Ramsey's Praise

by Vanessa Miller

  Brielle was sound asleep. Maxine realized that she could have saved herself a trip up the stairs if had she set up her monitoring system at Ram’s house. She rushed back downstairs to call Ram and catch him before he got too far away from the house, so he could go back and get the monitoring equipment. But the doorbell rang, distracting Maxine from her thoughts.

  She went to the front door and looked out the window. Ram’s parents, along with Renee, were standing on the porch. Maxine opened the door and invited them in.

  Ramsey Sr. gave Maxine a hug as he entered the house. Carmella also gave her a hug, and then said, “I didn’t expect to see you. I’ve been praying for you, though, so I should have known that God was up to something.”

  “I don’t think it’s God who’s up to something, Carmella. I think it’s Ram,” Renee said as she closed the door behind herself. “Isn’t that right, big brother?” Renee yelled throughout the house.

  Maxine held a finger to her lips and pointed upward. “Brielle is sleep. And Ram isn’t here right now.”

  “Then what are you doing here?”

  Maxine was a bit offended by Renee’s tone, but she reminded herself of how wounded the young woman had been the night she’d seen her in the hospital. She’d overheard the doctor tell the nurse that Renee had lost the baby. So, Maxine knew well where her pain had come from. She even understood why she was being so rude now. Renee was operating on that misery-loves-company groove, so Maxine was going to let her slide. “Ramsey has been kind enough to let me stay in the guest room so that I can still be with Brielle while we straighten out this custody thing.”

  “What’s there to straighten out?” Renee asked as if Maxine was the only one confused about something. “The mama gave her away, you don’t have adoption papers and Ram is the father. So, naturally, the courts are going to give him custody.”

  “Renee, that’s enough out of you,” Ramsey Sr. said. “We will not stand here and allow you to treat Maxine like this. Now please, find something to occupy your time.”

  In a huff, Renee went into the family room, flopped down on the couch, and used the remote to turn the television on.

  “Please accept our apology,” Carmella said, with a mortified expression on her face. “I don’t know what gets into her sometimes.”

  “Nothing for you to apologize for. I know that Renee is hurting right now. I’ve been praying for her.”

  “Thank you, we appreciate that,” Ramsey Sr. said.

  “Well come on. Why don’t we all have a seat in the family room. Ram should be back soon. I just saw him leaving my house about ten minutes ago.”

  “How’d you manage that?” Carmella asked, curious.

  Maxine lifted her iPad off the coffee table, turned it back on and let them all see a shot of her entryway. “That’s my house. I have a monitoring system in it so I can check on Brielle. The front area of the house and the kitchen are wired also, just because I’m paranoid.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve read too many stories about nannies beating up on defenseless kids.”

  “Nothing wrong with a little paranoia. If more people watched over their children like you do, there might be a lot less children walking around wounded. I wish I could have monitored my children’s every move when they were younger.” Sadness tried to creep into Carmella’s eyes, but she shook it off. “I’m going to recommend that system of yours to Joy and Dontae.”

  “Why wouldn’t you recommend it to me?” Renee got up. “You don’t think I’ll ever have any kids or something?”

  Carmella’s mouth hung open in shock for a moment. When she gathered herself together she asked, “Why would you think something like that, Renee? I only mentioned Joy and Dontae because they are married. You’re not married yet, so I hope to God that you’re not thinking about getting pregnant.”

  Renee’s nostrils flared. “There are plenty of single mothers in this world.” Renee pointed at Maxine. “Look at Maxine. She’s doing it.”

  Ramsey stood up. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you. But I wish you would just snap out of it and turn back into the sweet little girl I used to know.”

  “Calm down, Ramsey.” Carmella reached up and grabbed her husband’s hand, pulling him back down next to her.

  Renee rolled her eyes and then stomped out of the room like a teenager who wasn’t getting her way.

  Shaking his head, Ramsey looked at Carmella. “We might need to rethink this whole business about letting our grown kids move back in with us.”

  “Hush, Ramsey. Something is wrong with that girl and you know it. We need to be patient and keep praying. That’s it and that’s all.”

  “You can be patient all you want, Carmella. But I’m telling you now, if she talks to you like that again. I’m throwing her out of our house.”

  “Let me go talk to her,” Maxine suggested. Renee headed towards the kitchen when she stormed out of the family room, so Maxine joined the woman in there. She was standing by the sink. Holding onto it with her head bowed low. Her body was shaking as if she was crying. Maxine almost turned and left the kitchen. But Renee turned and stared at her.

  “Ram told you, didn’t he?”

  Maxine saw the tears now as they ran down Renee’s face. She had been crying for the loss of her own children just before they rang the doorbell, so felt a connection with Renee. Maxine stepped forward, shaking her head. “Ram didn’t tell me. But I know what happened to you. I heard the doctor at the hospital that night.” Maxine kept advancing until she was just inches away from Renee. She held out her hand to the young woman. “You’re not alone, though. I know the kind of pain you feel. But I also know that God can heal you. I’ll pray for you right now if you want me to.”

