Oh, Emmanuel!

'Maxim, honey I need to tell you something. This has been troubling me for a while now. I've been praying to the Lord for strength to help us through this, and I feel that this is the right thing for me to do. He took one last sip of his espresso, then put it down on the table and immediately reached for Faith's hand as he watched her bottom lip quiver and her eyes well up with tears from whatever information was boiling inside her. 'Baby what's wrong.'� She broke down and began sobbing. 'Maxi'Emmanuel-- is not--your son.'� For a minute it seemed like his eyes filled up with water as if he had just received news that a loved one had died. To him, it seemed as if someone did die. 'Wait! What do you mean, Emmanuel is not my son. Faith, if this is your idea of some kind of joke, I don't find it amusing at all.'� Maxim looked her square in the eyes, hoping that she would crack some sort of smile, or give him some idea that she was joking. As sick and twisted as he thought that it would be if she were toying with his emotions, he really hoped that she was doing just that. He could deal with that better than facing the possible reality that the little boy that he'd seen literally come out of her womb in that birthing suite at University Hospital and take in his first breadth was not flesh of his flesh. 'No baby. I wouldn't joke about anything like this. This has been on my mind for the past couple of weeks since we have been talking about renewing our wedding vows and especially after you and I promised each other that we were going to start things over, symbolizing a rebirth and a better life together. Baby, I know that this is a hard pill to swallow, but I couldn't hold it any longer. I felt that now was the time for me to come out and tell you.'� 'Yeah, well why this? Why now Faith! Why after so many years? I guess you figure since we are now planning a real wedding that you should come out with the real truth! So, all six years of our marriage must have been a lie, huh Faith!'�
Maxim's voice rose just above that chatter among the patrons in the small downtown café, and people began to stare. Faith dropped her head and looked back shamefacedly into his eyes, trembling at the tone of his voice. 'Maxi please'don't yell. Please baby, I know that you are angry right now, but people are beginning to stare at us. Wait Maxi, let's go out to the car and talk about this in private. Please?'� He lowered his voice for just a second, right before leaning across the table and getting close enough in her face for her to see the hairs in his nostrils wave back and forth with every heavy, angry breadth. 'I don't care who's watching Faith. It's none of their business anyway. But I want to know why you waited until now? Why after six years, huh? And if he's not my child, then who in the hell does he belong to huh?'�
Before Faith could answer, Maxi threw up his hand, signifying the end of the conversation and walked out of the café. Embarrassed by the scene that he had caused by raising his voice and storming out of the café, she sat for a few more moments looking out of the window at all of the people walking by carrying on carelessly about life, and wondered if anyone of them could relate to what she was going through. It seemed now that no one in the crowded café even cared enough about her to glance over at her and mumble little things about them the way that they were a few short minutes ago while Maxim was embarrassing them both minutes before he stormed out of the coffee shop. 'Ma'am is everything okay,'� the waiter asked. 'Can I get you anything else?'� 'No thanks, I'm fine,'� she replied as she tried her best not to cry. 'May I have my ticket please?'� 'Sure, I'll be right back. You sure you don't want any dessert to go? Might make you feel better.'� 'No Thanks, I've had enough.'� Faith continued to ramble through her purse to find her check card as she watched Maxim vanish into the tall bank building where he worked across the street from the cafe. She didn't know whether he was more angry or hurt since he didn't even glance back towards the café to see if she came out after him. She thought briefly about following him into the building and up to his fifteenth floor office to try to talk with him in private there, but she dared not to show up on his job for fear that he would cause a scene. Her only hope now was that he would come home to her and Emmanuel after work, or more importantly, if he would come home to them at all. She kept trying to cheer herself up by thinking about all of the big plans that she her mother were making for the beautiful wedding ceremony that was set for this coming spring. This was going to be the ceremony that she had always dreamed of, but could not afford when they first got married because Maxim had not established the clientele that he has now at the mortgage company where he works, and she had quit her job in San Antonio and moved to Birmingham after he proposed. Only this time, they would just renew their vows, but this was going to be a ceremony that would rival that of most celebrities. Everything was set to be held at the Vulcan Botanical Park atop Red Mountain, overlooking the city, and to this point, nearly three hundred people were on the guest list. But now Faith wondered if Maxim would want to stay married to her after all of this. After paying, she left the coffee shop and ran to her truck which was parked right out in front, trying to keep the cool air from slicing through her little thin leather jacket that Maxim had just bought her for Christmas. Although it was sunny outside, the brisk air blowing between the buildings was quite chilly. She sat for a moment, then pulled down her sun visor and opened her vanity mirror so that she could reapply her eye liner that had run from the tears that she tried so hard to hold back after Maxim left her at the café. She then started the engine so that it could run for a little while and the inside could warm up a little before she pulled into traffic. While she waited, she just sat staring off into space as she reflected on the events that had just unfolded. She began to question herself about why she waited so long to tell Maxim about Emmanuel, or why she even told him at all, especially since she knew how happy and proud he was believing in his heart that God had blessed him to be able to father a child when he'd been told by doctors that he couldn't. Faith was terrified of what she'd done. After six years of a beautiful marriage, this was the first real argument she and Maxim had. Feeling low, and with no one else to turn to, she felt the need to call her mother, who was the one person who she knew would be able to comfort her in this situation. She immediately unzipped her small handbag that lay in the passenger seat, pulled out her Blackberry, and punched in her mother's number. By the fourth ring she couldn't help it. She grabbed her make up pencil and pulled her mirror once more because her eyeliner ran again from the tears that welled up in her eyes and came streaming down her face leaving black trails on her caramel colored cheeks. 'Momma'�Can I come over to see you?'� 'Faith what's wrong?'� 'Momma, I just need to talk to you. I'm on my way.'�

Chapter 2
'Emmanuel is not your son.'� Those words resonated in Maxim's head like those of a broken record. 'Why, and how could this have happened,'� he asked himself over and over again in the confines of his office as he looked out over the city and the life that inhabited downtown. He was so captivated as usual by the view that he almost forgot why he was even angry at Faith. 'Birmingham is so beautiful from up here, he thought to himself. This is a beautiful place to raise a family.'� He just stood in awe at the beautiful hills that rested on the city's South side with clusters of historic Victorian Mansions that were sprinkled among them. But after a quick snap back to reality, 'Huh, a family; Yeah right,'� he said just loud enough so that he could hear himself. He sat back down at his desk, and placed his head in his hands for a brief moment, then opened his laptop so that he could try and work on some loans that he needed to close within the next two weeks before month end. After realizing that he couldn't concentrate, he jumped up, logged off and closed his laptop. He then grabbed his sport coat and headed for the door. 'Mr. Jordan, are you leaving?'� asked Imani his Office Assistant. 'Yeah; I need to leave early to go and handle some things. If anyone should call, please inform them that I will be in a meeting for the rest of the evening, and that I will not be taking any phone calls on my cell phone. Just send them to my voice mail please.'� 'No problem Sir. Have a good evening.'� 'You do the same.'�
