Practicing What You Preach

by Vanessa Davis Griggs

  I blushed, then heard the clearing of a throat behind me. “Come in,” I said. I heard the throat clear once more. As soon as Marcus was inside, I turned toward Nae-nae. “Marcus, this is my friend, Nae-nae. Nae-nae, this is Marcus.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Marcus said, extending his hand to Nae-nae.

  “Oh, the pleasure is all mine,” Nae-nae said.

  “Well, Nae-nae was just about to leave. She came by to get her little darlings, isn’t that right?”

  Nae-nae smiled, then nodded. “Oh, absolutely. I was just about to go get them and be on my way.” Nae-nae shook his hand once more. “Now you be good to my friend. She’s one in a million,” Nae-nae said, her statement catching me a little off guard.

  She got her children and headed out the door. “You two have a great time,” she said. I was closing the door behind them when Nae-nae turned and mouthed the words, “Call me.” She made a hand gesture to let me know she thought Marcus was scorching.

  I hadn’t thought about him being hot, but then it occurred to me that he wasn’t wearing his glasses when he came in. Without his glasses, he really did look different. I don’t know why his not wearing his glasses mattered so much to me. There was definitely something going on with my thought process.

  Marcus really was a nice looking-guy. Other women saw that as I began to take notice when we were at the Christmas party. I suppose I saw him in a different light. Maybe it was because of how we’d met. Then after that, I really got to know who he was on the inside. I suppose I wasn’t as objective when it came to Marcus. Maybe he wasn’t as nerdy as I’d originally believed.

  As Nae-nae indicated, he was hot. And for whatever reason, in a very short time, he had fallen in love with me. And yes, I had fallen in love with him, too. We had a wonderful time at the Christmas party, a wonderful time for Christmas, and a wonderful New Year. And to think, I almost missed all of this.

  Marcus was truly a blessing from God. For once, I was actually looking forward to next days and to holidays. And the next special day approaching was Valentine’s Day.

  “Don’t make any plans for Valentine’s Day night, okay?” he said in mid-January. “I have something special planned for us.”

  I smiled. “Okay.” My stomach felt a little giddy after he said that.

  A strange thing about your stomach: joy, giddiness, and excitement can feel the same as fear and anxiety. I knew something special was coming for Valentine’s Day. I just wasn’t positive what the feeling in the pit of my stomach was trying to tell me.

  Chapter 31

  My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding.

  —Proverbs 5:1

  Marcus had bought an engagement ring for Melissa. He had thought about just asking her and letting her pick out the ring she wanted, but he didn’t feel that was special enough for someone like her. He wanted to have a ring when he asked her to marry him. He would let her know that if she didn’t like it, she could exchange it for one she did like.

  He had really gotten to know Melissa well. She was smart and funny, qualities she often attributed to him. They were opposites when it came to some things. He loved working with numbers and hated being creative; with her it was the other way around. When it came to interpersonal attributes, he was more analytical, she was more of a driver. They were polar opposites on the interpersonal chart. And yes, there were times when they had to find a middle ground so as not to drive each other nuts.

  Analytical people tend to speak slowly while analyzing the data even before they allow a word to come out of their mouths. That causes them to take longer to tell a story or give information. And when they do give the information, it’s normally a play-by-play of every detail they have imported into their system. Driver personalities are the complete opposite. They want the information fast and to the point. Whatever they do or say is right on it. They like to hurry up, get it done, and get it out of the way. “Next!”

  So there were times when Marcus might be saying something and Melissa would patiently try to wait, almost pulling him, internally, to get the story out. And if Melissa told Marcus something, he would want more details and made her go back and tell him everything so he could analyze even the minutest detail.

  When Marcus first recognized they were having a communication problem, he analyzed and determined what was really getting on their nerves. They talked about how different they were from each other and how that was not a bad thing. Then they talked it out to see how their differences could complement each other.

  After they figured it out, whenever it was taking Marcus too long to either tell a story or explain something, or if she knew beforehand that she didn’t have time to hear the longer, more detailed analogy, Melissa would just say, “Give me the short version, please?”

  If Melissa wanted to plow through something off the cuff, or if she looked like she was about to dive headfirst without having properly analyzed something, Marcus would say, “Let’s map this out a little better. Tell me some of the parts I’m missing.”

  It worked. Melissa’s event planning business now had a business and a marketing plan. In fact, she was now estimating that in two to three years she might be able to quit her job and really be able to do this full time. Marcus, on the other hand, grew into a better networker than he’d ever been before. Instead of boring people with an overload of data, statistics, charts, and figures, he now mixed in a lot of the fun side of himself.

  It had even helped Marcus with his relationship with Sasha. She didn’t seem to be as hostile toward him as she’d been in the past.

  Sasha had asked Marcus about possibly investing in something she had heard about and thought was a good deal.

  “This would be a good way for me to make some extra money quickly. I could possibly quit my job and be a happier person,” Sasha said. It was the weekend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday holiday, and Marcus had come to get Aaliyah.

