Good to Me (33 page)

“Look at you ministering to me. You better do it, girl.”

“It’s so much freedom in that perception.”

“You’re right about that.”

“So back to what I was saying. You are so perfect with your little waist. Your complexion is smooth and you look good in your
clothes. And I don’t know nobody that can wake up with their hair still in place.”

“It’s called I-have-a-good-hairstylist.”

They laughed. Charity accidentally looked at the clock. “Uh, we better hurry up. It’s after seven.”

“Remind me to get directions to the prison when we go to eat the continental breakfast.”

“I will.”

Although the prison was a straight three miles from the hotel, neither Charity nor Sharon spoke a word. Charity’s stomach
was in knots because she hated the check-in process. That’s why she rarely visited her father at the federal prison in Atlanta.
It made her feel like a prisoner.

Sharon broke the silence. “You nervous?”

“So nervous I got to pee.”

They laughed. “I don’t know if I’m more excited about you meeting my brother or me introducing you to him.” She clapped her
hands in excitement.

They walked into the lobby and stood at the desk behind a few others who were going before them.

“You need to fill out one of those papers,” the woman directly in front of them said.

“Thank you.”

This was the same form she had to fill out in Atlanta. She suspected that the rest of the process would be the same too. She
sighed. It took them a whole forty-five minutes to do nothing but wait. When a guard finally appeared, they thought he was
going to give them some bad news.

“All right, let’s go,” he said, like the people waiting were the holdup.

They all stood and followed him. They stopped at every door and had to have their IDs checked and their hands scanned under
a fluorescent light to make sure their hands were still stamped. This was ridiculous, Charity rolled her eyes. The guard let
them out of the last set of doors and led them outside. They could see the campus and dormitories from where they were. They
walked one hundred feet to the visiting facility. Charity didn’t even look up, she just followed the persons in front of her
to get her hand scanned and ID checked for the last time. She looked up when she heard Sharon squealing.

“There he is, there he is.”

Charity looked in the direction Sharon was pointing to find Joseph, a bronze-colored, broad-shouldered man who was smiling
like he had just won a million dollars. The boy was so fine, he made the tan-colored prisoner uniform look like an Armani
suit. Charity nervously waved and returned his smile. After they were done at the desk, Sharon walked briskly before her and
hugged her brother.

He held her. “Look at you, girl. You look good. Looking like Momma.”

“Joseph,” Sharon said, “meet Minister Charity Phillips.” She had her hands outstretched toward Charity as she stepped forward.

“Look at my wife,” he said. “Girl, you are fine!”

Being called his wife made Charity nervous.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Sharon added. “Just perfect. Y’all look good together.”

Joseph hugged Charity and then he leaned back to kiss her. She turned her cheek to him. “Thank you,” he said. “And you smell
good.”

He led them to their assigned chairs and sat between them. He didn’t appear nervous and he had the same confidence that he
wrote with.

“Your picture does you no justice,” he told Charity.

“It was an old picture and the only one I could e-mail to the editor of the magazine.”

“Wow. I can’t believe that just three weeks ago I read your article, felt led to write to you, and now you are here with me.
And better yet, you’re with my sister. Y’all act like y’all have known each other for years.”

Sharon smiled and said, “Joseph, she is so sweet and so down to earth.”

“Well, I know who to call when I’m beating myself up,” Charity said.

Joseph asked a guard for a Bible and ministered to them about a revelation he had received during Bible study the night before.
Sharon listened intently and encouraged him to keep talking, even though Charity felt like he was talking too much. It seemed
as if he was trying to prove to her that he was really saved. Charity was embarrassed when prisoners and their visitors would
occasionally look back or over at them. Joseph was talking a little too loud. When he finally took a break from speaking,
Sharon agreed to find him a soft drink from the vending machines.

He turned to Charity, “Did you notice how people around us stopped what they were doing to look at us and to try to hear what
we were talking about?”

She nodded.

