All I Want Is Forever

by Ford, Neicey

  “Love you, too.”

  Aprile hung up the phone and Denise inhaled deeply. She ran her hands through her hair before picking up the receiver and dialing again.

  “TIA Enterprises, how may I direct your call?”

  “Jonathan…” Denise dragged.

  “Hey, Mrs. Chatman. How are you?”

  “I’m doing good. Is my handsome husband available?”

  “Yes, ma’am. One minute.”

  Denise waited as she was transferred.

  “Beautiful…I’ve been waiting to hear from you.”

  “Hey baby!”

  “I can feel the excitement in your voice. How’d it go?”

  “DJ, it was amazing! It felt like I was doing this for the first time. Well, I am, but you know what I mean.”

  “No, you’re not. This isn’t your first show. You’ve done several in the past.”

  “Yeah, I know, but not at this caliber and not for myself. Not for TIA.”

  “So, tell me about it.”

  “The girls were amazing. Very professional and Rita did a great job with her designs. I think we should really invest in her vision. After all, that’s what TIA’s mission is, right?”

  DJ laughed. “Finish telling me about the rehearsal and we’ll talk about investing later.”

  “Okay, there are four different sets: Ready-to-Wear, After Five, Women’s Wear and Pre-Fall.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  “DJ, it was. I wish you were here to see it. I was so proud of everyone.”

  “I’m proud of you, baby.”

  “Aw, thank you, boo. So, how are things in the office?”

  “Well, they’re pretty slow. I’m sitting here waiting for Kane.”

  “He finally called you back?”

  “Not exactly. I had to go over to his moms’ house.”

  “What? You went to the North side? Are you crazy?”

  “Baby, it’s not that bad. If you mind your own business and don’t bother people they won’t bother you.”

  “Wow! Okay, so how’d that work out for you?”

  “We’ll see if he’s not here in the next five minutes,” DJ replied looking at the clock display.

  “I pray that he makes it. Did you tell him about the offer?”

  “Nope. I didn’t want him coming to the office because of the deal. I want to make sure he’s doing this because of inspiration and not motivation. I’m hoping his faith will lead him to come to work for something different.”

  “I got it.”

  “Baby, I miss the kids.”

  “NO, you don’t! Everybody is in school, building their own families and staying out of our pockets. As soon as you speak them up they’ll call. We can go a month without talking to them. We pray for their safety and covering every night. God has them and I’m sure they’re fine. No news is good news.”

  “True.”

  “If it makes you feel any better I’ll send them a group text to make sure everything is fine and invite them over for dinner next week.”

  “Thank you, baby.”

  “You’re welcome. You’re such a good daddy.”

  “Only by His grace,” DJ replied.

  “Okay, I gotta go. I have some emails to respond to.”

  “Alright, love. Oh, one more thing. How’s the book coming along?”

  “Pretty good. I haven’t worked on it today, but I should have it finished this weekend.”

  “Let me know if I can help inspire you,” he spoke seductively.

  “You always inspire me. I love you and I’ll see you later.”

  Denise ended the call just as someone began knocking on the door.

  “Come in.”

  The door opened.

  “Mrs. Judy. Come on in and have a seat.”

  “Good morning, Mrs. Chatman.”

  “How are things with you? How’s Arthur doing?”

  “Arthur is doing fine. We’re both doing really well.”

  Judy sat down and clasped her hands together, placing them in her lap.

  “What’s wrong, Mrs. Judy?”

  “I haven’t been sleeping well for the past few nights, Denise. My spirit is uneasy and I know why.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I feel terrible about seeing Helen and being flooded with our childhood memories. Truth is I can’t imagine how she must’ve felt not having Sam around. It never once dawned on me then, but it has now. She must’ve felt betrayed by the one man who loved her more than life. She was probably angry because he wouldn’t give her or her mother any answers and then he left them and never looked back. I don’t know how the relationship was with him and Helen’s mother. I never asked. Shoot, I never really wanted to know, but what I saw in him when he was with my mother was pure bliss. They were always happy. They loved one another till death did them part. Literally.”

  Denise cleared her throat. “Have you tried to speak with Helen now that you both are older? I mean, you were younger then; you’re both grown now.”

  “I don’t know about that, Denise,” Judy snickered. “I’m sure the hatred that she has built up for me has calloused her heart twice over. Nothing I do or say could possibly penetrate through that.”

  “You’re right. There probably isn’t anything you can do other than give it to the Lord.”

  “I’ve been praying…”

  “Well, be patient. God heard you and he’ll answer. I’m a strong believer in the power of prayer.”

  “I know how powerful it is. I see the results of it every day when I look at Arthur.”

  “Would you like for me to speak to Helen, Mrs. Judy?”

  “No, I’ll continue to pray about it. Thanks for listening, Denise,” Mrs. Judy replied as she stood up. “You know what the sad part is?” She asked with her hand on the door knob. “The part that’s really convicting my spirit is the scripture which reads: Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar…”

  “For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 1 John 4:20. I’m sorry, Mrs. Judy. I’m really sorry.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “D, he’s here.”

