The Veil (21 page)

Misha eyed the penciled-in instructions to add one teaspoon of butternut flavoring to the recipe.

“Thank you, Grandma. I will cherish it forever.”

“Don't cherish it. Make it. Lo would want you to continue the tradition.”

Misha picked up the comb and continued scratching her grandmother's hair as she listened to stories about Lo, Woodrow, and other long-gone relatives.

“Paul, he Woodrow son.”

“What?” Misha was floored. She wasn't expecting that. She dropped the comb.

“He had Paul before he met Lo. His mama thought she was gone marry him. When he met Lo, he said she was his wife. They got married three months later. Paul's mama warned Woodrow to leave Lo. When he wouldn't she left Paul with them. Lo couldn't take in Woodrow's child. So your granddaddy and me took him in. Years passed and Lo accepted him as part of the family. She loved him.”

“Does Uncle Paul know this?”

“Woodrow told him 'fo' he pass. They look just alike. You ain't notice?”

“It never dawned on me. I guess I was too young to notice.”

“Your mama finds out when he did. She was upset. Don't thank she respect Woodrow no more. She was hurt. Paul her big brotha, now her cousin. It bother her still to this day.”

“Is that why she fuss with him all the time?”

“She fuss with everybody.” She leaned her head back and laughed loudly. It was always funny to Misha to see her grandmother laugh. Her grandmother enjoyed the act of laughter more than what she was laughing at. “I told you she spoiled. Too late to do anything about that.” She suddenly stopped laughing and stared at Misha. “Chile, we all got to go when our time come. It was Lo's time. She at peace. She loved da Lawd. Now she making Him laugh.” She returned to her laughter. This time Misha laughed as she remembered how funny her Aunt Lorna was. They both were going to miss her.

Misha sat in Judy's family room, watching as Judy propped a pillow under her legs. She was delighted to finally have some down time with Judy. Her husband had taken the kids to the pizza fun park to give them some time alone. Judy had obviously gained weight and girth with the growing baby inside of her. Although she had strict instructions from her doctor to stay on bed rest, her smile never changed.

“Look at how big you are,” Misha said as she sat in the chair across from Judy.

“This child is weighing me down. I can't wait until it's over. Make yourself at home. You want something to drink? Help yourself in the kitchen.”

“I'm fine. Here, I got you something.” Misha handed her a small box and watched as Judy opened it. Inside the box was a heart-shaped locket. Judy opened the locket and started to laugh. Inside the locket was a picture of Judy and her family. Judy laughed harder when she realized Misha had used her computer to put a picture of a baby into the picture of her family. “I thought you could use a laugh.”

“Thank you. What is this, a picture of the baby Jesus?”

“I took it off a Christmas card.” Both of them continued to laugh as Judy hugged one of the many pillows that surrounded her and pulled the blanket to cover her legs. “How are you doing? You look tired,” Misha said.

“This child is doing a number on me. The only good thing about this is now I don't have to do anything around here. How's everything at the school?”

“Same old thing. That Heckler guy gives me the creeps. You know, he followed me after school yesterday.”

“What? Did you tell Mr. Davis?”

“No. This guy is a friend of Roger's. The two of them are probably trying to make me look crazy. I'm not falling into their trap. But that doesn't stop the feeling this guy is bad news.”

“You should report it to the police. Let somebody know.”

“I won't give Roger the benefit of making me lose my job. I'm praying him out of my life. God will move him soon. Besides, this Heckler guy is only at the school temporarily. I think next month is his last. Then bye-bye Mr. Heckler.” Misha waved good-bye.

“Well, be careful. I'm going to touch and agree with you in prayer this man leaves you alone.” Judy put her hand on her stomach and let out a long sigh. “This baby is very active.”

“He's moving?”

“He's always moving.”

“Can I . . . Can I touch him?”

“Sure, everyone else does.”

Misha walked over and bent down and carefully laid her hand on Judy's stomach. “I don't feel anything.”

“Wait.”

Misha felt the rise and fall of the baby inside of Judy. “Oh my God. I do feel him. That must be a weird feeling to you.”

“This my fourth. You get used to it.”

Misha put both of her hands on Judy and the urge to pray came over her. She began praying for Judy and the baby. Then she ended the prayer by praying for the entire household and speaking blessing over it. “This child will be different from your other children. He may be difficult to manage at first. Just wait. He will become a light for others to see and he will speak to many for the Kingdom of God because the hand of God is on him.”

