A
s Zakia’s pregnancy progressed, her family and friends supported her as they always had. Jay was right there with her on all of her doctor visits.
“So Zeke and his biological father are getting pretty close, huh?” he said during one of the trips.
Zakia reassured him. “You are Zeke’s father. No biology can change that. Malik is a happily married man. He has a wonderful family who happens to get along very well with our son.”
When time came for Zakia to give birth, Jay was right there helping to deliver their third son, whom they named Ahmad. Jay thought for sure Zakia would take him back after the baby was born, but Zakia stayed with her decision. She called her girlfriend and high school cheerleading co-captain, Nikki, for spiritual encouragement when she needed it. Nikki Harris had married Sam Riley, her high school sweetheart, who had become a drug user. Over the years, Nikki and Zakia had learned to support each other using the Word of God and prayer.
Before church one Sunday morning, the phone rang.
“Something good is going to happen to you today, sis,” Nikki said.
“Nikki! How are you, girl?” Zakia responded.
“Blessed! I can’t talk. On my way out the door, but I just had to let you know that the Spirit of God told me to tell you to expect something good to come your way today,” Nikki said.
“Okay, sis. Have a blessed day. We’ll talk soon,” Zakia said.
“Yes. I really, really need to talk to you to let you know what God has been doing in my life,” Nikki said.
“I’ll call you soon,” Zakia said.
Ahmad was the fastest-developing child Zakia had. One Sunday when she took him to his Little Lambs class before donning her robe, his teacher told her that he sang the loudest on all of the songs. Zakia thought that her rehearsing around the house attributed to his love for music. While she was singing in the choir, she looked out and saw her husband. Jay was in the Faith in the Word congregation on his own. He had stopped trying to come back home a year ago, and Zakia had moved on with her life. She was doing contract work for Raquie from home, and her life in Christ was working for her. After service, Jay was standing by her car in the parking lot.
“Will wonders never cease,” she said as she approached him.
“Hey, Zakia. That was a powerful Word that went forth, huh?”
She was stunned, having never heard her husband speak in such terms.
“You go, boy,” she said, teasing him.
The boys had been trailing Zakia.
“Daddy!” Zeke and JJ said in unison, surprised to see Jay.
Ahmad broke away from Zeke and ran to his father. Jay scooped him up, giving him a big hug and kiss.
“Hi guys. How’ve you been?” Jay asked.
“Okay,” Zeke said.
“I miss you, Daddy,” JJ said.
“I miss you, too,” Jay said, turning to Zakia. “Can we take the boys to Mamalexis’s and you and I go somewhere and talk?”
Zakia simply nodded.
Jay took Zakia to the restaurant where he had had the revelation that she would be his wife on that wonderful day she first called his office. Brunch was being served. Zakia remembered the first time they had been there and smiled.
“What were you doing at Faith in the Word?” she asked.
“I’m thinking about joining.”
“Good God Almighty!”
“I knew you would be pleased.”
“Pleased is an understatement.”
“I’m also thinking about my family. I miss you, Z. I’ve watched you, and you got it going on, girl. You are handling it. I want to come home. Can I come home?”
Zakia was in deep contemplation. Her only concern about taking Jay back had been his attitude toward her church. She had forgiven him for his infidelity, but two different churches just would not work. Jay thought she was thinking about his infidelity. She was taking too long to respond.
“Look, I messed up, but I was only unfaithful that one time. The folk at Fig Tree Baptist won’t let me forget it. That’s why I started coming to Faith in the Word. And you were right, baby, the church is everything you said it was.”
He dispelled all of her apprehension with that outburst, and she finally responded.
“Told you,” she said, smiling.
“Can I come home?”
“ I, too, understand that because of my lack of balance, I drove you to do what you did. It was hard for me to accept because I thought I was doing the right thing serving the Lord. I now realize how insensitive I was to you and our family. I’m not justifying what you did, I’m just saying I understand. I would love nothing more than for you to come home.”
“That’s good, baby. Thank you. I’ve missed you so much. I love you.”
