Watercolored Pearls

by Stacy Hawkins Adams

  Watercolored Pearls by Stacy Hawkins Adams is everything a good story should be: true-to-life and down-to-earth, with God smack- dab in the middle of it all. Stacy's characters and intertwined personal dramas draw readers in from the first page and keep them on the edge of their seats.

  —Kathi Macias,

  bestselling author/speaker

  This book has everything I love: real people of faith trying to cope with problems and doubts... and by the end, a faith made tangible and accessible to everyone. ... I started reading this in the morning and I couldn't put it down until I finished it... you'll do the same thing.

  —Sharon Baldacci,

  author of A Sundog Moment

  Speak to My Heart foretold Stacy Hawkins Adams's potential and giftedness as a writer and storyteller with longevity. Watercolored Pearls is the confirmation. And it is such a beautiful confirmation.

  —Robin Caldwell,

  GospelCity.com

  In a simple, well-written story, we learn about three different women and their individual stresses, failures, and spiritual triumphs. I admired the honesty of Adams's writing. The issues the women face may not be those of every woman, but she makes it clear that the solutions come from the same source.

  —Cecil Murphey,

  coauthor of 90 Minutes in Heaven

  and more than 100 other books

  Through Watercolored Pearls, Stacy Hawkins Adams tells a captivating story that takes readers through the life journeys of. . . three different women facing three separate issues, trying to find who they are in Christ. During the process, they learn, through the irritants that creep into their lives, that they will struggle, endure, and triumph, becoming greater and stronger women of God than they ever thought they could be. Through their physical, spiritual, and emotional excursions, they find love and comfort in each other as well as in the arms of Christ.

  —Kendra Norman,

  founder and president Royalty Publications,

  Bestselling author

  Stacy Hawkins Adams has set it off once again. We get more of our girlfriends Serena, Erika, and Tawana, fiercer, finer, and yet more frail than ever. Every young woman needs to hear the message of the Watercolored Pearls deftly woven in this novel. Buy this precious gem of a book and a spare to share. It's good like that.

  —Claudia Mair Burney,

  author of The Amanda Bell Brown Mysteries

  and Zora and Nicky: A Novel in Black and White

  Watercolored Pearls is a delightful. . . read. Stacy's story, driven by three loyal girlfriends, reminds us of where true peace and beauty lie. Grab a glass of cold lemonade, curl up under a shady tree, and enjoy!