Maxim had hopped into his Mercedes E-550, pulled out of the parking garage, and was on 18th Street in less that five minutes, headed towards the south side with no destination in mind. All he knew was that he needed to get away from the office so that he could clear his head. Although he was a bit shocked that Faith hadn't called him, he didn't worry about it too much because he didn't feel like arguing at the moment anyway. He just needed to pop open his sunroof, and let the cool, breezy, 60 degree air blow in on him. It looked like a serious accident had occurred further up on 18th Street, so he took the next left on Fourth Avenue, then went right on 19th Street which ran past the McWane Science and Technology Center. He had just taken little Emmanuel there last Sunday for the first time after he had shown interest in one of the exhibits that came on during a commercial while he was watching his favorite show; Dora the Explorer. While waiting at the light on Nineteenth Street just in front of the Center, Maxim reminisced about him and Emmanuel and all of the fun they had on last Sunday when they spent nearly three hours at the center. He fought to hold back tears just thinking about how long he'd waited to have a child of his own to spend quality time with, and do all of the things that his father did for him when he was a child. This was just one tough blow too many. Emmanuel is not your son.. This was tougher to hear than hearing from his doctor his inability to have children of his own after the terrible accident he'd had back in San Antonio when he was in the military. He thought about how he fell in love with Faith the first time he saw her, and how his life changed for the better on that weekend a little over seven years ago, when he left Birmingham to come back to San Antonio to attend a week long conference held by the Southern Regional Association of Black Mortgage Brokers. That was the first time he'd been back out to the Alamo City since he had been released from the Air Force on disability following his accident. This was also the first time he had been back out here since his former friend and old college buddy Deon was killed. As usual, whenever he traveled to a different city, he made a point to find a church to attend for Sunday service and bible study on Wednesday of that week. This had been a routine for him since before he met Faith, and before he really gave his life to God, but back then, he was only going to church because he and his traveling partner Issac Williams, another broker from his office believed that church was where all the fine and half way decent women were. But one Saturday night seven years ago, little did Maxim know, things were about to change. When he picked up his rental car at the airport, he went straight to New Vision Christian Center, which was small church that he and Deon would attend whenever he came out to visit him while he was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base. This church reminded them of Rising Star Christian Center, an even smaller non-denominational church that they and the majority of their buddies attended during their college days at Alabama State back in Montgomery, Alabama. He remembered how Deon always teased him by saying that the only reason why he went to that church, or any church for that matter was because the services were only an hour long and because Joya Reynolds, one of his old crushes frequented the services there.
That trip was kind of painful for him because it reminded him of how he had to hear through a former friend and Air Force buddy how Deon died in a car accident after falling asleep at the wheel one late night while trying to drive home after a training exercise. Maxim was heartbroken that he couldn't attend the funeral because on that very same weekend, he buried his grandmother in Greene County, Alabama who had passed away a day after Deon. Though he was always too busy to get back out to San Antonio to see Deon, and had lost touch with him for about two and a half years prior to his death, he knew that there was no love lost between them. But what was so ironic, was the fact that before he'd learned of his best friend's death, Maxim would constantly have this dream where he and Deon are riding home together after work, and Deon tells him that there's something that he needs him to look after or keep for him while he goes away on this long journey, but each time he has this same dream, he always forgets to ask Deon what it is that he wants him to look after. Then later on in that dream after talking and laughing about the good ole' days, Deon drops him off at his house, and then continues on down I-281 where he meets his fate.
But one thing that Maxim will never forget, is that evening just over seven years ago when he left the airport and arrived at the church and walked through the doors of the sanctuary, late as usual, it was almost like he saw an angel. There she was; standing behind the glass platform reading a scripture taken from Proverbs as a part of devotion. "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.'� (Proverbs 3: 25-26) She was beautiful. It was apparent that she'd just come from work or some function that required her to dress in business attire. He was in love at first sight of her petite caramel-wrapped, five foot three inch frame, which was not immediately manifest through the charcoal-gray, knee-length skirt she wore that lightly hugged her round hips. The fact that she was a Delta, which was indicated by the charm that hung from the gold herringbone necklace that she wore, gave him even more reason, as well as a topic to strike up a conversation with her about. It was no secret back in his days at Alabama State that he loved himself some Deltas. The forty five minutes of watching her during the church service was all that he needed, and he was cured; mentally at least. He began to think about having a family in that instant, and had forgotten that he may not even be able to have a family according to his doctor. The only thing that he knew at that moment was that he had to get to know the woman who stood behind that dais, and whose soft, sweet voice seemed to be reading only to him. After the service, he wasted no time in introducing himself to her and asking her to join him at Denny's downtown by the RiverWalk. Although she didn't take him up on that invitation because she found it a bit odd for her to go anywhere with a total stranger the first time they meet, his usual persistent charm would prevail, and three nights later after bible study, they would have that cup of coffee. It seemed as though Maxim spent much of that night awe-struck by her beautiful hazel brown eyes. He really didn't hear much of anything that she had said that whole evening while they were having dinner because his nose was open wider than the Grand Canyon. The only thing he remembers her saying about herself that night was that she was a math teacher at one of the local high schools and how she loved watching the Discovery Channel. He just sat there the whole time staring at her, head over hills in love with everything he saw. He also remembered her saying something about how she was grieving the loss of her fiancé a little over a month ago, whom she'd been dating for about a year before he died. She went on to say that she needed to get out for while, instead of sitting in her bedroom sobbing herself to sleep. Of course, this sort of put a damper on Maxim's plans to put on the old charm that he used to woo many women before, but there was something special about Faith in his eyes. She was more that just the average woman, and typical one week stand. In his eyes she was Ms. Right, but hearing her terrible ordeal with the loss of her man, and having to go through something so serious, changed him into this compassionate gentleman who would be there whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on. This was something that he'd never done before for anybody. After one month of non-stop, red-eye flights from Birmingham to San Antonio to see about this woman that he had grown to love in such short time, they were engaged to be married. Not long after that, she'd packed up, subleased her apartment and moved to Birmingham.
