Good to Me

by LaTonya Mason

  After the benediction, Charity gathered her purse, keys, and Bible and was ready to walk in her renewed confidence, when Minister Adams approached her.

  “Minister Phillips, I was wondering if you would have dinner with me.”

  Didn’t I just tell this fool . . . “Obviously I didn’t make myself clear to you Friday night about where I stand with you.” She stepped back when he reached for her hand.

  He put his arm on her shoulder and said, “I heard you but I also heard Pastor’s sermon today. You are worth fighting for . . .”

  She tuned him out, removed his hand, and looked up to see April rolling her eyes and storming out of the sanctuary.

  “Oh, God. Look what you did.” She ran after April, but the tight pockets of people made her lose sight of her. She made her way toward April’s parking space, but by the time she got to the back door, April was speeding out of the parking lot. Defeated, she returned so that she could pick up Xavier from children’s church.

  “Minister Phillips?” a young woman she didn’t know broke her stride.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s good to meet you.” She extended her hand toward Charity. “I’ve heard so much about you.” Charity must’ve looked confused. “My name is Sharon Nelson. I’m Joseph’s sister.”

  Do I know a Joseph? “Joseph?”

  “Minister Joseph Nelson? From Kentucky? He’s my brother.”

  “Hi, are you a member here?”

  “Oh no, I go to Shiloh. Joseph asked if I would come to meet you. He thought you might feel more comfortable communicating with him if you had some personal contact with someone… someone to let you know he’s not crazy,” she laughed.

  Charity half laughed, knowing that Sharon had read her thoughts.

  “Well I’m glad you came to visit and I hope you enjoyed the service.”

  “I did. I always enjoy Pastor King’s services. You know, he and my pastor are good friends, but I know him through his wife. I used to sell Mary Kay and she was one of my best customers. She used to throw makeup parties for me, and you know your pastor would be right up in the mix cracking jokes.”

  “And I know he was. Did you get a chance to say hello to him?”

  “No, he looked busy talking to everyone.”

  The therapist in Charity kicked in, wanting to verify what she’d been told. “I’ll take you to him so that you can say hello.” Charity led her back to the sanctuary. “Oh, there’s First Lady with him.”

  Before Charity and Sharon could get to Pastor King, his wife saw them coming and started squealing with excitement.

  “Sharrrrronnnnn!” Mrs. King hugged Sharon like they were old friends reuniting. “What are you doing here?”

  Charity felt relieved to know that Sharon was telling the truth and she listened as they began catching each other up on their lives.

  “Where are the girls?” Sharon asked.

  “They’re around here somewhere. What are you doing these days?”

  “I’m in grad school and doing my internship at the county.”

  Pastor King turned around, after finishing a conversation with one of the church members. “Lord, look who Mary Kay done sent us.” He hugged Sharon and then turned to Charity with a puzzled look on his face. “Y’all two know each other?”

  “We just met.”

  “Oh, ’cause you know I have to approve the people you associate with, and I was getting ready to say.”

  Sharon slapped him on the arm playfully. “Pastor King, don’t make me tell Charity them stories from our makeup party days.”

  “Oh no. Minister Phillips, don’t believe anything she says.”

  Mrs. King turned to Sharon and said, “I wish we could get together for dinner tonight, but we promised the girls to take them shoe shopping. God forbid we renege.”

  “I’ll call you to arrange something so we can get together,” Sharon replied. “Minister Phillips, do you want to stop and get a bite to eat? My treat.”

  “Shoot, if that’s the case, First Lady,” Pastor King said, “we need to go with them. Sharon’s paying.”

  Charity shook her head at him and answered Sharon, “I’ve already started cooking so… I can’t today.”

  Pastor King put his two cents in, “Sharon, ask her if you can go home with her, Minister Phillips can burn.”

  Mrs. King chimed in, “Oh yeah, we make sure she brings dishes when there’s a church function. What’d you cook for dinner, Minister Phillips?”

