The Other Side of Dare

by Vanessa Davis Griggs

  “Darius! That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

  “I was only joking. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around Gabrielle writing you a check, let alone one for that amount. I know family members who won’t do something that generous.”

  “I didn’t want to take it. Not from her. I know she’s had her own financial challenges. You remember last year when something happened with her car?”

  “Yeah. The time you and I had to go to her house and picked her up so she could make it to Wednesday-night Bible study. I heard later that her car had been repossessed during that time.”

  “I don’t know about all that. But what I do know is that whatever was going on, she was determined to get to church that night. She’d asked Fatima to pick her up, but Fatima’s mother died, causing her to leave suddenly. Fatima called and asked me if I could pick her up. I also know Gabrielle lost her job right around that same time. She was cleaning houses trying to make it. Gabrielle has had a hard time for sure.”

  “But look at her now. Now she’s the director over the dance ministry at our church. Doing well enough to be able to take a leave of absence, I assume without pay, and take in a little girl who’s had serious medical problems. But let’s not forget that she’s now engaged to marry a doctor. Did she tell you when the big day is?”

  Tiffany shook her head. “I don’t think they’ve set a date yet.”

  “God seems to have turned things around for her to the point where she’s now handing out five-hundred-dollar checks? That’s all right. And it’s not like you and her are best friends, either. Not like Oprah and Gayle by any means.”

  “I’m not sure Gabrielle is doing all that great. Financially, I mean. But she said God told her to do this, and if I didn’t take it, I’d be blocking her blessings.”

  “Well, it’s not like we don’t need it. The Lord knows we needed it. I got this job, sure enough. Finally, thank the Lord. But it’ll be a few weeks before a check comes rolling in from it. This was definitely God.” He handed the check back to Tiffany.

  “Only God knew how much we desperately needed this. And only God knew the exact amount we were short of right now.” Tiffany began to cry and turned her back to Darius.

  Darius stood and walked around to where she was, pulling her close to him. “I know it’s been hard. I know it has. But I have this job now, and it pays well, really well.”

  Tiffany nodded, looked up into Darius’s eyes, and smiled. “I’m so proud of you. I am.” She stuffed the check back inside her blue jean’s pocket and released a deep sigh as though she were pushing out all of the negative feelings taking refuge inside of her. “Now,” she said. “Tell me all about this new job.” She broke into a grin. “My baby got a job!”

  He took a deep breath, then exhaled as he grinned. “You are looking at the new co-chair in charge of getting out the youth vote for Representative Lawrence Simmons’s reelection campaign.”

  Tiffany pulled back. “You got a job doing something in politics? But you don’t know anything about politics. In fact, you hardly even vote. So is this just a temporary job or something? The election is in November. It has to be temporary.”

  He cocked his head to one side. “Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence. Where’s the enthusiasm? Where’s the excitement? Where’s the thanking God for this blessing, even if it is temporary?”

  Tiffany hugged him. “I’m excited. This is great! But it’s already May and the election is the first Tuesday in November. That just sounds like a temporary job to me. But I’m grateful. I am.”

  “I call this a stepping-stone job. It’s all in how you look at a thing.” He took her by the hand and led her over to a chair at the glass kitchen table. They sat down. “Aren’t you curious to know how much I’ll be making for this ‘temporary job,’ as you call it?”

  Tiffany perked up and put a smile on her face. “Yes. How much will you be making?”

  “Four thousand dollars a month with a guaranteed pay of seven months.”

  Tiffany began to count on her fingers. She did it again, adding one more finger in her count. “So that means you’re going to be paid for all of May and all of November, up until December first?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “And you’re getting four thousand dollars a month?”

  “Twenty-eight thousand dollars, that’s three thousand dollars more than what I made at my other job for an entire year, minus the overtime pay, of course.”

  Tiffany placed her hand over her mouth. “Look at God.” She shook her head. “Will you just look at God!”

