Practicing What You Preach

by Vanessa Davis Griggs

  Angela walked up onto the back deck. She started trying to look through the patio door. Vertical blinds obstructed a clear view, but Angela was determined to angle her body just right to see something.

  Out of nowhere, Angela started trying to open the glass patio door, to no avail. “I see her,” she said. “She’s lying on the floor in the kitchen.”

  Not being able to budge the patio door, Angela then headed toward the front of the house. The whole time I was thinking that we couldn’t just break into this woman’s house like this, even if something had happened to her. I started dialing 911 as I trotted to keep up with Angela, thinking that, being pregnant, she didn’t need to be running around like that.

  I was talking to the dispatch operator when Angela reached the front door again. She was trying to open it as though she thought it might possibly have been left unlocked. The police and the ambulance arrived almost at the same time. They gained entry into the house quickly. Angela and I followed them, although we stayed out of their way.

  A paramedic put Arletha on the stretcher.

  “Is she alive?” Angela asked. “Is she going to be all right?”

  “Are you a relative?” one of the paramedics asked.

  “Yes,” Angela said. “I’m her granddaughter.”

  “Well, you can follow us over to the hospital. For now, she’s still breathing. You need to bring her information with you.”

  Angela asked which hospital they were taking her to. After they told her, she looked at me. Without even having to ask, I just said, “We’re there.”

  Angela grabbed my arm as they made their way out. She pulled me off to the side, out of earshot. “We don’t have her information,” Angela whispered. “We need to find her purse, see if her insurance card is in there, and then take it to the hospital.”

  The more I thought about this, the more I could see this was not going at all according to plan. What disturbed me even more was the answer Angela had given when she was asked if she was a relative.

  “Why did you say you were her granddaughter?”

  “Relax. I had to make sure they’d let us follow them to the hospital.”

  Angela told the police we would lock up on our way out. When they left, we began to search the rooms looking for her purse. As tempting as I’m sure it was for Angela, she didn’t take the opportunity to look through Arletha’s things.

  “Found it,” Angela said. She opened it up and looked through her wallet. “I don’t see a health insurance card in here.” Angela found Arletha’s driver’s license, which gave her address and date of birth, but no social security number, which might have helped them with an insurance number. “She’s only sixty-two, not old enough for Medicare yet.”

  “Where do you think she would have put an insurance card if not in her purse?”

  “That’s if she has one,” Angela said. “There are a lot of people who don’t have health insurance at all. They just hope they don’t get sick or ever have to go to the hospital.”

  We continued to look in various bedroom drawers. “Well, if they find out she doesn’t have health insurance they’re going to transfer her to Cooper Green.”

  “Thank God for Cooper Green. I’m just thankful people have somewhere to go at times like these. It’s sad how people right here in America are having to live without access to medical care. It’s sad and it’s really a shame.”

  I found something with Arletha’s social security number on it. We decided to take that with her purse containing her driver’s license.

  “Let’s check the bathroom,” Angela said.

  “For what?”

  “To see if she takes any type of medication. The hospital will need to know if she is allergic to anything or is taking any prescription drugs.”

  I thought about it a second. “Maybe you should level with the hospital and tell them you’re really just a friend and you don’t know anything about her.”

  “Yeah, I was just thinking that.”

  I don’t know if I just hadn’t noticed it before or whether she had just started, but Angela was trembling. I gave her a hug. “Let’s go. Give me your keys, and I’ll drive us to the hospital.”

  She nodded and handed me her keys. We locked Arletha’s house using the keys for the dead bolt we found in her purse. Fortunately, when they broke in, the dead bolt wasn’t on, so the doorjamb wasn’t damaged. This all seemed like it had taken a long time, but in truth, only fifteen minutes had passed since the ambulance had taken her away. It always amazes me how truly relative time is. The way it seems to speed up and go quickly for some things, while with other things, it feels like an ant trying to crawl through molasses.

  We arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes later. They gave Angela a hard time because she didn’t have much of the information they needed. I called Marcus and told him what was going on.

  Marcus asked, “Is Brent there?”

  “No, he went to a church where Pastor Landris was to speak this afternoon in Montgomery. He should be home soon, though.”

  “Well, I’ll call him on his cell phone and let him know what’s going on. How’s Angel?” Marcus asked, calling Angela by the name everybody else except me seemed to call her. I had tried calling her Angel. But when you first meet someone and they tell you one name and you get used to, it’s hard to switch. Angela had said either name I chose to use suited her. So I stuck with Angela. Especially since she was getting married when I met her and everything that was done in the course of her wedding used her legal name.

  “Thanks, Marcus.”

  “I’ll come over to the hospital after I finish,” Marcus said.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I know. But you never know. I might end up being some help. If not, I just want to make sure the two of you are okay.”