Maxim believed that God had performed a wonderful miracle when he found out two months after they married before the Justice of the Peace at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham, that Faith was pregnant with Emmanuel. Now that his wife of six years is telling him that his son is not his after all, he wondered why God would let him go on believing that this precious boy, whom he had wished so hard for was his son. His thoughts and repetition of what Faith had told him back in that café resonated seemingly louder than the music that played on the radio. Emmanuel is not your son'�..Emmanuel is not your son. He wondered if God was punishing him and Faith for some of the not-so-good things that he'd done before he met Faith, like breaking many women's hearts that came before Faith, and only caring about making lots of money, instead of finding a good wife. His head hung to his chest with shame as he thought about how he'd prayed and ask God to send him a good wife before he'd finished school so he would know that she was with for love and not for the money that followed. However, when The Lord gave him just what he'd asked for on numerous occasions, he instead ran through the good women and some not-so-good ones, and went on spending thousands of dollars on lavish trips, clothes, and partying like life itself was going out of style. 'But why would God let us live the glamorous life with all the trimmings, and seemingly no troubles when we know that we we're not livin' right, then bring the fire and brimstone when we get saved,'� He thought to himself. 'He needed an answer, but it seemed to him that he was more disconnected from God now than before he got saved nearly a year ago. The longer he looked at those children playing outside of the McWane Science Center, the sicker he got to his stomach. Maxim felt like crying. 'Six years; six whole years,'� he kept saying to himself while pounding the steering wheel with his huge black fists. The best thing that happened for him at that moment was the fact that the light turned green so that he could drive off before he went crazy.

Chapter 3
Faith raced her big Chevy Tahoe dangerously through downtown traffic trying to get to the interstate so that she could get to her mother's house. Her eyes were welled up from the tears that collected inside. She fought feverishly to hold back the tears, trying not to draw anymore attention to herself than her reckless driving already was. Maxim had hurt her deeply, and there was no better way to explain it. She wondered herself why she'd waited so long to tell him about Emmanuel. She really knew why, but her real question about this whole situation can be stated by simply asking why. Why her? Why did things happen the way that they did. Why did Emmanuel's real father have to be taken away from her so suddenly, after they had only been engaged for just a few months, giving them no time to start a real life together? Why did God place Maxim in her life soon after Deon' death? She had always known that God worked in mysterious ways, but this awkward twist in her life she felt could perplex the minds of most philosophical and biblical scholars.
Faith was on the freeway headed to her mother's house in Pleasant Grove, pushing about 90 miles per hour, with no regard for the whereabouts of the police, nor her safety. She looked a mess with her long, silky black hair caked to her tear-soaked cheeks and the collar of her white blouse smeared with the makeup that had run down her face and neck. As she pressed forward, hitting her brakes only when some unsuspecting driver up ahead of her accidentally crossed into her lane, she glanced periodically behind her in her rearview mirror to make sure no law enforcement officers were in sight. To make matters more dangerous than they already were, she reached into her purse over in the passenger's seat to look for her cell phone again so that she could call Maxim. Trying her very best to multi-task by working feverishly to keep the vehicle on the road while rambling through a cluttered purse for a phone about the size of a box of Tic Tacs, Faith didn't notice the police car coming onto the entrance ramp headed westbound in her same direction when she passed him going a sure 98 miles per hour. As if to make a bad situation even worse, her bag and all of its contents spilled over onto the floor when she hit a pothole in the freeway. She didn't even notice the white Birmingham Police car that was riding her bumper and flashing its headlights at her to get her attention, nor did she even hear the siren because her Kirk Franklin CD had been set to repeat, and blasting through all eight of the 6-by-9 inch Speakers of her upgraded stereo system since she got on the freeway. The only thing that got her attention was when she realized that she had run off of the road and onto the right side soft shoulder, but by then it was too late. Realizing that she was off of the road and still running at a high rate of speed, she immediately slammed on her brakes and lost control of her truck in the soft, wet grass, crashed through a fence that separated the freeway from a city park, flipped her SUV over and landed on top of a merry-go-round. Some Parents who were in the park at the time rushed over to the truck to make sure that she was okay, and others sat praising God that none of their children were on the merry-go-round at the time of the accident.
