Good to Me

by LaTonya Mason

  Chapter 22

  EMMITT WISHED THAT THE PHONE WOULD STOP RINGING and people would stop coming by long enough for him to catch up with the speed of life. Don’t people work on Mondays? Things were happening so fast, it felt as if he were in an uncontrollable dream. The only thing he could do was to go along with the flow, which didn’t allow him time enough to feel anything. The people from the funeral home had been by the house, the obituary had been submitted to the newspaper, and arrangements had been made for Greg to attend the funeral the following day.

  He sat on the edge of her bed wishing he could reach out to touch her. What he wouldn’t give to relive the last twenty-four hours of his life. He would take back all of the hurtful things he said to her. He cursed himself. I’m sorry, Momma. At a time when you needed me most, I let you down. I killed you. I didn’t believe you. Momma, don’t leave me like this. He threw himself onto her bed and beat his fists into her pillows. He grabbed fistfuls of her blanket and squeezed so hard he thought his fingers would go through his hands. God, where are you now? How could this happen to me? He cried himself to sleep.

  Iesha was out front calling clients to reschedule their appointments because Charity decided that it would be best to close up for the day. She said that she was emotionally and mentally exhausted after helping Harmony. She’d also told Iesha that Harmony was going home for the day. Iesha wondered what happened back there. She knew it had to be major for Charity to go into Harmony’s office, because she had not gone in there in the few days they had been open for business.

  Iesha didn’t complain because she could use some rest herself. She had a client on the phone when she heard someone yelling and cursing loudly. She placed the client on hold to listen closer. The noise wasn’t coming from inside the suite. She followed the raucous sound to the mezzanine, where she could clearly see what was going on. She went back to the caller and asked him to consider another appointment and to call her back later. She ran back to the mezzanine and saw the Humphries trying to prevent a group of people from entering the building. People were coming out of their offices and the food court to find out what was going on. Iesha saw Wallace with the Humphries and decided to see if he could enlighten her.

  “Charity! Charity!” she yelled, running back into the suite. “Come here! It’s some trouble out front. We need to go down there.”

  Charity and Harmony both ran up front and followed Iesha’s lead. “I wonder who those people are?” Iesha asked, keeping her eyes on the action. “Come on, y’all. Somebody might be trying to blow this place up or something, and we sitting up here. I’m going down there.”

  By the time the three of them got to the first floor, the crowd had grown monstrous. They pushed their way to the front so they could hear.

  “Listen up everyone!” Wallace shouted.

  The crowd shushed one another.

  “No, let me tell them,” Mrs. Humphries pleaded tearfully. “I’m so sorry to have to tell you this. I should have done it sooner but I just knew God would make a way. Present Day is being foreclosed.”

  The crowd inhaled together.

  “That’s right,” a white man in a dark, pin-striped suit said. “The owners have had well over ninety days to pay the property taxes they owe. This place will be padlocked on Thursday.”

  People began shouting and cursing. Someone yelled that they wanted their money back and others followed, making the same demands. Some threatened to sue. Next thing Iesha knew people began throwing food and trash at the two men and woman that the Humphries were trying to keep back.

  Iesha felt sorry for her sister. Out of the goodness of her heart, she employed Iesha to show her a better life than welfare could offer. And now, Charity was going to be without work. “You okay, Cherry?”

  “I just need to go home,” said Charity. “This has been a crazy day and it’s not even noon yet. If one more thing happens today, I’m liable to lose it.”

  Iesha trailed behind Charity and Harmony back to the suite. She returned to the phone to cancel Harmony’s last appointment. She was so distracted by the news they had just received that she didn’t see the postman enter. She looked up when she felt like she was being watched.

  “May I help you, sir?” She covered the phone’s mouthpiece with her hand.

  “Yes, I have some certified mail for Charity Phillips.”

  “Hold on a moment.” She parked the caller and buzzed Charity’s phone to see if she wanted to sign for the delivery. “She’ll be right out, sir.”

  “Thank you.”