  Charity smiled, knowing she’d prepared one of their favorites. “Lasagna.”

  “Honey, you can take the girls to the mall without me,” Pastor King joked.

  Sharon asked shyly, “Can you feed one more person?”

  Since Pastor and Mrs. King approved of Sharon, Charity couldn’t find a reason not to. “Sure. You can have dinner with us.” Maybe this is why I didn’t feel like having dinner at Momma’s today.

  “Please save a doggy bag for me. I know you’re going to have leftovers. You cook like you cooking for an army.”

  Charity let Sharon say her good-byes to the Kings and she excused herself to get Xavier. She was sure that he would be the last child in children’s church; everyone was probably long gone. He was eagerly waiting when she picked him up and signed him out.

  “Thank you,” she said to the youth minister. She joked, “You didn’t give him any punch or cookies, did you?” She’d suggested that they offer healthier refreshments. There were some occasions she’d pick Xavier up and he’d be bouncing off the walls.

  As she walked Xavier toward the sanctuary, she explained to him that they were going to have a guest for dinner. She answered as many of his questions as she could. When she saw Sharon coming from the sanctuary, Charity pointed her out to Xavier.

  Xavier ran the short distance to Sharon. “My name’s Xavier, what’s yours?”

  She stooped down and held out her hand for him to shake. “Xavier, it’s good to meet you. My name is Sharon.”

  “Ms. Sharon,” Charity corrected.

  “Ms. Sharon, are you going to eat dinner with us?”

  “Yes, sir. Is that okay with you?”

  “Yes. Ummmm, Mommy.” He turned to Charity. “What are we eating for dinner?”

  “We’ll talk about that when we get home, honey. Let’s get going.” She turned to Sharon. “He’ll ask questions all day if you let him.”

  As Charity drove toward her house, she made sure to use her signal lights and to stop at yellow lights, because Sharon was following them. She was glad that she thought to give her address and cell phone number in case they got separated. She pulled onto her street and drove a little slower. She wanted to make sure that Sharon saw which house she was turning into.

  “This is nice,” Sharon complimented as she surveyed the house. “Wait until I tell my brother. He is in for a treat. He doesn’t know what a blessing you are. Even your street name sounds important—Symphony Woods Lane. I live on Green Street. You can tell the difference, can’t you?”

  They laughed, and Xavier ushered them up to the house. “Make yourself at home,” Charity invited. “You can hang out with Xavier while I get changed and I’ll meet you back in the kitchen. Xavier, will you show Ms. Sharon around the house?”

  She didn’t have to ask twice, he already had Sharon by the hand dragging her to his room.

  As fast as she could, Charity changed out of her canary yellow and navy blue suit. She looked for a barrette to secure her hair in a ponytail. She knew there was one in the pocket of her housecoat. She looked all around her room and was annoyed because she couldn’t find it. It seemed like her house was swallowing things up—there were lots of small things she couldn’t find. I’ve told that boy about putting his hands on my things. She retrieved a rubber band from her vanity and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She began to think about April, then about Sharon and Joseph, and was overwhelmed with her thoughts. “Lord,” she prayed. “You know better than I do about what’s going on. Open my heart and e
yes so that I may see and discern the bigger picture. Also, help me not to be foolish and get ahead of You. Also, Lord, please touch April’s heart. In Jesus’ name, I pray.” Before she went to join Xavier and Sharon, she called April and when she didn’t answer, Charity decided to leave a message.

  A little more at peace, she went to Xavier’s room, where she found Sharon hanging on to Xavier’s every word. “And what does this do?” Sharon asked, pointing to the button on the action figure doll he was holding. Charity watched them easily interact and repented for rebuking Emmitt for having their son around Shawanda, someone she didn’t know. Here I am doing the same thing.

