In Times of Trouble (14 page)

Bryan laughed as well. “Don't be too hard on him. He's probably trying to impress you guys. I know I did and said some dumb things in front of Tyra's family when we were dating. I really liked Tyra and I didn't want anyone to dislike me. I wasn't kissing their behinds or anything, but I was always on my best behavior. Maybe he wants to make a good impression.”

“If you say so. Eric seems like a really nice guy, but it's hard to talk to him about anything other than the Bible. When he asked if I wanted to join them for dinner tonight, I hurried up and said I wasn't hungry. He probably heard my stomach growling, though.” Callie laughed again.

“That's a sound I haven't heard in a while.”

“What?”

“Your laugh. It's refreshing.”

Suddenly Callie was brought back to the real world and the momentary joyfulness she felt recapping that event to Bryan quickly dissipated. “Well, there hasn't been much to laugh about these days.”

“Sounds like the trip to Ohio has done you some good.”

“It's been okay. Things have gone better than I thought they would go between Lisa and me. We've bumped heads over a few minor things, but nothing major. For us, that's saying a lot because we're like oil and water. Lisa acts very uppity, but she's not so bad when compared to her friend, Olivia. The lady doesn't come across snooty, but she carries herself in such a way that it's like she rules the world. I guess I might be the same way if Isaac Scott was my husband.”

“You mean Isaac Scott as in
the
most influential and successful attorney ever known to man?”

“Yep. . .”

“Wow! That man owns law firms all over the country. Attorneys bust their butts trying to get on with one of his offices. He's like a living legend.”

“Yeah. . .I've pretty much gathered that. Anyhow, enough about Lisa and her rich friends; how's Naomi? By the way, Lisa and Mama said to tell you ‘thanks' for the pictures that you sent of Naomi.”

“Let them know they're welcome. Naomi is doing great. She's finally sleeping more than just a couple of hours at night. I hope she doesn't expect to be held all night tonight. Ty's mom and sister are here and I'm willing to bet they haven't put her down since they arrived.”

“Boy, I didn't know you had company. What in the world are you doing on the phone?”

Callie heard Bryan suck his teeth. “After the way Tyra treated you, I'm not trying to spend time with her family.”

“Bryan, don't let me come between you and Tyra.”

“But she was wrong, Mom.”

“I understand that, but Tyra is your wife. You were preaching to me earlier and all the while you're sitting up here acting stubborn. You're so busy quoting scriptures about the thorn in my flesh that you should have been reading 1 Peter 3:9 about not rendering evil for evil. Two wrongs don't make a right, you know?”

He chuckled. “It's funny how we can get into the Bible and find a Word for other people's behavior, but not our own, huh? I'm still mad at Ty and I seriously don't know how long it will last. I feel like she totally disregarded your feelings, my feelings, and plain old common sense.”

“It's okay for you to be mad. Take it one day at a time. But also socialize with your wife's family because it's the right thing to do,
despite your being upset. As a wise man once told me that ‘God can handle your feelings.'”

“Yeah, well, he meant to encourage you, not to be corrected by you.”

“Tough. . .stuff happens sometimes. Now that wise man needs to get off the phone, be nice to his wife and enjoy his company.”

“If you say so. . .I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, baby.”

“O
ver there is the mall,” Eric announced, cruising his Taurus on Route 250 in Sandusky as they headed to his mother's house. “This whole strip has been built up quite a bit. All those establishments we passed along the way weren't there when I was growing up. This area continues to be developed; I'm sure it's largely due to Cedar Point.”

“Umph. . .,” Lisa grunted. Her stomach knotted in anxiety about meeting Eric's mother. Initially, Lisa was excited when Eric asked if she would accompany him today and had looked forward to meeting her future mother-in-law. But, during the two-hour-plus ride from Columbus, Eric had made her nervous with all of his instructions about the dos and don'ts of being in his mother's presence.
Do
call her Mrs. Henry Freeman because she always wants to reverence her late husband.
Don't
walk into her house until invited in. Even if she holds the door open, wait until she officially gives the “okay” because otherwise she thinks it's rude.
Do
be sure to remove your shoes before stepping into the living room because it's the most sacred room in her house.
Don't
ever bring up her husband's name unless she begins the conversation because, as his widow, she wants to properly honor his memory.

The complete list of “dos and don'ts” totaled at least ten, all of which gave Lisa a headache. Eric may have thought he was prepping her, but what he really did was alarm her. She wished she had been privy to this information prior to agreeing to come today because she would have suddenly become affected with a stomach virus.

“What's wrong, sweetheart?” Eric must've noticed her distress.

“I'm starting to have second thoughts about coming today.”

“Relax. . .Mother can be a little picky at times, but she's super excited about meeting you.”

From where Lisa came, people normally referred to their mothers simply as “mama” or some version similar. Saying “mother” was a little strange to her, but then again, everyone had their quirks. If she thought long enough, Lisa bet she could come up with something she said or did that Eric would find peculiar.

“She's going to love you just like I do,” he continued.

“I hope so. . .”

Eric reached over and patted her knee for reassurance. “She will, honey. You'll see. If you and Mother feel up to it later, I want to take you all to the Cedar Point pier this evening so we can see the fireworks.” He smiled. “We're going to have a great time.”

Lisa breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves, as they pulled up the gravel driveway to the small tan house decorated with yellow shutters. This was it. . .the moment she, rather he, had been waiting for.

“Hello, Precious!” A tiny old lady answered the door. She was a cute little thing. In many ways she favored the late Coretta Scott King, except Mrs. Freeman was much more petite. Her silver hair was tightly pulled back into a bun that seemed like it had been a permanent fixture to her head.

