In the Light of Love

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  “Jericho?”

  The other woman waved her head from side to side. “No, his father,” Clarissa responded, shrugging her shoulders. “He told me to give it to you once we were well over the Atlantic Ocean.”

  Talisa fingered the crisp paper between her fingers, her gaze searching Clarissa’s face first, and then her name printed neatly in blue ink on the front of the mailer. “Thank you,” she finally muttered, clasping the envelope tightly to her chest.

  Clarissa nodded, as she pulled a gray blanket across her legs and she settled back down in her seat.

  “Will the light bother you?” Talisa asked, gesturing toward the overhead night-light above them.

  Clarissa shook her head no, then closed her eyes as if to drift back into a deep sleep.

  Talisa could barely imagine what Jericho’s father could have written her as she switched on the overhead light and pulled at the sealed mailer. The letter inside was printed in a man’s bold script, the neat penmanship dispelling the myth about a doctor’s handwriting being illegible.

  As she unfolded the document she took a quick glance toward Clarissa to see if the young woman was watching, but the girl had turned her back to Talisa and seemed to be headed off to dreamland. Focusing back on the letter, Talisa could feel the words pulling at her teardrops as she read the brief paragraphs the man had taken time to write to her.

  Dearest Talisa, when our son was born his mother and I would sit together with him in our arms and whisper our dreams for him into his tiny ears. Boy, did we have big dreams for our little boy! Sometimes I think that no child could make his parents half as proud as Jericho has made his mother and I. Jericho has never disappointed us. He has made us proud by making smart decisions. Jericho earned our trust by always being honest and by simply doing what was always right.

  When he told us about you we never once questioned his choice. We knew that for him to love you, to even imagine spending the rest of his life with you, then you had to be an exceptional woman. He could not have been more right. I know your parents must be as proud of you as we are. Getting to know you has been such a pleasure. Seeing firsthand how much you love our son gives us great confidence in your future together.

  Irene and I have always told Jericho that the woman he marries should make him a better man. Yesterday, my son told me that not only was he a better man with you, but for the first time he feels fully complete. If I did have any doubts, that testament alone was enough to convince me. Welcome to our hearts, Talisa. May God’s blessings continue to be with you both. With much love and affection, your future father-in-law, Elijah.

  As Talisa read the letter once again, and then for a third and fourth time, she could barely contain the warm tears that pressed against her eyelids. After reaching to extinguish the light above her head, she wiped her palm across her face, wiping at the moisture that had fallen against the round of her cheeks. Settling back against the cushioned seat, she finally closed her eyes and let sleep ease her into her own dreams.

  “Your father and I are very proud of you, Jericho,” Irene Becton stated matter-of-factly, the words falling as easily as if she were quoting the time of day. The woman fluffed the thin pillow beneath her child’s head. “And, we’re very excited!” she gushed.

  Jericho smiled drowsily, the injection of pain medication his father had given him beginning to take effect.

  “So, what are your plans?” his mother asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “Will you and Talisa marry here or back in the States?”

  “We want to speak with her parents first. I think it’s important that I have her father’s approval. His and her mother’s. Don’t you agree?” Jericho yawned, wiping a weak hand across his mouth.

  Irene beamed down at her son. “I’m sure they’ll be as excited as we are.” She leaned to kiss his forehead, allowing her lips to linger for just a brief moment.

  “Isn’t she great, Mom? From the moment I met her, I just knew we were meant to be together.”

  “Yes, Talisa is a very special woman, Jericho.”

  The man continued to ramble. “I love her so much. She makes me feel so…so…full. Inside. It’s like my heart is overflowing and I just want to bust.”A soft chuckle rose from his midsection. “And, she’s so beautiful. But being pretty isn’t important to her. She doesn’t worry about whether or not her hair and makeup are perfect and that just makes her more beautiful. She reminds me of you, Mom. She’s strong like you are and she has the biggest heart. I never knew any other woman whose heart was as big as yours was until I met Talisa. And, she loves me. She loves me like you love Dad. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am.”

