In Times of Trouble (15 page)

“It's a blessing to have friends. Bishop Henry was my best friend. He passed on to glory when Precious was a young man. Precious is destined to follow in his father's footsteps, you know? I was barren, but the Lord opened my womb and blessed me with Precious after Bishop Henry and I were married for twenty-seven years. Precious is anointed and I hope he doesn't allow anyone to keep him from God's path of righteousness.”

The smile that had been plastered on Mrs. Freeman's face was now edged into a scowl. Lisa was immediately put on guard by the sudden change in her personality. The ice water Mrs. Freeman had brought her did wonders to cool Lisa's body temperature, but she now swore not to take another drink, afraid that some little microcosms of saliva might be floating in the glass. “Mrs. Freeman, I can assure you that I will support Eric in whatever path God has him on. I would hate to see him go astray.”

“How dare you dishonor my husband's memory!” She pounded her fist on the little coffee table with so much force that one of the picture frames fell over. “It's Mrs.
Henry
Freeman!”

“I apologize,” Lisa said more out of disbelief than regret, wanting to laugh. She didn't realize how angry Eric's mother would become over something so minor.

“Please don't let it happen again. I will forever honor my husband's memory.” The beads of sweat around her forehead had already dried thanks to the AC, but she fanned herself anyhow. “It seems like you already have a great influence on my Precious. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have turned on the air conditioner. I'm on a fixed income.”

“I'm sorry, ma'am, but I was starting to boil. If it will ease your mind, I'd be happy to give you some money on your gas and electric bill this month.”

“No, that's fine. The Lord will make a way; He always does.”

If she was certain that the Lord would take care of her, Lisa wanted to ask her what the point was of even bringing up the air conditioner! She wished Eric would hurry and come back.

“I do like you, you know?”

“I'm not really getting that impression.” At this point Lisa wasn't sure how important gaining her favor was any longer.

“I'm concerned about Precious. You see, when Bishop Henry and I married, I was pure. I would like Precious to marry a woman who's pure as well, but it's too late for you. Your goods have already been tested.” She smiled warmly as though she had given a compliment.

Out of respect for Eric, Lisa took a deep sigh in order to swallow the words that she really wanted to say to this old bat. “Mrs. Henry Freeman, yes, I've been married before. Please forgive me because I'm not trying to sound rude. I'm just amazed at how you
can feel so free to speak on a situation you know absolutely nothing about.”

“I do know that my Precious may be committing adultery if he marries you. I assume you are a woman of the Word, so you should know that, in Matthew 5:32, Jesus states that anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

“I assure you that my reasons for getting divorced were biblical, but I'm not going to discuss them with you. Eric knows all about what happened between my ex-husband and me. Perhaps if you knew, you wouldn't be so quick to judge. Eric's happy. It's obvious that you care about him very much. It seems to me like you'd be happy for him as well.”

The wrinkles in his mother's face looked as if they had sunk deeper. She was clearly upset and Lisa held her breath when Eric finally walked back into the living room jubilantly and asked, “How did things go?”

To Lisa's surprise, Mrs. Freeman's Hyde personality exited and Dr. Jekyll returned. “Oh, Precious. Thank you for bringing Lisa with you. She's so delightful.”

Eric snuck Lisa an “I-told-you-everything-would-be-fine” wink.

Lisa stared at him, hoping he could read her expression.
If only you knew. . .

W
henever Eric's back was turned, Mrs. Freeman continued to sneak sharp glances toward Lisa throughout the day. Lisa went to great lengths to avoid being left alone with her. When Eric went to the restroom she followed him and stood outside the door under the pretense of having to go as well. She even managed to talk him out of his plan to take them to see the fireworks by saying she had a headache. It wasn't a total lie. Instead of the Bible, Mrs. Freeman began to talk nonstop about Precious and Bishop Henry, and it really did cause Lisa's head to hurt. It was as if she worshipped the ground they walked on.

Before leaving, Eric mentioned to his mother that he and Lisa would probably come back to Sandusky Labor Day weekend. Little did he know that he'd be making that trip alone! If Lisa had her way she wouldn't see Mrs. Henry Freeman again until the wedding. With any luck, her fragile behind would croak by then. “Lord forgive me for feeling that way,” Lisa quietly uttered, knowing her thoughts were wrong.

“Thanks for coming up here with me, sweetheart. Mother really enjoyed our company,” Eric said as they were heading back.

“You mean she really enjoyed
your
company. I certainly didn't get any warm fuzzies from her.”

Eric looked astonished. “What are you talking about?”

Though Lisa hadn't planned to fill him in on the conversation that had taken place while he was at the store, she did anyhow, preemptively—in case his mother decided to put a twisted spin on things. “I don't think she wants us to get married, or at least she doesn't want you to marry me,” she exhaled, telling him of all the words that had been exchanged between her and his mother.

“Honey, I'm so sorry. I definitely apologize for Mother's behavior. It may seem like she doesn't like you, but trust me. . .I've known her all my life. After forty-three years I know when she doesn't care much for someone. Mother likes you. I'm sure her behavior was fueled by fear. She's very old and lonely and probably afraid that I won't come see her as often once we marry. Still, that's no excuse for the things she said to you. I'm especially appalled that she brought up that scripture in Matthew. She ought to know that I wouldn't do anything that's contrary to God's Word. The Lord has brought us together and Mother is going to have to accept that. I'm going to have a talk with her.”

“Please don't. I'm sure that'll only make her feel worse. Let's give her some time to get used to me.”

