmate yelled to Big Rosa, “I know you’re not going to let that piece of crap disrespect you like this.”

  Rosa turned on the instigator. “I don’t need you to tell me what to do.” She turned back to Cynda. “You gonna answer me or what?”

  This time when Cynda didn’t respond, Rosa grabbed her by her shirt and pulled her off the cot.

  Cynda spit on her. Rosa pounded her big fists into Cynda’s face. Cynda didn’t even try to fight back; Didn’t care if Rosa killed her. As she dropped to the ground she felt multiple feet kicking and stomping her. Someone kicked her in the head and her brain rattled as she floated into unconsciousness for the second time that week.

  Before darkness overtook her, she thought of the disappearing man she met when she was nine and had gotten lost.

  The man had told her that the Good Shepherd loved her, and that if she got lost, he’d leave all that he had to come find her. The one that got away. Her last thought was of the Good Shepherd. Where was He?

  ***

  When Cynda’s attorney told Keith that she’d been rushed to the hospital, he went out of his mind with worry. Isaac and Iona had left an hour before he got the news. He could have called Isaac’s cell phone, but Isaac wouldn’t have much sympathy for Cynda right now, so he suffered alone.

  Driving to the hospital, Keith kept praying that God would spare her life. This was the woman that God ordained for him to have. “God, please let her live.”

  Keith had gone to Cook County Courthouse right after he received word of Cynda’s brutal beating. He tried to get a marriage license, but the clerk of courts told him that he had to bring Cynda with him. So he went to the hospital to convince Cynda that he was a better deal than getting beat in prison.

  When Keith stepped into Cynda’s room, he was unprepared for what he saw. He’d gotten used to the scars and bruises; Cynda seemed to live for the opportunity to be someone’s punching bag. But he’d never seen her face as swollen or as black and blue as it was now. Her right arm was in a sling. His heart went out to her. He was more determined than ever to marry her and give her a better life.

  He leaned down and whispered into her ear. “Cynda, it’s me, Keith. I don’t want them to lock you back up. I want to take you home with me. Okay?”

  Slowly, she nodded.

  He put her hand in his, held his breath and prayed that the Lord had softened her heart toward him. “Will you marry me, Cynda?”

  “Whatever, man. I don’t care,” she mumbled in a barely audible voice.

  Keith had been single for a long time, but he had always imagined that the day he asked his future bride to marry him, she would be so full of joy that tears would fill her eyes as she jumped out of her seat to hug and kiss him. None of that happened of course and Keith felt cheated. He vowed right then and there that Cynda would never feel cheated. He would do everything he could to ensure that her life with him would be a happy one.

  It took three days before Cynda was able to leave the hospital. When Cynda’s court appointed counselor came to the hospital to go over the house arrest details, Keith told him that he needed to take Cynda to Cook County Courthouse to get a marriage license. The counselor agreed to go with them to pick up the marriage license.

  Because Keith knew that Cynda was still in a lot of pain he rented a wheel chair to get her from the hospital to the courthouse and then to the house he would share with her. Once they had filled out the paperwork and received their license, the clerk of courts told them that the license would become valid twenty-four hours after receiving it and invalid after sixty days.

  Cynda’s home detection device
was strapped to her ankle the moment she walked in Keith’s house. Keith put her to bed in his bedroom once Cynda’s counselor and the technician left and told her, “My pastor will come to the house tomorrow to marry us. Is that alright with you?”

  “I don’t care; just no jail, no beatings,” Cynda told him half delirious from the pain medication.

  Pastor Norton arrived at Keith’s house at three o’clock the next afternoon. He went into the bedroom to meet Cynda and was immediately taken a back by her swollen and bruised face. Pastor Norton turned back to Keith and asked, “Do you want to wait until she recovers? Maybe give her a little more time to think this through?”

  In his heart Keith felt that this opportunity would not come again. He had to Marry Cynda before she stopped fearing jail and beatings. “Let’s do it, pastor. We’re ready.”

  Pastor Norton opened his Bible, and then closed it. “Are you sure about this?”