  “You need to be careful when it comes to those get-rich-quick schemes. You know what they say about things sounding too good to be true,” Marcus said.

  Normally a response in that vein would have set Sasha off immediately. She hated that Marcus thought he knew everything. Yes, it had been his smarts that had attracted her to him in the first place. She wished sometimes he would just turn it off, only this time, she didn’t get upset with him.

  “I know. That’s why I wanted you to look at it and tell me what you thought about it. Who knows, if you think it’s good, it may be something you’re interested in getting into.” She handed him a package for his review. “I got this at a meeting I went to. The person there is already making tons of money. It only cost me one hundred and forty nine dollars to get started.”

  Marcus shook his head. “I don’t do multilevel marketing, at least not this kind.”

  “You haven’t even looked at it,” Sasha said. “I saw copies of checks these people are receiving, and honestly, they blew me away. The product is something I believe people need and will buy. And you don’t have to sell the products to make big bucks.”

  “I know. The scheme is to get people to sign up and then for them to get others to sign up. It’s great if you’re in on the ground floor since you’ll get something from all the people who come in below you.” He flipped through the brochure on top. “Don’t get me wrong, there are some people who do quite well with these things. I just know it’s not something I would be interested in or ever do.”

  “So you don’t think it’s something I should have done?” Sasha asked.

  Marcus was a little shocked. Sasha had never been this easy to hear him and take his recommendations without her arguing about it and accusing him of trying to hold her down or keep her back because he didn’t want her to succeed.

  “Actually, if you want to try it since you’ve already paid your money, then there’s no reason not to,” Marcus said, closing the brochure and putting it down. “But if you had asked me before you signed up, I would have said what
I just said, and I would have advised you to do something else with your money.”

  “Well, my mom was the one who invited me to the little party where they talked about this.” Sasha gathered up the information. “She signed up and was trying to get more people under her. You of all people know I’m no salesperson, that’s for sure. But then that lady started talking about how much money you can make. How easily you can do it just by adding ten people under you who will add ten people under them, and it just keeps growing until before you know it, the checks are pouring in.”

  “You need to be careful, Sasha. You know how you can be sometimes. You have to think things through and not just dive into something just because it sounds good at first.”

  Sasha smiled. “Thanks. You’re right. And I will heed your advice and make sure I think about things even more before I leap.”

  Marcus was puzzled but pleasantly surprised at how calm Sasha was about what he had said. “You’re welcome. Glad I could help.”

  “I want Aaliyah to take piano lessons,” Sasha said.

  “Oh, that would be great,” Marcus said. “She loved playing that toy piano I bought her when she was two, and then that little keyboard after that.”

  “Yeah. I thought so, too. Only thing is: if she takes lessons and doesn’t have her own piano, I mean a real piano, here to practice on, it’s almost like her lessons would be in vain.”

  “I agree.”

  Sasha turned more toward him. “I saw this great piano the other day. Actually, a lady at work owns it, and she needs to sell it in a hurry. She’s asking only thirty-two thousand for it, which is a real steal.”

  “Excuse me?” Marcus said. “We’re talking about a piano, not a luxury car, right?”

  “Marcus, see, that’s what used to make me so mad at you. This is not funny, so I wish you wouldn’t joke about it. We’re talking about your daughter’s future here. Who knows where this piano may lead in her career later? If she decides to be really active in beauty pageants, having a talent like playing a piano can come in handy.”

  Marcus put his hand up as though he were stopping traffic. “Hold up. Hold up. Now, I’m all for Aaliyah taking piano lessons, but thirty-two thousand dollars for a piano and a used one at that”—he began shaking his head—“I’m not going for that.”

  “But it’s a grand piano, Marcus. A grand piano.”

  “I’m sure it is grand for that price.”

  Sasha sighed. “No, Marcus. Not grand as an adjective, grand as in the type.” She got up, went to the kitchen, then came back with a flyer and sat back down next to him. “Ebony Steinway M, which if new would sell for around fifty thousand. Thirty-two thousand is a steal.”

  Marcus started chuckling. “Yeah, I agree with you about that. That’s a steal all right.”

  “See, that’s why you make me so mad.” She pouted and let the flyer float to the table. “My father bought me a Steinway M when I was young. And he was more than happy to do it. There was nothing too good for his little girl. Whatever he could do to give me the best, my daddy did it. I would think you’d want to do the same for your little girl.”

  “I do want Aaliyah to have nice things, but I’m not going to put myself in the poorhouse in order to do that,” Marcus said. “Aaliyah is only five. She’s not scheduled to play in Carnegie Hall, at least not yet. If you really want her to have a piano, I will be more than happy to check around music stores and buy her one. But I’m not planning on spending any more than eight thousand dollars for a piano.”

  “Just don’t get a cheap one,” Sasha said. “Look for name brands like Steinway, Yamaha, even a Kawai is all right. Just don’t buy a cheap piano. I don’t want people coming in my house and seeing an off-brand name on our piano. My mother would never let me live that down. Besides, I want Aaliyah learning to appreciate the finer things of life when at all possible.”

