In the three days since embracing what God had placed in her heart, she’d had minimal sleep. She’d worked on the computer throughout the night, electronically submitting letters and requests and filling out forms. During the day, Paige had made so many phone calls, her mouth had run dry, but she’d never complained.
“Sergio-Xavier’s mother will be here any minute,” Paige told her mother, who was busy arranging refreshments.
“I know. You’ve told me three times,” her mother teased. “I don’t know why you’re so nervous. You’ve already met your future mother-in-law once.”
Paige stopped short of rolling her eyes. “Ma, this is business, not personal, and she’s not the only one coming.”
Sergio-Xavier had suggested that Paige and Teresa work together on the project for the girls. Paige was hesitant until she learned that Teresa Simone practiced business law as a profession. So far the information Teresa provided had proved invaluable and had cut the red tape to almost nil.
Tyson’s mother was also coming to the planning session. As a socialite and the wife of a judge, Beverly Stokes had mastered raising money. Pastor Drake would provide spiritual advice and would represent the faith community. The president of the local board of Realtors had also been invited. In all, Paige had selected seven people to help bring her vision to fruition. What was amazing to her, and definitely God’s doing, was that no one had declined her invitation. Even the prayer warriors were on board.
Sergio-Xavier had also been invited, but she doubted he’d come. He’d said he preferred to work behind the scenes, without an official role, to avoid a conflict of interest later. For once, Paige clearly heard him and accepted it without jumping to conclusions.
So that she could focus solely on administrative matters, Paige had designated Reyna and Marlissa the program coordinators. Paige had complete confidence they would plan an event the ladies would remember forever.
“Don’t worry, baby. This new venture is going to be everything you want it to be and more,” her mother assured her just as the doorbell chimed.
As she walked to the front door to answer it, an excitement Paige hadn’t experienced in years settled in her spirit. Ten minutes later, when Teresa Simone and Beverly Stokes handed her the contributions they’d collected in just three days, Paige cried like a baby.
“When God gives a vision, He always gives provision,” Teresa reminded Paige while rubbing her back.
Paige frantically searched the neighborhood park for the little boy with hazel eyes. She’d been worried sick about him since he ran away from her. She had to find him and apologize for scaring him the other day. She searched the slide and the jungle gym and the sandbox. Nothing. Giving up, Paige slumped in one of the swings and cried.
“Hey, lady. Stop crying.”
Paige’s head snapped up at the soft pat on her arm. It was the little boy, but this time he wore a black SpongeBob shirt.
“Hey, baby. Where have you been? I was worried about you.”
The boy smiled, and Paige noticed he was now missing a tooth.
“Don’t worry about me, I was with my father. He takes very good care of me.”
Paige scanned the play area and didn’t see a man or woman standing around. “Well, I’m just glad you’re okay. Would you like for me to push you on the swing again?” She started to stand but sat back down on the swing when the boy started shaking his head from side to side.
“My father is waiting. I can’t stay long. I want to tell you something.”
“Okay.” Paige nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. She needed to spend time with the little boy to take her mind off of her problems.
“I’m not mad at you for sending me away to my father. I like living with my father. I’m happy.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Look at me.” The boy’s voice dropped an octave. “Look at me real good.”
The longer Paige stared at the boy, the more she saw herself and Tyson. His high, rounded forehead mirrored hers, but the circular face belonged to his father. The long, narrow nose with the mole on the left side belonged to her, and so did the rounded ears. The child’s small hazel eyes sparkled brighter than Tyson’s, but the long eyelashes belonged to her. Paige covered her mouth and began weeping.
Little arms wrapped around her neck and squeezed. “Don’t cry.” The child’s voice returned to normal. “I forgive you. Let me go so your other babies can come.”
Her cries grew louder, and Paige felt larger, stronger hands squeezing her.
“Good-bye. I forgive you,” the child said, and he repeated those words until his voice faded away.
“Good-bye.” More words flowed from Paige’s lips in a steady stream long after she was fully awake from the dream. She lay flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for the tears to fall. None came. She turned onto her left side and squeezed her pillow. Still nothing. Finally, she sat up and removed the old, faded sonographic image from the nightstand drawer. The tears flowed heavily then, and so did the giggles.
For the first time since that fateful day, Paige didn’t feel guilt and condemnation. Instead, joy and laughter overwhelmed her. Without any consideration of her recovering ankle, Paige got out of bed and went forth in a personal praise and worship service.
Chapter 32
“Ms. Paige, you’ve got to hold your head up straight, or else your twist is going to be lopsided,” Jasmine warned. At the last minute, Paige had decided to change things up and wear a French twist for the big event.
Paige was trying to keep still, but the anticipation was too much to contain. Her future and the future of the seven giddy young ladies roaming around her house, getting dressed, depended on this evening’s success. This was a genesis for them all. In ten days, with the help of her newly established board, she had doubled her original goal, and the checks were still coming.
“I’m trying,” Paige whined, “but I’m just too excited.”
“It’s not like you haven’t been to a fancy dinner before,” one of the girls commented.