  Keith looked down at Cynda’s bruised body and saw the scars life had inflicted on her. He wanted to be the one to help her heal. He wanted to be around when God took away the pain. “I’m sure.”

  Pastor Norton rushed through the vows, but even so, it did not escape his attention that when he asked Cynda if she would take Keith Hosea Williams to be her husband, Cynda replied, “Man, I don’t care.”

  Keith saw the shocked expressions on his pastor’s face but ignored it. He prayed that God would give him the ability to love Cynda until she loved him back. As he slipped the diamond ring he purchased at Tiffany’s the day before onto his wife’s finger, Keith decided that he was going to show her what true love was all about. He’d make a believer out of this woman if it was the last thing he did on earth.

  10

  Nina was rushing around the house getting ready for a doctors appointment that she was sure would bring good news when the telephone rang. Caller ID told her that her best friend, Elizabeth Underwood was on the line. Nina first met Elizabeth when she was pregnant with Donavan and contemplating life as a single mother. She and Elizabeth’s friendship had weathered the tests and trials that life had brought their way. Their friendship had even survived Elizabeth moving to Atlanta, Georgia and Elizabeth’s career change from house wife to Gospel Diva.

  Nina picked up the phone and asked, “What’s up, girl?”

  “I don’t know,” Elizabeth retorted. “You tell me what’s so important in Ohio that you can’t pick up the phone and call me?”

  Nina laughed. “Sorry about that. I’ve been dealing with a situation here. I’ll tell you all about it later. I’m on my way out so I’ll give you a call this evening. Okay?”

  Elizabeth let Nina off the hook. “All right, girl. Just call me later. You know I’m not going to be home much in about a month. Kenneth is working out all the final details for the tour as we speak.”

  Snapping her finger, Nina said, “That’s right. It’s time to promote your new CD.” Kenneth was Elizabeth’s husband and manager and Nina knew that he was working diligently to ensure that his wife’s tour would be successful. “Don’t worry, I’ll call you later.”

  Nina hung up, proud of herself for not telling Elizabeth that she was going to the doctor. Elizabeth would have wanted to know what her appointment was for and Nina didn’t want to tell anyone until she was sure.

  Nina had been so preoccupied with Ebony’s needs that she hadn’t noticed when she missed her period. But now that Ebony was gone, one glance at her calendar told her that she was six days late – and she was hardly ever late. She called Dr. Hopson and he gave her an appointment. Only trouble was she had to get to his office within an hour and she couldn’t find her left tennis shoe. She looked under the bed and in the hall closet. She finally gave up and put on a pair of low cut black boots, grabbed her Fendi purse and ran to her car.

  All the way to the doctor’s office, Nina kept thanking God for His faithfulness. “But Lord, You’re not just faithful; You are good to Your children. I thank You, my Father, that no weapon formed against me can prosper – and no doctor has the final say over my body.”

  Nina did a two-step praise dance all the way into the building. She patiently waited to be escorted to the back of the doctor’s office into an examination room. But now, as she sat in the room with a hideous blue and white striped hospital gown on waiting for Dr. Hopson to bring her the good news, she wondered why she hadn’t just gone to the drug store and bought one of the home pregnancy tests and gotten it over with.

  But truth be told, Nina knew why she hadn’t taken the test in the privacy of her own home. She wanted her doctor and everyone else to know that her God could restore her womb.

  There was a knock on the door, then Dr. Hopson opened it and walked into the room.

  Nina watched him closely. There was no let’s breakout the cigars kind of smile on his face; no light in his eyes. That’s okay, Nina thought. Dr. Hopson didn’t have to be happy for her. Isaac will be happy. Nina’s greatest joy would be to give her husband another child; one that they would raise together from day one. This child wouldn’t have weekend visitation with its father; Daddy would already be in the house. Nina couldn’t wait to tell her man what God had done for them.

  “How are you feeling, Nina?” Dr. Hopson asked.

  She adjusted her gown. “I feel really good, Dr. Hopson. What took you so long?”

  “I had to recheck the results.”

  Nina laughed. “What’s wrong? You still don’t believe that my God is a miracle worker?”

