Authors: Vacirca Vaughn
Paulo shook his
head. “Listen, I am sorry. I was under the impression you guys were
coming at four. That’s what I have written down.”
“Oh, uh, there
is a mix up. Our secretary, who is my daughter, does this all the
time. She got you down for nine am, Sunday morning. If you want us
to come back at four, we can, but it will only take an hour at the most, after
we cut the glass and shape it to your door. We might as well do it now.
My girl, she’s in college, but she can be a real pain—”
“Look, it
doesn’t matter,” Paulo interrupted. He didn’t have time for this
mess. “I was heading to church but I am still nearby. Be right
there.”
Good thing his
plans for Phoenix got derailed.
As he walked
back to his building, on One Forty-Eighth, he called Cara.
“What?” she
asked in a stern voice.
Paulo stared at
the phone. He willed his voice to calm down as he wondered why his friend
was snapping at him. “Good morning,
Bella.
What’s wrong with
you?”
“Just trying to
sleep. We were up late. God refused to let us sleep until, like,
one in the morning. You know we wake up every day at six with our baby,
so you know we’re pooped.”
“Why wouldn’t
He let you sleep?”
“Prayer for
your woman. She must have been going through something.”
“Oh, well it
didn’t work,” Paulo mumbled. “Neither did mine.”
“What?
What happened now? You know what? Forget it ‘cause I don’t even
want to know. She sounded so happy this morning. She said she had
something to share. I thought it had to do with you.”
Her words were
a knife that jabbed Paulo in the gut. “Yeah, I bet she was happy,
alright. But her happiness definitely didn’t have anything to do with
me.”
“Okay…sorry to
hear that, Paulo. You need anything?”
“Nope. I
just wanted to tell you guys I won’t be in church this morning. They came
to fix my window earlier than planned.”
“Oh you mean
the window you broke when you and Phoenix had it out?” Cara asked with an
amused tone.
“I am only
human. I didn’t know when I slammed the big oak door that the glass would
break.”
“Uh huh.
You can bench press like two hundred or something, right? Anyway, that’s
between you and God. So if you can’t make it to morning service, meet us
at six. We’ll talk and help you get over your beef with your…uh, with
Phoenix.”
“There’s no
getting over this. Not without God Himself doing it. But thanks for
the offer. As much as I want to stay home and tear my hair out, I’ll meet
you guys at six for service. Meet you both out front at TSC. I
suddenly feel like going to visit
Mãe
,
you
know, check in on her. Haven’t spoken to her all week. Besides, as
much as we disagree about religion, she always makes me feel better.
Where’s James?”
“Feeding the
baby. Want him to call you back?”
“Please,” Paulo
answered as he reached the older gentleman examining the jagged pieces of the
glass still attached to the door. “
Gotta
run.”
“
Ciao.
See
you later. And Paulo, it’s
gonna
be fine.”
“Yeah,” Paulo
answered, then tapped the screen to shut the phone off. He held out his
hand to David and introduced himself. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
After Paulo and
David discussed the job and finalized the price, he signed the work order and
entered the building. He grudgingly offered the men coffee, which they
refused. He was grateful because he really didn’t have the energy to be
hospitable.
Not realizing
he still had his phone clutched in his palm, he was startled when it
vibrated. Paulo glanced at the screen and rolled his eyes. He sent
the call to voicemail. Phoenix immediately called right back and again he
sent it to voicemail. When she called for the third time, he let it ring
and let his voicemail pick up. He put the phone down and stomped up to
his gym to do let off some steam on his punching bag.
And when he
heard the phone ring back-to-back, three more times, he had to pray to keep
from racing down his steps, grabbing his phone, and hurling his five hundred
dollar smart phone against the wall.
