by Pat Simmons
“Can we order room servants?”
“Room service,” Jet corrected and laughed. Oh, how being with her niece was the best medicine.
Getting on I-44 Eastbound, Jet exited on South Jefferson to take the scenic route back to Magnolia Hotel.
“Oooh. They look like my doll houses!” Dori pointed.
That’s nice. Jet didn’t look. She had no intention of living in the city. She was born and reared in the suburbs, and as a single woman, she felt safer. “They do?”
“Umm-hmm.” Dori nodded. “A park! Can we go, Auntie?”
“That’s Lafayette Square. Not today.”
“It looks like a park.” The confusion was clearly in Dori’s voice.
“It is a park, but that’s the name of it. We can’t go today.”
“Can we at least drive by it? Please.” Dori grinned and put her hands together in a praying manner.
“You’re silly. Okay.” Jet made a right and drove slowly down Lafayette Street, the park’s namesake. “If I remember my history, the land was given to the city in the mid-1800s.”
“You’re smart. I want to be like you when I grow up.”
The compliment made Jet’s day. She choked out, “Thank you.”
“Are those flowers that old too?”
Jet frowned. A botanist she wasn’t, so her simple answer was no as she admired the cluster of red, purple, and yellow foliage near a gazebo. It was a nice day for a walk through the small park, but then that would be the end of her house hunting expedition because Dori wouldn’t want to leave.
Turning left on Mississippi Avenue, which bordered the other side of the square, she saw a few for sale signs in the yards.
“Turn back, Auntie!” Dori yelled. “I saw it—my doll house. Turn back.”
“Hold on. Wait a minute. I’ll circle the block.” When she came to Kennett Place, Jet saw why the second house from the corner caught Dori’s eye.
Condos were intermingled with homes, but the double doors at the top of the gray stone steps hinted this Victorian structure housed two or more condos, if the third level with the dormers was livable.
Parking in front, Jet pulled the house up on her tablet. Together, she and Dori scanned the interior pictures. The price was affordable, much less than Webster Groves, but it was the city. Okay, the neighborhood did have character. Besides the park for a jog, she did spy a cafe nearby.
It had updated appliances and gorgeous hardwood floors. “Nice.” When they saw a photo of the bedroom, she and Dori oohed and ahhed together. The exposed brick wall sold her.
“Let’s go inside.”
“Let me see if we can get in.” Jet called the number on the site, and spoke to the listing agent. Within ten minutes, the agent pulled up behind her.
An older white woman stepped out of the car and tapped on Jet’s window. “Jesetta Hutchens. I’m Mrs. Rand.”
After brief introductions, Jet and Dori got out and followed the woman to the house. Dori skipped up the steps, counting each one while holding on to Jet’s hand. Thanks to her niece, Jet knew there were two steps to the first landing, ten more to reach the second landing and another five to the doorstep. Such energy, she mused, keeping a steady hand on the girl.
Immaculate was Jet’s first impression once she crossed the threshold. Trendy was her second thought.
“This is a single family dwelling. The high ceilings give this nine-hundred-square-foot home character. The kitchen features stainless-steel appliances.”
Jet politely listened while she admired the walls. “I like the exposed brick.” She reached out and brushed her hand against it.”
Mrs. Rand’s heels clicked on the hardwood floors as came to Jet’s side. “Yes, that’s also part of the charm. This home was built in 1888—”
“Wow, that’s old like the park,” Dori said, spinning around.
“Shh.” Jet placed her finger on her lips. “It’s rude to interrupt, young lady.”
“Sorry.” Dori halted.
“You’re fine.” Mrs. Rand smiled at Dori, then turned her attention back to Jet. I have three rambunctious granddaughters. Her personality is blossoming. It’s three bedrooms and two baths,” Mrs. Rand said. “Perfect for you and your daughter.”
“She’s my auntie.” Dori paused and lowered her lashes before looking at Jet again. “Did I interrupt?”