  “Thanks, Jonathan. Send him back.”

  “Go on back Kane. He’s waiting for you,” Jonathan said hanging up the phone.

  Kane stepped inside the studio. The smell of Italian leather filled the room like incense.

  “Why’d you come?” DJ asked as he spun around in his chair.

  “To be honest I don’t know. I wanted to go back to sleep for real, but I ended up looking at that piece of paper you left. Then I asked mama for a Bible and read whatever it was…James…”

  “James 2:14-17.”

  “Yeah, that. Afterwards, I rolled back over and pulled the covers over my head, but every time I closed my eyes they would open back up. Then I got this crazy feeling in the pit of my stomach and something kept telling me to move. It was weird,” Kane admitted. “I felt like I had to be here even though I tried to convince myself that I didn’t want to come. Shit, we both know that the studio is like a SafePlace for me. I don’t have to worry about the pressures of the world tugging on me when I’m here. You don’t ask me to make no deliveries, cook no work, and I don’t have to watch my back. All I have to do is step in front of a mic and wait for you to press record. Reading that stuff from the Bible did something to me, man. It was like I had an a-ha moment. I finally understood what you meant by faith without works is dead.”

  “You got it! You see, once you go to Him, He’ll get your attention and speak to you personally and directly. K, you already put in the work. You just had to step out of that basement on faith. You showing up here today lets me know that you’re willing and this is prove that He’s able. While you were out there tripping trying to figure out how you were going to survive with no ends, God had already worked it out.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  DJ removed the envelope from his de
sk drawer.

  “All that’s required is a mustard seed of faith,” DJ said sliding the envelope across the table.

  “What is this?” Kane asked. He opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. “D! What is this?”

  “It’s the product of your hard work mixed with a lil’ faith.”

  “Son, stop playing with me.”

  “I’m not playing, K. It’s real.”

  Kane dropped to his knees in tears. “Thank You, God. Thank You.”

  ***

  “Denise, it happened. He cried and started thanking God in the middle of the studio.”

  “That’s amazing! It’s true. Every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess. Wow, that’s awesome.”

  “No, baby, that’s God.”

  “Amen,” Denise agreed.

  “How were things at the office for you?”

  “It was cool. Mrs. Judy came in and vented about how she’s been feeling about the situation with her and Helen. Said that her spirit was convicting her and all she kept hearing was the scripture about not loving your brother or sister whom you see every day, but saying you love God whom you’ve never seen.”

  “That’s deep.”

  “I know. I feel like there’s something I should do, but I don’t know what it is.”

  “So, maybe you’re not supposed to do anything. Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing we can do. Every battle is not ours to fight.”

  “I know, but you didn’t see Mrs. Judy’s face today. I really felt what she was feeling. It was scary.”

  “The best thing you can do for Judy and Helen is to let God work it out. What they’re going through or have gone through has been going on for years. It’s not something you can resolve overnight or in a few days. Give it some time. He’ll work it out. He always does.”

  Denise undressed and put on her bathrobe.

  “You’re right. You always are. I’m going to hop in the shower. See you in a minute,” she said kissing DJ on the cheek.

  “Okay, hurry up. You’re going to miss the end of Law & Order and this is a good one.”

  Denise shook her head. “You are something else. I remember there was a time I couldn’t get you to even watch a preview of Law & Order.”

  “You keeping record, Denise?”

  “No.”

  “Sounds like it.”

  “I can’t hear you!” She yelled with a huge smile plastered across her face.

  Denise turned on the shower and stepped in.

  DJ cleared off the bed while waiting for Denise to finish. He looked at the family portrait hanging on the wall.

  It was all worth it. Everything that I had to go through to get here was worth it.

  DJ placed Denise’s pajamas on her side of the bed then went to the kitchen to pour her a glass of soda. The phone rang and he answered it.

  “Hey, daddy.”

  “Hey son. What’s going on?”

  “Not too much. I got a text from Denise today and thought I’d call you guys to see how you were.”

  “That was nice. We’re actually doing okay. Working…always working.”

  “Aw, okay. That’s the story of y’all’s life.”

  “You ain’t lying about that.”

  They laughed.

  “Have you talked to the girls?”

  “Not in a couple of weeks. You?”

  “Yeah, they hit me up on Instagram.”

  DJ sighed. “I should’ve known.”

  “I’m not on there that much, daddy. I have studying to do now.”

  “That’s good to know. I was wondering when you was going to outgrow social media.”

  “I didn’t say I outgrew it, just that I don’t have a lot of time for it.”

  “Either way, I’m glad.”

  Evan laughed. “You are something else. Okay, dad. I’m not going to keep you. I just wanted to call and check on you guys. Tell Denise I said hi and I’ll see y’all next week.”

  “Alright. Love you, son.”

  “Love you, too, dad.”

  DJ put the Pepsi back in the refrigerator and hurried down the hallway.

  “MAN! I just knew I was going to catch you before you got dressed.”

  “You’re so nasty,” she laughed.

  “Evan called.”

  “Really? How is he?”

  “He’s good. Said he was calling to check on us.”