Maxim had driven around the city for almost an hour before he realized that he was hungry. He had been all around the Southside of town. He had made his way over the mountain through Homewood, down Highway 31, and now found himself in Pelham, fifteen miles south of the city. Faith's words kept echoing through his head, almost to the point where he could actually hear them. Emmanuel is not your son. God why is this happening to me? He thought to himself. 'What did I do so wrong?'� He was getting angrier by the minute. Traffic was heavy as usual on 31 southbound, and he knew that if he kept on going, that it would only get worse, so he turned around, and headed back north on 31 towards the Galleria Mall. Maybe a brisk walk around the mall would help him make sense of this mess. Maybe a new suit from the Steve Harvey Collection would be just what he needed to clear his mind, or maybe that thousand-plus dollar set of golf clubs that he'd had his eye on at Tee Time Pro Shop since his obnoxious co worker Issac made such a fuss about his new Tiger Woods Nike golf clubs that he had bought for last year's Spring golf tournament that his office sponsored. Forget golf, he thought to himself. The only thing that he could really do to make himself feel better now would be to put whomever Faith would say is Emmanuel's father into a boxing ring and on the receiving end of a plethora of jabs and hooks until his face turned into mush. Maxim was furious, and there was simply no other way to explain it. But on the other hand, he felt like he had been robbed. He began to feel like the past six years of his life were all a lie. He even wondered if he could trust Faith anymore. He had finally made his way back up towards the Galleria, and was now at a light at the intersection of 31 and Lorna Road. The mall was in plain view to his left. While waiting for the light to change, he felt his BlackBerry vibrating on his hip. He reached down and pulled it out of its holder, raised it just enough to see the number on the display and saw that it was Faith's mother's number, along with the code 9-1-1 in all caps. Quickly dismissing the call, thinking that Faith was probably over to her mother's and wanted him to leave work early and go pick up Emmanuel, he placed the phone back into its holder. It was commonplace for her to go over to her mother's to cry on her shoulder whenever something grave was troubling her, and whenever she got over there, she stayed until she was all cried out. But not this time, he said to himself. He himself needed a moment to collect his thoughts, and moreover, he just didn't need for Emmanuel to see him right now. He felt like crying; and if it's anything that he didn't want his little man to see him do, it would be to cry.
It was obvious to Maxim that the holiday season had passed as he pulled into the mall parking lot. He was able to park right up front at Macy's. The atmosphere seemed almost soothing. Not too crowded, and the temperature an even cooler 55 degrees. This was almost a perfect Alabama Winter's day. Maybe a new pair of Kenneth Cole loafers and a new Jones New York suit would be the cure for his sudden case of the blues. He checked his watch to see what time it was before he got out of his car. Just as he was making his way out of the car, he was interrupted by the vibrating of his BlackBerry again. He pulled it up to his face to see the number, and as he suspected, it was his mother-in-law's number. Maxim absolutely refused to answer the call. He once again, dropped the phone back into its holster, but before he did, he turned off his ringer and vibrator mode. He was determined to get a little peace of mind.
He walked into the mall, took a deep breadth and tried to relax. Emmanuel is not your son'�'�'�Emmanuel is not your son. Those words played over and over in his head so much that it almost sounded like a Dee Jay making a party mix by sampling a blues record. That's just what he had; the blues. It even seemed like it was father and son day at the mall today. Looked like out of every five people, at least two of them that walked by was a father and his toddler son. He felt kind of like he was in some sort of a torture chamber being made to watch. Maybe this is what God meant when he said that there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth, because he felt like crying, and this was almost as painful to watch as grinding teeth. Maxim felt like he was in his own personal hell.

Chapter 4
Faith faded in and out of consciousness as the firefighters fought to free her from the mangled vehicle. She could barely see all of the people who had rushed to her side trying to help her because her left eye had swollen shut after being smacked by the air bag, and blood from the cut just above her right brow had run into her right eye. She tried to raise her right arm to wipe her eye, but soon realized that it must have been broken because of the excruciating pain that seemingly shot from her wrist, through her elbow and all the way to her neck. She tried screaming, but she all of sudden became lightheaded and started to fade again. The last thing she remembered was a deep voice telling her not to worry that everything would be alright, just before uttering this prayer: Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name'�'�'�
Faith's mother Rose was so mad, but at the same time afraid for her daughter who looked like a make shift looney tunes character because her lips and eyes had swollen to multiple sized proportions. She was pacing the floor in the emergency room waiting area trying her best not to cuss. She was angry because she had been trying to call Maxim ever since she heard the crash over the phone after Faith did not realize that she had hit her number on speed dial just before losing control of the vehicle. 'He always has his damn cell phone on when it comes to his customers, but he knows that his wife may need him at anytime for anything, and he's no where to be found. Damn!!'� A young emergency room nursing assistant saw her pacing and thought that he could help her by getting her something to drink. 'Ma'am, can I get you a soda or something? Are you okay? That might help you calm your nerves.'� 'No thank you. I'm fine.'� She went and took a seat, as she saw that she was beginning to draw attention to herself. She tried one more time to reach Maxim, but again, she was immediately sent to his voice mail. 'Damn! Hey, young man!'� 'Yes ma'am?'� 'When can I go back and see my daughter?'� 'Who's your daughter ma'am?'� 'Mrs. Jordan, The lady that came in about thirty minutes ago that was involved in an SUV rollover. I'm her mother, Ms. Rose Hilson.'� 'Oooh! Yeah, wait here for a minute, and I'll see how she's doing; and if the doctors have finished doing their initial assessments. I'll be able to take you back to where she is when they get done.'� While the nursing assistant went back to check on Faith's condition, Rose thought about reaching for her cell phone again, but remembered that she could not use her phone inside the emergency room waiting area. The more she thought about Maxim not being able to be reached, the angrier she got. She knew that something had gone on between him and Faith because she could hear her crying through the phone just seconds before she heard all of the commotion of the accident. She also knew that whenever Faith got mad at Maxim for always having to go off on one of his business trips after promising that they would spend some quality time together, she would always run to her house to be comforted. Then, when she calmed down after talking to her for a while, they would hop into Faith's Tahoe and drive to the Galleria to do a little shopping, eating, and spend some mother-daughter quality time. After they'd spend about three hours or more spending time and money together, she would always stay over at their estate home, where she already had a room set up for her in the west wing of the huge, elegant 7,000 square-foot mansion. She would sometimes stay up to a week even after Maxim would return from his trips, and keep Emmanuel for the two of them while they went for romantic getaways to their time share in Jamaica to make up for the time that Maxim was gone. 'Ma'am, the doctor said that you can come back to where Mrs. Jordan is now, but only for a few minutes because the orthopedic specialist is on his way to tend to her. C'mon, I'll walk you back to where she is.'� 'Thank you son. Wait a minute while I pour this soda out.'� 'Okay, when you're done, you can follow me Ms Hilson.'�
'Dr. Johnson, I have Ms. Jordan's mother, Ms. Hilson outside waiting to see her.'� 'Okay, send her in.'� Rose walked in and immediately feared the worst, seeing all of the machinery surrounding her daughter. 'Oh my baby! Doctor, what in Heaven's name is- What's happening, is she gonna be alright?'� 'Hi Ms. Hilson, please do not be alarmed. It's not as bad as it looks. This is all standard equipment for a major trauma center like we have here at University Hospital. Your daughter is going to be fine. All of her X-rays checked out okay, except for that badly broken arm. She has no internal injuries, but all of the swelling that you see in her face is quite normal considering what she's endured. Those air bags can pack quite a punch.'� Although Rose knew that Dr. Johnson was only trying to comfort her by putting a little humor in his report about Faith's health, she was not at all amused. She hadn't been inside a hospital emergency room in twenty eight years, since she gave birth to Faith. All of the new computers and machines down right terrified her. Even after seeing all of the television medical drama shows like ER, it wasn't the same as being there. This was too much for her to bear. She couldn't help but to burst into tears. 'C'mon Ms. Hilson, let's get you a chair. I'll put you right beside her so that you can talk to her. Now she might sound a little loopy because I just had the nurse give her a little something to sedate her because the orthopedic doctor is on his way to take her to surgery so that we can fix that arm. You can stop worrying now. I promise that she's in good hands. In fact, I know that she's in good hands because she's in God's hands.'� Rose's eyes immediately grew wide with excitement. She always felt better whenever she knew that any doctor whose care she or anyone of her loved ones was in knew and loved the Lord. She dried her tears and walked over and placed her hand in the doctor's as he gently let her down into the chair beside Faith's bed. 'I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes while Dr. Carter, the orthopedic surgeon makes his way down here.'� 'Thank you doctor,'� Rose said while wiping the last of her tears away. 'H-Hey baby. How are you doing?'� Faith's eyes were now so heavy from the Morphine drip that the doctor had started that she could barely speak. 'Ummh-I'm-O-kay Ma-ma.'� She tried to put up her best fight with the pain medicine, but this was one fight that she was not going to win. She could only utter one more word before she dozed off into a temporary peaceful sleep. 'Maxi. Where'is Maxi?'� Rose couldn't help it as the tears welled up in her eyes again because she was just not used to seeing her baby girl hooked up to all of those monitors beeping all over the place, and with tubes running to and from almost every orifice of her petite and brittle body. Her brief moment of sadness transformed into anger once again after realizing that Maxim hadn't even called to see if she had at least picked Emmanuel up from school. And all Faith could think about was him. Rose was furious.

Chapter 5
For some reason, just in an instant, Maxim's mind suddenly fell on Deon. It was almost like he could hear his voice among all of the hundreds of voices around him at the mall. It seemed almost like he was walking with him. He could hear Deon scolding him about not going to check on Faith. This was commonplace in their relationship ever since they became close friends back in San Antonio when they were both in the Air Force. This was not just because Deon was an officer and Maxim's superior, but because they were more like brothers to each other. But the thing that confused Maxim the most, was trying to figure out why has he been dreaming about Deon for the past few weeks, and what was it that he wanted him to look after while he went on this long Journey that he always mentioned in these dreams? Why did he hear Deon' voice telling him that he needed to forget about his anger at the moment and see about her? But the funny thing about this now was that he wasn't even asleep and dreaming. This time it really seemed like the voice inside his head was clearly audible and telling him to forget what he was mad about and go now and see about his wife. Maxim immediately reached into his coat pocket and dialed Faith's number on his Blackberry. The urge became stronger for him to set aside his anger for a brief moment and try to get in touch with his wife so that they could begin the healing process through this whole matter. After about the fifth ring there was no answer. He tried dialing her mother's number, and after getting no answer there, he panicked and grew restless with every passing second. Something didn't seem right to him. Usually, when something is bothering Faith, she remains persistent until he is reached, but this time, she had stopped calling. And the more he thought about it, he wondered if she was calling from her mother's house, or was that her mother actually trying to reach him to tell him that something had happened to Faith. He even wondered if she would be that angry, where this time, she didn't need him like she always did. He tried one more time to reach Faith on her cell phone, but got no answer.
Anxiety built up as he tried anxiously to reach Faith. To make matters worse, he couldn't even get in touch with her mother. After standing in the same spot in the middle of the Galleria food court for nearly twenty minutes trying to get someone on the phone, Maxim turned back and headed towards the North end of the mall where he'd parked his car. By the time he reached his car, his thumb was nearly numb from pressing Faith's number on speed dial. After about ten unsuccessful attempts, there was still no answer. It was now three forty-eight, and his only thought now was to call the school and see if Emmanuel had been picked up. He opened the car door and got in. He wanted to talk to someone at the school before he pulled off. He grew more nervous with each ring. Three rings went by with no answer. Five rings went by and still no answer. Maxim looked as if he was going to bawl because he could sense that something was wrong. Finally, on the ninth ring, the voice of a young woman picked up. 'Hello; principal's office.'� 'H-Hello, this is Maxim Jordan, Emmanuel Jordan's ' he paused and took a deep breath as if it was painful for him to say these next words ' Emmanuel Jordan's father. Has he been picked up from after school care?'� 'Hold on just a second Mr. Jordan, I'll call down to Ms. Sparks' room and check for you.'� Maxim's heart seemed as if it was going to jump clear through his shirt. He was so nervous that he was afraid to pull out of his parking space for fear of hitting one of the cars that was parked next to him. It seemed like the secretary had him on hold forever. He could just sense that something was not right. 'Lord Jesus, what's going on,'� he mumbled to himself. At that instant the secretary pick up the phone. 'Mr. Jordan thanks for holding. I find it unusual to say, but Emmanuel is still here. Did you and Mrs. Jordan get your wires crossed? Maybe she thought that you were going to pick him up instead.'� 'Oh my God. O-Okay, Uh- did she call and say anything?'� 'No sir, not my recollection. Is everything okay?'� 'Well, I-Uh, I don't know.'� 'Oh don't worry Mr. Jordan, Ms. Sparks will be here for a little bit. She looked like she had a lot of catch-up work to do, so just take your time.'� 'Thanks a bunch, I'm on my way. You've been a big help. Bye.'� Maxim was about to lose his mind. He began to resent himself now for not answering Faith's phone calls when she was trying to reach him. All he could think about was how hurt he was about what she had told him earlier, and now all he could think about was how selfish he was for avoiding her. He didn't even care about how or if they were going to try and work things out, but as far as he was concerned now, all he wanted was for her to be okay. God would take care of the rest.