  Irene nodded her head slowly. “I am so happy for you, Jericho. I love you, son-shine. I love you very much.”

  Jericho smiled, the wide gesture pulling from ear to ear. “You haven’t called me that since I was in elementary school.”

  His mother nodded. “You’ll always be my son-shine. I don’t care how old you are.”

  Jericho settled comfortably against the mattress, his eyes fluttering open and then closed. “I’m sorry, Mom. The medication has me a little woozy,” he whispered into the warm air.

  Irene patted his arm, her warm fingers comforting. “That’s okay, son-shine. You need your rest.” As she watched her oldest child drift off to sleep, her smile was rivaled only by her husband’s, who stood watching from the doorway behind them.

  Chapter 25

  Their lively bantering could be heard down the block, the noise level at a feverish pitch as they welcomed Talisa back home. The four women were gathered in Leila’s dining room, salads, French fries, and burgers from McDonald’s covering the oak table.

  Talisa bit into a Big Mac, relishing the taste of savory beef patties and special sauce. “Mmm,” she hummed. “I can’t believe how much I missed this.”

  “There’s nothing like fast food to welcome you back home,” Benita chimed, her mouth full of ketchup-coated fries. “We even have chocolate fudge sundaes for dessert, girl!”

  Talisa laughed, her gaze washing over each of them. “I missed you guys so much,” she said, grinning widely.

  Leila grinned back. “We missed you, too. So tell us more. What else did you do?”

  Her belly full, Talisa leaned back against the dining room chair. “There’s nothing else to tell. You’ve heard it all.”

  “Well, I’m headed to Africa next week,” Mya said jokingly. “You leave not having dated a man for years and come back engaged. If I’m lucky I should be able to find me a husband before I get inside the airport good.”

  Leila rolled her eyes. “I swear you have a one-track mind, Mya.”

  “Excuse me for thinking about my future. It wouldn’t hurt you two to do the same thing. You’re not getting any prettier, you know.”

  Benita sneered in Mya’s direction. “I have a man, thank you. And I’m in no hurry to be married.”

  “Besides,” Leila interjected, “ugly on the inside is uglier on the outside and I don’t care how cute you think you are.”

  “You know, Leila, you get right on my—”

  Talisa interrupted her friend. “Don’t you two start fighting. Give me one night of peace before I have to go back to refereeing you two.”

  Talisa shook her head as her two friends eyed each other with disdain, both nodding their heads in agreement.

  “Thank you,” she said, rising from her seat and gathering the garbage from the table. “So, tell me what you three have been up to since I left.”

  “Well, I signed on two major accounts this past month. Been too busy with work to do anything else,” Benita said, rising to help her.

  “How’s your quarterback?” Talisa asked, referring to the Atlanta Falcons football player Benita had met at the auction.

  Benita smiled. “He’s a defensive lineman and he’s very sweet. They’re away this weekend playing in Boston.”

  Talisa caught Mya rolling her eyes. “How about you, girlfriend? How’s your lov
e life going?”

  Mya shrugged. “You know how it is. It’s hard to find a good man these days.”

  “You still seeing old Charlie-newsboy?”

  Leila chuckled. “I like that, Charlie-newsboy!”

  Mya tossed her a look of annoyance. “He comes in handy every now and then, but brother’s cheap. I don’t have time for no cheap men.”

  Talisa leaned to hug her friend’s shoulder. “What are we going to do with you?” she asked softly.

  Mya smiled and Talisa imagined she saw a faint teardrop rise in her friend’s eyes. “Don’t worry about me,” Mya professed. “I’m getting mine.”

  “We worry, Mya,” Leila said. “We want more than that for you.”

  Benita moved to change the subject before the moment turned too serious. “So, Talisa, when does Jericho come back so we can meet him? You know there can be no wedding until he passes our approval.”