  Interrupting her thoughts and their play, Charity joined them. “I take it you guys haven’t made it any farther than this room.” Xavier made a coy facial expression that his mother loved. He had his father’s facial features—drowsy eyes, long eyelashes, and a cute gap-toothed grin. “Thank you for showing Ms. Sharon your room, I’m going to show her the rest of the house.”

  “I’m going, too.” He raced before them to lead.

  Charity was nervous about showing off her house. She loved what she had done to it, but Mama Lorraine jokingly called it the house of many colors. Every room was a different color. Xavier’s room was painted as a sky in electric blue, with white clouds, birds, and butterflies. She even hand-painted a whimsical border below the ceiling. Her room was lavender with a sponged plum overlay, the study was fire engine red, and the kitchen was a bright yellow.

  “You should contact House Beautiful magazine,” Sharon suggested. “I know they would want to put your house in there.”

  Charity waved the idea off with her hand. “I don’t think so.” She was impressed to hear that Sharon liked it.

  “Is this wallpaper?” Sharon walked into the guest bathroom and touched the forest green and mint julep-striped wall.

  “No, I did that myself.”

  “How did you get the stripes so perfectly even?”

  “Measured them with a ruler and taped them off. If you look close enough, you can see the pencil lines in the mint green stripes.”

  “Girl, Martha Stewart ain’t got nothing on you.”

  “Yes she does. She’s got a few million that I don’t.” They both laughed. “Come on, let’s get cooking before I have a whining baby on my hands.”

  “I’m not a baby.”

  “That’s right,” Sharon affirmed. “You’re a big boy. Give me five.”

  Xavier proudly slapped her hand.

  They talked like they had known each other for years. It was less than an hour before dinner was ready, and by the time they were done eating Sharon had told Charity everything she knew about her brother. She laughed and cried as she shared the joys and trials of being his younger sister.

  “That’s why I moved to Charlotte,” she confessed. “I was working as a journalist for the Virginia newspaper at the time Joseph was arrested. They were trying to force me to cover the story and I couldn’t do it. So I quit. Girl, other journalists and TV broadcasters exaggerated it so bad because he was a police officer that I had to leave Virginia.”

  Charity was sorry for Sharon and their family. After two years they were still hurting as if the incident happened yesterday. She hated that the night was ending. In some way, Sharon made Joseph more real to her. Everything that he had written about himself and his family, Sharon verified without any prodding from Charity. After Sharon left, Charity prayed with thanksgiving and lifted up Joseph’s request for an immediate release. She ended her prayer by asking God for an opportunity to meet Joseph someday.

  Chapter 20

  EVEN THOUGH CHARITY HAD FORGIVEN HER, being back at the office this morning after everything that happened on Friday with Mr. Wright made Iesha feel bad. Every time she tried to do something good, it always backfired in her face. That’s what I get for trying to change. This Christian thing isn’t working for me. Life was so much simpler when I was living it my way, doing what I wanted to do.

  She was filing her nails at her desk and reminiscing about the things she missed doing. She could see herself jamming on the dance floor at the Excelsior club, shopping with the girls, and getting her drink on. I even miss hanging out with Kenny and Nookie. I know I must be desperate now. Her thoughts switched to Wallace. She cursed herself for dismissing him on Friday night. I could’ve had me some, trying to be holy. She looked at the clock on the computer. He was due to be in his office in a few minutes. She planned to pay him a visit.

  There were so many things in the office that rang, she couldn’t tell where it was coming from. It wasn’t her desk phone. It wasn’t the fax. She listened one more time. She snatched her purse from the desk drawer. My cell phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, you.”

  She forced some enthusiasm into her voice. “Terrence. How are you doing?”

  “Disappointed, because I just got your message from Friday night.”

  “Umph.”

  “I hate I missed your call. Something told me to stay in Charlotte.”

  She tried her best to sound interested. “You went out of town?”

  “Yes, I went to the beach.”

  “To the beach?”

  “Yep. It’s the second week of February, and I went to the beach.”