  I looked at Angela, who did seem to be a lot more upset than I was. She liked Marcus. If Brent couldn’t be here with her, Marcus might help keep her mind off all the things I’m sure were going through her head.

  I walked back over to Angela. “Marcus is calling Brent to let him know what’s going on, and then he’s coming over.”

  “He didn’t have to do that,” Angela said.

  “You know Marcus,” I said.

  She smiled. “Yeah. Marcus is one of a kind for sure. I hope things work out for the two of you. He deserves to have a good woman in his life.”

  “Well, we’ll see where things go.” I took a deep long breath.

  Fifteen minutes later, a nurse came into the waiting room “Mrs. Underwood?” she said, looking out among the sea of people sitting there.

  “Yes,” Angela said, standing up and walking toward her.

  “Dr. Madison wants to talk with you.”

  Just then Marcus came up. He hugged Angela.

  “You want us to go with you?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “I’ll be all right. After all, she’s not really my grandmother, right? She’s just a woman I met, what, once? A woman who came to my wedding and didn’t even think enough to speak to me? You and I just happened to be at her house and found her lying unconscious on the floor. That’s all.”

  Marcus grabbed Angela’s hand and then mine. “Let’s say a word of prayer right now,” he said.

  As he prayed, I felt a calm wash over me. Angela then followed the nurse to find out what was going on as Marcus and I continued to hold hands and wait together.

  Chapter 43

  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

  —Jeremiah 29:11

  Brent called Marcus back as soon as he got his message. Pastor Landris brought him to the hospital, which really worked out well. This way Brent could drive Angela’s car home and Marcus could take me home. Angela definitely was in no shape to drive. Pastor Landris was there for about ten minutes. He prayed with us before he left to go home. It was a little after ten o’clock—a bit late now, especially to be at
a hospital.

  Angela had learned from the doctor that an aneurysm had burst in Arletha’s brain.

  “They’re not sure she’s going to pull through,” Angela said. “But the doctor said if we hadn’t found her when we did, and if they hadn’t gotten her to the hospital as quickly as they did, she’d be dead now.”

  “What were you doing over there?” Brent asked.

  “It was God. God led her to go over there at that time,” I said, once again sticking my nose where it didn’t belong. But I knew where Brent was likely going with this.

  I was telling the truth. God had led her. Angela believed in her spirit that she was supposed to go over there on this night at that time. Had she not yielded to the voice of the Lord, Arletha would most likely be dead. At least now, she had somewhat of a fighting chance. And it didn’t matter whether she was really Angela’s grandmother or not. She was a human being who was in need of help. Somehow in God’s wisdom, He was able to move Angela on this night to go over there. No one knows the plans of God, but I was seeing more and more that if we don’t just talk to God, but also listen, He truly will direct our path. He will order our steps.

  Marcus put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. It’s as though he knew what I was thinking. Ironically, I didn’t realize until he did that just how much I needed a hug at that precise moment.

  “I’m glad you followed what your spirit was telling you to do. Whatever your initial reasons may have been, God used it,” Brent said to Angela. “Do you want any coffee or anything?” he asked, still looking at his wife.

  Angela shook her head. “I’m trying to cut back on caffeine, remember?”

  “Oh, why is that?” Marcus asked.

  Angela looked at Brent. “You haven’t told him yet?” Angela said.

  “We hadn’t seen each other or talked in a while,” Brent said.

  I looked at Brent, not believing he was just now about to tell Marcus, one of his closest friends, if not his best friend, that he was going to be a father.

  “So what’s going on?” Marcus asked, looking at Brent.” Haven’t told me what?”

  I tried to act like I didn’t know since I hadn’t told him either. Then again, I was asked not to so Brent would have the pleasure.

  “We’re going to have a baby,” Brent said. “July…” he looked at Angela for help with the exact due date.

  “July ninth,” Angela said, smiling and rubbing her abdomen.

  “I thought there was something different about you,” Marcus said to Angela. “Oh, man, that is so great.” He addressed his last comment to Brent as he gave him one of their manly hugs.

  “Thank you, guys, for staying here with me. I know Arletha is no kin to any of us. But she doesn’t have anyone, that we know of,” Angela said.

  “Do you really believe that or are you just saying that to throw me off the trail?” Brent asked Angela in a serious tone.

  “Believe what?” Angela said

  “That this woman is no kin to you?”

  Angela lowered her head, then looked back up. “I’m pretty sure she’s not my grandmother.”

  “How is it you’re so certain all of a sudden?” Brent asked.

  “I just know. It’s time I faced reality. No matter how much I wish a thing to be true, it’s not going to make it so. That woman in there fighting for her life needs our prayers. That’s all I’m going to concentrate on now.”

  “Did they find her insurance information?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t look like she has any health insurance,” Angela said.

  “That’s not good,” Marcus said, shaking his head.

