Alexis patted Trish’s hand. “They’ll be here, but I can go first so we can begin. You just go up there and thank everyone for coming and then I’ll give my speech.”

  Trish’s eyes widened. “Sounds like a plan.” She got out of her seat, stood behind the podium, and adjusted the microphone. “Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for spending your Sunday afternoon learning about the dangers of distracted driving. I don’t know if you have ever experienced something like this, but the results can be devastating, and that’s what we want to talk about today. This will not be an easy conversation, but if you take it to heart, it just might save someone’s life.”

  Trish glanced over her shoulder at Alexis, then turned back to the crowd. “Right now, I want to bring to the microphone a woman I call a friend. At first glance we are the most unlikely of friends as two people can be, but God saw fit to bring us together, and for that I am thankful.”

  Alexis walked over to Trish. They hugged. Then Alexis stood behind the podium. She addressed Trish first. “Thank you for those kind words, Trish. I am so grateful you found the strength in your heart to not only forgive me for the harm I caused to your family but to also become my friend.

  Alexis then faced the crowd. “I’d like to tell you a little bit of my story. I used to think it was no big deal to read my text messages or even to respond to text messages while driving.

  “You see, I thought the things that were going on in my life earned me the right to ignore the rules of the road. My mother had mental illness, and she was always doing outrageous things that I thought had to be resolved the moment it occurred.

  “My kids were always texting me. They needed this or that, and I had to respond immediately, or I wasn’t being a good mom.” Alexis shrugged, her body language reaffirming that she used to think texting while driving was no big deal. “Then one day, I got a text while I was driving, and I did what I’ve always done. I checked it. But this time, I lost control of my car and almost killed a young man in the prime of his life.” Her eyes pierced the crowd. “Can you imagine how you would live the rest of your life knowing that you had accidentally murdered someone?”

  Gasps were heard from the crowd. Trish prayed that they were truly hearing Alexis’s heart and that the guilt she felt would somehow penetrate their souls and cause them to do the right thing. They weren’t going to convince everyone to put down the phone and keep their eyes on the road, but the road would become a much safer place for the few who got it.

  “Now imagine how you would feel,” Alexis continued, “to know that you had paralyzed a young man and took any hope he had of becoming a football hall of famer. He told me he wanted to be like Emmitt Smith, but now he won’t have that chance because of what I did. I have to live with that, but you don’t. Please don’t text and drive.”

  As Alexis took her seat, Trish stood behind the podium again. She touched her stomach as she felt a flutter. Calm down, she silently told herself. She looked out at the front row and saw Moochie bouncing up and down on Marquita’s lap. Who would have thought that a little fat-cheeked baby would have brought so much joy into their lives?

  Her heart filled as she exhaled. She was on this mission not just for Jon-Jon but for Moochie as well. When he grew up, she wanted her grandson to be able to drive down the street without fear of someone crashing into him simply because they weren’t paying attention.

  She pointed to Moochie as she began. “Many of you in attendance today are young and aren’t thinking about having children, but my grandson is here today. Stand up, Marquita, and let Moochie wave to everyone.”

  Marquita stood and waved to the crowd while Moochie made gurgling sounds and played with her necklace.

  “He’s my son’s firstborn. Jon-Jon would love to run and play with his son, but right now, he can’t do it.” She turned to Alexis and put her hand on her heart. “And even though my dear friend, Alexis, is so very sorry for the one moment she took her eyes off the road and then ended my son’s hopes of a football career, I’m sure if she had it to do over again, she would pull off the road before trying to pick up her cell phone.”

  Alexis vehemently nodded in agreement.

  The double doors in the back of the auditorium opened. Dwayne came into view as he pushed Jon-Jon down the aisle in his wheelchair. Trish smiled at the sight of her men but pressed on. “Did you know that cell phone usage while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year? And that one in four car accidents in the United States are caused by texting while driving?

  “We don’t want you to have to live with the pain of knowing that you needlessly injured or killed someone.” Trish lifted a stack of papers that were on the podium. “Join us today and make the pledge to never text and drive and to not take your eyes off the road for even one second. That one second may just be the last one you have on this earth.”

  The audience broke into thunderous applause as Trish stepped away from the podium and took the microphone to where Jon-Jon was now seated just below the stage. His eyes beamed as he looked at her.

  “Mom, look at all these people.”

  Trish scanned the crowd once more. In the third row she saw Michael Marshall and Alexis’s twins. She thought it was kind of him to support his wife at this event. “God is good, son.”

  Jon-Jon took the microphone as he pumped his fist in the air. “Y’all heard my mother. We will be sitting at tables directly outside of the auditorium. Please come to our tables and sign the pledge and help end distracted driving.”

  Trish leaned toward Dwayne, who was seated next to Jon-Jon. “What took y’all so long?”

  “Jon-Jon and his trainer did an extra session. We have a surprise for you when we get home.”