  “All right. I’ll be sure to ask for a name-brand piano.” Marcus picked up the flyer. “I’ll take this with me to help guide me.” He folded the flyer and slipped it into his shirt pocket.

  “You know, you could just give that money to me and let me handle it. I mean, I already know what to look for. That would keep you from having to get all bogged down trying to find one.”

  “It’s not a problem. When I find one, I’ll buy it and have it delivered here.”

  Sasha reached into his shirt pocket and slowly pulled the flyer out. “Seriously, you could give me the money and I could go online, check with eBay and see what they have. I hear there are some great deals on that Web site. If it costs less than what you give me for it, I’ll return the rest to you. This way it won’t interfere with you and your new girlfriend.”

  That statement made Marcus sit up even straighter. “My new girlfriend?”

  “Yes,” Sasha said as she patted his chest where the flyer had been. “Aaliyah told me you have a lady friend, and it sounds like you’ve seen her more than a few times. Dancing at a wedding, her coming over to your place, you going over to hers. Miss Melissa,” Sasha said, making a hissing sound with the “s” in the words Miss and Melissa.

  Marcus shrugged and wrinkled his nose.

  Sasha started playing with her hair, taking a strand and twisting it around her index finger, then pulling her finger out of it. “So…do you like her?”

  He tilted his head a little. “Yeah, I do.”

  “A lot?”

  He nodded as he pursed his lips tight, then relaxed them. “You could say that.”

  “Do you love her?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

  She moved in a little closer. “Well, Memphis and I are talking a little bit again. He claims Thelma set him up. And because I know my cousin all too well, I know there’s probably some truth to that. They both claim they had been drinking.” She hunched her shoulders. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

  Marcus was starting to feel really uneasy with Sasha leaning in so close to him all of a sudden. He stood up. “I don’t know this Memphis character, but personally, Sasha, I think you can have and deserve better.”

  Sasha stood up in front of Marcus. “I did have better. I was just too foolish to know it.” She held the folded flyer in her hand and carefully and slowly slid it back into his shirt pocket before patting it. “You know what I mean?” Sasha said.

  “I will see what I can find in the way of a piano for Aaliyah.” Marcus then started toward the stairway. “I’ll let you know when I’ve gotten it so we can coordinate a good time for it to be delivered. Can you get Aaliyah for me now?”

  Sasha came over next to him. “Sure thing,” she said. “But if you want me to handle getting the piano for you, you just let me know. I can be quite resourceful. Of course, you already know that.”

  “And you need to be careful on the Internet and especially on eBay. I hope you know you can’t always believe everything you see there. I hope you know that.”

  “Oh, I know that,” she said, smiling right before she sashayed up the stairs. “Aaliyah,” she said, “Daddy’s here for you.” She turned around, smiled at Marcus, then turned the corner. “Aaliyah!”

  Chapter 32

  Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

  —Psalm 127:3

  I spoke with Angela again, checking to see how married life was treating her after three months. She told me they were expecting a baby. I was too happy for her. She asked me not to tell Marcus yet because she had just told Brent and she wanted Brent to be the one to tell him.

  “Oh, Angela, that’s great! Congratulations to both of you,” I said. “Of course, I won’t say anything to Marcus. Wow, that is so exciting!”

  “So tell me. What’s happening with you and Marcus?” Angela asked. “Are wedding bells about to ring in the near future for the two of you?”

  I wanted to tell her that I thought we might be moving in that direction, but I decided not to. “Nothing so far. We’re
just spending a lot of time together, getting to know more about each other. And his daughter is a little doll.”

  “Oh, she is. Every time I look at our wedding pictures, she makes me smile. I mean, she just stepped right in there and was the best little flower girl,” Angela said.

  “So, when is the baby due?”

  “July ninth. Looks like I got pregnant right after I got married.”

  “That is so romantic.” I thought for a second what it must feel like to be married to the man you love and know you’re carrying his child. I wanted to ask her if she’d found out anything more when it came to her grandmother, but I didn’t want to dampen her jubilation.

  She hadn’t said anything else about it since telling me she’d read the notes her great-grandmother had written and had left with, of all people, Johnnie Mae Landris. For the most part, her great-grandmother had written about things surrounding her life, which Angela said was quite an interesting read. Even put in her well-guarded secret recipe for German chocolate cake. She’d also written about her children, all of them but especially the one rarely spoken of: Arletha Jane.

  Angela hadn’t told me everything, but she did say that her great-grandmother, Pearl, had written that Arletha had been a rambunctious child almost from the day she arrived on this earth. Like many teens, she was somewhat rebellious in her teenage years. But in her case, Arletha Jane had taken things a little further than most her age.

  At thirteen, she was sneaking out of the house at night, smoking, drinking, and who knew what else. When Arletha was fifteen, her mother learned she was not just having sex but having sex for money and things. Pearl had done all she could to try and turn her daughter around. But Arletha was more than a handful. Pearl had been embarrassed and ashamed by her daughter’s actions. The church folks were whispering at first, then loud talking about them, first behind their backs, then later to their faces. Her other children were starting to act out because of Arletha’s defiance.