Truth Be Told

A
LSO BY
V
ICTORIA
C
HRISTOPHER
M
URRAY

Temptation

Joy

Blessed Assurance
(contributor)

D
uring the final stages of writing this book, my husband, Ray Allen Murray, passed away suddenly. It was only God's grace that sent me back to the computer to complete this novel. And as the Lord always does, He sent angels to help me work through the darkest hours of my life.

So to those whom God sent, I dedicate this book:

Cecile Christopher, my sister, who from the moment she heard the news took hold of my hand and never let go. The younger sibling became the wiser one as she sat with me, and for months took care of my every need.

Dr. Beverly “BAM” Crawford, my pastor, who helped me to stand, reminding me that the way through all of this was to lean on God. Her love, prayers, and hour-long telephone Bible studies allowed me to take my first steps.

Ruth and Elvis Murray, Ta'shara Murray Riedel and Allen Riedel, Veronica and Joseph Austin, Tracy and Walter Downs, Rick and Marie Pogue, Kimberla and Will Roby, Patricia Haley and Jeffrey Glass, Portia Cannon, Eric Jerome Dickey, Lolita Files, E. Lynn Harris, Kay Smith-Holt, Dee Sanford, my friends and family who formed a united alliance, a protective hedge. Each helped me to take small steps toward a future that I did not want to face. My friends reminded me what I had forgotten—that I had much more of a life to live, and that's what Ray would have wanted.

Special thank-yous to my sorors of Delta Sigma Theta Long Beach Alumnae chapter, Brandi Jones, president. There are no words to express how much I appreciate your love, support, concern, prayers, and friendship. I love all of you.

Also I must thank the hundreds of friends and readers who sent cards, letters, thoughts, and prayers. You all helped me through.

All of you have my love and complete gratitude. It is only because of you that today I smile and am able to appreciate the wonderful life that God has given me.

“Y
ou're going to be the first female mayor of Los Angeles!””

Thunderous applause exploded inside the Biltmore's Colonnade Room.

“You forgot the first black female mayor,” a woman bellowed above the noise.

Grace Monroe smiled into the crowd of rainbow faces. She motioned with her hands to quiet her supporters. “Thank you, but my focus is not on the mayor's office. I want to serve the people of the Eighteenth District—you, who with your confidence and countless dedicated hours have elected me today as your councilwoman.”

A roar reverberated through the room. Grace glanced over her shoulder. Behind her, Conner beamed. Next to him stood their daughters, whose smiles matched the ones in the crowd. Jayde, her fifteen year old, raised her thumb in the air.

Grace turned toward her constituents as the cheers faded. Her smile disappeared. She scanned the quieting crowd for unfamiliar eyes. She shook her head to dislodge those thoughts. Out of more than two hundred people in the room, she knew fewer than fifty. Eager faces stared back at her, and she cleared her throat.

“I will fulfill my campaign promises—the most important being that our children receive the education they deserve. We're going to begin with morals and ethics.” Minutes passed before she was able to continue through the applause. “We will address the questions that are important to you. We will provide solutions to the challenges of drugs and teenage pregnancy.” Another eruption of applause. “I thank you for your commitment, but remember, this is the beginning. We must work hard to make the Eighteenth District of Los Angeles a model community, an example for the nation.” She paused for just a moment. “God bless you.”

Silver globes, reminiscent of the disco decade, glittered from the high ceilings as strobes swept rainbow meteors across the room. Bass tones blasted, and then Jeffrey Osborne's baritone serenaded the crowd, turning Grace's feelings into song.

We're going all the way.

Grace swayed to the music as her family joined her at the podium. Conner entwined his fingers in his wife's and raised her hand in the air in victory. “I am so proud of you. Congratulations, Councilwoman.” His lips grazed her ear.

She shined with pride as he kissed her cheek, and the crowd cheered their approval. She could feel her daughters on her other side.

Amber giggled. “Mommy, the music is so loud.”

Grace laughed, stooped, and hugged her seven year old. Then she pulled Jayde into her arms.

“Congratulations, Mom,” Jayde grinned.

Grace smiled, relieved that her teenager was in the mood for the celebration.

“Well done, dear.” Grace turned at the sound of her mother's voice. Lily had squeezed between her grandchildren to stand at her daughter's side. Grace hugged her mother.