Chapter 6
It had been twelve years since Faith's mother had last placed a cigarette between her lips. Her nerves were so shot that she'd forgotten that she promised God, herself and her family that she would never smoke again after the Lord had healed her by allowing the doctor to give her a good report of a negative lung biopsy after a small spot found on her left lung was feared to be cancer. It had been almost an hour, and none of the doctors had called her back to give her a report on Faith's condition, and she was about to go crazy. The wind howling between the buildings where she and the other smokers were sent to indulge in their filthy habit made the forecasted 50 degrees for the night feel more like twenty. This would be another time when God would place a special mark upon her life, because it was too cold for her to bear standing out in that wind trying to smoke a cigarette. Rose's fingers were too numb for her to even hold the cigarette to take a puff. She quickly dropped the mangle cigarette on the pavement and went inside where she could hear if someone were to call her back to the trauma area where Faith was. The waiting room was getting more crowded by the minute as night fell. Rose watched impatiently for the nursing assistant that had taken her back to see her daughter earlier, but he was nowhere in sight. She tried very hard to fight back the temptation of reaching down in her old Louis Vutton bag and searching for another cigarette, but in her mind, this occasion warranted an exception. The sights and the smell of the emergency room and the waiting area began to make her sick. She stood up against the soda machine on the wall, hoping that standing would maker her feel better, but she felt more nauseous by the minute. She so desperately wanted to know what was going on with Faith that she felt like taking matters into her own hands and just walking through the doors into the trauma area. In an attempt to alleviate the queasiness, she stepped back outside into the cold, night air hoping that it would make her feel better. 'Ms. Hilson,'� a young, but deep voice called from behind the guard stand. 'Ms. Hilson, I'm Dr. Carter, the orthopedic surgeon who's attending to your daughter Faith.'� 'Hi doctor, How's my baby doing? Is it okay if I go back and see her?'� 'Don't worry Ms. Hilson, she's going to be fine. I have just spoken with her and had her to sign the consent form for surgery, and I wanted to come and let you know - 'Wait a minute ' surgery! Dr. Carter, you never said anything about surgery. Why? I thought that she was going to be okay!'� Rose began trembling with anxiety and fear. 'Calm down Ms. Hilson, she's in good hands. Remember, I mentioned when you first came back to the trauma area, that that was a bad break, and that we were getting her ready for surgery. I know you didn't hear me because you were a little traumatized by seeing your daughter in that state. We are just going to put pins in her arm to stabilize the fractures. C'mon back hear where she is, and I'll let you see her before the anesthesia kicks in and she goes to sleep.'� 'How long will the surgery take doctor,'� Rose asked while trying not to cry and further upset Faith. 'It should not take more than a couple of hours in the operating room, and then she will spend about one hour in recovery. Once she wakes up and shows that she handled the anesthesia well, we will then transport her to a room over in the West Pavilion. 'Okay doctor; well I guess I'll just walk down to get something to eat, then come back here and wait.'� 'N-No, Ms. Hilson, I have already ordered the room over in West Pavilion. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you any further. This is Mr. Simeon Baker, the patient escort who will walk you over to where her room is.'� 'Thank you Dr. Carter, you've been an angel.'� 'No problem Ms. Hilson. And remember; Faith's okay because God is in control.'� Rose's eyes lit up when the doctor reassured her that The Lord would see Faith through. She shook the doctor's hand and gave him the biggest hug as she burst into tears of joy. 'Oh, a-Ms. Hilson.'� 'Yes Dr. Carter.'� 'I'm sorry. I didn't realize that Faith was married. I would have asked of the husband's whereabouts earlier. Her wedding band must have flown off of her finger during the crash. Well anyway, she asked if her husband had made it to the hospital yet. Have you heard anything? Should I expect him to show up hear?'� 'We have been trying to contact him doctor, but his phone has been off. I'll keep trying to reach him.'� 'Okay; and I will let the emergency room staff know to keep an eye out for him. What's his name?'� 'Maxim ' Maxim Jordan is his name.'� 'Okay, I'll let these guys know down here to be on the lookout for him.'� 'Thank you so much Dr. Carter.'� 'Don't mention it. You know who's in control. Take care Ms. Hilson.'� As Rose grabbed her coat and purse and headed towards the trauma bay area to see Faith off to surgery, she couldn't help but to cry. She felt so relieved knowing that God had once again, and as always, showed up and showed out. Just before she broke the plane of the threshold to go back into the trauma area, she stopped at a trash can that was positioned near the door, reached in her purse and pulled out all of the old, crumpled cigarettes that were in the bottom of the purse, and threw them and all of her worries away.

