Ramsey got out of his car, as he headed into his house trying to get his mind off of his time in New York and the people he no longer cared to remember, he caught a glimpse of a little boy throwing a ball around with his dad. Ramsey had seen the father and son before, but today he stopped in his yard and watched them, all the while wondering if the child Brandi aborted had been a boy or a girl? Was he supposed to be in the yard playing catch or having a tea party with an adorable little girl? He would never know... and that was the one thing about God that Ramsey just couldn’t wrap his logical mind around.
If God was so all knowing, why didn’t he send Ramsey some sort of sign, telling him to keep his mouth shut and just listen to what Brandi had to tell him that night? He would never know the answer to that question either. And if he asked his stepmother, she would just admonish him to praise God anyhow, even without the answers.
His shoulders slumped as he turned and went into his house. One day he would have a family, and he would treasure them, because he knew firsthand what loss felt like and Ramsey never wanted to feel that way again in life. His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t had dinner yet. Ramsey went into the kitchen and started making a turkey sandwich. But as he layered his wheat bread with lettuce, tomato and onion, he realized that he didn’t want to eat alone tonight. Maxine may have bailed on him, but his brother was always down for a free meal. So, he called Ronny and they agreed to meet at Panera Bread on the South West side. Soup and a sandwich sounded good to Ramsey, just as long as he had some company while he ate it. Plus, he needed to talk to Ronny anyway.
Ramsey had expected to pay for Ronny’s meal because his brother put almost every dime he earned back into his business. And after all, Ramsey had cost him funding when he attacked Marlin. But Ronny had already ordered and paid for both their meals by the time Ramsey got there. “I’m the one who asked you to hang out with me. I could have paid for our meals,” Ramsey told him as they sat down at their table.
“No need to, bro. You’ve had a lot going on lately, so I wanted to do something for you.”
Ramsey smiled. His brother was a cut up sometimes, but he was truly a good guy. He enjoyed not just being his brother, but also his friend. “Thanks.”
“I heard about what happened to Maxine’s car. That was crazy, huh?” Ronny dipped his bread in his bean soup while shaking his head over the situation.
“How’d you hear about it?”
“I was at Dontae’s house when she picked the baby up.”
“Oh.” Ramsey took a bite of his turkey sandwich and then said, “But you know what I think is real crazy about the situation. Maxine got mad at me for thinking that she might be seeing someone, since the note in the car said, ‘Leave my man alone.’”
“Tough break, especially since you’ve been trying to get with Maxine for quite a while.”
“Tell me about it. I just don’t get why she’s so upset with me.” After having her car towed, Maxine had bailed out on dinner and had just asked him to drop her off at Jewel’s house so she could pick up her daughter. Ramsey put his sandwich down. His arms became animated as he asked Ronny, “Wouldn’t you assume that she was seeing somebody if some woman shredded her beautiful car over a man?”
Ronny tried to calm his brother. “Yeah, of course, anyone would assume that. Just don’t let this eat at you. Maxine will come around.”
“I sure hope so. She’s the only woman I’ve even been remotely interested in since I left New York. I felt something for her the first day I saw her... well actually the second. Because I was introduced to Maxine at the wedding rehearsal, but I hadn’t really looked at her, not until she started walking down that aisle.” He looked over at his brother. “The thing is, I still feel something for her, but I’ll have to get over it if she’s caught up in some drama. Because I really don’t have time to play games at this point in my life.”
“I hear you,” Ronny agreed. “But I really don’t think that Maxine is like that. All I’ve ever heard from Jewel and Dawn is how Maxine has devoted herself to her daughter and to finding a new career.”
Ramsey smiled, thinking about the choir and the disaster of a cake she’d baked. “And I don’t get that either. What’s all the urgency about a new career? Maxine is in her early thirties and she could easily pass for twenty-four, twenty-five. So, I’m sure she could still be modeling if she wanted to.”
