Redeeming Waters

by Vanessa Davis Griggs

  “I’ll go now.” Chad turned to leave.

  “Chad?”

  Chad turned back around. “Yes, sir?”

  “Just don’t let her know I had you do this. I’d prefer she not know, at least for now, that I’m even here.”

  “Absolutely,” Chad said. “My sentiments exactly.” Chad left.

  Chapter 15

  The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

  —Psalm 27:1

  Brianna and Alana had the music up kind of loud. They were listening to King d.Avid’s latest release, “The Beauty of the Lord,” from Psalm 27, and singing merrily along with the chorus.

  One thing have I desired of the Lord,

  And that

  Will I

  Seek after;

  That I

  May dwell

  In the house of the Lord

  All the days of my life,

  All the days of my life,

  To behold

  The beauty

  Of the Lord,

  To behold

  The beauty

  Of the Lord . . .

  So when the thunderous rapping came at the door, Brianna jumped to her feet and quickly turned the music down.

  “I told you it was up too loud,” Brianna said to Alana.

  Alana waved her off. “It was not all that loud.” She went to answer the door. “Yes?” she said, peering through the screen door. “May I help you?”

  “Yes, ma’am. My name is Chad Holston and I’m down the way from you.” He pointed toward the house from where he’d come.

  “I know you’re not here to complain that the music is up too loud,” Alana said, putting her hand on her hip.

  “No, ma’am. I just happen to know the person who owns this place, and I was wondering . . .”

  Alana cocked her head to the side, her hand still on her hip as she began to rotate her neck in rhythm with her words. “Wondering what?”

  “Well, I wanted to be sure that you’re not in need of anything,” Chad said.

  “We’re fine.” She gave him a quick smile as she softened her tone. “But thanks for inquiring. Oh, and I will be certain to let Vincent know that you were kind enough to stop by and check on things in his absence.”

  “Oh, so Vincent knows you’re here?”

  Alana couldn’t help but flash a big grin his way at this point. A long “Yes” was all she provided Chad.

  “Great, Mrs. . . . ? Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t catch your name,” Chad said.

  “That’s because I didn’t throw it,” Alana said just as quickly. “And it’s Miss.”

  Brianna strolled over to the door and stood beside Alana. She instantly jerked her head back. “Don’t I know you?” she said to Chad.

  Chad smiled and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Brianna Waters, I believe it is. Our paths have crossed once in the past.”

  “You were in the limousine with my brother that time. . . .”

  “Correct,” Chad said.

  “So, are you out here accompanying someone else?”

  “You might say that. The man I’m working for lives a few houses down,” Chad said, directing his full attention to Brianna now. “He knows Mister Powers and just so happens to know that he’s away.”

  “And you thought we had broken into his place,” Alana said, interjecting herself back into the conversation. “And you wanted to come check us out.”

  Chad turned his attention back to Alana. “No, ma’am. It is quite customary, especially around here, for visitors . . . renters . . . timeshare folks to show up at various homes. So that was not my thought at all. Trust me, my goal was purely to ensure that you had everything you needed. And if there happened or happens to be something that you should need or that may require my service, then you’d know that I’m around.”

  “Well, we really appreciate you stopping by,” Alana said. “But I think we have everything under control here. Just as long as you weren’t stopping by to tell us that our music was up too loud, then I believe this should end our conversation.”

  “Alana,” Brianna said, giving her one of her signature “tone it back a little” looks. “I think it was quite neighborly of Chad”—she nodded at him—“to come by and extend himself in this way.” She turned back to Alana. “You don’t find people caring enough to check on neighbors these days. Not like folks used to back in our parents’ day.”

  “Yeah, well,” Alana said, “there’s a reason for that. Does the term serial killer, rapist, or robber happen to mean anything to you these days?”

  “I assure you,” Chad said, looking from Alana to Brianna, “you have nothing to fear from me in any of those areas. Believe me: I’m more of one you might call should you find yourself facing any of those situations.”

  “So, are you a cop? The po-lice,” Alana said.

  Chad flashed a genuine smile. “No. Just a man who considers himself to be a protector of those in need of protection.” He lifted one pants leg and shook his shoe.

  “Well,” Alana said, scanning him from his head to his classy black A. Testoni, leather ankle boots, then back up again, resting on his dreamy brown eyes. “We’ll be sure and keep that in mind.” She put her left hand, vacant of a wedding band, on the screen door handle and allowed it to park there. “So if we’re finished?” She said it as though it was a question, but it was, indeed, her polite way of telling him he could go now, unless there was something else he may have had of interest. She wiggled her bare ring finger.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Chad said. “Yes.” He nodded at Alana, then at Brianna. “Please forgive me for interrupting. And I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay, for however long that might be.”

  “Well, this one here is going back home tomorrow,” Alana said, pointing her head toward Brianna.

  “Alana,” Brianna said. She moved Alana’s hand from the door handle, opened the screen door, then proceeded to present her hand to Chad. “We appreciate you for stopping by. It was really great seeing you again.”

