“Twenty million!” Gloria spat the words out like they offended her. “Sounds like we deserve that two hundred million Media Matters Inc. is offering you.”

  Peter chimed in. “Kevin’s Go-Bo app is not the only offering. Media Matters Inc. is buying the company as a whole, and we feel that twenty million is a fair price for the development of an app.”

  Gloria’s nose turned up like something was foul in this room. “Y’all think because you’re white, you’re right. And because we’re broke, we don’t know nothing. But if I get a lawyer, we might just be splitting this money three ways.”

  They went back and forth, and to Marquita’s surprise, Gloria was able to talk them into an increase of ten million. She wanted to high-five her mother for that, but Marquita knew what was to come and didn’t want to seem phony.

  They started shaking hands, and the women from Media Matters Inc. left the conference room. Michael then said, “We will make the changes to the contract and have it available for you to sign by Monday.”

  Marquita opened her purse and took out a document. She told Michael, “I’m not sure if my mom will be signing that contract or if I will.”

  Gloria swung around to Marquita. “W-What are you talking about, Marquita? You shouldn’t even be here and now you starting a mess.”

  “I’m here for Mark and Kee Kee. They signed this document requesting that I become their guardian.”

  “I’m their mother. They don’t need a guardian.” Gloria pierced Mark and Kee Kee with her eyes. “I ought to break your ungrateful necks.”

  Michael held out a hand. “Hold on, Ms. Lewis. I will have to call security if you make any more threats.”

  “You need to call security on her.” Gloria jabbed a finger in Marquita’s direction. “She’s trying to steal my kids so she can get her hands on this money.”

  “I don’t want Kee Kee’s money, Mama, but I also don’t want you to relapse or spend all of her money before she can grow up and spend it herself.”

  “That’s not your business,” Gloria told her.

  “We’ll see what the courts have to say about that.” Marquita turned back to Michael. “I suggest you hold onto that contract until the courts determine which one of us will have custody of the kids.”

  “Why you little . . .”

  The door opened and Trish and Alexis came into the room. Alexis sat down next to her husband. Trish sat down next to Marquita and squeezed her arm. Marquita felt the love in that gesture. She tried real hard not to wish that Trish was her mother. God allowed Gloria to give birth to her for a reason, even if she didn’t know what in the world that reason could be.

  “What y’all want? I don’t have any more kids to steal, because Ms. Thang here is already trying to take my kids.”

  A tear rolled down Marquita’s face. It wasn’t easy doing this to her mother, but she had to find some way to help her whole family. “I just want you to get help, Mama.”

  “We do, too, Mama. Isn’t that right, Kee Kee?” Mark said and then he nudged Kee Kee.

  Kee Kee cleared her throat. “They’re right, Mama. You need help. I don’t know what makes you so angry all the time, but it scares me.”

  “Ah, baby girl, Mama’s not trying to scare you. I just get upset sometimes.”

  “And you can’t stop yourself once your blood starts boiling, right?” Alexis asked.

  “Right,” Gloria admitted. “But I’m not the only one who acts like that. Marquita’s a hothead too. Look what she’s doing to me right now.”

  This woman had taught her every bad habit she had and hardly ever tried to encourage her to do better, or gave her a kind word. Marquita wanted to love her mother, but those feelings were buried way down deep. She hadn’t felt true, uncomplicated love for Gloria since she was a child. But she wanted to dig those feelings back up, dust them off, and shower her mother with all the love she had to give if she would let her. “Please, Mama, you’re not right. Something is wrong with you, but Mrs. Alexis says you can get better.”

  “Mrs. Alexis says you can get better,” Gloria mimicked. She then pointed from Alexis to Trish. “This is your new family, huh? What you tell this white lady about me?”

  Gloria turned to Trish. “How you even know Moochie belong to y’all? How you know Marquita’s telling the truth?”

  “Just like you got a DNA test for Kee Kee, they know Moochie belongs to them because we did a DNA test.” Marquita knew that her voice sounded scornful, but why should she keep trying to help a horrible woman like Gloria?

