Child Of God (5) But when Michelle caught him cheating on her revenge would be to go back to her first love T.J.; he had women too but she still felt special to him. The sat up with Junior was too sweet to care if T.J. would take her back, with an addicts mind she did it all in spite. Monique had no idea that her plan would back fire and result in Destiny. When she was born it would be apparent that she was not Junior’s. She hadn’t entertained the fact that when he found out who Destiny’s father was that Junior would rat him out to his father. That’s why she tried to bribe him into giving her enough money to get away and into promising her that he would leave her baby daddy alone. What she did not know killed her but what she did know scared her; in her mind the entire law enforcement would be on Juniors side. A beautiful woman had become tattered and torn from a hard life, her knuckles darkened and hands rough because of the pipe. It seemed her confidence was comprised even before she faced the giants. A lesson that yielded only the cruelty of those that feed upon the poverty and the misfortune of others. For Michelle even though it would be a federal trail the district attorney knew exactly how she would present the case against the sheriff and his modern day Posse. This ladies and gentlemen is ghettoization, segregation, a form of separation, or apartheid in its highest form. We have an elite social class who have worked for over twenty years producing, manufacturing and delivering the very drugs they were sworn to defend and protect the community from into their laps. The drug infestation in such a long term effect had turned into an experiment which delivered stagnate minds and broken dreams and fields of needles that the sheriff and his clan felt obliged to not only to give their tortured pleasures to but also deemed illegal for arrest. The mental pictures of each ounce pushed past South Side’s playgrounds, the kilos sent from liquor houses to street corners to be sold in slide of hand by second and sometimes third generation drug dealers is a crime that can not be ignored. To the good sheriff they were potential felons to be lured into his stiff hand but to me and many others who coddled and hoped and dreamed for them they were strong men detoured from strong visions. Regardless of who got to argue for the fate of more than 200 people in the case Michelle and Tamara would be glad to see it go to trail. The duo detectives had handed a mastermind operation into the hands of the feds. The next mourning Michelle heard a horning bonking in her front yard like it was a car alarming going off. It was Tamara and she was in her night clothes. “Turn on your television right now, she commanded Michelle, “And let me in!” There they both stood in their bathrobes watching the Mountain Valley operation unfold before their eyes. They had did it, the sheriff held a coat over his face, Junior was pushed out in his wheel chair and everything from the sheriff’s office to the corner stores and liquor houses he owned on the South side were shut down. Michelle understood her friends horn would be the only alert to the biggest thing in her life and it was something she just stumbled into. Neither felt compelled to jump and holler because at that point they felt humbled in the moment. For Tamara her inner desire to rid herself of a wayward husband felt like God nudging her into a change. That fire burning in her veins to see something done in the name of her Creators was most precious moment in her life. It would take at least twenty minutes before their dialogue began. Whatever will be will be “”It’s not over till the fat lady sings” Chapter fifteen All seemed secure, restoration to match the devastation and more peace to battle the poverty. Southside would finally have an opportunity to see seeds sown in their backyards instead of sins and this time they could peak through their windows and watch them grow. Little girls could skip about and the boys find some intense game in the field to play while the seasoned elders watched on in rocking chairs on their porch. Tamara could really think of nothing better to show her daughter. Revitalization in her eyes was Jesus, He in her mind had used her sorrow and separation to spark the desire to come back home. Almost like the chapter of Haggai in the Bible Tamara knew that when God called for restoration it was through the people. His words to the prophet described every bit of their disparities. God told them that they had wine to drink but not enough to get drunk, clothing but not enough to get warm and a working man could not earn enough to live on. Then he was charging the people to rebuild his temple. Tamara thought even then in such a time appointed that God had required change in an area that comprised his most loved, the least of thee, and united two women in saving a city just like Deborah in the Bible. She knew it was an honor to be in the mist of God’s will and not care who you pleased but him. Her skin tingled at the thought of the journey she had taken and while sitting in the dark with only her robe on the former pastors wife enjoyed reflecting on God’s goodness. But there is something about when everything is going good that something really bad happens, the phone rang and it was the hospital. Sissy had had a massive heart attack at the grocery store. “O my God,” Tamara yelled into the phone. She scrambled in a joyless stroll grabbing garments without turning the lights on. When she got into her Volvo Tamara looked like a mixture of church and the streets. The sexy bar shirt/dress she wore when she met Kilo was accentuated by a pair of dazzling lime green Nike shoes and with purple socks. Tamara’s mind was racing too much to notice; it wouldn’t be until a nurse looked at her as if she was there for care that she realized. “I’m looking for Sissy Holland’s room