“Yes, young lady.”
“Sorry.” Dori pouted.
Jet exchanged a knowing glance with the agent. “She’s excited.”
“Well, she could definitely be your daughter.”
“Thank you.” Jet beamed at the compliment and pulled Dori closer and gave her a hug.
The tour continued to the lower level with an open floor plan, which could be used as a large master bedroom or a big game room. On the second floor, she and Dori almost squealed at the sight of the front bedroom. The walls had exposed bricks and long bay windows.
“This could be my room, Auntie.” Dori took off to explore every nook and space in the bedroom. Jet thought it would be perfect as a home office or sitting room.
“I don’t know. I may have to fight you on this one.”
“Uh-uh.” Dori shook her head. “And you said I can have a dog, and she can sleep in the bed with me.”
“You can sleep with a stuffed toy, not a real animal.”
Mrs. Rand intervened, “There is a nice garden area outside your back door for pet lovers.”
If Jet could have moved the house to the suburbs, she would have whipped out her checkbook and made an offer.
The trio retraced their steps back downstairs to the main level, lower, then upstairs to the bedrooms again. Mrs. Rand sounded like a recorded tutorial as she highlighted perks in the neighborhood, proximity to downtown events, utility costs. “So what do you think?”
“Buy it, buy it. I can give you my allowance from Mommy and Daddy.” When Dori folded her hands and grinned, Jet knew what she had to do.
“I like it, but let me pray on it and get back to you.”
The woman nodded and handed over her card.
“We can pray right now,” Dori suggested.
Tugging on her niece’s ponytail, Jet smiled. She had a lot of things to pray for, but buying this house wasn’t at the top of her list. Dealing with the Tollivers was number one.
***
By the end of the work day, Rossi felt he had been in the dark about what happened earlier at the shop. Levi hadn’t returned to the office after barging into his wife’s salon. He smirked, imagining Karyn giving his cousin a tongue lashing for his behavior. But he hadn’t heard from Jet anymore. He frowned on that because he welcomed her phone calls about scripture.
Now, he was back at home, dressing for church service. As if Jet could sense he was thinking about her, her ringtone chimed on his phone. “Hey.” He sighed.
“Can I ask you a question?”
She sounded serious. He immediately went on alert. “Always.” He tried to act calm when he wanted to say, “What happened?” Instead of slipping his feet into his shoes to complete his attire, Rossi sat on his bed and waited.
“Something strange happened earlier at Crowning Glory when I went to pick up Dori.”
He exhaled slowly. “O-okay.”
“Karyn insisted on giving me a pedicure. I only did it, because Dori thought it would be fun. While prepping my toes to be polished, Karyn rubbed holy oil on them and started praying, crying, and asking me to forgive her.”
Rossi sighed his relief, immediately understanding Karyn’s gesture. “She was probably washing your feet as a sign of humility.”
“I think anyone giving pedicures is in a humbling business, especially if they are handling someone who has less than desirable feet. Rossi, I’m not trying to be difficult, but help me understand.”
“I will,” he said softly. Never before had he appreciated one-on-one counseling with a new convert. But this was personal. She was his future wife. “To be a Christian is more than confessing wi
th your mouth. It’s about humility and holy living. I would guess Karyn washing your feet had nothing to do with business.”
He paused and checked the time. Rossi didn’t believe in arriving at church late, so he stood. “There are two instances mentioned in the Bible. One is Luke 7:28. I’ll paraphrase it. A sinful woman, not worthy of any goodness or respect from others goes to Jesus in humility crying, and with her tears, she washed his feet, dried them with her hair and anointed them with perfume. Sometimes God takes the lowest people in society to show the upper class how to live for Christ.”
“That’s so deep. What’s the other scripture?”
He grabbed his keys. “I can share the other when I return from church. I have to meet with a group of our teenagers. School is out, and we started a program at church to mentor students to keep them safe this summer by keeping God first.”
“Since I don’t have Dori, do you want some company?”
