The Makeover (2 page)

“What of it?”
The Lord responded.  “It is his time.   Although he has suffered
greatly, and has faced many losses, he has been faithful.  It is now My
time to restore to him what I have allowed to be stolen.  Since he has
delighted himself in Me, I will grant him the desires of his heart.”

Satan angrily
paced, frustrated, as he remembered the way Paulo had refused to turn from
God.  Satan had been permitted to test Paulo to the point of great loss
almost a decade earlier.  In spite of Satan’s efforts, Paulo had remained
fixed in the Lord and had, in fact, grown in many areas of his walk with
Jesus. 

The Lord
continued.  “I am preparing his new wife as we speak.”

Satan’s
laughter was gritty as he regarded the King of Kings with narrowed eyes. 
“Of course Paulo continues to serve You.  You have already blessed him
greatly.”

The Savior
leaned forward and said, “But it has not been without great trials and
suffering.  He has overcome them, yes, but he went through them first.”

Satan
laughed.  “Words.  Nothing but words.  This wife, this so-called
blessing You have planned for him, is she not one of mine?  I was under
the impression that Your children and mine were not to be unequally
yoked.  That
is
what Your Bible states, isn’t it?” Satan sneered.

“She is not one
of yours.  She gave herself to Me years ago,” Jesus answered calmly. 
 He was already aware of where the adversary was headed in the
conversation and was prepared.  “And let me remind you that the Word
states that once I give them eternal life, they shall never perish. 
Nothing can separate them from My love or snatch them out of My hand.”

Satan rolled
his eyes and clucked his tongue.  “So true, so true.  But, Jesus, I
am unclear.  Was it not You who also stated In Your Word, ‘I know your
works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!
So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of
my mouth?’  Was it not You who stated that a person cannot have one foot
in the world and one foot in the kingdom?  Has not this Phoenix done just
that?  She is now mine!”

The Lord God,
observing His fallen son, shone brighter with indignation.  “Do you really
believe you can take her out of My Son’s hand?”

“She is already
lost to you!  Release her soul to me where it belongs.  She has no
use for You.  She only longs for the desires of her heart, which I can
easily grant her,” Satan snapped as the Heavenly Hosts murmured. 

“Her heart has
not been hardened.  She still prays.  She has lost her way, but I
have already begun to call her back.  I am preparing to answer her prayers
and restore her to salvation,” the Father answered.  “She is also being
prepared to become a blessing to My son Paulo.”

“Surely, You,
the God who boasts about being fair and just, would not take from me what is
mine!” 

Jesus turned to
the Father God and responded, “Father, Phoenix is already part of the Kingdom
and is part of Your eternal plan for Paulo.  Let not this adversary accuse
her.  She has fallen, but I will restore her.”

God was silent
as he regarded his fallen.  After what seemed like several hours, the Lord
responded.  “If you feel you can snatch her out of My hand, you may
try.  I will proceed with My plan, but I am permitting you to oppose
it.  If she does not return to My Son, she is yours.”

Satan
straightened his spine and allowed himself a satisfied smile.  “And this
Paulo of yours?”

“You may test
his faith in Me to provide the greatest desire of his heart.  I am
permitting you to test whether or not Paulo will maintain a true faith in My
promises, in spite of what has transpired in the past,” God answered with
authority.  “You may test him and Phoenix to determine their
faithfulness.”

Gleefully, Satan
let out a roar of pleasure, and returned to his kingdom on earth.

So it began…

Chapter 1

For
nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will
not be known and come to light

(Luke
8:17).

On a blistering
Thursday evening, her world fell apart.

Before that
happened, Phoenix stumbled into her building.  Breathless and annoyed that
her fiancé was not answering the bell, or picking up the phone, Phoenix dialed
her apartment phone number three more times.

“Where is that
boy?” she snapped at the air, demanding an answer that would not come. 
She tried the number a final time.  Her anger created a tight fist in the
pit of her stomach.

“Every time I
need him, he isn’t there.  But let
him
need something, he’d blow up
my phone every few seconds.”   She jabbed at the buzzer and held it
for several seconds. 