  Renee looked as if she was about to give Maxine her hands, but then the front door burst open and Ram came barreling in carrying a couple of bags. “I’ve got dinner. Is that my dad’s car in the driveway?”

  Renee wiped the tears from her face and stepped away from Maxine.

  “Yes, your parents are in the family room and Renee is in the kitchen with me,” Maxine called back. Those butterflies were back. She hadn’t even seen him yet, just heard his voice and she was weak at the knees. God help me, she thought. What am I going to do if this man rejects me?

  Ram went into the family room, said hello to his parents. He then came into the kitchen and leaned against the door jam, staring at Maxine. “Hey Renee, how’s it going?”

  He still wasn’t looking at his sister, but she answered him anyway, “I’m better.”

  “Good,” he said and then asked Maxine, “So, I guess this means our talk is going to be postponed?”

  “I think your family needs you right now. Did you bring my supplies?”

  He lifted the duffle bag on his shoulder.

  “Thanks.” She walked over to him. “I think I’ll go to a park or something and paint so you can have time with your family.”

  “Why can’t you just stay here and paint?” Ram leaned his forehead against hers.

  She wanted to stay. She wanted to be with Ram and Brielle every minute of the day, but things were complicated for them at the moment. So, Maxine felt it was best just to get out of the way. Besides, she needed to be away from Ram and his family for a while so she could think. She needed to pray and ask God for discernment on how to deal with this man who was offering her love for a lifetime. Maxine only wished she knew what that lifetime would look like once Ram knew the truth about her. Oh she knew she could trust Ram with her heart, but could she trust him with her secrets?

  Taking the bag off Ram’s shoulder, Maxine told him. “Go check on Brielle. She should be waking up any minute now. I’ll be back.”

  13

  Brandi was fit to be tied when she arrived back at Maxine’s house and found the doors and windows locked. Ticked off and raring for a fight, Brandi went back around to the front door and started pounding on it. If Maxine had come back home and brought Brielle with
her, then Brandi had every right to be inside that house. She was sick to her stomach of these starlets who didn’t want to actually get all swollen with a baby or experience the agony of birth. No, they wanted someone else to do all of that for them.

  Brandi was tired of being used. She was going to show Ram and Maxine just how tired she was. When no one answered the door, Brandi pressed her ear against the door to see if she could hear movement inside the house. But she didn’t hear anything. At that point Brandi wondered if she had locked the door by accident.

  She glanced around. Maxine lived on a quiet street, but the next door neighbor was always out doing yard work. She didn’t want to spook anyone into calling the police, so Brandi figured she would come back once it was dark. That way no one would happen by while she was causing a brick-induced hole in the glass door around back.

  Brandi went to a local check cashing place and cashed one of Maxine’s checks for two hundred dollars. she then took that money and treated herself to dinner.

  ***

  “You are such a hypocrite, Ram. How dare you preach to me about living with Marlin, when you’re over here doing the same thing.” Renee glared at her brother as they sparred back and forth.

  “I didn’t preach to you. And Maxine and I are not living together the way you and Marlin were living together.”

  “What’s the difference? She has her clothes here, right?”

  “Yeah, and she and Brielle are sleeping in the bedroom next door to mine. Maxine is not in my bed.”

  “Will the two of you pipe down?” Carmella came into the kitchen carrying Brielle. “You woke the baby up with all that screaming.”

  Ram took Brielle out of Carmella’s arms. “Sorry about that. I didn’t even hear her cry.” He turned to Brielle and in his best baby voice said, “Daddy is still a work in progress. I don’t hear your cries as well as Mommy does. Do I?”

  Brielle was absolutely enchanted with her father. She reached out for his face while blowing bubbles with her spit.

  “I love you, too, little one.”

  “This is the other thing that I don’t understand,” Renee began. “You know that I just lost my baby. But you brought your baby to our house in Raleigh without even caring how it would affect me. I don’t get how you could do that.”

  Carmella scratched her head as she looked at Renee with confusion written all over her face. “Did you just say that you lost a baby?”

  Renee didn’t even care anymore. Putting her hands on her hips she turned to Carmella with a smirk on her face. “That’s what I said. So you see, if I hadn’t gotten into that fight with Marlin, you would probably be getting me that monitoring system for my baby.”

  Ram watched Carmella, wondering how she was going to react to Renee’s revelation. The girl had been an absolute bear to deal with since he’d taken her back home. But Ram saw Renee’s anger as a defense mechanism. He was trying his best to be patient with his sister, but his patience was wearing thin.

  Carmella walked over to Renee, took the girl in her arms and just held her. Without saying a word, Carmella managed to express love and acceptance for who Renee was and for all she would become in the days ahead.

  Renee finally broke and tears streamed down her face. She clung to Carmella as if her life depended on the tightness of her grip. “I miss my baby,” Renee cried out.

  Ramsey Sr. stepped into the kitchen, with questions flashing in his eyes. Ram signaled for his dad to follow him. The two men and a baby went into the family room and sat down.

  Ram looked at his father for a long moment, then he finally said, “I think Renee is finally ready to talk to you and Carmella about everything that happened to her that night Marlin attacked her. But you might want to prepare yourself, because she’s fragile right now and if you say the wrong thing, she might not be able to take it.”