  Chad shook her hand and smiled. “Likewise.” He bowed slightly at Brianna, then turned back and nodded at Alana who now stood with folded arms. “Take care.”

  “You bet,” Alana said, giving him a two-finger, military-type salute.

  Alana and Brianna watched as he walked back toward the house Brianna had noticed when she first drove up and later admired from the beachside.

  “I wonder if he’s really the one who lives there or if he’s truly working for someone who does?” Brianna said. “He was wearing a suit and ankle boots on a beach.”

  “Why do you care?” Alana walked away with an exaggerated swish.

  “Because he was in the limo with my brother that day Mack and Melvin came by the house. In fact, had my brother not come to Atlanta for the reason he, to this day, won’t disclose—to me anyway—who knows when I might have seen him?”

  “Your brother is sort of weird,” Alana said. “I’ve never really totally gotten him.”

  “He’s not weird,” Brianna said. “Well, okay. Maybe he is a little bit weird. He just likes to stay to himself. Some people are like that. And when you try to talk to him, he thinks you’re merely trying to get in his business, so he erects a wall.”

  “So, this dude Chad . . . you say you saw him in a limo with your brother? Was he driving the limo?”

  “No. He was riding in the front, on the passenger’s side.” Brianna walked back and flopped down on the couch.

  “Well, he’s really hot and really fine. So what do you think he does job wise?”

  Brianna shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  “Then why don’t you call Mack and see if he can shed some light on who this Chad character is or at least what he does?” Alana flopped down next to Brianna. She began to fan herself with her hand. “He’s a beefcake, that’s for sure. Real easy on the eyes. Real easy. And that deep, manly, bass voice—oh, my goodness! I wonder if he’s married. Some
of the things he was saying when he was here, though, could have passed for a genuine gigolo.”

  “I thought you were interested in Vincent,” Brianna said, looking at Alana sideways.

  Alana waved her hand at Brianna. “You’ll be twenty-two next month. Have you not learned anything in all of your years of being on this earth?”

  “And what lesson am I missing that you think I need to learn?”

  “Always . . . always keep your options open.” Alana stood up. “Because you never know when you’ll find yourself in need of somewhere else you may need to be next.”

  Brianna shook her head. “You know . . . you truly do need help. But honestly, you really need to find a job so you don’t have to live your life being open to options that require other people’s consent.”

  “Oh, yeah. That’s right. Because I’m an independent woman. I keep forgetting that. But I promise you,” Alana said. “As soon as I see where things are going between me and Vincent this time around, I’m going to become the independent diva I was meant to be. You just watch.”

  Brianna leaned forward and grabbed a handful of cashew nuts. She popped one into her mouth. “Well, I’m going to get my things together so I can leave early tomorrow.”

  “What things? You didn’t bring but two or three things. You didn’t even pack a suitcase. And I don’t understand why you won’t stay longer.” Alana wriggled her nose. “You have nothing and no one at home waiting for you.”

  “Because I could really get used to this. Then this Vincent fellow might find it hard to get rid of the both of us,” Brianna teased.

  “Oh, you’re just like old people. They’ll visit for a day or two, but for some reason, they always just have to get back home. Forget that there’s nothing there for them to do when they get back. They just have to be at home.”

  “I have plenty to do at home, thank you very much,” Brianna said with a smug, but playful look.

  “What, Bathsheba? What do you have to do at home that won’t or can’t wait a few more days if not a few more weeks? What?”

  “See, there you go. Denigrating and making fun of me again,” Brianna said.

  “Why? Because I called you Bathsheba? Well, it is your middle name, lest you keep forgetting,” Alana said.

  “Yes. Bathsheba is my middle name. But you only use it when you want to put me down or make a point that I’m acting uppity or something like that.”

  “That’s not putting you down in any way. From what I’ve heard, the Bathsheba in the Bible was something else. Then again, they say the quiet, nice ones usually are.” Alana went to the counter and pulled a banana off the bunch. She began to peel it. “And why did your folks name you Bathsheba anyway?” She bit the banana.

  “I don’t know,” Brianna said with a twinge of exasperation. “I’ve never thought about it or cared enough to ask.”

  “Then maybe you should. It’s not like there are a lot of people walking around with the name Bathsheba. Although I did see a person on Facebook with it.”

  “Maybe when they gave me that name, they thought it would later be popular or something. Maybe they thought when I grew up I would make the name popular. You know, the way Oprah made ‘Oprah’ popular. Perhaps if I trace my roots back to my great-great-great something-or-other on somebody’s side, I’ll find I was named after some distant relative.” Brianna picked up a couple of cherries from the tray of fruit still on the table and began to eat them, holding each one in the air by its stem as she did so. “I just know, whenever you refer to me as Bathsheba, that you’re making fun of me or something along that line. That much I do know.”

  “I can’t help it if you’re a queen, Queen Bathsheba.” Alana curtsied before Brianna, and almost tipped over. She laughed as she put the banana peel into the garbage disposal.

  “Yeah, well, this queen will be vacating these premises tomorrow,” Brianna said, laughing at Alana’s attempt to recover from her tip. “After I get a few more hours outside on that beautiful beach in the Vitamin D–enriching sun, that is.”

