Mama B - a Time to Love (11 page)

I asked Son and Wanda to join me as I
prayed for the Lord to give Frank the right words to say with Paul, then give
Paul and Frank the right words to say with Eunice. Only He knows how to mend a
broken heart—two of ‘em at once, actually.

After we finished praying, Son said he
was starvin’ so he made himself a bowl of cereal, to Wanda’s dismay. She rolled
her eyes at him, then looked at me, and we laughed together at my oldest boy.

They went on into the living room and
watched a little TV while we all waited for Frank to get back with our other
guests.

I was wiping down the counters when the
Spirit thumped my heart again. Seem like my entire body froze. “Speak, Lord.
Speak
right now
through Your servant, Frank. I come against confusion
from the enemy. In Jesus’ name, give him exactly what to say.”

* * * * *

“How long have you been in practice?”
Paul asked.

“A little over thirty years. And you’re a
judge, right?”

“Yes. Second year. Practiced law
privately for three years. Before that, worked for the state.”

“Quite impressive, especially at your
age. B says your mother is very proud of you,” Frank ventured carefully.

“I don’t see how she can be proud, she
had nothing to do with my achievements,” he smoldered.

“Were you born after seventy-three?”
Frank asked.

“Yes.”

“The way I see it,” Frank said, “anybody
born after Roe versus Wade ought to be thankful for at least being alive.”

“I guess. Never thought of it like that,”
Paul gave up.

In his heart, Frank thanked God for a way
to relate to Paul through his profession. He knew B must have been praying for
him at that moment.  He probed further. “Where’d you study?”

“Southern Methodist University. How about
you?”

Frank eased into his history, “I did four
years in the military before I went to Southern University, in Louisiana,
then—”

“What branch of service?” Paul was eager
to know.

“Navy.”

“Army,” Paul spurted.

“Oh,” Frank probed further, “Were you
injured in combat?”

Paul flinched slightly.

“Sorry,” Frank apologized. “Guess I’m so
used to asking people about their medical histories—”

“Not a problem, coming from you,” Paul
gave in to the line of questioning. “I wish I’d been injured in combat. Might
be easier to explain. No, my story isn’t even close to glamorous or honorable. I’d
come home from the military on leave. My mom and my brother, Jared, picked me
up from the airport. We had an accident on the way home.”

Frank remembered. “Yeah, B said you’d
mentioned an accident. Your brother passed away?”

“Yes.” Paul gazed out the passenger’s
window and Frank turned the corner.

“So sorry to hear that. Drunk driver, I
think she said, right?” Frank asked.

Paul quickly swerved his glance toward
Frank. “Yes. And apparently she failed to mention that she was the drunk party.”

This news put Frank at a loss for words.
How can I respond to Paul’s anger? Maybe Eunice deserved to lose her
relationship with her son, after all she’d done. Sometimes, it’s best to sever
the chord and leave people to their own devices.

Immediately, Frank recognized those
thoughts weren’t from the Lord. Any reasoning that leaves somebody alone to
wallow in their own guilt went against the gospel of reconciliation.

Frank decided to cut to the chase with
Paul because, being a man of the law, he must have an appreciation for the raw
truth. “Look, I haven’t walked a day in your shoes, but I know what it’s like
to lose respect for a parent. My dad’s been in prison for most of my life.”

“That’s where my mom should be,” Paul
argued. “If I’d been on the bench, I would have locked her up forever. The sentencing
judge gave her ten years’ probation. Bleeding-heart wuss.”

“The judge gave her mercy.”

“She didn’t deserve to be free again.
Serves her right she can hardly find decent housing that’ll take her with a
criminal record. She shouldn’t have gotten mercy…” his voice trailed off.

It was time. “Paul, do you know Christ?”

Eunice’s son cleared his throat. “I’m a
member of Calvary Church.”

Paul had answered the question by not
answering it. Suddenly, Frank understood that his most important mission of the
day was not to reunite Paul with Eunice. It was to introduce Paul to Christ. As
he positioned his car between two yellow lines in the parking lot, Frank
thanked God for the privilege of leading another soul home.