mame,” she told the lady at the front desk. But her name was not listed, “Maybe she’s in ICU,” Tamara told her. “No mame,” the clerk said. “All we have for that name is a DOA from a grocery store and there is a little girl in the lobby waiting with a social worker for a family member to come.” Destiny sat almost in a fetal position in the corner; the poor child had seen so much pain in her life with out knowing it but this she saw with her very eyes. Sissy was a great person and Michelle did not doubt that Destiny was loved beyond measure but now the woman that she thought was her mother had died in front of her. Tamara scooped the child up cuddling and cradling her as she introduced herself to the social worker. Destiny would be going home with her. As soon as she got home she slid Destiny in Briana’s bed, the two would enjoy one another when Briana got back. She called Michelle the next day and asked how she might go about getting adoption papers in order. For Michelle the news was heart breaking, she heard the stillness in Tamara’s voice and although praise and confusion seemed strange bed fellows they still slid through each of her words. She promised to handle all the details for the adoption, it would entail getting T.J. to relinquish his rights and filing the proper paperwork. It would take a couple days to process a transfer for T.J. and Michelle was certain she could convince him that the adoption was for the best. Wanted: a good man “She doesn’t know her beauty” Chapter sixteen What Tamara considered God Michelle simply considered justice but since the lady was blind she had to lean towards faith. Michelle still could not figure how to balance her own life. Her grandmother had shielded her and when she lost her Michelle felt alone in the world, she was 22 but Destiny was still a baby. She was so excited when the sheriff and his clan of law offenders were arrested but Sissy’s death and Destiny’s fate let a lot of air out of that moment. Here Tamara, a single mom finally adjusting to taking the reigns of her life back would have to shoulder another child. That’s when Michelle thought how much joy the little girl could bring to her life. She and David had become telephone buddies, calling each other at least two times a day and that felt like she had a man. But Destiny was not just a temporary relationship, instead she was a child in need of the very love she would be willing to give. A man leaves but a child matures to continue loving you Michelle thought, a child is the most blessed investment you can make in life. Her mind was suppose to be on her date not a child; Michelle knew her hopes were not a reality. As she went through her closet continually fantasized about having a child of her own she decided to sit down and write what she wanted from a man. Karl was a thing of the past and if she was even going to entertain the thought of dating it would have to be on her terms. 1. Commitment would be the first requirement, a man who understood that he was to treat a woman the same way he wanted to be treated. 2. Next would be to know what baffled Agar, a wise man in the Bible, who said there were four things too mysterious to understand with one being the way a man and a woman fall in love. Michelle didn’t want any more than that and she wasn’t a scholar of scripture like Tamara. She had grabbed a hold to some scriptures when she went to church. In her eyes a man noted enough to be in the Bible and considered wise, an expert in the ways of man, the fact that he was humbled by the witness of lovers falling in front of his eyes meant to Michelle that it would be one of the greatest loves she could experience. After all the prosecutor reasoned that man was made because of our Creators desire to be loved and appreciated. “He is love and the rays he allows us to feel of himself are to share with others,” she said to herself. Although Michelle knew that love needs and feeds on others her quest seemed stifled. It was as if she and God had fell out and there was a distant relationship. She agreed there was a God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) but anything beyond that she had problems with. Michelle had stumbled in the church years ago when she was battling with her self. She’d began to hear voices, scriptures whispered into her ears and a mighty wind flowing through her home without the central air on. At that time Michelle thought she had a demon so instead of checking into a crazy house she reasoned that working none stop and cramming for law exams had made her a little frazzled. When she told her grandmother she made her go to church. The good old pastor seemed to eye her out of the crowd and at altar call as Michelle made her way like the woman with the issue of blood pastor William T. Franklin also made his way to her. He instructed the elders and ushers to come near with sheets, oil was placed upon her forehead, chest and hands as he began speaking in tongues. Michelle breathed in and out wondering if she had made the right decision, she no clue what she was suppose to be doing while they handled her. Then all of a sudden she felt something like lightning in her spirit and heard these words, “Go with me.” After that Michelle didn’t miss a event at church, she traveled to revivals, sang in the choir and read her Bible as if it were food. But she and God had fell out when he took her grandmother, her rock. It wasn’t anything personal Michelle thought in her belief, he had failed her just like all the other men in her life. She didn’t understand that even she had a allotted time to leave earth. Michelle existed in a world of her own with the pain of her past preventing her from seeing God’s true purpose. The list had turned into a time of reflection but Michelle still had to get ready for her date with David. The night would go so smooth, full of reminiscing and laughter. So much so