Drama in the Church Saga (44 page)

“I've never seen any of these pictures hanging in your apartment,” Dean added.

“No. There was never enough room for them with Bryce's pictures filling my walls. I kept them stored away. I promised myself that when I bought a house I would have enough room to display them all.” Olivia admired the lovely images of black people being artistic. “These pictures have such a warm feeling; it will make this place really feel like home.”

Dean walked over and kissed her on the forehead. “If that will make you happy, then I'm happy.” Then he noticed how quiet it was. “Where's Bryce?”

“Oh, Danyelle was here.”

Dean looked surprised.

“She came and took him to the movies.” Olivia checked the time on her watch. “As a matter of fact I have to go pick him up from her apartment.”

“Don't worry. I'll stay with Dean until you get back.” Colin put her mind at ease.

“Thanks.” She grabbed her purse and car keys.

“I'm not an invalid. I can be alone in the house.”

“We know.” She gave him a quick peck. “But I feel better knowing someone is here with you.” She rushed out the door.

As Dean's eyes followed her vision he became dizzy. He reached out for Colin.

“Are you all right?” Colin led him to the couch and went to the kitchen to get him a glass of water.

“I'm okay. I think maybe my legs were getting a little tired.”

“Man, I told you to take it easy.” Colin sat on a nearby box. “Do you want me to call your doctor?”

Dean shook his head no. “Don't do that. It'll just upset Olivia. Plus, there's something I want to talk to you about now that Olivia is gone.”

Colin listened closely. He was sure Dean was going to confide in him his last wishes in case anything were to happen to him.

“Remember the day I was rushed to the hospital and we were talking about my grandpa?”

Colin said yes.

“Well, I found out something that may change your mind at how you look at him as a man.”

Colin waited for him to tell him more.

“I have to show you something.” Dean got up. “I'll be right back.” He left the room and went into one of the back rooms.

A few minutes later he walked back into the living room wearing the white-hooded Ku Klux Klan uniform. The only thing that could be seen was the whites of his eyes.

When Colin saw him he was startled and started to run for the door, but stopped when he noticed it was Dean underneath that getup. “Man, what are you doing?”

Dean pulled off the hood. “I thought if I tried it on, maybe I could figure out what would make my grandpa join such a hateful organization.”

Colin looked at Dean and then at the white sheets and slowly shook his head.

Val unbuckled her seatbelt and turned toward her passenger. “Are you ready?” It was Wednesday night, and her Bible study group was scheduled to meet that evening. The girls had gotten used to holding Bible study at one another's apartment, but Val specifically asked them to meet her at the church. She felt like she and Jonah both needed to dwell in the house of the Lord, with everything they had been going through.

“The last time I was in a church was the night before Katrina hit New Orleans. Our pastor brought a small portable radio into the sanctuary to keep us abreast of the storm's progress. The pews were packed. People were laid out on the floor and on the altar. It was barely enough room to stand. I guess everyone felt church was the safest place to be that night.”

“There is no better person to turn to than Jesus in the midst of a storm,” Val said.

They got out and walked into the church together, but there was no one there.

“Olivia.” Val expected everyone to be waiting for her. Instead, the church was empty, but she knew they couldn't be far because she saw two cars parked outside. “Danyelle!” she hollered.

“Val, we're downstairs. We'll be there in a minute,” Olivia yelled from the basement.

Val and Jonah sat on the pews nearest to them.

Seconds later Olivia climbed the back steps and stepped into the sanctuary dusting herself off. “Girl, I was downstairs looking for Sunday School workbooks for Bryce's class. You know Ms. Young can't ever find anything and she”—Olivia looked up from dusting off her clothes and stopped mid-sentence when she saw Jonah sitting next to Val.

Danyelle was so close behind her that she didn't notice her sister had stopped walking and ran straight into her.

“Girl, what is your problem?” Her eyes followed Olivia's gaze, and she too noticed Jonah.

Val giggled at their reaction. She knew they would be shocked to see her with a man. Val had never been with any other man except for Julian, so for her to bring someone to church with her meant he was something special.

“Where's Tressie?” Val asked.

“She's out of town on business again,” Danyelle replied. “I think she had to go to Nebraska.”

Val said okay and introduced everyone to Jonah. She wasn't the least bit surprised when Danyelle started to playfully tease her.

“So, Val, is this your new man?” Danyelle asked.

