The door opened. Jessica smiled and nodded. “Come on in.”
Three words: Come on in. Gabrielle stood frozen. She couldn’t believe those three words would cause her to become so paralyzed. Zachary still had his arm around her waist. He helped her take that first step.
And there she lay. Gabrielle released a quiet controlled sigh. Zachary pulled her toward him one more time, then released her fully. She was on her own now.
Gabrielle put a big smile on her face. “Hi there,” she said, her attention fully locked on a little girl who, although noticeably frail, remarkably possessed features she’d found in the few pictures she had left of her mother. Seeing this little person who favored her mother was almost too much for her. She hadn’t expected this. She merely thought she’d see a little girl who held no reminders in particular, but would be a beautiful child, nonetheless. And she was beautiful. Even in a hospital bed with an IV hooked up to her and machines monitoring her, she was a beautiful child.
Then she heard the small, sweet voice. “Hi,” Jasmine said. “How are you?”
Gabrielle gathered everything within her and pushed out the biggest smile she could find. “I’m just fine, thank you for asking. But I hear you’re not feeling so hot.”
“Oh, I’ll be okay. I’m going to get better soon. Isn’t that right, Mama?” Jasmine said, now looking at Jessica.
Jessica smiled, leaned down, and lovingly placed a kiss on Jasmine’s forehead. “That’s right, baby. That’s right. Soon. You’re going to be better real soon. We just have to keep believing. Good thoughts so we can have a good report. That’s what my friend Gabrielle here told me just recently.”
Zachary took a step forward. “Hi there, Jasmine.”
“Hi there, sir,” Jasmine’s little voice said.
“Jasmine, these are the friends I was just telling you about. They wanted to come in and say hello.”
“I know, Mama. That’s Miss Gabrielle and Mr. Zachary.” She acknowledged them with a smile.
Zachary walked over to the bed. He held out two fists crossed at his wrists, switching them with each syllable as he began to sing, “Alabama hit the hammer.”
Both Jessica and Gabrielle opened their eyes wide and both let out a gasp. Gabrielle was surprised at hearing and seeing Zachary doing something like this.
Jasmine released the cutest little giggle. “You know that game?”
Zachary nodded. “So . . . Ala-bam-a, hit the ham-mer, high or low.”
“If I pick the right one, I may go!” Jasmine said, taking over the song, then tapping Zachary’s right fist that was crossed over to the left side.
Zachary opened his fist and presented an open hand to her.
“Yay,” Jasmine said, clapping. “I picked the right one! Look, Mama! It’s a piece of candy.” She looked at her mother with pleading eyes. “Is it okay if I have it?” Jasmine’s brown eyes almost seemed to twinkle as she smiled. “Please . . .”
“Well . . .” Jessica said with a smile as she looked to Zachary.
“It’s okay,” Zachary said it, first to Jessica, then to Jasmine. “You see, Miss Jazz, I just so happen to be a doctor.”
Jasmine’s face seemed to light up even more. “You are? For real?”
Zachary grinned. “Yes, I am. For real. I’m not exactly like the doctors that are taking care of you, but I’m a doctor, nonetheless. And I happen to know for a fact that it won’t hurt you to have that one piece of hard candy. It’s sugar free, but the neat thing about it is that it doesn’t taste like it. Not at all. I used to give them to some of my favorite patients when I worked in the emergency room, and they loved them.”
Jessica nodded her okay for Jasmine to have it.
Jasmine scooped up the piece of hard candy and hurried to untwist the clear wrapper. “Green is my favorite color,” she said, carefully putting the piece in her mouth.
“Is that right?” Zachary said in a voice that sounded like it was created to speak to children her age. “If I’m not mistaken, I believe green is Gabrielle’s favorite color, too. Isn’t green your favorite color?” Zachary asked Gabrielle, who was still standing off to the side, out of the way, barely saying anything. He reached his hand out for Gabrielle to come closer.
Gabrielle smiled and moved next to Zachary. “As a matter of fact, green is my favorite color.”
Jasmine suddenly burst into a laugh. “Dr. Zachary, let me see your other hand.”
