He squeezed his wife's hand. “Because if I didn’t take the help, I’d have to sell this house and take your mom away from the home we built together. So, I don’t even care who paid that bill. I don’t want to know. I just want to thank the Lord for His goodness and that’s that.”
Gina’s father may not want to know who paid the bill, but she still wanted to know. And she thought she had an idea who anonymous was, and she was on her way to see him.
16
THE END ZONE WAS CLOSED on Mondays, but Gina was surprised that the door was locked because she and David had an appointment set for noon. Gina glanced at her watch. It was 11:59 am. She went back to her car. Turned on the engine so she could warm the car back up and waited.
Fifteen minutes later, she picked up her cell and called David. He answered on the third ring. He sounded groggy. “Were you sleep? Did you forget we had an appointment today?”
“Ah, wow, what time is it?”
“Twelve-fifteen.” Irritation was etched in her voice, but she couldn’t help it. Her time was just as valuable as his.
“I’m getting up. I was laying down in my office and fell asleep. I’ll unlock the door now.”
She hung up the phone, turned her car back off and got out of the car. He opened the door and she went inside. “I didn’t see your car outside, so I thought you just weren’t here yet. If I would have known you were in here, I would have beat on the door or something.”
He closed the door behind her. She then turned around to face him. David was disheveled and unkempt, like he had slept in the same clothes for the past three days, hadn’t brushed his hair or washed his face. But she’d just seen him two days ago, so Gina didn’t understand what could’ve happened to him in such a short time. “Are you okay,” she asked concern written all over her face.
“I’m good. Let’s get to work.” He tried to walk past her, but she grabbed his arm and brought him full stop in front of her.
“I know that I’m just an employee and all, but I’ve gotten to know you in this last month that we’ve been working together. But you are normally upbeat and always on point with gear.” She pointed at his wrinkled clothes. “You look like you fell out of a laundry bin. And don’t get me started on that hair.”
He touched his head.
Gina said, “and that face. When’s the last time you shaved? How am I supposed to get good pictures with you looking like this?”
Touching his face, David said, “Wow, you really know how to make a man feel better. I’ll go shave, goodness.”
“Yes, I want you to shave, but first I want to talk to you. Can we sit over here for a minute.” She directed him over to a table in the back of the restaurant. When they were seated, she told him. “I actually thought you’d be in a good mood when I saw you today because of the good deed you did for my family.”
His eyes flashed up at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Good try, but your eyes gave it away. You know exactly what I’m talking about. And I want to thank you and let you know that I plan to pay every cent back to you.”
He shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. I was paying off a debt that I owe.”
Gina was confused. “But you don’t owe me anything.”
“Just let it go, Gina. I’m paying it forward, okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. You can’t just pay my father’s hospital bill, which was over twenty thousand dollars and not explain yourself.”
David put his head in his hand and massaged his forehead. “Why you so difficult?”
“I’m not difficult. Why are you so moody and what does my father’s hospital bill have to do with it?”
“Okay, here it is.” He stretched out his arms as if ready to bare his soul. “You were right about me. I’m no good, I’m arrogant and I use and abuse people.”
“What? Where is all this coming from? Are you still mad about me telling that woman about how many women give you their business cards? ‘Cause I’ve already apologized for that. I was out of line.” Gina was thankful for the message at church yesterday because she now understood that it wasn’t right to judge David. He was a child with flaws just as she was. Her job was to encourage him to continue growing closer to the Lord.
“I don’t care what you tell other women about me, Gina. Anything you say wouldn’t even be half of how terrible I really am.”
A car drove into the parking lot. Gina glanced out the window, wondering if someone was trying to get lunch and didn’t realize that the End Zone was closed on Mondays. “Can we go to your office. I don’t want anyone looking through the windows and seeing you like this.”
“Again, with the insults.” He just shook his head at her.
“I’m not insulting you.” She stood up and looped her hand around his arm as she pulled him out of his seat. “I am your public relations coordinator and I’m not about to let you be seen like this.”
They headed back to his office and then sat down on the sofa together. Gina gave him a moment and then said, “Talk to me, David. I don’t have a picture on your wall of trust, but I promise I’m not going to tell your business.”
He let out a self-deprecating laugh that fell flat. “I didn’t mean to invite you to my pity party. But I’ve got to be honest, I got hit hard yesterday. And it’s only because of Christ in my life that I called the hospital to pay your father’s bill instead of driving to the liquor store to ease my pain. So, just give me a few minutes to get myself together and we can get to work.”
“But why did you do it? What happened to you? Did it have anything to do with Michelle?”
David slumped in his seat and leaned his head against the back of the sofa. “Yes, it started with Michelle. She called me as I was driving home from church yesterday. She basically threatened me saying that if I didn’t give her the money that something bad was going to happen.”