Phoenix sat
freezing on her stoop, confused. She had called Paulo a total of seven
times since the morning and he was sending her calls straight to
voicemail. She wanted to believe Paulo’s phone was off, but she knew it
would not ring before being connected to voicemail if it was. Besides, he
always left his phone on in case his mother ever called, since she lived alone
on the other side of town. Phoenix didn’t like texting people. She
felt it was too impersonal after their huge argument. It was already
nine-twenty and she didn’t want to miss him.
Sighing, she
gave in, and sent a text.
Paulo, I have something to share with
you. Please call me. Did you leave for church already?
She waited for
his return text.
From the second
floor, Paulo heard the message indicator on his phone and guffawed.
“What? You’re
gonna
tell me you’re back with your
ex on a text? Yeah, right. I’m Christian, but still
kinda
crazy. I can only handle so much. If you
dare leave something like that on text, Phoenix, I may have to fly home to
Brazil tonight after I figure out where to hide the body. Okay, forgive me,
Lord. I wouldn’t
kill
her, per se… but a text?
Please.” Through clenched teeth, he beat that punching bag as if
Phoenix’s life depended on it.
Well…
Technically it
did.
After an hour
of waiting to hear from Paulo, Phoenix gave up. It was too late to go to
morning service. Sighing, she walked back into her apartment building and
decided to go speak to Cara. In the elevator, she changed her mind,
remembering how tired her friend sounded. Still, she couldn’t resist
calling her.
James’s deep
breath greeted her on the line. “Yes?”
He sounded
tired. “Uh, hi, James. Didn’t mean to wake you. Cara up?”
“Yeah, we’ve
been getting calls all morning. She’s about to go back to sleep though so
I’ll have her call you after—”
“Is that
Phoenix? Give me that phone! Who told you to tell—”
Phoenix
chuckled as she heard Cara’s muffled annoyance.
“Sorry about
that,
Chica
.
Like I need a
bodyguard!”
“At least he’s
just looking out for you,” Phoenix said wistfully. “Um, I tried to find
Paulo this morning but I couldn’t reach him. You spoke to him yet?”
“I have…” Cara
bit her lip.
Lord, You taught me about meddling already. Please
keep me from doing or saying something that isn’t my place to…You know me.
“Is he okay?”
Phoenix asked fidgeting.
“I believe so,”
Cara answered, cautiously.
“Okay, um, I
was going to ask him if I could go to church with him. Plus, I wanted to
talk to him. I can’t get him on the phone though. He’s probably
already in church anyway. Of course he can’t answer the phone.”
“So…” Cara
squeezed her eyes shut. It wasn’t her place to mention that Paulo was in
fact home and that Phoenix should walk over there and knock on his door and
perhaps speak to him in person to clear the air so they could finally resolve
their differences. It wasn’t her place. She had learned that
already. But Cara felt another type of release from the Spirit.
“Okay, so you
can’t find Paulo. Do you want to ride with us for the six o’clock
service? It’s fun. It’s when folks get to share their testimonies
about what God has done in their lives.”
“Wow, that
sounds awesome. Can anyone do it?”
“Yeah.
You just have to sign up.”
“Wow.
Okay. I may have one of my own to share,” Phoenix said, surprised when an
idea formed in her mind.
“I meant when
people have come to accept the Lord as their Savior and the circumstances
surrounding that.”
Phoenix
struggled not to laugh. “Oh, I see. So yeah, I will meet you
downstairs at…”
“Five-fifteen?”
“Great.
Thanks.” Phoenix hung up.
The plan continued
to take shape in Phoenix’s mind.
“God? Is
that You telling me to do that?”
Phoenix felt
peace envelop her as the vision of her plan was confirmed by the Lord.
“Okay, I will
do it. Will You get Paulo to come, please? I can’t reach him.”
For a second
Phoenix had to smile at how easily God had again taken residence in her
life. It had been four lonely years since she had last felt like
that. It was so easy to talk intimately with Him, as one would her best
friend, since His Spirit was again residing within her. She could hear
His voice clearly again and knew that He was always listening to hers.
Tears stung her
eyes as she stood in awe of God.