“I don’t understand that one either. But just like you had your reasons for wanting to leave New York, I guess she has her reasons, too.”
Ramsey nodded, wanting desperately to tell his brother about his reasons. But he couldn’t tell Ronny or any of his family for that matter. They all were bible-believing-God’s-gonna-fix-it type of Christians, and so was he. But for a time a couple of years ago, Ramsey had lost his way and he didn’t ever want his family to know all of that story. So he changed the subject. “I didn’t only call you because I needed someone to eat dinner with. I wanted to talk to you about your business.”
Ronny nodded, stirred his spoon around in his soup before answering. “Things are going well. I’m developing a few more products and then my line will be complete.”
“How soon do you think you’ll be turning a profit?”
Ronny was thoughtful before answering, “At the rate I’m going, I think the business should be profitable in about five years.”
Ramsey picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth and then shook his head. “That’s too long. I think you could be profitable in a year or two and here how you’re going to do it.”
Ronny leaned back in his seat. “I’m all ears.”
“I’m going to get you a loan from my bank. And if that won’t work, I’ll loan you the money myself.”
Holding onto the table, Ronny’s eyes began to sparkle as he said, “I won’t take any of your money, but if you can work out a loan for me, I will be eternally grateful.”
They shook on it. “I got you, man. I see how hard you’ve been working. I just didn’t want that little beat down I gave Marlin to stop your progress.”
“I was worried at first,” Ronny admitted. “But I prayed about it and I decided that if this is the business that God wanted to succeed for me then He would make a way. And look at God. I’m in awe of Him sometimes.” Ronny was grinning from ear to ear at the thought of the fulfillment of his dreams coming to pass.
Ramsey was smiling, too, but inside he was wondering if he would ever see the awesome power of God in his own life. The brothers parted ways and Ramsey got in his car and headed home, feeling a little better than he had earlier. At least he had done a good deed for the day. Knowing that his brother was happy was all he needed to end his day on a good note.
But as he pulled into his driveway, Ramsey noticed that his front window pane had been completely shattered. “What the devil?”
Ramsey jumped out of his car and ran into the house. Glass was all over his living room floor. How could this have happened? he wondered as he walked around the room trying to investigate how his window could have shattered like that. But the mystery didn’t last long as he saw two huge rocks lying on his floor.
Ramsey scratched his head as he wondered who in the world would do something like this to him. Ramsey tried his best to treat everyone he met with dignity. So as far as he knew, he didn’t have any enemies.
He called Ronny and said, “Man, guess what?”
“What’s going on?”
“I just got home and discovered that someone had busted out my front window.”
“You’re kidding.” Ronny’s voice held genuine surprise, but then he said, “You don’t think Marlin did it, do you?”
“I hadn’t even thought of him.” Ramsey kicked some of the glass around. “If he did this I might need you to come bail me out of jail.”
“Don’t go back over that man’s house, Ramsey. Just call the police. I’m on my way over. I’ll pick up some plastic from Home Depot.”
“Thanks,
bro. I’ll call the police like you suggested. Let them deal with Marlin. I don’t want to see him again in life, if I can help it.”
They hung up; Ramsey called the police and reported the incident. The dispatcher suggested that he wait for the police outside, just in case a burglar might still be in the house. Ramsey hadn’t thought about that. He wasn’t interested in being a dead hero, so he left his house and sat in the car to wait for the police.
Ronny arrived just as the police had finished checking the house. “All clear,” the officer told him.
“What’s going on?” Ronny asked, holding the plastic to cover the window in his hands.
“They were just checking to make sure no one was in the house.”
“Good,” Ronny said, then asked, “Did you tell them about Marlin?”
“He did,” the officer said as he finished jotting a few things on the pad in his hand. He closed his pad and then turned to Ramsey. “We’ll speak with Mr. Jones and find out if he was anywhere in your neighborhood today.”
