Redeeming Heart (21 page)

Octavia screamed her excitement as tears fell
from her eyes. Terri led her into the small conference room where
there were balloons, cake, and in her honor, sparkling juice
instead of wine. Her colleagues cheered. Rossi was there as well as
Deb and Kai, her fellow praise dancers. Octavia shrieked when a
surprise guest stepped from behind Rossi.

“Olivia!” She hugged her sister, smothered
her with kisses, squealed, then started the ritual over again. They
hadn’t seen each other since last Christmas. Octavia patted the
tears on her cheeks. “When did you get in? How did you know…”

Her sister pointed at Terri. “Your friend
redeemed herself.” Terri joined them in a group hug. Octavia
whispered a prayer of thanks to the Lord Jesus. When she separated,
Octavia’s skin tingled from some unexplained sensation.

A throat cleared and Octavia turned in that
direction. “Landon?” Her voice trembled as her vision blurred. “Why
aren’t you in Boston?”

It was as if everyone in the room held their
breath as Octavia gasped for hers. Landon walked toward her. “I’m
taking a later flight. Congratulations. This time I brought candy
and flowers.”

As Octavia’s tears flowed, Landon made good
on his promise. He tugged away from prying eyes and kissed her
until she thought she would pass out.

The joy on Octavia’s face, the kiss on her soft lips
and her smile was worth Landon taking the last flight to Boston.
Now stretching his legs in the window seat, Landon peeped out the
window. He would be tired in the morning, but he was sure his
children would keep him alert for an impromptu meet-and-greet at
his parents’ house.

Reba and Martin agreed to bring Alyssa.
Surprisingly, Kim’s agitation had been so intense as if they were
face-to-face again.

“Yeah, I guess I’ll bring Cherie, but you’d
better not come to town without bringing cash.”

Landon had held in his chuckle, so not to
irritate an already volatile situation. “Right.”

Kim would definitely be disappointed with a
bank check this time since he had opened up a checking account.
Plus, since graduating the father’s initiative program, he had set
up automatic deductions to come out of his bank three weeks a
month, one for each set of his children. Thanks to Alyssa’s
stepfather’s generosity, he would send his oldest daughter less, so
he would have more to send the other three children.

He sighed when he thought about his twins and
their mother. For a woman who was engaged to a seemingly decent man
who appeared to love her and the boys, Brittani proved to be just
as difficult. He prayed God would deliver her of the hurts of the
past, so she could move forward whenever they had to interact on
behalf of the children.

Rest. Do not worry about tomorrow.
God
whispered Matthew 6:34
. Each day has its own trouble.

Closing his eyes, Landon did just that, and
he didn’t stir until the attendant made an announcement to prepare
for landing. Twenty minutes later when he walked off the plane,
Landon felt the absence of his support team. The airport was
deserted, except for passengers from his flight. This weekend would
be about bonding.

Leaving the terminal for the baggage claim
area, Landon did a double take. His eyes hadn’t deceived him. A
familiar face was standing near the window, holding a single
balloon. Landon almost stumbled when their eyes connected.

“Garrett?” The man lived five hours away in
Philly. Did he make a special trip to Boston to settle scores with
him?

Wearing a blank expression, his cousin made
no attempt to meet him halfway. As the only boys in their families
and male grandsons, they were best buddies until they entered
manhood. That’s when Landon realized his light brown eyes, wavy
hair and light skin had an edge with the ladies over Garrett. His
cousin seemed to tolerate his shenanigans, but now things were
different. Landon braced for an emergency room visit with a broken
nose as he came within feet of the man he had betrayed.

“You’re late.” Garrett stated the
obvious.

“I know.”

As Garrett stared at him, Landon wondered
what his cousin saw: the same sinner who mocked God repeatedly or a
lost sheep that God had watched over until he surrendered.

Pushing away from the wall, which had
supported his weight, Garrett stood taller. He had picked up some
inches around the middle since his marriage to Shari, but it
definitely wasn’t fat. Slowly Garrett’s hand moved and it wasn’t in
a fist as he extended it for a handshake. “Welcome home.”

