“With your carnal eyes, neither of you can see past the pain. You express with your lips but you don’t believe in your heart that God can restore your relationship. Restore Paxton. Restore you. The prayers of a wife can change the heart of her husband. Scripture says so. You know so. So, have you not fought as you know how? No, on paper neither of you are married, but to God, you are what He joined together. Look at your life, Jacolby. To my understanding, you and him have lived in the same city for years but did not cross paths until God said so. He allowed you both to think you had control over your life.
“After the breakup you entered a relationship with a man that should not have known what your womanly fragrance smells like. Paxton came after you only to let his pride and ego stand in the way. Acting like a spoiled baby that can’t ween himself from our mother’s bosom. He married another; you became engaged. Are you seeing the truth in all of this? No matter what you two may try to do to avoid each other; What God Has Put Together Let No Man Put Asunder. The yoke around you two won’t be broken until the purpose of your duties as husband and wife for the kingdom of God has been fulfilled.
“His wife's death was not the cause of it. Don’t think that. Whether in death or living, she couldn’t stop the joining of your union. Now, in the present time, neither of you can stop the joining of your union. What you are doing is prolonging the process by refusing to use the armor of God that he has already equipped you with to fight back and get the love that you want. At this moment Paxton needs to heal, and only that will come when he surrenders all. In the meantime, beloved, you need to cover him in prayer. That is more powerful than trying to squeeze your way into a heart he doesn’t trust. Restore you. Fix you so when he is ready and whole within Christ, you are as well.”
Scooping me up into his strong arms, Quincey held me while I cried. Seven years’ worth of tears. Seven years of unforgiveness. Seven years of anger. I released and surrounded it all.
* * *
A smile coveredmy face as the memories of last night flooded my brain. After Quincey set me straight spiritually, he allowed me to tell my life story from meeting Paxton in college to recent. I gave him all of Jacolby Jefferson Jr. He gave his shoulder to cry on and caressed my hand when certain parts became unbearable to speak out loud. His spiritual revelations frightened me. I sobbed till I hiccupped because what he spoke felt unreal. This man came and implanted himself in my life to shake up the self-pity I’d grown accustomed to.
Not long after I finished spilling my guts Andrea walked in. Until the wee hours of the morning, Drea and Quincey feed me. Unselfishly they both feed me till I overflowed and passed out.
Waking up this morning, well afternoon, I felt renewed. I felt empowered. My eyes were heavy from the endless number of tears I shed, but a smile graced my face. With my new outlook on things I viewed Paxton differently, and for a moment I felt a twinge of guilt for waiting this long to care for him as I should.
“Afternoon, Jacolby. How are you feeling?” Andrea stood in the entry of my bathroom while I brushed my hair into a wild bun.
Instead of verbally speaking, I pulled her into a hug. “Drea, I feel renewed. I feel amazing. I feel great. Thank you for coming.”
She giggled. “Don’t thank me. Thank Quincey. He’s the one who sensed something wasn’t right with you.”
Before I could respond, the laughter of voices caught my attention. “Are London and Quincey still here?”
She began to fidget with her fingers and bounce her eyes around nervously. “I apologize. Truly, I am sorry for our invasion of your privacy. After you fell asleep we made your house our home. We cleaned up behind ourselves, of course. Can’t even tell we stayed the night. I hope that’s okay?”
Her innocence and caring heart made me smile. “It’s fine, Andrea. Really, it is. I’m glad you guys stayed. This means so much to me. I try to put yesterday into words, and I can’t.”
She clasped our hands together. “Thank you, Jacolby. I respect my friend’s privacy and I’d never do anything for you to question my loyalty. Do you have any plans for today? I’d like to sightsee and for you to be my guide. If that is okay with you?”
“Sure. I don’t mind at all.” She and I walked into my kitchen where London and Quincey stood chatting and eating.
“Write down the answers to these questions. Once you're done, leave it on your nightstand.” He placed a piece of paper and pen in front of me.
Quincey. Quincey. Quincey.
Gosh, he melted me in a non-romantic but intimate way.
“When you're done with that we can leave.” Drea peaked over his shoulder smiling. I glanced down at the sheet Quincey placed in front of me and frowned. The paper consisted of at least twenty questions about my likes and dislikes. “I wouldn’t overthink it, Jacolby. Answer from the heart. That’s the easiest way.” Drea winked.
Four hours and six Hello Kitty band-aids later. The total time I spent in the beaming North Carolina heat and the result of allowing Drea to convince me to operate a Segway through downtown Charlotte. Minus the scraped knees and elbows, spending my day in the company of Drea and London made it all worth it.
Before we got started on our girl’s day, Drea made it crystal clear we were on a six-hour time frame. Not a minute less. Not a minute more. London planned an all-girls dinner. My instructions were to dress up for me. However I felt or wanted to feel, I needed to dress to fit that mood. Reaching into the back of my closet, I found a sexy onyx dress with a sweetheart neckline and thigh-high split that would cause my mother to clutch her pearls. Paired it with a diamond set gifted from my father and the highest sexy heels in my closet.
Standing before the mirror, I blushed at my reflection. Jalonie came over and used her skilled hands to tame my wild mane and braided my hair into a hallow crown. Light makeup with my favorite red lip. The woman staring back at me was not the same Jacolby who spent the last few days crying over her unexplained emotions. This woman here had a purpose and oozed confidence.
“Ladies, are you ready? Wait…why are you still in PJs?” My lips dropped into a pout as I frowned at Drea and London sitting comfy on my couch.
Drea made her way over to me. “You’re so beautiful, Jacolby.” She leaned over and sniffed. “Smell mighty nice too.”
Kissing my teeth, I folded my arms across my chest. “I got all pretty for nothing.”
Perching up on the back of my sofa London started whistling. “Out here looking like a five-course meal.”
I tried not to blush or smile but it was hard not to. “Why aren’t we going anywhere?”
“You are going somewhere. We aren’t accompanying you.” Drea looked down at her watch. “Your chariot awaits outside.”
Scratching my head in confusion, I huffed. “Huh? I’m so lost right now. I’m going out but neither of you are going with me?”