I’ll probably never know how Paul and
Frank managed to talk Eunice into coming back to my house. That’s probably none
of my business. All I know is, when the three of them came through the door, my
heart leapt for joy.

“Welcome back, Miss Houdini,” I teased my
friend.

She fell into my hug. “You’re something
else, you know?”

“Come on in.”

Wanda and I had moved all the dishes to
the living room so we could all sit around Paul and enjoy fellowship with one
another while we ate. Even though he and Eunice didn’t sit next to one another,
they was civil.

We had enough food for everyone to have
two servings. That Paul could sure eat! Said he hadn’t had home-cooked food
like that in a long time. Then Eunice asked him how long it had been since he’d
had chicken and dumplings.

Paul closed his eyes like he was trying
to remember. “Not since we were at the house.”

An awkward silence stood between them.

Everybody in the room held their breath.
Not one spoon clanked on a plate.

 “I’d be glad to make you some,” Eunice
offered.

Move on his heart, Lord.

Finally, Paul replied real softly,
“Okay.”

It would probably take some time for them
to work through whatever they had goin’ on, I could tell. But I also had a
feelin’ the Lord had started workin’ on both their hearts. Between me prayin’
and Frank talkin’, He had already done a mighty work.

Son and Wanda said they had to leave, so
I packed them plates to take back home.

With the evening coming on soon, Frank
said he had to get home and get rest for the week.

“Before you go, can I ask you to kind of
give Paul some advice on what we ought to do about Eunice’s leg?”

Not quite sure if he’d forgotten or not,
but it was still my endeavor to get Eunice moved on to her next habitat. Two
grown, strong-minded women wasn’t meant to stay in a house together too long,
in my book.

“My leg’s feeling much better,” Eunice
chirped.

“Mother, I saw you limping,” Paul told
the truth. “You’re
not
well.”

“She needs medical attention. It may be
something simple. Or not. Can’t tell without a thorough examination,” Frank
said.

Despite Eunice’s protesting, Paul got his
mother to agree to see a doctor. Funny how she wouldn’t listen to nobody but
her own child.

“Thank you, Doctor. For
everything
.
I’ll make some calls and get someone to look at her as soon as possible. I’ll
keep in touch.” Paul flipped himself up on those crutches again.

“Wait a minute.” Eunice helped herself
into an upright position. “Paul, I’m leavin’ with you if you don’t mind dropping
me off. There’s some really nice people at that shelter, even if they do make
you go to church almost every day.”

The two of them standin’ there was a
sight to see. Paul on his crutches, Eunice on her cane. Chile, they both needed
each other something awful and didn’t even know it yet.

“Eunice, you’re welcome to stay here,” I
said despite my flesh screamin’ for me to close my mouth.

“No, B. You’ve done more than enough. I
sure do thank you.”

I helped Eunice to my spare bedroom so
she could gather her things. Everything she owned fit into four grocery bags
and that fanny pack, bless her heart. “You sure about this shelter?”

“I been livin’ in and out of different
places since my second husband died. Gives me a sense of adventure,” she said.

“I ain’t tryin’ to be all in your
business, Eunice, but I believe I know you well enough where I can ask you why
you won’t just get your own place. You seem to have enough money.”

She mumbled, “Mmmmm, yeah. My second
husband left me more money than I know what to do with, but I might slow down
soon if I find the right place. The money won’t last much longer, at the rate
I’m going.”

“You might want to ask Paul to help you
with that,” I suggested. “My husband left me in a good place, too. We’er both
blessed.”

She tied knots in all four of her bags.
It pained me to see her leaving my house for the homeless shelter. But I had to
settle for the fact that at least Eunice was leaving with a budding relationship
with her son. Maybe if she felt like he was worryin’ over her the way Son
worries over me, she might get settled in order to keep the peace between the
two of them. God would have to take it from here.

“You’ve got a good one in there.” She
pointed toward the living room.

“So do you,” I said. “Paul’s real nice.
Respectable.”