“Okay, thanks.” Ramsey shook the officer’s hand and then went back in his house with Ronny. “Well, let’s get started cleaning this mess up. I’ll go get the broom and dust pan.”
“I’ll get the plastic ready.”
Ramsey headed to the kitchen to get his supplies. His cell phone rang, but he ignored it because he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right then. As he walked back into the living room and started sweeping up the glass, the house phone rang.
“You want me to get that?” Ronny asked.
“No. I don’t feel like talking to anyone. Let’s just clean this stuff up and then we can chill in front of the TV or something.”
But as the voicemail came on and a voice that Ramsey hadn’t heard in over two years came across the line. All thoughts of relaxing when out the door. “Do I have your attention now?” she asked, then continued as if Ramsey had responded. “Good, so listen up. It’s plain and simple, Ramsey, my love. If I can’t have you, then you can’t have her. I won’t allow it.”
Ramsey couldn’t speak. He was too busy trying to wrap his head around the fact that those were Brandi’s words.
Ronny put the plastic down, stared at his brother for a moment, and in his normal way of finding humor in things, he said, “You’ve got a stalker? Man, when I grow up I want to be just like you.”
7
The moment Ramsey heard Brandi’s voice on his answering machine, he knew he had a problem. And not just any problem either, but the kind of problem that would slash the convertible top of another woman’s car and leave her a note saying, “Leave my man alone.” To think that he had practically accused Maxine of carrying on an affair with an attached man, and being careless with the safety of her child. Now that he knew the truth, he felt like the worst kind of judgmental bonehead.
Right after he called the handyman service to have his window fixed, Ramsey ordered two dozen roses and had them sent to Maxine’s house with the words, “Forgive Me” on the card. He decided not to call first thing that morning. He had a few meetings to handle first, then he would give her a call after he received confirmation that the flowers were delivered. He needed to tell Maxine about Brandi, but thought a conversation like that would be better in person.
So he called her after lunch. As soon as Maxine picked up the phone she said, “Thank you so much for the roses. But you don’t need to ask me for forgiveness. I think I was just a little oversensitive yesterday after seeing the hood of my car shredded like that.”
He wished he didn’t have to ask for forgiveness, wished he’d never had any dealing with his psycho ex-girlfriend. But wishing things didn’t make them so. “I was hoping that you had some time tonight. I’d like to stop by so I can talk to you about something.”
“I was planning to take Brielle to the park this evening. Do you mind tagging along for that?”
Her voice sounded hopeful. Ramsey prayed that she would continue to sound that way even after he told her that he was responsible for the hood of her car being slashed. “No problem. But how are you getting to the park? Isn’t your car still in the shop?”
“It will be in the shop for a couple of weeks. I have a loaner.”
“So do you want me to pick you up, or to just meet you at the park?”
“We’ll meet you over there. Because if you pick us up, I’d have to switch the car seat and stroller into your car, and it’d just end up being one big hassle.”
Grinning, Ramsey couldn’t resist a jab. “Motherhood is more than you expected, huh?”
“Way more,” Maxine agreed. “But it’s also way more rewarding than any of my wildest dreams. I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for my little girl.”
“That’s powerful,” Ramsey said, and again, his respect level for Maxine went up. She was some kind of woman. More special than he deserved, but by God’s mercy, Ramsey prayed he’d be able to make this work. He jotted down the name of the park and the time she wanted to meet and then hung up the phone and got back to work.
By seven that evening, Ramsey had made his way to the park. He got out of his car and walked over to the sandbox where he and Maxine had agreed to meet. The first glimpse he caught of Maxine took his breath away, the second confirmed what he’d already figured out... he was falling hard for this woman, and really needed her to be okay with what he was about to tell her.
Maxine’s hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing a pair of cut off shorts and a tank top. She was playing in the sandbox like a kid, looking as if she was enjoying every minute of building some sort of deformed structure with Brielle. He wanted to cover those long legs of hers up with sand so he wouldn’t have to pray against his wayward thoughts.
