Through the Storm

by Vanessa Miller

  A Blue Bonneville pulled up next to Iona. The blowing of the horn caused her to stop thinking about her mom, God and salvation. She looked into the familiar car and saw Johnny. What was he doing here she wondered.

  He rolled his window down and yelled, “Get in.”

  Iona shook her head. “I’m waiting on Donavan.”

  “He sent me to get you,” Johnny told her.

  Iona rolled her eyes as Johnny got out of his car, unlocked his trunk and took her suitcase out of her hand. He then opened the passenger side door for her and swept his arms into the air gallantly. “Madam, your carriage awaits,” he said as Iona hesitantly strolled forward. When she reached the car, she braced her hands on the window sill and said, “I hope you don’t think this nice act of yours is going to make me want to date you again.”

  Johnny let go of the car door and laughed to the point of being obnoxious as he walked all the way around the car. He didn’t stop laughing until he had buckled his seat belt.

  “What’s so funny?” Iona asked, boring into him with menacing dark eyes.

  He snickered, but waved his hand in the air and said, “Nothing.”

  “Obviously something is hilarious. Let me in on the joke.”

  “You wouldn’t want to know. Just let it go,” Johnny said as he put the car in drive and pulled off.

  Iona harrumphed, folded her arms and then asked, “Where’s Donavan? Why didn’t he come to get me?”

  Johnny didn’t respond for a moment, but when he did open his mouth to speak, his voice was gentle and kind. “I’m sorry that I have to tell you this, but I know Donavan would rather not have to tell you himself.”

  Iona’s eyes rolled. “What’s big brother done now? Did he win the Nobel Peace Prize while I was gone? Is my father at the church turning cartwheels for his good little son?”

  “Your father fired Donavan yesterday.”

  Shock and disbelief crossed Iona’s face. “What? You’re lying, I don’t believe that?”

  Johnny steered the car with his left hand, and with the other, he lightly touched Iona’s shoulder. “Look, Iona, I know that you joke around a lot, calling Donavan the golden boy. And I also know that you have a lot of respect for him, and at times, you have attributed hero status to Donavan. But he’s just a man, Iona. And he messed up.”

  “Messed up how?” Iona asked.

  “I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you Donavan’s business.”

  “Why are you lying like this? Donavan couldn’t have done anything bad enough to make my father fire him.” She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Donavan’s number. The phone rang six times then went to voicemail. “Donavan, where are you? Call me as soon as you get this message.”

  “You need to give him a couple of days, Iona. He doesn’t want to talk with anyone right now.”

  Iona turned fiery eyes on Johnny but she didn’t say anything to him. She opened her cell phone and dialed her father’s number. He answered on the first ring. Iona noticed that her father’s voice lacked its normal upbeat God-is-on-your-side cheerfulness he always displayed when answering the phone.

  “Daddy, what’s going on? Johnny said that you fired Donavan,” Iona said into the phone.

  “How was your trip, baby? How is your mother doing?” Isaac asked, side stepping the question.

  Iona wasn’t going out like that. “We can talk about mama later. Tell me what’s going on. Please, Daddy.” There was desperation in her voice and she hated that Johnny heard it, but what else could she do? Her family was falling apart.

  “Baby, I can’t discuss that with you right now. Donavan is going to have to tell you what happened,” Isaac told her.

  Feeling dejected, Iona hung up with her father and turned to Johnny with tears in her eyes. “My mother has cancer. Did you know that?”

  “Yeah, I know. I was sorry to hear it.”

  “The doctors think she might die. And it took that for me to realize that I really do want that woman in my life.” Her hand went to her head and she massaged her temples. “I can’t deal with something bad happening to Donavan too. Please tell me what happened. Please Johnny.”

  Johnny sighed, and as he turned the car onto Iona’s street he said, “I really don’t want to get in the middle of this, Iona. But I know you won’t let this rest until you know what happened, so I’m going to tell you.” He took a deep breath and said, “Your father caught Donavan having sex with Diana Milner.”

