In Times of Trouble (18 page)

“You better make sure they take you with them because if they leave you here, they'll be coming back for your body!”

“Whatever. You don't scare me. If the police come I bet you'll be the one leaving. I won't be eighteen for a few more weeks, so technically, I am still a minor. You can go to jail for this.”

“Once you got bold enough to call me out of my name, you took the risk of a grown woman and I beat you as such.”

Tit for tat, they exchanged verbal attacks and threats. Lisa reached to get another hold on Chanelle, but Callie blocked her efforts. “I'm not putting up with your smart mouth. Get out now!” she ordered.

“Lisa, think about what you're saying,” her sister urged.

“I know full well what I'm saying. If she's grown enough to talk to me like that, then she's grown enough to be on the streets.”

“Fine with me. I can't stand living with you anyway!” Chanelle spewed and stormed off.

“I understand you're mad, but—” Callie attempted to speak.

“Earlier you bragged on minding your own business, so do it now!” Lisa finally released the fistful of hair and plopped down on her bed.

“Where is Chanelle going to go?”

“I don't know and I don't care. If you're so worried about her, then you can go with her.”

Callie shook her head disappointedly and walked out.

Minutes later Chanelle walked back in Lisa's room, fully dressed and carrying a duffel bag. “My money is in the bank and I don't have any cash on me. Since you want me out so bad tonight you can at least give me some money to catch a cab.”

She stood with her hand out like Lisa owed her something. If she weren't so angry, she might have laughed at her daughter's audacity. “You got some nerve coming in here asking me for
money after you have acted a fool. You got about three seconds to get out of my face before I jump on your behind again.”

Chanelle stared at her angrily. “I hate you!” she yelled before running out the room.

The words stung Lisa like a wasp. She and Chanelle had bumped heads on plenty of occasions, but nothing ever like this. She had never disrespected Lisa the way she'd done so tonight. Her chest felt so heavy, she bawled, hoping to release the tension, but the pain did not cease. She picked up the phone and dialed Eric.

R
J raced across the freeway trying to make it to Lisa's house to get Chanelle. He couldn't believe what had happened. Part of him felt responsible. If he had not faltered in his duties as the head of the household, this night would have never happened. Things were definitely out of order. So what if Lisa was engaged to be married to what's-his-face; it didn't change the fact that Lisa was his
first
and that Chanelle was
his
daughter. He had been playing it cool, allowing Lisa to call all the shots as not to ruffle her feathers, but not any more. From now on, he was taking a more active role and it would start tonight!

RJ pulled in Lisa's driveway behind a black Taurus about a quarter to one. He wanted to throw a few blows himself when Lisa's fiancé answered the door like he was the man of the house.

“Well, hello, there,” he said smugly. “If you're looking for Lisa, she's in the back.”

“Where's Chanelle?”

“We don't know. She took off. I came because Lisa needed me.”

“Yeah, well, I'm here because they
both
need me,” he scoffed on his way to the kitchen.

Lisa sat at the table groping the sides of her head. She looked
a mess. Her hair flew in all directions and the puffiness under her bloodshot eyes made it appear as if she hadn't slept in years. Not expecting to see him, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I'm surprised that you didn't call me.”

She looked at him as if to say “For what?” and that alone was enough to irk RJ, but when her fiancé came in the kitchen and stood behind her and massaged her shoulders, RJ couldn't hold his tongue.

“I don't see why you called him and not me. I'm Chanelle's father. This dude shouldn't even be involved in the situation.”

“Excuse me, sir, but this dude has a name, and I'd suggest you lower your voice if you wish to speak with my lady.”

“Man, I don't give a care what your name is. And I'd suggest you learn when to speak and when not to. You marrying Lisa is one thing, but for her not to call me when she has a brawl with our daughter is another. The only people this truly affects are Lisa and me, so your best bet would be to stay out of it.”

Eric didn't challenge RJ this time, but Lisa had no problem speaking up.

“Get to the point of why you're here. Did Chanelle call you to come get her so she could share your guest room at Pastor Burlington's house? If so, she's already gone and I don't know where she went.”

“No, Chanelle didn't call him, I did.” Callie appeared in the kitchen door. “Before you start going off, let me say that I called him because I'd rather Chanelle leave with her father than for that child to be out there wandering the streets.”

“
Child
?” Lisa hissed.

“Don't you think you should at least call the police?” suggested a more controlled RJ this time.

“That
child
will be eighteen shortly and has over ten thousand dollars in her bank account. I'm sure she'll survive.”

“C'mon, Lisa, be for real.”

“I am. When Chanelle decides she wants to talk to me with some respect, then I'll spend my time worrying about her. Maybe if she'd called you out of your name, you'd understand how I feel.” Eric continued rubbing her shoulders silently.

“Lisa, I'm not saying that you don't have a right to be angry—”

“RJ, it's not worth trying to talk any sense into her,” interrupted Callie. “Lisa was already in a funky mood when we came home because she found out about Mama and Daddy.”

“Oh,” said RJ.

“So you knew about them, too? It figures. You know what? I don't feel like talking to either one of you any longer. RJ, you can get out of my house and Callie, you need to stay out of matters that don't concern you. Chanelle is my daughter and there was no reason for you to call him.”

“She's my daughter, too!” screamed RJ.

Lisa laughed wickedly. “You sure didn't act like you had a family in Baltimore, so don't act like you have one now!”