“What?” Zachary said, standing straighter.
“I said let me see your other hand.”
“And why exactly do you want to see my other hand?”
“Okay,” Jasmine said, her voice noticeably becoming weaker even though it was evident she was enjoying herself. “I tell you what. Hold your fists like you were doing before.”
Zachary started laughing, but held his fists out as Jasmine instructed.
“Alabama hit the hammer, high or low. If you pick the right one, you may go.” Jasmine looked at Gabrielle. “Miss Gabrielle, pick his left fist.”
“Look at you,” Zachary said, laughing. “You little cheat, you.”
Jasmine giggled. She nodded at Gabrielle, who smiled and tapped Zachary’s hand as her little friend instructed.
Zachary opened his left fist.
“I knew it!” Jasmine said. “I knew you rigged the game so I would win no matter which one I picked.”
“So, not only are you a beautiful little girl, but you’re smart, too.”
Jasmine laughed, throwing her head back as much as her pillow would allow her.
Gabrielle stood lovingly looking at Jasmine, finding it hard to look away.
“That one’s yours, Miss Gabrielle,” Jasmine said.
Gabrielle took the piece of hard candy out of Zachary’s hand. “Thank you, Miss Jasmine.” She bowed slightly to Jasmine.
“You know, I think I like it,” Jasmine said, her eyes trained on Zachary.
“What do you like? The candy?” Zachary asked.
“Yes, the candy, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Then what is it that you like?” Jessica said, tears sliding down her face now.
“I like Dr. Zachary calling me Miss Jazz and I like Miss Gabrielle calling me Miss Jasmine. It’s like our own little special system.” Jasmine turned to her mother. “Sorry, Mama. You’re just going to have to stick with Mama. I don’t want to call you anything differently than what I’ve always called you. You’re my mama.”
“Baby, I wouldn’t want you to call me anything other than mama, either.”
Zachary put two fingers on Jasmine’s wrist. “Miss Jazz, some folks call me Dr. Z. So if you want, instead of calling me Dr. Zachary, you could just call me Dr. Z.”
Jasmine looked toward the ceiling as though she was thinking about his offer. “Let’s see: Dr. Zachary . . . Dr. Z. Hmmm . . . Okay! I think I like Dr. Z.”
“Great!” Zachary was still holding on to Jasmine’s wrist in what seemed to be a medical thing. “Then Dr. Z it is,” he said.
“This candy is really good,” Jasmine said, sticking her tongue out with the green candy on the end of her tongue. “Thank you. It takes away the metal taste in my mouth. It’s been so long since I’ve had anything good like this.”
“Yeah, I know,” Zachary said. “But having a treat every now and then is a good thing.” Zachary released her wrist and gently patted her hand.
“Dr. Z?” Jasmine said.
“Yes, Miss Jazz.”
“I wish you were my doctor. Not that the other doctors are bad or anything. But you’re really nice. You have wonderful bedside manners.”
Everybody laughed.
“Such a large repertoire you have. First the word ‘system’ and now ‘bedside manners.’ What do you know about bedside manners?” Zachary said.
Gabrielle smiled. “Yeah, Miss Jasmine. What do you know about that?”
“When you’ve been here as long and as much as I have, you learn this kind of stuff. Isn’t that right, Mama?
”
Jessica nodded. “That’s right, baby. But you’re also just a smart little girl.”
“And brave, too,” Gabrielle said. “I’m so in awe of you right now that I hardly know what to say.”
“Is that why you’re not saying much?” Jasmine asked.
“That and . . . I don’t want to tire you out.”
“I’m okay.” Jasmine closed her eyes briefly. It was obvious she was getting tired since they’d come in.
“Well, they really do have to go,” Jessica said. “So tell them thank you for coming by to see us.”
“Thank you for coming to visit with me,” Jasmine said, yawning. “Will you both come back again? Soon?”
Gabrielle looked to Jessica for the answer.
Jessica patted Jasmine’s hand. “Yes, they will. I’m certain they’ll be back.”
“That’s great,” Jasmine said. “I’d really love that. I like both of you. You make being in here not be so bad. Hopefully, I’ll get a donor soon, and I’ll be out of here! Then maybe you can come and visit me at our house. We have a nice, big house.” She flipped her hands outward in a large circle.