  Chapter 12

  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

  —Romans 9:2

  “Is he in there?” Gabrielle Mercedes asked Mattie Stevens as she pointed toward Lawrence Simmons’s closed office door as soon as she entered the office.

  “Yes, but—”

  Gabrielle walked right past her without even pausing.

  Mattie jumped to her feet. “You can’t go in there!”

  Gabrielle opened the closed office door and closed it behind her. Lawrence was in there alone. “Call your daughter off, Lawrence.”

  Lawrence was already on his feet. “What is wrong with you? You can’t just come barging into my office like this. Are you crazy?”

  “I want you to call your daughter off!”

  “Will you please lower your voice,” he said. “Come and sit down.”

  “I didn’t come to chitchat or to hear any more excuses. Paris needs to stop this vendetta she’s on and leave me and mine alone.”

  “I’m working on Paris.”

  “Well, you’re not working hard enough. Look at this.” Gabrielle pulled a document out of a large envelope and handed it to him.”

  Lawrence began reading it.

  “She’s petitioning the courts on having a hearing to take Jasmine away from me. She told me about a month ago that she was planning to do something like this.”

  Lawrence sat there visibly shaken. He pounded his fist on his desk. “Why won’t she just leave it alone?” He looked up at Gabrielle. “I’m doing all I can. I thought I was getting her under control. Paris can be a handful to deal with.”

  “Well, allow me to tell you what I’ve been dealing with. I have a nine-year-old little girl who has gone through a bone marrow transplant. Before that, she had to deal with the loss of her father. And now she’s lost the only mother she’s ever known. I know what it’s like to lose your mother. I had to grow up without mine.”

  “I understand.”

  “No . . . you . . . don’t! You don’t understand. You don’t understand that her mother made me promise, right before she died, that I would tell Jasmine she was adopted and who I was to her. But I haven’t told her yet. I haven’t told her any of it.”

  “Please, Gabrielle, have a seat and try to calm down.”

  “I don’t want to sit down! I want your daughter to leave me and my daughter alone so I can deal with the things that matter the most right now. I don’t need to have to fight Paris as she continually causes trouble . . . trying to take Jasmine from me. It’s already a lot to fight without her on top of it.” Gabrielle began to cry.

  Lawrence pulled out his handkerchief, stood up, and handed it to her. “I’ll talk to Paris again. I’ll make her understand and back down. I will. I promise. I’ve already moved on something that should make this all go away. I’m handling Paris.”

  “If you don’t or aren’t able to, Lawrence, it’s going to get messy. I’m telling you; it’s going to get messy. I’m not trying to hurt anyone. I’m trying to handle this the best way that I can. But you and I both know that I have more rights to Jasmine than Paris ever will. And if the truth has to come out . . . all of it . . .”

  Lawrence walked over to her. “I know. You don’t have to remind me. Listen, I’ve just given Paris a job working on my campaign. I’m going to give her so much to do to keep her busy she’ll not have time to do anything else other than work,
go home, eat, and sleep. I’ll take care of her. I will.”

  Gabrielle dabbed her eyes. “You’d better. Because I love that child, and there’s nothing I won’t do to make sure she’s going to be okay. Nothing. And if Paris really wants to fight, then she’d better come ready. Because I have God and truth on my side, and she won’t stand a chance. And by proxy, neither will you.”

  “I said I’ll handle Paris.”

  “I pray that you do.” Gabrielle handed him his handkerchief back, turned on her heels, and left.

  Chapter 13

  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

  —Galatians 3:23

  Miss G! You’re home!” Jasmine ran into Gabrielle arms just as she cleared the doorway.

  “Hi there!” Gabrielle hugged her tightly as she rocked her back and forth.

  “Guess what Dr. Z and I did while you were gone?”

  Gabrielle looked into her fiancé Zachary Morgan’s smiling face, before looking back down at Jasmine. “What did you and Dr. Z do?”

  “We played checkers!”

  “You did?”