Olivia's face turned red from embarrassment. Sometimes her sister took things to the extreme. “Danyelle, would you stop it?”

“I betcha my sister didn't bother to call and tell you the latest newsflash,” Danyelle instigated.

“What is she talking about?” Val hadn't really kept up with Olivia and what was going on with her and Dean.

“Does this have anything to do with the wedding? You and Dean are still getting married, right?”

Olivia smiled and tried to shrug off her questions. “We'll talk later.” She cut her eyes in Jonah's direction. “When we're alone.”

Now it was time for Danyelle to interrogate their guest. “Jonah? That's a biblical name. I like it. Do you know about Jonah in the Bible?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Jonah replied.

“Listen to his country accent.” She laughed loudly in his face. “You have to be from down South because nobody says, ‘Yes, ma'am', from these parts,” Danyelle mocked him.

“I'm from New Orleans,” he boldly declared.

“What can you tell me about Jonah in the Bible?” Danyelle grilled him.

“Would you leave him alone?” Olivia scolded her sister. “He didn't come here to explain anything to you.”

“Hush! I'm just trying to make conversation,” Danyelle replied.

“No, it's fine. I don't mind answering her question.” He turned in Danyelle's direction. “Jonah ran from God. He was running from being obedient to God, and whenever a person runs from God, they end up being eaten by a big fish.”

Val could see that Danyelle was impressed.

“Well, this country boy does know his Bible,” Danyelle replied. “So, Jonah, are you running from something?” Danyelle's face turned serious. “Perhaps from God?”

“Danyelle?” Olivia gave Danyelle a stern look, warning her to cut it out. “That's a personal question.” She looked at Jonah. “You don't have to answer that.”

“What? I just asked him a question.”

“You don't know this man,” Olivia pointed out. “What makes you think he's running from God?”

“Let's just say it's intuition,” Danyelle said.

“I'm sorry,” Olivia said to Jonah. “What may seem like odd behavior to you is normal for her.”

“No. That's all right, I have nothing to hide.” He looked Danyelle straight in the eye. “As a matter of fact, I'm not running from God, I'm running toward Him. I endured the disasters of Katrina, and that is only because I knew Jesus was right there with me as I hung on to my rooftop with one hand and my daughter in the other. When I left my home in New Orleans I wasn't running from God, I was following him. He brought me here to make a new friend.” He glanced at Val.

Olivia knew Jonah's answer impressed Danyelle, because afterwards she stopped with the questions and opened the meeting in prayer.

On Friday afternoon, Val, Jonah and Mr. Lawson, their lawyer, entered the courthouse together and took the elevator to the fifth floor. The moment they stepped off the elevators, a security guard greeted them. “Good afternoon. Could each of you please sign in?” He pointed to a lined piece of paper on the table.

Afterward, he searched the computer for their names. “Please follow me,” he said to Mr. Lawson. “The judge has closed the hearing to the public to protect the child.”

They made a left down another hallway.

“You are the last party. The hearing should begin as soon as you get in there.” He stopped and allowed them to pass through a huge wood door. The security guard closed the door behind them and returned to his post.

Together they walked toward the defense table, and as Val proceeded down the center aisle, she could feel a pair of eyes watching her. When she looked up she abruptly stopped in her tracks. Sitting at the table across from theirs was Caitlyn and her lawyer.

When Caitlyn realized she had Val's attention, she gave a sly grin and whispered something into her lawyer's ear. The lawyer turned over his shoulder to look at Val, and the two began whispering again.

“Val, what's wrong?” Jonah came up behind her. “Is everything all right?” He was concerned.

Val couldn't take her eyes off Caitlyn.

He looked to where Val was staring. “Come on, let's not keep Mr. Lawson waiting.”

The two of them grabbed a seat next to Mr. Lawson and waited for the judge to enter.

Val kept sneaking looks in Caitlyn's direction. She wondered what she was doing here.

When Judge Cohen walked into the courtroom, everyone stood. “You may all be seated,” he announced. He sat down in his chair and picked up the papers set before him. When he saw Jonah's name, he dropped the papers back down on his desk. “Mr. Reynolds,” he proclaimed, “what are you doing back in my courtroom? Did I make a mistake by returning Hope to your custody?”

“No, Your Honor.” Jonah's eyes pleaded with Mr. Lawson to step in.

“Your Honor, there seems to be a question of the child's
maternity
,” Mr. Lawson stressed the last word.