  Trish leaned closer to her and whispered in her hear. “Forgive, Marquita. She doesn’t mean to hurt you.”

  Tears rolled down Marquita’s face because this was the one time that she didn’t believe Trish. All her life Marquita felt like the things her mother did were designed to hurt her, but she wasn’t going to let this woman hurt her siblings anymore.

  Marquita’s unforgiving eyes darted in her mother’s direction. “Here’s the deal. I’m going to file custody paperwork for Mark and Kee Kee at the courthouse tomorrow. I’m sure I can contact past landlords and ex-friends of yours to verify everything I’m going to tell the judge.”

  Mark chimed in. “But Marquita won’t go to court if you do the right thing, Mama.”

  Gloria smacked her lips together and slunk back in her chair, staring at them. “What’s this, some kind of bad-mama intervention?”

  Trish spoke up, “You can think of it as an intervention, or you can take a moment to see how many people care about you and want you to live a good life.”

  Taking a deep breath, Marquita said, “It’s up to you, Mama. All we want you to do is meet with a doctor who can do a thorough mental evaluation. We want you to listen to the doctor and take medicine if need be.”

  “Oh, is that all?” Gloria mocked.

  “There’s more.” Kee Kee took the floor. “I want the money put into a trust for me to access once I’m grown.”

  “Kee Kee, you’re only thirteen. If we put all of that money into a trust, how are you going to eat and how will I keep a roof over your head? That’s not fair to me. You know how hard it’s been.” Gloria looked around the table, her eyes pleading with someone to help her.

  Peter, the accountant, chimed in, “There is a way we could set up a trust fund for Kee Kee and also have a monthly or yearly allotment paid out for expenses.”

  “What about a house? If we have this much money, we shouldn’t have to rent a house,” Gloria said.

  All eyes turned to Kee Kee.

  “You’re my mother, and I love you. I don’t ever want to see you homeless again. I’m thankful that I will be able to buy you a home and no one will be able to throw you out on the street ever again.”

  Kee Kee then turned to her brother. “I want to make sure you have money to go to college too. Marquita always believed that if we applied ourselves, we could go to college. Now we have the money.”

  Marquita smiled at that. “God works in mysterious ways. Who would have ever known that you would have enough money for you and Mark to go to college when I was badgering y’all about not missing school?”

  “You can go to college now, too, Marquita. We can all do this,” Kee Kee said.

  “I already registered for school and applied for financial aid, so you keep your money in your pocket.”

  Trish whispered in Marquita’s ear. “Take the money, girl. It’s hard out here.”

  Mark turned to Gloria. “See, Mama, we are going to have a home, and Kee Kee and I are going to college. Please don’t let us down. Can’t you go to the doctor and just see what they say?”

  Gloria turned to her oldest. “Y’all really think that something is wrong with me?”

  Marquita nodded. “We do, Mama.”

  “And if I let some doctor check me out, will you tear up that custody paperwork?” Gloria asked.

  “I will. I just want you to get better so that Mark and Kee Kee can enjoy being around you, like I used to when I was a kid, before everything changed.”

  Gloria looked as if she wanted to give in, but in the next moment she looked ready to fight.

  Alexis popped up and said, “I’ll go with you.”

  Chapter 34

  On Saturday afternoon, two weeks after the meeting at Michael’s tech company, Trish and Marquita found themselves lounging around the swimming pool in the backyard of Alexis’s beautiful house. How the three of them had become friends was beyond Trish’s understanding. All she had done was pray and ask God to take away all the bad and do something good in her life.

  Her grandson showed up and changed everything for her household. Marquita was a welcomed surprise as well. She thought Marquita was all wrong for her son when they first met—she was loud-mouthed and defensive about everything—but Marquita had changed and was growing into a woman of substance.

  When Alexis showed up in their lives, everything changed. Now Trish’s son had the money he needed, and Marquita’s family wasn’t struggling anymore. God was so good, and Trish knew one thing for sure—prayer worked.