“What was she talking about?”
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t explain. Just said that something bad was going to happen. I figured she was trying to threaten me again so I drove straight to the police station to file a report against her.”
Gina clapped her hands. “I’m so glad you finally did that. Michelle needs to be stopped before she goes too far.”
But David didn’t seem pleased with himself. He looked sick. He closed his eyes, real tight like he was trying to block out something. “Brenda was there.”
“Who is Brenda?” Gina let out a loud huff. “Don’t tell me another chick gave you her number?”
“Nothing like that. Brenda was best friends with my ex-girlfriend from college. Her name was Serita Holmes.”
Gina snapped her fingers. “I remember them. I had a couple of classes with Brenda. She was studying criminal justice or something like that.”
“Must have been since she became a cop,” David said.
“I didn’t know Serita all that well. She was a cheerleader, wasn’t she?”
“Yep,” David nodded. “She was always so cheerful and just a downright good person. She never should have dated me, at least not back then when I was just a teenage boy listening to everybody tell me how great I was.”
“You did have the big-head syndrome back then.” David gave Gina a look that said, I-don’t-need-your-help-with-this. She lifted a hand in surrender. “Sorry, please finish your story.”
“Anyway, I wasn’t a good guy for Serita. As you know, I was going around campus kissing on every available girl I could find. Serita kept putting up with me, then one day I caught her out with this guy. I strong-armed her back to my dorm room and started pushing her around. I was so embarrassed that she could do me like that... I wanted to punch her. But she started crying.
“You see, I had been squeezing her arm so tight and shaking her that it caused a bruise on her arm. When Brenda saw her arm, she tried to get Serita to go to the police and file a report on me. But my coach talked her out of it. Because the incident happened the week before the big game and nobody wan
ted bad press for the school or its star athlete.”
“I’m not gon’ lie, I was happy that my coach dealt with the situation because my mama and grandmother would have beat me down if they knew about that incident. And it could have meant the end of my football career.
Gina didn’t know what to say. David had abused a girl back in college, and they basically covered it up. “Did you and Serita keep seeing each other after that?”
“We did, but to be honest with you, a part of me lost respect for her for staying with me. Deep inside, I knew that I was wrong. I never laid a hand on her or any other woman after that night because I felt so guilty. I’ve done many things wrong in my life, but I never wanted to be that type of man. And having Serita around reminded me of the type of man I could be if I lose control. So, I dumped her right before I got drafted.”
“Nice guy,” Gina said as she tsk-tsked-tsked with her hands.
“I’m not perfect. But if I could take it back, I would a thousand times. Because I found out from Brenda that Serita is dead. Some guy she was seeing beat her to death.”
“Oh, my God.” Gina put her hand to her chest. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“I had no idea either, but apparently, Brenda thinks it’s my fault, and maybe it is. Because I was Serita’s first serious boyfriend and if she judged relationships, by the way, I treated her, maybe she didn’t realize she deserved better.”
“Wait, what?” Gina got on her knees on the sofa, put her hands on David’s shoulders and forced him to look up at her. “Are you telling me that because of a foolish mistake you made at nineteen, that Serita’s death is your fault all these years later, even though it was some other man who killed her?”
“Maybe she wouldn’t have picked a guy like that if she hadn’t been with a guy like me in the first place.”
“Or maybe, just maybe when you asked God to forgive you for your sins and you gave Him your life, He actually did forgive you and is not holding you responsible for what someone else did.”
“Brenda says that what Michelle is doing to me is justice for what I did to Serita.”
Where did all these judge and jury type people come from? Did any of them have a pastor like Pastor Yvonne, who was willing to stand in the pulpit and tell them that they had no right to judge others? All judgment belonged to God. “Have you considered the fact that Brenda might be going through something that might cause her to still be holding this in her heart against you after all these years?”
“You held that kiss against me. And I promise you I was young and stupid back then, but that hasn’t stopped anyone from feeling some type of way about me.”
She sat back down on the sofa. Okay, he was right. She had felt humiliated back in college when David had kissed her one night and then acted like he didn’t even know her the next day. And yeah, she had judged him and his behavior without taking into account God’s ability to redeem and to change any man or woman who wants to be changed. “Do you have a Bible here?”
He walked over to his desk, opened the top drawer, and pulled out his Bible. “I’ve been studying whenever I have time.” He sat back on the sofa and handed it to Gina.
“I want you to study Matthew, Chapter seven. Start by reading verses 1-6.” She opened the Bible and turned to the book of Matthew. “My pastor preached on this yesterday and it made everything so clear to me.”