When Landon accepted the hand, Garrett
wrapped him in a manly hug. To onlookers, there was no doubt they
were one hundred percent all men.

Garrett patted him on the back as Landon
choked back tears. “I’m so sorry I’ve messed over your life and
others’. I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry.”

His cousin squeezed his neck. Any tighter, it
would have been unto death. “Aunt Lydia told me what you’ve been
through. She, my mother and my wife thought it would be good for us
to have a long talk.”

Landon grinned. “I’ll have to thank
them.”

“The good news is God got your attention
before you were lost in eternity in hell. The bad news is you’ll
have to deal with Brittani for the rest of your life.”

“I didn’t threaten the man,” Olivia insisted as she
helped Octavia prepare a brunch Saturday morning for them to enjoy.
“Landon and I just had a brief chat.” Olivia gave her an angelic
look. “If Daddy had come, Melvin Winston would have put the fear
into Landon.”

“Amen,” she and Olivia snickered. Her father
had been rooting for her since she began as a realtor. If he hadn’t
strained his back, he and his wife would have been on the next
flight out of Florida. But Melvin Winston didn’t let that setback
stop him from having flowers delivered to her door this
morning.

As daddy’s little girl, Octavia wondered if
Landon could have passed her father’s scrutiny.

“But, hey, I like your taste,” Olivia said,
keeping her mind from wandering down that path. “Landon is double
fine. Whew.” Olivia feigned a hot flash, giggled, then set the
counter top with two place settings.

Octavia held in her amusement. She didn’t
want to encourage her sister to intervene in her relationship with
Landon.

As they worked in unison around her kitchen,
Olivia chatted away. “I introduced myself and told him what it
meant to have you as my sister…and how special you are from any
other human being on this planet.”

“Wow.” The compliment humbled Octavia. “Thank
you. I love you too.” After removing the pancakes from the grill,
she joined her sister at the tabletop.

“I mean, how can you threaten someone who
already has experienced the hand of God against them?”

“You’ve got a point,” Octavia paused and
reached for her sister’s hands, then bowed her head. “Jesus, I have
so much to be thankful for, besides the food set before me—my
sister and You giving me the desire of my heart,” she said,
convincing herself she was referring to making the Million Dollar
Club. “Lord, please provide shelter and food for many faces I don’t
see who are hidden in plain sight and let be me a blessing to
them.” She paused. “Thank you for restoring Landon, and may he
continue to mend the broken hearts. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

After taking a sip of orange juice and
sampling Octavia’s made-from-scratch blueberry pancakes, Olivia
asked, “What do you think he’s doing now?”

“I hope having a ball with his children.” It
was a bittersweet smile. She wanted to have children one day with a
husband who would be just as excited to be a first-time father. She
blinked away the melancholy. Her sister was in town for the weekend
and she was going to enjoy every minute of it.

***

“Really, Kim?” Landon tried not to let his
daughter’s mother push his buttons. “You knew I was coming in this
weekend and my mother was having a get-together for me to get to
know my children and their siblings.” It wasn’t like he could hop
on a plane and come back to visit.

“Hey, I’m having car problems. If you want
Cherie to go, then you’ll have to come and get her.” The woman hung
up before Landon could blink.

Closing his eyes, Landon took a series of
deep breaths and rubbed the back of his neck. “Lord, I know I have
to reap what I’ve sowed, but I’m asking You to help me. In Jesus’
name. Amen.”

I have given you grace,
the Lord
whispered.

Landon hoped so as he opened his eyes. He
noticed the time. He had a few hours before his other children
would arrive. He was surprised that Kim trusted Cherie to be in his
presence and thought she would want to be there to help with the
transition, but he was starting to see that Kim, Reba and Brittani
had different agendas with him.

Deal with it,
Landon coaxed himself as
he jumped in the shower. He would go and pick up his four-year-old
daughter and be back before her siblings arrived.

