Redemption

by CaSandra McLaughlin

  She looked at the card DeWayne had given her and noticed that he was the owner and operator of H.L.M.W. Transportation. DeWayne's office and cell phone numbers were listed. Tania held the card in admiration and then placed it in her wallet. She didn't know if she would ever get up enough courage to call him.

  After returning to her hotel room, Tania called Leslie to check on her before going to bed.

  “Hey, how are things going?”

  “Things are going ok. I'm staying here at the hospital with Mom.”

  “How is she feeling?”

  “She's fussing, talking about she needs some food other than the bland soup they gave her. You know mama has to have extra seasoning on all of her food. That's something the doctor said she'll have to cut back on because they are putting her on a special diet.”

  “Uh oh, she's not going to like that. She loves soul food.”

  “Yep that's what I said too; no more fatback, pork chops, chitterlings, hog maws, nothing. She's going to have to really change her eating.

  “I'm sure with time, she'll adapt.”

  “Leslie, text me Naomi's number, please.”

  “Ok I'll send it to you when we hang up.”

  Tania was embarrassed by the fact that she didn't have either one of her sisters' phone numbers.

  “Tania, have you thought any more about staying for the wedding?”

  “I plan to stay. I have spoken with my assistant, Stacy, and she's going to make sure the store is well taken care of.”

  “Good for you. I'm so proud of you.”

  “It's not me, Leslie, it's the God in me. I had to seriously pray and ask God to help me endure this. He's the one to give the credit to.”

  “Well, praise God for helping you to come to this revelation; it's long overdue. Anyway, girl I'm sleepy, see you tomorrow.”

  “Ok, goodnight.”

  Leslie sent Tania Naomi's phone number but Tania decided to wait and call tomorrow because it was getting late.

  The next morning, Tania woke up at 7:00 am. She couldn't sleep because she'd replayed DeWayne saying that she was beautiful over and over again in her head.

  She got up, got showered and dressed and went down to the lobby to eat. A middle-aged couple sat across from her, sharing laughs and eating off of one another's plate. Watching them made Tania really think about how lonely she really was. Sure, she'd met several different guys at church, even met a few that came into the bookstore, but she didn't have any real prospects.

  She watched the couple more and wondered if they had children, what their family life was like and just thinking of all of that made her feel some kind of way.

  Retrieving her purse and collecting her thoughts, Tania left the hotel and headed for the hospital to visit her Aunt Jean.

  She prayed on the drive over to the hospital that her visit with her Aunt Jean would be pleasant. Tania hadn't heard from Mona and hoped she wouldn't bring any additional drama to the hospital.

  Tania found a parking space and went inside the hospital feeling better than she had the day before.

  “Knock, Knock,” Tania said before entering the room.

  “Well I’ll be John Brown! That's Ruby's daughter, Nia,” Rev. Black said.

  “Hello, Rev. Black, good to see you,” Tania replied.

  Rev. Black was the Pastor of the church that she, her mother and sisters attended. Mt. Zion Fellowship of Praise was one of the three black churches in Sweet Lily.

  “Nia, Lord have mercy, Jesus. I have prayed and asked the good Lord not to take me away from here until I laid eyes on you again. I hope this don't mean He finna take me,” Aunt Jean said.

  Aunt Jean was sitting up in her hospital bed with her Bible in her lap, talking as if she hadn't had a heart attack.

  “Aunt Jean, I'm here. No need to talk about leaving. You look great,” Tania said, hugging her aunt.

  “Well Jean, since you got company, I’ll come back later. Y’all be blessed,” Rev. Black said and exited the room.

  “Thanks for coming, Pastor,” Leslie said.

  “Nia, what in the world have you been doing with yourself? You look good and healthy.”

  “Well, I worked for the loan company for a while. Then opened up a bookstore.”

  “I'm glad to see you doing good for yourself, but no matter where life takes you, you should never forget your family, you hear? I know things were not great when you left here. We tried reaching out to you, but you didn't reach back. Don't ever think we don't love you. Every family got issues, but at the end of the day we are the only family you got. Friends come and go but family is forever,” Aunt Jean said in a stern but loving tone.