“And Frank’s a good man, too.” She
flopped down on the bed and hung her head. “B, I’ve got to tell you something.”

I had a feeling about what was buggin’
her.

“A few nights ago, when you left me and
Frank alone, I tried to come on to him. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I always
have to ruin every good thing that comes to me. I wouldn’t blame you if you
didn’t want to see me again. I just had to say it before you make any kind of
commitments to see me or Paul in the future.” Her brown eyes looked up at me,
filled with tears.

“I knew already, Eunice.”

Her mouth gaped open in shock. “Frank
told you?”

“No. I heard it for myself,” I admitted.

She squinted at me. “You
knew
? And
you let me
stay
? Why?”

Finally, the Lord had opened the door for
me to witness to Eunice. “Because that’s the love of Christ. He loved us when
we were His enemies.”

A tear rolled down her fattened cheeks.
Then she smiled, “They taught me that in church, when I was a little girl. And
I really believed Jesus loved me, that he’d died for me.”

“No need for you to stop believin’ now.
He loves you as much now as He did then. He’s waiting on you to recognize that
He’s still right where you left He took up residence—right inside of
you.”

“You think so?” she asked with a childish
wonder.

“He
said
so in His word,” I
assured her.

She got up quicker than I’d seen her
move—well, since the day she whacked Libby with the cane—and held
on to me for dear life.

“Thank you, B. Thank you for loving me. I
swear, being with you feels like I’ve been to church.”

“The body of Christ
is
the
church.”

She sniffed, wiped her eyes dry. “Okay.
Soon as I get to the church, I’m gonna ask somebody for a Bible and start
readin’ it again. And I’m gonna look up everything about Jesus and God. And if
I have a question, I’ll call you, all right? Might even go to church with you.
How about for Christmas?”

“Sure thing.”

You know, when I think about it, I know
it was all God. Folk think every problem between two women got to end up in
some kind of screamin’, shoutin’, scratchin’ match. They been watchin’ too many
reality shows. When the saints let the love of God work it out, love always
bring ‘em to peace. Always.

And ain’t noboby mad about that ‘cept the
devil.

Thanksgiving Day

You can’t imagine what it took to get my
children to agree to have Thanksgiving at Frank’s house. Debra Kay said she was
afraid her grands might break something. Cassandra and Otha didn’t want to
break tradition. The only one who didn’t seem to put up too much fuss was Son,
which actually surprised me. But since he the one Frank done seen the most, it
made sense.

Anyhow, there wasn’t enough room in my
house for us all to fellowship comfortably—my kids and Frank’s, with his
grands, too, so they had to get over it.

Wednesday night, Cassandra’s family and
Otha and most of the great-grands stayed up all night keeping up all kind of
racket. Good racket, though. They hooked up a moving video game on my
television—a ree? a wee?—something or another. They even got me on
that thing dancing to Michael Jackson while I waited for the cornbread to cook
so I could make the dressing.

“Come on, Mama B!” Cameron begged. You
know I can’t turn him down.

Thursday, we caravanned over to Frank’s.
His house is halfway between Peasner and Dallas, so it didn’t take us too long.
His neighborhood is old, with mature trees and large yards. Little over an
acre, I’d say. Plenty room for the kids to run outside and play with his dogs.
Plus, he got a fenced in trampoline. He also had a pool, but it was too cool
outside for anybody to consider jumping in.

When we pulled through the porte cochere
and Cameron got a good look at the back yard, he exclaimed, “Wow! Is Dr. Frank
rich?”

“Of course he’s rich, Cameron, he’s a
doctor,” Debra Kay’s granddaughter, Lexus, answered.

“Man! I’m gonna be a doctor when I grow
up,” Cameron announced.

We all laughed ‘cause everybody knows how
sensitive Cameron is to pain. Boy cried like a baby when he stepped on a
sticker one time.

Frank greeted us at the front door. He
gave me a quick smack on the lips—in front of my people—which sent
Cameron and Lexus into a fit of giggles. They so silly.

“Hey, Baby. Happy Thanksgiving,” Frank
said.

