“Okay. You’re right,” she said. “So how are you doing?”
“My students are a trip. There’s so much going on in the homes that it filters over into the classroom, but I maintain control regardless. Can’t let that slip.”
“I can only imagine. You have a special gift to be able to deal with it all, that’s for sure,” Nikki said.
“You only have to really care about them to do a good job, and I really do. They know when you don’t. It’s too critical not to care in these classrooms.”
“I can only imagine,” was all Nikki could say again.
Taj was spending more and more time downstairs. He would go to a football game with the guys on Friday nights, and Nikki wouldn’t see him any more until Sunday. She would call down on Sunday mornings for him to come get ready for church.
Kevin had joined Way Maker Ministries on his second visit after a few weeks of Nikki praising the church nonstop. He felt at home there just like Nikki said he would. He said Pastor Freeman broke down the Word in a way he had never heard it before. He was hooked. Randy liked it a lot too but was a member elsewhere. He was brought up to believe that you never left your home church, so he just visited Way Maker’s.
Nikki had given them a key to keep in their apartment, since the children sometimes lost theirs or left it at home when they went to school. The guys’ apartment was becoming an extension of their own. She could see Taj growing up, and she didn’t want to let go. The guys had tactfully let Nikki know that boys will be boys and that she had to loosen up at some point. They assured her that she had put the best of everything in her children that they needed in order to live happy, productive lives. She felt good about her new brothers in Christ and thanked God for them, especially Kevin.
T
he children went to Virginia to spend Christmas with Jim and Jean. They would also see their father, Sam, but would stay at their grandparents’ house. It was the first Christmas ever that Nikki did not spend with her family. In fact, she spent it with Jesus, in front of a roaring fire, blankets all over the floor, watching old classic movies. She felt like she was in heaven and couldn’t remember ever feeling this good: safe, secure, and at total peace. Jesus was with her, and she basked in His glory, thanking Him for all that was happening in her life, with her job, and with the wonderful people He had placed around her.
After she talked to her parents and children Christmas morning, she spent the rest of the day in the presence of God, praying and rejoicing. Later that evening, there was a knock at the door. Feeling interrupted, she got up and looked through the peephole. It was Kevin. With her hair sticking up all over her head and decked out in flannel pajamas, she opened the door slightly.
“How’re you doing up here by yourself?” he asked.
“Just fine, and I am never alone. Jesus is all up in here with me,” she said.
“Good. Just checking on you. Here’s a card we got for you,” he said, handing it to her through the partially opened door.
“Oh, that’s so sweet. I got y’all something too,” she said, taking the card and finally opening the door all the way so he could come in.
She went to her bedroom to get the small gift she had bought for her neighbors, and he entered the apartment. Nikki came back and handed him the package.
“This is just a little somethin’, somethin’ to let you know I really appreciate you guys.”
Kevin took the gift and looked at Nikki without saying thank you.
“Well, I have to get back to Jesus now,” she said, snapping him out of his trance.
“Oh, okay. Glad you’re doing all right without the kids. Call us if you need anything,” he said, blinking like he had just woken up.
The rest of the Christmas break without the children was good for Nikki. She was even getting to work on time. Erica took her to some different places around Atlanta. They saw a play, and she tried sushi. Since she vowed not to cook while the children were away, the guys checked on her every day to make sure she had eaten. Her friends took good care of her. She did miss her children, though.
The holidays were over, and things were getting back to normal. Work was good. Nikki hadn’t been late at all while the children were gone. She concluded that it was taking them to the bus stop and waiting until the bus came that was the problem. But no way was she leaving her baby alone at the bus stop, especially since it was still dark. She didn’t care how many other children were out there. She explained the situation to Vincent and asked that her hours be officially changed so that she could come in and leave a half hour later. Vincent agreed. The half hour made a big difference, resolving the issue of her punctuality.