“Now, I'm confused. Can someone please tell me what is going on?” the judge asked out loud.

Caitlyn's lawyer stood up to speak, “Well, Your Honor, my client has reason to believe that Mr. Reynolds is not the child's biological father. This is the biological mother.” He pointed to Caitlyn. “She gave the baby up for adoption, and since then both adoptive parents have died and she would now like to get her daughter back.”

The judge turned toward Jonah, and he could see by the look in Jonah's eyes that there was some truth to Caitlyn's story.

“Well, I don't think I've ever had to rule on a case this complex,” Judge Cohen commented.

“As you can see, I have provided a copy of Ms. Haas's financial records for the past three years. I have provided depositions from her friends and associates that can vouch for her character.”

Caitlyn's overzealous lawyer tried to charm Judge Cohen with his flattering words. He mentioned a lot of prominent people in Seattle who were associates of Caitlyn's, but Judge Cohen seemed unmoved.

“Ms. Haas, where is Hope's father?” Judge Cohen asked.

“Well,” Caitlyn cleared her throat before stealing a glance in Val's direction, “her father played for the NBA, but he was killed not too long ago in a plane crash.”

“Julian Pennington?” the judge questioned.

Caitlyn affirmed by nodding her head yes.

Val sat up in her seat and stared at Caitlyn. She was sure she had heard her incorrectly. At first she thought this was another one of Caitlyn's sick jokes. A vicious lie she had concocted to hurt her.

Then the weight of Caitlyn's words started to affect Val in a negative way. Her mouth turned dry, and her stomach turned. The room spun around her. The well-ventilated courtroom was now suffocating, and Val felt like she couldn't breathe. She grabbed for her purse and rushed out the courtroom doors.

As she left, she could hear Jonah call out her name, but that didn't stop her. Val ran to her car and jumped into the driver's seat. She watched her hands shake. Her heart raced with fear. She noticed her doors were unlocked, and she slammed her hand down on the lock button.

Val was intimidated by Caitlyn's courtroom revelation. She didn't know why her lies would shake her to the core. There was no doubt in her mind how much Julian loved her, but Val felt like Caitlyn had won because she'd had his baby. From the parking lot she stared at the courthouse. She couldn't stay any longer because she wasn't emotionally prepared to face Caitlyn again.

She started her Mercedes and spun rubber to get out of the parking lot as fast as she could. Val drove through the streets of Philly erratically. The Mercedes cut off trucks, ran through red lights and barely yielded at stop signs. She wasn't sure where she was going. Her subconscious took over control of the car.

The car came to an abrupt stop in front of First Nazareth A.M.E. He had safely directed her to His house. The Lord's house.

She struggled to get out of her seatbelt and staggered up to the church doors. Inside, the church was empty. Val didn't wonder why no one was around. She knew He planned it this way. When she needed to talk with Him at one of her most vulnerable times in her life He made His altar available. She ran to the altar and prayed earnestly. The word that kept crying out from her soul was
“Why?”

At that moment a lot of truths were revealed to her heart. Since Julian's accident, she hadn't prayed at all. Months had passed since the last time she came to the Lord with love in her heart or praise on her lips. In her heart she could hear God asking her, “Why?” Why hadn't He heard from her? He was delighted each time she called on Him, but lately He missed the sound of her voice. He wanted her to pour out her sorrows to Him.

Val knew what God wanted, and without hesitation she handed her troubles over to Him. Her soul immediately felt light. “Thank you, Jesus, for Your grace and Your mercy.”

Val heard the reassuring sound of his voice telling her, “Everything is gonna be all right.” With that thought she closed her eyes and envisioned God holding her tight in His arms. She simply laid her head on the altar—which in her mind was God's shoulder—and smiled, to herself.

Back inside the courtroom Caitlyn's lawyer was still trying to get the judge to side with his client. “Judge Cohen, as you can see from Caitlyn's references, she comes from a very good family. There is no doubt she can provide for the child financially. The child will attend the best schools and have all the advantages a child needs. We ask that the court stop wasting taxpayers' money by humoring Mr. Reynolds and his need to seek custody of a child he has no claims to. Ms. Haas would like to expedite the matter as quickly as possible so that she may be a mother to her daughter.”

Offended by the lawyer's remarks, Judge Cohen became increasingly leery of the lawyer's true intentions as time moved on. The young experienced lawyer lacked respect for the court and spoke to the judge as if he were a peon.