“If it’s for one Jesetta Hutchens, she has preferred seating, but I’m leaving now. How fast can you get ready?”
“Find out when you get here.” Click.
“Lord, I know You have a plan to mend fences among Levi, Karyn, and Jet…please keep me in the loop.” He left his loft and headed to the elevator.
It wasn’t ten minutes later when Rossi drove in front of the hotel. Before he could park his SUV, Jet strutted through the automatic doors. She had exchanged her jeans for a denim skirt but wore the same white blouse that looked as fresh as she had earlier.
Putting his vehicle in gear, he hurried to open her door. The seconds it took for him to get back inside, Jet was strapped in and waiting for him. He smiled. “You look pretty.”
“Thank you. So what’s the other scripture about feet washing?” she asked, not wasting any time.
A woman who was focused. He liked that about her. Matthew 5:6 came to mind: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. Jet was thirsty for the Lord, so who was he to starve her? “I want you to read John, the thirteenth chapter to get a better understanding of how Jesus has set our example to humble ourselves and serve others.”
Jet was tapping notes on her iPhone.
“In verse eight Jesus said to Peter who refused Jesus of washing his feet, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me’. I think that was Karyn’s peace offering to you.”
He glanced at her when he stopped at a light. Rossi could tell she was in deep concentration as she stared out the window for the longest time.
“This whole salvation thing is going to take some getting used to. I don’t know how my sister did it. Not once did I ever hear her complain about living in holiness. I miss her so much.” She sighed.
Rossi grabbed her hand and squeezed it, then rubbed his thumb against her soft skin. “I know,” he said softly.
She chuckled. “I’ve resisted the urge to go to the cemetery. I know she’s not there, but it’s a ritual. We shared everything—happy times and sad times. I miss that.”
“I’m here, Jesetta. I always have been here for you. We’ve laughed together and cried together when your sister passed. I’ve always been a part of your life from the day you sashayed into my uncle’s birthday party in that yellow sundress.” He whistled. The woman reminded him of a goddess.
Her mouth dropped. “You remember what I was wearing?” Her stunned expression was priceless before her sass kicked in. “And it was gold, not yellow, but I’m impressed.”
“I was too.” He was beyond ready to have a heart-to-heart talk, but more than anything, Jet belonged to God first, and Rossi had to feed her spiritually until she could stand on her own two feet. He also recalled glances at her toes. She had the prettiest feet. He could only imagine how beautiful they were after Karyn’s ministration.
“Anyway, my little manicurist-in-training painted my nails.” She wiggled her long fingers. “I must be getting old because my niece sucked all the energy out of me as we went house hunting, before this condo won us over.”
Rossi gave her a side-eye. He imagined Jesetta would age gracefully. “We’re the same age, and I’m not old.”
“Speak for yourself. You don’t have children, nieces, or nephews.”
“True, but when my wife has children, I plan to be very active with them and my wife.”
Jet gave him an odd expression as she folded her arms. “Your wife, huh? Tell me about this imaginary love of your life because you don’t act like you’re in a hurry to tie the knot. In all honesty, I thought Nalani was the one.” She looked away and mumbled, “Two cousins marrying two sisters.”
Nalani. Beautiful—yes, yet she wasn’t the one his heart yearned for. He wanted to tell Jet that she had captured his heart years ago, but he didn’t want to distract her from building a relationship with the Lord.
“I believe in being selective about a life-long mate. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be married like yesterday, but I have to be patient until the woman I want is ready for me.” Whether Jet sensed that she was the object of his affections or not, she didn’t respond as she turned and faced the window. He changed the subject. “Tell me about the condo you like.”
“Actually, Dori saw it first.” She chuckled. “She said it reminded her of a doll house…”
Rossi was well aware of the architecture and culture of the Lafayette Square neighborhood that wasn’t not far from the trendy Soulard area. “Why do you like it?” he asked and exited on the interstate.