To take his mind off of Maxine’s legs and the news he was about to hit her with, Ramsey took off his shoes, rolled up his dress pants and climbed into the sandbox with them.
Maxine looked up as he walked toward her. “What are you doing? You’re going to ruin your pants.”
“I don’t care. You two are having so much fun. I can’t just sit and watch.” Ramsey dropped down on his knees next to Maxine and before he could stop himself, he turned her head toward him and placed a soft kiss on her welcoming lips.
Her eyes beamed up at him. “What was that for?”
“I couldn’t help myself,” he told her as their eyes locked and held. For a moment Ramsey could believe that it wasn’t just him, but Maxine was feeling something for him, too. Brielle waddled over to him and plopped a pile of sand on his pant leg. He took her in his arms. “You want a kiss, too, is that it?” Hugging Brielle to him, Ramsey planted a sloppy kiss on her check.
Brielle giggled and then wrapped her arms around Ramsey’s neck and hugged him tight. Then the little girl planted a kiss on his cheek.
Ramsey was shocked by how right this felt. He loved being with Maxine and Brielle and couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be than in this sandbox with his two girls.
“Looks like you’ve won her heart,” Maxine told him.
Ramsey put his arm around Maxine and pulled her closer to them, he kissed her forehead. “If only the mother was as easy a win as the daughter.”
Lifting up on her knees, Maxine whispered in his ears, “You don’t have that much further to go with the mother either.”
“Is that right?” Ramsey was grinning like a fool in love. He was trying his best to remain cool and not let her peep his hold cards and see that she had already won the game.
“Let’s just see how good you are at building castles and then I’ll make my decision.”
Ramsey lifted Brielle off his lap and got busy with the castle. “Come on, Brielle. We’re going to build you a castle fit for the princess that you are.” They got busy with the task at hand, joking around and laughing their heads off every time Brielle ruined their sand art. They were easy and right together. Kind of like the feeling of lying on a beach on a warm summer’s morning with no
pressing business to attend to and nobody wreaking havoc in your life. It felt good like that. And Ramsey wished they could stay the way they were right in that moment. But the castle was built and now, instead of Brielle tearing it down, he would have to do it with the truth of about what had really happened to Maxine’s car.
“There.” Maxine leaned back and looked at the castle. “We make a pretty good team.
“I hope you continue to think that way.”
Maxine glanced up at Ramsey. “I don’t like the way you sound. Is something wrong?”
Ramsey picked Brielle up and stood. “I think it’s time for us to talk.
Maxine stood up, wiped the sand from her legs and shirt. She also wiped some of the sand off of Brielle and then pointed to a table and bench just past the baby swings. “You want to sit over there?”
He nodded and walked over to the table. Ramsey was more than a little nervous as they sat down across from one another. Everything hinged on that moment. If Maxine thought it was too dangerous being around him because he had a psycho ex-girlfriend, then he would be lost. Devastated. Destroyed. But he couldn’t hide the truth from her.
Ramsey put Maxine’s hand in his as he said, “When I got home yesterday after church the window in the front of my house had been shattered.”
Maxine’s mouth hung opened, then she said, “You’re kidding. What happened?”
“I found two big rocks on my living room floor. Ronny came over to help me clean up the mess and I called the police to report the incident, because I thought my sister’s ex-boyfriend had done it.”
“How is Renee doing?” Maxine’s voice held concern in it.
“She’d rather not be at home, but she’s adjusting.”
“Well, I’m glad she’s away from here, especially if her ex is now busting out windows.” Maxine shook her head. “That’s just crazy.”
“It was crazy all right, but Marlin wasn’t the one who threw those rocks through my window.” Ramsey looked away, took a deep breath and then trod on. “After the police left I received a call from a woman I hadn’t heard from in over two years. She said that if she couldn’t have me, then you couldn’t either.”
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