The Other Side of Goodness

by Vanessa Davis Griggs

  “I know,” Gabrielle said. “Please don’t get upset. I believe God is going to work all this out.”

  Jessica released a short laugh. “There was a time when I used to believe that. In the beginning, I did. But how much more am I supposed to take? Tell me: How much more does God want from me? He took my husband and now He’s about to take—”

  “No,” Gabrielle said. “Don’t speak those words. Don’t even allow those words to come out of your mouth. Jessica, Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundantly. Then there’s Satan, who comes to steal, kill, and to destroy.”

  “So what are you saying? That Satan was the one who took my husband? And that it’s Satan trying to take my little girl now?”

  “If you want to go there, then, yes, that’s what I’m saying.” Gabrielle was still learning about God and His Word as well as things in the Bible.

  Pastor Landris had just taught on this subject. And one of the things he’d said was that in Job 1:21 when Job said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,” that Job was incorrect in his assessment. Pastor Landris explained that the account as listed in the book of Job is correct. But Job’s statement concerning the Lord giving and the Lord taking away was not the correct conclusion. In truth, Satan had been allowed to come at Job. God removed the hedge of protection that kept Satan out. But Satan had been the one to take away from Job.

  “Okay, whatever,” Jessica said in a clearly dismissive tone. “Right now, I really don’t have time to talk about God. I just need to do whatever I can to help my little girl.”

  “With all due respect, God is the one who can help her,” Gabrielle said. She didn’t want to get into an argument with Jessica. Not at this time, not at this point. She didn’t want to upset her, knowing that right now her mind had to be all over the place. Jessica wasn’t thinking or talking clearly. “Jessica, we need to be speaking what we desire and to keep believing and trusting God.”

  “Whatever it takes to save Jasmine’s life, I’m willing to do that. I’d give my own life if God would just spare hers. I promise I would.”

  “I understand,” Gabrielle said. “But trust that right now God is working on Jasmine’s behalf and He’s already worked it out. I don’t know how it will be done, but I believe God will do it. I do.”

  “So does that mean you believe Jasmine’s biological father is going to go get tested?” Jessica asked. “Does that mean that if he’s not a match, he’ll have his children tested, if he has any, to see if any of them might be a match?”

  “I can’t answer those questions at this point. I’m just praying that God will move in the way we need Him to move. That God will touch hearts—”

  “And if God doesn’t?”

  Gabrielle was crying but trying not to let Jessica know that she was. “Let’s just keep our thoughts on what we desire, okay? Are you familiar with the scripture that talks about whatsoever things are true, pure, lovely, and of good report, that if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, to think on these things? Well, let’s just think on these things for now. Let’s think on the good we desire. Jessica, I believe God is going to bring Jasmine through this. I honestly and truly do. I have faith.”

  “I hope God does,” Jessica said. “I’m just so beat up at this point. I don’t know anymore. My husband died. Jasmine is deathly ill. I have my own health issues. And what should be a simple thing, just like it was after you learned Jasmine needed your help, is turning into just more waiting, more anxious moments, and more having to pray.” Jessica was crying now, too. Gabrielle could hear her sniffles as she spoke. “I just feel so alone. It’s like I’m all by myself. It’s just so hard!”

  “Well, you’re not alone. God is with you.”

  “Yeah, but God created us to have people down here to help us through things. And right now, I don’t have anybody. That’s a fact. I have no family left. And right now, at this moment, the only person Jasmine has left in this world is me.”

  Gabrielle considered what Jessica said. “Well, you have me. And if you ever need someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, someone to lean on, someone who’s pulling for both you and Jasmine, then I’m here. I don’t mind . . . if you need someone.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So if I were to ask you to come here to the hospital and sit with me, would you? Knowing that, should things go the way we desire them to, that after this is all over, we all will go back to our respective lives? Knowing that Jasmine is the child you gave up for adoption . . . the child who likely won’t even know she was adopted at least for a few more years down the road? You’re saying you would be there for me now, knowing all of this will most likely come after ward?”

  “Jasmine doesn’t know she’s even adopted?” Gabrielle hadn’t ever thought about this. She didn’t know what she thought now because she hadn’t been forced to ever think about the child she’d given up all those years ago.

  “No, she doesn’t. My late husband and I had many discussions on when might be the appropriate age and time to tell her. We decided to wait until she was old enough to understand everything and to appreciate how much we truly love her, in spite of her being adopted, and truthfully, how incredibly much her birth mother loved her to make the sacrifices as she’d done.”

  Gabrielle’s tears were flowing really fast down her face now. But she was determined to hold her voice steady. “And here we are.”

  “Yes, here we are. Praying and doing all that we can to be sure she lives to see her ninth birthday. It’s just not fair.” Jessica stopped speaking, then released an audible sigh. “Listen, I’m going to get off this phone. But if you should hear anything . . . anything at all, will you please—”

  “I’ll call you the moment I know something from my end. I promise.”

