Chapter Four
By Sunday morning, Gracie’s weekend stay at her parents’ was about over. She debated whether to hit Interstate 30 and head back to Dallas or visit a little longer with her family. She decided to stay until Wednesday. She’d contact Kendra to give her the rundown about her absence and make sure she was covered with her classes.
When Kendra heard Gracie’s voice over the phone, she let out a loud whoosh.
“Well it’s about time!” Kendra complained. “Where in the heck have you been? I’ve been calling and two-way paging you all weekend, girl!”
“Calm down, Ken,” Gracie said. “I’m sorry. I know I should have called you, but I was upset.”
Within seconds, Gracie had spilled the entire story to Kendra, and her heart felt better for doing so. “Gracie, I am really sorry to hear about the breakup, but didn’t you think it was coming?”
“Yeah, but even so, I had never imagined it would be so blatant and unresolved. I’m still taken aback by the whole ordeal.” Feeling tears form, Gracie quickly closed her eyes and attempted to suppress them.
“And as you should be, girl! Well, you have nothing to worry about. Anytime you need to talk, I’m here for you. Not only are you my best friend, I’m your best friend too. Don’t you forget that, okay?”
“Thanks, girl.”
“No problem. And while we’re on the subject of Dillian, I went to Dr. Shield’s on Friday and I saw him there.”
“Dillian?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kendra answered in a swayed response.
Sitting with her manicured nail at the tip of her lip, Gracie couldn’t remember if Dillian had a doctor’s appointment or not.
“I wonder if his knee is bothering him again. You know it’s been bothering him for a while. I know it was about three weeks ago, and Dr. Shield’s had to give him a shot. Maybe that’s why he was there.”
“I don’t know.” Taking a seat on the edge of her bed, Kendra hesitated putting her pantyhose on so that she could tell Gracie the remainder of what she heard. “He wasn’t limping or anything, but I did hear the doctor mention joining a support group.”
“A support group? That’s weird. Maybe he meant talking to people with chronic arthritis or something. Oh well, that no longer involves me,” Gracie responded, wondering if there could be more to Dillian’s story than what he was saying.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. It is a small world anyway, and you know how I get stuff twisted.”
“Well, whatever the case, good looking out for me.” Gracie made sure her worry didn’t show through the phone to Kendra. “Girl, I better go ahead and get off this phone. You know my momma will start thinking I’m trying to avoid church. Thanks for taking care of things. You’re a sweetheart!”
“That’s what friends are for. I need to finish getting ready for church too. I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Whaaaat? You’re going to church? Someone must have put fire to your behind!” Gracie said while laughing.
“Ha, ha. Very funny. Actually, one of my clients invited me, so I said I’d check it out.”
“Oh, okay. Oh, Ken! Why did you go to see the doctor anyway?”
“Girl, uh, nothing. I just had my follow-up with Dr. Shields on my back from the car wreck. And you know I had that hacking cold. He was supposed to give me a new vitamin.”
“Hmm. Oh, okay. I almost forgot about the terrible cough you had that even made my chest hurt.” They shared a final laugh. “Okay, well I’ll talk to you later then ... bye.”
Gracie gathered her clothes and personal items. She wanted to put her mind at ease, wondering whether Dillian was ill or not. Knowing that she was pressed for time, Gracie fought to put her thoughts to the back of her mind and God to the front of her heart in preparation for church.
When Gracie arrived at the Holiness Church, she felt refreshed before even setting foot in the front door. She didn’t get that rush at some of the big churches in Dallas.
There were 500 members and about 200 members came each Sunday. They were all “Rock Danieling” in unison when the Gregorys walked through the chapel doors.
Immediately, Gracie joined in with praise and worship, taking her problems to the altar when the prayer line was called. Like most people who sit on the pews with heavy burdens, Gracie didn’t care who thought what. She had no qualms about getting extra prayer any time she felt she needed it.