  When Iesha hung up, the gentleman asked her if she had heard about Present Day closing. They talked until Charity arrived. Iesha stepped back and observed while Charity wrote her signature and watched the mailman leave.

  “They only send money certified. Girl, I pray that’s a check,” Iesha joked, trying to cheer up her sister.

  Charity forced a half smile. “It’s from Emmitt. He said it would arrive today.”

  “Well, I know that ain’t no check. Y’all already divorced, so it ain’t no divorce papers. You got the baby. What else could he be sending? And important enough to be certified. Is you gone open it or not?”

  “Calm down, Momma number two. Emmitt has changed. He told me he was sending a surprise. And you know his mom just died, so cut him some slack.”

  “Maybe now he can grow up and be a man.”

  “Iesha, please.” Charity turned over the envelope and neatly severed the flap with her fingernail.

  “Cherry, quit acting like that’s a Christmas gift and tear that thing open. Dag! You slow as Christmas.”

  Charity rolled her eyes and took out the second envelope.

  “Davis, Watson, and Blalock,” she said, reading the return address. “That office is downstairs. Why is he sending me something from them?” She ripped open the envelope.

  Iesha’s heart was pounding until Charity’s scream pierced through. Tears burst from her eyes when she saw that Charity was crying. “What, Cherry? What is it?”

  “He’s suing me for custody of Xavier, Iesha.”

  “He can’t do that—”

  Charity shoved the papers into Iesha’s hand. “Obviously he can. It’s a court hearing.” Charity looked weak in the knees, and Iesha helped her over to a chair in the waiting area.

  Harmony came out of her office. “Did y’all hear that scream?” Noticing that they were both crying, she went closer to them. “What’s wrong?”

  “Her ex-husband is taking her to court for child custody.”

  “Oh man. I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”

  “It’s all going to work out. No weapon forged against me shall prosper. I’m going on home.”

  “No, Cherry, let’s go down to that lawyer’s office to see what this is about.”

  “No, don’t do that. You’re in no shape to do that. If you go down there like this they will use it against you in court,” Harmony advised.

  Charity wept. “This can’t be happening.” She stood up and walked to her office.

  “Cherry, are you gonna be all right back there?”

  “Yes, I’ll be right back.”

  “Harmony, go keep an eye on my sister. I’m getting ready to call that that no-good ex-husband of hers.”

  Iesha reached for her purse and took out an address book. She had kept Emmitt’s mother’s phone number in case she needed it one day. She dialed the number, referring back to the listing every few seconds to get the next set of numbers. She grew even angrier with every ring of the phone. He better be glad he ain’t home, she fumed. She slammed the phone down. She prayed. “Lord, I know You’re making a way for me to keep my kids, please see to it that my sister keeps hers.”

  Charity returned. “I’ll call you later. I’m going home.” She walked out without turning around.

  Iesha called Mama Lorraine. When she heard her mother’s voice, she started to cry. “Momma.”

  “Esha? What’s wrong with you, girl?”

 
“Momma,” she sniffled. “Emmitt’s taking Cherry to court for custody.”

  “He’s doing what?”

  “She got some papers today from his lawyer.”

  “Where is she?”

  “She just left.”

  “Is she okay?”

  Iesha cried harder. “No. Momma, I ain’t seen her like this in a long time. On top of that, we found out that Present Day is being shut down. The owners didn’t pay their taxes. So she has to close her business. Momma, she put her whole life savings into this center.”

  “Lord, have mercy. Don’t worry, baby. God gone take care of her. And that low-down dog. Didn’t his momma just die? And he gone pull some stuff like this. See, God don’t like ugly. Did Cherry say where she was going?”

  “She said she was going home.”

  “I’mma meet her over there. I’ll call you later.”

  “I’mma go over there, too. I’ll see you there.”

  Charity could hardly see the road because she was crying so hard. She was doing everything right, how could God allow all of this to happen? He swears He puts no more on you than you can bear. This is too much. If one more thing happens, I swear I’m going to lose it. That thought made her cry harder.