Eric seemed pleased with the suggestion. “I guess you're right. If she says something like that again, let me know and I'll ask God to give me the right words to put Mother in her place. How dare she try and hold you accountable for your past? She knows the Bible as well as I do and in Luke 6: 37, Jesus specifically says ‘Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. . .' I pray Mother repents for her behavior today.”

Lisa smiled victoriously, appreciating the fact that, despite his mother's efforts, Eric wasn't a mama's boy after all. She admired
his willingness to stand up to his mother, but she didn't fully buy Eric's explanation of her bipolar behavior. Lisa kept her sentiments quiet, though, and leaned back on the headrest and dozed off until her cell phone rang.

“Hi, Mama.” Lisa faintly heard Chanelle through what sounded like an atomic bomb in the background.

“What's all that noise?”

“Sorry. . .we're at the Inner Harbor watching the fireworks. I ca. . .” Her voice faded out.

“Baby, speak up, I can barely hear you.”

“I said I called because I ran into Miss Emma. She wanted me to call you so she could say hi.”

Figuring the message could have simply been relayed to Chanelle instead of having her call, Lisa said, “It's too noisy to hold a conversation; just tell her—”

“Lisa?” sang the familiar, yet unmissed, voice of her former neighbor.

“Hi, Emma, how are you?”

“Girl, I about flipped my top when I saw Chanelle. She's gotten so grown up. She looks just like you. RJ told me that he recently moved to Ohio.”

“Um hmm. . .”

“Do I detect a rekindled romance blooming? It must be nice to have him up there with you guys. With the both of y'all in a new city, you can get a fresh start and not have to be reminded of. . .well, you know.”

“Emma, I appreciate your wanting to speak and all, but there's too much noise in the background for us to really talk. Will you put Chanelle back on the phone, please?”

“Yeah and I'll be sure to get your number from her so we can catch up later.”

“Oh, that's not necessary.” Lisa tried her best to sound polite, but from the deflated sound of Emma's voice responding “Okay,” she hadn't been successful. When Chanelle got back on the line, Lisa gave her daughter clear instructions. “Under no circumstances do you give that woman my telephone number. I do not want to be bothered with her.”

“I understand. . .”

“Where's your dad and Callie?”

“Daddy's right here, but Aunt Callie went with Uncle David to get something to drink. She has her cell phone with her; you can call her if you want.”

“No, that's okay. I'll see her tomorrow when y'all get back. Tell your father I said to drive safely. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

“Is Chanelle enjoying her visit in Baltimore?” Eric asked when Lisa had hung up.

“Sounds like she's doing all right. Of all the people she could have run into, as luck would have it, she ran into one of our former neighbors, Mrs. Kravitz.”

“Honey, can you refrain from using the word luck? It's not biblical, you know? Things happen because of Divine providence. . .luck has nothing to do with it.”

“Calm your nerves, Eric. It was just a figure of speech,” she said intolerantly.

“I know, but as Christians we can't be careless with the words we choose.”

“Never mind I even said anything. I had no idea it would spark a theological debate! I got a good healthy dose of the Word at your mama's, so I'm good for today,” she said nastily. They were thirty miles from Columbus and Lisa vowed not to say another thing to him the rest of the way.

Eric started to laugh.

“What's so funny?”

“Do you realize this is our first quarrel? I take full responsibility, too. I realize that you were bothered by my mother; I should have been more sensitive to your feelings instead of making a federal case out of one little word. I feel the devil trying to come between us, so will you accept my apology, sweetheart?”

Lisa's heart melted. This moment reminded her of why she had fallen in love with Eric. His apology was an example of Proverbs 15:1, which states that a soft answer turns away wrath. With him responding so gently to her sarcasm, she couldn't stay upset with him. “Of course, I forgive you.” She smiled at him adoringly. “And I'm sorry as well.”

“Okay, now finish telling me about Mrs. Kravitz. Boy, that name really sounds familiar to me for some reason.”

“It's the name of the nosey neighbor character from that old television show,
Bewitched.
Her real name is Emma, but RJ and I nicknamed her Mrs. Kravitz for obvious reasons. One time, when our daughter was about six or so, Chanelle answered the phone and said, ‘Mommy, it's for you.' I asked her who it was and I almost had a heart attack when she said, ‘Mrs. Kravitz.'” Lisa began laughing. “Oh my goodness. . .it was so embarrassing because I know Emma heard her. I got on the phone and played it off like I didn't have a clue who it was. RJ was in the background dying laughing.”

“Shame on both you and RJ for making fun of that woman. As a man of the cloth, RJ definitely should've been aware that Ephesians 5:4 speaks against jesting,” he said sternly. “Considering everything you told me about him, this doesn't surprise me.”

At first, Lisa thought Eric was really scolding her and she was about to get indignant with him again, but his soft gaze caused
her to believe otherwise and she chuckled. “Right or wrong, Emma lived up to that name. Even now, she couldn't resist bringing up old stuff.”

“Well, let's pray that she learns to mind her own business. If I know anything, it's that God can handle even the smallest details of our lives. Whatever concerns us concerns Him. I tell you. . .I continuously praise Him about how well Chanelle is doing now.”

“I know that's right. It's hard to believe that Chanelle is the same child who gave me grief a couple of months ago. I'm so proud of her now.”

“And you should be. She is well on the right path. I'm proud of you for sticking to your word. Most parents would've caved in and bought her a car, even though they'd already stated they wouldn't. She's learning responsibility.”

“Well, don't go congratulating me too soon because I'm not sure I would have been able to handle my baby being stranded on campus without a vehicle. I most likely would've allowed her to suffer during the summer and then caved in this fall. Thanks to Olivia and Isaac, I don't have to give in. Did I tell you that they gave her ten thousand dollars for graduation?”