“He's going to be a preacher?”

“What?”

“You said he will speak to many for the Kingdom of God. Is he going to be a preacher?”

“Shoot, I don't know. You're going to have to ask God.” Misha walked back to her seat. They began chatting about everything from work to men to food. When they mentioned food both of them got hungry. Misha went out to Popeyes and got the chicken Judy was craving. By the time she returned, Judy's family was back at home. She decided not to stay and left the food with Judy and headed home.

Misha spent the rest of her evening trying to catch up on the reading she had for her classes until she fell asleep. Early Sunday morning she got up and went to New Vision's eight o'clock service. She sat in the back of the church, listening to the pastor preach, although she wasn't really into the service.

She looked around the sanctuary and felt a spirit of slothfulness. She could see New Vision's pastor and members were stagnant in their worship and work. She could see they had become complacent because God had blessed them with a new sanctuary and they felt they no longer needed to work because God had already blessed them. Therefore, they had become slack in every aspect of the church. She could see and feel their slackness as she sat quietly during the service. She began to pray silently that God light a fire and desire in their hearts for ministry and return the sincerity in worship they had before.

 

 

Misha woke up the next morning, asking God if this was the day she was leaving her job. She looked at the clock and rolled over in her bed and prayed for strength to get up and go to work. She had been feeling weak and uneasy since her Aunt Lorna died. She thought she was coming down with something. She wanted to come down with something so she did not have to go to work. However, she repented for the thoughts and thanked God for healing her and rolled over and got up and began her day.

She arrived at school the same time the first buses began to roll onto the school grounds. A couple of her students met her at her car and offered to walk her to her class. Their upbeat attitude cheered her up and helped her gain the strength to make it through another day. She decided against giving the students the pop test she planned. Instead, she allowed them to use the test as a worksheet and watched as they opened their books searching for the answer to the questions.

During her planning period, Mr. Heckler walked into her classroom and informed her he needed a copy of her grade books and lesson plans to complete her segment of his review. He was surprised she already had a copy of all the information he needed. No other teacher was prepared.

“Are you this efficient with everything?” Heckler said with a flirty tone.

“Everything, meaning my career and ministry? Yes, I guess I am. Mr. Davis told us what you needed and I made the copies to be sure I had them when you needed them.”

“What about . . . well . . . What if I need other things? Would you be just as efficient?” he said with a crooked smile.

“What other things are you talking about?”

“Just things. Thanks for the information,” he said as he lifted the package. “I'll get this back to you as soon as possible.”

Heckler walked out of the classroom with a slight smile on his face.
That guy is so creepy.
Misha tried to refocus and continued the day.

After work she drove to her grandmother's home. When she entered the house she could smell the chitterlings cooking in the kitchen. The smell turned her stomach. She hated chitterlings. She could not get past the smell and the way they looked. She was the only one in her family who did not eat them. But, her grandmother cooked them on every holiday and at least once a month and more if the church was trying to raise money. Everybody loved her chitlins plates she sold at the church. There were always early orders taken and they would sell out every time. Today Misha wanted to work on the quilt, but not with that strong smell in the house.

“Hey, baby,” her grandmother greeted her.

“I wanted to work on the quilt and I thought I was going to get something to eat. I can tell you're cooking chitlins.”

“Chitlins and rice. Good for you. I don't know why you don't eat them. Much as your mama ate them when she pregnant with you.”

“That's probably why I don't like them. I had too much in vivo.”

“In what?”

“Never mind. Grandma, where's the quilt.”

“I slide it over there, by the fireplace.”

Misha walked over and took the quilt out of the storage bin. She stretched it out over the sofa, admiring the work she and her grandmother had put into it. However, the smell was making her feel more nauseated, giving her a reason to leave.

“You can work on it if you wanna. Those 'itis boys are getting to me today. Don't feel like working on it.”

Misha smiled as she listened to her grandmother call her arthritis “'itis.” She often said that she had all the 'itis boys: arthritis, bursitis, sinusitis, and so on. She was the only one Misha had ever heard refer to their arthritis that way. She knew her grandmother did not know the difference between arthritis and bursitis. She only knew that, on certain days, all of them would attack her. “That's okay. We can do this another day. I had some down time and thought we could talk and work on the quilt.”