“I love you too, Jay.”
Jay was rising up to kiss her right in the middle of the restaurant, but her cell phone rang and stopped him. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID.
“It’s Raquie,” she said, pressing the answer button. “Hey, sis, what’s up?”
“Hey, sis. Jazz Jafari called to tell me that Melvin died.”
“Dang. Well, at least he was saved.”
“You saw to that.”
“Thanks for telling me. I’ll let Malik know.”
“Tell him I said hi.”
“Okay, sis. I’m having brunch with my husband right now,” she said.
“Yes! I hear ya, Z. That’s wonderful. Work it out, girl. You can do it. That’s my big sister.”
“Okay, sis. I love you. Bye,” she said, laughing and hanging up. “Where were we?” she asked her husband.
Jay rose up, and she met him halfway. They kissed across the table, melting away all hardness and healing all pain, then they sat back down, and he looked deep into her eyes.
“You understand that it’s time for us to put our family back together?” Jay asked.
“I understand that perfectly,” Zakia answered.
“Okay. Then if we’re done here, let’s go tell the boys,” Jay said.
“I can’t wait to tell them, but why don’t you come over this evening? I need some time to myself to pray. I also need to call Nikki to tell her the good news,” Zakia said.
“That’s fine,” Jay said.
At home, after Zakia prayed, she called Nikki.
“Girl, I have a wonderful surprise for you, but first I want to hear what God has been doing in your life down there in the ATL. I know you’re being blessed,” Zakia said.
Real Saved Folk
Atlanta, Georgia
And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
MARK 10: 29-30
F
inally, the last piece of furniture was in place. The driver of the moving van presented Nikki Riley with a receipt to sign. Once she had checked it over and scribbled her name on the bottom, he left, and Nikki was alone. She looked around at the boxes that needed unpacking, the pictures that had to be hung, and the clothes that needed putting away. Despite all the work ahead, Nikki looked forward to making the new apartment a happy home for her family. The children had helped put a few things away, but now they were all on top of the unmade bed fast asleep in one of the bedrooms. As she looked in on them, she smiled, for they had made it, but not without some drama.
It had been a long day. The eight-and-a-half-hour drive from Richmond, Virginia, to Atlanta, Georgia, would have been easier had Nikki had some help driving. Long-distance driving was not her forte. Her ex-husband, Sam Riley, usually handled all of the driving when they traveled, while she made all of the arrangements. None of their three children were of driving age, so the Lord had appointed her to handle the trip, which she did with relative ease.
Nikki’s oldest child and only son, Taj, was quite responsible for ten years old. As they drove down Interstate 85, he drifted in and out of consciousness, trying to stay awake to keep his mother company. He was worn out from helping to get his hysterical sisters into the minivan as they attempted to leave Richmond. Nine-year-old Shay and six-year-old Mia had been clinging, hugging, crying, and slobbering all over their grandfather Jim in Nikki’s parents’ living room before they left for Atlanta.
Jim Harris was the definition of grandparent, a child’s natural ally. If his grandchildren wanted something, he bought it, no questions asked. Nikki insisted that the kids be made to earn some of the gifts, which always started an argument between her and her dad.
“They’re just kids. They don’t have to work for anything. Your mother and I are supposed to give them things to make them happy. Besides, I’m grateful for two things: that I can afford to buy them things and that I’m around to see them enjoy the things I can afford to buy them, so let me enjoy myself with my grandchildren, please. Thank you,” Jim would say, and that would be the end of it.
Nikki’s relationship with her father had become a little strained since she had given him grandchildren. He seemed to usurp her authority because of her strict discipline every chance he got. Her ex-husband, Sam, had been a silent partner on that issue and just allowed Nikki to do whatever she deemed appropriate in all situations, since he was otherwise occupied with his so-called recreational drug use, which eventually led to their divorce a year ago. Sam was in denial about the seriousness of his addiction. Even when Nikki questioned him about his drastic weight loss, he reasoned it away.