  Iona’s mouth hung open for a moment. When she recovered she said, “No way that happened. There has to be some mistake.”

  “Your father is the one who found them.”

  Iona closed her eyes and then reopened them. But it was hard for her to see with the bubble of tears in her way. “Donavan must feel awful. All he ever wanted to do was please my father. Something like this could destroy him.” She wiped away the tears and then said, “I knew that woman was up to no good. I just knew it.”

  Johnny parked the car as he said, “Donavan is a grown man, Iona. He made the choice to sleep with Diana.”

  “I thought you were supposed to be Donavan’s friend. But look at you, all high and mighty as if you never slept around.”

  He angrily turned toward her. “I am Donavan’s friend. And what happened between me and you happened before I got saved. When God saved me, He saved me, Iona. I understand how a Christian is supposed to act.”

  She turned away from Johnny’s piercing gaze and pushed the car door open. His words had convicted her, and caused her to think on that scripture she’d read this weekend; the one where the writer declared: save me, and I shall be saved. God had saved both Iona and Johnny, but she hadn’t stayed saved. She had backslidden. And now she had to get away from Johnny and his perfectness. She grabbed her purse and took off running toward her condo.

  Johnny got out of the car and took her suitcase out of the trunk. He followed behind her calling, “Wait up, Iona. You forgot your suitcase.”

  Iona opened her door and then swung around to face off with Johnny. “You’ve got some nerve judging me, Johnny Dunford. You didn’t even know anything about God until I brought you to my father’s church. You had never even read the Bible for goodness sake.”

  Johnny looked around just to make sure that none of Iona’s neighbors were coming out of their condos to find out who Iona was screaming at. “Calm down, Iona. Just go in the house.”

  “No, no. You’re not better than me! You are not better than me – do you hear me?”

  He pushed her door wide open and nudged her inside. When he closed the door, he turned back to her. “Iona, will you please stop. You’re making a fool out of yourself.”

  “No, I’m not. I made a fool of myself when I thought we were in love together.”

  Johnny lifted his hands, halting Iona’s tirade. “This isn’t the right time to go there, Iona. So let’s just leave it alone for now. Okay?”

  She started walking toward him, determined to show him that he was no better than she or Donavan. He had once been hers and he would be again if she willed it. “I don’t want to leave it alone.” She put her hands around his neck and seductively told him, “I don’t want you to leave me alone.” She pulled him toward her, and as her lips met his, she felt his need for her.

  Johnny’s eyes were closed as he willingly returned Iona’s kiss. He pulled her closer and sunk deeper into her embrace.

  Iona said, “See, you don’t want to leave me alone either.

  Snapping out of the trance Iona’s kiss had put him in, Johnny reopened his eyes and stepped out of her embrace. “I can’t do this.”

  “Why not?” she protested. “What’s so wrong with being with me?”

  “I’m not going to sleep with you.”

  Iona took a deep breath and exhaled, then ran her hands through her long hair. “Why are you being so difficult? You want this as much as I do.”

  Putting his hands in his pockets Johnny said, “To tell you the truth, I don’t think I can afford you
.”

  She put her hands on his chest and said, “What are you talking about? I’m sure you don’t earn much more than you earned when I dated you two years ago, and we didn’t have a problem then.”

  He removed her hands from his chest and stepped away from the fire. “Well, let me put it this way, Counselor. I don’t pay for dates, okay? And no, I don’t want to take you to the prom either.”

  So there it was; big mouth Clarence Mason strikes again. “Look, we both know that I’m not dating my clients, and what I say to them is my business – not yours.”

  “Who are you kidding? You put on this big act when we first met; telling me how much your mother ruined the first ten years of your life by prostituting. But look at you. You’re not a lawyer, you’re just as much the prostitute that your mother was.”

  Iona backhanded Johnny so hard, blood sputtered from his lip. “I should kick your black behind for saying something like that to me.”