  “Yes ma'am,” Tania said. There was no need to give her aunt a rebuttal.

  “Naomi called. She'll be here in a minute,” Leslie informed Tania.

  “Ok, great. I didn't call her last night because it was too late.”

  “You'll be staying for the wedding, right Tania?” Aunt Jean asked.

  “Yes, I will be here for the wedding.”

  “Well, good. It's about time you girls get together and mend whatever is broken. Ruby would be glad to know y’all acting like you got some sense.”

  “Aunt Jean, I'm praying that my sisters and I can move forward.”

  “Well if that's what you're praying it will happen; prayer still works baby. God's hands is all over this. Nia, He knew this day would come before we arrived here. You just watch Him work it out. Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus in advance.” Aunt Jean waved her arms and shouted as if she needed an usher.

  “Mama, don't get yourself too worked up,” Leslie warned.

  “Worked up my foot, humph; God got me, I got to praise Him. He's just been too good to us all, thank you, Jesus.” Aunt Jean continued her praise.

  Thirty minutes later the nurse arrived and said they would be taking Aunt Jean to have an X Ray. Tania and Leslie decided to just wait in the waiting room until she returned.

  Naomi arrived at the hospital shortly after that.

  “Girl, what took you so long?” Leslie asked.

  “I went by to see Zack first. We needed to go over a few things concerning the wedding.”

  “Go over what... the plans for the wedding night?” Leslie joked.

  “Hahaha, very funny, Leslie.”

  “Naomi, do you have a picture of Zack? Where did you guys meet? Tell me everything,” Tania inquired.

  “Well we met at my friend Kendra's barbecue last summer. He was living in Hallsville at the time. We spent the entire night talking, exchanged numbers and we've been together since then. He’s a supervisor for Cable Max, so it was easy for them to transfer him—they're everywhere. Here's a picture of my boo,” Naomi showcased a picture of her and Zack on her iPhone.

  “Awww, y’all look so cute together.”

  “Where are you working?”

  “I'm a librarian at the Sweet Valley Community College.”

  “Girl, you know she's a bookworm just like you, so that's her ideal job,” Leslie chimed in.

  “Reading is fundamental, and it takes me to another place,” Naomi added.

  “Girl, an airplane can take you to another place, “Leslie chuckled.

  “Leslie you a mess. Anyway, Tania are you staying for the wedding?”

  “I've decided to stay for the wedding, but I don't feel comfortable being in the wedding, just being there is good enough for me.”

  “Oh Tania, thank you for saying you'll stay and I understand and won't pressure you.” Naomi hugged her.

  “Have you talked to Mona?” Tania asked.

  “No, I tried to call her, but she's not answering her phone. She'll come around.”

  “Hopefully so, but hey, guess who I ran into last night at Wal-Mart?”

  “Who?” Leslie asked anxiously.

  “Guess,” Tania said, teasing them.

  “Look, ain't nobody got time to be playing the guessing game. just spit it out!” Naomi said.

  “I saw DeWayne Watkins.
” Tania gleamed.

  “No wonder you came in the room glowing. I knew you looked different today, so what did he say?” Leslie quizzed.

  “Nothing, I literally bumped into him with my basket. I was surprised he even remembered me.”

  “So ok get to the juicy part; what happened?” Leslie said, about to burst with excitement.

  “You are so crazy. There was no juicy part. He gave me his card and told me he'd like for us to chat.”

  “Let me guess... you haven't called, have you?” Naomi asked.

  “No, I haven't called him. I don't want to seem too anxious, and besides, I wouldn't know what to say.”

  Naomi suggested, “Call him and just have a regular conversation and just let things fall into place from there.”

  “Or you can call him and say I like you, let's do this.” Leslie laughed.

  “Leslie, girl, stop playing. Listen, Tania, you need to call him, especially if you think he is really interested in you.”