At the altar, Gracie felt guilty. Knowing that she should have prayed for her and Dillian’s relationship sooner, she asked for God’s forgiveness. At the front of the church, she knew she would have to let all the baggage go and start fresh ... and that’s what she did.
“Yes, yes, yes Lord!” Gracie cried out and thanked the Lord for keeping her. Gracie asked for strength for her personal trials that only God could help her with. Tears rushed down her face and her voice cried out loudly, Gracie purged her heart. Repenting to the Lord for seen and unseen mistakes on her part, Gracie thanked the Lord for loving her through her mistakes.
She felt fresh from the renewing of her spirit. Mother Humphrey, a missionary at the church, helped Gracie up. Gracie cried out to the Lord and knew that all would be well. “Thank the Lord. Thank Him. He’s worthy to be praised! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!”
With her all being poured out to the Lord, Gracie knew it was going to take more than just crying out at the altar. She was going to have to accept and believe that God would help her through her tribulations. Accepting prayer and asking God to help her pull through, Gracie, returned o her seat, praising God. Before Gracie could sit down, her mother rose and hugged her, giving her the motherly love that Gracie so desperately needed.
Other than her heart, Gracie had no idea there was more in her life that could possibly be broken. Knowing that her problems were out of her hands, she worshipped and praised the Lord for fixing her problems even though she knew she didn’t deserve it.
When Wednesday rolled around, Gracie still wasn’t ready to leave but she knew that she had a business to get back to and a life to continue.
Gracie walked into the den where her parents were sitting watching talk shows, and took a seat on the vacant sofa.
“I’m about to head out,” Gracie said. “I got the plate out of the microwave you fixed for me, Momma. Thank you.”
“Girlie, don’t be taking my food out of my mouth,” Jacob said with a stern expression on his face. “You’re the one with the big bucks. Just leave a ten spot on your way out.” His grimace vanished into a smile, and he laughed.
“I wish I would leave a spot of anything!” Gracie had a smirk on her face as she joked with her father. The three of them burst into laughter.
Gracie walked to the mantle and looked at old pictures of which her parents had been so proud throughout the years. Gracie couldn’t believe some of the old styles that she had gone through.
“Oh my goodness, look at me with this mushroom hairdo. I look a hot mess!” Gracie stopped when she came to one particular picture. “Momma, are you going to ever take down this picture of me and Marcus?”
“Let my picture alone! You leave my Marcus where he belongs. Oh, did I tell you he came by not too long ago when he came down to visit his folks?” Catherine cut her eyes and gave a flirty smile, sounding as though she was ready to gossip.
“Of course you did, Momma. Every time you find something out about Marcus, you call and let me know. Don’t act like you don’t.”
“Oh,” Mrs. Gregory sighed guiltily.
Jacob stood and moved his wife and daughter out of the way of the television. “Excuse me,” he said. “Y’all need to move.” He was missing the most important part of the talk show ... the fight.
“Sorry, Daddy.”
“That’s okay. It’s a repeat anyway. But yeah, old Marcus came by here and asked about you and everything.” He wanted to continue with the gossip. “I can’t believe you two don’t ever run into each other up yonder.”
Gracie closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief at her father for his age-old remarks, always easing Marcus into conversations. Gracie walked into the kitchen, grabbed other items, and prepared to leave. “Uh, oh. It’s time for me to go. That was high school, Daddy. Let it go!”
She said her good-byes and reassured her parents that she would call and let them know when she made it home. Gracie was headed back to her condo to be alone.
Making sure that all of her belongings were intact, Gracie sat for a second in her car, and put all of her thoughts out on the table. She knew that times would be rough with her new single life, but she also knew that she had the strength from within to stand through the pain. With her newfound strength from the altar, Gracie cranked her car, put the gear in drive, and looked forward to moving on.
Again, without music, Gracie headed down the familiar streets until she hit the highway. This time she didn’t wear her sunglasses so that she could see just where she was headed.