“One of the things she would always say about praising God was: ‘If I couldn’t say a word, I would just wave my hand.’ Well, that’s what she was telling me when she raised her hand the night she died. She was going to praise God somehow, anyhow. And the part where she placed her hand on her heart then placed it on mine? She was simply saying, ‘I love you.’ ” Zynique paused, then quickly nodded. “So I’m telling each of you right now: Madame Perry loves you. And I’m thankful to God that He allowed someone like her to cross my path. Thank you.”
Zynique sat down to thunderous applause even though it was a funeral. I held her as she cried. As people stood and spoke of Madame Perry, I was reminded that this wasn’t a funeral as much as it was a celebration of a wonderful spirit’s life who had walked upon this earth. It made me want to do even more for God’s Kingdom and His people.
At the gravesite, Claude, Madame Perry’s son, made sure that Zynique got both a white and a red carnation from the standing spray he’d continually expressed to me was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen when it came to flowers. It just so happened to be the one Zynique and I gave extra special attention and love to. It was the one from our family; the one with a small heart made up of vibrant red carnations inside of a larger white heart created with a combination of white carnations, Monte Casino, and white button pompons. A heart within a heart.
“Madame Perry will never really die,” Zynique had said when we were discussing what we were going to make her from us. “Because I will always carry her heart and a part of her inside of my heart.”
I thought it was beautiful that Claude wanted to be sure Zynique had something like that to keep.
“We’ll put it in plastic and put it in the Bible,” I said when we got home. “That will press it for you and you’ll be able to keep it forever.”
Zynique leaned over and hugged me; she wouldn’t let go. “I love you, Mommy. I really do.” She was really crying now.
Holding her tight like I had when she was a little girl (and glad that she let me be there for her during this time, instead of going off somewhere to herself as she’d been known to do), I said, “I know you do. And I love you, too, baby. I love you, too.”
Chapter 26
Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
—Psalm 17:5
The day started off slow, but by its end, all of that quickly changed.
Ethan called. That was a huge surprise. I hadn’t talked with him since back in September when he’d called to tell me about his wife’s breast cancer. It was pretty serious; they had to perform immediate surgery. She ended up having a double mastectomy. He’d been busy taking care of her for the past two and a half months.
“How’s the family?” I asked.
“Doing well,” Ethan said.
“And your wife?”
“She’s coming along nicely. Chemo and radiation is no joke. She lost her hair and she got tired easily; in fact, she’s still tired. But all in all, she’s doing well. Thank you so much for asking.”
“I’m glad she’s doing well. I’ll continue to pray for you and her both.”
“Appreciate that,” Ethan said. “Listen, I need to get out for a while. I’ve been essentially going from work to home to church and back, taking care of everything at home. That’s pretty much been it. I was thinking about getting out and getting me some fresh air. I was wondering if you’d like to go to the park and walk today.”
“Today?” I said with a spike in my voice. All I could think about was that it was December and not the warmest day outside. Yes, people did walk during this time, but only the truly dedicated folks.
“Yes, today. I’d really like to see you. I was thinking we could bundle up and walk around the track while we talk. You know, sort of like old times.”
“So you want to go walking today?” I scratched my head. “You do know we’re off of daylight savings time so it gets dark a lot earlier now.”
“Yeah, I know that. And if you can’t or don’t want to do it, it’s fine. I really just wanted to talk to someone. You’re wonderful at lifting my spirits.”
“Oh, so you’re just using me,” I said, teasing him.
“No,” he said in a serious tone. “I wouldn’t dare do anything like that. I just wanted to see you.”
“Hey. I was just kidding,” I said.
“Well, I don’t kid about something like that. Not when it comes to you. I know you probably don’t entirely trust my motives as it is. The last thing I want is for you to think that I’m using you.”
I looked at the clock on the wall. It was four thirty. The chance of anyone coming in now or before closing time at five was pretty slim. “Okay, we can go walking. Where?”
“Our usual place?” he said.
I giggled. “Oh, so now we have a usual meeting spot? You think you can call and just say ‘our usual place’ and I know precisely where you’re talking about?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty much like that. So can you leave right now?”
“Yeah. I can do that.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to mess things up for you at the shop.”
“It’s fine. It’s been slow today. I was thinking about leaving early anyway.”
“Great. Then I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll be there.” And as soon as I hung up, I regretted saying I would. Now I’d have to find my walking shoes that I hadn’t worn in over two months.
The phone rang again. I looked at the caller ID. It was Zynique. I hurried to answer it. She hardly ever called me at the shop. Since Madame Perry’s death, the dance studio had remained closed, orders from her son, until further notice.
“Hey, baby. What’s up?”
“Mom, I just got a call from a lawyer’s office.”
“A lawyer’s office. For what?”
“He said he was representing Madame Perry. He’s been trying to reach me for days now. He wants to know if I can come over to his office.”
“Did he say for what?”