“Mother, how are you?” He bent and embraced her lovingly.
His averagely tall frame seemed to smother her teeny, fragile one.

Mrs. Freeman scanned Lisa from head to toe. Had Eric not been casually dressed, Lisa would have felt out of place in her short-sleeved shirt and gauchos; his mother had on a blue polka dot dress with a shawl. Why in the world did she have on a shawl when it was at least ninety-something degrees outside! Lisa looked away shyly for fear of her thoughts being read through her eyes.

“Mother, this is my fiancée, Lisa.”

“Hi, Mrs. Free. . . Mrs. Henry Freeman. It's so nice to meet you.”

“I only shake the hands of strangers. Any woman marrying my Precious is not a stranger, so you have to give me a hug.” Lisa obediently wrapped her arms around her skeletal body, feeling a little at ease because of the warm welcome. “I'm glad you were able to come, dear.”

Eric walked in and his mother held the door for Lisa, but she didn't budge until she heard Mrs. Freeman say, “Dear, won't you please come in?” She smiled ever so brightly, apparently pleased that Eric had relayed the rules and that Lisa had followed them.

Things were off to a better start than Lisa had anticipated. It was obvious Mrs. Freeman had some very weird idiosyncrasies, but she seemed nice. She led them through the tiny foyer into the living room where Lisa immediately took off her shoes, following Eric's lead.

Eric had told her that the living room was sacred, but to Lisa it looked more like a shrine of some kind with pictures galore on the walls of Eric and a man Lisa assumed was his father. She took a seat next to him on the plastic-covered sofa while his mother sat in an adjacent chair.

It didn't take long for Lisa to become bored as the conversation turned into what seemed like an extensively long Bible Study. Mrs.
Freeman started it, asking Eric if he'd read his Word that day. Of course he had and she asked him to expound upon what he'd read. Eric was a dynamic teacher and Lisa even became enlightened about a few things. She just didn't realize that his mother would not only ask what he'd read that morning, but the previous mornings as well. Lisa loved the Lord and all, but her idea of spending the Fourth of July did not include spending an entire afternoon talking about how it was Israel's fault that they had to spend forty years in wilderness because they continued to disobey God. Mrs. Freeman, on the other hand, enjoyed every bit of it and even when Eric tried to change topics to something non-biblical, she turned it right back around.

Lisa would have appreciated it if there had been a television in the room to keep her attention, but instead of a television, there was a tape player going that churned out dreary-sounding spirituals. It must've been one of those automatic tape players that never stopped, but continuously switched from side A to B because Lisa swore that she'd already heard the last couple of songs already. She was starting to get nauseous. Maybe she was delirious from the thousands of images on the walls of Eric and his father.

Lisa wondered if the blinds had been glued shut; there wasn't an ounce of sunlight peeking into the room. The small, rattling box fan did nothing except circulate hot air. Both Eric and his mother were visibly sweating, but neither seemed to mind. Silently, Lisa screamed for someone to turn on the air conditioning, open a window, or something!

“I'm getting hungry, Mother,” Eric said after several hours of nonstop talking. Lisa had been nodding, smiling and fighting every temptation in her mind to doze off. “I'm sure Lisa is, too. Why don't I run up to the store and get some stuff so I can start the grill?” Lisa was relieved and saw this as her chance to get
some air until Eric said, “You don't mind staying and keeping Mother company while I run out, do you? It'll give the two of you a chance to get to know each other better.”

Lisa looked over to see Mrs. Freeman smiling softly. She could have punched Eric in his upper lip for asking a loaded question, giving her only one way to answer. “Sure, I'll stay. May I get a cold glass of water or something? It may just be me, but I'm feeling a bit stuffy.”

“I'm a little hot, too,” Eric co-signed. “Mother, would you mind if I turned on the air conditioner?”

“No, Precious, go right ahead. I'll get you both some ice water.”

“Don't worry about me; I'm about to leave, but Lisa may still want some.”

“Yes, thank you. That'll be nice,” Lisa replied, hoping that she hadn't broken any golden rule with her request.

When Eric left, Mrs. Freeman brought her glass of water back in the living room and broke the ice by asking, “Have you ever been to Sandusky before?”

“No, ma'am; this is my first time.”

“Precious told me that you have a daughter. I was hoping to meet her as well. Why didn't she come with you?”

Why do you call your son “Precious,”
she wanted to ask, but answered accordingly after she taking a quick drink. “She and her father went to Baltimore to spend the holiday with his brother.”

“I guess I'll have to meet her another time. How are your mother and your sister? Precious tells me that you have a sister visiting from California.”

“Yes, ma'am. Both of them are doing well. My mother is with some friends in Columbus and my sister went to Maryland with my daughter and ex-husband.” Precious had better not been telling his mother all of her business. Lisa said her mother and sister
were doing “well,” but truth was, she sensed something weird going on with both of them. Their mother didn't come around as much as she had been when Callie first arrived. And Callie's insisting to borrow Lisa's car every Tuesday so she could run some errands was more than a little crazy. How in the world could Callie have errands in a city she didn't even live in?

“He tells me that you know Isaac Scott and his wife.”

“Um hmm. . .Olivia's my best friend.” Lisa noted how strange she had been acting as well, but knew it was because of the “surprise” engagement party Liv was throwing for her and Eric on the second Saturday of this month. Lisa knew that was the day because Olivia had asked her and Eric if they would be free that evening under the pretense that Isaac's law firm was having a banquet. Maybe Olivia had gotten her mother and sister in cahoots with her and that's why they've been acting so strange also.