A storm during the night had shut off the electricity while everyone was asleep. It eventually came back on, but the alarm clocks were no longer set. Nikki had time to take the children to school and still make it to work on time. In such a rush, she left her cell phone at home. After dropping them off at school, she took a back road to get to work on time and ended up behind a stopped school bus. Time was running out. Instead of waiting, she made a stupid decision. Impatiently, she backed up to make a U-turn on the narrow street but slipped into a ditch. She was stuck on a back road as she watched the school bus pull off. With no cell phone, she didn’t know what to do. She definitely could not lift a minivan out of a ditch, so she sat there, closed her eyes, and prayed.
“Father, look what I’ve done. I’m so impatient. I need Your help, Lord. Please get me out of this ditch. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
The prayer took all of three seconds. When Nikki opened her eyes, she saw two black men wearing white uniforms and caps in a white truck walking toward her car. They walked to the back of Nikki’s van and lifted it out of the ditch. They waved to her as they got back in the truck and pulled off. She waved and yelled thank you out of the window. It took all of thirty seconds. In less than a minute, God had answered her prayer.
As she praised the Lord on her way to work, she tried to remember what company the men worked for. She couldn’t, for the life of her, picture the logo on their white uniforms. She tried to recall the sign on the truck and couldn’t. All she could visualize was white. Nothing was on their caps. Just white. Then it hit her. Those weren’t men; those were her angels manifested in the flesh to help and protect her. She had seen her angels. She was overwhelmed with God’s love.
Nikki was still late by a few minutes, but she was so excited telling everyone about her angels that Brother Vincent didn’t reprimand her; however, he did note her tardiness in her personnel file. She couldn’t wait to get home to tell the children about her angels, and of course she had to tell the guys.
That same evening as she told Kevin, he looked at her funny.
“What’s wrong? You don’t believe me?” she asked him.
“Of course I believe you, Nikki,” he said, looking at her strangely.
Nikki was so excited she barely gave his expression much thought.
O
n a lazy, rainy Saturday afternoon, Nikki gave Taj the key so he could go get the mail. Among the bills and other junk mail was a letter from Rae. This was the first letter Nikki had received from her cousin since she had been incarcerated in Virginia. She was wondering why she hadn’t heard from her. The letter explained why.
Dear Cuz,
How are you? I know blessed of the Lord. I have wanted to write you but thought that you would be so disappointed in me that you wouldn’t want to hear from me. I know now that it was just a trick of the devil to keep us apart.
I love you, cuz, and appreciate all that you shared with me before I wound up in this place. This is not a good place, but because of what I know about Jesus and the Word of God, I am dealing with it. I got beat up by some inmates one day, and God was with me. I always remembered what you said about God taking what the devil meant for evil and turning it around for good. My friend Sharia and I went to the warden and asked if we could start a Bible study. I figured I could talk to these women like you talked to me, and, cuz, it’s working. The girls who beat me started coming to Bible study to intimidate me, but I ignored them and kept talking. I even give an invitation for them to get saved at the end of each session, and guess what? The same girls who jumped me came up and got saved. For real. I thought they were just trying to mess with me, but they kept coming, started acting different, and got even more girls to come. There has been a big drop in the fighting, and the warden is aware that it has something to do with the Bible studies. God is ruling and reigning even up in here. All that stuff you shared with me was right. I just wanted you to know that and to thank you for continuing to talk to me no matter what I did. I understand now and appreciate you so much. Please write back soon.
Love, Rae
Tears had met underneath Nikki’s chin by the time she finished reading the letter. She loved her cousin so much. She immediately began writing Rae back, and soon they were writing each other at least weekly, sometimes more. Nikki sent poems, stories, and devotionals for inspiration to keep building her cousin’s faith. Without the distractions of the outside world, Rae continued to grow in the things of God.
A few weeks after she started writing Rae, Nikki finally admitted to herself that Kevin had been looking strange lately. Nikki recognized the expression but didn’t want to admit it.