After spending a few minutes reading the scriptures, David turned back to Gina and said, “So basically, all the people who constantly judge me for my past behavior, are hypocrites because they have probably done just as much if not more than anything I’ve done.”
“Even more than that. Because if God has judged you and found you worthy of forgiveness, then don’t you think you should also forgive yourself?”
“Wow, now that’s deep, I hadn’t looked at it that way.” David turned back to the Bible and began reading out loud from verses 7-11. “Check this out.”
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
After reading, he looked back at Gina and said, “Those scriptures describe your situation. Because I know you’ve been knocking on God’s door, praying and pleading for God to come through for you. You put your car up for sale and you’re even getting ready to move in with your parents just so you could help them out. God has sent you the blessing you’ve been seeking, so just accept it.”
She had been praying and asking God to make a way out of no way for her, so why couldn’t she just accept David’s gift and move on. “But I don’t understand. You said that paying off my father’s hospital bills was your way of paying it forward. What exactly do you mean by that?”
He closed the Bible and looked at her for a long moment. Sighing, he said, “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“If I paid off some huge bill for your parents, you’d want to know why.”
“If I tell you, then you’ve got to drop this foolish notion of paying me back.”
Gina shook her head. “No, that's not fair.”
“Look at me, Gina. I may look a little rough around the edges today, but I’m not hurting for money. I didn’t have to put a car up for sale or move in with my parents to pay that bill. And I promise you, I won’t even miss that money. So, let me do this for you.”
Was it pride that wouldn’t let her accept this generous gift from David. She appreciated the help. But why? Does he view her as a charity case? “Tell me why and let’s go from there, okay?”
“You are one stubborn woman. Okay, here it is. First of all, I have enjoyed spending time with you. The way you treated my parents did something to me; it made me realize that I care for you like I haven’t cared about a woman in a long time. So, when I was feeling really low about what happened to Serita and wishing I could have done something for her, I thought about how you told me about the man who abused you and caused you to lose so much. I figured, if I couldn’t help my ex, then I would help the woman I am praying will soon become a part of my future.”
“Your future?” Gina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did David truly care about her? Silly question, what man would plunk down thirty-thousand for a woman’s family member if he didn’t care anything about her? How did she feel about that?
He didn’t give her much time to think about it before he leaned so close to her that she could smell the day-old scent of his cologne... still smelled good. He pressed his lips against hers, his lips were soft and warm against her. The kiss was soft and endearing at first. Then he pulled her close, held her tight as he got greedy and devoured her lips as if he’d been on a three day fast and she was the first meal in sight.
She panted and gasped for air when he finally let her go. Her mind was playing tricks on her because she’d never experienced a kiss so sensual, yet so endearing that she never wanted it to end. But now that it had, she didn’t know what to do or what to say.
As David regained his ability to speak, he told her, “I can guarantee you that I’ll never forget this kiss. Bible study and a kiss with the woman of my dreams, I’m a blessed man.”
17
AFTER THE FIRST KISS, David went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up. Thankfully, he kept extra clothes at the restaurant. He shaved and brushed his hair. He looked more like himself when he re-entered his office. “Better?”
“Much,” Gina acknowledged. She took her camera out of its case. “Now, let gets some work done.”
“If you want me to go inside the restaurant and do the videos, it’s going to cost you another kiss,” he told her as he stood in the doorway, blocking he
r exit.
“Come on, David, you don’t need my lipstick on your lips while we’re taking photos.” She stood up and walked to the door, trying to get around him.
But David wasn’t having it. He lowered his head and stole another kiss. This one was quick, but he could have sworn the earth moved as their lips parted. “Did you feel that?”
“What?” She asked as she stumbled. He caught her, and she was back in his arms again, he was coming in for another kiss. “Oh no, you don’t, we have work to do.”
“Is this last bit really needed. We’ve done so much work for this show. I can’t see how one more thing is going to change anything.”
“Are you kidding?” She walked over to his wall of trust with him. She made a sweeping motion with her arms. “These pictures are a part of your grind. These people have helped to move you forward in life and business in some shape or form. Having some of them in the audience while video of you explaining how they ended up on your wall of trust is pure gold.”
“You’re the expert, so I’ll take direction from you on this.”
“Good.” She pointed at the picture of his grandmother. “Now, stand there.”
“Oh, I can talk about Nana all day long.” He smiled as he viewed the picture of the woman who had given him the skills that he now used in his second career.
One by one, she had him stand next to each picture and discuss why the person was so influential in his life and why he held them in such high esteem that he would create a wall of trust for them.
When David stood next to Bill Hoffman’s picture and began saying, “Let me tell you about this man right here. I don’t care what or where but if I’m in any kind of fight, I’m calling this guy right here. And you know what, I don’t have a doubt that he’ll come through for me.”
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