His mother had suggested that a small
gathering might be better rather than Landon allotting each child a
certain amount of time. He agreed. His mother had decorated the
house as if he was throwing a birthday bash for a classroom of
children instead of four. Well, this was a celebration.

What a difference grace made. It seemed like
yesterday when his mother had called him “devious” for fathering,
not one or two, but four grandchildren she had yet to meet. Since
that time, relationships had been built, but strained. Now, she
received him with open arms and never used his deeds against him in
a negative way.

The biggest surprise was his welcoming party
of one at Logan airport the previous night. Landon hadn’t expected
to see Garrett ever again in this lifetime, but there he was at
11:43, standing in the lobby, holding a “welcome home” balloon.

“That was Shari’s idea,” Garrett had
explained of the balloon before he dropped Landon off at his
parents’ house, then Garrett went to his mom and dad’s where Shari
and their children were staying. Garrett agreed to return with
Shari and their two children to meet their cousins. Of course, his
grandparents would not be denied an opportunity to bond with more
of their great-grands. Moses and Queen were the first to arrive
very early that morning to help.

With the new developments, Landon didn’t have
the luxury to continue analyzing how God had worked it out in his
life. He prepared to get ready to pick up his little princess. Once
he had shaved, showered, and dressed, Landon went downstairs and
asked to borrow his mother’s car.

“Son, you don’t have to ask.” She kissed his
cheek. “Go and get my grand baby.” She grinned and shoved him
toward the door.

The drive to Northern Dorchester—shortened to
“Dot” by Bostonians—wasn’t far. Everything seemed surreal as he
noted the different landmarks that separated familiar
neighborhoods.

Soon enough, Landon was parked in front of
Kim’s place. She lived on the second floor of one of the
triple-decker apartment buildings for which New England cities were
known. He didn’t get out right away as he mentally prepared to be a
father to his own flesh and blood.

After a brief pep talk, Landon stepped out
and jogged up the stairs. Kim didn’t keep him waiting after he rang
the bell. She opened the door with his daughter by her side and her
palm up, waiting for her expected delivery. Once he handed over the
envelope, she handed over the child as if they were doing a drug
buy.

“Here, take this,” she said, passing him what
looked like a chair. “She needs a booster seat.”

“Right.” He nodded as he looked at Cherie’s
inquisitive brown eyes, which reminded him of Kim’s. DNA testing
proved the child was his in spite of his protests that they had
only slept together a short period of time.

“Although you don’t deserve seeing my
daughter, this is an honor system. Don’t call asking for her to
spend the night, watch what she eats—she has no allergies—and bring
her back before seven. “G’on, Cherie. This is your sorry
father.”

“Kim, let’s make a deal,” Landon said,
reigning in his temper as she folded her arms and leaned against
the door post. “You don’t bad mouth me in front of
our
daughter, and I’ll extend the same courtesy. I plan to show her
that her daddy is anything but
sorry
.” He fumed at Kim’s
lack of respect, but calmed down when he reached for his daughter’s
hand. She was hesitant at first, but after a few more tries, she
accepted it. He heaved her up with one arm as if she was a toddler
instead of a four-year-old and carried the booster in the other to
the car. When he looked back, Kim had already shut the door.

During the ride to his parents’ house, Landon
tried to make small talk, but Cherie didn’t seem interested as she
alternated between looking out the window and watching him. When he
arrived, Garrett and his crew were there. When everyone made a fuss
over his daughter, Landon’s chest puffed with pride. He stayed
close to Cherie, so she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed.

Within an hour, it was a madhouse as Brittani
and Charles arrived with the twins minutes after Reba and her
husband had brought Alyssa and decided to stay.

Garrett spoke to his ex-fiancée, but there
weren’t any hugs coming. Landon was glad for Charles’s presence,
because he could sense Brittani’s troubled spirit. He hoped with
Charles by her side, Brittani wouldn’t become a troublemaker.

The games and activities his mother had
planned did the trick. Soon the children were screaming, yelling
and playing together. Every now and then, Cherie peeked around
searching for him, as if making sure he hadn’t left her. The
contentment on her face made him more determined to be there for
his baby girl.