  “Did he say if he got my text or not?”

  “Yep. That’s what prompted the call.”

  “Again, no calls are good news,” she smiled.

  “I agree. This is for you,” he said handing her the glass in his hand.

  “You do love me,” she joked.

  “This is all you get, missy. No more soda till the weekend. It’s a shame that I have to monitor your caffeine intake.”

  “Don’t judge me, DJ.”

  Denise sat the glass on the bedside table then climbed into bed.

  DJ lay beside her and muted the television. He slid close and wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

  Denise began to speak in a monotone. “When we, as people, reflect on the things that we’ve done in the past before reaching a certain point of happiness in our lives we oftentimes say, if I had of known or I wish I wouldn’t have done, but the truth is none of us really know what God’s plans are for us and until our plans align with His will, there’ll always be those thoughts that enter our minds.” She turned to face him.

  “I thank God daily that my plans weren’t His plans. I thank God daily that what has happened in our lives happened when they did because if they hadn’t then maybe we wouldn’t be together today. I’m so grateful for your love. You are truly the definition of God opening up the windows of heaven and pouring (me) out a blessing that I wouldn’t have room enough to receive and I am living in the overflow…an overflow of love.”

  “Baby…” he whined.

  Denise placed her finger against his lips.

  “Shhh…let me finish. As rib of your rib and Ruth to your Boaz, I just want you to know that I appreciate you. I appreciate your hard work: long hours, time away from loved ones, and effort. I appreciate your perseverance and determination. I appreciate your character and your integrity and I applaud you. I applaud your struggles and your successes, your strengths and your weaknesses, your motivation and your dedication and your desire and drive. You are the epitome of a man, but not just any man, you’re my man. I just wanted to take a second to tell you that there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t smile at the thought of you and I being together as husband and wife; partners for life.”

  “So, you’re a rapper now?”

  “SHHH! Serious moment here.”

  “Okay, my bad. Please finish.”

  “I was saying,” she paused as she propped her head up with her hand. “I thank God for every broken heart and every ounce of abuse that I had to suffer through before He exchanged my beauty for ashes. His love for me through you has been the greatest healing balm I’ve ever known. I am truly grateful. Thank you. You have made me the happiest woman in the world and I am eternally indebted to you. All I want is forever.”

  “That’s all I have.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The weeks flew by as Denise worked diligently to finish up her projects. The book was completed and the Fashion Show/Book release was phenomenal. The venue sold out and everyone seemed pleased. Her face was glowing with excitement as she stood in the mirror, teasing her hair with the comb.

  “Baby, can you believe it?” Denise spoke through the receiver.

  “Yes, I can believe it. You’ve made some major accomplishments over this past month, ma’am. You’ve signed a contract for a movie deal; you pulled off a phenomenal fashion show and book release party that was absolutely bananas.”

  “No, we did that. I couldn’t have done it without you. We’re a team, remember? This is us!”

  “Not to mention, I knew you would meet the deadline.”

  �
�The book…this is huge for me. Publishing three books in one quarter was rough.”

  “I know, but you did it.”

  “We did it. I couldn’t have done it without you and that’s the honest truth.”

  “We did it and we should celebrate.”

  “Yes, we should.”

  “Do you want me to call Helen and have her prepare something for tonight?”

  “NO! Helen and Judy are going to dinner tonight.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. Judy came in the office this morning and told me that she mailed Helen a letter in hopes that she would read it and reply.”

  “Well, did she?”

  “She must have. Judy said they talked on the phone and was able to clear up a lot of misconceptions. She said they laughed and cried and then Helen agreed to meet her for dinner. Judy told her that she didn’t want to live life knowing she had a sister whom she never communicated with.”

  “That’s great.”

  “That’s God.”

  “Who is amazingly great.”

  Denise laughed.

  “So, how are things at the office?”

  “They’re good. Actually, Roe just walked in and we’re about to work on these new songs so we can submit to Quest.”

  “Isn’t it crazy how things worked out with Quest? I mean, at first she couldn’t sign them, but purchased the one track, then called and wanted to sign them to the label anyway.”

  “Yeah, babe. We talk about that every day.” DJ shook his head. “You never know what’s going to happen. Just when you think you have it all figured out.”

  “Ain’t that the truth.”

  “I love you and I’ll see you later tonight.”

  “Later gator.”

  Denise disconnected the line then called Keisha.

  “TIA Enterprises, how may I direct your call?”

  “Good morning, Keish.”

  “Good morning, Mrs. Chatman.”

  “I’m headed to the office, but can you call Monica with Beauty for Ashes and confirm the time?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m on it.”

  “Thanks. See you in a little bit.”

  Merging into traffic, Denise ended the call as she pressed play on the display screen. She began bobbing her head to Talib Kweli’s Prisoner of Conscious. As she headed towards downtown, she smiled at how good life had become despite the obstacles that were designed to make her fall. She pressed down on the accelerator. The engine revved quickly reaching seventy-five miles per hour. She glanced in the rearview mirror for highway patrol before pressing down on the accelerator once again; settling at eighty-five. Minutes later she was signaling to exit.