“I positively agree,” Gabrielle said. “You’ll get a donor soon. Well, we’re going to go now. We’ll see you later.”
“Promise?” Jasmine said to Gabrielle.
Gabrielle nodded. “Cross my heart.” She made a cross over her heart.
Zachary patted Jasmine’s hand. “Before we go, Miss Gabrielle and I would like to pray for you. Would that be okay with you?” He looked at Jasmine, who smiled and nodded. He looked over at Jessica, whose hand was now covering her mouth and tears were in her eyes. She nodded her approval. Zachary took Jasmine’s hand and prayed a short but moving prayer for her healing. “Amen,” he said when he finished.
“Amen,” both Gabrielle and Jessica said quietly.
“A-men!” Jasmine said louder than any of them.
Zachary laughed and patted her hand again. “See you later, Miss Jazz.”
Jasmine giggled. “See you later, Dr. Z.” She held her two fists crossed, up in the air. “Alabama hit the hammer, high or low. If you pick the right one, you may go.”
“What?” Zachary said.
“Pick,” Jasmine said, continuing to hold crossed fists up.
He tapped the left one.
“Nope,” Jasmine said, opening the empty hand. “Try again.”
Zachary laughed. “Try again? You only have two hands. You know I’m going to pick the right one on my second try.” He tapped her right fist.
Jasmine opened her hand. Zachary laughed, as did Gabrielle, then Jessica when they saw that in her hand was the empty candy wrapper.
Zachary took the paper and put it in the trash can. “Bye, Miss Jazz. We’ll see you later.”
“Bye,” Gabrielle said, touching Jasmine’s hand for the first time since she was a newborn, then quickly taking her hand away. She and Zachary headed for the door.
Jasmine waved at them. “Bye. Don’t forget to come back to see me again soon . . . You promised.” She closed her eyes. “You promised . . .”
Chapter 19
Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.
—Micah 1:16
Zachary gathered Gabrielle by her shoulders after they stepped out of Jasmine’s room. Gabrielle almost doubled over, but he held her up. “You okay?”
Gabrielle nodded. Zachary wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they made their way to the elevators. Gabrielle placed her hand over her mouth. She wasn’t sure if she didn’t clamp her mouth whether the loud cry she was holding in would escape. Zachary kept her close as they rode down. She stepped out of his arm when the elevator stopped and they got off.
Most of the way back to her house, she and Zachary were silent. Zachary had tried twice to strike up some form of talk, but must have quickly figured out that she wasn’t in a place to talk right now. So he stopped trying.
“I’m okay,” she finally said when Zachary parked his car in her driveway. “You don’t need to come in.”
Zachary turned off the engine, opened his door, and got out. Walking around to her side, he opened her car door and held out his hand. Gabrielle placed her hand in his and got out. Zachary held on to her hand as they walked to the front door of her house.
“Seriously,” Gabrielle said as she took out her keys. “You don’t have to stay. I’m fine. Really I am.”
Zachary quietly took the keys from her trembling hand and opened the front door. Standing back, he allowed her to go in. Inside, she flipped on the light switch. He handed her back her keys, then closed the door.
“Thank you,” she said barely above a whisper. “And thanks for going to the hospital with me.” Gabrielle forced a smile, but couldn’t sustain it as the corners of her mouth began to tremble.
Zachary looked at her with such loving kindness. He then pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
“I’m all right,” she said, trying to break free from his secure embrace. “Really, I am.” And before she knew anything or could stop herself, she was crying. “She’s so sick,” she said between her sobs. “Did you see how sick she is? She’s not going to make it too much longer, not in that condition. But she’s so beautiful in spite of how sick she is. My goodness, she’s beautiful inside and out. And she’s smart.” Gabrielle cried even more. “Zachary, what am I going to do? Tell me: What do I do to help her? What?”
Zachary walked her to the den and eased her down onto the couch as they remained locked together. He simply held her as she cried. And after she calmed down, she touched the spot where her face had rested on him. “Look at your shirt. I got you all wet. There’s a wet spot there now.”