  “Okay, but tell me what’s going on. I’d rather hear it from you, that way when she comes in here, I won’t be taken off guard by anything.”

  Ram nodded. He held his breath for a couple of beats. He then handed Brielle to her grandfather, hoping that Brielle’s presence would help his father deal with the next words he had to say. “Renee was pregnant and she lost the baby.”

  ***

  Maxine found a park halfway between her house and Ram’s house. She took her supplies out and started outlining the trees. But she wasn’t finding much inspiration from the green leaf trees; she had begun the painting with thoughts of the ones in her backyard, which were green, yellow, orange and a fiery red. She hadn’t been able to recreate the exact look of those trees yet, but she was getting better. Her art professor at the local college where she took classes even said so.

  But the trees in this park weren’t inspiring her at all. Maxine packed up her supplies and headed home so she could draw the trees in her back yard and then paint with vibrant colors. When she got home, Maxine walked around back. She already had a chair and an easel in the back so that she could come outside and paint whenever the mood struck her.

  Maxine sat in her chair and drew those leaves and tree trunks for a couple of hours as she just let the time drift by. She knew that she was just avoiding the inevitable, but she couldn’t help herself. Ram and Brielle meant everything to her, but Maxine knew in her heart of hearts that she couldn’t live with a man who despised her. She was going to have to open her mouth and tell Ram what she had done.

  Her cell rang, interrupting her thoughts. Maxine glanced at the call ID. It was Ram. “Missing me already?” she playfully questioned as she put the phone to her ear.

  “Already? You’ve been gone for several hours.” He put the phone closer to his mouth and lowered his voice. “When are you coming home, babe? I thought we were going to talk tonight?”

  Was she ready to talk? Maybe she needed to quit being such a wimp and just tell him.

  “And we’ve had so much drama going on here tonight that I really need you to come rescue me,” Ram told her.

  “What happened? Is Brielle okay?”

  “Brielle is perfect. Carmella is smothering her with grandmotherly love.”

  “So where’s the drama coming from?” Maxine began packing her painting supplies away as she and Ram talked. She missed him, too. It was time to stop running and face him with her truth. Ram was too good a person not to hear her out and then give her a chance to prove that she was a different person now.

  “Renee finally told my parents about losing the baby.”

  “How did your parents take the news?”

  “They were good soldiers about it,” Ram said. “Renee is the one I don’t understand. Carmella was hugging her and she just kept saying that she wanted to die herself.”

  “And you don’t understand why Renee could feel so strongly about an unborn child?”

  “No, I get that. But the way she’s acting, it’s like she’s blaming herself for what Marlin did. Renee didn’t run off and have some abortion, like most of these women do, that baby was beat out of her.”

  Trying to defend herself and tell part of her story, Maxine said, “Some women who’ve had abortions might feel as if their babies were beat out of them also. This world can be so cruel and... and if a woman is weak or vulnerable, she can be caught off guard by people whispering in her ear about her career or about single motherhood, until she feels so beat down that she-”

  “Oh please,” Ram cut her off. “Women like that don’t care what anyone has to say. You see them on the news all the time harping about a woman should be able to do whatever she wants with her own body, and no man should be able to tell them it’s wrong... not even God.”

  That had been Maxine’s mantra, once upon a time, not so long ago. But then God saved her and gave her a new mind. He also forgave her. But as Maxine sat and listened to Ram, she realized that this man would never be able to forgive or respect her. But whether he knew it or not, women like her did care what others had to say. Right now her heart was breaking over R
am’s words. She could feel the tears coming so she quickly said, “Let me talk to you later, Ram. It’s getting dark and I need to pack up my supplies.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you in a little bit.”

  She didn’t respond to that, just hung up and lowered her head into her lap and let the tears flow. “Oh God... oh God, if I could take it back, you know I would. But I want to thank You, for forgiving me and for loving me in spite of the things I’ve done wrong.”

  As she finished packing up her supply bag, Maxine realized that she didn’t want to face Ram that night. She pulled her keys out of her purse and decided that she would spend the night at home and then have it out with Ram in the morning. But as she walked over to her back door and fumbled around for the right key, she remembered that she had let Ram take her house key off of her key chain. At times like these she sorely regretted having one key for both the front and back door. “Well, maybe God is trying to tell me something,” she said to herself as she got back in her car and headed back to Ram’s place.

  14

  The first thing Maxine did when she entered Ram’s house was to take Brielle in her arms. She hugged the child so tight that Brielle squealed. She and Ram were due in court next week to fight for custody of Brielle. She had a feeling that Ram would be at one table with his attorney and she would be at another with attorney. Chances of the judge giving her Brielle over Brandi or Ram were very slim, but she had to believe that God could work a miracle on her behalf.

  “I missed you so much, Brielle.” Maxine trailed kisses all around her daughter’s round face.

  “Times like this make a grown man wish he was a baby again. Then maybe I could get a little love, huh?” Ram was sitting on the arm of the chair next to Maxine and Brielle.