When I opened the door Leroi and Navette fell into my arms.
“I am so sorry,” I whispered into Navette’s ear. When I was finally able to detach them from me we all sat down on my couch. I was working on a sermon, and Shay was in her swing sleeping peacefully. Leroi picked her up and she stirred in his arms.
“So do you all know what caused the fire?
“No ma’am we ain’t sure , but we think it was candles,” Leroi said rocking the baby.
“Oh okay well yall are welcome to be here as long as yall need to.”
Navette looked so lost, and I felt so bad that I could not comfort her. Her marriage was on the rocks, and now she had lost her house.
“Ma……….is Detrick still here?”
I sighed, “Yeah, but he is gonna be getting his own place soon.”
Sensing the need for us to talk Leroi took shay upstairs.
“Ma, look I know I have been terrible towards you and I am sorry.”
“You are not wrong to feel how you feel Vette, but your delivery was just all wrong that’s all. “
She grabbed my hand, “Mama I have gotten so out of my character lately. I been doing and saying things that are unlike me, and I just need you to pray for me because I feel like I am about to lose my mind. “
I grabbed both of her hands and we began to pray. I heard the basement door open, and Detrick walked through the kitchen and into the living room. I motioned for him with my eyes to come in and to my surprise he sat on the other side of Navette and placed his hand on her shoulder and we prayed and cried together as a family for the first time.
*************************************************************************************The next afternoon Navette called the insurance company. The fire chief confirmed that the candle fell on the table, and the wine spilled on it acted as an accelerant to cause the fire to spread. I am so glad my children had listened to me and gotten insurance. When we arrived on the scene with the insurance adjuster I was overwhelmed at the damage. I saw 80% of the things my kids had worked hard for; burned beyond recognition. Fortunately they were able to salvage a lot of their keepsakes, but all of their furniture was ruined. Leroi’s truck that was still in the driveway was covered in suit, but otherwise undamaged. I was so thankful. Me and Leroi took the stuff back to my house to clean it up while Navette stayed behind with her daddy and the insurance adjuster. I brought shay on the house and laid her down so that me and Leroi could get started. We sat on the back porch and Leroi grabbed my cleaning caddy from under the kitchen sink.
“Mama this may sound crazy, but I think that fire was kinda meant to happen.”
“It doesn’t sound crazy to me, I think you are right. I had been praying about you and Navette and God had been showing me that you two had forgotten what it meant to be married. “
He looked at me surprised.
“Boy please me and my father talk all the time, I thought you knew.”
He laughed , “Mama you are something else. I love Navette I just don’t know how to live with her……she’s mean.”
“No she is not mean she is a woman, and she is tired of the games. Navette shared with me and Detrick last night about some things that had been going on.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I will say this, I am your mother just as well as hers and I am never going to take the place of Ms. Judy, but when you are wrong you are wrong you understand?”
He nodded so I went on, “Anyway, she is my baby, but I am not gonna uphold her. She allowed a man to creep into her life because you allowed a woman to creep into yours and you are both wrong for that. I love my grand baby more than anything on this earth, but what I won’t do is watch yall destroy her childhood by being destructive.”
“Mama but—“
“I’m not finished,” I said cutting him off,” we all got our crosses to bear, but some are only heavy because we are carrying somebody else’s cross too. Do you love her?”
He looked me in my eyes, “With all my heart.”
“Well end whatever foolishness you got going on.”
“Mama I already did.”
“You better have because I hate to have to take my Bible up in a strip club. It won’t be my first time being in one, but still.”
His face dropped, “Ma you used to dance?”
“Boy please I can still out dance some of them heffas in there. Ask Big Mike about Calico Kitty when you see him again. “
I left him with his mouth hanging and went back in the house to get some more cleaning cloths.