that Michelle confided to her old friend that she wanted to adopt a little girl who had been caught up in the huge scandal she‘d been apart of. “That’s a great idea,” David told her. Turns out he had no problem with the fact that she could not have children and thought adoption would be a great solution to adding to her family. All of it was just banter, a hopeful dream until she found a way to ask Tamara and Tyrell. Matter of time “Life is a word best used while living” Chapter seventeen Tamara received word that T.J (Tyrell) would be able to attend the funeral. She had no idea how she would tell Destiny; the adjustment had been a little rocky because her daughter Briana had not arrived home. Destiny had began acting up at daycare and when Tamara went to see about her the child told her she was Briana’s mother and not hers. “I want my own Mommy,” Destiny ranted and raved as she rushed her to the car. Michelle might be able to give some quiet time for the two to be introduced and Tamara could also discuss with him who he wanted to be the guardian. When Tamara called her to ask the austere prosecutor broke down in tears. Michelle explained that she would love the opportunity to try and raise Destiny, “She’s so innocent and I know you’re a great person but I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind since I can’t have children of my own.” “I mean that’s what I feel like I’m missing and what I’ve prayed for,” Michelle said Tamara told her that she thought it was a great idea, she knew God was using the adoption in completing their blessings. The two agreed to attend a meeting with Destiny’s father and plead for him to hand over custody. After she ended the call Tamara went into her closet to pray. “God a new sheriff has been appointed and the South side looks like it did when I was a kid, before cocaine took residence to pimp the people.” “I thank you,” she said in a humility that seemed to flow from her eyes. Amid darkness the former pastors wife understood that life was not about titles or social standing but a personal resume in Christ. She knew what would her to heaven like her grandmother said because that should be everyone’s greatest concern. But in the mist of living Tamara saw how easy it was to misunderstand each moment. She could have given up, or in but each day had been the making of her breakthrough. Every Sunday morning she had given the stirring prayer (the role of the pastors wife in there old church) ushering the Holy Spirit into their worship but hadn’t figured out how to keep that feeling going through the week. Now she understood that it was the accumulation of prayers and action that allowed her to move with God in his will. She learned drastic change could be God’s will. Judgment a task best left to him; a mortal man incapable of figuring out another persons worth meant weighing them on their present without considering their grace and their past. Tamara saw that God called some at an early age, others he searches for when they are seasoned like the thief on the cross with Jesus (doesn‘t mention which side he was hanging out with him on). God knows that our purpose is not bound in titles, our treasury no matter how massive is still no more than a pile of rubbish in his sights Tamara thought. She’d watched him move effortlessly through her pain and leave her standing to see his glory flowing through desolate streets. She knew South side residence had sent up many prayers and God had allowed such a time as she lived in to answer it. Tamara knew T.J. would have no problem with Michelle adopting Destiny because in his eyes she solved Monique’s murder for him. Even Kilo admitted at a South Side altar that he too had had a hand in Monique’s murder; trembling they said from the fear the young man learned if he could give his life and sins to God he could be forgiven. With his immunity solid from the case his pastor had taken the young man under his wings and said his redemption was tied up in giving back. Kilo was now preaching on the corners that he supplied dope to. They had all weathered the storm, received a touch from the masters hand when the Devil had reeked so much havoc for so long. “Oooh Jesus,” Tamara belted out. “You always do it, always make a way out of no way, make the impossible possible.” Briana would be home soon and there would be so much catching up to do as they stepped into their new beginning. “I’ve been called everything but a child of God,” Tamara said while she exited the closet. “After all I’ve been through and seen that is exactly what I am, what I’m proud to be… cause man ain’t got no heaven or hell to put me in.” List of main characters 1. Tamara Stevens: During the restoration Tamara began a ministry for at risk children in the South Side community. She and her daughter, Briana, would enjoy a new beginning by making the area a place where a child could dream. 2. Pastor Stevens: Pastor eventually started a new church comprised of his old members and married Deborah. He is back to his old tricks. 3. Michelle Winters: went in private practice as a attorney to work for the Department of Social Services as an adoption advocate. She adopted Destiny and the two are enjoying forming a new bond. 4. Karl: was locked up for child support. 5. David: Would reestablish a life long friendship with Michelle. The two decided to expose Destiny to the church and are both active in her sports activities. 6. T.J. (Tyrell Jones): gave up his rights to his daughter Destiny but still writes her and sends pictures. T.J. began a Bible study group in his cell block. 7. Kilo ( Kevin Otis): became a prominent pastor in the South Side community, helping to bring many young men and women to Christ. Sheriff Ben Reid, Junior and his posse: were arrested never to see the light of day, their conviction led to the arrest of a large Mexican cartel.
Copyright © 2009 Bridgett Nesbit |