Sucking her
teeth, Phoenix began the task of dragging several heavy grocery bags into the
building, in addition to her school backpack, and the large tote bag she’d used
for work.  She was seething, but once she got every bag into the lobby,
the relief washed over her like a waterfall.  She was grateful to leave
the sweltering Harlem street pulsing behind her. 

“This day just
won’t quit,” she mumbled as she grabbed several bags and dragged them to the
elevator.  At work, her boss kept screaming at her about missed deadlines
and an overall lack of initiative.  She had lost her twenty dollar bill
when she had only intended to spend two at a pizza shop during lunch.  She
had gone to her afternoon class without her notes, making it nearly impossible
to complete her class presentation on developmental illnesses in
children.  Her professor had given her a C minus.

“Humph, this
day can’t be over fast enough” she snapped, as she bent over and dragged the
last of the heavy bags down the narrow hall.   She didn’t see the
tall man stepping out of the elevator.  She backed into him.  When
she felt his hard knees against her backside, she swung around and slammed her
shoulder into his hip, before falling backwards onto the floor.

“Whoa
there!”  the man chuckled.  “Need some help?” 

Phoenix looked
up as heat crept into her cheeks.  Of course, she would
have
to
back her wide behind into some strange man’s legs.  And yes, it was only
fair that he would be tall, and gorgeous, and wearing an amused smile, while
she looked a hot mess. 

“Uh, sorry,”
Phoenix choked out.

The tall,
amber-eyed man smiled in a way that fueled the quivering in Phoenix’s
middle.  She became trapped in the force field of the man’s gaze. 
His golden eyes radiated with a glow from somewhere deep within.  Phoenix
forgot to be embarrassed.  It was strange, really, how the man’s presence
caused sweat to bubble on her upper lip.  It was downright ludicrous the
way his eyes seemed to illuminate the dank hallway.   

Oh…wow. 
Phoenix gulped and stared.

“Well, do
you?”  The man said, stretching out his hand to Phoenix.  She gazed
at it for several seconds before realizing she was supposed to take it. 
The man bent and clasped her hand to pull her up.

“Uh, um,
thanks,” she stammered, as electric pulses charged up her arm.  “Uh, do I,
uh, what?”

“Need some help
with your bags?”  The man nodded at the bags at Phoenix’s feet.  When
she continued to ogle him, he tilted his head and let his eyes skim Phoenix
from head to toe.  It wasn’t a flirtatious look, but more of a quizzical
one.  It was as though her were trying to find the missing word in a particularly
arduous cross word puzzle.

“Uh, no. 
I got it thanks,” Phoenix answered, dragging her belongings onto the
elevator.   “Thanks, uh, for holding the, uh, door.” she continued
after lugging on the last bag.

“God bless
you,” the man smiled and winked. 

Phoenix blinked. 
“Uh, yeah…um…thanks?”

The man
chuckled and nodded.  “You’re welcome,” he murmured before releasing the
elevator door.

Once it closed,
Phoenix sighed and wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead.  Then she
swore.  “I’m look like I’ve been beaten by the ugly stick and I bump into
him? 
This is a day truly crafted in Hell.” 

Her mind
revisited the hellish events of the day.  The last straw was when she
agreed to meet her two best friends for happy hour after her class. 
Phoenix met her friends at their favorite hangout, Blockheads, the small
Mexican restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue.  It was supposed to be their time
to go over the final plans for Phoenix’s wedding and celebrate.  Instead,
she had spent the entire evening feeling invisible.  Men continually
approached their table to talk to either to Nicola or Sandra.  They kept
sending over cocktails for the pair, kept complimenting the two beauties. 
Phoenix felt silly.  Why had she been practically faint with jealousy,
when she was getting married in less than two months?  As much as she’d
tried to relax and enjoy herself, no amount of tequila could soothe the sting
of being rejected.  Not one of the men had looked her way.

Not one. 

The only
blessing had been when she remembered that the only food she had in her
refrigerator included a near-empty tub of butter, a week-old Subway sandwich,
and an egg.  She was relieved to use such an urgent excuse of having to go
to the grocery store to end her evening early.   At least she could
leave without lying to her friends.   She was finally home two hours
earlier than her usual ten-thirty.  All she could think about was getting
to her apartment, seeing her fiancé, curling up in his arms, and having herself
a good cuddle.