  —Sharon Ewell Foster,

  Christy Award-winning author of

  Passing by Samaria and Abraham's Well

  Watercolored Pearls

  Anniversary Edition

  a novel

  by

  Stacy Hawkins Adams

  ~~~

  Smashwords Edition

  Spring Rock Publishing

  Richmond, Virginia

  Copyright© 2014, 2007 by Stacy Hawkins Adams

  Published by Spring Rock Publishing, a division of

  Claywork Enterprises, LLC

  P.O. Box 25985, Richmond, VA 23260

  www.springrockpublishing.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Adams, Stacy Hawkins, 1971-

  Watercolored pearls : a novel / Stacy Hawkins Adams. p. cm.

  ISBN 10: 0-8007-3168-9 (pbk.)

  ISBN 978-0-8007-3168-7 (pbk.)

  1. African Americans—Fiction. 2. Faith—Fiction. I. Title. PS3601.D396W37 2007

  813'.6—dc22 2007020550

  Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  To three special pearls,

  My sisters Barbara Grayson, Sandra Williams, and

  Patsy Scott and

  To my beloved brother, Waymon,

  With love

  Foreword

  When I created the characters Serena, Ericka and Tawana, I didn’t expect them to become like friends; but that’s exactly what happened – for me and for many who read about their journeys in my first two novels.

  Fast forward to 2007 and the publication of my third novel in the Spirit & Soul series – Watercolored Pearls: This was the first of the three books I had penned at that point that brought me to tears. Watercolored Pearls is also the novel that has stood the test of time, sending readers the still-relevant message that despite life’s stumbling blocks, tragedies or mistakes, as long as one persists and pushes through, that person is a pearl in progress.

  It is for these reasons that I’m releasing Watercolred Pearls, as my first anniversary edition title. The first two books in the Spirit & Soul series – Speak To My Heart and Nothing But the Right Thing – will follow soon in ebook and print format. In the meantime, I hope you’ll find Watercolored Pearls to be a literary gift that keeps on giving.

  I’ve left certain details about the time period in which this book was penned – 2006 into 2007 – the same; so some aspects of the characters’ daily lives will seem dated. However, their experiences and the issues they grapple with could be pulled from today’s news headlines. Please read, or re-read, and enjoy, and while doing so envision yourself as a pearl, on your way to somewhere beautiful.

  Stacy

  Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

  Matthew 13:45-46

  Table of Contents

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

&
nbsp; Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Acknowledgments

  Watercolored Pearls Discussion Questions

  1

  The scream lodged in Serena McDaniels's throat and refused to budge. She turned left, then right, then stopped to scoop up her son.

  One accounted for. In seconds, the other had disappeared.

  If fear would release its grip on her vocal chords and allow her to yell, she was sure someone an aisle or two away could help her. But the words wouldn't come.

  Serena clutched Jacob to her chest and took off running.

  "Ow, Mommy. Too tight!"

  Hearing Jacob's voice unleashed hers.

  "Jaden?! Jaden? Where are you?"

  Serena stood in the middle of Ukrop's, near the grocery store's salad bar, hoping her son would emerge from an easy-to-miss hiding spot big enough for a toddler.

  She held Jacob closer and squatted to scan the floor beneath the registers.

  Jacob tried to wiggle free, and as she maintained her grip on him, she struggled to resist a meltdown.

  Someone touched her shoulder. Serena rose from the uncomfortable position to read the tag worn by the man who stood before her. Greg Hill, store manager.

  "It's okay, ma'am," he said. "We'll find your son . . . Jaden did I hear you say? He's here somewhere."

  Serena nodded, afraid that if she spoke, the waterfall she was struggling to contain would erupt.

  Seconds later, she heard a male voice nearby.

  "Hey, buddy. I think Mommy's looking for you."

  Serena spurted in that direction, with Jacob clinging to her shirt. She peered down every aisle until she saw her curly-haired blessing.

  Jaden stood on a nearly empty bottom shelf, stretching his pudgy arm toward a cereal box just out of his reach.

  Serena wanted to collapse with relief, but that urge quickly gave way to frustration.

  "Jaden Michael McDaniels, get over here now!"

  Instead of climbing down, he turned his big brown eyes toward her and smiled. "Life, Mommy. I want Life!"

  The man who had discovered the boy lowered Jaden to the floor and patted his head. He took Jaden's hand and led him to Serena.

  Jacob squirmed from her arms and slid down her leg to hug his brother. "Jaden found!"

  Serena raised her eyes to the stranger. "Thank you, sir. I turned away for a second to grab a can off the shelf, and just that quickly, he climbed out of the cart. Thank you."

  The man smiled. "It's okay. He's a boy, and if I'm guessing right, he and his brother here are about two years old. He's doing exactly what he should be doing at this age. I have ten grandchildren and I've been there. Don't worry. You're a good mother."

  Serena produced a weak smile. Was she really? She felt like a frazzled rag doll in need of a Parenting 101 class, instead of the supermom she always dreamed she would be, during those years she had cried and pleaded with God to allow her to bear children.

  The man waved goodbye to the boys and resumed his shopping. Serena silently scolded herself until he disappeared around a corner:

  I must have been out of my mind, coming to the grocery store with these two, and near nap time at that.

  She took Jacob and Jaden by the hands and found her shopping cart five rows away. She moved it from the center of the aisle where she had abandoned it, and parked it alongside a shelf.

  A store employee approached. "Need some help?"

  Serena shook her head. The boys were trying to squirm out of her grip, and at this moment, she finally understood why some parents used leashes, a practice she usually criticized.

