| |
“Dad, let me ask you something,” Jarrod said as he drove Thomas back to his house.
“Ask away, my number one son.”
Jarrod smiled at the term ‘number one son.’ When in fact he was Thomas Reed’s only son. That fact didn’t change even after marrying Yvonne, because Yvonne only had two daughters. And one of them was in some kind of trouble. “Have you noticed anything different about Toya?”
“Toya?” Thomas' eyebrows scrunched. “Can’t say that I’ve noticed anything, but she hasn’t been around that much lately.”
“That’s because she doesn’t leave her house that much. She quit her job at the law firm, sits at home in her PJs all day, and she is even having her groceries delivered.”
“That’s not like Toya. She’s always been so outgoing and ready to take on the world. This thing with Marvel must be affecting her even more than we thought.” Thomas shook his head. “We’ve all been so busy these last few months with mine and Yvonne’s wedding, then Tia and Robbie, I don’t think any of us noticed that Toya was having problems.”
“Didn’t you think something was wrong when she moved into this high-security place and then quit her job?”
Thomas shook his head. “I’m the one who told her about that condo. I think it’s the best place for a young, single woman.”
They came to a red light. Jarrod pulled up to the light and stopped the car then glanced over at his father. “Okay, Dad, the condo makes sense. But having her groceries delivered and quitting her job, without having another job lined up?”
“I’m glad you brought this to my attention, son. Yvonne and I will pray and figure out the best way to help Toya through this situation. But you’ve got to understand her fear because it’s been six months since Marvel attacked her and the police still haven’t found him.”
Jarrod rounded the corner and pulled into his father’s driveway. He put the car in park and then turned to his father. “One last question, Dad.”
“Shoot.”
“Why do your prayers seemed to shake the earth, but when I pray, it’s like nothing is happening. I don’t feel anything at all. Don’t even know if God is listening to me.”
Thomas smiled; his eyes drifted a bit as if he was thinking of a long-ago memory. “I used to think the same thing about my father’s prayers. You know what he told me about it.”
“Gramps used to talk my ear off, so I can only imagine what he had to say.”
“Most preachers are big talkers. But his answer was really short and sweet. When I asked how come his prayers seemed to touch heaven when mine sputtered out before I got off my knees, he just looked at me and said, ‘keep living.’”
Jarrod didn’t understand. “You for real, that’s all he said?”
“Son, it was more than a mouthful. Because I came to understand that in my early years, I hadn’t experienced all the things in life that could break your heart and knock you down. I didn’t know what it was like to pray to God whenever things were on the line, and if God didn’t come through, I would be lost... but I kept on living, and I found out.
“Now, do I wish pain and heartache on you?” Thomas shook his head as he opened the door and got out of the car. He then lowered his head so that he was looking directly at Jarrod. “Life won’t always be easy for you. And I can’t promise to be here when you run into trouble. But if you find that secret place in God, I can promise that your prayers will shake the foundation of heaven and God’s angels will move on your behave.”
~~~
Jarrod figured that while his dad was praying for Toya, he would do something that would motivate her to get out of the house. There was no surprising her since he had to be buzzed in at the gate, but at least she would be surprised by what he had in his possession.
“Come on, girl. I want to introduce you to the most beautiful woman I know. And that’s inside and out. You’ll see.” Jarrod kept talking to the dog as if he understood and was going to give feedback.
He rang the doorbell and tried to wait quietly at Toya’s front door, but one of Toya’s neighbors was jogging down the street with her dog, and his three-month-old puppy started barking her head off and trying desperately to get off her leash. Jarrod scooped her into his arms. “Calm down, they aren’t the enemy.”
“What is all this noise out here?” Toya asked as she swung the door wide open.
"Sorry about that. She’s a protector by nature.”
Toya reached out and rubbed the dog's ears. “Where’d you get a dog from?”
They walked inside the apartment. Toya closed the door and locked the deadbolt. Jarrod sat the puppy down. “I got her at a shelter. Unfortunately, her owner passed away a couple of weeks ago. I felt so bad that I had to take her. But now I don’t know what I’m going to do with her.”
The dog slow walked over to Toya. Sniffed her leg, then circled around her. “What’s the dilemma?”
“My rental doesn’t allow pets. My lease is up in two months. I can move to another spot after that. But until then, I need to find someone to keep her.”
Toya and Jarrod took a seat in the living room. The dog sat down at Toya’s feet, and without noticing what she was doing, Toya started rubbing the dog's fur. “What’s her name?”
“Princess... I’ve got all her paperwork. She’s been well taken care of.”
“Now, why do I feel like I’m being set up for something?”
With a crooked smile, Jarrod said, “I’m not trying to set you up. But Princess does seem to like you... and you like her.” He pointed toward Toya’s left hand. “You haven’t stopped rubbing her since we sat down. And you are the only full-grown person I know who doesn’t have a job.”
“Ooooh, low blow.” Toya took one of the pillows off her sofa and tossed it at Jarrod’s head. “And how do you expect me to get a job if I’m stuck watching your dog?”
“She’s a German Shepherd, Toya. These kind of dogs are very trainable. She won’t take a dump in the house if you show her what to do.”
“I’m not buying your sales pitch.” But Princess cocked her head to the side as she stared at Toya. Looking into the dog's eyes, Toya thought she saw them water. “Don’t you start too.”
Princess whimpered and then laid her head on Toya’s lap.
“How can you say no to her. She practically loves you already.”
“Well...” Toya rubbed the dogs head. “I guess I can dog sit for you. But you need to purchase all her food and supplies... I don’t have a job, remember?”
“I’m already on it.” Jarrod went back to his car and popped the trunk. He grabbed hold of a huge bag, swung it on his back and carried it into Toya’s townhouse like he was Santa Claus bringing gifts.
Laughing as Jarrod dumped his bag of goodies on her living room floor, Toya asked, “What did you do? Buy everything in the doggie section of the store?”
“Well, she’s a puppy, so she’s going to need her doggie bed, right?” Jarrod pulled the doggie bed out of the bag. He then pulled a bone out of the bag and threw it towards Princess. “That’s so she doesn’t chew up your furniture. I got her a couple more chew toys too.”
“Let me look in this bag.” Toya started going through the items in the bag. “She’s got enough dog food to last a month. Oh, and I like this dual food and water container. Perfect.” Toya sat the food and water bowl set on the floor, she then tried to pull the humongous bag of food out of the bag, but it was too heavy. “You need to take that bag of doggie food to the kitchen. I’m going to have to find a big spoon to dip the food out with because I certainly can’t lift that bag every day.”
They took all the items out of the bag together. Jarrod carried the dog food bag to the kitchen, and Toya carried the doggie bed to her bedroom. Princess was just a pup, so she didn’t want her sleeping alone in a new environment.
The doggie toys were scattered throughout the house because Toya wanted to introduce Princess to her toys in each room, so the dog would know what she could chew on and what she couldn’t, like her brand-new sofa. Chewing on that sofa would get Princess put out.
When she and Jarrod sat back down, Toya told him. “I expect you to share parenting duties with me. So, you need to come by and help me train this dog. I don’t want her peeing and dumping all over the floor.”
Jarrod smiled. “I was going to offer to do that anyway because there are a few things I want to teach her.”
“Good then, we’re on the same page.”
Still smiling, Jarrod said, “Not quite, but close enough.”