Anything more than a friendship would just mess up everything. Besides, he’s too young,
she thought.He never said anything to her, but she knew because a woman knows. It was a special vibe. Maybe it was women’s intuition. Whatever it was, it was driving her crazy. She needed to talk to Erica.
When Nikki got to work, she called her friend before she even turned on her computer.
“Let’s do lunch today. I have to talk to you about something,” Nikki said.
“Okay,” Erica agreed.
At noon, as they walked into the lobby together, a woman stood and greeted Erica. Erica introduced her to Nikki as Sister Jada, a volunteer.
“Sister Jada will be joining us for lunch,” Erica said.
Nikki was furious. She wanted to discuss Kevin with Erica. Not with Erica and Jada. Who was Jada anyway?
Nikki didn’t say two words during lunch. She let Erica and Jada talk. She hoped she wasn’t pouting. If she was, she didn’t care. She needed to talk about Kevin.
The next day, Erica had a luncheon meeting, so Nikki had lunch alone. Jada came into the restaurant and spotted Nikki. She came over to her table.
“Hello, Nikki. You come here often?”
“When I want to treat myself.”
“I hear you. It’s pretty upscale for around here.”
“Would you like to join me?” Nikki asked, yielding to an urge to be nice.
“Sure,” Jada said, taking a seat.
Once she was settled and lunch had been ordered, Nikki began her inquiry.
“So where are you from?”
“Boston. And you?”
“Richmond, Virginia.”
“I lived in Richmond for five years.”
“Really? What church did you go to?” Nikki asked, now interested.
“The Assemblies of God.”
“I went to Richmond Baptist Church. I’ve been to plays at the Assemblies, though.”
“I was in the Christmas and Easter productions.”
“They were wonderful. The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed them.”
“How many children do you have?” Jada asked.
“Three. Two girls and a boy. Do you have any?”
“I have twelve-year-old twin boys. Matthew and Mark.”
“Wow. I bet you and your husband stay busy.”
“I’m divorced. The boys are the best things that ever happened to me, though.”
“I feel the same way about my children. I don’t know what I would do without them sometimes.
“I am so proud of them. They both want to be lawyers like their mother.”
“You’re a lawyer?”
“Attorney Ross at your service. I’ve only been in Atlanta for a few months. I have to take the Georgia bar to be able to practice here,” Jada said.
“My prayers are with you, sis.”
“Thanks, I definitely need them.”
Nikki began to like Jada more and more. By the time they were finished eating and interrogating each other, Nikki had forgiven Jada for interrupting her lunch with Erica the day before.
N
ikki was enjoying traveling with the Way Maker convention team. It was a new and exciting environment, one that in all of her years in accounting, she had never experienced.
After she returned from the New York convention, Nikki finally found some time to tell Erica about Kevin.
“You know, you’re our guardian angel. I don’t know what I would do without you, girl. Thanks for staying with the kids,” Nikki said.
“The kids are great, Nikki. We have a ball together. It’s a pleasure to stay with them.”
“I’m so glad to hear you say that. Children are a huge responsibility, so I feel truly blessed. Girl, I have been trying to tell you something for a long time. We’ve been so busy, and then I had to travel.”
“Tell me, girl,” Erica said.
“It’s about Kevin. Girl, he’s changing. He’s looking at me all funny.”
“Well, what do you expect as nice as you’ve been to that boy?”
“He’s the one who’s been nice.”
“What did he say?”
“He hasn’t said anything to me, so maybe I’m just imagining things, right?” Nikki asked hopefully.
“Wrong. They don’t have to say anything to us women. We just know. If you think he has developed a crush on you, then he probably has.”
“So what am I supposed to do about it?”
“What do you want to do about it?”
“I have no idea.”
“Well, you have to figure that out first,” Erica advised.
“I guess you’re right.”
After Erica left, Nikki thought about it and couldn’t imagine what she would say if Kevin approached her.
Maybe he won’t,
she hoped.
With Jada volunteering and Nikki working in the same building at Way Maker, they became close. They decided their children should meet.