Strongholds

by Vanessa Davis Griggs

  “Do you believe it would be in Charity’s best interest to know the truth no matter how ugly or hard it might be? Or should we just leave it alone and concentrate on working to integrate the three of them back into one, regardless of whether Charity recalls what happened that caused these different manifested personalities in the first place?”

  Sapphire sat back in her chair and shook her head slowly. “That’s what I keep asking myself. Especially after the last conversation I had with Faith.”

  “I take it Faith hasn’t made an appearance for you since we talked last month?”

  “No, she hasn’t. She said she would wait for your return to talk to you, and so far, she has been true to her word.”

  Dr. Holden picked up his pen and started writing on a pad in front of him. “So when would you like me to see her? And will it be you and I in there together?”

  Sapphire picked up her portable digital assistant. “Yeah, like Faith would give me the satisfaction of being in there,” she said while pressing buttons on the handheld electronic device.

  Dr. Holden leaned back in his overstuffed burgundy leather chair again. “What happened between you and Faith?”

  “I almost said ‘she’s crazy,’ but what would that indicate about me? Calling a person who really doesn’t exist crazy. Let me see if I can explain this. Pastor Landris’s brother and I were like a couple—”

  “Thomas Landris.”

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s one of my patients. Remember?”

  “Yes, I remember. I was the one who diagnosed him as having a bipolar disorder and urged him to get some help,” Sapphire said.

  “And he got it not a minute too soon,” Dr. Holden said. “He was in the throes of a serious episode when I first saw him. He had to stay in the hospital almost a month, but I finally got his medicine dosage to the right level, and he’s doing remarkably well.”

  “Yes, I know. I’ve seen him, and he seems to be doing well. Much more functional and not as volatile as he was last year.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your story. I just didn’t know if you remembered I’m his doctor. I wouldn’t want you divulging anything you believe should be kept confidential about him to me.”

  Sapphire shook her head. “There’s nothing I can’t tell you concerning this. Anyway, Thomas and I were sort of dating, if you can call it that. We had some problems because of his untreated bipolar disorder. Our relationship started going bad around March two thousand and three and by early two thousand four, was completely over. I believe Faith hooked up with him in September of 2004. They had a brief courtship and were about to be married—”

  “Wow, this is some heavy stuff. I had no idea. So she must be the woman he was telling me he was about to marry in December 2004 before things fell apart during their ceremony. He never told me who she was. Talk about a small world.”

  “Yeah. Wow is right,” Sapphire said. “Anyway, Charity stopped the wedding, from what I hear, and that’s when Thomas realized he needed help as well as Charity.”

  “So Faith doesn’t like you because you were the woman before her?”

  “Technically. I think she also hates that Charity and Hope like me. It’s like I’m a threat to her or something.”

  “You are. She probably knows you’re going to be the death of her, so to speak. She’s fighting for her life right now, and you, Sapphire, are the archenemy.”

  “I’ve tried to explain to her that I’m not her enemy. I’m just trying to help all of them be whole and well. I didn’t want to treat Charity because I felt it was a conflict of interest because of Faith. Charity insisted she wanted me only. Faith refuses to cooperate with me.”

  “Do you think Faith will tell me what we need to know, or do you think this was just a ploy to get under your skin?”

  Sapphire stood up. “I think she enjoys toying with me. I guess she thinks choosing to talk to you over me will make me feel bad. Who knows what she thinks?” Sapphire paced a few steps.

  “Well, if we’re ever going to treat her successfully, we’ll need to know.” He pointed at her electronic gadget. “What date are you looking at?”

  She went back and sat down. “I have a session scheduled for Charity this coming Wednesday. I realize that’s probably too soon for you. So whatever time is best for you, we can accommodate. I’m aware you’re just getting back and you have your own catching up to do. Folks were filling up your calendar just to see for themselves that you really did come back.”

  Dr. Holden pulled up his calendar on the computer. “The earliest I can possibly squeeze in a session with my new schedule would be next Tuesday around ten. But you would need to bring her here. That way, I’ll be ready for my next session, and I won’t have that drive downtime.”

  “Of course. I’ll pick her up and bring her here myself.” Sapphire gathered her PDA. “I appreciate this, Xavier. I wouldn’t have asked so soon after you got back, but I feel we’re so close to a breakthrough for Charity. She’s such a sweet person. I hate seeing her being tortured like this.” Sapphire walked toward the door. Placing her hand on the doorknob, she turned back to Dr. Holden. “If you need me to handle any of your clients while you get caught back up, and if they’ll let you, just let me know. You know I have your back.”

  He smiled. “Yeah. I know. But I think I’m going to be okay. Some of my clients are doing great and they need to move on with their lives. I’m going to work on doing a better job of conveying that to them and help those who really are well, to start believing it.”

  Sapphire opened the door. “Open or closed?”

  “Closed, please.”

  Sapphire walked out the door and closed it behind her. “Please, God. Please. Let Faith cooperate with Xavier this time around. Please.”

  Chapter 23

  And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

  —Genesis 2:18

  “Landris, I’ve made a decision,” Johnnie Mae said when she walked into his office at church. She leaned down and greeted him with a peck on his lips.

