I got up from the bed and closed the window, then made my way to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I’d just put my hair up in a decent ponytail when I heard someone pull up into the driveway. I recognized the sound of the engine, but was surprised that Terrance would show up at my parents’ home so early in the morning. It was a little after seven o’clock, and no one else was up yet.
I hurried down the stairs so that he wouldn’t wake anyone by ringing the doorbell. Once I made it onto the porch, I grimaced when I saw him hobbling towards me.
“Where are your crutches?” I asked him softly.
“I ain’t crippled,” he answered. His voice was cracking. He’d been crying. “Why you leave me, Karen?” he asked blatantly.
I covered my face, not wanting to have this conversation.
“It’s because of my knee, isn’t it?”
“No, Terrance.”
“Yes, it is. After all we been through, you mean to tell me you just like everybody else?”
“No!” I shouted. “Stop it, Terrance. You know that isn’t true! I didn’t even want you going back into the NBA, remember?”
He tried to stand strong as the tears fell from his face. I went over to him and led him to the porch where we both sat down. He held my hand, and I hugged him.
He looked off into the distance. “It’s ‘cause of Christy, huh?”
I didn’t answer.
“Well… You ain’t got to worry about her no more. She left me, too.”
“I already knew that, Terrance.”
“Then why’d you go? I need you right now, baby.”
“I left because of me. Not because of some skank you had on the side. She didn’t help matters any, but baby, you and I are just two different people and we want different things out of life.”
“But I love you.”
“I know you do. And I love you, too. But it never would have worked for us, Terrance. You were always going to have your women on the side. You did in high school, you do now. Even with this knee injury, I’m sure you’re going to find some way to get ahead in life. And when you do, more women just like Christy are going to be right there for you, ready to give you whatever you want whenever you want it.”
“I don’t want no more Christys. I want Karen. I want you. You my baby. Girl, I love you.”
I shook my head, feeling sorry for him. Some men just didn’t appreciate what they had until it was gone.
“I’m sorry, boo. I gotta stick to who I am.”
“But you were always my number one, though.”
“That’s the problem. I can’t be number one. I have to be the only one. I deserve nothing less.”
He turned to me quickly when I said that, and appeared as if he finally understood. Then his countenance fell even lower, because he knew that he couldn’t be that man for me. But I wasn’t upset. I’d come to terms with this already and was moving on.
“I will always love you, Karen Stephens,” he told me.
“And I’ll always love you, Terrance Thomas.”
He looked down on me and smiled, then gave me a long kiss. We both knew it meant good-bye.
“What are you gonna do now?” I asked him, and tapped his knee brace.
“I been thinking about it. I think I’m gon’ stay in school.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah. Get my degree. Might as well. I think I’m gon’ switch my major, though.”
“Oh yeah? To what?”
I really didn’t want to know. I was just trying to prolong the conversation to help ease the pain. But I knew he had to go.
“Sports medicine. I think I wanna be a doctor. Make some good money.”
“Well okay, Dr. Terrance. You just make sure you take care of that knee.”
He wrapped his arm around me. “What you gon’ do?” It was obvious he was asking for the same reasons that I had.
I sighed. “I don’t know. I definitely gotta get me a job, though. I can’t stay here for too long.”
“You not gon’ go back to school?”
“I don’t know yet. I want to, but right now I don’t see how I can afford it without taking out more loans. DU is really expensive, so I might transfer to another school.”
“Which one?”
I shrugged. “Been thinking about Sam Houston State.”
“Huntsville?”
I nodded.
“That’s too far away from DU.”
I laughed. “We’ll see, alright. I got a few months to make my decision, if I even go back.”
“I want you to go somewhere,” he said seriously. “It’s hard out there without an education.”
“Yes, sir.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally Terrance pulled his shirt up and showed me his tattoo.
“I guess you gotta get that turned into like a star or something, huh?”
He frowned. “A star? Come on, now. I’m too hard for that girly stuff. You could have at least said a panther.”
We laughed.
“Nawh. For real, though. It’s gon’ stay just like this. ‘Cause me, you, and that baby that’s in heaven waiting on us, are always gon’ be family.” He gave me another kiss, then stood to his feet. “Let me get outta here,” he told me.
I stood to my feet as well and gave him a long hug, and I felt the tears falling.
“Stop that crying,” he whispered.
I chuckled, and wiped them away. “You take care of yourself,” I told him as I looked into his eyes.
“I will,” he promised. “And when you meet that perfect man for you, I want you to call me and let me know. I wanna meet him so I can shake his hand and congratulate him on being the luckiest man in the world. And I’m gon’ tell him not to be a fool like me and let you get away.”
He squeezed me close and rocked me back and forth. I wiped my face and gave Terrance another kiss.
“I meant what I said,” he told me as he pulled away, preparing to leave. “Take care of yourself.”
“I will,” I said, trying to be strong.
He walked away from me, limping on the way. I went back inside the house to find Kevin walking down the stairs.
“I’m hungry,” he told me, wiping his eyes.