After several
moments, she picked up the phone again and dialed. She waited for the
voicemail and left a message.
“Paulo, I just
spoke to Cara. I am going to be at the six o’clock service today. I
bet you’re already in church, but I would like for you to be there
tonight. Can you believe it? I am the one inviting
you
to
church now! I have so much to tell you. I love…um, you know
what? I have a lot to share and to tell you in person. Please,
Paulo, try to come back tonight, if you can.”
She hung up and
let the vision continue to take shape in her mind. She was nervous but
excited at the same time, as the Holy Spirit, spoke to her heart about what He
wanted her to do to glorify God.
“Okay,
God. I will. I look forward to finally doing something for You.”
Her only regret
was that Paulo could miss it.
Chapter 29
But Jesus
said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done
for you and how merciful he has been (Mark 5:19).
After his
workout, Paulo showered for the second time, dressed, and prayed. The
window had been replaced flawlessly and he was sorry he had let his temper cost
him three hundred dollars that he didn’t have to spend. Still, he loved
the stain glass that beautifully filtered the morning light.
Without
calling, he hopped into his SUV and drove to his mother’s apartment on
Lexington Avenue and East One Hundred Eighth Street. The bell didn’t work
and she was not picking up the phone. He had to wait ten minutes until
someone exited the building before he could enter.
He knew she was
home because her windows were opened and his mother always closed the front
windows when she left the house.
He bounded up
the stairs to the fifth floor walkup in which he grew up since moving to the
United States with his mother at twelve, following the death of his brother and
father in a car accident in Brazil. He’d come a long way since those
early days in New York and it annoyed him that his mother still had to take the
stairs every single day.
Uiara
Elias gasped.
“
Meu
filho
!
Eu não estava esperando
você
!”
Paulo smiled, loving how
his
mãe
always called him ‘my son.’ “I know you weren’t expecting
me,
Mãe,
but I came anyway,” he answered in Portuguese.
“What? You’re not happy to see me?”
“
Vi!”
Uiara smiled
as she beckoned her son to enter the small apartment. “You know you are
always welcome. No church this morning?”
Paulo kissed both her
cheeks, loving the scent of rosewater wafting from her raisin-color
cheeks. Her dark skin reminded him of Phoenix, and he struggled to keep
the smile on his face. “I’m going this evening. Want to come with
me?”
His mother waved her
hand. “Not tonight. Your cousins, Mariana and Giovanna, are coming
to bring me to their home in New Jersey in a couple of hours. We will
have lunch and shop at the outlet malls. Besides, I already went to mass
at eight this morning. Why I need to go to church twice in one day?
I will pray the rosary tonight.”
“Ahh,
Mãe
, I pray
you’ll visit my church one day.”
As Paulo sat down at his
mother’s rickety oak table, he became forlorn as his eyes searched the tiny two
bedroom apartment. The original off-white paint was peeling and yellowed
with age. The table for four took up most of the living room, or what was
left of it, when you considered the huge china cabinet, sofa, loveseat, and old
broken box television set still sitting on the floor. And yes, there was
a smaller functioning television set on top.
“
Mãe,
I wish
you’d let me redo this apartment. I could paint it, change the
furniture. Better yet, can’t you reconsider moving to my building?
That was why I bought it in the first place! You can have the apartment
below me all to yourself. I use it as one large office space now, but I
can revert it back to the nice one bedroom it was before. You won’t have
to pay any more rent. You can use your income to travel, visit your sisters
in Bahia.”
“Ah, stop it, my son,”
Uiara said, waving her hand in dismissal. “You just sent me there not
even six months ago. And what income? You are financially supporting me
and paying the rent, Paulo. You’re always good to your
mãe.
That’s
why God blesses you so much. But you didn’t buy that building for
me. You bought it so you can have room for the wife I have been praying
for God to send you. In that big place, you should have room for many
grandchildren. You may need that apartment below one day. I don’t
want to be a burden.”