  “Yes!” Jasmine giggled. “And guess who won?” She jumped up and down.

  “You?”

  “One time out of three.” Jasmine sternly held up three fingers.

  “What? You mean you beat him one time?” Gabrielle smiled at Jasmine, then looked at Zachary and mouthed the word “What?” as she frowned hard at him.

  Zachary laughed. “She beat me fair and square. You know I’m not going to throw a game. Not in checkers.”

  Jasmine looked at Zachary. “Yeah, but you used to let me win when we played Alabama Hit the Hammer when I was in the hospital.” She turned and looked back at Gabrielle. “Dr. Z even played the Wii with me.”

  “You got him to play on the Wii? Wow,” Gabrielle said as she and Jasmine headed toward the den.

  Dr. Z followed Gabrielle and Jasmine. “I knew you were going to bring that up. You just have to tell it all.”

  “You just don’t want me to say anything because I beat you in bowling.”

  “That’s because you’re smarter than me.”

  “That’s not why.” Jasmine grinned. “It’s because I know how to hold the controller correctly, and you don’t.”

  “Yeah . . . well, I’m going to play more with you so you can help me get better.”

  Jasmine flopped down on the couch. Zachary eased down on one side of Jasmine and Gabrielle sat on the other side. “Okay, you two. It’s time we have a serious talk,” Jasmine said with a staid look.

  Gabrielle laughed. “Is that right?”

  Jasmine looked at Gabrielle. “Yes. I’m somewhat troubled. I sense there’s something you’re supposed to tell me and for some reason you haven’t done it.”

  Gabrielle’s stomach quickly turned a flip. She glanced over at Zachary, wondering if he knew what was going on. Had Jasmine somehow overhead something? Zachary gave a quick shrug while shaking his head. “So what do you think I’m supposed to tell you?” Gabrielle asked her.

  “If I knew that, then I wouldn’t have to ask, now would I?” Jasmine said.

  “Are you sure you’re only nine?” Zachary said. “You’re definitely the smartest nine-year-old I’ve ever met. I wasn’t nearly as smart as you when I was your age, and I became a doctor. Who knows what you’re going to be when you grow up.”

  “I just know there’s something you two are keeping from me.” She made a funny twist of her mouth and tilted her head first to Zachary, then to Gabrielle. “So spill it,” she said to Gabrielle.

  Gabrielle’s mind was racing a mile a minute, wondering what to tell her.

  “Okay,” Zachary said. “Why don’t you tell us what you think we’re keeping, and we’ll go from there?”

  Jasmine sucked in a deep breath and let it out as a loud, frustrated sigh. “Your wedding. When are you two going to get married? It’s been long enough. I’m waiting to be a flower girl and nobody’s saying anything about a wedding around here. So you must be planning it in secret or something. I see you two whispering about stuff. I want to know. So spill it.”

  Gabrielle exhaled. “You know what? You’re just too grown for your age.”

  “That’s because I like to read. My mother said I was reading when I was three. I suppose I’m so smart and so grown because I got a head start in learning.” Jasmine suddenly dropped her head and began to look at her hands, folding them into each other now.

  Gabrielle reached over, pulled her close, and hugged her tight. “I know, baby. I know.”

  “I miss her so much,” Jasmine said with tears falling.

  “I know you do.” Gabrielle continued hugging her as she looked at Zachary.

  “I’ve seen her in my dreams,” Jasmine said. “It’s like she’s trying to tell me something, but she can’t get the words to be loud enough for me to hear them. There’s something my mama wants me to know, but I don’t know what it is.”

  Zachary nodded at Gabrielle. He had to know that she was thinking she needed to tell Jasmine the truth about her being adopted.

  “Jasmine, there’s something I want to talk to you about. It’s a promise I made to your mother before she died.”

  Jasmine sat up straight and looked into Gabrielle’s eyes as she wiped away her tears. “Maybe that’s what she’s been trying to do but couldn’t.”