Maxim had been to the school and picked Emmanuel up and was on his way to Pleasant Grove to Rose's house to see if Faith was there. He wanted to believe that Faith was just angry with him and not answering her phone, and that she was balling her eyes out to her mother about how mad she was at him. He noticed that traffic was a little bit heavy on the interstate when he got on at 20th Street to head to Rose's. It was moving, but everyone was moving at about fifty miles per hour. He pulled his Blackberry from his belt and noticed that Rose had tried to call him six more times, and all six entries had 911 coded next to them, just like when she called about two hours ago. He panicked because this was highly unusual for Faith's mother to call him that many times, especially if Faith was supposed to be with her. Trying not to lose his cool and startle little Emmanuel sitting next to him, he remained as calm as he could, then turned on his right turn signal so that he could get back over into the far right lane so that he could get off at the next exit and maybe head towards home. Maybe Faith is there, and she's sick. And she called her mother over there to see about her, he thought to himself. He then tried calling the house to see if they were there, and thought to himself why he hadn't tried to call home before. Trying his best to hold his car in the road, watch the flow of traffic and dial at the same time, he noticed that an onlooker's delay was the reason for traffic moving so slowly, because just a few yards up ahead, he could see the flow of traffic open up. When he finally got to the point where he could see what everyone was staring at over by the fence at Ensley Park, his heart nearly stopped when he caught a glimpse of what appeared to be Faith's mangled Chevy Tahoe being hoisted by a cable onto the back of a wrecker. Before he knew it, he had pulled over onto the soft shoulder, grabbed Emmanuel out of the passenger's side and was running in a full sprint through to knee-high grass, through the hole that had been blown through the fence by the SUV, yelling and screaming frantically. 'Wait! Wait! Sir, that's my wife's truck! Oh my Lord, where is she? What in God's name happened here?'� 'Wait a second mister, who are you,'� the man pulling the truck onto the wrecker asked. 'Sir, you can't come too close, you might get yourself and that baby hurt.'� 'The woman that was driving this Tahoe is my wife. What can you tell me about her, did she'The worst thought came into his head, and he almost lost his mind. He quickly banished the thought and asked''Was she okay? Where did they take her?'� 'Sir I'm sorry, but I got here after they had removed her from the wreckage,'� the man replied while putting his hand on Maxim's shoulder in an act of compassion. 'We normally don't come until emergency personnel have done what they need to do.'� 'Well, before you pull it up onto your truck, do you mind if I look inside?'� 'Well, I'm not supposed to, but go ahead sir.'� 'Thank you so much.'� Maxim got weak at the knees as he looked at the horrible condition the truck was in. There was glass, CDs, and contents from her purse all over the place. He looked over by her door, and saw her smashed cellular phone lying in what looked like smeared blood. He couldn't see all the way to the back from the front seat because the roof was partially caved in. It was to much for him to swallow; he couldn't take it anymore. He felt as if he was about to have a heart attack, when all of a sudden, he felt a heavy hand come to rest on his back. One of the recreational center workers, who witnessed the accident saw him acting frantically and came out to comfort him and to tell him that Faith was hurt, but responsive after the accident. The man also mentioned that he overheard her mother telling the paramedics that she wanted them to take her to University Hospital. After getting that information from the park worker, Maxim thanked the man then hurried back to his car that was still running on the soft shoulder with the passenger door open. After helping Emmanuel back into the car, he ran around to his side, got in and pulled off back into traffic. He got off at the next exit, made a loop around, got back up onto the interstate and headed eastbound back into town towards University Hospital running at about 90 miles per hour.

Chapter 7
It was a blessing that Maxim didn't have an accident himself trying desperately to get to the hospital as fast as he could. It's also a blessing that he didn't get a ticket for driving the way he did through rush hour traffic, and also with his toddler son sitting in the front seat strapped in with only the seat belt across his lap, and not in a car seat. On his way to the hospital, he was finally able to get a call through to Rose, who gave him all of the information that he needed regarding Faith's condition and the room number in the West Pavilion where she would be after she came out of recovery. Even with that information, Maxim was still a nervous wreck when he finally got up to the room. 'Mother Rose, Oh my God! I am so sorry. Please. Forgive me.'� 'Baby, I can't lie. I was mad as heck at first, but after the Lord and I had a talk, I calmed down. Rose stood up out of the sleeper chair where she was sitting and looking out of the seventh floor window down on the people walking by on the street before Maxim walked in, and walked over to meet him before he could take a seat. 'I know that you two will have disagreements from time to time, but what I am saying to you is this ' Don't ever, ever shut your wife out Maxi. That's my daughter, and I know her ways, but as the man, and as the head of your household, you have to make sure that all lines of communication stay open no matter how mad you two get at each other. And I know that if her father was still alive, he'd tell you that you let your wife down today Maxim. So you do not have to apologize to me. She's the one that needs to be reassured that you will always be there for her.'� 'Yes Ma'am.'� 'Now that I've told you what my husband would have said if he were here, I'm getting ready to say this to you as a mother, and not only that ' but as her mother. Be a man! My baby, who's your wife, and who's also lying in there hurting both physically and mentally, needs you to put aside how you feel right now and be a man. She needs you to be strong so you can pull her through along with the help of the Lord.'� Maxim bit his lip, closed his eyes softly and nodded in acknowledgement of the strong words his mother-in-law gave him. At that same moment, the orderlies wheeled Faith up to the door, still on the operating room gurney, and walked in to prepare her bed for her. 'Good evening folks. If you could be so kind as to step outside for a moment while we transfer her and all of her attachments to her new bed, that would be a big help to us, and I promise you we'll only be a minute. The doctor will be up a few minutes after we get her situated.'� 'Thank you gentlemen,'� Maxim replied in a soft whisper. As Maxim and Rose walked by Faith who was just outside the door in the hall on the gurney, he stopped for a moment and looked at her with the deepest adoration and tears in his puffy eyes. He lifted his right hand to her face and caressed it, then smoothed a lock of her hair that had come out of the hair net and covered her left eye. 'There.'� He then bent over the rail kissed her softly on her cool forehead. 'Baby ' I'm so sorry,'� he whispered. He smoothed the hair off of her forehead again. 'I love you Faith.'�
After about five minutes of getting everything ready in the room so they could transfer Faith smoothly from the gurney to her new bed, one of orderlies stepped out into the hall, lifted the brake and rolled her inside the room and closed the door. Exhausted from all that had gone on, Maxim walked over and collapsed into the chair that was at the nurses' station across from Faith's room. Rose grabbed little Emmanuel by the hand and walked him downstairs to the cafeteria to get some ice cream so that Maxim could have a moment to himself and a chance to gather his thoughts. As he watched his mother-in-law and the little adorable boy that he so badly wanted to call his son walk down the hall towards the elevators, he began to reflect heavily on the mysterious dreams that he had been having about Deon, and what he may have meant when he said to him that he needed him to look after something for him while he goes away. In an instant, he somehow miraculously put two and two together and was now suddenly at peace with the situation. He now understood what Deon was trying to tell him in that dream. Deon was right, he thought to himself. He will always be with me. Emmanuel. He is with me always. The few minutes of peace in the hall allowed Maxim to fall into a temporary slumber in the comfortable chair while he continued to wait for the men to finish transferring Faith to her bed and for Emmanuel and Rose to come back from the cafeteria. While he rested his eyes, he began thanking God for making everything alright, and for the peace that he felt with now knowing in his heart that Deon was Emmanuel's biological father. Just then, it seemed as if he could hear God's voice in his sleep saying to him ' My son, I am not finished'�You have been faithful'�Just wait an see my marvelous works! A few minutes later, Maxim was suddenly awakened by little Emmanuel's cold, sticky hands that were clinging to his cheeks trying to shake him into consciousness. 'Daddy Wake up!'� 'Umh, hey little man, what do you have there? Can I have some?'� 'Nope!'� Emmanuel responded in a playful giggle. Seconds later, the two orderlies had come out. 'You folks can go in now. She's all situated.'� 'Thank you gentleman,'� said Rose and Maxim simultaneously. 'Dr. Carter will be up in just a moment.'� Maxim, Rose and little Emmanuel all rushed to Faith's bedside just in time to see her eyes slowly open. 'Hey Mommy,'� little Emmanuel said as he stood amazed by all of the medicine pumps and everything else that hung from her bed. 'Hey baby,'� Maxim said in a soft, but deep tone as he stroked her long beautiful hair that was now matted from all of the day's trauma and the dried blood from the cut above her forehead. 'I just want you to know that I'm here for you baby. I'm sorry for what happened, and I love you.'� Faith's eyes seem to well up with tears as she tried to acknowledge him, but to keep her from getting herself worked up, he gently placed his index finger on her lips to keep her from talking. 'Shhhhhh.'� 'Don't worry baby. I am at peace with everything now, and I do mean everything. You don't have to explain a thing to me. Just promise me that you'll forgive me for being such a fool.'� Faith opened her eyes slowly again and nodded slowly in acknowledgement of what Maxim was saying, and rested her face against the soothing touch of her hand. 'I already know about Emmanuel, and I love you both.'� When Maxim looked around, he saw Dr. Carter standing with his hand on Rose's shoulder to console her as she looked on while Maxim spoke his feelings to Faith. 'Oh, doctor I'm sorry sir, I didn't see you standing there.'� 'That's okay son, nice to finally meet you. I'm Dr. Carter, the doctor who performed the surgery on your wife's arm. Don't worry, I'll only be a second because I know you guys have a lot of catching up to do, and I must stress that it's very important that Faith gets her rest.'� 'Well sir, how is she?'� Maxim asked curiously. 'Well to be honest, she's quite blessed, considering what she's been through. The surgery was a success. We placed two pins in her left forearm and repaired a ligament around her elbow. She'll have to wear this cast for a while, but it shouldn't be so bad. I'll be monitoring your physical therapy for the entire process. I'm going to refer you to Dr. Sheila Wesley, she's a colleague of mine and an excellent Physical Therapist.'� 'How long will she have to stay in the hospital doctor?'� Rose asked. We'll monitor her for the next two days, and if everything checks out, she can go home in three days.'� 'Oh thank God, and thank you Dr. Carter,'� Maxim said as he reached to shake the doctor's hand. 'Now Mr. and Mrs. Jordan, I have to drop a bombshell on you.'� Maxim looked like he was about to pass out. 'What do you mean sir?'� 'Is something wrong?'� 'No, not really.'� 'I was just concerned about some of the results that the urine sample that we took in the trauma room revealed.'� 'Dr. Carter please tell me, is my wife going to be okay?'� 'Oh yeah, she'll be fine after another six and a half months.'� Maxim and Rose looked confused as ever. 'What do you mean doc?'� 'Mr. Jordan congratulations, you and your wife are about to be parents. Faith is a little over two months pregnant!'� Maxim couldn't believe his ears. 'But Dr. Carter, how could this be? The doctors told me that I couldn't produce any children.'� 'Mr. Jordan, you've got to understand that we serve a mighty God, and there is nothing that neither I nor any doctor can do that's contrary to His will. If God says it; that settles it.'� Maxim immediately kissed his sleeping wife, and fell to his knees beside her bed praising and thanking God for the wonderful miracle that had just happened. He just kept saying over and over and over again, God, you are an awesome God'�'�Your praises will forever be in my mouth. After a few minutes had gone by, and Dr. Carter had left the room, Maxim dried his eyes, got up and told Faith softly in her ear that he had to take Rose and Emmanuel home, then he would come back to stay the night with her. He kissed her on the cheek, walked over to gather Rose's things that she had brought with her while she was holding little Emmanuel, who was asleep in her lap. After gathering her things and walking over to where she sat, he gave her the bags and took Emmanuel's little limp, sleeping body into his arms. And after one last kiss for the evening to her forehead before leaving, he woke his little man up to tell his mommy goodbye for the night, then with the greatest confidence in the world, looked Emmanuel in the eyes and said'�. C'mon son, let's go home.

Want to comment on this Short Stories? Sign up to Edit Red and you will be able to comment on Short Stories and get access to: Upload your own stories and poems, get readers and their feedback, promote your work...