  Talisa grinned as the four women moved into Leila’s den and settled themselves down against the oversized sectional sofa, ice cream sundaes in hand.

  “He’s back tomorrow.”

  “Have you told your mother yet?” Leila asked.

  Talisa shook her head no. “We plan on telling them when Jericho gets here.”

  “Is her medication working?” Benita asked, concern spilling out of her eyes.

  “So far, so good. Daddy says she’s been doing much better. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed.”

  “Let’s hope this doesn’t send her over the edge,” Leila added.

  Talisa crossed her fingers together in front of her. “Let’s hope and say a prayer,” she said with a quick smile.

  “So, how’s the sex?” Mya asked. “Is the brother any good, ’cause he looked like he’d be real good?”

  Talisa blushed profusely. “Mya!”

  They all laughed. “He was good,” Leila chimed, slapping a high-five with Mya. “She’s blushing so you know he was good.”

  Talisa hid her face in her hands, shaking her head. “If you three embarrass me I will never forgive you,” she said, looking from one to the other. “No stories about things we did when we were in grade school. Please.”

  “You mean we can’t tell him about the time you fell into the mud pit at the city zoo and all the boys saw your pink panties?” Mya asked.

  “They were yellow,” Leila interjected.

  “No!”

  “Well, how about in seventh grade when that boy Tyler pulled your tube top down and showed your breasts to the whole class?”

  “That was your tube top and your breasts, Mya,” Talisa laughed.

  Mya turned to Leila. “Really?”

  Leila nodded. “Yeah, that was you. Tyler put that dead garden snake in Talisa’s lunch box and she puked on the principal’s shoes when she thought she’d bitten into it.”

  “So, can we tell that story?” Mya asked.

  Talisa shook her head. “No, Mya.”

  Her friend sighed, turning back to Leila. “She really is no fun, is she?”

  Leila shrugged. “Sorry.”

  Benita laughed. “You’re all crazy. I swear I’m the only sane one in the bunch.”

  Their giggles danced around the room as they continued chatting back and forth. A short while later, Leila rose from her seat and exited the room. It was a short wait before she returned with a bottle of Moët Hennessy and four crystal cognac glasses in hand. Mya moved to help her pour, popping the top on the bottle as Leila held the glasses out for her to fill. When they were ready, they each passed a glass to Talisa and Benita, the two women standing up to join them.

  “Are you happy, Talisa?” Leila asked.

  Talisa nodded. “More than you can ever imagine,” she said softly.

  “Is he good to you?” Mya asked.

  “Better than good. He is my heart and soul.”

  “Does he love you as much as you love him?” Benita asked.

  Talisa grinned. “As much and more.”

  Her three friends lifted their glasses in salute.

  “May this be only the beginning of something greater than any of us can ever imagine for you,” Leila whispered, a tear catching in her throat.

  “May he stay long, strong, and hard well into old age,” Mya added with a quick giggle.

  They all shook their heads at the woman.

  “We are happy for you, Talisa,” Benita added. “May God continue to bless you always.”

  “To you, Talisa,” Leila said. “You are our sister and we love you very much.”

  “To Talisa and Jericho,” the three women chimed, lifting their glasses in salute.

  As they each took a quick sip of their drinks, Talisa smiled widely as Leila wrapped her in a warm hug.

  “And, no,” Leila said, affection coating her words, “we are not wearing anything with ruffles at your wedding!”

  Talisa entered the small home humming softly. Her parents were seated in the living room, her father in his favorite recliner with the day’s newspaper and her mother on the worn floral sofa flicking the channels on the television remote.

  “Hi, Mom, hi, Dad,” she said, dropping down onto the seat beside her mother.

  Her father grinned. “Hey, pumpkin. Did you have fun?”

  Mary patted her daughter’s knee. “The girls missed you,” Mary said.

  “I missed them, too. We had a great time,” Talisa said, answering them both. “How was your evening? Did you two have a good night?”

  Herman nodded. “It’s been fine.”

