Her throat dry and parched and her nose stuffy from crying, she walked to the kitchen for water. Thirstily she gulped a glassful and opened the fridge for more.
“I’ve got to get through this somehow,” she said to herself. “I gotta go check on Mama Moseley in the hospital, and tomorrow, I gotta . . . make . . . funeral arrangements.” She rubbed her forehead, feeling little strength to do either. Tired and sleep deprived, Renee had spent the past two nights living in a waking nightmare. She could neither manage to sleep nor scare up enough energy to face the difficult waking hours.
Renee startled at a loud knock on her front door. Her heart sped up. The trauma and shock of the last few days had left her nerves jangling. Hesitantly, she plodded to the door, wary of the media who had knocked several times over the past couple of days. She peeked out the peephole to see two Mannford police officers standing on the porch. Both were holding large teddy bears, something she couldn’t wrap her mind around. After a long moment, Renee exhaled and slowly opened the door.
“Mrs. Moseley,” the woman officer spoke. “We’ve come to discuss with you the circumstances behind your husband’s shooting. May we come in?”
She couldn’t connect their words with what they were holding. Nothing made sense, but she nodded and moved out of the way. Once they were inside her living room, she closed the door and turned to face them.
“We regret to tell you some things that occurred surrounding your husband.”
For the next several minutes, they shared the details of Mayor Henderson’s confession and the truth of what had happened and why her husband had been killed. A fresh flood of sobs washed over Renee and she sank into the nearest chair.
“We won’t stay long, Mrs. Moseley. We certainly don’t want to bring you more pain,” the male officer said. “One of the city’s attorneys will be in touch. These—” he said, lifting up the bear he was holding —“are for your children.”
She nodded, scarcely aware of what they were saying. As they turned to leave, the officers propped up the bears on the couch. Renee didn’t see them out.
“Mama? We scared, Mama. The police shoot you, too?”
Renee’s head jerked up and looked at her twins who were standing in the hallway, their little eyes peeking out from behind their blankies. Renee’s heart broke. With great effort, she held back her tears and ran to her babies as they shook with fright. “No, no. they aren’t going to shoot Mommy. No, babies. Look! Look what they brought — one for each of you.” Renee pointed toward the two oversized teddy bears as she hugged her babies tight to her. She then took them to meet the bears.
The twins’ fear quickly faded away as they became engrossed in playing with their new teddies. Renee felt envious of her children’s innocence and resilience. She on the other hand, was reeling from a torrent of emotions at the bombshell revelations she’d just received. The mayor had been involved in her husband’s death!
Later, as Renee cooked breakfast, bathed the twins, and proceeded through her morning, everything that had puzzled and bothered her over the last several months was becoming painfully clear.
How could I have been so blind? she thought.
She’d let Darrelle explain away everything — his coming in late, his smelling like unfamiliar perfume, his having extra money, even her having to be treated for an STD.
I’m glad he’s dead. The thought came in a burst of anger, and just as quickly she covered her mouth. She bent over, suddenly sick to her stomach. While the kids played, she rushed into the bathroom and vomited. She then sat on the tub and wept into a folded towel — but this time, they were tears of rage. She felt like a fool for loving him so much, but she also felt an overwhelming, crushing sadness.
When she stood and washed her face, a new realization came to her. She thought back to the morning Darrelle had been shot. Early that morning he had kept looking nervously through the blinds.
“What’s wrong, Darrelle?” she had asked.
“Nothing, baby. I told my mom to stop by,” he’d answered. “That’s all.”
“First thing in the morning, Darrelle? Why?”
“We all going to ride together today. What say we drop Mama off at work, the kids at daycare, and then you and me can grab us up some breakfast eats somewhere,” he said, flashing her a boyish grin. He turned to peer again through the blinds.
“Aww, baby, that’s sweet,” she’d said.
After Mama Moseley had arrived, they all piled into Darrelle’s car. As he put the car into gear, Darrelle had mumbled, “Got me some shields now.”