Lily patted her daughter's back as they embraced. “I'm proud of you.” As Grace pulled away, her mother whispered, “The only thing missing is your sister….” Grace shrugged from her mother's arms, her smile gone.

Before a tick clicked on the clock, Conner stepped between the two women and put his arm around his wife. “The cameras, honey,” he said through lips that hardly moved. He motioned toward the crowd with his dimpled chin.

Grace returned to center stage, her practiced smile in place. She waved, then took Conner's hand and moved toward the curtains behind them. Lily and the girls followed. Before she was two steps backstage, Zoë, her campaign manager and now chief of staff, ran toward her with headphones covering her braids and a clipboard in her hand.

“Grace, Channel 2 wants the first interview. We should give it to them because their polls supported us, and they were the fairest in reviewing our platform.” She took one glance at the clipboard, then added, “Next, we'll go to Channel….”

Grace held up her hand. “Zoë, take a breath.”

Zoë stared speechless for a moment, then smiled. “Have I congratulated you?” She squinted, as if trying to remember.

“No, you haven't.” Grace hugged her. “And I haven't thanked you.” She squeezed Zoë's hand. “Tell Channel 2 that I'll be right there.” Zoë nodded and rushed away. Grace shook her head, knowing that in five minutes, she'd be back with three more interviews arranged.

“Girl, girl, girl!” Devry clapped, and Grace laughed at her sister-in-law. “You did it!”

Grace hugged Devry, then stepped back when she felt the gentle swell of her sister-in-law's belly between them. “Don't want to hurt the baby.”

Devry laughed. “Girl, Baby Monroe is having a blast. Just like the rest of us.” She took Grace's hand. “I'm so proud of you.”

“It's still unbelievable,” Grace said. Then her eyes wandered over Devry's shoulder into the face of Conner—only the man didn't have her husband's eyes. Chandler's were a tint lighter than Conner's dark brown ones. As she hugged her brother-in-law, she thought for the thousandth time that the doctors had been mistaken—they couldn't be fraternal twins.

The family's circle was infiltrated by others, from campaign workers to church members, all offering their congratulations. As she stood in the crowd's midst, Grace stepped away in her mind. With the music blaring at levels that would make an audiologist cringe, Grace felt as if she was in the middle of a Times Square New Year's celebration. She smiled. It was a new year—a new beginning for a community that she loved and another new start for her. God just continued giving her new blessings.

Grace joined the crowd again and continued hugging and kissing her well-wishers until her cheeks ached from the smile she'd worn since all three networks declared her the victor.

“Honey, we should get out there,” Conner said. “There're a lot of people to meet and greet.”

She nodded and turned to Jayde and Amber. “Give me a hug, ladies. Are you sure you have everything?”

Amber nodded and embraced her mother. “Yes, Mommy.”

When Grace turned to Jayde, her older daughter stood with her arms crossed. “I don't know why I have to go to Nana's. There are other kids here,” she said, peeking through the stage's curtains.

Grace stroked Jayde's cheek. “You have school tomorrow, and that's all that counts.” She kissed her, then stepped back as Conner kissed their daughters good-bye.

Grace turned to her mother. “Thanks, Mom.”

“There's nothing I like more than having my grandbabies with me.”

Conner motioned to Frank Austin, Grace's driver, that Lily and the girls were ready. He waited until they were out of view and then, with pandemonium still surrounding them, pulled Grace into his arms. “Well, Miss Councilwoman,” he began, and kissed her nose. “It's time for my personal congratulations.” He paused, becoming serious. “I wish we could leave now for our own celebration.”

Her eyes glittered. She pulled away and faked a yawn. “It's been a long day.” She looked at her watch. “Let's sneak out in five minutes.”

“What would Channel 2 say?” He laughed. “But the quicker we make our appearance, the quicker we'll be able to escape.” He put his arm around her waist. “Come on, Councilwoman Monroe, the people want you.” He took her hand. “Just remember that your husband wants you more.”

As Zoë led them into the waiting crowd, neither noticed the woman whose eyes watched them and whose steps matched theirs as she moved along the room's perimeter.

Grace leaned against the Suburban and laughed at Conner, whose arms were spread wide.

“I'm not kidding,” he said. “I'm going to carry you over the threshold.”