  “Do tell. You’ve finally decided on the baby furniture you want for the nursery?” Pastor Landris said as he watched her sit down.

  “No. I’ve decided I’m going to help you with your workload. I know you have people on staff as counselors, but I’ve taken the classes already, and I am equipped to do it. You poured your life into all of us last year, showing us how to be as compassionate and passionate as you are about helping those in need of spiritual guidance. So I’m ready.”

  “Stop. I appreciate you wanting to help, but like you said, there are already people on staff to do this. And you, my love, have more than enough to keep you busy.” He leaned forward.

  “I don’t have to do this full-time, or even part-time. I finished writing my last book and turned it in, so I don’t have that on my plate. It will be next year before they even release it, so I’ll not have to do much by way of promotions until then.”

  “What about Princess Rose? You know how much your daughter loves spending as much time with you as she can. Then there’s your mother.” He leaned back. “She’s not doing so well right now. I know how that has been getting to you.”

  “See, that’s what can be great about what I’m proposing. Princess Rose is in kindergarten all day. And I can still go by and check on Mama like I’ve been doing every day. Her doctor says there’s only so much I can do for her at this point. I’ll still be able to do that. I’m not talking about being here at the church all the time.” She picked up a pen off his desk and began to spin it. “Here are my thoughts about how we can do this. You can add my name to the list. That way if you have some women who might not feel comfortable discussing their problems with a man, I can help with those.”

  “We have a woman on staff already precisely for that reason.”

  “I know,” Johnnie Mae said. She set the pen back in its holder. “But can we be honest here? A lot of folks
don’t care to schedule with her. I know she’s really good at what she does, but people are funny about who they let their guard down to.”

  “So what are you saying?” he asked with a smile. “Some people will feel better talking to you and that will help me with my workload?”

  “Well, you did that great talk with the congregation about scheduling with other people. And I’m sure many of them took what you said to heart because you told me a lot of people did call and rescheduled with others on staff. Not everybody. But enough to help alleviate your load.”

  “Which was great. That cut down on the wait time for a lot of folks who were on my calendar some six months away. Now I’m able to get to them within about three weeks to a month. We’ll see how long this lasts. I just don’t understand how anyone with a problem will wait so long to get a resolution merely because they have a preference in who they want to discuss it with.” Pastor Landris stood up and walked around to the front of his mahogany desk. “I’ll tell you what, though. If you like, I will have them put your name on the list of available counselors with a notation that you’re taking appointments on a limited basis only. Nothing heavy. We’ll see how that works.”

  Smiling, Johnnie Mae stood up, face-to-face with him as he sat back against his desk. “Just trying to help my pastor in any way I can. Besides, you’re going to see. This is going to be a blessing for somebody out there. I just know it. It just feels like God is leading me to do this for a specific reason. I don’t know. I just want to be obedient.”

  “Well, you already have blessed me. Just knowing you want to help like this—”

  “Oh, I’m kind of being a little selfish. I don’t want all these people wearing my husband out. This way, I can be sure I’m doing my part to keep that from happening.”

  “I will turn your name in to Sherry today and have her do the necessary things to have you added. We’ll go from there and see how it works out.” He grabbed her gently by the shoulders. “But now, don’t get your feelings hurt if no one requests you. It’s not you, it’s just the way some people are. I’ve had to say this to the others on staff who at one time were taking it personally when hardly anyone wanted to schedule appointments with them. It’s not you. Okay?”

  “And don’t you take it personally when I get more than you thought I would calling and asking for me specifically. It won’t mean, dear Pastor Landris, that they don’t think you’re still awesome.” She laughed. “They just might believe I’ve been around much of the anointing by being around you, and I’m okay to talk to.”

  He laughed, too. “Okay. Again, I appreciate what you’re doing. But I don’t want you overdoing it. I mean it. The first sign that it’s too much, you let me know.”

  “Well, I’m officially six months now. I’m not as tired as I was early on in my pregnancy, so I’ll be fine. If a problem comes up, then I’ll let you know I can’t do this anymore.”

  “I have an appointment this afternoon to counsel a couple. Would you like to sit in with me?”

  “A couple?”

  “Yeah.” He picked up the printed schedule from off his desk. “Bentley and Marcella Strong.”

  “I think I may have met Marcella before, but I’m not sure. Her name sounds familiar, anyway. Do you know what they want to discuss?”

  “No. We don’t have people disclose that information when they make an appointment. I just figured this would be a great opportunity for you to get the feel for what you’re volunteering to do. Besides, this will probably be great for them, having the two of us in here together regardless of what their problem is.”

  Johnnie Mae nodded. “Sure. What time?”

  “Four-thirty.”

  Johnnie Mae picked up her purse. “That’ll work. Princess Rose will be home from school and I can either bring her with me or drop her off at her little friend Shannon’s house.”

  “See, that’s what I mean. This is going to be hard for you to do. Princess Rose should not have to suffer with time she’ll be missing with you.”

