My Truth My Time My Turn

by Shelia E. Bell

  Khalil did a goose neck stretch and looked over at his mother. “Loves me? I don’t know about all of that.”

  “Believe me, a woman knows. And I know, without you telling me, you and her have been doing something outside of Holy Rock. You can deny it all you want, but you can’t fool me, and she can’t fool me. I see the way her face lights up every time your name is mentioned. I hear it in her voice over the phone when she talks about you. My mother always said to marry someone who loves you more than you love them.”

  Khalil’s face grew serious.

  Fancy could tell she had given him a reason to think seriously about what she’d said.

  They arrived at the hospital. “I’m going to park. I’ll meet you in the lobby, unless you want to head to CCU.”

  “No, I’ll wait on you.”

  “Cool. I’ll be back.”

  Fancy got out of the car, closed the door, and smiled as she strutted into the hospital. She knew her sons. All Eliana had to do was to keep doing what she was doing and she might just find herself walking down the aisle as Khalil’s bride.

  Standing inside the hospital entrance, Fancy took a second look at the gentleman standing in the corner of the entrance talking to another man. She took a step back to get a better look. The man looked like Winston. She hadn’t seen or talked to him ever since she blocked his number.

  Everything about their relationship, she wanted to forget. He had hurt her badly, had betrayed her, and if she never heard from him again it would be too soon.

  The stranger shook the other man’s hand, and turned to walk away. Fancy placed a hand over her chest and exhaled expecting to see him but when she got a full view of the man, he clearly wasn’t Winston.

  “You ready?” Khalil asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Yes, let’s go see my baby.”

  Arriving at the CCU, as required, they stopped and checked in at the nurses’ station.

  “Good afternoon, we’re here to see Xavier McCoy.”

  “Good afternoon, Pastor McCoy. Hello, Mrs. McCoy,” the pleasant nurse said. “I have good news.”

  Fancy’s curiosity was peaked as was Khalil’s.

  “Mr. McCoy was transferred to a private room this morning.”

  Fancy was elated. “Thank you, Lord. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She raised both hands in praise.

  Khalil smiled, grabbed his mother’s hand as he looked upward. “Yes, thank you, God.”

  “Where is he?” Fancy asked.

  “He’s in, let me be sure,” the nurse looked at the computer in front of her, entered something and then looked at Fancy and Khalil, “on the orthopedic floor, room 431.”

  “Thank you,” Khalil told the burgundy-haired nurse, before turning and walking away.

  Khalil and Fancy talked about how excited they were to be given the good news. It was a long walk, crooks and turns, following color coded hospital hallways. Two elevators later they arrived on the orthopedic floor.

  “Here it is,” Khalil told his mom, and pointed to room 431. He knocked lightly first before peaking his head inside the room.

  He opened the door and he and his mother walked into the dark hospital room. Standing next to his bedside, Fancy became overcome with emotion.

  Xavier’s eyes were shut, tubes were still in his nose but it appeared he was off the ventilator.

  “Xavier, can you hear me, baby?” Fancy rubbed his hand which remained swollen but not as swollen as it had been.

  The doctor walked into the room. “Good morning.”

  “Hello, doctor,” Khalil and Fancy replied respectively.

  “I’m bet you’re glad to see your son out of CCU.”

  Khalil nodded and Fancy responded by saying, “Yes, it is a blessing. How is he?”

  The doctor examined Xavier, removed the chart from the end of his bed, and read over his notes, then called Xavier’s name. Xavier didn’t respond. He turned and focused on Fancy and Khalil. “We removed the ventilator last night and he did well. We’re slowly taking him off some of the medication that has him sedated so you should see him opening his eyes soon and trying to communicate. But if he should wake up, I’d like you to encourage him to rest. I don’t want him doing a lot of talking. Right now we still have pain medication being fed intravenously every four hours. When he’s doing better and fully conscious, he’ll be able to push the pain medication button himself.”