  She was surprised that she’d made it home safely. With all of the whining she was doing, she was hoping to be killed in a car accident and be taken up to Glory. She was so preoccupied that she didn’t remember the drive home. Her car must’ve been on automatic pilot. She let herself in, locked the door, and looked at the clock on the wall. She had four more hours until the locksmith would come. That was plenty of time for her to take a bath and a nap. Charity rested her head on the bath pillow to collect her thoughts. Before she knew it, she’d drifted to sleep in the tub.

  Suddenly, she sat up in the tub, thinking she heard her alarm signal that her door had been opened. She must’ve been dreaming. She turned on the hot water to reheat the tub. She again thought she heard something, but rebuked spirits of paranoia and fear. She turned off the water and eased her body underneath the water.

  “Honey, I’m home.”

  She shot straight up. “Who’s there?” She reached for her robe.

  “Where are you, honey?”

  “Mr. Wright?” she asked, thinking she recognized the voice. Oh my God. She tied her robe and looked around the bathroom for a weapon if she needed it. Candles, makeup, a mirror. The towel rack, maybe. God, please.

  He appeared in the doorway. He was disheveled and had a flat expression on his face. She knew without a doubt that he wasn’t on his medications. “There you are. You’re home early from work today. I went by to have lunch with you but you were already gone.”

  “Mr. Wright. It’s me, Charity Phillips, your therapist.” She knew it was useless trying to reason with an unmedicated schizophrenic, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. “How did you get in here?”

  “I used my key.”

  Think Charity, think. “When’s the last time you took your medications?”

  “Remember we talked about those medications and agreed I shouldn’t take them. They’ve messed up our sex life. Remember?”

  God, please help me. She realized that if she wanted to get out of this mess, she was going to have to play along until she could call for help. Although he was delusional, she was glad that he thought she was his wife, and not someone who was trying to hurt him. “I’m glad you want to have lunch. I’m starving. Go on to the kitchen and make us something to eat. I’ll be right there.”

  “No. I took today off of work to spend time with you. I haven’t been a good husband and I want to make it up.”

  “It’ll only take me a minute to get dressed. Why don’t you start lunch?”

  “But I haven’t seen your beautiful body in what seems like an eternity. Can we make love like we used to and then do lunch?”

  Lord, please. “I have a good idea.” She moved closer to him and gave him a seductive look. “If you go to the kitchen and get us some ice cubes, I’ll be dressed in something a little more comfortable by the time you get back. Okay?”

  He moved in closer to her. “Now that sounds like a plan.”

  She turned her cheek when he tried to kiss her. Trying to play it off she said, “Nah ah ah, we need the ice.”

  His frown turned into a smile. He walked backward out of the bathroom and turned into the bedroom like he knew exactly where he was going.

  Charity ran and locked the bedroom door behind him. She dialed 9-1-1 on the phone.

  “Hello, I need the police to 1630 Symphony Woods Lane,” she whispered. The operator cut her off to ask her questions. “Yes, ma’am. I live here. My name is Charity Phillips. I’m a therapist and one of my clients is an intruder in my home. Please send the police.” She was growing impatient with the operator’s questions. “He used my key. Maybe when he…” She stopped talking when she heard a noise. “Ma’am, I can answer all of these questions when the police arrive. Hurry.” She hung up and dialed Iesha’s cell phone. Her voice mail picked up on the first ring. She hurriedly dialed Mama Lorraine’s cell phone number. There was no answer. Then she heard a light knock on her bedroom door.

  “Honey,” he called seductively. “I got the ice.”

  “Just a minute. I’m almost ready.”

  “Come on now, open the door.”

  She heard the doorknob turn back and forth. “Why is the door locked?” He turned it again. “Open the door!” He started beating wildly on the door. “My sister’s in there!” he yelled. “Stand back, Janice, I’mma get you out of there. Momma! The bathroom’s on fire! Momma!”

  Charity was too afraid to say anything, but she remembered her first session with him when he alluded to a family secret. She assumed that this was it and he’d become delusional about one of his childhood incidents. She prayed for God to intervene. “Come on, Lord.” There was silence, then there was a loud thud. He was trying to kick the door down.