“Same to you,” I replied. “Need you to
get some more stuff from the car, hon.”

The children took off for the back yard,
which was fine for a while. Frank and I took a moment to introduce all our kids
to one another. Frank’s got a son, Frank, Jr. and a daughter. I already knew
Eva from back when she used to help at the food pantry.

All the kids seemed scared. Fidgety. Like
they was lookin’ at a sad movie. I had to remember that they all wished their
deceased parent was there instead of me or Frank. We had to give them some
time.
Help ‘em, Lord.

All the women—my daughters, Wanda,
and Frank’s daughter, Eva—got busy preparing things in the kitchen.

Like the rest of Frank’s house, the
kitchen was spacious enough so plenty of folk had elbow room. I think he said
the whole thing was close to thirty-five hundred square feet. Hardwood floors,
custom drapes, built-in shelves and cabinets, artwork with little lights
shining at the bottom of the frames, all the stuff you’d expect in a doctor’s
house. But with a woman’s eye, I could tell it was a bachelor pad. A little
dusty here and there.

Cassandra got close enough to me at the counter
to whisper, “He calls you
baby
?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“That’s pretty sexist, don’t you think?”
she hissed.

“No. It’s fine with me.”

She rolled her eyes and left me alone. I
left her alone, too. Cassandra always been a sensitive child. I can’t tell her
to butt out of my business as sharp as I do Son ‘cause she would take it to
heart.

Took a while, but the uneasiness in the
kitchen died down as we finished making preparations. Moving in and out of each
other’s paths, washing each other’s pots, passing spoons, taking tastes of this
and adding a pat of that always has been the way women end up bonding. Food
bring folk together when nothing else will.

When we finally finished and had the
table set with the dishes Frank told us to use, I had to congratulate them. “Ladies,
looks like we’ve done a wonderful job.”

They all agreed.

Eva got a little teary-eyed. “We haven’t
had a big dinner like this here in the house since my mom died. These were her
favorite dishes.”

Debra Kay put her arm around Eva’s
shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“Your mother had lovely taste,” I said to
Eva.

Eva composed herself. “Yes, she did.
Thank you, Mama B, for acknowledging her today.”

“Mmm hmmm.” I rubbed Eva’s arm. I knew
what it was to lose a mother, too.

She wiped the last stray tear away. “Should
we call in the men and kids?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I seconded.

We had a time getting everybody washed
up. Cassandra’s grandson, Ricky, had done split his britches right up the
middle, playing on the trampoline. I had to beg mercy to keep him from gettin’
popped. “Cassandra, it ain’t his fault he’s growin’ like a weed.”

Another grandchild spared.

Though we had the kids’ tables set up in
the kitchen area, everybody gathered around the dining room table for prayer
first. There was more food on that table than anybody’s eyes could take in, let
alone stomachs—turkey, chicken, ham, dressing, macaroni and cheese, sweet
potatoes, green beans. You name it, we just about had it.

Me and Frank stood at the head, with all
our family gathered around, holding hands. Once we were all in place, I bowed
my head, waiting for Frank to bless the food.

“Wait a second,” Frank brought things to
a halt. “Before we say the prayer, there’s something I’d like to say.”

I opened my eyes and looked up at him.
The room fell silent.

“Actually, it’s more something I’d like
to
ask
.” Next thing I knew, Frank was gliding down to one knee.

All the women in the room whooped and
hollered. The kids whispering, “What’s happening? What is he doing?”

Matter of fact, my first thought was,
“Did his knee give out on him?”

That was, until he flipped open a red box
and presented me with a ring. Three round-cut diamonds and smaller ones on the
shank. Shining like he spent a pretty penny, but dainty enough to fit my style.
Chile, this man had been studyin’ me.

“Beatrice, will you marry me?”

My eyes blurred up with tears that fell
onto his hands. “Yes, Frank. I’ll marry you.”

He grabbed the handle on a chair and
pushed himself back into a standing position, both knees popping.

“Be careful, honey,” I cautioned.