  Dr. Hopson pushed his wire rimmed glasses back toward the bridge of his nose. “I don’t dispute whether or not your God is a miracle worker. But you also can’t dispute my findings. He sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re not pregnant, Nina.”

  “What do you mean I’m not pregnant? I’m late, so I must be pregnant.” He shook his head. “Stop shaking your head.” She removed his hand from her shoulder. “I know my body. How do you explain the fact that I’m late, when I’m never late?”

  “I hate to tell you this, Nina, but you might be going into menopause.”

  No. No. No! Lightening does not strike in the same place twice. God would not do this to her. The shock registered on her face as she told him. “B-but I’m only 38.”

  He looked at the papers in his hands. “Sometimes it happens early.”

  “That’s not true,” Nina screamed. “It can’t be true. God is good to me. This isn’t happening.”

  ***

  “So, what do you like to do when you’re not in school?” Isaac asked Iona as he drove the SUV he had rented from Hertz down I-70.

  Iona glared at her father, and then turned to stare out the window of the SUV.

  One hand on the wheel, the other rubbing his chin, Isaac contemplated this situation. He hated to admit it, but his biggest worry right now was that Nina would walk right out the door the moment he walked in with this child; a child who looked more like him than his son. Donavan was a carbon copy of Isaac’s brother, minus Nina’s hazel eyes. And since Isaac’s brother had been killed before his fifteenth birthday, Isaac was happy to remember his brother through his son. Seeing his son and knowing where his brother now resided also helped keep Isaac focused on bringing as many souls to the Lord as possible.

  But Iona had Isaac’s skin color, his dimples, and when she turned and gave him a what-are-you-looking-at stare, he recognized those dark, cold eyes she rolled at him.

  He couldn’t stand the child’s mother, but he didn’t see much of Cynda in Iona. So it was becoming easier for him to separate the child from the hooker that birthed her. Would Nina be able to do the same?

  He turned off the highway and took his daughter to Steak and Shake. They were only two hours away from home, but Isaac couldn’t go there just yet. He had talked to Nina several times a day since he’d arrived in Chicago. He told her about Spoony’s death and about his need to stay in Chicago for a few more days. Isaac knew that Nina assumed he was staying to help Linda with funeral arrangements; and he didn’t h
ave the heart to tell her about Cynda or Iona. For one thing, Cynda had tormented Nina for years back in the day when he was dating both of them like the player he had been. And even after he and Nina had broken up, Cynda would still seek out every opportunity to tell Nina about her escapades with Isaac.

  He and Iona placed their orders, and then Isaac decided to call Nina. “Hey, lady. Are you missing your husband yet?” Isaac said into his cell phone.

  “More than you know, baby,” Nina said somberly.

  Isaac could hear the sadness in her voice and it now made him want to rush home. But he thought about the camel, then looked at the straw that sat across from him. “I stopped in Indianapolis. I might stay here overnight.”

  “No, Isaac. I need you home with me. I’m really feeling a little down after letting Ebony go. And… I need to talk with you about something.”

  His heart sank. He was always causing her pain. “Look, Nina, I might as well tell you now. There were some problems in Chicago. I’ve got a little girl with me.” He hesitated. “I’ll be bringing her home with me.”

  “No, Isaac. I can’t take another little girl that doesn’t belong to me.” Her voice caught. “It’s too hard to give them back.”

  He closed his eyes. This was his wife. He was supposed to protect her. “This one can’t be helped, baby.” He shifted in his seat so Iona couldn’t read his lips as he whispered, “Her mother has been arrested.”

  “Oh, Isaac, no.”

  The waitress put Iona’s burger and fries and his chicken sandwich on the table. Isaac caught Iona’s look of disapproval and told Nina, “The food is here, baby. I’m going to call you later tonight, okay?”

  “I’d rather you come home tonight.”

  “I know. I’ll get there as soon as I can.” Before hanging up he added, “I love you, Nina. You do know that, don’t you?”

  “I’ve been wondering why you kept stalking me until I finally agreed to marry you. All this time I just thought you were a little off, but now I find out it’s been love all along.”