The rickety,
urine-soaked elevator reached the sixth floor.  She took a deep breath and
placed her backpack against the elevator door as she pulled her bags into the
hall.  Thankfully, her apartment door was one door down from the
elevator.  Standing in front of it, Phoenix wiped the perspiration from
her face with a dirty tissue from her jeans pocket.  She adjusted her
wrinkled white blouse, and dug out her Burberry Sheer perfume to freshen
up.  She knew she needed a shower after pounding the bustling Manhattan
streets all day to provide mental health counseling  the mentally ill in
their homes.  She had already been reeking when she rushed uptown to
Columbia University where she was taking doctoral psychology courses.  By
the time she met with her friends, she looked and smelled like she had been run
over by an onion truck.  After popping a
Mentos
candy in her mouth, she sniffed her armpits and winced at her pungent
scent.  She dug out her small bottle of baby power to shake into her
blouse.

Sniffing again,
she whispered, “Sorry, Baby, this is the best I could do.”

She wondered
where Cedric was and hoped he’d decided to cook.  She was starving, having
had that twenty-two dollar slice of pizza at noon that left her without money
for an early-evening snack.  Thankfully, San and Nic had treated Phoenix to
the Thursday-night special—three dollar margaritas.  San would have
treated her to a meal if she had asked, but Phoenix had been too embarrassed to
eat by herself.  She didn’t want to be the fat girl eating alone at a
table with two beautiful, slender women. 

 She
unlocked the door, her frown already transforming into a smile.  She heard
her favorite artist, Maxwell’s, music booming from the bedroom.  Pausing,
she saw that the small dining table in their living area had been decorated
with plates, silverware, and a vase filled with fresh pink roses.  She
walked down the hall to the table and sniffed the roses.  “Too bad I’m
home so early.  I might have ruined the surprise for him!”

Surveying the
clean apartment, Phoenix’s heart melted.  “Wow.  He actually cleaned
up?   No wonder he couldn’t hear my calls or the bell.  My baby
must be planning something sweet for me.” 

She returned to
the kitchen and quickly put her groceries away.  The air seduced her with
the tangy aroma of Cedric’s famous barbeque sauce.  In the kitchen, she
found a pan of short ribs and a pot of Spanish rice.  “Oh thank you,
Baby!” 

She walked back
down the hall and stood at the floor-length mirror on the bathroom door. 
“No wonder that dude was staring at me like I had a bug on my forehead.  I
look horrible!”

Her normally
relaxed, shoulder-length hair was a frizzy ball of frayed yarn.  Her dark
skin, the color of the darkest chocolate pudding, glistened with sweat from the
July, New York heat.  Her blouse was wrinkled against her full-figured
frame, and stained with two drops of the lunch time pizza’s grease on her
chest.  Her eyes scanned the blackheads, and the spattering of dark bumps,
on her chin, cheeks, and forehead.  There was a long, curly hair sticking
out of her chin.  She yanked it as hard as she could before hurrying into
the bathroom, unable to face the damage any longer.  Within minutes,
Phoenix had removed her clothes, jumped into the shower, and washed
herself.  She came out, brushed her teeth, then her hair, and smeared her
body with her favorite Victoria’s Secret Honeysuckle lotion. 

Snatching her
silk bathrobe from the hook behind the door, she walked out of her bathroom to
find her fiancé.  “I bet he’s making our room look really pretty, as long
as he’s been in there.” 

Her stomach
fluttered as she neared the bedroom at the back of the railroad
apartment.  Her mind shifted into images of the time they had shared
together the previous night.  It had been the first time in several weeks
and her body vibrated with delicious thoughts of being intimate with him
again.  After the day she’d had, she was glad that this area of their
lives, at least, was getting back on track.

  Reaching
the bedroom door, she giggled before throwing it open.

“Surprise,
Baby!  I’m home early!” Phoenix exclaimed, loud enough to be heard over
the music.  “Thanks for—”