“I’m intentionally losing the fat that my muscle turned into when I stopped working out like I used to when I played football. Once I lose all the fat, I’ll join a gym and rebuild my muscles and get that solid frame back that you love so much,” Sam explained. At one point, his six-one frame held two hundred ten pounds, but that was a long time ago.
Nikki had grown weary of the lies and deception and finally left him, but only after years of counseling, which led to nowhere. He only went to counseling to appease her. Sam just would not see the danger he was imposing upon his family. Finally, she mustered all the faith and strength she had to divorce him and begin again. Even after the divorce, Sam still believed that she would come back to him.
As his family prepared to leave Richmond for Atlanta, Sam went to the home of his ex-in-laws to see them off. He just stood and watched, not fully comprehending how Nikki was able to leave him and her roots, as the dramatic scene unfolded right before his eyes.
“I don’t want to go!” Mia screamed.
“I love you, Granddaddy,” Shay sobbed, holding on to Jim’s neck for dear life.
Nikki realized it would take some very gentle coercion to get the girls away from their granddaddy and into the car. “Come on, girls,” she said softly. “We have to go. Granddaddy will be down to visit us, maybe next week, knowing him. He’ll probably be there in time to help us unpack. Come on now.”
There was no attempt to let go. Jim was holding on just as tight as the girls. Nikki decided she would have to physically pry the girls away from their granddaddy. Nikki pulled Mia up into her arms and carried her outside. Jim, wiping tears from his eyes, followed them, assisting Shay, who was dragging her feet.
Taj, Sam, and Nikki’s mother, Jean, were all standing by the minivan, which was packed, gassed, and ready to go. Taj, trying to be a man and fight back his tears, helped Nikki put the girls in the backseat as they continued to reach for their father and grandparents. After kissing everybody one last time, Taj got in the front passenger seat.
“Bye. Love you. See you. Come visit. We’ll call you when we get there,” Nikki said as she pulled off, waving to the teary-eyed people standing in the driveway.
As they merged onto the interstate, Nikki smiled. She tried to hide her joy as she looked at the kids. The girls were in the backseat wailing like their world was coming to an end. They were hugging each other almost hysterically. Taj looked like he wanted to cry too. In spite of it all, Nikki laughed. She’d stepped out on faith and left. God was indeed her strength.
As Nikki walked around her new bedroom a few hours later, she was overwhelmed with thanksgiving, excitement, and hopefulness for a bright future. She knew deep down inside that whatever God had in store for her was so awesome that it was going to make everything she had been through to get to Atlanta worth it.
I
t was a glorious summer morning. The loud ring of the cell phone startled her awake.
“Huh? Huh? What?” Nikki asked, waking up, adjusting to the unfamiliar room. For a second, she wondered,
Where am I?
The phone rang again, jarring her memory as she answered it. “Hello.”
“So you actually did it. You up and left your family and friends. What are we supposed to do now? We don’t stand a chance in this dog-eat-dog world without you here praying for us,” the female voice said.
“What’s up, cuz? What? You thought I was joking about moving? Besides, I can pray for my folks from anywhere,” Nikki said, recognizing her cousin Rae Peterson’s voice.
“Yeah, well, we need you here,” Rae said.
“Why? You all do whatever you want to do. You don’t listen to me. Sam didn’t and you either.”
“I do. Matter of fact, something you said to me had to keep me from killing somebody last night.”
“Rae, girl, what have you gone and done now?”
“See, I got this page to go make a drop, and when I showed up and gave them the hundred-dollar rock, they said they only had fifty dollars. I told them to give it back so I could cut it in half, and they tried to leave with the whole thing after only paying for half, talking about they good for it. It was two sorry, punk crackheads that I keep saying I’m going to stop dealing with, but I keep going to get that money. It got to the point where I had to pull out my piece and put it to the head of the one who wouldn’t give me my stuff back.”
“Did he give it back?”
“Heck yeah, he gave me my rock back. The other one took off running when he saw my nine-millimeter. I cussed him out, took my stuff, and drove off. I did throw the fifty dollars out the window as I pulled off,” Rae explained.