  Trish didn’t have time to wonder about the surprise because the moment they ended the session and took their place behind the tables outside of the auditorium, the attendees flooded the tables, signing the pledge. Marquita, Dwayne, and Trish sat at one table, handing out the pledge forms and pens, while Jon-Jon and Alexis sat at the other table fielding any questions that were asked about their experience. That is, when Alexis wasn’t fielding questions from her husband and her children.

  It was a truly wonderful event. Trish believed they were making a difference and maybe even saving lives.

  Looking from her table to the next, Trish was once again amazed at the people who were now in her circle all because she called out to God in her darkest hour. Her eyes lifted heavenward. “God, You are a wonder worker.”

  Life had taken them down unexpected roads that made them want to pull their hair out and just give up, but prayer, faith, and patience had changed everything. Life was good.

  Chapter 35

  Six weeks later

  Waking up in her own apartment, in a decent neighborhood, felt as if Marquita finally had her own little slice of heaven. Marquita was only able to afford a one bedroom, but that didn’t bother her. Moochie was only five months old, and the crib Jon-Jon bought him fit perfectly in her bedroom.

  She promised Trish that she would attend church with her today. So Marquita pulled herself out of bed, cleaned Moochie up, and put on his onesie that had a bow-tie imprinted at the top. Her little man was looking good.

  Marquita took a quick shower, then looked through her closet. She didn’t have any of what she would call churchy clothes. The dresses she wore to work were too short, and she didn’t think Trish would appreciate her showing up wearing any of her blue jeans. She did have a pair of white jeans and a black blouse she could wear.

  She pulled those items out of her closet and dressed as quickly as she could. Even though she tried her best to hurry, she and Moochie were still fifteen minutes late to church. The choir was on the last song as they walked into the sanctuary.

  Marquita took in her surroundings as she looked for a familiar face. The carpet was blue. There were three rows of pews, and each row had fifteen long pews that could seat nine to ten people. Marquita hadn’t attended church much because her mother wasn’t into that sort of thing. This was the biggest sanctuary she had ever seen. It was grand, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The pew benches were wooden with blue cushions for the seat and the back. She spotted Jon-Jon waving to her and rushed to the middle aisle about halfway toward the front of the sanctuary. She scooted into the aisle where Dwayne, Trish, and Jon-Jon were already seated. She put Moochie’s baby seat down next to Jon-Jon, then whispered, “Sorry I’m late.”

  Jon-Jon smiled at her like it meant something to him to have her at church with his family. “You made it. That’s what counts.”

  She and Jon-Jon had been to the movies, out to dinner, and to Carowinds Amusement Park since she moved into her apartment. It felt like they were building on something and Marquita was here for whatever was to come.

  Jon-Jon took Moochie out of his carrier and sat him on his lap. Trish and Dwayne leaned forward and waved at her. Marquita mouthed, “Good morning.”

  The preacher stood behind the pulpit. He had on this white robe with black velvet center pleats on both sides of the zipper. Marquita noticed the preacher’s eyes. They seemed all-knowing but kind, like he was the kind of man who would give his dinner to a stranger and then pray for them.

  Pastor said, “Turn with me to the book of Isaiah, chapter sixty-one, beginning with verse one.”

  Aw, man, she didn’t bring a Bible. She should have known she would need a Bible. Jon-Jon nudged her. He had his Bible open to Isaiah and slid it over to share with her. “Thank you.”

  Jon-Jon smiled at her. When he looked at her like that, making her feel special, she wanted to share more than this Bible with him. She wanted to share her whole life with this man.

  The pastor started reading.

  “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound . . . To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”

  Something stirred in Marquita as the pastor ministered. Felt like God was speaking directly to her through this preacher. God wanted to give her beauty for the ashes that had been her life. He wanted to give her joy, but was she ready to receive all that God wanted to do for her? Could she tear down this wall that had been constructed to protect her heart?

  Pastor said, “I don’t know who this message is for, but you’re in here today and God is saying to you, ‘Stop trying to figure it out. Just give it all to Me.’”

  Pastor stepped out of the pulpit. His hands were stretched out wide as he stood before the congregation. “Come, son. Come, daughter. Give your problems to Jesus and let Him fix it.”

  Marquita felt a pull so strong that it forced her to stand up. She didn’t know what she was doing. She just knew she needed to walk down the aisle and meet the pastor where he stood holding out his hands waiting for her.

  Her heart started to feel funny, like it was expanding or something. Tears like a river flowed down her face as she made her way to the altar. As the pastor put oil on her forehead and then prayed for her, Marquita felt as if scales had fallen from her eyes and somehow she was able to see so much clearer.

  This feeling in her heart was like nothing she’d ever felt before. She wasn’t waiting on a man to love her, nor was she waiting on her mother to treat her the way she thought a mother should. Right here and right now, she was completely wrapped in the arms of Jesus. She cried until her body shook from the torrent of tears because it felt as if everything was finally going to be all right.

  As she turned to go back to the pew to sit down, she wiped her eyes, thinking her vision was being impaired by her tears, because she couldn’t be seeing what she was seeing.

  Jon-Jon was coming down the aisle. But he wasn’t in his wheelchair. He was holding on to a walker. Slowly and with intent, he walked past her and made his way to the altar.