  “So has his prognosis changed?” Khalil inquired.

  “He’s been upgraded to serious. We won’t know the extent of his head injury until he’s fully awake. I can’t say how bad it is or if there will be long term effects. When he first came into the trauma center, to be honest, we weren’t expecting him to survive, but I guess someone must have been praying for him because he’s made it this far.”

  Fancy teared up. “We’re a praying family, doctor. My son here,” she touched Khalil on his arm and looked at him, “is a pastor.”

  “Well, I’m a believer too, and I certainly believe in prayer and in the power of God to heal.”

  Fancy studied the doctor’s name badge. She’d read it before but hadn’t allowed it to register in her mind because so many doctors had worked on her son. But now, hearing he was a praying man, gave Fancy renewed hope and an even stronger faith.

  “Thank you, Dr. Daniels. You don’t know how much it means to hear you confess that you know the Lord.”

  “Yes, I do. I had a praying mother and grandmother. My father was a pastor before he died of cancer five years ago.”

  “God bless you, brother,” Khalil said.

  “Thank you. Well, let me continue my rounds. I’ll be back tomorrow. Keep sending those prayers up for this young man.” He patted Xavier’s leg and then exited the room, but not before tilting his head and he and Fancy exchanging a lingering smile at one another.

  “Thank you, we will, Dr. Daniels,” Fancy said, again, still smiling while she sat down in the chair next to Xavier’s bed.

  25

  “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:7-8

  Stiles unpacked his suitcase, took a shower, and then went to the refrigerator to see what he could find to eat. He was pleased to find a fully stocked fridge and freezer. Opening some of the kitchen cabinets, there was a plethora of canned goods, spices, and cooking utensils. He was set. The only thing is he wasn’t in the frame of mind to cook just yet. He wanted to get to Holy Rock as soon as he could so he opted to leave the cooking to later. He would stop along the way at a restaurant and pick up something or once he arrived at Holy Rock, he could always get something from the church cafeteria.

  Before leaving for Holy Rock, he made a call. “Hey, Pastor. It’s Stiles. How are you feeling?”

  “Blessed, son. How are you?”

  “I’m good, Pastor. I was calling to let you know I’m in Memphis for a couple of weeks, maybe even a little longer. I don’t know if you heard, but Pastor Khalil’s brother was involved in a serious car crash last week. He needed me to come and take his place so he would be free to be at his brother’s side and to support Fancy.”

  “No, I hadn’t heard about that, but it’s good to hear you’re home, son.”

  Stiles could hear in his father’s voice and tell from his conversation that today was a good day for Pastor. He didn’t sound confused in the least bit.

  “I’m heading to Holy Rock in a few minutes, but I’ll stop by to see you and Josie later today.”

  “Okay, son. I’ll tell Josie. She’ll be glad to hear that.”

  “Is she at home?”

  “Yes, she’s in the kitchen making us some lunch before our show comes on.”

  Stiles chuckled. “Okay, Pastor. I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Now who did you say this is?” Pastor asked.

  Stiles heart dropped. It was if the wind had been abruptly sucked out of him. “It’s Stiles, Pastor. Your son.”
>
  “Oh, Stiles. It’s good to hear from you, son.”

  “It’s good to hear your voice, Pastor. Like I said, I’ll stop by later on this afternoon to see you. Okay?”

  “Sure, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

  “Goodbye, Pastor.” Stiles ended the call, walked into the hallway, retrieved his car keys and door keys off the key holder, and walked out of the side door and into the garage.

  His upbeat attitude sunk immediately after talking to Pastor. Times like these, hearing his father go into the memory fog, was hard for him to bear. “God, you’re in charge. Give me the mental fortitude to persevere through any trail you set before me.”

  He got inside his ride, turned on the ignition, pushed the overhead remote, and backed out of the garage and driveway.