“You didn't have anything to drink, and you don't do drugs, so this must be mad cow disease.”

He pursed his lips as if he was annoyed, but he couldn't hide his smile. “I've done this before.”

“Fifteen years ago. You were younger, and I weighed … less.” She paused when she saw the laughter in his eyes. “Are you making fun of me?”

He held up his hands. “Never, because you are more beautiful today than the day we married.” He held his arms open to her again.

She shrugged. “Okay.”

He lifted her, then grunted.

“I told you.” She laughed as he struggled. A moment later, she squealed as he raised her high, letting her rest on his shoulder.

“Ssshhh. The neighbors,” Conner huffed.

They laughed as he staggered into the house, wobbling through the long hallway, then letting her slip from his arms right under the living room arch, the special place where they had renewed their wedding vows ten years before.

“I can't believe you did that.” She laughed and smoothed her red Tadashi suit over her waist.

“And I can't believe that you had doubts about winning this election.” The smile left his face. “Grace, the city is blessed to have you … and so am I.”

Her eyes burned with warmth. It was more than his words that made her want to cry. In his eyes, she saw their history. In his tone, she heard him say, “I forgive you,” all over again.

She stroked his face, then brushed her lips against his.

He kissed her and, with his tongue, erased every memory of the election until their thoughts were of themselves alone. He took her hand, pulling her into the living room. He used the dimmer to lower the lights to their softest glow before he led her to the couch.

He kissed her again, then turned away, moving to the entertainment center that covered one wall. With the press of one button music, filled the room.

My love, there's only you in my life, the only thing that's right….

Grace's eyes followed Conner as he walked across the room and turned off the lights. The room was illuminated only by the outside streetlights that filtered through the sheer curtains hanging at the living room's tripanel bay window.

Conner stretched his hand forward, lifting her from the couch. They leaned together, two lines in poem, swaying to Lionel Richie's serenade.

Grace laid her head against Conner's chest, closed her eyes, and sank into the words that she and Conner had first danced to at their wedding.

Two hearts. Two hearts that beat as one.

Grace was sure the song had been written for them.

Our lives have just begun.

As the music continued, Conner lifted her chin and pressed his mouth against hers, gently pushing her back until her legs pressed against the couch. They continued their horizontal dance until they heard the three beeps of the alarm indicating that a door had been opened.

Startled, Conner and Grace slipped from their embrace and jumped from the couch. The chandelier in the foyer brightened the entire front of the house.

“Mommy, why are the lights off?” Amber asked.

Grace smoothed her skirt as she rushed toward the foyer, while Conner turned off the music.

“What are you doing here?” Grace asked, glancing from her mother to her daughters.

Jayde yawned. “Amber wanted to come home.”

“You did too,” Amber asserted. Then she leaned against Grace.

Grace looked at her mother. “Mom, it's almost midnight.”

“I know, honey, but when Amber started crying, I thought it best to bring them here. I didn't think you'd be home. I was going to put them to bed and wait for you.”

Grace opened her mouth, then shook her head. “Come on,” she said to her daughters. “Let me get you to bed. You have school in the morning.” She looked at her mother.

Conner said, “I'll take care of the girls.”

“I told you we should have stayed with you,” Jayde smirked, as she trotted up the winding staircase.

Grace was silent until her husband disappeared with their daughters. “Mom, they should be in bed.”

“I'm sorry.” Lily moved toward the kitchen. “I thought this was better than having Amber cry all night. She's so spoiled.”

Grace followed her mother. “It must have been the excitement. Amber hasn't done that in a long time. Anyway, do you want to stay here instead of driving back home?”

Lily shook her head and ran her hand through her closely cropped white-gray afro as she sat at the kitchen table. “No, I just want a quick cup of coffee.” When Grace stood still, with her arms folded, staring at her mother, Lily added, “Decaf, of course.”

With a sigh, and a shrug, Grace set the coffee maker, then pulled a mug from the cabinet, setting it heavily on the counter.

“I said I was sorry,” Lily exclaimed, then paused, twisting her lips into a lopsided grin. “And I'm sorry that we interrupted you and Conner. Looks like you weren't expecting anyone.”

Grace smiled and sat with her mother. Her fingers danced on the table to the rhythm of Lionel still singing in her head.

“You have a good husband.”

Grace's smile widened.