  Marquita had been taking Jon-Jon to his rehab appointments, so she knew he was making progress but had no idea he was making the stand-up-and-walk kind of progress. She went back to the pew she had been sitting in. Trish was holding Moochie. Marquita pointed toward Jon-Jon. “When did that happen?”

  Trish’s eyes lit up. “He brought that walker home from rehab yesterday. This morning he told us he wasn’t going to use his wheelchair.” Trish handed Moochie to Dwayne, then lifted her hands in the air and started to shout, “Thank You! Thank You! Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord!”

  Marquita turned back to the altar. Jon-Jon was bowed down on the floor with his hands lifted in the air. The pastor prayed over him, then helped him stand back up. Jon-Jon wiped the tears from his eyes and then made his way back to where Marquita was standing.

  The pastor gave the benediction, and as everyone was leaving the church, Marquita turned to Jon-Jon. “So, I guess this is why you didn’t want me to take you to your session yesterday?”

  He bobbed his head. “I wanted to surprise you.”

  “Well, you did that,” she told him.

  Jon-Jon steadied himself as he stood in front of Marquita. “You thought I was only interested in you because I couldn’t walk and girls weren’t hanging around anymore. Now what do you have to say? I’m standing in front of you, and I’m ready to tell you that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you and Moochie.”

  Her knee-jerk reaction was to protect her heart, but she had just given it to Jesus. Now it was ready to make room for Jon-Jon and to trust that God had something good in store for them. She wrapped her arm around him and allowed herself to be loved. “And I love you right back, Jon-Jon.”

  * * *

  Sunday dinner was at Jon-Jon’s house. Marquita loved being around the Robinson family. They sat at the dinner table eating baked chicken and rice and gravy with cheesy corn muffins and green beans. Marquita was enjoying herself. But looking around the table at this happy family made her realize that she needed to be somewhere else. God had touched her heart that day and now she knew exactly what she had to do.

  She excused herself from the table and got Moochie ready for a quick trip to Ballantyne. It was a suburb of Charlotte where the homes ranged anywhere from half a million to one million dollars or more, depending on which street you were on. All the streets were nice in this area of town.

  The house she drove up to was a two-story beige brick-front home with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, an office, a game room, a screened-in back patio, and an open floor plan with granite countertops in the kitchen and white cabinets just like her mother wanted. The house had cost $649,000, and it was completely paid off.

  As Marquita pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, she smiled at the thought that Gloria would never be thrown out of a house again.

  Kee Kee swung the front door open as Marquita was taking Moochie out of his car seat, and ran out of the house. “Marquita’s here!” she yelled.

  Marquita put a finger to her lips. “Girl, you know you can’t be all loud like that in this good neighborhood.”

  Kee Kee took Moochie out of her arms and ran back in the house with him.

  Marquita walked up the stairs, getting ready to enter her mother’s new home. Gloria came to the door wearing an attitude all over her face and with a hand on her hip, she said, “I don’t have time for your foolishness today, Marquita. My kids are fine. They’re in school, and I’m taking my medication, so I don’t want to hear nothing you got to say.”

  As Gloria was talking, a cardinal flew by and landed on the hood of Marquita’s car. She remembered what Trish had said about the North Carolina cardinal symbolizing hope in the midst of sorrow and that was just what her family had been given.

  “I didn’t come over here to get on your case, Mama. I came to tell you that I’m so sorry for never recognizing how hard things were for you. And even though it was hard, you still tried your best to keep us all together.”

  Gloria’s eyes widened in complete and utter shock.

  Marquita thought she had cried an ocean of tears at church, but tears started streaming down her face before she could get out everything she wanted to say. “I never gave you credit for completing that program the state sent you through and remaining clean all these years just so no one would ever take your kids away again. I stayed angry and bitter for too long, but I don’t want to be like that anymore, Mama. I love you.”

  Gloria’s hand went to her heart, then she opened her arms to pull her oldest child into the house with the rest of the family.

  Discussion Questions

  Marquita had a hard time holding onto a job and understanding that she needed to treat people with respect. Do you know anyone like Marquita? Have you ever been like Marquita? What are three things you would tell your younger self that would have made life easier?

  How did it make you feel to read that Marquita didn’t want to dream because she didn’t believe anything good could happen for her? How would you minister to someone like Marquita?

  Do you remember young love? I do, and it is sometimes painful. I love him, but does he love me? For Marquita this was compounded by her own feelings of worthlessness. What did you think about Jon-Jon and Marquita? Did they grow enough within themselves to truly have a lasting relationship?

  Trish’s once stable life was turned upside down after her son was left paralyzed. She kept trying to sing a fruitful song, even though she was in a barren land, but nothing she did was working. Things got so bad that she was ready to leave her marriage. Have you ever been so low that you didn’t know how to get back up? What did you do to turn things around?

  At Trish’s lowest point she heard the scripture Isaiah 53:4, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” Reading something like that let’s me know that I can breathe easy because God’s got me. But does that scripture bring comfort to you or the opposite? Why?