by Mary May
Gideon nodded his head. “Yes, my friend, I believe I do. Thank you.”
D.J. came through the kitchen heading straight for the refrigerator. He saw Sabrina with the phone held to her ear. She smiled at him then said goodbye to whoever it was she was speaking to.
“Hey, Mom, what’s for supper?”
Reaching up, Sabrina ruffled his dark blonde hair. “I haven’t really thought that far ahead yet. Any suggestions?” She knew without asking what his answer would be.
“Cheeseburgers!”
“Sounds good to me, kid. Hand me that package of hamburger meat out of the fridge, please.”
D.J. handed her the package of meat then sat down at the bar to watch as she washed her hands then started patting out the patties for burgers.
“So who was on the phone?”
Sabrina smiled at him. “That was Cleo.”
“Oh, yeah? How is she? I sure do miss her!”
Nodding in agreement, Sabrina placed the first burger on the now hot grill. “I miss her, too. But I have some really good news -- she is coming for a visit!”
“For real? When? Do you think she will cook for us? I miss her Cajun boil nearly as much as I miss her.”
Sabrina laughed at her son’s wistful expression. “I bet we could sweet talk her into it.”
“Why is she coming? I mean, not that she needs any reason. But is there a reason?”
Sabrina placed the last of the burger patties on the grill. They were already sizzling and smelling good. She stalled for time because she didn’t want to be untruthful to D.J., but she wasn’t sure she needed to tell him her concerns about his sister. Turned out she didn’t have to; D.J. brought it up himself.
“Whatever the reason, I’m happy she is coming. Maybe she can make Charlie smile again.” He paused as reached for a pickle from the pile Sabrina had placed on the veggie tray for the burgers.
“Why do you say that, D.J.?”
He shrugged as he chewed his pickle. “I don’t know, Mom. Charlie is different. She is so sad…and mad! It seems like I can’t walk across the floor right without her yelling at me.”
Sabrina walked around the bar and gave him a hug. “I know. She hasn’t been herself lately. Truthfully, that is one of the reasons why I called Cleo. Somehow that woman just has a way of seeing right into the heart of a situation. So maybe she can help Charlie…our real Charlie find her way back to us.”
“I sure hope so, Mama.”
Logan stared at Charlie as she turned and walked away after telling him that she didn’t want to see him anymore.
“Charlie! Hang on! You can’t just walk away. I deserve some sort of an explanation.” Charlie stopped and waited as he caught up to her.
“There isn’t any explanation, Logan. I just feel differently now. I can’t tell you why. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be ugly. I thought a clean break would be less painful.”
“Less painful? Any break from you is going to hurt me, Charlie. You are not making any sense! Is it Nate? Do you still have feelings for him? Are you going to get back together?”
Charlie shook her head. “No, I’m not good for anyone right now. Not even myself. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just know that I’m angry and I’m hurt and I honestly don’t even know why or where it’s coming from. I know that doesn’t make sense, but that is what I am feeling right now.”
Logan reached out to take her in his arms but she stepped away.
“No…please… I’m not asking you to understand…just to please stay away.” Then quickly she walked to her truck and within seconds she was speeding away.
Nate sat in his car outside of his parents’ house. They knew he was coming out for a visit. He was now trying to work up his nerve to go inside. He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel hurt by them, but he had prayed nearly all night the night before and the Lord was helping him to be more understanding. It seemed like since coming home his life had been one confrontation after another. Maybe confrontation was the wrong word, although it felt right. He knew it was more of reconciliation. Finally he opened the car door and stepped out. “Let’s do this.”
He knocked on the front door and listened as Sally, his mom’s Yorkie, barked her head off. The door swung open and instantly he was engulfed in his father’s arms.
“Oh, son! It’s so good to see you!”
Nate patted his dad’s back, feeling a little awkward. “It’s good to see you too, Dad. Where is Mom?”
“I’m right here, Nathaniel…I’m right here!” His dad moved off to the side and Nate saw his mother with tears in her eyes that he had expected. It was the spray of lines around her eyes and the tinge of gray in her hair that caught him off guard.
Rushing to him, she clung to him. Nate wrapped his arms tightly around her, feeling her knees give way.
“My baby…oh, my sweet baby…” she sobbed over and over.
Finally Nate’s dad wrapped his arms around her, taking some of her weight. Not that it was much. Kate Jackson had never been a large woman. She usually carried just a few pounds more than she thought she should, but all it did was make her curvy. Now she was nearly gaunt. After they had walked into the living room, Nate gave his dad a closer look and saw that he too had aged quite dramatically. Lines were carved deeply in his tan face, and his usually thick dark hair was thinner and laced liberally with gray. He stayed silent as his dad went into the kitchen and came back out with a glass of water and a couple of blue tablets in his palm. Kate looked up at him as he held out his hand.
“Oh, no, Ricky…please, I don’t want those…not today. Nathaniel is home…My sweet Nathaniel is finally home!” Seeing the concern in her husband’s eyes, she held out her hand.
“How about if I take one now and one later?”
“Ok, Katie…that’s sounds good. I just don’t want you to get overly upset.” After swallowing the tablet, she smiled.