Zachary didn’t even look down. He kept his eyes locked on hers. “It’s okay. I have plenty of shirts.” He touched Gabrielle’s hair. “You are so beautiful. And caring. And smart.”
Gabrielle primped her lips, then pressed them tight. “You were so wonderful with her tonight. I think she likes you.”
“And I like her.” He continued to pick up sections of Gabrielle’s hair and let it fall, just to watch it fall it seemed.
“I’m not sure she likes me all that much,” Gabrielle said. “I suppose I was more in shock than I knew I’d be. I couldn’t believe I was standing there looking at a baby I actually carried for nine months, so grown up. Well, not grown up, but she’s almost nine. And did you notice how tall she is already. If she keeps on at this pace, she’s going to be tall enough to be a model. She’s certainly beautiful enough—”
Zachary placed his finger on Gabrielle’s lips and smiled. “You were fine, Gabrielle. She likes you. She does. I could tell that she does. It’s just: I was the only male in the room, so there was no fear of competition to be had.”
“Competition? What do you mean by that? There’s no reason for competition. Jasmine doesn’t have a clue who I am to her.”
“Well, I happen to know that sometimes when women are around each other, there’s a tiny bit of silent competition going on, whether they realize it or not.”
Gabrielle shook her head and primped her mouth again. “Well, there’s not.”
“It’s nothing bad. Okay, it’s like this. Jasmine knew her mother was there. Then there you were, this beautiful woman she’d never met, walking into the room. Now, she wasn’t consciously thinking about it in these terms, but unconsciously she was aware that if she gave you too much attention in a positive way, it might . . . keep in mind I said ‘might,’ have made her mother feel a little jealous.”
“Oh, that’s malarkey! The child is just eight years old. She’s still innocent.”
“Malarkey? Wow, that’s a strong rebuke right there. I wasn’t meaning anything by my statement except to say on an unconscious level, Jasmine didn’t want her mother to think she was giving you more attention and love than her. That’s all I’m saying here. She wasn’t consciously thinking that.�
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Gabrielle turned her body more toward Zachary. “Oh, and the way you called her Miss Jazz . . . she loved it. That was so precious!”
Zachary reached his hands in his pockets, pulled his hands out as fists, and crossed them. “Alabama hit the hammer, high or low. If you pick the right one, you may go.”
Gabrielle grinned, then tapped his right hand. He opened his hand and another green hard piece of candy was there. Gabrielle snatched it up, then quickly tapped his other fist.
“What?” Zachary said.
“Open that one,” Gabrielle said with a grin.
“Why? You already picked the right one.”
“Open it,” she insisted.
He opened his left fist and began to laugh.
“You are such a cheater! Just like Jasmine said you were,” Gabrielle said.
“No. Not a cheater. But I’m not beneath rigging the system a bit to put a smile on a beautiful face every now and then.”
“That was so right tonight. How do you know that game?”
Zachary grinned. “Aunt Esther.” He was referring to his aunt Esther Crowe.
“Miss Crowe taught you?” Just the thought of the woman who taught her to dance and showed her unconditional love when she felt all by herself, the woman she’d just only recently been reunited with, the woman she’d learned was aunt to the man she was now courting, brought a smile to Gabrielle’s face.
Zachary chuckled a little. “Well, I don’t know if I’d say she actually taught me. But she would have me and my other siblings sit on the steps and play that game with us. The first one to reach the top by picking the correct hand more times than the others was the winner. I guess you can say that even though it was a tame game that girls were likely to enjoy more than boys—”
Gabrielle hit him softly. “Zachary! That’s sexist.”
He laughed. “No, it’s not. It’s true. Boys like contact sports. Sitting on some steps with someone holding out two fists while singing a song, then telling you if you pick the right one you may go, is not exactly a true contact sport. But as I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted: Even though it was a tame game, I enjoyed the principle behind it. If you choose right, you get to move up. If you choose wrong, you stay where you are until it’s your turn again and you get to choose again. If you continue choosing correctly, you have a chance of winning in the end.”
The Other Side of Goodness Page 12