  She knew the young lady would have helped her shop or find an open register to check out, but all she wanted right now was to go home, lie down, and calm her thirty- something nerves.

  "I've got to get my sons settled, so I'm not going to buy these items today. I don't have anything perishable in there; can I leave my cart here?"

  The clerk smiled. "I don't mind putting everything away for you. Glad you found your son. Kids wander away in here all the time; I guess they're curious."

  By the time Serena made it to the mini van and got the two miniature versions of her husband buckled into their car seats, she was sweating. It was a pleasant May morning, but she felt like she was having early onset hot flashes.

  Serena slid into the driver’s seat, buckled her seat belt and closed her eyes. Temporarily losing Jaden in a grocery store wasn't that big of a deal, but then again, it could have been.

  Give me some patience, Lord. And some idea of how to manage these rambunctious little boys.

  She sighed and waited. Didn't God have a ready answer for her?

  Her cell phone chimed and she laughed out loud.

  "Alright now, Daddy," she said, using the name she often called God. "That was fast."

  Serena looked at the number and saw that it was Micah. "Hi there."

  "Hey, love. Where are you? Did you forget that Bethany was stopping by the house today to pick up that package for Ian? She tracked me down here at the church and said you weren't home."

  The boys grew louder in the backseat. They giggled and practiced moves with the miniature action figures she kept in a small basket for them. Right now, the plastic toys were scattered everywhere.

  "Serena, you there?"

  "One of your sons did a disappearing act in Ukrop's just now," she said. "I found him trying to grab his favorite cereal on a shelf he couldn't reach."

  Micah's rumbling laughter irritated her.

  "I'm glad you find it so funny," she said. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack. And, I have some bad news: I left the basket in the store, filled with the ingredients I needed for tonight's dinner and for the lunch I was planning to serve Miss Bethany. It's only 10:30 anyway. She's early."

  She knew Micah was waiting until she finished her tirade.

  "I'll call Bethany and tell her she can get the package some other time," he said. "Sounds like you and the boys need a nap."

  Serena opened her eyes and breathed deeply. Whenever she felt herself careening over the edge, Micah always helped her pull herself together.

  "I've got men's Bible study tonight, but I'll get home as soon as I can."

  "I know you mean well, babe," Serena said, more calmly this time, "but your 'early' still means after dinner, and after bath time."

  She didn't intend to make him feel guilty, but he didn't understand how exhausting it was to spend 24/7 with two kids so full of life that by the time they'd been awake for two hours, she was ready to hide in a closet and regroup. He also didn't know how bad she felt for having those thoughts.

  "You're right," he said. "My early is still late. Don't worry about preparing dinner. Give the boys something light and eat what you want—the leftover roast from yesterday. I'll eat whatever I can find when I get there. I'm gonna run and call Bethany back about Ian's package. Love ya."

  "Love you too, babe," Serena said. "Sorry I'm so cranky."

  "Don't sweat it. Gotta run."

  Serena clicked off the cell phone and turned to look at her sons. Their identical eyebrows, noses, smiles, and dark chocolate complexions stole her heart every time she glimpsed them.

  A few years ago, she had clutched her flat belly in grief, wailing for God to fill it with a child. He had given her a double blessing, and she was grateful. She was also torn, though, because loving them seemed to be draining the life out of her.

  2

  Erika Tyler Wilson stared at the unopened greeting card and debated her options. If she tore it up now, Aaron would be watching and want to know why. If she waited, she might actually be tempted to read the romantic musings scripted by the card manufacturer, as well as the handwritten message she knew Elliott had neatly penned—again.

  She shifted in her seat and c
ontinued sorting through the mail while she waited for the pasta to cook.

  Aaron sat across from her and colored a worksheet his preschool teacher had given him as homework. When she sighed heavily and picked up the card again, he raised his head.

  "What, Mommy?"

  She laughed and tweaked his nose. "Why do you want to know, little man? Are you going to handle this for me?"

  "Yes," he said with a straight face. "Tell me so I can fix it."

  He had just turned four, but Erika regularly informed anyone who asked his age that he was going on forty. He was what her friend and surrogate mother Charlotte called an "old soul," and Erika agreed—he was wise beyond his years.

  "Nothing for you to worry about, sweetie," Erika said. "Mommy's just reading the mail. Finish your homework."

  She rose from the table and went to the stove to stir the marinara sauce in one pot and the pasta in another. She zoned in on the circular motions and tried not to be angry because of the letter. Every two weeks, she went through the same emotions.

  Memories rushed forth of the fear, the beatings, and the sickness of loving someone who hurt her.

  She thought about Naomi's Nest, the shelter she had called home for nearly a year. Kodak-like images of that period flashed through her mind: the joy of giving birth to Aaron; the anguish of handing him over six weeks later for Serena and Micah to raise; interning at D. Haven Interior Designs to learn the craft from senior designer Gabrielle Donovan and the company's owner, Derrick Haven. Falling in love with God for the first time. And eventually, with. . . .

  Erika laid the wooden spoon on the stovetop and abruptly walked away. She returned to her seat at the kitchen table, still lost in her reflections. Aaron was so engrossed in coloring images that began with the letter Y that he didn't notice.