  “What, missing me? Princess Rose was begging me, just this morning, to let her go to Shannon’s house and I told her I’d have to think about it. Of course, she pouted about it. But when I pick her up from the bus stop, I’ll tell her she can go and everybody will be happy. No, I want to do this one with you. And school will be out for the summer soon, so Princess can spend lots of time with me.” Johnnie Mae headed for the door.

  “All right. I think it’s going to be kind of nice having you sitting in on this counseling session. It’s usually just me. I don’t get a lot of couples coming in together initially. Typically, it’s one or the other. Most times, I have to convince them to bring in the other spouse after a few sessions if I see the problem still persists and it affects or involves the other spouse. Bentley Strong’s problem must be something if it caused them both to decide to come in together for the initial visit.”

  “I’ll be back around four o’clock,” Johnnie Mae said. “No later than four-fifteen.”

  “I’ll see you then,” Pastor Landris said as he smiled.

  “What are you smiling about?” Johnnie Mae asked with a playful look.

  “I don’t know. There’s just something about you that automatically causes me to smile.”

  She smiled back. “Yeah. I know. Maybe we should see someone about our condition.”

  “It doesn’t bother me in the least.”

  “Me either.” She winked and then left.

  Chapter 24

  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

  —1 Corinthians 2:5

  “Don’t forget our appointment with Pastor Landris is at four-thirty this afternoon,” Bentley had said to Marcella on his way out the door as he left for the office. “We need to be ready to leave here no later than three o’clock.” Which is why he couldn’t understand when he got home at three, that she wasn’t ready.

  “You know how Pastor Landris is about being on time. He doesn’t play,” Bentley said through the bathroom door at 3:15 P.M. “He says being on time is a matter of integrity. The last thing we want to do is to show up late. Then I’d have to tell him all the other issues I have on top of that,” Bentley said.

  “I’m hurrying,” Marcella yelled back from the other side of the door. “We still have plenty of time. It’s just a little after three. It only takes twenty minutes to get there.”

  “But you can never tell what problems we might run into on the way there. We could get stuck in traffic. That could make us late and would not be a valid excuse in Pastor Landris’s eyes. He’ll just likely reiterate what he usually says during Sunday services: ‘You should always factor in enough time for the unexpected.’” Bentley paced the floor in their bedroom. “This appointment was difficult enough for me to get as it was. If we’re late, he may not even see me. What were you doing all day today that kept you from being ready already, anyway?”

  Marcella walked out of the bathroom and turned around for him to zip her. “Sorry. I don’t move as fast as I used to. Maybe it’s because of this baby I’m carrying around. Maybe if you were the one to have to carry all this extra weight, you would do a better job than I happen to be doing, and I would be ready. Look at me, Bentley, I’m huge!” She looked down. “I can’t even see my feet without bending forward.”

  He finished zipping her and she hurried to step into her new Jimmy Choo shoes.

  “You’re not huge. Marcella, look. I’m not being critical; I’m just asking what you were doing that kept you from being ready.” He stopped and thought a second. “Oh, I know what you were doing, watching soap operas. That’s it, isn’t it?”

  “Bentley, I don’t have time to argue with you about this. I’m trying to finish getting ready.” She was looking in the dresser mirror, putting on her lipstick. She turned around, popped her lips at him to set her lipstick, and said, “There! All done.”

  “Good.” He looked down at her shoes. “Do you really think you should be weari
ng heels that high? I mean, being pregnant and all.”

  “These heels are a compromise for me. I don’t like flats, yet I’ve put my five-inch heels away until after the baby comes. Three-inch heels are as low as I plan to go, baby or no baby. It was hard finding something cute like these in three-inch. I don’t do ugly or cheap shoes. You know that about me.”

  “I was just asking.”

  Marcella grabbed her purse and walked toward the door. She turned around. “Well, don’t just stand there. You were in such a hurry to get me out of here. Let’s go.” She continued walking. “You know it’s going to take me a minute to get to the car with these heels and being pregnant. I told you I don’t move as fast as I used to.”

  They arrived at Pastor Landris’s office at 4:27.

  “See, I knew it,” Bentley said under his breath as they walked back from the secretary’s desk and he saw the clock. “We were almost late. You never know what you’ll run into on the freeway. I told you.”

  “How were we supposed to know they would have only one lane opened today? Traffic was practically at a standstill.” Marcella lowered her body slowly down on the couch. “It took us fifteen minutes just to cover two miles. Was that my fault?”

  Bentley sat down next to her. “How are we supposed to know? That was the whole point of leaving early enough. You have to factor in extra time for just these such things.”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Strong?” Sherry said, still seated. “You can go into Pastor Landris’s office now.” Sherry pointed to the door on her left with a smile.

  Marcella and Bentley began to stand at the same time. Bentley let out a deep sigh once he was standing upright.

  “Ready?” Bentley said to Marcella as he helped her finish getting up.

  “Ready.”

  “Well, okay. Let’s do this.” Bentley placed his arm around his wife’s expanding waistline. She briefly wrapped her arm around him but found it too difficult to do that and be able to walk comfortably at the same time.