Praise Him Anyhow - Volume 1

by Vanessa Miller

  As the superintendent took the podium, Lance rushed back over to Joy and took his seat. “Did you miss me?”

  “You know I did. I could hardly take my eyes off of you.”

  “That’s enough, you two. If you don’t want to hear my husband talk about our love life, I sure don’t want to listen to the two of you fawning all over each other in public,” Carmella said while giggling. She was actually ecstatic that Joy had finally found someone that she could love unconditionally. And she prayed that Dontae would soon come to terms with the love he had for Jewel and do whatever it took to hold onto that woman.

  “It brings me great pleasure to introduce a great man... a man who has given of himself for over three decades... a man who has tirelessly worked to turn good players into great players.” The superintendent stretched out his hand towards the coach and said, “My friend, Coach Linden.”

  Thunderous applause erupted throughout the room. Carmella stood and continued applauding the man who had helped her son break into the NFL. And then one by one people all over the room stood and gave Coach Linden the praise they thought he deserved.

  Looking humbled by the applause, Coach Linden lowered his head in an aw-sucks kind of way. He then directed the crowd to take their seats. “Sit down, y’all. I am no one special. But I do thank you all for deciding to spend your evening with an old geezer like me.”

  The crowd erupted in laughter.

  But just as Coach Linden was about to speak again, the double doors in the back of the gym swung open, banging loudly against the wall. Carmella and others turned in the direction of the noise and watched two police officers storm into the room. There was another man behind them. His face was filled with hatred as he yelled, “This man doesn’t deserve to be honored for nothing.”

  The superintendent stood up and shouted, “What’s going on here?”

  “He raped my son,” the angry man shouted back as he pointed to Coach Linden. “My boy trusted this monster and he took advantage of that trust.”

  The police officers were now standing on either side of Linden. The one with the handcuffs out said, “John Linden, You will need to come with us.”

  Linden didn’t say a word as the handcuffs were placed on his wrists. The superintendent, though, was simply flabbergasted. He puffed out his cheeks as he demanded, “Uncuff him. We are having an awards banquet in his honor.”

  “Sorry Superintendent, you’re going to have to find someone else to honor—because Coach Linden is on his way to a holding cell.”

  “Yeah! You’re finally getting what’s coming to your old lecherous self.”

  If Linden had looked humbled minutes before, he looked downright mortified now as the police officers escorted him out of the school building with the angry man screaming obscenities as he followed after them.

  “What just happened here?” Joy asked as she looked around the table.

  But Carmella wasn’t so much worried about what had happened in the gym. She was more concerned with what might have happened ten years ago when Linden was Dontae’s coach. Had she finally discovered the answer to why her son seemed so withdrawn and angry at times? She hoped to God that she hadn’t.

  6

  Even though Dontae’s weekend with Jewel had been a total bust, today was a good day, because his father had been released from prison. Dontae had driven from Charlotte to Raleigh to see him. His father hadn’t wanted Dontae to pick him up at the prison site. He preferred catching the bus into town.

  Dontae understood. Nelson Marshall had once been a powerful judge in the city of Raleigh. He’d had the goal of one day running for a seat in congress, but one affair had brought him low and he was now a slim measure of the man he once had been. Dontae had looked up to his father and feared his wrath. But today, he had come to restore some dignity back to the man who helped raise him.

  Dontae had wanted his mom and sister to be with him when he met with his dad. He wanted them to see the look on Nelson Marshall’s face the moment he realized that he didn’t have to worry about starting over. But since they chose to go to Coach Linden’s shame of an awards banquet last night, he really didn’t want to talk to them right now.

  Dontae pulled up at the Panera where he and his father had arranged to meet. He got out of his car, took a deep breath and then made his way into the bagel shop. His father hadn’t been there for him at a time when he needed him the most, but Dontae was trying to forget about all of that now. His mother was always telling him that God gives out special blessings to people who stretch out their hand to give rather than to receive. Dontae was about to test out her theory.