  She chuckled. “You’re a better man than me.”

  “That’s good to hear. Hey, I was calling to see if I could take you to lunch today. I want to tell you about my beach trip.”

  What fun, she mocked. “I would love to,” she lied. “But I can’t today. I have to… uhm… I have an… uhm…” She leaned up to look at her desk calendar for an idea. “I’ve got something to do.” She decided that she didn’t have to explain anything to him.

  “Either you don’t lie very well or you’re trying to hide something,” he chuckled. “I’m just kidding. I can take a hint. Why don’t you give me a call when you’re not busy.”

  “Wallace…” Iesha couldn’t believe that she blurted out the wrong name.

  “On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t call me.”

  “Terrence, I’m sorry. I—”

  “Iesha, you don’t owe me anything. I’m the one who needs to apologize. I’m sorry I tried to make you want someone you don’t want.”

  She hoped she wouldn’t regret this. “No, let me apologize. Right before you called, I was a little down because I messed up big time with my sister on Friday. And I started thinking about how I’m messing up again and that maybe this Christian life ain’t for me. So, I was thinking about going back to my old ways and I was thinking about Wallace. But maybe you calling me was a sign from God. You called at the right time.” She paused to see if he would respond. When he didn’t, she continued. “I can’t do lunch with you today.” She took a deep breath. “But, I would like it very much if we could meet somewhere for breakfast.”

  “I would like that, too.”

  They talked for a few minutes more to arrange to meet at a nearby IHOP. She put a note on Charity’s door and left to meet Terrence. It didn’t take Iesha long to get there. Since she left right after she hung up from talking to him, she assumed she would beat him there. She lowered her head to pray. “Lord, forgive me. I really don’t want to go back where I started. Please help me to continue to move forward. May something be said or done today to let me know I’m on the right track. Thank You. I pray it in Jesus’ name.”

  When she looked up, she saw Terrence waiting. He opened the door when he saw her smile. “I hope you mentioned my name in that prayer.”

  “My bad.” She lowered her head again. “And, Lord, please don’t forget to bless Terrence. Amen.”

  “Amen. I can agree with you on that.”

  He helped her out of the car and they walked into the restaurant.

  She was glad that Terrence broke the silence. “Now that’s the advantage of having a late breakfast. They take your order as soon as you sit down.”

  Iesha agreed. “I hope our food is served just as fa
st. I’m hungry.” Terrence looked her in the eyes. She looked away. “What?”

  “I’m just looking. I can look at you, can’t I?”

  “Yeah, but you making me nervous.”

  “I’m just admiring you.”

  “Well, I appreciate it but I thought you wanted to tell me about your beach trip.”

  “You are something else,” he laughed. “The beach trip was nice. It was so refreshing. It was like being on a secluded island with no one around.”

  “You went by yourself?”

  “Oh yeah. I was feeling like you said you were earlier and I just needed to get away. Just be alone with the Lord.”

  “Were you ready to give up?”

  “No. I have finally surpassed that phase. I was just overwhelmed and needed some direction. I thought I’d heard God wrong on something and I needed to get clarification.”

  “Did you?”

  “Sure enough. But I almost let it go again today.”

  “Being a Christian ain’t no joke. You got to come correct when you walking with God.”

  “You’re right about that.”

  They stopped talking to receive their food. Terrence asked to hold her hands while he blessed the food.

  He took a bite of his country griddle pancakes. “Don’t beat yourself up too bad. When you’re new in the fold, it’s easy to get frustrated with things. Be encouraged, God’s going to honor your faith. Don’t you dare turn back. Even in the one week that you’ve been saved, you’ve come too far to go back where you were.”

  A feeling washed over her. Her eyes widened. “Terrence, that’s just what I was telling God before I came in here. I was just praying about whether I was on the right track. And, He heard my prayer.” The realization that God heard and answered her prayer hit her like a ton of bricks. She fought back tears. “My God, He heard me.”