“Ms. Haas, what was your reason for giving your daughter up in the first place?” the judge asked. Her lawyer sighed when he realized the judge had disregarded his remarks. “Your Honor, I'm not sure,” she stuttered. “I guess I felt like I was too young to care for a baby.”

“Is it safe to assume the father felt the same as you?” Judge Cohen dug deep for answers.

“No.” Uncertain of what to do, she searched her lawyer's eyes for an answer. “He never knew he had a daughter.”

Judge Cohen stopped writing and set his pen down in front of him. “You mean to tell me Julian Pennington never knew he had a daughter?”

Caitlyn halfheartedly shook her head no. “Your Honor,” Caitlyn's lawyer tried to intercede on her behalf. “If you don't mind—”

“I do mind.” He was tired of the lawyer's nonsense. Then he shifted the focus back to Caitlyn. “Why would you keep something like that a secret?” The judge sounded like a stern father reprimanding his child for doing wrong.

Caitlyn shrugged her shoulders in response.

Frustrated with the entire case, Judge Cohen sighed. “Ms. Haas, you carry very impressive references.” He handed the bailiff a folder to give back to Caitlyn's lawyer. “You also come from a very good family, but none of that means much in my courtroom. I'm going to put in an immediate order for DNA testing. Ms. Haas, Hope and Mr. Reynolds will all have to be tested. It's only fair to Hope to know her true lineage. Once the results are in, they will be returned to my office. At that time I will contact all parties through their lawyers. We will meet back here, and I will not only read the results out loud, but also grant full custody to either Mr. Reynolds or Ms. Haas. In the meantime, I'm going to grant both you and Ms. Haas visitation to Hope at the group home where she is currently living.” He picked up the gavel and slammed it hard against the sounding block.

 

 

Val slid her key into the lock that opened her front door. She entered, and from the kitchen she could hear Jonah talking with Mr. Lawson. The screen door slipped out of her hands and slammed shut, creating a noise so loud, she felt like an intruder in her own home.

Jonah jumped from his seat and rushed into the foyer. “Hey!” He opened up his arms wide and embraced her with so much love, she thought she was going to start crying again. “I was worried when I couldn't find you at the courthouse. I tried to reach you on your cell phone, but it kept going straight to voice mail.”

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I wasn't feeling well and I left to come home. But I thought maybe I just needed some fresh air, so I went out to the park.”

Jonah looked at her strangely. “Are you feeling all right? I thought something else was wrong.” Jonah pressed her for information.

“No.” Val straightened out her clothes.

At the park, Val calculated the amount of time that had passed since Caitlyn and Julian were last together. She subtracted out nine months and ended up with a three-year-old child. Val added and subtracted months, weeks and years from every angle. It all turned out the same. There was a great possibility that Julian was Hope's father. If Hope really was Julian's child, that meant his seed had been living in her house, eating her food and sharing the same air as her.

Val closed her eyes and prayed this was all a dream. This couldn't be happening. Having to deal with Caitlyn was enough, but caring for Julian's daughter was too much.

“Val.” Jonah touched her lightly to wake her from her thoughts.

“I'm fine.” Val turned toward the kitchen and saw Mr. Lawson watching them. “Mr. Lawson, I apologize for leaving so suddenly at the courthouse. Sit down while I get you another cup of coffee, and you can tell me about the hearing.”

Jonah watched Val strut past him and toward Mr. Lawson. He could sense that there was something wrong with her. What that was, he wasn't sure.

The following morning Val left the house when the sun was still down. She hadn't slept a wink all night. All she could think about was Caitlyn being Hope's biological mother.

After her talk with Mr. Lawson, Val volunteered to help in any way she could. That's why she was the first person in the law library that morning. She was determined to find any information to help Jonah keep Hope.

On her computer screen was a list of adoptive cases similar to Jonah's, but none denied the birth mother custody. In each case the child was always returned to the biological mother, except in instances of child abuse or neglect. She tapped a few keys and read through another list of cases. The database listed over three hundred cases, and she planned on going through every one.

After five hours of research, Val was tired. She couldn't take it any longer and needed help. Val sought assistance from the librarian. Mr. Lawson had warned her that this would be a hard case to win, but Val was determined to find at least one case of precedence. She put her trust in God and knew that with Him anything is possible.