“You’re right,” Paige readily agreed before she let it slip that tonight wasn’t just a fancy dinner with her and Sergio-Xavier. She changed the subject. “I’m so glad you guys suggested getting dressed over here. Y’all know I needed some help deciding on a dress that would look good with flats.” With her ankle still being a little sore, Paige didn’t want to risk reinjuring it by wearing heels.
“That emerald-green, strapless dress is bangin’,” Jasmine hollered. “Dr. Simone is going to love that. Even in those flats your legs look good.”
“Whatever, ladies,” Paige said, brushing off their teasing, because she agreed. She’d Sergio-Xavier in mind when she express ordered the knee-length dress online.
Although they talked on the phone daily about the project, not once had she and Sergio-Xavier discussed their status, and she hadn’t seen him since he walked out on her at the hospital. Instead of dwelling on his physical absence, Paige rested on the comfort that Teresa had given her before leaving after the board meeting. “He wouldn’t have sent me here if his heart wasn’t with you,” Teresa had said on her way out the door.
Paige felt like a proud mother as she visually inspected the young women around her. Jasmine was right; her cousin could sew. The dresses were masterfully tailored to accent each girl’s figure. The young ladies looked fabulous, but something was missing. That’s it! Paige thought after further visual inspection of their hair. For the first time since she’d met them, the divas were all wearing their natural hair color. A few tracks and hairpieces had been attached here and there, but all of these matched their natural color.
Paige giggled at the irony of it all. Tonight she’d planned on asking Jasmine to spray some green in her hair to match her dress.
“You’re not losing your mind, are you, Ms. Paige?” Jasmine teased when the doorbell sounded.
“He’s here,” one of the ladies announced and then headed for the front door. The r
emaining girls squeezed in front of the full-length mirror for one last dress and hair check, and then followed suit.
Paige retrieved a little plastic Baggie from the nightstand and grabbed her purse before joining them. When she reached the living room, the ladies were admiring the wrist corsages Sergio-Xavier had presented to them.
“Dr. Simone, you think of everything. If things don’t work out with you and Ms. Paige, we’ll take you,” one of the girls teased.
Paige cleared her throat to alert the divas to her presence before she’d have to beat one of them down for flirting with her man, even if they weren’t officially together. “Good evening.”
The divas rushed over to Paige and showed her the floral box. She only half listened to them rant and rave about the corsages; her eyes were glued on the fine man in the black tuxedo, with the dimple.
“Oh, hi, Paige,” Sergio-Xavier responded casually, but the rapidly pulsating vein in his neck betrayed him.
“Ms. Paige, I think this one must be for you.” Jasmine had to say it twice before Paige heard her and looked down at the beautiful red rose corsage. “Let me pin it on for you.”
Jasmine’s body blocked Paige’s unobstructed view of Sergio-Xavier, but she still managed to maintain eye contact with him while Jasmine had pinned on the flowers.
“What do you think, Dr. Simone? Did I do it right?” Jasmine asked over her shoulder.
“It’s lovely, simply perfect,” he answered, never breaking eye contact with Paige.
Paige blushed. “Can Dr. Simone and I have a moment alone, please?”
The girls left the room, but not before warning Sergio-Xavier not to try anything frisky.
“Those ladies are too much—,” Paige began, but Sergio-Xavier cut her off with a soft kiss on the lips. “Have you forgiven me?” she asked after returning the kiss.
His arms rested around her waist. “Any lingering harsh feelings were dissolved the second I saw you in this dress. You’re absolutely stunning. I am so grateful this house is full of people right now.”
Her heart knew the truth, but Paige needed to hear him say it. “That’s just physical.”
“You can’t begin to imagine how much I’ve missed being near you,” he admitted, drawing her closer. “To answer your question, yes, I love you. I never stopped. I needed to give you some space to resolve your issues and release the guilt and condemnation you’d been carrying. As much as I love you, I can’t heal you. Only God can do that. I had to move out of the way so I wouldn’t be an obstacle, but I was never far away. I also needed time to nurse my wounds and to make sure my heart was in the right place and attached to the right person. ”
She stepped from his embrace and reached for his hand. “I have something to show you.” She placed the Baggie in his hand.
He held it up and saw that there were ashes inside it. “What’s this?”
“I burned it,” she answered without emotion. “I burned the old ultrasound picture. I let it go.” She didn’t have the chance to read his facial expression before he collected her in his arms.
“I am so proud of you,” he whispered repeatedly in her ear.
“Hate to break this up, but shouldn’t we be leaving? I don’t want to be late for my first fancy dinner. We still need to take pictures,” Jasmine announced.
Paige and Sergio-Xavier broke their embrace to find that the divas had clutch purses and camera phones in hand, ready to take pictures.
“Ladies, put those away,” Sergio-Xavier said between chuckles. “I promise there’ll be plenty of opportunities to take pictures at the restaurant.”
“Oh, okay,” they said, almost in unison. In a nearly synchronized motion, the ladies stuffed the phones inside their purses. “We’re ready,” they chorused.
Sergio-Xavier walked to the front door and held it open for them, but the divas didn’t move. Instead, they looked back at Paige and waited for her to lead the way. Paige thanked Sergio-Xavier for holding the door open; the divas did likewise as they exited the house.