  Gabrielle hung up after saying good-bye. She picked up her Bible off the nightstand and began to turn the pages. She couldn’t remember where that scripture was. “God, please bring it back to my remembrance. Help me find that scripture.”

  She fanned the pages, stopped, then scanned down the page. Nope, not it. She allowed the pages to fan past again. When it stopped, she again scanned the page. Nope. Again, she let the pages fall from her thumb, then she stopped and scanned. There it was; the scripture she had just referenced to Jessica. Philippians 4:8. She began to read. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

  Gabrielle looked upward and closed her eyes as she thought, Whatsoever things are of good report. I believe God. I believe.

  Chapter 11

  Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.

  —Habakkuk 1:8

  Deidra brought the telephone over to Lawrence. “It’s William.” She handed the phone to her husband. “Should I hold off on finishing getting dressed for this evening?”

  Lawrence smiled. “No. I told you that we’re going out, and nothing and nobody is going to change that.” Lawrence held the phone in his hand. “So you just go right on and finish getting all dolled up for your man. This won’t take long.”

  Deidra looked at him as though she didn’t believe him. Lawrence could understand why she would feel that way. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d stood her up for a night out on the town after receiving a call from William.

  “Go on now, baby. Go on and finish getting ready.”

  Deidra walked out of the bedroom and into the master bathroom. As soon as Lawrence was certain she was out of ear- and eyeshot, he scurried out of the bedroom and down the stairs into the
den.

  “What’s up?” he said to William, barely above a whisper.

  “I have some good news and some better news,” William said.

  “Better than what you already told me earlier today at lunch?”

  “Oh, yes. Now you know we have the best folks around working on our behalf. Of course, you also know that I don’t trust cell phones when it comes to discussing most of our business. That’s why I had to wait until I was home and could call from my landline to your landline.”

  “It’s that good?”

  “Oh, it’s that good! Do you want to hear the long version or the short?” William said.

  “Give me the short version. Deidra’s upstairs getting ready for our date, and the last thing I want is to be late in taking her out, especially during these obviously contentious times.”

  “Okay. The short version is Miss Goodness and Mercy is dating an up-and-coming doctor named Zachary Morgan. And my sources tell me the good doctor is trying to get his clientele up and going. Of course, you know that in starting up his business, he’s incurring quite a bit of debt. Then there’s Miss Gabrielle’s family.”

  “She has a family? But I thought she was single—”

  “I’m talking about her aunt Cecelia and uncle Dennis Murphy and their four delightful grown children.”

  “There’s something on them that we can use?” Lawrence asked.

  “If we need to. Although my sources tell me that the relationship between them may be strained at the moment. Looks like Aunt Cee-Cee has gotten herself into a bit of a jam by forging a signature and embezzling money that didn’t belong to her.”

  “Aunt Cee-Cee,” Lawrence said with a bit of nostalgia. “If I recall correctly, she was the one that put Gabrielle out on the streets with no place to go. I don’t know how much Gabrielle will care when it comes to them.”

  “Lawrence, Lawrence, Lawrence,” William said as though he was saying his friend just didn’t get it. “When have I ever come at a thing from merely one angle? I can use the aunt’s situation, believe me. Cecelia Murphy is being charged with stealing. She needs a good lawyer or it’s very possible she’s on her way to jail. Now tell me: What do you think our helping her out would be worth to her? Huh?”

  “Well, if possible, I’d like to keep the list of folks involved in whatever we do down to as few people as possible. I don’t like it when you get too many players. It’s a sure recipe for problems down the road, and I don’t need any more problems than I already have. Let’s just see if we can get Gabrielle to go away and be done with it.” Lawrence glanced at his watch. “Listen, I need to get off this phone. I don’t want to do anything to disappoint Deidra. Not at this point.”

  “So I have the okay to proceed on this matter?”

  “Go with the one that’s the least messy and will meet up with the least resistance. I’d like to nip this before it ever gets a chance to bloom.”

  “All right; I’ll get my folks right on it. You know that my people’s horses are swifter than the leopards and fiercer than the evening wolves. When I dispatch them on a prey, they fly like a hungry eagle in a hurry to feast.”

  “Just make sure when they’re done, we’re not left with more of a mess to clean up than what we started with,” Lawrence said. “I’ve seen your people’s handiwork; they can be quite brutal.”

  “Hey,” William said. “You either want it done or you don’t. There’s no in-between.”

  “Fine, William. Do what you need to do and just keep me updated. But not tonight,” Lawrence said. “Tonight, I’m turning off my cell phone and focusing on making things right with my wife. I can already see we’re going to have a long road ahead of us to this next election. I don’t need to have to deal with a wife with an attitude to boot.” Lawrence looked up and saw Deidra walking into the room. “And speaking of my beautiful wife,” he said, hoping she hadn’t heard any of what he’d just said. “I have to hang up now. This vision of beauty just entered the room.”

  Lawrence clicked the END button. “Baby, you look absolutely stunning!” He walked over to her, scanning her up and down as he took note of the V-neckline, black and white, silk, bold-abstract-print, belted dress. “How did I become so blessed that God would even allow me to be able to behold such beauty this close? Huh? Tell me. And tell me who designed that dress that’s fitting you all over the place? Uh-uh-uh.”