“They’re attracted to the anointing on me. That always happens to me.”

Charity smiled politely. She wished she were bold enough to tell him that people were looking at him because they couldn’t
hear themselves talk over him. They were trying to let him know that he was getting on their nerves, and hers.

“I’ve been talking so much, my throat is dry. I need to drink something before my breath start stinking.”

Charity smiled. “Bless you,” she said softly.

His eyes widened. “What you say?”

“I said ‘bless you.’”

“Oh, I thought you said my breath stinks.”

Charity shook her head. God was making it clear, all right. This man was arrogant and needed some balance. All he talked about
was God and the Bible.
Definitely not my type
. Sharon returned with a Pepsi.

“Did you want anything, Charity?”

“No, I’ll wait closer to lunch.”

“So, sis, are you dating?”

“Yes, remember I wrote you about Tyree?”

“Oh yeah, yeah. Y’all still together?”

“Yes, we’re planning to get married. I think I’m getting a ring soon.”

“Oh, that’s serious. I know I don’t have to ask if he is saved and spirit-filled, right?”

“He is both. I just have one complaint.” Sharon leaned over to make eye contact with both her brother and Charity. “Tyree
is a fine young man, looks just like Morris Chestnut, on fire for the Lord, soon to be a minister of the Gospel, but the boy
has no balance.”

Charity thought she would fall out of her seat.

“If it ain’t a Christian program, he won’t watch it. If they ain’t singing about God, he won’t listen to it. He doesn’t go
to the movies, he doesn’t do anything. I love him but I get discouraged because I can’t figure out if I ain’t where I need
to be and need to step up to where he is, or if he is just out there in left field.”

Joseph spoke first. “Well, I think there needs to be a balance.”

Charity pursed her lips to keep them closed.

“Righteousness is not obtained by deeds, it is a gift of grace. We make our walk with God harder than it has to be. All we
have to do is receive righteousness, but we get into bondage thinking we have to make ourselves righteous.”

“Charity and I were talking about that this morning.” Sharon glanced at Charity. “About how trying to please other people
and trying to appear a certain way because you are a Christian will run you to an early grave.”

Charity looked down, then up again. “And you don’t have anything to prove to me,” she said to Joseph. “Through prayer, I have
learned who you are. I know your character. You don’t have to try to impress me.”

Sharon stood up. “I’mma go to the little girl’s room.”

Joseph turned to Charity. “You are so right. I’m sitting here trying to impress you and let you know that I am not an average
prisoner. And I want my sister to know that I am doing well in spite of my circumstances. Thank You, Holy Ghost. I apologize.”

Now, he had her attention. A man who could recognize when he was wrong and promptly apologize. She took the Gideon Bible out
of his hand and said, “I know what’s in here.” She pointed to his heart. “Tell me what’s in there.”

He allowed her to ask questions. Sharon returned and helped him fill in the blanks. Charity was intrigued and enjoying the
time she spent with him. She learned about his failed marriage, his daughter, and again about how he came to be imprisoned.
When she asked if he had heard anything from his former partner, he told her he hadn’t, but that he knew he was serving a
life sentence. Finally, she listened as he told her about the clemency appeal that he recently submitted to the governor.
She shared his excitement and committed to pray for him daily.

The visit was going so well that when the guard gave the final call for visitors to leave, she felt sad. After Joseph stopped
trying to impress her, she found him to be funny, attentive, and sincere. She wished he wasn’t in prison. Joseph asked Charity
if he could pray with her.

“What about me?” Sharon asked playfully.

“Now, you know I’m going to pray for you. Just after I pray for Charity.”

Charity allowed Joseph to hold her hands as he prayed. “Daddy, I thank You for blessing me with an opportunity to meet Charity.
She is all You said that she would be and then some. Her visit is a testament to Your faithfulness to me. How blessed it is
to know that You remember me and that You love me.”

Charity listened carefully as he was praying. She was glad to hear him use Scripture in his prayer.

