Shelia
"Dear Lord I ask of you right now that you be with us in time of need. Give us strength and give us peace. We know Lord that you don't make any mistakes. I have already lost one son and Lord it hurts me to know that I'm on the verge of losing another. If you could just hear my prayer and bring him back to me, back to us Lord. I ask this in the miraculous name of Jesus. Amen." I wiped the tears from my eyes as I held on to a distraught Desire.
It has been a long haul, but by the grace of God he has held this family together. Things always didn't go the way we may have wanted, still we all made it through. Through each setback and heartache it helped to build us stronger than before. As we stood outside of the ER room I could feel the presence of God right here. He was letting me know that it was going to be okay. No sooner than that feeling came the doctor walked out.
He stood with a grim look on his face as he blew out a tired breath. Desire turned and we all stood looking at him with hopeful hearts and minds.
"We lost him for a minute, but he came back to us. It was touch and go. Mr. Alsina is a fighter and he survivor. Mrs. Alsina we are prepping him for surgery. One thing I will tell you is that he loves you dearly because through is gasping breath and pain he stated that he loved you." He smiled.
Tears of joy streamed down Desire's face as she held on to me and her grandmother. I looked up to he ceiling and silently thanked God for hearing my prayer.
"How long will the surgery take?" Desire asked.
"It may be a three to four our surgery. We have to be delicate in when it comes to removing those bullets. He has some swelling on the brain that stems from a hemorrhage. We are going to do all that we can and we will keep you posted." Dr. Sanchez said as he patted Desire's shoulder.
"When will Travis get here? Desire asked.
"He should be here within the next hour."
She nodded and broke away from everyone. She walked down to the other side of the window staring at them as they August for surgery. She held herself looking at the love her life. I watched her. We all watched her and I knew just as well as everyone else knew that Desire needed him like she needed her next breath.
Desire
I stood there looking and I was thankful that God didn't take him away. We had been through so much together and through it all I didn't stop loving him. In fact I love him even more. As I stood there I felt a touch on my shoulder. I turned to find Nedra standing there. I looked at her for a long moment and I could see the hurt and pain in her face.
I wanted to be angry and I wanted to lash out on her, but that wouldn't do any good. She was hurting too. She got caught up in situation that almost caused all of our lives. We just didn't see this coming.
"How is he?" She asked.
"He still isn't out of the woods. He still is fighting. How is Twan?" I looked back at through the window.
"He is okay. We are waiting for the results of some test. He still is in a semi-coma, but he is holding his own."
There was a long moment of pause and Desire knew that Ned was thinking about everything that had happened. Her guilt was weighing in on her.
"Desire I am so sorry. This mess is all my fault. If I could go back and erase all of this I would. I know that right now you can't forgive me. I just hope that someday you can. You are my best friend, my sister and I need you." Tears streamed down her face.
"Ned life is short and I could stand here and hate you. That honestly wouldn't change anything by me hating you. I admit at first I wanted to hated you, be made at you too. I realized that tomorrow isn't promised to any of us and I forgive you Ned." I pulled her in for a hug.
"Just do me a favor and get it together because you have a good man and wonderful family that adores you. Get it right with Twan. It may not be easy, but for God sakes just make sure you get it right."
She walked off and my grandmother came over to me.
"How you doing baby?"
"I'm good. I just want my husband beside me, holding me. I realize I have to be strong for the both of us. Where he is weak I will be his strength. I never thought I would be on this end and it has taught me that life is a precious gift, a gift that we must appreciate and never take for granted."
"You are right dear. You and August have been through a lot, but by the grace of God you still are standing firm. Marriage is never easy and it takes a lot of work. Everything that you have gone through over the past couple of years is just a test of your love."
"I know grandma and thanks for always being there when times got hard." I squeezed her hand.
"I will always be here as long as God keeps breath in this old body." She kissed my cheek and walked off to talk with her daughter and Lawrence.
"Baby girl you are such an amazing woman." My father said from behind me.
"Thanks daddy."
"Aug is a trooper and he gon' be alright. That man ain't no fool. He not about to leave you here with none of this other thirsty ass niggas." He cracked a smile making me smile.
"Daddy."
"I'm just telling the truth. Laying all jokes aside the love that you guys have is rare and unique. Cherish it everyday of your lives."
"He's right sweetheart."
I turned and found my mother there with tears in her eyes. I knew in that moment she was reliving all he wrongs. She took my father's love for granted.
"I could have lost your father with my foolishness, but God allowed me the opportunity to get it right. Now I realized that the true meaning of being in love. The love that you and August have is the kind many strive for, but can never capture it. God has given you another chance at getting it right with one another so take heed darling." She kissed my cheek grabbing my father's hand as they walked away.
They were about to wheel August out when Dr. Sanchez motioned for me to come towards the door. I walked around and they rolled him out. I looked down at his frail body. I grabbed is hand rubbing my thumb against his skin.
"Baby I love you so much and I know that you are going to be alright. We are going to be alright. I felt a slight squeeze and tears welled in my eyes. I bent down and kissed his cheek. I love you August." I pulled back staring as they rolled him away.
Thank you dear heavenly father.....
Nedra
I sat in the chair staring at my husband. His mother and father were here and we really hadn't talked about what happened. Sooner or later we would have to. Right now my focus was my husband. That's where it should have been all along to begin with.
"Nedra...." Twan's voice trailed off weakly.
"Twan." I stood and went to his side.
"I-I love you and I-"
"Shh baby."
"No I love you and I forgive you....."
Next Chapter I will skip some time to get to more happier times. OAN: As I began writing this story I knew that I wanted to do something different. A lot of people look for the happily ever after and in the real world not everyone is living the happily ever after. In any marriage or relationship there are ups and downs. That is why its important to keep God in the midst of those times because he can and will see you through. When I write no matter it is I always try to tap into emotions and capture things that people can relate to. I'm a realist and I believe that through my writing I touch people, inspire people and even help people. This is why I do this.
I love and appreciate each and everyone of you and thank you for rocking with me!
Lady K
Excuse Mistakes!