  Deidra smiled. “Oh, so you like this? I’m glad to hear that. It’s a Venus flytrap by Emilio Pucci. It cost a little over two grand, and that was the on-sale price.” She did a quick twirl as she smiled. “I just came to let you know that I’m ready.”

  “Yes, ma’am. That you are. But the question is: Am I ready? Because I can already see that I’m going to have to fight off the men from staring at you tonight. Wow! Let me run the phone back upstairs, get my jacket, and we’ll be on our way.” He started out of the room, turned back to his wife, then kissed her. “Wow!” he said. “Look at my baby. Nothing but the best, on the best, for the best!”

  Deidra giggled. “Boy, you are so silly.”

  “I’ll be right back.” He ran upstairs, returned the phone to its base, put his jacket on, checked himself in the dresser mirror, then smiled. “Thank You, God. I can see things are already looking up!”

  Chapter 12

  For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

  —Habakkuk 2:11

  “What’s wrong?” Zachary asked a crying Gabrielle as soon as he arrived at her house and she answered the door. She’d been crying a lot these past four hours. And she still hadn’t heard a word back from Lawrence.

  “I need to go,” Gabrielle said.

  “Go where?”

  “To the hospital. Jessica just called. She’s falling apart. She asked me to come to the hospital. She’s never asked to see me before. She and I have never really met in person, except for that one time when she came and took the baby out of my arms. I didn’t even look at her that day; I don’t even know what she looks like. This has to mean things are taking a turn for the worse for Jasmine. I don’t know if I can do this. I can’t let her see me crying like this.”

  “Then I’ll take you,” Zachary said.

  “No. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Jessica wants as few people knowing what’s going on as possible.”

  Zachary gathered Gabrielle up by her shoulders. “I’m going with you. Understand?”

  Gabrielle timidly nodded. She was glad he wanted to go with her. She didn’t know what to say to a mother who had possibly just been told her daughter was taking a turn for the worse and time was running out. It had just been hours ago when the two of them spoke and she told Jessica she was there if she needed her. She didn’t really think Jessica would take her up on her offer, and definitely, not this soon.

  “Zachary, before we go . . . there’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Okay. But if you like you can tell me on the way.”

  “No. I need to tell you here . . . right now. Because after I tell you, you just may decide that you don’t want to have anything more to do with me. And if that’s the case, then I’ll be the first to understand.”

  Zachary smiled. “Nothing you can tell me will make me feel like that. So what is it? What’s going on?”

  Gabrielle looked up, closed her eyes, opened them, and looked at Zachary with a nervous smile. “It’s about Jasmine’s birth father.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I told you that I went to see him.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I didn’t tell you everything. And I need to tell you. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. And since I botched it so badly with him when I saw him, things just might get ugly.”

  “So, is this guy a gangbanger or something?”

  Gabrielle shook her head. “No, not a gangbanger.”

  “Then he’s no credible threat.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Gabrielle said. “His name is Lawr
ence.”

  Zachary smiled. “Lawrence, huh? You don’t hear of many black men named Lawrence these days. Lawrence. I assume he’s black. Is he? Not that it matters.”

  “Yes, he’s black. And his name is Lawrence Simmons.”

  Zachary nodded. “Okay, Lawrence Simmons, like that congressman’s name of Lawrence Simmons, the one that’s made the news lately after he switched from the Democratic Party to the Grand Old Republican Party. He defends his actions by saying he’s now with the party of Lincoln. Only Lincoln did something that benefitted people of color. The Republican Party these days could give a flip.”

  She briefly cast her eyes downward. “Not like that Lawrence Simmons . . . is.”

  Zachary frowned. “Excuse me? Come again?” He tilted his ear toward her.

  Gabrielle nodded, then leaned her head back before straightening it to look into Zachary’s eyes. “Jasmine’s birth father is Representative Lawrence Simmons.”

  Zachary jerked his upper body back. “Whoa!” he said one octave lower. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “Nope. I’m not kidding you.”

  “But he’s sort of old, isn’t he? He has to be close to fifty. I mean . . . he’s old enough to be your father.”

  “Yes . . . he is.”

  “And you’re telling me that you and him—”

  “Yes. Me and him. I’d just turned eighteen at the time.”

  “But how... how did something like that even happen?” Zachary held up both his hands as though he was surrendering. “I’m sorry, that’s really none of my business.” But the look on his face said otherwise.

  “I told Jessica, when she called me earlier today, that I’d spoken with the father.”

  “Wow. You have to give me a minute to process this.” Zachary walked away from Gabrielle. “He appears to be such a wonderful family man, spouting off all that family-values stuff, claiming to be a Godly man, deacon of his church for over twenty years, a man of integrity. And you’re telling me that Mr. I Love My Wife and Family, ‘my wife and I have been madly in love for the entire twenty-nine years of our glorious marriage’ had an affair with you some nine years ago?” He looked at her.