  Marquita jumped in the pool, swam a couple of laps, then toweled off and took her place next to Trish again. “That was refreshing.”

  Trish covered her eyes from the hot, beaming sun. “Soon you won’t be able to lounge around like this. Are you ready to be a college freshman?”

  “Are you kidding? I feel like my life is finally about to start. I’m more than ready for college.”

  “It looks like we’re all going back to school,” Alexis said as she came back outside carrying a tray of Arnold Palmers in one hand and a charcuterie board in another. The board was filled with salami, cured ham, pepperoni, and three different kinds of cheeses—cheddar chunks, brie, and a soft, spreadable herb cheese. There were grapes, apple slices, and crackers accompanied by pecans and almonds.

  Trish glanced over at Alexis and smiled. Nobody on God’s green earth could have told her that she would be friends with the woman who caused her son to lose his football scholarship and put him in a wheelchair. Alexis had made amends ten times over for the heartache she’d caused their family, and Trish was thankful she now considered her a friend. “What’s this about school?”

  Alexis put the charcuterie board and Arnold Palmers on the table and then walked over to her lounger and sat down. “Well, you’re going back to school to teach those fourth graders, Marquita is starting her first year in college, and I got to thinking that I have always wanted to be a psychologist to help people who struggle with mental illness.”

  “You already help people,” Marquita said. “My mother would have never received her bipolar diagnosis if it weren’t for you. She might not be speaking to me, but Mark told me that she is in a much better place.”

  “I still say she needs to try Jesus too,” Trish said. “And Alexis? I think you would be a wonderful psychologist.”

  “You do?” Alexis looked a little unsure.

  Trish wouldn’t allow the doubt. “Sometimes our greatest tragedies become the greatest gifts we can give back to the world.”

  “That sounds so beautiful.” Marquita took a sip of her drink, filled a plate with some of the items on the charcuterie board, then added. “I was mortified growing up in an unstable family. We never knew how long we would live in this house or that apartment. People were always telling us to ‘pay up or get out.’”

  Trish and Alexis both put a hand on Marquita’s shoulders, trying to provide comfort.

  “That’s why I want to be a writer,” Marquita continued. “I know I’ll never be rich like my little sister, but I have stories that I want to tell. Stories that will let others know that no matter what they are going through, life can get better.” Marquita looked down at her plate. “I need some cookies. You over here being healthy with all these fruits and cheeses.”

  “Sorry. I’ve given up baking for a while, and I haven’t bought sweets since my mom passed. I’m trying to find another way of coping with my problems. My mom’s way was sugar, and I gained ten pounds following her way.”

  Trish adjusted herself in her seat so that she was facing Alexis. “I can tell you a way to deal with the stress life brings and it won’t put one extra pound on you.”

  Alexis put her hands together in a praying motion. “Please tell me, and hurry up, before I take up smoking.”

  Marquita and Trish laughed at that. Then Trish said, “Look at your hands.”

  Alexis looked down and then glanced back up at Trish, eyes saying, huh?

  “Prayer is your answer. When I feel like life has taken me on a journey that I can’t handle on my own, which is most of the time, I go to a room by myself and give all my problems to my Lord and Savior. He has always come through for me. I suggest you give it a try.”

  “You sure won’t gain any weight from that,” Marquita joked. Then said more seriously, “I just might try it myself.”

  “You two were the answer to my prayers. Matter of fact, before y’all showed up, I am convinced that God sent a cardinal into my yard to let me know that something good was about to come into our lives. Because that bird symbolizes hope in the midst of my sorrows.” Trish choked up as she added, “I’m so thankful y’all came into my life when y’all did.”

  “Aww.” Marquita put her plate down. “I love you, Ms. Trish, and I’m so thankful you are in my life.”

  Alexis seconded that. “I’m thankful for you all too.”

  They continued lounging, snacking, and talking. After a while, Trish leaned her head back. “It’s such a beautiful day. I can’t believe it’s not humid out here.”