  Stiles was drawn from sad thoughts of Pastor by the music on the radio. His soul was immediately fed as he savored the soothing, healing words of a song Full of Grace music ministry had sung several times, “God Will Take care of Me,” by VaShawn Mitchell.

  Xavier struggled to open his eyes. Why was it such a difficult thing to do? All around him he saw the beauty of the skies and the bright rays of light ushering him closer to the voices. He looked around. At first the images appeared blurry and out of focus, but as he continued to look around they began to clear.

  “Xavier,” Pepper cried, grabbing hold of his hand and squeezing it. She’d been at the hospital for no more than ten minutes, having come as soon as she’d gotten off of work. It had become part of her daily routine. She left work in the afternoon, stopped by a place to pick up a sandwich and sides to take to the hospital with her, and she would stay until late at night, only to do it all over again the next day. On the weekend, she arrived early in the morning and remained by his side until late at night. One thing she had been glad about was Ian had not come to visit since the encounter he had with Fancy McCoy. He couldn’t call Xavier on his phone because it had not been recovered since the accident.

  Fancy jumped up from the chair and rushed to his bedside, as did Khalil. Khalil had been sitting in the loveseat style leather sofa in front of Xavier’s hospital bed.

  “Xavier, thank God, you’re back,” Fancy squealed, and both hands flew up to her mouth. Looking at Khalil, she said, tears flowing like a broken water pipe, “My baby is awake, Khalil. Xavier’s back with us.” She wiped the tears and leaned down and planted tiny kisses all over her baby boy’s face.

  When his mother rose upright, Xavier looked from Fancy’s face to Pepper’s face and then to his brother. He managed to show a slight smile. Opening his mouth, he tried to push the words out. In his mind, he was able to speak freely, but he found it almost impossible to say the words out loud, but he didn’t give up.

  “Ma.”

  “Yes, baby. I’m here. God brought you back to us.”

  He looked at Pepper. His vision still somewhat scattered, he was still able to make out her cheesy smile. His heart seemed to pick up its pace as his excitement accelerated. Where was he? When he tried to move his body it hurt like hell. He looked and saw his leg was wrapped in what he perceived to be a cast. His torso felt like it had been detached from his body. It was weird. The whole scene before him was weird. His throat ached and his hands felt numb.

  “Pepper?”

  “Yep, it’s me,” she giggled. “Boy, am I glad to hear your voice and see those beautiful brown eyes.” She also wiped tears away.

  What was happening? Why were they crying? Next, he saw his brother. Their eyes locked. Xavier struggled to speak. Grunts came out instead of words, his throat feeling raw like he had a bad case of strep.

  “Hey, there, li'l bro.” Khalil walked up from the foot of the bed and stood next to his mother, placing him closer to his brother.

  “We should call the nurse,” Pepper said.

  “Yes, you’re right,” agreed Khalil. “I’ll go tell them he’s awake.”

  Khalil rushed out of the room and went to the nurses’ station. Within minutes, he returned with a male nurse by his side.

  “So, you decided to awake from your beauty sleep, huh?” the nurse joked while approaching Xavier’s bed and reading his vital signs. “I’m going to contact Dr. Daniels. He’s going to be happy to hear this.”

  “Thank you,” said Fancy, moving aside from Xavier’s bedside to allow the nurse to get closer to Xavier.

  “How do you feel?” the nurse asked.

  Xavier stared aimlessly at the nurse.

  “Do you know where you are?”

  Xavier remained confused and incoherent, unsure of what the machines were and where he was. He managed to shake his head in slow motion from side to side.

  “You’re at Regional One Hospital. You were in a bad car crash. Do you remember that?”

  Again, Xavier shook his head no. Did he say I was in a car crash? How? When?

  Pepper remained planted on the other side of his bed, still holding tightly to his swollen hand. Her emotions were all over the place. She was glad she had been there to see Xavier open his eyes and call her name. Only God knows what she would have done had it been Ian who he woke up to and not her. That would have been crushing, but no need to think about that now. The odds were in her favor. She was the one he saw when he opened his eyes. She was the one he would remember being there, not Ian. It couldn’t get much better than this.