He was slow gettin’ back up, but once he
did, we hugged, rocking back and forth while all grands and great-grands got to
hoppin’ and hollerin’ and the adults clapped.

“I love you, B.”

“I love you, too, Frank.”

The
dinner was lovely. Everybody ate ‘til they couldn’t eat no more, and then took
some home. The menfolk surprised us by cleaning up after everybody. Now
that’s
a new tradition I could sure get behind.

My kids headed back to my house. Me and
Frank decided we wanted to get out together for a spell and see some of our
friends. Plus, we needed a moment to ourselves.

I said my good-bye’s to Eva, Frank, Jr.,
and the rest of my future in-laws.

We were still stuffed when we rolled into
his car and took the highway back to Peasner. Ophelia had already invited us to
drop by since they were eating late. And by “they”, I mean her family,
Henrietta’s small family, and Pastor.

On the way to Ophelia’s, I quizzed Frank
about how long he had been planning this, how he knew my ring size, everything
a woman wants to know when she gets engaged.

Turns out, a lot of them knew of Frank’s
intentions already, and that was only right, seeing as he was gonna ask me to
marry him in the house their mother picked out and decorated.

He’d gotten Son’s blessing ahead of time,
too. Not that he needed Son’s approval, but that’s one thing about Frank: He do
things real respectful-like. He honors people, and that makes people honor him
in return.

I’m just surprised the secret didn’t make
it back to me beforehand.

“I had help,” he admitted. “Debra Kay is
all in your business, you know?”

“She sure is,” I had to agree.

The trees lining the highway displayed
the most magnificent fall colors; hues only God Himself could have arranged for
our eyes to see. “Look at those trees. God is amazing,” I gawked.

“Wonderful,” Frank added, “awesome.” His
hand slipped across the console, pulling mine into a comfortable clasp.

I used my free hand to check out the
notification from my phone. It was a text from Paul. I opened it to find a
picture of him and Eunice sitting at a table. “Me and my mom,” was the caption.
Brought tears to my eyes yet again as I shared it with Frank.

He stole a quick glance at my phone’s
screen. “Wow. That’s wonderful.”

“Mmm hmm. We make a pretty good team in
the Lord if I do say so myself.”

He squeezed my hand in agreement.

Unfortunately, the closer we got to
Ophelia’s the more I felt an attitude licking up my spine. Henrietta. I knew
she was gon’ have somethin’ negative to say about the engagement.

“Let me go on and apologize ahead of time
for whatever Henrietta might say,” I said as we walked toward Ophelia’s porch.
“I don’t know why she’s made it her life’s goal to make me miserable.”

“I’ve seen it a thousand times, B. When
someone is sick or hurting or not completely in their right mind, they take out
all their anger and frustration on the person they know loves them and won’t
reject them. It’s human nature,” he explained. “Take it as a compliment.”

On Frank’s advice, I ignored Henrietta’s
snide remarks as best as I could. We didn’t really sit down and give her a
chance to go all in, just stood up in the living room where they was all seated
and announced the engagement.

After all the huggin’, you know Ophelia’s
question. “When y’all gon’ tie the knot?”

“We ain’t got that far yet,” I covered.

But Frank voiced, “The sooner the
better.”

“Fast as hotcakes,” Henrietta gibbered.

I took a deep breath, walked over to
Henrietta and threw the biggest bear hug she ever did get. “I love you and
there ain’t nothin’ you can do about it, you hear?”

Her eyes got all bugged out. That caught
her off guard. She didn’t have nothin’ else smart to say. Ha!

We didn’t stay long because it was
getting dark already. The drive back to my house was short, but long enough for
me to take a long, hard stare at the man sitting across from me and think about
the future we would have together. We had a lot to work through, I knew. Like
whose house was we gon’ live in, whose church we gon’ go to, how to change up
the wills and so forth. Gettin’ married at our age ain’t as easy as folk think
it is if you got two pennies to rub together.

But I wasn’t worried. Just like Frank
always said, God works everything out for those who love Him. And we
both
certainly did.

~