“No. He just mentioned Madame Perry’s name and asked if I could come to his office. It’s not far from your shop. I told him I could come now.”
“Now? Why would you tell him you would come today? Why didn’t you schedule it for the daytime? Like tomorrow.”
“Mother, you know how I am. I hate waiting. If you tell me something is a secret or a surprise, I want to know what it is as soon as possible. You know how I am. Besides, he said I could come today, so I want to go today.”
“Well, you definitely don’t need to go there by yourself.”
“That’s why I called you. I was wondering if you’d take off early and go with me.”
“Today?”
“Yes, Mother. Today. We can meet up at the law firm.”
“Where’s your father? Is he home?”
“Yeah, he’s here. Why?”
“Do you think you might like to ask him and see if he’ll go with you?”
“You mean Daddy? We’re talking about my daddy? You want me to see if my daddy, your husband, will go somewhere with me?”
“Okay, when you put it that way, I hear how it sounds. But you never know. This might be a turning point for him. He just might surprise us both.”
“Hold on,” Zynique said. I faintly heard her in the background asking her father if he would go with her to the lawyer’s office. Zynique came back to the line. “He said no. He told me to ask you to go if I needed somebody to go with me. I told you. So will you go?”
I thought about Ethan. I’d just told him I would go walking with him. I couldn’t exactly call him at home to let him know I wouldn’t be able to make it. What if his wife answered the phone? If he had a cell phone, I could have called him on something like that. But I wasn’t about to call his house.
“Mom, are you still there?”
“Yes, sweetheart, I’m here. Okay. Give me the address and I’ll meet you at the lawyer’s office.”
Zyniqu
e rattled off the address. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best!”
“Excuse me? But what was that again?” I said. “I don’t think I caught that.”
Zynique laughed. “You’re the best! I’ll see you in a few.”
When I hung up, I had to decide what to do, now that I’d essentially agreed to be in two places at the exact same time.
Chapter 27
That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
—Proverbs 8:21
Zynique and I were only in the waiting area for five minutes before a tall, middle-aged, light-skinned black man came out of the office.
“Zynique, it’s so good to meet you,” he said. “Thank you for agreeing to come here on such short notice.”
“It was not a problem,” Zynique said. “I asked my mother to come with me.”
“That’s fine,” he said, glancing at me as he nodded before extending his hand to shake mine. “It’s nice to meet you as well.”
I laughed to myself. He hadn’t really met me since my daughter had apparently forgotten everything I’d taught her on the art of introducing people. I knew what it was: she was likely hung up on between him and me, whose name should be called first and that whole protocol. I started to do like I normally did and introduce myself, but I supposed “Zynique’s mother” was enough for both him and my daughter.
His name was on his door, so I knew who he was: Justice Evans. He escorted us into his office. It was a nice-sized room, with lots of African memorabilia on the walls and other places. A lot of what I saw in his office was quite artistic. He gestured for us to have a seat in the chairs facing his mahogany desk.
Justice got straight to the point of why Zynique had been summoned, which I not only loved, but appreciated. I hated when it took someone forever to get to the point.
Justice told Zynique that Madame Perry had hired him to handle her affairs after she was gone. To sum up everything in one neat package: Madame Perry left Zynique her house (worth more than my house) and her dance studio.
Zynique couldn’t believe it. She kept looking at me like what she was hearing couldn’t possibly be what he was saying. But it was true. All of the paperwork was there, and just like that: Zynique now owned a fully furnished house and a completely furnished dance studio, free and clear.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure whether a just-turned-nineteen-year-old could handle so much at one time.
When we were on the elevator on our way to our respective cars not thirty minutes after we’d arrived, Zynique turned to me. “I don’t believe this. I had no idea Madame Perry was planning on doing anything even remotely like this.”
“It is something,” I said. “I’m still processing what just took place in that office. With a stroke of a pen, you’re now the proud owner of a fully paid-for house and a really nice dance studio.”
“It’s like you’ve always said. If we’ll delight ourselves in the Lord, He’ll give us the desires of our heart. I can’t believe this happened though.”
“Yeah, I do say that, don’t I?”
“Well, God certainly blew me away with this one. I’m at a loss for words. I really don’t know what to say.”
“It’s because of how you treated someone who was elderly,” I said. “God is blessing you because of how you blessed someone who was up in age.”
Zynique shook her head. “Madame Perry was the one who blessed me. Everything I know about dance and business, she taught me.”
Ouch, that stung just a little bit. Zynique must have thought about what she’d said. “I mean everything businesswise that has to do with running a dance studio,” she said.
“It’s okay. I know what you mean. Madame Perry was really a great woman. And now this. . . .”
Our elevator reached the lobby. We stepped out. “Are you on your way home now?” I asked.
“No. I think I’m going over to Aiden’s.”