She shrugged. “Dori likes it. Plus, it’s affordable and has a cozy feel to it.”
He didn’t interrupt. What he was listening for was her likes that didn’t involve her niece.
When they arrived at the church parking lot, Rossi turned off the engine and studied her. “I know you love Dori and she’s the center of your world, but I want you to live a life where Christ is your center. God is going to bless you with a man who is going to be crazy about you.” His breathing deepened, and he couldn’t help adding, “He’ll give you as many little girls like Dori.”
Jet swallowed and lowered her long lashes. “I hope so,” she said softly.
“He’s closer than you think.” He squeezed her hand and got out. Close quarters with Jet was just what the devil ordered. He had walked with God too long to fall before the rapture. When he stepped out, Rossi took deep breaths to regulate his hormones before opening her door.
Thanking him, she smiled. He grinned, making sure his dimples winked at her.
Once they strolled inside, Rossi steered her toward the small chapel. From his peripheral vision, he noticed Jet smiling. He faced her and witnessed a glow radiating from her eyes.
“It seems as if I can feel God’s presence.” Her eyes were wide. “No one can make me doubt God—ever.”
He pumped his fist in the air. “Spoken like a true saint of God. We are the true Jehovah’s Witnesses because we know Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ in the New.”
“Amen.”
As they drew closer to the room down the short hall, he could hear his students. Once they appeared in the doorway, they went rigid, but all eyes were on Jet. He smirked. Yep, she had a commanding presence with her beauty and height. Rossi made the introductions. “This is Sister Jesetta Hutchens. She recently received the Holy Ghost.”
“I remember,” said Tiara, a tenth grader with a Mohawk haircut. She seemed star struck.
There were about fifteen teenagers, mostly girls.
“You don’t mind if I sit in, do you?” Jet asked before she proceeded in the room.
Their response was indifferent. There were a few nods and shrugs, but mostly stares. To keep Jet from feeling unwelcomed, he invited her to sit up front with him.
This would be the first time she would attend a group discussion Rossi led, and it was a little intimidating. While he had seen hero worship in other dates’ eyes, he longed to see the attraction in hers. For some odd reason, he wanted to impress her—convince her that he was the perfect man for her.
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br /> Turning away, he silently prayed for focus as he took his seat in front of the students. “Our summer scripture this year is Jude 1:24. Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” After he read the scripture, one by one, he had all his students read it out loud for themselves, then he turned to Jet for her to be the last one to read aloud. He loved hearing her sultry voice.
Once everyone had finished the assignment, he leaned forward. “Recall this scripture when you come up against temptation this summer. If you don’t have anything planned now that school is out, then the devil has options to occupy your time and mind. If you need a summer job, I have friends who can help. There is a drug epidemic in the country—you can’t get hooked if you don’t try. You don’t need an artificial escape when you can be in the presence of God through prayer. Don’t rob your future with teenage pregnancies—that goes both ways, young men and young ladies. Most of you are fourteen and fifteen, but not too young to know about sex. If you say you love someone that means you care about where they spend eternity if they were to die tomorrow…” He paused.
“God can keep you from falling, even when you’re up against seducing spirits trying to lure you into fornication from the opposite sex or same sex. God forbids both. Don’t let curiosity be the cause of your spiritual death.”
A few times he glanced at Jet. She was either jotting notes or watching him with an awed expression, then she raised her hand.
“Minister Rossi,” she said with a touch of mischief in her voice. He was amused. “Are you saying Jesus can keep us from sinning?”
There were yeahs and nods among the group before he answered. “That’s exactly what God is saying. When we sin, we are rejecting God’s intervention.”
That prompted a round of questions until Rossi ended their meeting with prayer. When he heard Jet’s whispered prayer explode into the heavenly tongues, Rossi knew they were in the presence of God, and before long praises, and worship filled the room.
Once God had gotten His glory and quieted their spirits, everyone walked out of the chapel into a small break room where there were light refreshments to share.