  “I know,” Angela said. “They asked who would be responsible for the bill if they kept her here, not that they could transfer her out at this point.”

  Brent looked at Angela. “And what did you tell them?”

  Angela didn’t answer him.

  “Please tell me you didn’t say you. Please tell me you didn’t,” Brent said.

  “Brent, the woman needs care. They brought her in here to get help. What was I supposed to do?”

  “You do what everybody else does. You stay out of it if it doesn’t concern you directly. Especially something like this,” Brent said.

  “The worst-case scenario would have been to take her to another hospital. Do you have any idea how much it costs per day just to stay at a hospital?” Marcus said. “This woman from our church was in the hospital a few months ago. She was there for four days. Her bill was over ten thousand dollars. And that didn’t include the doctor’s bill.”

  “What was I supposed to do?” Angela repeated. “If they had tried to transfer her, she would have died. She wasn’t in any shape to be moved just because she doesn’t have insurance. Are we not our brothers’ keepers? Are we not our sisters’ keepers?”

  “Yeah, but you could have just let her be responsible for her own bill,” Brent said. “Look, baby. I’m not trying to sound harsh or insensitive or anything. But if you signed to be responsible for her bill, that means they are going to be looking for you to pay it if she doesn’t. Sure, we have a little money, but we don’t have money like that.”

  “Oh, I get it. We go to church. We talk about love. We talk about caring for the poor. We talk about whatsoever we do unto the least of these who can’t do for themselves that we do it to Christ. We talk about missionary work in other countries. But when we have an opportunity to practice what we preach, practice what we’re sitting in church week after week supposedly hearing and learning every single Sunday and Wednesday right here in our communities, we don’t translate that into doing.” Angela stood and walked away from Brent.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I feel I am supposed to do more than just talk about what a great Christian I am. I don’t expect to have to pay this bill completely by myself.” She turned to her husband. “I would never do anything like that to us. But I couldn’t just turn my back on this woman. I’ll do what I can, put together a fund-raiser. And no, I didn’t do it thinking she’s my grandmother and that I needed to be sure she was okay for that reason.”

  “Are you sure?” Brent asked, gently grasping Angela by her shoulders. “Are you sure you’re not thinking this is your grandmother and maybe prolonging her life will help you get to the truth? Are you sure you aren’t doing this thinking she will feel she owes you if she pulls through? Thinking that this will cause her to level with you?”

  Angela leaned her head back and looked up toward the ceiling. She looked back at Brent. “This is neither the time nor the place for us to be having this discussion. I’m sure neither Melissa nor Marcus wants to hear us hash this out.”

  “Angel, baby. I know you’re a caring woman. That’s what I love so much about you. That’s why I love you so much.”

  “So what do you want me to do, Brent?” She looked at her husband. “What do you want me to do now? Do you want me to go in there and tell them I’ve changed my mind?”

  “I don’t know what I want you to do now,” Brent said. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we just go home, and we can sort through all of this there.”

  “Fine,” Angela said as she headed toward the exit.

  It was at that moment that I realized how uncomfortable it made me to hear married people argue. I hated hearing my mother and father when they argued. There was always that scary thought in the back of my mind that they would divorce, and I would end up like so many of the other children in our neighborhood who didn’t have a father around. Diddy-bo and I were always the envy of our community. We were one of the few families who had a mother and a father in the house, living together as husband and wife. Yes, there were plenty of men and women who lived with each other. For whatever reason, those people may have been together for years but they never married. But our family and about three others in the community were like an endangered species.

  Then my daddy died suddenly in that car accident, and we became like the other children who didn’t have a father in the hou
se. Still, I had my memories. And the only bad memories I really had that I managed to bury were my parents’ arguments. I hated when they fussed with each other.

  I felt this way hearing Angela and Brent. I knew they loved each other. But most couples who marry loved each other at one time before something happened. The next thing you know, they don’t love each other enough to stay together and make it work.

  When I finally marry, I want things to be different. I always dream of things being different for me and my husband. But as I watched these two who I know love each other dearly, I realized that in real life there would be problems and disagreements in a marriage. But we have to learn how to work through them, not cut and run at the first sign of trouble.

  Marcus took me home. It was eleven thirty. After he turned off the ignition, and we sat there for a few minutes, I touched his hand.

  “You and I need to talk,” I said.

  “I was just thinking the same thing,” he said.

  We went inside, knowing we needed to lay some things on the table.

  Chapter 44

  They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

  —Psalm 64:6

  Marcus knew he needed to have a heart-to-heart talk with Melissa. He had danced around this thing with Sasha. Yes, he had fallen in love with Melissa. His plans were to ask her to marry him on Valentine’s Day because he knew how close they had gotten. Sure, they could date for a year, then get engaged for a year before getting married. But given the way he felt about her, that wasn’t going to work for him. He also knew he shouldn’t move too fast and end up making a mistake he would later regret.