  “Really? You think so, Naomi?” Tania said as her heart began to beat fast.

  “She's right. You need to call him. You have nothing to lose.”

  In her heart Tania felt the same way, and although she hadn't seen DeWayne in years, her feelings about him never left. She'd often wondered how things would have been if she'd only gone to the morp with him back then. After all these years she finally had the chance to let him know how she felt. She wanted to tell him, but she just didn't know if she could do it.

  Chapter 14

  The week went by fast, and Naomi and Tania found her a dress for the wedding, but she still hadn't heard from Mona. The rehearsal dinner was two days away and both she and Naomi had hoped that Mona would come around before then. Mona had sent word through Leslie that she was still in the wedding and would be at the dinner. According to Leslie she never mentioned Tania and the conversation was very brief.

  Tania still had not gotten up the nerve to call DeWayne and was hoping that she'd run into him again. Sitting in her hotel room alone, she decided that she would give him a call. Slowly she dialed the number, letting the phone ring twice before she quickly hung up.

  DeWayne immediately called her back, which sent her nerves on edge and with a panting breath, she answered.

  “Hello, this is DeWayne. I’m returning a call,” he said.

  The sexiness of his deep voice made Tania's heart skip an extra beat.

  “DeWayne... hi, it's Tania,” she said, almost in a whisper.

  “Tania, I was beginning to wonder if you were still here. I hadn't heard from you and couldn't call because I didn't have your number, but now I can lock you in.”

  Lock me in forever, Tania thought.

  “It's been a busy week. I've been running with my sister getting things ready for the wedding this weekend.”

  “Oh yeah, that's right. I saw her picture in the newspaper. Hopefully you'll have a date.”

  This guy was a piece of work. Why would he think that I would even be interested in calling him if I had a date? Does he think I’m loose?

  “Tania, you do know I'm talking about me, right?” DeWayne confirmed.

  “No, I didn't know you were talking about you,” Tania said relieved.

  “I've always wanted to go out with you. That's why I wanted you to ask me to the morp. You spent our entire senior year dodging me and I honestly didn't know how to approach you. I promised myself if I ever got a chance to ask you out, I wouldn't let the opportunity pass me by.”

  “Is that right?” Tania said, perking up.

  “Yes, you are correct and I honestly would love to see you tonight if that's ok with you.”

  “Where would we go on a Thursday night? It's almost 8:00. This is the country. Stuff closes when the sun goes down.”

  “Tell you what, let me surprise you. Is it ok for me to come and pick you up?”

  “Ummmm sure, I'm at the Hampton, and I can be ready in about 30 minutes,” Tania said.

  “Ok, I'll call you when I arrive.”

  “Ok, sounds good.”

  Tania hung the phone up and raced around the room looking for something to wear. Luckily she'd picked up a few nice items when she and Naomi had gone shopping at Bealls. She decided to wear a pair of ripped jeans, a blue and white off-the-shoulder top and her new pair of denim wedges that Naomi convinced her to buy.

  Standing in front of the mirror Tania scrutinized at herself from every angle. She'd hoped that this outfit didn't make her look larger. Her stomach wasn't looking too large, thanks to the Spanx girdle she swore by. She'd put on some light makeup and pulled her twists into a cute bun. Normally she wore her hair down.

  Satisfied with her look she sat and checked her Facebook page.

  After going through her notifications, DeWayne called to say he'd arrived. Tania headed down to the lobby.

  Just as Tania got off the elevator, she spotted DeWayne parked in front of the lobby door right out front.

  DeWayne saw Tania and immediately got out of his truck and greeted her with a smile and a hug. He opened the door and secured her on the passenger’s side.

  “Tania, you look absolutely beautiful.”

  “Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself.” Tania blushed. “Where are we going?”

  “I figured we'd go over to Lakely Park and sit and talk if that's ok with you.” DeWayne said as he touched her shoulder with a casual stroke.

  The warmth of his hand made Tania's body tingle. A feeling she hadn't felt in quite a while.