  Nelson was seated in a booth towards the back, waving like crazy as Dontae walked in. Dontae smiled and walked over to the booth. Nelson stood and hugged his son.

  Dontae felt his eyes watering at his father’s touch. He quickly pulled himself together, though, because they were surrounded by people and he didn’t want anyone thinking he was soft, crying over a simple hug from his dad. Sitting down in the booth opposite Nelson, Dontae cleared his throat and said, “It’s real good to see you.”

  Whereas Dontae was able to hold back his tears, Nelson just couldn’t. He picked up a napkin and dabbed at his eyes. “Boy, you sure are a sight for these old eyes.”

  “You’re not that old, Dad. You’re still in your fifties.”

  “Yeah, well I’m closer to sixty than fifty and that’s pretty old to be starting all over again.” Nelson sighed, and then lifted his shoulders. “But I’m not concerned with that. I’m just thrilled to be home and to be able to see my family.” With that said, Nelson dabbed at his eyes again.

  “That’s why I wanted to meet with you tonight, Dad... to let you know that you don’t have to start from scratch.” Dontae pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to his father.

  “What’s this?”

  “Open it,” was all Dontae said as an answer.

  Nelson had this quizzical look on his face as he opened the envelope. As he pulled the contents out, Nelson’s eyes widened and they filled with tears again. He looked like a broken man as he lowered his head and then passed the envelope back to Dontae. “I can’t take this.”

  “Dad, what are you talking about? This is your money. I’m just giving it back to you.”

  Nelson looked up, hope springing forth. “What do you mean?”

  “When you and mom divorced, you gave me the eighty thou you’d been saving for my college fund. But if you remember, I received a full scholarship, so I put the money in a CD and didn’t touch it until yesterday when I cashed it in.”

  “But that check is for a hundred thousand.”

  “I made out pretty good on the interest,” Dontae told his father as he handed back the check.

  Nelson hesitated for a moment, but only a moment. He took the check and then asked, “Are you sure you want to do this? I know you received a scholarship, but I always assumed that you used the money for living expenses.”

  “Nope. Mama made me invest the money and wouldn’t let me get an apartment with the money during my junior year when I wanted my own place.” Dontae shrugged. “She was right, though. Because after busting up my knee, if I hadn’t been able to keep most of my first year earnings, I would have needed that money real bad.”

  Nelson smiled then, but it was a bittersweet smile. “Your mom has always been the smartest woman I’ve ever met. And she can cook, too.”

  “The total package,” Dontae said, not able to resist the urge to rub in that fact.

  “Yeah, and I’m a total fool.”

  “You said it, I didn’t.” Dontae put his hand in front of his mouth to disguise the grin on his face.

  “How are things going with you and Jewel?”

  That wiped the grin off his face. Dontae said, “Not so good, Dad... like father like son, I guess.”

  Nelson shook his head, grief etched across his face. “Don’t tell me you cheated on that woman?”<
br />
  “No, nothing like that. She’s just upset with me right now and I haven’t been able to fix the situation yet.” His phone beeped, letting him know that he had received a text. He looked at his phone. It was his mom asking him to call her. Dontae knew what she wanted to talk about, and he wasn’t ready for that yet. So he ignored the text, just as he had ignored her calls earlier in the day.

  “So where are you staying, Dad?”

  “I’m at the Marriott down the street. Your sister booked me a room there for the week.”

  “So what’s your plan after that?”

  Nelson waved the envelope as he said, “This just made planning things a whole lot easier. I think I’ll see if I can find a house to rent, one with a home office and then set out to find some consulting contracts.”

  “What kind of consulting will you be doing?”

  Nelson had a light in his eyes as he spoke, “I thought about how I would build a career for myself every day that I spent behind bars. I worked in government all those years as a judge, so I know there is money to be made by helping businesses fill out government contracts. And with my law degree, I would also be able to review contracts for my clients.”