“Oh, so you want to throw Baltimore up in my face. Well—”

“It's time for you to go,” demanded Eric. “I allowed you to say your peace. Lisa's already told you once to leave. She's not going to have to say it again.”

RJ really wanted to punch Eric in his mouth! “I'm leaving, but only because I'm going to try and find my daughter. Don't you ever forget that though you may be marrying Lisa, when it comes to Chanelle,
I
have the final say so.” He pounded his fist on the table to emphasize his point. “Callie, call me anytime I'm needed.” He brushed past her, through the living room and out the door.

RJ cased the neighborhood and surrounding areas for over an hour with no sign of his daughter anywhere. When fear began to grip him, RJ started praying that God's angels would surround, watch over and protect Chanelle from any harm or danger.

All of his messages to her cell phone had gone unanswered. RJ pulled into the gas station several miles from Lisa's house at the corner of Brice and Livingston and showed the attendant a picture of Chanelle, hoping the man had seen her. “No, sir,” the guy answered. After leaving his number for the attendant to call if Chanelle was spotted, RJ jumped back in his vehicle and continued his search.

• • •

Eric stayed with Lisa until about three in the morning, comforting and praying for her. All of Eric's praying hadn't done a thing to pacify her rage against Callie and RJ. As soon as Eric left, Lisa marched up the stairs and burst into Callie's room.

“How dare you!”

“What's your problem now?” Callie sat up and turned on the light, fully alert.

“You had no business calling RJ over here.”

“Don't tell me what I should not have done. Like RJ said, Chanelle is his daughter, too. He had a right to know.”

“RJ bounces back in town and is trying to play the loving, concerned father, but you and I both know it hasn't always been that way.”

“Oh, Lisa, suck it up!” She got out of bed and stood face-to-face with her sister. “RJ hurt you. . .Big deal! Unlike that jerk you're about to marry, RJ's human. And like it or not, humans make mistakes!”

“
Mistakes?
How does pretending to be on a mission to rid the streets of Baltimore from drugs while secretly using the church's money to buy crack for himself classify as a mistake? Not to mention that he repeatedly had an affair with one of the women we were supposed to be helping?”

“Boohoo, RJ cheated on you. Have you ever considered the possibility that you drove him to both the drugs and the other woman by being so high-maintenance? You were more in love with the idea of being a preacher's wife than you were with him.”

“How can you stand here and be so callous! That man would have me sitting in the car while he supposedly went in to pray for people and he'd be inside getting high and screwing one of them!”

As Lisa spoke, the feelings of betrayal and hurt that she thought she'd gotten over began resurfacing. Initially, she had been a part of the mission to save drug-addicted souls and would accompany him inside the residences, but after he went alone a few times, he had forbidden her to go inside ever again, claiming that it was “too dangerous.” Her new responsibility had been to “watch and pray” from the outside. Lisa wondered how many times she had foolishly sat in the car thinking her husband was busy about the Lord's work, but the only thing he was busy doing was getting his freak on.

Had RJ just done his dirt without dragging her in the midst of it, maybe Lisa wouldn't have been so angry. Not likely, but maybe. He had smeared her name just as much as he had his own. Unbeknownst to either of them, the police had been staking out the place he frequented. One night, he, Lisa, and Chanelle were on their way to Bible study when RJ suddenly announced that he wanted to stop and invite one of the drug addicts. Lisa remembered thinking how odd this last-minute invitation seemed and how unusual it was that he was taking Chanelle into the neighborhood as well. During previous trips, they'd always obtained a sitter for her. Being the good “Pastor's wife,” Lisa went along with the plan. It wasn't long afterwards when the apartment and their car were swarmed with police officers and RJ was literally brought out with his pants down. Having seen her many times before, the
police had thought Lisa was somehow involved with drugs as well.

It was so embarrassing. Their pictures were plastered all over the news and in the papers. Lisa was eventually cleared of all charges, but the stigma never escaped her. Whispers from her neighbors. . .skeptical looks from the other parents at Chanelle's school. . .most people had already convicted her. What was even worse was that she had nothing. She'd depended on RJ for everything and little did she know that, in addition to the church's money, he'd also smoked away their savings. It was RJ's brother, David, who gave her a lump sum of money to start over. It was by the grace of God that she landed such a high position at Brenston. God had brought her through that horrible time. How dare her sister make light of it!

“Chanelle was more accurate in her description of you than you think. You really are a bi—” Lisa drew back to slap Callie, but her sister caught her hand prior to impact. “Watch, it! I am not Chanelle. I'm a lot heavier and I hit a lot harder.”

“I can't believe you would say something like that.”

“Poor Lisa. . . Everyone's being so mean to her. RJ cheated on her and her daughter and sister called her a bad name. Her life is so messed up,” she mocked. “Try walking in my shoes for a while. Try being gang-raped at the age of fifteen, causing so much internal damage that it ruined any possibility of you ever having kids. Try marrying a man and, after twenty-four years, he commits suicide. Try finding out that the son of a gun killed himself because he didn't have the guts to tell you that he was HIV-positive and now so are you! You think you have problems, Lisa? I'd trade lives with you in a minute. You feel like you're going to die, but I've already been given a death sentence!” she screamed.

Her sister's confession forced all traces of anger from Lisa's body. Compassion flooded her veins. “Oh, Callie,” she cried. “I'm so sorry; I didn't know.”

“And you didn't care to know either. I tried calling you to talk, but as usual, you're so consumed with your own life that you don't care about mine.”

“That's not true,” she pleaded. “I care about you very much! I love you.”