“I know… but there is no way I can be upset today…Nathaniel is home!”
Chapter 20
Nate smiled slightly as his mom scooted over to sit next to him on the couch. It seemed she wasn’t happy unless she was touching him in some way. He had told them about his recovery and the loss of his leg and the vision in his right eye.
“Oh, honey, that’s just superficial…the important thing is you survived and you’re still with us.” Kate looked down at the floor and Nate noticed that her hands were starting to shake. “Nathanial…I need…that is, we need…” She trailed off looking over to her husband for support. Ricky stood up and then knelt down in front of his son.
“Nate, what your mama is trying to say is that we are so sorry we couldn’t be there for you at the hospital. We wanted to be and we even tried, but…” After Ricky had stopped, Nate placed his hand on his dad’s shoulder.
“I understand…I really do. I know how hard it was for both of you after…after Ellie died.” He felt his mother stiffen at the mention of his sister’s name. They never said her name anymore. He intended to change that.
“Mom, dad…Ellie existed; however briefly, she existed. I won’t just put her in box and act like she didn’t. Not anymore. I want…no I need to talk about her…to remember her. I lost her, too.”
Both of his parents looked at one another then at Nate. Finally his dad spoke once more.
“Son, we know that we handled Ellie’s death badly. It’s a wound that was never allowed to heal because we didn’t address it. Then we made the same mistake with you. God has helped us to see that…You see, Nate, your mother and I have allowed God to heal our pain. We understand if you’re not at that point yet, but please don’t be as foolish as we have been and let pain and bitterness harden your heart toward God. For so long we blamed Him instead of seeking out His mercy and grace. We still don’t have the answer as to why God allowed our baby girl to die, but we have peace in understanding that one day we will know.”
Nate was dumbfounded to hear the words that were pouring from his father’s heart. He had
come to try to convince them to turn to God and here it was the other way around! Smiling, he cast a thankful look toward the heavens.
“Mom… dad, you don’t have to convince me of anything. I turned my heart and my life over to Christ in the hospital. I came here today hoping to convince you. But I see that the Lord has already beaten me to it!” The family stood to their feet and, holding hands, smiled at one another.
“Nathaniel, you couldn’t have said anything else to make your old mom’s heart happier except for one thing.”
“What’s that?” Nate questioned.
“Forgive us, son; forgive us for being so selfish and only seeing our own pain. Forgive us for not allowing you the natural process of grieving for your sister. Forgive us for…”
Nate pulled his mom into his arms, holding her tightly. “You’re forgiven. If that’s what you need to hear from me, then I forgive you both with all my heart!”
Several days later Sabrina tapped on Charlie’s door. “Sweetheart, someone is here to see you,” she said through the closed door.
“I don’t feel well, Mama. Please give whoever it is my apologies.”
“I’m just going to let you tell them yourself.”
Charlie groaned inwardly when she heard the sound of the door opening.
“I’m sorry but I really don’t feel…Cleo!” Charlie jumped to her feet and rushed over to throw herself into Cleo’s waiting arms. Tears unexpectedly filled her eyes as the familiar spicy scent filled her nose.
“Oh, there now… hush, child…Cleo is here.” She held Charlie, rocking lightly to and fro as she hummed an old Creole lullaby. Finally Cleo pulled back so she could get a good look at Charlie. What she saw made her heart ache. The once sparkling blue eyes were smudged with dark circles from lack of sleep. Strawberry blonde curls hung limp and dull. The poor child was nearly skin and bones and pale as a ghost.
“Here, my sweet bebelle, let’s sit down and you can tell Old Cleo what has you looking like a hank.” Charlie sat on her bed after scooting over to make room for Cleo.
“Oh, Cleo, I don’t even know where to start. So much has happened!”
“Well, why don’t you start at the beginning? Let’s start when Nate was in the hospital.”
An hour later Charlie finished her story. “So, I told Logan that I didn’t feel the same anymore and that I thought we shouldn’t see each other.”
Nodding her head slowly, Cleo thought over everything that she just heard. After a few minutes she reached out and placed her hand over Charlie’s heart.
“Let’s forget about Logan for right now. When you think about Nate, what do you feel right here?”
Charlie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know… nothing, really.”
Cleo tisked out loud at her. “Girl child, I didn’t travel all this way for you to sit there and lie to me. Now what do you feel in your heart when you think of Nate Jackson?”
“It hurts,” Charlie mumbled.
“I’m sorry -- what did you say?” Cleo pushed.
“It hurts, ok? It burns like I’m on fire! I can’t breathe for the pain sometimes!”
Nodding her head, she reached and took Charlie’s hand in her own. “Ok, now we are getting somewhere. Baby girl, your heart hasn’t healed…I would even go as far as saying as it hasn’t even begun to heal. You were wounded, and wounded deeply.”
“Then why did I feel better until he showed back up? I truly thought I was over him.”
“That’s because you used Logan as a Band-Aid. When Nate showed back up, it was like ripping the Band-Aid off and exposing the still-raw wound.”