“Did you brush your teeth and wash your face?”
He nodded.
“No you didn’t. Go do it.”
“How did you know?” he laughed.
“’Cause I know you,” I told him.
He went back up the stairs and I went into the kitchen to get breakfast started. I’d just taken out the eggs and butter when I heard Kevin scream.
“Kevin?” I called out.
“Daddy!” he screamed.
“Hey, boy!” I heard a familiar voice bellow.
I ran out of the kitchen and into the living room. Daddy was walking down the stairs with Kevin on his hip. Mama walked down the stairs behind them.
“What’s going on here?” I asked them.
Daddy was too busy enjoying the tight hug he was receiving from Kevin to answer me.
“Daddy’s back!” Kevin yelled with laughter.
“That’s right,” Mama said. “And I’m happy.”
She was glowing, too. Her hair was tousled, a far cry from the usual bone straight look that she always wore. And I noticed that her wedding ring was back on her finger. Suddenly I knew where that glow on her face came from.
I burst out laughing. All of them looked over at me with questions in their eyes, but all I could do was laugh. When my eyes darted from Daddy to Mama, she knew why I was laughing.
“Everything is fine?” I asked, unsure of what to make of the situation.
“Yep,” Daddy answered. “Your mama has forgiven me,” he said sincerely. “Kevin has, too. What about you?”
I thought about everything that had happened over the past year, including all of the wrong that I had done as well. Then I thought about God and how after everything I’d done, He still forgave me, too. And suddenly,
I could no longer be mad at Daddy.
I walked over to him and kissed his face. “Welcome back home, Daddy.”
“Thanks, baby,” he said, and hugged me. Then all of us went into the kitchen for breakfast as a family.
The End
Want to know what happens next?
Check out the sequel,
Joy In The Midst Of Sorrow.
Joy In The Midst Of Sorrow
The last three years have not been drama-free for Anaya Patterson, despite the fact that she moved back in with her father after dropping out of college. Now in a relationship with a married man nearly twice her age, Anaya finds herself the talk of her small hometown as she relishes in the expensive gifts her boyfriend provides, including a luxury condo, expensive clothes, exotic vacations, and a customized Ford Mustang.
Anaya’s confidence and sense of security are overtaken by fear when her father passes away suddenly and her boyfriend dumps her once she decides not to abort their child. Now completely alone, pregnant, and broke, Anaya is forced to lean on the people she has resented the most her entire life, the members of First Bethany Christian Church.
To Anaya’s surprise, she is embraced with loving arms by her childhood church family, who is more than happy to help her in any way they can, including the pastor’s youngest son, Julian, whom Anaya hasn’t seen in over ten years. The two quickly find a connection, but their future happiness is threatened once secrets about Anaya’s past are exposed. Will new love prove strong enough to withstand the tribulation of scandal, or will backlash from those who don’t approve keep them apart?
The Dorkiss Way
Dana Jeffries has the worst luck when it comes to men. Not only is her first love now engaged to her brother, but she recently found her fiance in bed with her best friend just three days before the wedding. With thirty quickly approaching, she feels that if she doesn't get married soon she never will, and she doesn't want to die alone.
A beacon of hope appears in her shamble of a love life when by happenstance she meets Kelly Dorkiss, the renown founder of The Dorkiss Way: The Approach To Finding Love Through Spiritual Betrothing. What Dana thinks will be a quick prayer and hallelujah session to solving her problems leads her on a journey to discovering faith, herself, and true love.
Sweeter Than The Honey
Kamilah Wright has a lot on her shoulders for someone entering their senior year of high school. Not only does her mom expect her to raise the other seven children in their home, but she's also required to turn a blind eye to her father's infidelity, as well as maintain a perfect 4.0 GPA in order to get the academic scholarship she desperately needs to attend college. To complicate matters even more, she's also a rape victim. The only person she's told is her best friend, Eric, whom she's secretly in love with. Through all of this Kamilah convinces herself that she has everything under control.
That is until she meets Summer Freeman. The beautiful new girl at school, Summer introduces Kamilah to a lifestyle that she's never known, including fashion, luxury, and alternative viewpoints that conflict with her Christian upbringing. Pretty soon the love she has for her new friend evolves into something more, and Kamilah has to prove which love she will devote herself to. Will she stay in the same sex relationship that feels so right, or will she embrace the faith she didn't know meant so much to her?
Other Titles by LaShanda Michelle
Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace
(Short Story Sequel to The Dorkiss Way)
Room 921
(Spin off to The Dorkiss Way)
The Pastor And His Secretaries
When Joni Wilks became the pastor's secretary, she didn't realize things were so hectic behind the closed doors of Kentwood Ministries. A slew of unsettling situations have risen since then, including the married pastor making moves on her. Infatuated with him as well, the lines of ministry and professionalism have become blurred by desire, and Joni has to put a stop to things before they go too far. Will her pastor accept her rejection, or will his actions reveal just how crazy things really are at Kentwood Ministries?
For more from LaShanda Michelle,
visit her website,
http://www.LaShandaMichelle.com
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