  “Get back, Janice!” he yelled.

  “Jeffrey, stop!” Charity yelled. “It’s not a fire.”

  “Just get back. I’mma get you out of there.”

  The sound of the doorbell brought tears to her eyes. “Thank You, Lord, thank You,” she sobbed. “Jeffrey, go answer the door.”

  “No, I don’t want you to get hurt again, Janice.” He kicked the door so hard this time, it came off the top hinge. He ran to her and held her. “Thank goodness you’re safe.” He wiped her tears. “It’s all right, you’re not burned. It’s okay, now.”

  Charity cried all the more because she felt sorry for him. The doorbell rang again and Charity freed herself from his embrace and ran to open the door. She ran outside past the policeman and pointed toward the house. “He’s in there.”

  Just then Mr. Wright appeared in the doorway. Another policeman walked from around the backyard and joined the first one. “What’s the problem, ma’am?” he asked her.

  Mr. Wright answered. “Sir, there’s been a mistake. I didn’t hit my wife. I know you’ve arrested me before on domestic dispute charges. But—”

  “Officer, this is not my husband. He is a client of mine and he is psychotic and delusional. He is schizophrenic and I don’t know when he’s taken his medication last. He thinks I’m his wife. Just a minute ago, he thought I was his sister trapped in a fire.”

  The policemen looked at each other. “How did he get in your house?”

  “I live here. I got in with my own key,” Mr. Wright answered, holding up his key chain.

  Everyone turned around to see who was pulling in the driveway. Charity was glad to see Mama Lorraine and Iesha both pull up.

  “Here’s my sister, she works with me in my practice and can attest to what I’m telling you. She wanted to surprise me by having my car detailed. She hired Mr. Wright to do it. I believe he copied my key when she gave him my keys to clean the car.”

  One officer scratched his head. “Would you like to press charges?”

  “No, sir.” Her words surprised her. �
��I’d rather have him involuntarily committed to the hospital for treatment.”

  Mr. Wright was cooperative as the policeman placed him in handcuffs. Charity could hear Mama Lorraine and Iesha asking questions before they were even near. When Iesha saw Mr. Wright she burst into tears.

  “Oh my God. Cherry I’m so sorry.”

  Mama Lorraine looked confused. “Ya’ll gone arrest him? What he do? Break in? He didn’t mess with you did he, Cherry?”

  Charity shook her head no.

  Then Mama Lorraine looked at Mr. Wright. “That’s what I thought. You don’t mess with a Brown. You look at these girls real good. They’re mine. These the last ones you wanna mess with. You hear me? Or you’ll have to deal with me. And I’mma tell you in front of the police, next time we have to call them on you, it won’t be to pick you up alive.”

  “All right, ma’am,” the policeman said as he whisked Mr. Wright off. “Mrs. Phillips, you still have a right to press charges. I’ll see to it that this gentleman is taken to Presbyterian Behavioral Health. Meanwhile, you need to change the locks on your house and your vehicle. If you have any questions, you can call me at any of these numbers.” He handed her a business card.

  When they could no longer see the police cars, Mama Lorraine and Iesha turned to go into the house. Charity tried to follow them but her feet would not cooperate with her mind. Mama Lorraine looked back and tried to encourage Charity to go toward the house, but the magnitude of everything that happened that day fell on her like a ton of bricks. She collapsed and wailed from the core of her hurt. How could God allow so much to happen in just one day? First Harmony, then Emmitt, then Present Day, then this. Charity finally decided that she had had enough of following Jesus.

  Chapter 23

  TEARS WELLED UP IN HER EYES. She’d tossed and turned all night, tormented by a bout of depression. She awakened Tuesday morning tired from the fight. I thought joy was supposed to come in the morning. Charity couldn’t believe she was here—again. She hadn’t felt this way in three years, since she was with Emmitt. Surely she’d been delivered from this, especially since she gave her life to the Lord the last time it happened. But this time, the voices seemed louder and stronger than ever before.