  “Sounds good, Dad. I’m glad you’ve got it all worked out.”

  “Now all we have to do is work out this situation you’ve gotten yourself into with Jewel,” Nelson told his son.

  ***

  “Don’t you think you should give Dontae another chance?” Maxine, her oldest sister asked as she and Dawn hung out with her at an uptown eatery.

  “You don’t understand.” Jewel took a sip of her iced tea and then said, “Dontae keeps part of himself hidden from me. I don’t know from one day to the next who I’m going to be dealing with... the loving, attentive Dontae or the clouded and guarded Donate. He’s got to change if he wants things to work between us and that’s the bottom line.”

  “Okay, but you are going to lose that man if you don’t hurry up and get over this attitude problem of yours,” Maxine admonished.

  Dawn shook her head. “I think you’re wrong, Maxine.” Dawn laid her fork on her plate. “I had been trying to get Jewel to work things out with Dontae also. I even tricked her into going out of town with me this past weekend so that Dontae could talk to her.”

  “You was wrong for that,” Maxine said, laughing to herself about the things her sister had shared with her about their weekend adventure.

  Dawn lifted her hands in surrender. “Okay, I was wrong. But I just wanted to help Jewel out... that is until I realized that she knows exactly what she’s doing. Because I happen to believe that the divorce rate is as high as it is because people tend to look over the very things that bothered them about their mate even before they said, ‘I do’.”

  Jewel nodded. “I have so many friends who have told me that they thought marriage would change their husband. So they put up with all his bad behavior until after the wedding. And all that did was cause more problems later on.”

  “Yeah, so leave her alone. Jewel knows what she needs from Dontae. And if he truly loves her like we think he does, then he’s got to man up,” Dawn said.

  “Okay, you’re right.” Maxine put a hand on Jewel’s shoulder. “We’re here to support you, no matter what you decide to do.”

  But Jewel wasn’t listening to anything her sisters had to say at the moment. Her concentration had been thrown off because of the picture of Dontae that had just flashed on the television screen above the bar area. She stood up and walked over to the bar as a close up of another male filled the screen. This man was in court being arraigned.

  Jewel looked at the bartender as she pointed at the television and asked, “What’s that about?”

  The bartender looked up toward the television and said, “Oh, that’s Coach Linden. He just got arrested for molesting the boys that he coached years ago.”

  “That’s awful,” Jewel said. “What school does he coach at?”

  “He’s a high school coach out of Raleigh.”

  Dontae grew up in Raleigh, was all Jewel could think as she went back to the table and grabbed her purse. “I’ve got to go,” she told her sisters.

  “What’s wrong? You look like you just watched a murder or something,” Dawn said.

  “I need to call Dontae and make sure he’s okay,” was all she said as she left the restaurant.

  ***

  Lance’s cell phone was ringing. He sat up in bed and answered. Joy could only hear her husband’s side of the conversation, but from what she could make out, the superintendent of schools was on the other end and Lance was arranging a meeting with the man.

  When her husband hung up the phone, Joy said, “You’re not still considering taking them on as a client, are you?”

  “Why not?” Lance asked as he got out of bed, heading for the bathroom.

  Joy jumped up. “That man might have done something to my brother, that’s why.”

  “You don’t know that for sure. Dontae hasn’t said anything about Coach Linden,” Lance said.

  “We haven’t talked to Dontae since Coach Linden got arrested the other night. So we can’t confirm that Dontae wasn’t one of his victims.”

  Lance lifted a hand. “Alleged victims.”

  “Don’t you dare talk to me about being innocent until proven guilty.” Joy was pacing the floor now. “And to think that I was against Dontae for being so rude to Coach Linden. But now I know why he didn’t want to have anything to do with the man.” She turned back to Lance. “And now my husband wants to represent that monster.”

  “Calm down, Joy.”