The words had passed over her that morning, but now their meaning hit her hard. She rubbed at her stomach, again nauseated. “You dog, you, Darrelle! You dog!” The tears fell again. She covered her mouth and bent over to keep the nausea at bay. She let her head drop into her hands as the shock settled in. “You used us as human shields — your wife, your kids, your mom,” she whispered. “What kind of man does that?” Anger rose up toward Darrelle, but also toward Officer Collins, the pimp Deshaun Woodson, and Mayor Henderson. “You all dogs, all of you! Dang you. Dang you all. I hate you!” She pounded the tub over and over.
“Mama, Mama! Andre took my teddy bear, Mama,” Andrea fussed outside the door.
“Here, I come, baby,” Renee said, trying to make her voice sound as normal as possible. “Whoo, whoo,” she said to herself, exhaling deeply. She splashed water on her red eyes and went out to attend to her children.
After putting the twins down for their naps, Renee dejectedly turned the news back on. Most of the same things the officers had revealed to her were now making headlines. Again she let her head sink into her hands.
Forgive them, Daughter. Forgive, as I have forgiven you.
The words could have been spoken by someone in the room. Renee sat stunned. She didn’t want to forgive. And yet, she knew down in her soul that those words were the answer to her pain. Since the time recently when she recommitted her life to Christ, she had come to know that voice. That love-filled, quiet voice. It was He who had spoken. Renee dropped her head back. She felt overwhelmed, unable to comply. Finally she slid to her knees.
“Lord, You see I am torn to pieces. I don’t know how I’m going to do what you just asked. I’m going to try, though. Lord, I’m gonna try. Help me to do it. Help me and the kids, too, my Lord. How we going to live, Lord God? Me and the kids have nothing. You know that. Show me what to do.”
After she’d spent a time on her knees, crying out to God, a peace settled over her. She heard the Lord speak again.
I will heal you, Daughter, and your house. I will prosper you and restore to you the years that the cankerworm has eaten away.
Silent tears escaped Renee’s eyes and fell unhindered to the floor. But this time, the tears weren’t in mourning or in anger. “Thank you, Lord. Thank you!” Renee whispered. She sensed that this was the beginning of her healing.
She didn’t know how the Lord would do it, but she knew that her Lord could and would.
Marquise woke with a start, disoriented, and looked around. He’d always heard of people pinching themselves to make sure they were awake and where they needed to be. He did the same. The surreal experience he’d gone through the night before replayed itself in his mind. He rolled over and watched Keiana, who was still asleep. His heart nearly burst with feelings of love for her. He yearned to hold her but knew that she still had to be exhausted from the night before. Through his own exhaustion, he rolled gently and quietly out of bed — to kneel and pour out his prayers to the Lord in heaven.
“Thank You so much, Father God. Here I am safe, breathing, and in one piece with my two girls. Thank You. Ima make good on my promise. You saved me, Lord God. You saved this here dude. Please help to do this today” Marquise felt peace fill his heart. “Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord.
Marquise stood and tiptoed into Nisha’s room. “Thank You
, Lord,” he said softly again as he watched his baby girl who was sleeping soundly. “They are beautiful to me, Lord God.”
He knew what he needed to do.
After a quick shower, he tiptoed out of the apartment and into the Mannford morning sun. Marquise headed toward his normal parking spot but found the space empty.
Where’s my Escalade? His heart sped up with the fear that someone had stolen it. Then he shook his head as he recalled the night before as bullets shattered the glass of his SUV. “Whew, man oh man,” he whispered to himself. “How could I forget that?” he said, recalling that the law-enforcement officers had needed to keep the Escalade for the investigation. So instead, he jumped into Keiana’s SUV and drove off.
After a frenzied hour of running his errands, Marquise pulled back up to their apartment and popped the trunk of Keiana’s SUV. He made several quiet, hurried trips back and forth from the SUV to the apartment. He had to do this right and couldn’t risk anybody’s waking up yet. After he’d completed everything he wanted done, Marquise peeked into Nisha’s nursery. Going to her crib, he picked her up and kissed her cheeks.
She woke and patted her dad’s face happily. “DaDaDa,” she said.
