Drama in the Church Saga (29 page)

Val giggled. “Do you need me to pick you up from the airport?”

The sound of happiness in Val's voice assured Julian that he had made the right decision. He couldn't wait to pledge his love and life to her in front of God, family and friends. Val was a priceless jewel, and nothing in this world was more valuable to him than her. He vowed to spend his life making her happy.

“You don't have to do that. I'll catch a cab to my mom's house and I'll pick you up from Olivia's. See you in the morning. I love you, Valencia.”

“I love you, too.” She disconnected the call and savored the moment. She couldn't believe how the sound of Julian pronouncing her full name still sent chills down her spine. He refused to call her by anything other than Valencia.

Val reentered the living room just in time to see Tressie and Danyelle gathering their things to leave.

“I thought you two were going to stay with us tonight?” Val settled into the fluffy couch pillows.

“I can't. My parents pressured me into staying the night at their house tonight. They miss having their only child.” Tressie reached out to give the girls a goodnight hug. “I think my mother is experiencing the empty nest syndrome.” She rubbed her temples and strolled out the door with Danyelle following close behind her.

Olivia put Bryce in the bed with her and told Val she could sleep in his room. Afterwards, Olivia checked to make sure all doors and windows were locked before heading to bed. As she passed by Bryce's bedroom, she saw Val pulling the blankets over herself.

“Hey.” She walked into the room. “If I haven't already said this”—She paused a moment—“I am so proud of you.”

Dimples formed in Val's cheeks. “Why?”

Olivia walked over and sat on the side of the bed. “When Julian came home from Seattle I was sure you were never going to be able to forgive him. You treated him like dirt.”

They laughed together.

“But I'm glad to see that you finally found it in your heart to forget the past.”

“Livie, his lies and infidelity blinded me from seeing that just because he made a mistake he didn't stop loving me. But it's him who deserves all the credit for us being together. He was the one who made the sacrifice. He loved me enough to forgo his multi-million-dollar contract in Seattle to play in New York for only a third of what he's worth.”

“The trials we endure in life can do nothing but make us stronger,” Olivia reminded her.

“I've learned that, although my last name will change, who I am on the inside will still remain the same. I'm going to be a wife and hopefully one day a mother, but I still want a life of my own. I will never put my life on hold like I did before. Don't get me wrong, you know I will support Julian, but not at the expense of me falling back ten steps to push him forward two. Am I making any sense?”

“I understand and I'm jealous of you.”

Val gave her a puzzled look.

“God has blessed you because it's not too many women who can say they have it all. You have the degree, the man and pretty soon you'll be adding babies and a career to your resume. God has blessed you.” She wrapped her arms around Val. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She pushed Olivia back away from her. “But I need to get some rest for tomorrow and so do you, miss maid of honor.”

Olivia's insides tingled at her honorary roll in the wedding.

 

 

In the early morning hours, while the outside temperatures were still way below zero and the wind made the chill factor in Philadelphia feel like it was in the negative twenties, Olivia was awakened by the sound of someone pounding on her front door. She turned over to check on Bryce. He was sound asleep.

“My son could sleep through the second coming.”

She crawled out of bed and threw her robe on. Olivia was going to kill Julian for waking her up so early in the morning. She knew it had to be no one but him. He was the only person who would be up at this time in the morning. Julian lacked patience, which would explain why he couldn't wait until later that morning to see Val. When she flipped on the living room lights the knocking became louder. She looked for Kennedy and Clinton, who were sleeping soundly under the dining room table. Then Olivia fixed her mouth to tell Julian to quiet down, but when she flung the door wide open it wasn't Julian on the other side. It was Julian's stepfather, Mr. McCormick.

The distraught look in his eyes made Olivia's body tense up. She sensed that he was there to deliver bad news. This man who usually stood tall and strong like a tower was now bent over. He leaned his muscular body against the doorjamb for support. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, and Olivia could see his eyes full of tears. She was scared to ask what was wrong, because she knew it couldn't be good.

He finally parted his lips to say something, but choked on his words. He held out his arms for Olivia, and she helped him into her apartment.

When they sat down together on the sofa, Mr. McCormick's head fell down in front of him. He had cried the distance to Olivia's house, and it took him another twenty minutes before he found the strength to get out of the car and to her door. Eventually he would have to tell her why he was there, and once he did, this nightmare would become a reality.