  “I picked up a fruit, cheese and cracker tray and some sparkling cider. I hope you're fine with that.”

  “That's perfect,” Tania said, wanting to add and so are you.

  They made small talk on the short ride. She let DeWayne do most of the talking because she had to concentrate on pacing her breathing so she wouldn’t faint from giddiness.

  DeWayne pulled into the park, got out and opened the door for Tania. The area was well lit, and there was a baseball game going on, on the other side of the park.

  DeWayne apparently had done a one-stop shop at Wal-Mart, too. He'd purchased the tray along with wine glasses, a table cloth, plates, napkins and forks. He even purchased a can of Off spray.

  “I can't believe you bought some Off,” She giggled.

  “Girl, these country mosquitoes ain’t no joke. They love sugar.” DeWayne flirted.

  “Wow... this is nice; did you just happen to have this stuff at your house?” Tania asked as he set everything up on the picnic table.

  “No, when you called I was in the store about to pick up some ranch wings and go home and watch ESPN.”

  “So I interrupted your plans?”

  “No, you are my plan,” DeWayne said confidently.

  “Oh I see.” Tania beamed.

  “So. I gotta clear the air first.”

  “Okaay?”

  “What happened? Why did you stand me up for the morp?”

  There was no way she could avoid the question. No escape.

  “So much was going on, I basically chickened out,” Tania said, not wanting to tell DeWayne the truth about what really happened. Besides, this was partly the truth. She did chicken out because Mona made her feel like a fool for even asking him in the first place.

  “I've been wondering for so many years, but you know what, that's in the past. Moving forward I'd love to see what happens from here... that is, if that's what you want.”

  “How do you know that's what you want? I mean, it's been a long time since you've even seen me; surely there's someone who has caught your attention.”

  “I honestly haven't been in a relationship in over three years.”

  “Really? You expect me to believe that?”

  “Ok when's the last time you were in a relationship?” DeWayne asked.

  “It's been a long time.”

  “Really, you expect me to believe that?” DeWayne said, mocking Tania.

  Tania couldn't help but laugh.

  “It's different becaus
e you're a man: good looking, in shape, so there's no reason why you should have an issue getting a woman. I mean my case is different: I'm a plus size woman, so it's not like I have guys knocking my door down trying to get at me.”

  “Tania, it's not about size. It's about finding that special someone. There's nothing wrong with your size. I like you just the way you are. Sure, I could have any old woman but I want more than just a hook up. After my fiancée passed away I basically turned into a workaholic. I realized I was letting life pass me by. Work, working out and church became my life. I'm ready to start living my life again.”

  “I'm sorry, I had no idea you were once engaged.”

  “We were engaged for a year before that horrible car accident took her life. It was rough, but one thing I've learned from all of this is that life is short, we don't know how much time we have left here, so we must do all we can while we can.”

  Tania drank some of her sparkling cider and sat quietly.

  “I know you may not know this, Tania, but I've always wished that we would one day end up together. I looked for you even after Mona gave me that bogus address. I don't recall you hanging out with anyone, so I was clueless of what I should do next. I prayed and asked God if it's His will, to allow me a chance to see you again. And here you are.”

  “I have a confession. I've always wished that you would look me up too, but didn't know if you would want to be with someone like me,” Tania said.

  “I need you to stop putting yourself down. It's not good for your esteem,” DeWayne said kissing her hand. “And it denies the beautiful person God made you to be.”

  Breathe. Breathe.

  DeWayne leaned back. “I’m sorry for moving so quickly. You probably weren't expecting any of this to happen.”

  “You're right, I wasn't expecting this at all.”

  “I know you've heard the old saying there's a blessing in the unexpected,” DeWayne said as he picked up a grape and ate it, and offered her one as well.

  “Those grapes are sweet,” Tania said, chewing.

  “Just like you.” He said as he lightly kissed her cheek and then moved to her mouth. “You remember that girl who was disabled—Simone Wheeler?”