“Shhh, Nish,” he said as he cuddled her on his shoulder. “Let’s go get Mama. You want to come with me to get Mama?”
Baby Nisha responded even more loudly. “DaDaDa!” She grinned her two-toothed grin and grabbed Marquise’s dreadlocks.
Marquise chuckled and carried Nisha into their bedroom. He bent over and smacked several kisses on Keiana’s cheeks. Baby Nisha squealed in delight at the sight of her mama. Marquise sat on the edge of the bed and grinned as Keiana opened her eyes.
Keiana propped herself onto one elbow and rubbed her eyes. “Marquise, what are you and Nish up to?” She smiled sleepily, yawned, and patted the baby’s head.
“Nisha, tell Mama to meet us in the living room.”
Nisha patted her mama’s legs. “Mamama.”
Keiana laughed. “All right, you two. Let me get a quick shower first, okay?”
“All right then, Ke.” Marquise spun around and did his best James Brown imitation: “I feel good. I knew that I would now, so good, so good, get funky. Come on, Nish, get funky, baby,” Marquise sang, and Nisha giggled as they went out.
Keiana laughed out loud. “You two — I swear!”
In the living room, Marquise hugged his beautiful daughter tightly. “Thank you, God! Thank you!” The last twenty-four hours now seemed unreal. After all, here he was — back home with Keiana and Nisha. At the thought, his heart swelled with love and gratitude. “I’m so in love with your mama, Nish,” he whispered to his baby girl.
“Be out in a minute, Marq,” Keiana called from the room.
“Okay, baby.” Marquise put their daughter into her nearby playpen and positioned himself.
Within a few moments, Keiana stepped into the living room and stopped cold. “Baby! What? Oh my goodness!” Her hands flew up to her mouth.
Marquise watched as Keiana looked around, taking in the sight of fragrant pink roses scattered through the room. Then her gaze landed on her man. He got down on one knee and opened a small box, lifting it up to her. She gasped as she looked at the engagement ring inside.
“Keiana, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Keiana instantly teared up, dropped to her knees in front of him, and threw her arms around his neck. “Yes, baby. Yes!”
Marquise placed the ring on Keiana’s finger and shared a lingering kiss with his babe.
“Dada, Mama,” Nisha grinned happily from her playpen.
The morning sun sieved beautifully through the holly bushes into the cozy breakfast nook where Tyler and Laura sat drinking steaming cups of coffee.
“It’s all so hard to grasp. Mayor Henderson?” Laura shook her head in astonishment. “Do you remember Officer Collins and his wife at the PD’s cookout last summer?”
“Yeah, honey, I remember. She was sick, wasn’t she? Ovarian cancer, I think. She died not long after that. I don’t know Collins well, but I heard that the whole thing devastated him.”
Laura nodded, scooted closer to Tyler, and kissed him sweetly. “I’m so proud of you, Ty. You and your guys did an excellent job getting Marquise and the other hostages out of there.” She hugged his neck. The two shared another kiss, this one deeper and more passionate.
It reminded Tyler of their honeymoon and his heart swelled with love for his wife.
“You know your dad would have been proud of the fine job you did last night.” She looked lovingly at her husband. Then she gave him a thumbs-up, just as his dad used to.
Tyler’s eyes moistened at Laura’s sweet words and gesture. He pulled her into his embrace and held her.
“Honey,” Laura said, “how ‘bout we take Mom out to breakfast? I’m going to have to tell you later how much of a blessing she was to me yesterday.” She looked deep into his eyes.
“Yeah? Sounds like a plan,” Tyler said.
Laura stood and ran her hands through her lush hair.
He knew she was heading for her morning shower. Still, he grabbed her hand. “I love you so much. I want you to know that I see you, honey, I do see you. I value you, your talents, and all that you are. For the rest of my life, I intend to show you just how much you mean to me.”
Tyler stood still, his face glowing in amazement. As his heart pounded with love for his wife, he embraced her intimately.