“Mr. McCormick, is Mrs. McCormick okay? She's not sick, is she?”

He lifted his head so fast that the look in his eyes startled her. “It's Julian,” he sobbed. “His mother sent me over here to tell her in person before she heard it on the news.”

“Heard what?” Olivia braced herself for the worst. Goose bumps broke out along her arms, and she prayed that Julian was all right.

“Julian's plane crashed last night right after takeoff. We received a call about an hour ago. There were no survivors.”

Shaken to the core, Olivia fell back in her seat. Mr. McCormick hugged her numb body tight. She immediately assumed he must have been mistaken. Julian wasn't dead. Just a few hours ago they were watching him on television. He was alive and well, jumping, running and slamming the ball into the basket.

Across the room sat over two hundred wedding favors and programs for a wedding that was not going to take place. “No,” she cried. The pain was too deep for her to contain, and she cried hysterically.

“How am I going to tell Val?” Olivia said more to herself than to Mr. McCormick.

“You don't have to.”

They turned around and found Val watching them.

“I've known for hours.”

Olivia rushed to comfort her. She expected Val to cry, kick, scream or get mad. Instead she stood frozen, emotionless like a statue. Olivia helped her to sit down, but Val remained unmoved. Olivia figured she was upset and in shock. She and Mr. McCormick sat with Val until her parents arrived later that morning.

Dark gray rain clouds hung suspended over First Nazareth A.M.E. church. A long black hearse sat parked in front of the church, several black limousines lined up behind it. The police blocked off the street, and barricades held back fans holding up signs expressing their condolences. News vans filled every corner with correspondents trying to get a glimpse of the coffin that held Julian's last remains.

Inside, the church pews were full of Julian's friends, family, colleagues and teammates all gathered together to say good-bye. The entire New York Knicks team stood in attendance along the back wall along with people from the NBA organization, including Commissioner David Stern. Even Owen Torres and a few of Julian's old teammates from Seattle showed up. Flower wreaths surrounded Julian's coffin and a soft melody drifted from the organ.

On the first row, Julian's stepfather cradled his wife in his arms as she wept loudly.

The days following Julian's death were hard on everyone. Mrs. McCormick wouldn't leave the kitchen. She mourned her only child by baking cakes, pies, and loaves of bread all from scratch.

Mr. McCormick pulled out videotapes of Julian's high school basketball games. For hours he locked himself inside his bedroom and watched Julian turn his basketball skills from average to phenomenal.

Val fell into a deep depression. She wouldn't eat, sleep or talk to anyone. Her parents tried to convince her to get her mind off of things by getting her out of the house, but she refused to go anywhere. Even when Mrs. McCormick went to visit her she wouldn't leave the confines of her bedroom.

When it came time for Val to attend the funeral her mental state hadn't changed, so her parents chose to stay at home with her.

From the choir box Danyelle stared down at the closed coffin that held her good friend. She wondered why bad things happened to good people. Val and Julian were on the verge of making a commitment to spend the rest of their lives together, and on the day they were supposed to be standing in this church saying their I do's, the groom was being buried.

“God's ways are not our ways,” Danyelle softly recited to herself.

“You may not know how much it hurts my heart to stand before you this morning,” Reverend Simms stuttered from behind the podium. “I've watched Julian grow from a little boy into a man and to have him taken away . . .” Reverend Simms paused. “I'm sorry.” He wiped a single tear away from his eye.

Colin patted him on the back and told him to have a seat.

“I may not have known Julian as well as most here, but the few times that he and I did speak, I felt in my heart he was a man of God. He was a consistent figure in church, and it's rare to find young men his age so committed to the Lord. The last time Julian and I talked he asked me to pray for him. He told me that he would be on the road for a few weeks playing away, and it was important for him to stay close to God while he was on the road. It's a hard thing for a man not to be taken in by money, fame and power, and I commend him for that. I'm proud to say that now that he's been called home he doesn't ever have to worry about being separated from the Lord ever again.”

Olivia tapped her foot on the floor, trying to hold back her tears. It was important for her to remain strong for her son. When the time came for Olivia to explain to Bryce that Uncle Julian had died, she was unsure of how he would react. Since Bryce's father wasn't in his life, Julian stepped up as a surrogate dad and he often did a lot of father-son things with Bryce. They were close, and she feared her son would act out in a negative way.