“Talk 'bout what?”

“Nothing really. Just talk.”

“Sit down a spell.”

Misha sat down on the sofa, trying not to take deep breaths to let the scent clog her nostrils. “You know I went over my friend Judy's house. She's six months pregnant. I felt her baby move. It was the weirdest thing.”

“Nothing weird about no baby moving. Good, healthy, strong baby. That's what that is.”

“This child is going to be different. She's got three other children. Somehow I know this one is different from the others.”

“God letting you know that.”

Misha turned on the sofa to face her grandmother. “Grandma, what does it mean when God tells you to call someone?”

“I 'spect He wants you to pick up the phone and call. Something's up.”

“No. That couldn't be it. What if you don't know the person's name or phone number?”

“What'cha mean?”

“Can I be honest with you? I mean I know I can. I don't want to sound stupid.”

“Nothing's stupid. Tell me.”

“Well, I've been having this overwhelming feeling to call Matthew. Once, I believe God woke me up in the middle of the night and told me to call him. Does that sound weird to you?”

Her grandmother patted her on the leg and started to smile. Misha felt relieved. She knew her grandmother would know what she was talking about and would not think she was stupid or crazy. “You know I's grows up in the country. We ain't had phones back then. When I was out in the yard and my mama wanted me she would go to the back door and holla loud as she could.” Misha watched as her grandmother's face lit up with a bright smile as she remembered her mother and the things she did when she was a child. Misha listened intently as her grandmother continued her story.

“‘Ida Mae, git yo'self in the yard.' Her voice so loud, everybody could hear her a mile away. I'd hear her and run fast as I could to get home. And I could tell by the way she yell if she be mad or happy or whatever. I could tell the difference.”

Misha watched as her grandmother leaned back and screamed with laughter.

“One time our goats got out of the fence. Me and my brothers were supposed to keep the gate locked but we were down at the next farm, playing with our friends.” She laughed again. “When I heard my mama's voice yelling for us, it sent chills down my spine. I almost wet on myself. I knew we done something wrong and we were in big trouble.” Her grandmother stood and scrunched her face and placed her hands on her hips, showing Misha how her mama looked when they got home.

Misha continued laughing as her grandmother described how it took them all night to find all those goats. Then, her grandmother returned to the chair.

“What the Lawd want you to do is call Matthew like my mama call me.”

“You mean He wants me to stand at my door and yell for him?”

“If that what it takes. Next time God tell you to call him, do what He says.”

“I think I'll feel stupid doing that.”

“You wanna get married? It's power in the tongue. You call him. He hear. He come.”

“So all I had to do was call him? That sounds like Dorothy from
The Wizard of Oz.
Should I click my heels three times?”

“If the Lawd tells you. Do what He tells ya.”

“I never heard of anything like that. It's worth a try. I don't know his last name or his phone number. All I got is my voice.”

“Pray God open Matthew's ear to hear you when you call. He hear. He come. You watch. God never lie. He faithful from generation to generation. Let me git up and take an aspirin. This 'itis got my hands aching today.”

Misha took in a deep breath and remembered her grandmother was cooking chitterlings. She folded the quilt and placed it back into the storage container. “Well, Grandma, I better go. You need me to do anything for you?”

“No, child. Take that quilt home with you and that sewing machine. You can work on it at home. You know when my 'itis is like this it take a few days to feel better.”

“No, Grandma. I can leave it here. I'll be back in a couple of days. I have class tomorrow night. It'll probably be the day after before I can get back over here.”

“Child, take that stuff with you. Bring it back when you come back. I'll let you know how I feel.”

Misha took the storage container and the sewing machine and placed it in the trunk of her car and returned to the house. “Grandma, I'm getting ready to go. You sure you don't want anything?”

“No. I'm going in here and fix me a plate of them chitlins. I know you running from them. They good to me.”

“That's your stomach. Anyway, are you sure all I have to do is yell for Matthew?”

“When God tells you, you call him like my mama call me. That's when the anointing on him to hear. He hear you and he come.”

“Well, I'll give it a try. Thank you, Grandma. I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

Misha hugged her grandmother and made sure the door was locked behind her. As she drove down the busy streets of Atlanta, she heard the voice telling her to call Matthew.