  “The weatherman said the humidity will be back tomorrow, so you won’t miss it for long.” Alexis stretched her arms and relaxed.

  Ethan and Ella came out back with their swimming suits on. They waved at everyone and then jumped in the pool.

  Pointing toward the pool, Alexis said, “I wonder if they will feed themselves today so I can continue lounging out here?”

  “Probably not,” Marquita said.

  “Wish I could hang out here all day, but I have to prepare for tomorrow,” Trish told them.

  “Trish, you need to stop being a worrier. The event will go over fine. Just relax,” Alexis encouraged.

  “I think I need to send out more emails, pass out more flyers, or something. We rented out this huge auditorium. What if only five people show up again?” No matter how she tried not to compare, Trish kept thinking back to the first event. When the reporter described it as “sparsely attended,” she had wanted to disappear.

  “That was then, and this is now,” Marquita told her. “Those commercials Mr. Michael paid for were impactful, and we reached many people with our social media ads. People are going to show up. Just you wait and see.”

  “Okay, if y’all don’t think I need to do anything else, I’ll just lounge around here, sipping on my Arnold Palmer and taking in the amazing view.” Then Trish turned to Marquita and said, “White people got it made, don’t they?”

  Marquita glanced around the expansiveness . . . the beauty. “I actually don’t mind being up in all this white privilege. I need to take pictures because no one will believe I was ever at a house like this.”

  “Hey,” Alexis tsk-tsked. “We’ll just see the type of house Kee Kee buys for herself after she becomes CEO of the world, then I want you two to tell me about,” she did air quotes, “‘white privilege.’”

  Trish lifted her glass. “To Kee Kee taking over the world.” They each raised their glass and cheered.

  “But white privilege is a thing.” Marquita couldn’t let it go. “Just look at the way Alexis’s husband took Kevin’s app and made all that money on it for years while my family struggled, being evicted and homeless more times than I can count.”

  Marquita turned to Alexis. “I’m not trying to offend you, because you’re a really nice lady, but why didn’t your husband think he owed Kee Kee anything for that app before now? Like my mama said at that meeting, just because he’s white don’t make it right.”

  Alexis averted her eyes. “I wish I had an answer for you, Marquita. And I shouldn’t have been so flippant about your comment about white privilege. But I will tell you that my husband did hire a private investigator to find Kee Kee.”

  “He did?” Marquita looked impressed by that.

  Alexis nodded, then added. “I know how unfair life can be. And I will not deny that my family lives a privileged life. My hope is that we all work to be better and treat each other better.”

  “I know that’s right, because—”

  Trish cut Marquita off. “Let it go, Marquita. I don’t care what is or isn’t a thing. Alexis is my friend, and that’s all that matters to me,” Trish told her.

  “Thank you for calling me your friend, because that is how I feel about you.”

  Trish and Alexis hugged.

  Marquita said, “See, if more people in this world were like you and Mrs. Trish, then maybe we could all get along.”

  Trish opened her arms. “You get yourself over here and get some of this hug too.”

  Marquita joined them.

  “After you conquer this whole distracted driving thing, maybe I should work with the two of you to tackle the stigma on mental illness,” Alexis suggested.

  Marquita squeezed in and hugged them back. “That’s right, because people with mental illness can still live productive lives if they get the help they need.”

  The three of them had weathered many storms. They had learned the hard way that life wasn’t fair. While the fight wasn’t over, they were in it to win it, and that’s all that mattered.

  * * *

  The auditorium seated two thousand people and as Trish gazed over the crowd, she couldn’t find an empty seat. All of her worrying had been for nothing. She looked to heaven and gave thanks. “Lord, You did this. Thank You!”

  Alexis, seated next to her, leaned closer to Trish and asked, “You ready?”

  “I wish Dwayne and Jon-Jon would hurry up and get here. Jon-Jon is supposed to speak first. The audience will get restless if we don’t get started.”