Christmas morning was when Olivia told him the news. She didn't plan to, but when he kept asking for Val and Julian she felt as though she had no choice. His reaction to the news was not what she expected.

“Honey, did you hear what Mommy just said?” Olivia sat in one of her son's miniature beanbags in his room.

Bryce walked around his room, picking up toys from off the carpet. Olivia had been trying to get him to clean his room for weeks, and she wondered why he had chosen that moment to start listening to her.

“Yes, Mommy. Uncle Julian is in heaven and I won't see him anymore because he's with God.”

She watched him put his books back on the shelves and store board games away under his bed before suggesting they go out to dinner to talk some more.

Olivia felt Bryce had taken the news too well, and she kept a close eye on him for any unusual behavior.

It wasn't until they were getting ready for the funeral that Bryce started asking questions.

“If Uncle Julian is in heaven, how can he be at the church?” His innocent eyes waited for an answer from his mother.

Olivia knelt down in front of him and searched for the right words to say. She knew it was too confusing for a four-year-old child to understand.

Dean could see Olivia was nearing her breaking point. He intervened and brilliantly explained how important it was for them to say their final good-byes to Julian's memory. Olivia was thankful.

Now they sat in the church, surrounded by hundreds of flower wreaths, songs that serenaded the dead and enduring heartfelt words that made the funeral that much sadder. Several people spoke beautifully about Julian's short life, and afterward the choir sang one final song before the last viewing.

The choir stood, and just as Danyelle opened her mouth to lead the choir, the church doors abruptly swung open and Val entered the sanctuary. The entire church gasped loudly at the horror they witnessed.

Val marched slowly down the aisle in her white Jessica Zamir backless wedding gown. The form-fitting twentyseven-thousand-dollar gown was badly wrinkled and looked slept in. A tattered train with small holes and dirt stains trailed behind her. Over one hundred man hours was needed to custom make the veil that hung haphazardly over her head. She held a bouquet of red roses directly in front of her belly.

She paraded down the aisle and stopped directly in front of Julian's casket.

Scared of what Val might do next, Olivia lifted Bryce up from off her lap and handed him to Tressie. She raced out into the middle aisle. “Val.” Olivia walked up behind her and placed one hand on her shoulder. “Sweetie, let's go.”

Olivia tried to steer her away from the casket, but Val refused to move.

From the back of the church Val's father raced in after her. He charged toward them, but Olivia put up her hand to stop him.

“I can't . . . I can't leave without . . .” Val whispered before pressing her hand against the top of the casket, searching for a piece of herself that was lost. She dropped her bridal bouquet to the floor and cried for the first time.

Olivia hugged her in front of the church for several minutes before again trying to get Val to leave with her.

“Are you ready?”

Val looked down at her engagement ring one last time. She pulled it off her finger and placed it on top of the casket. “I will always love you,” she whispered before she allowed Olivia to lead her out of the church.

When they walked outside, the photographers snapped pictures, and reporters asked for comments, but Val remained silent as Olivia led her to Val's Mercedes Benz, left running in front of the church.

Olivia took Val back to her parents' house and, once they were safely inside, Olivia helped Val out of her wedding gown and back into bed.

Val balled herself into a fetal position and cried into her pillow. Olivia lay next to her and rubbed her back for over an hour. She knew the girl was releasing grief she had been carrying around for over a week.

After Val's cries subsided, Olivia went into the bathroom to run her a bath. She lit a few of her aunt's aromatherapy candles and hoped it would help Val relax.

She was gone for less than ten minutes before she went back into Val's bedroom to find her missing. Olivia panicked. She searched Val's parents' room and then the guest bedroom before she smelled something burning.

Olivia rushed down the stairs and toward the living room. When she walked in she saw Val standing in front of the fireplace with nothing on but her underwear.

“Val, what are you doing?” Olivia didn't realize until she stepped closer that Val had stuffed her wedding gown into the fireplace and set it ablaze. She rushed over and tried to pull the remains out of the fire, but it was too late.

“Olivia!” Val cried. “Why? Why did Julian leave me? Again?”

Olivia pulled Val into her arms.

“It's not fair!” She fell into Olivia's arms. “It's just not fair.