  “That’s possible,” Gabrielle said. “Because she certainly wanted you to know this. She wanted me to help her tell you when she was sick. But she was really sick.”

  “You mean when she was in the hospital and she died and went to Heaven to be with the Lord?”

  “Yes. I told her I would, but things happened so quickly. I knew you were hurting, so I just couldn’t do it then.”

  Jasmine put her arms around Gabrielle’s waist and hugged her. “It’s okay, Miss G. I know you were hurting just like me. Mom kept telling me how much you loved us.”

  Gabrielle pressed her right hand to her chest to hold in a cry that was pressing hard to make its way out. “Yeah.”

  Jasmine sat up and looked at Gabrielle. “If it’s too difficult to tell me now, I understand. I’m a big girl. I know sometimes things are hard to talk about.” Jasmine smiled.

  “Yes, it’s hard. But I think it’s time that I do this. For your mother . . . for you . . . and for me.”

  “Would you like me to leave?” Zachary asked, shaking his head as though he was telling her to say no.

  Gabrielle smiled. “No. I’d really like for you to stay.”

  “Because we’re a family. Right?” Jasmine said. “The three of us . . . together.”

  “That’s right,” Zachary said, briefly putting his hand on the top of her head.

  Gabrielle took Jasmine’s left hand. “You know how much your mother and father loved you, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, the love they had is even more special than most. You see, some children come into this world to parents who come together to create them. Then there are some who are so special that their parents go out and actively look for them to be added to their family.”

  “Are you talking about adoption?” Jasmine asked.

  Gabrielle nodded. “Exactly.”

  Jasmine pulled away from Gabrielle and scooted closer to Zachary. “Are you trying to say that I was adopted?”

  Zachary placed his hand on Jasmine’s head again. “You are so special that your parents went looking to find you. That’s how badly they wanted you in their lives and family unit.”

  “No. That can’t be possible. I can’t be adopted. I look just like my mother. We have the same eyes.”

  Gabrielle grabbed Jasmine’s hand and pulled her close to her, wrapping her arms securely around her. “Oh, baby. Your mother loved you so much! She wanted to tell you this herself because she didn’t want you to be hurt or upset.”

  Jasmine broke away from Gabrielle and stood up. “Okay, so if
I was adopted, then where did they get me from?”

  “What?”

  “Where are my real parents? Did they not want me? Did they throw me away? What?”

  Gabrielle stood. “No, honey. That’s not it all. Your birth mother wanted you. She loved you, too. She wanted you to have a good life. That’s why she gave you up when you were born. She wanted you to have a wonderful family and not have to struggle. She wanted the best for you.”

  “You don’t know that. You don’t know what my birth mother was thinking. You’re just saying this to make me feel better about my real mother not wanting me and giving me away.” Jasmine bolted and ran upstairs.

  Gabrielle looked at Zachary. “Oh, Zachary.” Gabrielle fell into his arms. “I can’t tell her. I can’t tell her everything. Not now.” Gabrielle pulled away and hurried upstairs. She laid down beside Jasmine, who was crying hard, her body jerking with each sound. “Jasmine, your mother . . . Jessica loved you. Your father . . . loved you. I . . . love you.”

  “And I love you,” Zachary said, coming in and sitting down at the foot of the bed, placing his hand on Jasmine’s ankle.

  Jasmine didn’t sit up or acknowledge either of them. She merely cried until she cried herself to sleep.

  Chapter 14

  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

  —Titus 1:16

  Pastor George Landris stood before the congregation. “I’d like to direct your attention to the epistle of Paul, the apostle to Titus. Titus, like Timothy, was one of the young men Paul poured himself into so that they in turn would pass on the teachings to others. The letter to Titus dealt with organizing the disorganized work on the island of Crete. You see: Paul wanted to encourage Titus . . . to give him instruction, and to help him rise to the next level in ministry. If you would, and I promise I don’t plan to be long today, I’d like for us to focus our attention on Titus 1:16 where it says, ‘They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.’”