  Johnny wiped his lip, saw the blood and then said, “Be careful, baby. Don’t let them karate and kick boxing lessons get you knocked out.”

  She posed. Left foot firmly planted, right foot taking the lead, slightly bent. Her hands were lifted, ready to strike. “Make a move. Ain’t nothing between us but air and opportunity.”

  Johnny backed up and opened Iona’s front door. “You’re not thinking clearly right now, so I’m just going to get out of here.”

  She broke her stance and told him, “Just know that if you call me out my name again, I’m not going to give you a chance to back up, flip it and reverse. You’re going to get beat down as soon as you open your mouth.”

  ***

  “You’re what?” Isaac asked his wife.

  Nina stood in front of the window of their bedroom wondering how life could be so cruel to her time and time again as she said, “You heard me the first time, Isaac. I’m pregnant.”

  “B-but you’re fifty-four.”

  Nina wanted to say, ‘No duh,’ but this wasn’t the time to be sarcastic; because she had been asking God the same thing. How could she be pregnant now? She would have welcomed this pregnancy sixteen years ago when Iona came to stay with them. Nina had done everything to try to conceive. She’d begged and implored God to give her and Isaac another child. But those prayers had gone unanswered. Nina would have even welcomed this pregnancy ten years ago. A lot of career women have children in their forties. But Nina didn’t know one single woman who’d had a baby in her fifties. This was a Sarah and Abraham joke that the Lord was playing on them.

  “Say something, Nina.”

  “What do you want me to say?” Nina put her arms around her stomach and thought about the numerous doctors that had proclaimed her womb dead. Years ago, Donavan had gotten involved with the wrong crowd and he’d done some things that had angered an evil man. That man shot her son and as Nina tried to protect Donavan, she’d been shot also. When she woke up in the hospital, the doctor told her that she would never be able to have another child. Then after years of praying for God to open her womb, Nina’s doctor informed her that she was headed for early menopause. Nina had cried herself to sleep night after night, until she had finally decided to accept God’s will for her life and be happy. Now a decade after she’d given up hope, could it be true that she would now give birth to another child?

  Isaac lifted his six foot form off of their king-size bed, walked over to the window, stood behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you, babe.”

  Nina turned around in Isaac’s arms. He squeezed her tighter as she put her head on his chest. “What are you thanking me for?”

  He lifted her head and kissed her. “Thanks for being my baby’s mama.”

  She laughed, then swatted his shoulder. “It’s not funny, Isaac. “This child is going to think something is wrong with us. I mean come on, I’m fifty-four and you’re sixty-one. We’re like a modern day Sarah and Abraham. We’ll be dead before this child goes off to high school.”

  “Speak for yourself, woman. I plan to live to be at least ninety-five.”

  Nina stepped out of his embrace and sat down on the edge of their bed. Her shoulders slumped as tears formed in her eyes.

  Isaac followed his wife and got on his knees in front of her. He wiped the tears from her face. “It’s going to be all right, baby. I guarantee you that we will live to see this child grow up.”

  Chapter 10

  On Tuesday morning, Iona got out of bed, dressed in a dark brown skirt and jacket and went to work. Truth be told, she wasn’t feeling the whole work thing today, but the bills had to be paid. She had her first meeting scheduled with Clarence the jewel thief and snitch. He’d earned the added label of snitch for what he’d told Donavan. Even though Clarence was snitching on her, she wasn’t going to give up his case. It had the potential of being front page news.

  As part of her five year plan, Iona really needed a front page news type of case. She was banking her money and she was right on schedule, with about thirty thou in the bank. But Iona knew she would need at least five times that in order to get her law firm off to a good start and let this community know that she was about business.

  Vivian was seated behind her desk in the reception area. She handed Iona her messages and told her good morning.

  Vivian looked sad, like somebody pimp slapped her mother and made her watch. Iona wanted to ask her friend what was wrong, but she couldn’t take another sad song right now. So she closed herself in her office, took a deep breath and reviewed her messages. The message on top was from Keith, her mother’s husband. She had ignored his call last week. She’d never make that mistake again.