Chapter
35
Al woke up and looked around to get his bearings. A sweet manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s love, peace, and power filled the air like a cloud, surrounding and resting upon him. Misty slept quietly. Al crawled out of bed and made his way to the living room, both relishing and fearing the immense presence and power of the living God. There he knelt.
“God, O God!” Al prayed and groaned. His words seemed inadequate to express his praise and gratitude. The Lord visited Al there. The Lord’s golden, glorious, radiant presence came into the room and enveloped him.
“Holy, holy, holy!” Al uttered over and over. In that place, the Lord — He who dwells between the cherubim — communed with Al. There Al lifted his soul and communed with the Lord. “Oh, Lord, how good You are!” Lifting his hands heavenward, Al trembled as a tsunami of God’s love washed over his soul. He recognized that the One who knew him most loved him best. The One who knew every sin, every weakness, everything he’d ever done and would ever do — loved him anyway and with an everlasting, unconditional, holy, pure love. Tears streamed down Al’s face.
This love that I’ve lavished upon you — go and lavish, lavish, lavish it onto all people, the Lord spoke into his soul. You will be a conduit of my love, grace, and power. You will speak to generations of damaged people and minister healing to wounded souls.
The power of the words swirled around Al, engulfing, and filling him. Al’s tears continued to flow.
“Yes, Lord! I make myself available to You. Oh God, do with me, in me, through me, and for me what You desire. Now I truly see that You had these things planned for me before You laid the foundations of the world. Let me with all my heart and soul and mind and strength be and do what You have planned. Let me finish all You have in mind for me.”
After his devotion time, still feeling the glow of God’s glory, Al returned to the bedroom and laid his hand gently on Misty’s head. He lovingly fingered her silky curls. Her eyes and lips were still slightly swollen from the burglar’s assault, reminding Al of the fortitude and courage she had shown through everything they endured. Al shook his head at the magnitude of what they had experienced in the past few days. The opposition had been intense, but God’s grace had abounded and overcome all the enemy’s attempts to quell the moving of His Spirit. God had performed marvelous, miraculous deeds in their midst.
When Al slipped back unde
r the sheets and cuddled next to Misty, her eyelids slowly fluttered open. Silently, lovingly she looked into her husband’s eyes. Al took her hand, kissed it, and held it to his heart. They shared the next few moments just looking into each other’s eyes.
The quiet was soon broken when Al’s cell phone began to ring. Al and Misty shared a smile, a sweet kiss, and then Al answered his phone.
“Good mornin’, Pastor Al, Harold Nunnely here. I just wanted to let you know I posted the service’s cancellation on the church’s website, Facebook, and Twitter. I also did a robocall. Between all that and word of mouth, everybody should know, right?” The deacon chuckled. “Is there anyway else you think we should let everyone know?”
“Nope, Deacon Nunnely. You have all the bases covered, brother. If anyone hasn’t heard and tries to go to the church this morning, law enforcement will turn them away. Hope that doesn’t happen.”
“Well, we did our best to get the word out. The only other thing I can think of is riding up and down the streets with a megaphone.”
Both men laughed.
“Thanks again for your help with this,” Al said. “I can’t say how much I appreciate it. Thank you!”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Love you much, Pastor Al.”
“Love you too, my brother.”
Al had barely hung up when his phone rang again. He didn’t recognize the number. Thinking it might be a reporter, he was tempted to ignore the call, but something stirred within him, nudging him to answer.
“Pastor Shepherd, I’m Lisa Ann Nobles, Mayor Pro Tem of Mannford.”
Al’s eyes widened. “Hello, Ms. Nobles,” he said, hoping his voice hid his surprise. “What can I do for you?”
“First, on behalf of the city council, I — we — want to extend our thanks to you for being so available to the Lord last night. I have been hearing how instrumental you and your wife were in keeping it from becoming a night of bloodshed. I and the other council members would like to call a meeting tonight at the Graham Stadium at 7 p.m. I propose that we call it ‘A Night of Healing.’ Some of the council members will speak, but we’d also like you to speak. What do you say, Pastor Shepherd? We will get the word out quickly. Are you on board?”
Three Nights In Mannford Page 22