  “See, I keep telling you: you know you love it here. The next thing we know, you’ll be getting your own beach house.”

  “Oh, yeah? Well, if I do, then that’s a long way down the road. I can assure you of that.”

  “Well, now, you never know.” Alana strutted over to the stereo. “Things can change in a heartbeat.” She glanced over her shoulder. “If you don’t know, you’d better ask somebody.” She turned the stereo back up. King d.Avid’s powerful and anointed worship song based on Psalm 91, “Abiding under God’s Shadow,” was just beginning.

  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High

  Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty

  (Sopranos)

  I will say

  Of the Lord,

  He is my refuge

  (Altos)

  And my fortress:

  My God

  In Him will I trust.

  (Tenors)

  Thou shalt not be afraid

  For the terror

  By night;

  (Bass)

  Nor for the arrow

  That flieth

  By day.

  (Chorus: Full Choir)

  A thousand

  Shall fall at thy side,

  And ten thousand

  At thy right hand;

  (King d.Avid in his tenor voice)

  But it shall

  Not come

  Nigh thee.

  No, no, no, no, no.

  I said, it shall

  Not come

  Nigh thee!

  Alana went over and hugged Brianna, as they both found the other one crying and worshipping the Lord.

  “Oh, that is such a beautiful song!” Alana said. “That whole entire song. It always seems to take me to a special place, my secret place in the Lord.”

  “Yeah. I know.” Brianna rubbed Alana’s arm as though she were trying to warm her. “I know.” She hugged Alana again and began to sing, “A thousand . . . shall fall at thy side.... And ten thousand . . . at thy right hand. But it shall . . . not come . . . nigh thee. It shall not . . . come . . . nigh thee.”

  Chapter 16

  And David sent messengers.

  —2 Samuel 11:4 (a)

  “I’m telling you,” Chad said to King d.Avid. “You don’t need to go over there and speak. But I will say that when I walked up to the house and knocked, they were blasting your CD.”

  “That’s a good thing,” King d.Avid said with a nod. “That means they’re fans, and at least they appreciate what I do.”

  “The one called Alana, I deduced that’s the one Vincent left at his house, she’s a pretty tough one . . . has a little bite to her,” Chad said.

  “Chad, I grew up around people who had a bite to them. And in this business, I run into those type of people all the time. I believe I can handle her. But I really would like to see Brianna again.” He smiled. “I told you that I met her when she was ten. In fact, I believe she was with that very same friend—Alana, you say—back then. And do you know what the two of them were doing?”

  “What?”

  King d.Avid chuckled. “They were outside, about to stick safety pins into the ground so they could hear the devil beating his wife and her screaming as he did it.”

  “It must have been raining while the sun was shining,” Chad said matter-of-factly.

  King d.Avid frowned, then smiled. “Yeah. So I take it you’ve heard of that before?”

  “Of course. And when it’s thundering and lightning, it’s just the angels bowling and making strikes.”

  “All right.” King d.Avid rolled his eyes, mostly in jest.

  “You never heard any of those things?” Chad asked. “We couldn’t talk on the phone when it was lightning because God was also doing His business. In fact, you had to sit perfectly still, because if you didn’t, well . . . let’s just say lightning had a way of finding the noisy and talkative folks.” Chad shook his head. “I can’t bel
ieve, as a child, you never heard about the devil beating his wife.”

  “No, I hadn’t. Not until I walked up on the Wright’s porch that day. I was with Brianna’s grandfather, Pearson. We’d gone over so I could meet his family before we cranked things up. Pearson wanted his son, Amos, to look over some things he wanted to do with my career. You know, get his feedback. That’s when I met little Miss Brianna. She was ten, and yes, I remember because her little friend, Alana, told me how old they were as she announced that I was old after hearing I was a senior citizen of twenty-five.”

  Chad let out sporadic chuckles. “Twenty-five . . . old, huh? What I wouldn’t give to be twenty-five again.”

  “You’re only, what . . . twenty-nine?” King d.Avid said.

  “Yeah.” Chad smiled. “About to hit the big three-o in a couple of months.”

  “I still would like to go over and say hello. If it hadn’t been for Brianna’s grandfather, I wouldn’t be standing here today as King d.Avid, the world-renowned psalmist and mega recording artist. I would be merely David Shepherd, the trying-to-be.”

  “I doubt that, not with your talent. You’d have made it regardless,” Chad said.

  “Yeah, maybe. Who can ever say? But there are a lot of talented, and truthfully, determined folks out there who never achieve their dreams. We never know what one different decision might have made in our lives.”

  “I’ve always thought about that,” Chad said.

  “What?”

  “You know: making a different decision back then. Like if there was a way to go back in time, make a different choice, then see where that would have led you. Take me, for instance. Had I married that girl I was so in love with instead of losing her because I wouldn’t let her know how much I really wanted her, how much different would my life be today? Had I chosen differently, what would be different about my whole life now? Would I even be standing here talking to you right this minute?” Chad said.