  She picked up the phone and dialed Keith’s cell number, not wanting to wake her mother if she was tired or sleeping. Keith picked up on the first ring.

  “Hey, what’s up,” Iona asked.

  “Nothing much. I just wanted to check on you and see how you’re holding up,” Keith told Iona.

  That was Keith. Always making sure everyone else was taken care of. But who’s going to take care of you, Keith, if Mama doesn’t survive this battle, who will take care of you? Iona wanted to say, but instead she told him, “I’m holding up. I arrived home to find out about a bunch of drama going on with Dad and Donavan that I still haven’t received the whole story on, but I plan to get to the bottom of it today.” She picked up her coffee cup. It was dirty. She put it back down and asked. “How’s mom doing today? I was going to give her another hour or so to sleep before I called.”

  “She got out of bed this morning and started walking around the house reciting each and everyone of those scriptures you hung on the wall for her this weekend.”

  Iona could hear the hopeful excitement in Keith’s voice. It made her smile. “Well, just make sure she doesn’t over do it, okay? Faith is one thing; foolishness is another.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m watching out for her.” Keith hesitated for a moment and then asked, “Will you be back out to see her this weekend?”

  “I’ll be there Friday evening.”

  “Good, your mom wants to take you somewhere on Saturday.”

  Iona laughed. But it wasn’t a ha-ha very funny laugh; it was more of a I-wish-this-was-somebody-else’s-life kind of laugh. “She’s not in any shape to take me anywhere. Now I know you don’t like to do this where Mom is concerned, but you are going to have to put your foot down and tell that woman she can’t go out of the house.”

  Keith calmly told Iona, “If she doesn’t appear to be able to make the trip, I’ll make sure she stays home. You just make sure you get here on Friday. I think seeing you has given Cynda that extra boost she needed to fight this thing.”

  “I’m glad, Keith. I’ll see you on Friday,” Iona told him before hanging up the phone.

  Iona grabbed her coffee cup and left her office to go to the restroom and wash her cup out. As she was turning off the water, she heard someone sniffling in the stall behind her. There were three stalls in the bathroom. Two of them were empt
y, but Iona recognized the navy blue Prada shoes underneath stall number three. She had helped the wearer shop for those shoes during a weekend shopping trip to New York last summer.

  “Vivian, are you crying?” Iona hated asking obvious questions, but sometimes she opened her mouth, and stupid stuff came out anyway.

  Vivian opened the stall door and slowly walked out. She was carrying a string of wet tissue like Linus on Charlie Brown carried his dirty blanket. Her eyes were blood shot and puffy. Yeah, Iona answered her own question, Vivian had been crying.

  Iona hugged her friend and asked, “What happened?”

  “Michael b-broke up w-with me,” Vivian said through tears and stumbling attempts to control her breathing. Vivian pulled her inhaler out of her pocket and took a puff. She leaned against the bathroom wall and took deep easy breaths.

  “You okay now?” Iona asked.

  Vivian lifted her inhaler. “I don’t leave home without it.”

  “Did Michael take someone else to the Bahamas?”

  “You guessed it.”

  “That’s low down. You’ve been with him for two years. I really thought he was going to ask you to marry him.”

  “Yeah, me too.” A small bitter laugh came out of Vivian’s mouth as she said, “I think I’m going to kill him.”

  Iona leaned against the wall next to Vivian as she remembered how she thought Johnny was the man of her dreams when she met him a few years ago. She knew the pain Vivian was feeling, because she had endured it herself. She turned to her friend and suggested, “Why don’t you go home? Take the day off and just come back tomorrow morning.”

  Vivian blew her nose. “If I leave, who is going to answer the phone and get your case files together?”

  “Look Vivian, I’m not handicapped. I can handle this office for a day.” Iona opened the bathroom door and ushered her friend out. “Come on; let’s get your coat and your purse. Go enjoy this cold wintry February day.”