Chapter 8
Her flight touched down at 10:00 a.m. She didn’t call her parents because she wanted to surprise them, so, she hopped into a cab and gave him the address and then leaned back and exhaled as the driver took her to the place she wanted to be more than any other place on earth.
“Here we are, ma’am.”
Trinity paid the cab driver and then stood outside of Christ the King Church, wondering if she was about to make a fool of herself. She was, after all, the one who’d left church to go off and become an R & B singing sensation, who ended up disgracing herself and her family. Would her parents be embarrassed or would they welcome her with open arms as they’d done in the dream… vision or whatever she had experienced?
Taking a deep breath, Trinity put one foot in front of the other as she made her way to the door. “Be with me, Lord Jesus,” Trinity prayed as she opened the door and stepped into the church.
People were milling around the fellowship hall. No one was paying much attention to her. She had noticed a few women step aside and whisper, but overall, no one made a big deal about Trinity Thomas, the singer. Her anxiety about being at church was further relieved as Elder Thomas rounded the corner and entered the fellowship hall, almost bumping into her.
It took him a moment, but when he looked up, a smile as wide as heaven spread across his face and he picked Trinity up and swung her around. “My baby is back in town!”
“Put me down, Daddy. Don’t make a scene.” She wanted to tell him that she had just spent Christmas with him, so he didn’t have to make such a big deal of seeing her. But she was the only one who knew anything about that.
“Of course I’m going to make a big deal about my daughter coming home for Christmas. Are you kidding?” He put her down and then shouted for everyone to hear, “My baby, the R & B sensation, herself, Ms. Trinity Thomas is in the house!”
People clapped, while others said, things like, ‘Glad to have you here,’ or ‘Don’t be a stranger.’ But the voice that whispered ‘Merry Christmas’ in her ear, caused the hair to stand up on the back of her neck.
Trinity swung around, and there he was… the man of her dreams, Jarod Harland. “Oh my goodness. I didn’t know you attended this church.” She’d seen him here in her vision, but if that vision was correct, then he was the…
Jarod laughed. “I not only attend, but I’ve been the associate pastor here for the last two years.”
Her father told her, “Pastor is getting up there in age. He needed some help, so we put Minister Jarod on the payroll.”
A little boy ran up to him, grabbed his hand and started pulling him. “Daddy, come on, Daddy. I want to go to class.”
“I’ll see you all in the sanctuary. I have to get JJ into his class before he explodes or something.”
The little boy’s name was JJ. Trinity looked to heaven and smiled. God had truly shown her the world she could have had. “Where’s Jarod’s wife?” she asked her father. “Don’t they have a little girl also?”
Her father shook his head. “Jarod’s wife divorced him after he accepted his call into the ministry. She didn’t think he would be able to provide for his family on an associate pastor’s salary.”
“Then she has no vision,” Trinity declared, “because Jarod will one day be the senior pastor of this church and the ministry will grow even greater than it is now, and he will have more than enough to provide for his family.”
They went into service and she listened as Jarod beautifully told the story of the birth of Jesus. Trinity visualized him telling his son that same story earlier this morning. The only problem was that she hadn’t been there to fix breakfast for everyone before coming church. And little Margie hadn’t been there because they didn’t have any children together. But Trinity wanted to rectify that situation, she only prayed that Jarod would want her back in his life after all these years had passed.
But God had given Trinity a glimpse of what life could be like with Jarod and now that she knew better, she would choose Jarod every time… but would he choose her?
After service she went to her parents’ house. It was like déjà vu except for the fact that she didn’t arrive with Jarod and their children in tow. And thank God there was no breaking news about her best friend being found dead.
The table was being set and they were about to sit down for dinner when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” Trinity told them as she headed for the door. She was so enjoying being home with her parents and was busy contemplating just how she would tell them that she would no longer be singing R & B, that she was totally caught off guard when she opened the front door and JJ ran past her, calling out to her mother.
“Please forgive him. I’m still working on his manners,” Jarod told Trinity.
“He’s fine. Nothing to forgive at all.” She was grinning from ear to ear. “What brings you two here today?”
His eyes locked with Trinity’s and it was as if she could see the love he still held for her in the depths of those beautiful brown eyes of his.
“Your mom invited me for dinner. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Why would I mind? Come on in.”
Jarod wiped his feet on the welcome mat and then walked into the house. Just as Trinity was about to close the door, she looked up into the sky, and noticed one lone star gleaming brightly as if it wanted her to wish upon it again. But Trinity wasn’t falling for it this time.
She closed the door and instead of wishing on a star, she said a silent prayer to her Lord and Savior, “Father, I am so grateful for the birth of Your Son, Jesus and that He came to save me from my sins. I am also thankful that You want to give me the desire of my heart, and my heart yearns for Jarod Harland. So, if Jarod is my Christmas present from You, all I can say is, thank You… Oh, and happy birthday, Jesus!”
Epilogue
December 25, 2015
The tabloid read: Former R & B diva, Trinity Thomas has not only released her first gospel album, but today, she is marrying the pastor of her church, Mr. Jarod Harland. Her former group members, Tina, Tara and Theresa are serving as bridesmaids.
But Trinity isn’t the only member of the Four Ts to experience life-altering events since last Christmas. As everyone knows, Tara appeared on a rehab reality show. The surprising thing was that Tara was able to free herself from her addictions and is now living a drug-free life.