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make
my bed in hell, behold You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even
there Your hand shall lead me. And Your right hand shall hold me.”

By the time Joseph finished praying, Charity had a change of heart. Why wouldn’t she want a man with a faith like Joseph’s?
She didn’t hesitate when he asked for her phone number. She helped him commit her number to memory so that he could have it
put on his phone list for approval.

During the ride home, she and Sharon talked about Joseph so much, they reached Charlotte sooner than they expected. Charity
couldn’t believe how fast her heart had changed.
If only Emmitt was as spiritually mature as Joseph, and if Joseph was as available as Emmitt
.

IT WAS JUST TUESDAY
and Joseph was more than pleased to have received another letter from Charity today. He walked over to the mailroom counter
and without looking at the other pieces of mail, he pushed them to the side. The two pictures she sent had him mesmerized.
The woman was breathtaking. In the first picture she was standing behind an executive chair with her hands resting on its
back.
She looks presidential
, he giggled. She was wearing a tailored brown blazer with a champagne-colored silk shirt underneath. He studied her big eyes
and admired her gracious smile. “Umph, umph, umph. Thank You, Father. You are the bomb!” The other picture revealed Charity
and her son, posing beside a sand sculpture that was supposed to be a castle. He turned it over. She had written, “Me and
Xavier at Myrtle Beach, summer 2004.” He found himself wishing that she didn’t have on the white capri pants over her bathing
suit. She looked good and was shapely for someone so petite. Xavier looked just like her. He had the same eyes and smile as
his mother. He was handsome and he looked like a good boy. He was wearing a white tank top and swimming shorts that matched
Charity’s navy blue and white swimsuit. When Joseph had his fill of staring at the pictures, he read the card she sent. On
the card front, sprinkles of rain were coming down from a cloud and there was an umbrella lying upside down on the ground
with water in it. The inside read, “I’m praying a downpour of blessings for you.” His smile turned into a blush when he read
about how much she enjoyed her visit with him.

He stuffed the card in the envelope and walked back to his dorm. He had a few minutes before he had to go back to work. He
wanted to run and tell Allen and Hankins about what he’d received, but he believed they were probably sick of hearing about
Charity by now. That’s all he had been talking about since the visit. Before he could get to his room, he heard his name being
called.

“Nelson, let’s go.”

He looked at the security guard like he was cross-eyed. This particular officer was always looking for someone to harass.
“I’m not going to be here long, officer. I just came to freshen up before I went back to work.”

“Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you. You need to report to your counselor immediately.”

He was getting annoyed by now. “Have I done something wrong, officer?”

“No, you’re out of here.”

Supposing that the officers had finally won their complaints against him and the others who were holding the nightly intercessory
prayer meetings, he feared that he was going to be shipped to another facility. He wanted to smack that mocking smile off
the guard’s face. “Thank you,” he replied, and stormed off.

He went to his room and washed his face. He knelt by his bedside and prayed. “God, please be with me when I stand before Officer
Johnson. Touch his heart so that when he sees me, he sees You. If their intentions are to have me moved, Lord, send Your ministering
angels to mess up their paperwork. The only move I want to make from here, Lord, is to my home. May it be so, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.”

He arose not feeling much different from the way he did when he fell to his knees, but he rested in knowing that God was still
in control. When he walked into Officer Johnson’s office, the counselor stood up to greet him. He was usually glad to see
Joseph, so his greeting did not change Joseph’s demeanor. “Hey there, Nelson, are you all packed?”

His heart sank; it was true that they were moving him. Angrily, he snapped, “Where am I going this time?”

“Nelson.” The counselor looked at him with raised eyebrows. He picked up a letter from his desk and handed it to him. “Didn’t
you get your copy of this in the mail today?”

It took everything he had not to snatch the letter out of his hand since everybody wanted to play games with him. He reached
for the letter to read it. “Does this mean what I think it means?”

“Well, that depends, do you think it means you’re a free man?”