Charlie covered her heart with her hand. “I didn’t use Logan…He saved me. I don’t know what I would have done without him, Cleo. I truly do love him.”
Cleo arched a brow at her. “Now just who you trying to convince? You or me? I have no doubt that you have strong feelings for this Logan. It sounds like he is a real nice guy and he did help distract you from your pain, but he also kept you from dealing with it. God understands that pain can sometimes be too overwhelming to deal with right away. So He will allow you time to get stronger and distance from the hurt, but mark my words, missy; He will make you deal with it.
“He will bring you to place where you can’t shove it under and ignore any longer. Did you know that holding on to all that hurt and bitterness will build a wall between you and God? Just how long do you think He will tolerate that?”
Charlie shook her head.
“Not very long, that’s how long. Now tell me, have you been feeling angry lately? Maybe resentful at the whole world for no apparent reason?”
Sniffling, Charlie nodded. “Yes, I’ve been so mean and hateful to everyone, I can’t even stand myself. That’s why I have been hiding in my room. I don’t know how to stop it…How do I stop it, Cleo?”
“You have to give it all to God…all of it. Stop hanging on to little bits and pieces like some sort of souvenirs. You have to let the anger and the loss and the bitterness go. There’s one more thing that you have to stop holding on to. You can’t keep holding on to Nate in your heart. Baby, all the dreams that you once shared with him are gone. I’m not saying that you won’t have new dreams with him; only the Almighty knows what lies ahead.”
Tears fell in rapid succession down Charlie’s pale cheeks.
“How? How do I truly let go of the only dream I ever had?”
Cleo cupped Charlie’s face in her hands, kissing softly one cheek then the other.
“By opening your heart and letting it fly away…”
The family all looked up as Cleo walked down the stairs. She smiled at their worried and anxious expressions. “Oh, stop frettin’; she is going to be just fine…just fine, I tell ya.”
Sabrina reached for Cleo’s hands as soon as she sat down at the table. “What did she say? Did she talk to you?”
“Yes, we had us a nice little talk, and more importantly Charlie had a nice little talk with her heavenly Father. Matter of fact, she was still talking to Him when I left her.”
Devon bowed his head and sent up a prayer of thanks.
“Thank you so much for coming, Cleo; we didn’t know what to do with her. She shut all of us out. You were the only other person we could think that might get through to her.”
Eyeing both Sabrina and Devon meaningfully, she turned to the twins. “So. I heard that someone was wanting some of my Cajun boil?”
Both the boys yelled and clapped.
“Tell you what, why don’t you go into the kitchen and dig out my old boiling pot and get the water started to boil. I will be in there in just a few minutes.”
After the twins left, she turned a serious eye back to Charlie’s parents. “I didn’t want to tell you this with the boys around, but we still have a problem.”
“What is it? Is Charlie not going to be ok? I thought you said she was better?” Sabrina looked at her with fearful eyes.
Cleo reached over and took her hand once more. “She will be fine but I wanted to tell you that there was more going on here than just Charlie being in bad mood.”
Devon frowned. “We figured that, Cleo. A bad mood is nothing like what we have been going through with Charlie.”
“You’re right. What we have here is a bitter heart demon at work.”
Sabrina gasped then quickly looked to make sure the boys were still out of earshot.
“A demon? In our house? Surely you’re mistaken!”
Cleo gave her a level look. “I don’t make mistakes about these things, and I never guess. I’m telling you Charlie has been influenced by a bitter heart demon.”
“I just don’t believe it…not my Charlie… She has always been so close to God. No, no, you must be wrong on this.” Sabrina shook her head in denial of Cleo’s words.
“Sabrina, what is it that you have such a hard time believing? The fact that demons exist or the fact that one is currently influencing your child?”
Sabrina looked at Cleo then she looked to Dev
on. “Honey, surely you don’t think that Charlie is possessed, do you?”
Devon shook his head. “Cleo didn’t say that Charlie was possessed. She said influenced -- there is a difference, and to answer your question, yes, I believe it. I believe it because it makes sense. Charlie was acting too out of character. Do you remember the ones I told you about in the bar I used to work at?”
Sabrina shook her head once more, clearly upset. “Yes, but I never thought one would be here in our house, influencing our daughter!”
“Charlie is going to be ok. Let me explain what a bitter heart demon is and how it is invited; then it will make more sense.” Quickly Cleo explained how it worked.
“So, now that Charlie is praying again, it will go away? Is that right?”
Cleo nodded. “It will definitely help. Of course we need to keep praying for her and I will try to spend as much time with her as I can. I don’t think this is something that she should be told right now. Let’s get rid of the thing first; then we will decide if she needs to know.”
That night the angels all gathered in the front lawn. They decided to meet there since Kavik was with them once more. “How have things been here?” Kavik asked.
“Up until recently it’s been quiet as far as demon activity goes. We haven’t had an attack of any merit since before you left.”
He looked at Gideon with a frown. “Why such a long dry spell?”
“I have no idea. You know as much as we do. The family is definitely being watched by the dark side of that; there is no doubt. The watchers stay just outside the property line so not to provoke any attacks. How are things with Cleo’s family?”