Theresa married the father of her third child three months ago and is now expecting her fourth child. She has informed the media that she and her husband plan to have as many children as God allows.
And Ms. Tina is now working on her solo career with the release of her first hit single, “Thankful for My Girls.” Surprisingly, even with a title like that, the song hit number one on the R & B charts. But Tina said the title has more meaning behind it than anyone will ever know. So, we wish all of the former Four Ts a Merry Christmas, and a very happy rest of their lives… they earned it.
The end…
You’ve been reading The Christmas Wish by Vanessa Miller. Book 2, The Gift is available wherever ebooks are sold. You might also like Rain For Christmas or Praise For Christmas.
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Books in the Spirit of Christmas series
The Christmas Wish (Book 1)
The Gift (Book 2)
The Promise of Christmas (Book 3) (rel. Dec. 2016)
Excerpt of:
The Gift
Book 2 in the Spirit of Christmas Series
1
She was pregnant… again. And even though it was Christmas Eve, Theresa Manning was far from jolly about this situation. She hadn’t told anyone about the pregnancy because she just couldn’t take seeing the disappointment in everyone’s eyes. She already had three kids by three different
men. Theresa had sworn to herself that she wouldn’t have another baby before a ring was put on her finger.
Actually, she did have a ring. Her third baby daddy had given her a ring after she’d given birth to junior. Theresa had gotten busy planning the wedding but then Tony went and cheated on her. And even though she was once again pregnant, she refused to marry a cheater.
What killed her though was how great Tony was with the kids. He had just been traded from from the San Diego Chargers to the Carolina Panthers. But he had been rehabbing his shoulder when he received the news. So, he’d asked the coach if he could stay in California over the Christmas break to continue his rehab and spend time with his kids. It wasn’t like the Panthers were going to put him on the field since he hadn’t been cleared by his doctor to play anyway, so the coach had allowed the rehab to continue in Cali.
Theresa had been touched by the jester, because she knew that the children would miss Tony. His trade to the Carolinas meant that he would no longer be just a couple of hours car ride away. But she wasn’t about to uproot her family and follow him, so he could do her dirty all over again.
She had allowed him to stay in the guest room while he finished the rehab on his shoulder. The kids were overjoyed to have him there. So, Theresa figured that she wouldn’t be the scrooge to her children’s happiness this one last Christmas. But after this, Tony would never be allowed to play the family game with her children again.
“Do I have enough batter on my spoon, Mommy?” Brielle, Theresa’s second child and only daughter asked as she scooped the dough out of the bowl.
Theresa lightly sprayed the cookie sheet with oil. “That’s good. Drop it on the cookie sheet and scoop up another one just like that.”
Her two boys, Mikey and TJ were in the media room with Tony watching football, and more football while she and Brielle were on cookie duty. That was just fine with Theresa, because she loved baking, and hoped that her daughter would eventually love it as much as she does. Being in the kitchen with Brielle reminded Theresa of her childhood and the many days she spent in the kitchen with her grandmother. In fact, all three of the cookie recipes they made for Christmas Eve were her grandmother’s recipes. And they were delicious.
Mikey ran into the kitchen carrying an empty bowl that had once held a mound of popcorn. “We need more snacks.”
Theresa shook her head at the boy. “Y’all so greedy, it’s a wonder that I’m able to keep this pantry stocked.” She wiped her hands on the towel. “I’ll grab a bag of chips but that’s it until the cookies get done.”
As she was headed to the pantry, the front doorbell rang. She then pointed towards the pantry. “You get the chips, and only one bag, you here me?”
“Yes, Mama.”
“Now let me see who’s at this door on Christmas Eve.” The house she shared with her children was five thousand square feet, so it took her a minute to get from the kitchen to the front door. However, whoever was on the other side of the door, didn’t seem to appreciate that fact and rang her doorbell again and again. “I’m coming,” Theresa hollered from the distance.
“Hurry.”
“I know you are not rushing me,” Theresa said as she opened the door and held it close to her side.
“Look, I know you have every reason to be mad at me, but I really need to…”
The door opened wider as Mikey, Theresa’s first child squeezed in next to his mom. Trinity stooped down and hugged him like she’d been away for way too long.
“Auntie Trinity, you’re hurting me,” Mikey told her.
She let him go and stepped back. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s just that I’m so happy to see you.”
“What are you talking about? You see him all the time. He was just over to your house last weekend,” Theresa said, the annoyance ringing loud and clear in her voice.
“Just because I saw my god-son last weekend doesn’t mean that I don’t miss him.” Trinity tickled Mikey as she reminded Theresa, “I did, after all, hang out with you all night long in that hospital while you gave birth to him.”
Rolling her eyes heavenward, Theresa said, “And then you went on stage drunk and ruined all of our careers.” Trinity Thomas was the last person Theresa wanted to see on Christmas Eve. And Tara Owens was a close second. As the Four Ts, Theresa, Trinity, Tina and Tara had once made good music and even better money. Theresa had been able to take care of her children even though she didn’t have a husband to speak of, and things had been all good. But, Trinity’s drinking and Tara’s drug use had put an end to all of that. The record company refused to re-sign them. After that, Tina informed the group that she was going solo. So, now Theresa was feeling salty and didn’t want to be bothered with anyone with a T at the beginning of their name except her son…
The Christmas Wish Page 5