  “I’ll calm down when you show some family loyalty. And it’s not just Dontae that we need to be concerned with. Unless you’ve forgotten, my stepfather was the principal at that school for two years of the time that Coach Linden was there, so Ramsey could also be sued before all this is over.”

  Lance put his arm around his wife, trying to soothe her. “If I’m able to get these charges dropped, then nobody will be able to sue anybody.”

  Pushing her husband away from her, Joy asked, “What about my brother? If Coach Linden did something to him, shouldn’t he be able to sue?”

  Hunching his shoulders, Lance said, “I don’t know what you want me to do.”

  Throwing up her hands, she turned away from him. “Go get in the shower and go to work, Lance. I don’t even want to talk to you right now.”

  She sat back down on her bed and called her mother. When Carmella answered the phone she asked, “Have you talked to him?”

  “I wish I had. But he’s not returning my text messages or answering my calls.”

  “What are we going to do, Mom?”

  “We’re going to pray, and put this in God’s hands. There is a reason why Dontae is avoiding us and it’s all going to come to light.”

  Thinking about Lance representing the school against Coach Linden’s victims put a knot in her stomach. “I really need to speak with him, Mom.”

  “Sunday is Mother’s Day. Everyone else is going to be here, so I don’t think Dontae is going to miss celebrating Mother’s Day with me.”

  “Okay, so do you think we should ask him about this in front of the whole family?”

  “We probably need to take him to the side, but let’s pray about it.”

  “Okay Mom, I’ll see you on Sunday. And hopefully we’ll find out if Dontae is one of Coach Linden’s victims.”

  “I hope not, Joy. Because if that is true, I just don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  7

  Carmella was having a banner day. Since she now had seven grown children with jobs, well… Ronny was between jobs, but Carmella believed that something was going to turn up for him soon. As far as Carmella was concerned, her heart was full because she would have six of her seven children in her home today. Rashan was still on the mission field and wouldn’t be able to attend her Mother’s Day brunch, but she and Ramsey had done Face Time
with him earlier that morning.

  Ramsey had somehow gotten all the men in the family to agree to cook the brunch. Carmella didn’t have high hopes for the meal they were about to consume, but she would eat it with a smile on her face, just at the thought that the men in her life loved her enough to do this.

  “I am so glad that we didn’t have to slave in the kitchen today. It’s about time the men do something productive around here,” Renee said as she kicked her feet up on the lounge chair like the princess she thought she was.

  “Since when have you ever slaved in the kitchen?” Raven scoffed at her sister’s proclamation.

  “I used to help Mom in the kitchen when we were kids all the time,” Renee reminded her sister.

  “You were Mom’s little helper then,” Raven agreed. “But you won’t even come in the kitchen to help us now.” Raven pointed towards Joy and Carmella when she said the word us.

  Carmella saw the sad look on Renee’s face and quickly came to her rescue. “Renee doesn’t have to spend time with us in the kitchen. We spend time together other ways, don’t we?”

  Renee nodded and then as she looked intently at Carmella, she added, “But even though I don’t cook with you... you do know that I love you, right?”

  “I sure do, honey.” Carmella reached over and gently touched Renee’s arm. “And don’t you ever feel bad for wanting to hold onto the memories you shared with your mother. Lord knows, I treasure every memory that I had with mine, and even though she’s been gone from this earth for many, many years, there’s still not a day that goes by that I don’t wish she was here with me.”

  When Renee’s eyes filled with tears, Joy, Carmella and Raven surrounded her and the four women group hugged. When the women parted, Renee wiped her eyes, shook her head as she mumbled, “Mother’s Day... for the longest time, I didn’t have anyone to spend this day with. But you know what?” she said while looking at Carmella. “If I can’t spend this day with my birth mom, I sure am happy to be spending it with you.”

  “I understand exactly what you’re going through,” Joy told her. “It’s kind of like how I felt at my wedding; I wanted my father to walk me down the aisle, but he was in jail. And then, Ramsey, being the wonderful step-father that he is, walked me down the aisle.”