Outside at the limo, all eyes were on Paige again. The ladies appeared to concentrate on how Paige first sat on the seat and then lifted her legs into the limo. Each one did the exact same thing and then thanked the chauffeur, as Paige had done.
“They’re imitating you,” Sergio-Xavier whispered in Paige’s ear.
“I know,” she said, reaching inside his jacket for his handkerchief. “I hope I don’t let them down.”
“You won’t.”
Near the end of the thirty-minute ride, Jasmine pulled out a sheet of paper and the girls huddled around her.
“What’s that?” Paige wanted to know.
“It’s the table place setting I pulled from online. We’re just reviewing it so we won’t come across as not having any class. You know, using the dinner fork on the salad.”
Paige couldn’t wait to see how they’d react when they found out the true purpose behind the evening.
Chapter 33
“Wow!”
“OMG! We’re right on the beach!”
“This is incredible.”
Paige’s chest swelled with pride as she listened to the girls’ approval as they rode the elevator to the second level of the beachfront restaurant. Due to the incredible response, the entire upper level had been reserved for the newly formed nonprofit organization Divas with a Purpose. Paige’s vision for the organization extended beyond a high school business and entrepreneurship class. Her goals included mentoring at-risk young ladies in business and in life skills and community outreach. She wanted to go beyond college preparedness and offer the girls financial assistance to further their education. Each year the organization would select seven young ladies and train them in everything from personal hygiene to public speaking and career planning.
“Look at that!” one the girls exclaimed, pointing at the banner hanging over the sign-in table. “That has our name on it.”
While the ladies admired the logo that Paige’s brother had created, Paige checked in at the contribution table. She reached into Sergio-Xavier’s jacket again for his handkerchief when Teresa showed her the check from the Simone Family Community Fund and Beverly Stokes announced the total sum she’d collected from the superior court judges. As Paige was standing there, people, some of whom she’d never seen before, stopped at the table and placed checks in the contribution box.
Sergio-Xavier rubbed her back. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s look around.”
The ladies accosted Paige before she took a single step. “Ms. Paige, what’s going on?” one of them asked. “Why are you crying? Is something wrong?”
“Everything is perfect,” Paige told them, then wiped her face and interlocked her arms with two of the girls. “Come on. I have a surprise for you.”
Paige entered the banquet room and stood there in complete awe. Reyna and Marlissa had done an outstanding job of decorating the room in vibrant colors that matched the printed programs on the tables. The banner hanging above the head table read DWAP FIRST ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP BANQUET. The room was filled nearly to capacity with agents from her office. Both Kevin and Tyson had filled tables with people from the hospital and Tyson’s law practice. Pastor Drake and Restoration Ministries occupied two tables, and Pastors Reggie and Julia from Sergio-Xavier’s church had filled two more tables. Members of the Simone family took up at least four tables. Paige’s musical idol, Marcus, had even brought his family out for the occasion.
Paige walked past the “prestigious” people and the live band and continued on to the most important tables in the room.
“Ms. Paige, what are all these people doing here?” Jasmine asked as she and the other girls followed closely behind. “Who are these people?”
Paige stopped in her tracks. “They’re here because they’re investing in your future,” Paige answered, knowing the girls wouldn’t understand. Then she continued on. She heard a loud collective gasp behind her when she finally arrived at the most important tables.
�
��Mama, what are you doing here?” one of the girls asked.
“Grandma, is that you?” another asked.
“How did my brother get here?” Jasmine wanted to know.
“Daddy?”
Paige stood back and watched each diva’s reaction to seeing her parent or guardian and family members seated near the head table. She’d assigned Mother Scott and First Lady Drake the task of going out onto the highway and into the hedges to compel the families to come. Paige could only imagine what the prayer warriors had done and said to get the families on the bus the church had sent for them. It didn’t matter to Paige that they wore jeans and miniskirts, had tattoos and body piercings, and smelled like smoke. The important thing was that they were there to support their children.
After hugs, kisses, and a few tears, Paige shook hands with everyone and personally thanked them for coming. She paused at the end of the table and gave Mother Scott and First Lady Drake a high five. The prayer warriors had the Bible open and a bottle of anointing oil on the table.
“So, my baby is really going to college?” a mother asked.
“Of course,” Paige answered and hastily excused herself. It wasn’t time for that yet. “Come on, ladies. There are some people you need to meet.”
Strategically, Paige led the girls around the room, introducing them to major contributors and then community leaders, and finally, to her parents and some of the people from her church. Paige was impressed with how well the ladies followed her lead and greeted everyone and held eye contact.
“Ms. Paige,” Jasmine asked, once they were heading to their seats, “how did you get all these people to come out for us? I mean, the way people are smiling and taking pictures, it’s like we’re celebrities.”
“Welcome to the life of a true diva,” Paige teased. “Now, have a seat, and I’ll be right back.” Paige didn’t consider herself a groupie, but her favorite artist was in the building, and he was a contributor. It would be rude for her not to thank him personally and ask for a photo. She beckoned the photographer and made a beeline to Marcus’s table.
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