  Mary glanced over to the clock on the wall, noting that it was almost time for the late-night news. “Talisa, you really shouldn’t stay out so late. You know better than that. What will people think?”

  Talisa tossed her father a quick glance. “Sorry,” she said, her eyes widening with concern. “But I didn’t think ten o’clock was too late.”

  “You just don’t need to be staying out all hours of the night. It ain’t right,” Mary chastised. The woman’s tone raised just half an octave, causing her husband and daughter to eye her with reservation.

  Herman laid his newspaper down on the coffee table in front of him. “Mary, did you take your pills today?”

  “Leave me alone, Herman,” Mary responded, her tone surly.

  Talisa reached for her mother’s hand. “Mom, you have to take your medicine every day. You know that, right? You know you can’t miss any doses.”

  Talisa could see the bitterness rising in her mother’s voice as the woman hissed in her direction.

  “Don’t tell me what to do, Talisa. I know what to do. I feel fine. If I feel fine I don’t need to take anything.”

  Herman bristled. “Mary, take your pills, now,” he demanded.

  Like a petulant child, Mary leaned back against the sofa, her arms folded in defiance across her chest. She ignored the man staring at her, her attention focused on the television as she flicked from one channel to another.

  Talisa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, her father had risen from his seat and was heading up the stairs.

  Talisa watched him ascend the stairway, his body suddenly consumed by the weight of his burdens. There was no stopping the sudden rush of tears that fell from her eyes. She turned in her seat, her gaze focused on her mother’s face.

  “So, I come home and you decide to be sick again. Don’t you love me enough to want to be well?”

  “Don’t talk stupid, Talisa. There is nothing wrong with me.”

  “The doctor said you have to take your medicine, so why aren’t you taking it?”

  The woman glared in her daughter’s direction. “The doctors don’t always know what’s right,” she hissed in response. “I know what’s right for me and what isn’t. I decide. Not you, and definitely not your daddy.”

  Talisa nodded her head, rising to her feet. She headed for the stairs, following behind her father.

  “We should do something tomorrow,” Mary called out to her. “You and me. We should spe
nd the day together, I think.”

  Talisa turned to face the woman, tears still dripping down her face. “I have other plans. Jericho comes home tomorrow. I’m picking him and his parents up from the airport. We plan on spending the day together.”

  Mary bristled but said nothing. Talisa watched her for a quick moment before speaking again.

  “Mom, if you don’t take your medication, you and I are never going to spend another day together. I love you, but I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry but you’re going to have to make a choice. If Daddy and I are important to you, then you’re going to have to do what the doctor tells you to. If not, then you’re going to be very lonely. This isn’t fair to me or to Daddy and it’s just not right.”

  Talisa turned, heading up the stairs. Her mother’s anguished voice followed her up, rising like the brunt of hot steam.

  “It’s evil, Talisa. Evil is taking control of you. I can’t have that evilness in my house!”

  At the top of the stairs, Talisa knocked on her parents’ bedroom door. When her father called out for her to come in, she entered the small room and closed the door behind her. The man sat perched on the edge of the queen-sized bed staring out into space. Talisa dropped to the floor beside him, leaning her head against his lap as he swept the hair from out of her eyes and off her face.

  “I’m sorry, pumpkin,” the man said. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault, Daddy. You can’t make her take care of herself. She has to want to do it for herself.”

  The man nodded as his daughter stared up at him and smiled, an easy bend to her lips that helped to ease some of his unhappiness. He sighed, a deep inhale of breath blowing from his lungs.

  “I wanted to wait until Jericho was here and you had some time to get to know him, but I think you should know that he and I are planning on getting married. I love him, Daddy, and he loves me, and he wants me to be his wife.”

  Herman smiled down on her, pulling her up into his arms to hug her tightly. A moment passed before he was able to say anything, emotion clouding his vision and his voice. “That’s great news, pumpkin pie!” he finally gushed. “I’m so happy for you.”