Aiden was Zynique’s boyfriend. They’d been going together since she was a junior in high school. He seemed to be a nice enough guy. At least, he had his head screwed on the right way. He was both working and going to college. That said a lot about him right there to me.
“So you’re not going home first?” I asked, making sure I understood her plans.
“No. You were there when the lawyer told me everything. So there’s no reason for me to rush home and tell you.” She smiled as though she’d made a joke.
“What about your father?”
She primped her mouth slightly. “What about him?”
“Don’t you want to share your good news with him?”
“Mother, let’s be real. You and I both know that Daddy’s not at home right now.”
“Well, he might be. He knew you were coming here. He just may have hung around to find out what was going on.”
Zynique snickered, then leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Okay, Mother. You just keep on believing that. I’ll see you later.” She walked to her car.
I went home, and just as Zynique had predicted, the house was devoid of a living soul.
Chapter 28
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man.
—James 1:13
Once again, I began my routine of searching for either leftovers or something that didn’t take long to cook. My life had changed dramatically since our children had grown up. I didn’t cook as much as I had in the beginning. When the girls were growing up, I was one of those mothers who believed children should eat real food and not fast food every day of the week. In fact, fast food in our house was a treat. I soaked pinto beans and butter beans in hot water, waited on them to swell, then cooked them for two hours, careful not to overcook them. When I worked at Social Security, the slow cooker was my best friend, assisting me in our healthy eating endeavor.
After the two older daughters were gone, I stopped cooking as much. Maybe the right word isn’t “as much” but more accurately “as often.” After there were fewer bodies in the house, there was more food left over to put up. The problem with leftovers was: both Zeke and Zynique hated eating the same thing for more than two days straight—Zynique more so than Zeke, who would eat whatever he found if it meant he didn’t have to fix anything.
When Zynique turned sixteen, she unofficially started working a few hours with Madame Perry, officially at seventeen. Two things that did for her: she was making her own money so she could buy more fast food; and she had an excuse not to be home and eat what I’d cooked.
So that meant I was cooking more for me and Zeke.
After I opened the flower shop, I found I had less time to fix meals, plus it was discouraging to cook when no one seemed enthused about what I’d fixed. So I cut back on cooking. Besides, Zeke was most times gone by the time I got in from the shop. I would fix something to eat, and he pretty much ate that for his dinner the next day so he could hit the streets that much faster.
My phone rang. I quickly glanced at the clock on the wall (the one that still had hands). It was a little after seven. I performed my normal routine of checking the caller ID first to see who was calling.
“Hello,” I said, knowing that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation and surprised that I was getting this call here and at this hour.
“So you stood me up,” Ethan said.
“No. That’s not exactly what happened.”
“Oh, it’s exactly what happened. You didn’t want to meet me, so you left me there wondering and waiting. I understand.”
“You really shouldn’t jump to conclusions before you hear all of the facts.”
“Is it okay that I’m calling you at home right now?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah. Sure.”
“So where’s your husband?”
“Where he normally is at this time of night,” I said with a little edge to my voice. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Now that doesn’t sound g
ood,” Ethan said. “So where is he normally at this time of night?”
“As I said: your guess . . . is as good as mine.”
“You don’t ever ask him?”
“No. Not really.”
“I don’t get that or see that with you,” Ethan said.
“See what?”
“First off: I don’t get him leaving you every night. However, I really don’t see you just seeming to sit back and take it. It doesn’t line up with my view of you.”
“So how was your walk?” I said, quickly changing the subject. “Or did you wimp out when you figured out how cold it really was?”
He chuckled. “Cold does not bother me in the least. In fact, I laugh in the face of cold. And my walk was fine, after I finally decided to quit waiting on you and do it. I did wait for you a while before I figured out maybe, just maybe, you weren’t coming. I had to cut my walk short though. It’s not good being out there alone like that at night. They need to add some more lighting around that place.”
“I don’t think that particular park was created for night visits. If you want to walk during the night hours, you probably should go to the park near the college.”
“So back to why I called,” Ethan said.
“I thought you called to dump on me for leaving you without a walking partner.”
“I did. But there’s no reason to dwell on what’s already in the past. Nothing I say now will get me back that time. So I’m looking forward. You say your husband is not at home?”
“That’s what I said.”
“What about your daughter? Zynique. Do you and she have plans for tonight?”
“She’s the reason I left you to walk alone. I just saw her. And to answer your question: she has plans of her own and they don’t include me.”
“Poor baby,” Ethan said in a jovial voice.
“Yeah, poor me.”
“So I suppose that means you have no excuse not to meet me. I still would like to take you out to eat. And since you just stood me up—”
“I did not stand you up,” I said. “My daughter called and needed me to meet her somewhere right after I hung up with you. And since I have no way of reaching you without possibly getting you in trouble with your wife, I couldn’t call to let you know I wasn’t going to be able to make it. Now if you had a cell phone, I could have called you on it. But I definitely wasn’t going to call you at your house.”
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