him, join me right here, right now…it doesn’t matter what your neighbor thinks, it doesn’t matter what someone is going to say about you…come and lay your sorrows down with Jesus.”
At that moment, something came over me and before I knew it, I was on my feet walking toward my father.
As soon as I made it to the front, he held me and cried. “I love you baby, I love you. Please don’t be a stranger,” he whispered in my ear.
If my father had turned his back on me before, it didn’t matter, because I needed him. Even if it was only for this moment, I appreciated my father holding me like he used to. I didn’t expect my mother to join us since she always envied me and my dad’s relationship.
After the service, it was nice to see Juan and Denie interacting with their cousins and catching up on the latest family gossip, but I still decided not to mingle as much to avoid being asked where Rich was. We stayed at the church for dinner, which of course was amazing since my Aunt Pam’s catering service always served at any church function. As soon as I thought I was in the clear, my mother approached me.
“I know you weren’t about to leave without saying something to your mother,” she said.
I gave her a kiss on her cheek, “Hi, mother,” I said fake as ever.
“So, where’s that sorry son-in-law of mine? Somewhere off making a deal?” she said sarcastically.
“Dad did such a great job tonight, and church was wonderful, but we need to get going. It was nice seeing you, Ma.” Ignoring her question, I motioned to Denie and Juan. It was time to go so we left immediately without giving her a moment to respond.
The car ride home was just as quiet. As I listened to the soothing Christmas carols on 96.3 WHUR, I glanced over, noticing how precious Denie looked asleep. It reminded me of how sweet she was as a child before she began to endure so much heartbreak. I just imagined what she was dreaming of. We probably had the same thoughts. No matter how much I hated Rich right now, he was still my husband and the father of my children. I wished for him to be home when we arrived, not only for me, but more importantly for Denie.
When I hit the remote for the garage, there was no sign of Rich’s Range Rover on the opposite side. Thoughts of him possibly changing his mind and coming back home flashed through my mind periodically while we were driving home, but I guess I was wrong. Moments later, Denie woke up with excitement, but instantly fell into a somber mood after not seeing any signs of Rich. She went straight to her room once we got in the house. Juan, however, stayed up with me while I placed all the gifts under the tree. No matter how old my children were, they still wanted to be treated as if they were three years old when it came to Christmas. Rich and I had always spoiled them that way.
Puzzled, I came across a gift that I hadn’t noticed before that was made out to me. It read, “To My Wife, with Much Love, Rich.” I didn’t even know he’d decided to get me anything. Deciding to wait until the next day to open it, I placed the gift on the ottoman in the family room then quickly turned my attention toward the 11 o’clock news. After curling up on the sectional, Juan came over and patted my leg.
“Ma, what’s wrong? Are you sad because your husband’s not here?”
“No, I’m fine baby. You’re here with me, and that’s all I need.”
“Weren’t you supposed to go to Trixie’s party tonight after church?”
“Yeah, but I’m so drained. With all the drama today, I just want to watch T.V. and chill.”
Flipping back and forth between several news channels, I immediately stopped on channel five when I spotted a familiar face. She was completely distraught. It was Trixie. I quickly turned up the television.
“There was another murder last night that we regret to report on this Christmas Eve. Michael Johnson father of three, was found by his girlfriend, Theresa Elliot, in the
At that moment, something came over me and before I knew it, I was on my feet walking toward my father.
As soon as I made it to the front, he held me and cried. “I love you baby, I love you. Please don’t be a stranger,” he whispered in my ear.
If my father had turned his back on me before, it didn’t matter, because I needed him. Even if it was only for this moment, I appreciated my father holding me like he used to. I didn’t expect my mother to join us since she always envied me and my dad’s relationship.
After the service, it was nice to see Juan and Denie interacting with their cousins and catching up on the latest family gossip, but I still decided not to mingle as much to avoid being asked where Rich was. We stayed at the church for dinner, which of course was amazing since my Aunt Pam’s catering service always served at any church function. As soon as I thought I was in the clear, my mother approached me.
“I know you weren’t about to leave without saying something to your mother,” she said.
I gave her a kiss on her cheek, “Hi, mother,” I said fake as ever.
“So, where’s that sorry son-in-law of mine? Somewhere off making a deal?” she said sarcastically.
“Dad did such a great job tonight, and church was wonderful, but we need to get going. It was nice seeing you, Ma.” Ignoring her question, I motioned to Denie and Juan. It was time to go so we left immediately without giving her a moment to respond.
The car ride home was just as quiet. As I listened to the soothing Christmas carols on 96.3 WHUR, I glanced over, noticing how precious Denie looked asleep. It reminded me of how sweet she was as a child before she began to endure so much heartbreak. I just imagined what she was dreaming of. We probably had the same thoughts. No matter how much I hated Rich right now, he was still my husband and the father of my children. I wished for him to be home when we arrived, not only for me, but more importantly for Denie.
When I hit the remote for the garage, there was no sign of Rich’s Range Rover on the opposite side. Thoughts of him possibly changing his mind and coming back home flashed through my mind periodically while we were driving home, but I guess I was wrong. Moments later, Denie woke up with excitement, but instantly fell into a somber mood after not seeing any signs of Rich. She went straight to her room once we got in the house. Juan, however, stayed up with me while I placed all the gifts under the tree. No matter how old my children were, they still wanted to be treated as if they were three years old when it came to Christmas. Rich and I had always spoiled them that way.
Puzzled, I came across a gift that I hadn’t noticed before that was made out to me. It read, “To My Wife, with Much Love, Rich.” I didn’t even know he’d decided to get me anything. Deciding to wait until the next day to open it, I placed the gift on the ottoman in the family room then quickly turned my attention toward the 11 o’clock news. After curling up on the sectional, Juan came over and patted my leg.
“Ma, what’s wrong? Are you sad because your husband’s not here?”
“No, I’m fine baby. You’re here with me, and that’s all I need.”
“Weren’t you supposed to go to Trixie’s party tonight after church?”
“Yeah, but I’m so drained. With all the drama today, I just want to watch T.V. and chill.”
Flipping back and forth between several news channels, I immediately stopped on channel five when I spotted a familiar face. She was completely distraught. It was Trixie. I quickly turned up the television.
“There was another murder last night that we regret to report on this Christmas Eve. Michael Johnson father of three, was found by his girlfriend, Theresa Elliot, in the
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