  Ian remained worried sick about Xavier. His sister gave him any news she heard but it wasn’t the same as seeing Xavier with his own eyes. Eliana told him Xavier hadn’t fully woke up, even after the heavy round of medications had been eased up.

  “If I was there, if he heard my voice, then I bet he would wake up. But that trick, Pepper, is up there like she’s really his lady. Guess she thinks she’s li’l miss whatever she thinks she is, since she’s got in good with his mother.”

  “Ian, stop getting yourself all worked up. I don’t think Pepper is like that. Before his accident, Xavier and her were, well they were acting like they were a couple. You know that, and you and him rarely hung out anymore,” Eliana told him while she sat at desk working on an excel report Stiles had asked her for.

  Of course, in her work space, Sista Mavis strained to hear what Eliana was saying. She thought she heard Eliana say her brother’s name. On a pretense of needing some paperwork, she got up from her desk, walked toward the open space leading into Eliana’s oversized workspace, and opened the supply cabinet.

  Eliana looked to her left and saw Sista Mavis standing at the open cabinet door. “Look, Ian, we’ll talk later,” she whispered. “Ears are wide open here. Love you, and please don’t let Pepper or Fancy get next to you. Go back to work. We’ll talk this evening.”

  Ian shuffled in his seat at work. “Yea, but you don’t understand. You and Khalil are hitting it off while Xavier and me are, well, let’s just say there seems to be no Xavier and me.”

  “It’s not like you were in love with him, Ian. You just hate to lose to anything or anyone. Knowing you the way I do, your relationship with Xavier would have been just another one of your conquests, and you would have moved on to your next victim.”

  “Ouch,” replied Ian. “And this coming from my own sister? How cruel is that?”

  Eliana laughed. “You know the truth hurts sometimes.”

  Ian half laughed too, knowing his sister was probably right. He hated to lose at anything. “I’ll talk to you later, sis, but call me before then if you hear anything.”

  “Okay, I will. Bye now.”

  Eliana ended the call and then watched from her peripheral as Sista Mavis closed the supply cabinet door.

  “Did you find what you were looking for, Sista Mavis?”

  Sista Mavis, pretending to be caught off guard, looked over her shoulder at Eliana. “Oh, yes, I did. I found exactly what I was looking for,” and proceeded to retreat to her desk.

  26

  “The welfare of sheep depends solely upon the care they get from their shepherd. Therefore, the better the shepherd, th
e healthier the sheep.” Kay Arthur

  When Stiles left Holy Rock, it was well after six p.m. Eliana remained with him.

  “Thank you for staying late this evening, Eliana. I don’t know what I would have done without your assistance. You’re a true gem.”

  “Thank you, Minister Stiles. I’m glad I could be of help.”

  “It’s a blessing isn’t it that Xavier woke up.”

  “Yes, it sure is. When Kha-, when Pastor Khalil,” she corrected herself, “called with the good news, I couldn’t help but give God praise.”

  “Yes, when I talked to him, I did the same. God is good.”

  “All the time,” Eliana added and they exited the doors of Holy Rock.

  Stiles, like he promised, headed to Pastor and Josie’s house. On the way, he stopped at a bakery and bought a half dozen of vegan chocolate cupcakes and a half dozen of vegan strawberry and kiwi cupcakes. They loved sweets. Since Josie had changed Pastor to mostly a plant-based diet, she had told him it was hard to find vegan desserts.

  Next, he stopped at a Kroger’s store and purchased a bouquet of flowers for Josie.

  Josie was a godsend to his father. Sometimes Stiles believed he didn’t express his appreciation for her in the manner she deserved. Josie had stuck by Pastor through some tough times and now she was proving her unconditional love yet again as Pastor faced a new challenge in his health. He wanted to do something to bring a smile to her face.