Somewhat Saved (35 page)

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Authors: Pat G'Orge-Walker

BOOK: Somewhat Saved
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Epilogue
It took Sister Betty a long time to get over just how close she
wasn't
to God. Choosing whom she would or not bear witness to was not an option she was supposed to have. Judging was God's work and not hers. She'd become so comfortable, God had had to shake her up.
And He shook her good! The pastor and congregation at Crossing Over Sanctuary Temple were shaken as well. Because the first thing Bea and Sasha did, when they had a chance, was to testify about how Sister Betty crossed over onto the dark side in Las Vegas. They regaled the congregation with their version of how Sister Betty had to be dragged from the casino and placed into the hands of hotel security. And the dramatic way they told of Sister Betty's determination to commit murder, without remorse, should've been taped and televised on CNN.
Of course, Sister Betty hadn't been at church that night so Bea and Sasha felt free to embellish and omit a lot of details. Sasha particularly didn't mention that she hadn't been saved or as saved as she'd claimed, all those years.
But on the bright side, Bea now had a family. The way Bea told it, not only was Zipporah her “godbaby” but she'd actually gotten her vocal talent from her.
To try and keep Bea out of trouble because of her inherent need to add to her fixed income, Zipporah started a day care in Pelzer and hired Bea to run it. She wanted Bea to not only make extra money but to put that huge heart of hers to some good use. And, of course, Bea loved the idea because she loved babies. But before Zipporah knew it the day care was losing money. Bea was taking in babies for either half the fee or no fee at all. So it became both a job for Bea and a tax write-off for Zipporah.
Miracles were the order of the day. No sooner had Chandler and Zipporah returned to Las Vegas than Ma Cile started regaining her strength. Whatever Chandler had said when he'd visited his grandmother, according to the doctors, had been just the medicine she needed. Secretly, Chandler thought Ma Cile had taken one look at Zipporah and, stroke or no stroke, had seen the possibility of some beautiful great-grandchildren. As stubborn as Ma Cile was, she wasn't about to leave earth and miss out on that.
Sasha did what she'd promised. She sat Zipporah down and told her the good, the bad and the ugly side of the Hellraiser clan. Sasha also had to let her know that Zipporah's sister, Ima, had found out about Jasper. At that time, Ima was in South Africa with her fiancé, the Reverend Lyon Lipps, doing missionary work. Sasha warned Zipporah that Ima would return soon and that perhaps Zipporah might want to hire security to watch her back. But definitely not the wimps that she'd dealt with at the Luxor.
Sasha had also tried to talk Areal into meeting with Zipporah, but Areal wouldn't do it. Perhaps, one day she would but not then. Sasha had bullied Areal once before and it'd led to nothing but heartache.
Surprisingly, Zipporah calmly accepted Areal's decision but left the door open if her birth-mother ever wanted to meet her. Secretly, in her heart, Zipporah hoped her mother would do it before it was too late.
Life sometimes had a strange, and perhaps less than kind way of leading a person into providence. And it seemed it didn't just lead Zipporah, it dragged her over cactus thorns to get there.
Zipporah's path had been littered with abuse and mistrust. And it didn't matter that she was gorgeous or had a good heart and even less that she could outsing most of those who'd seemed to regularly receive recognition and fame. But just like the forging of steel, she'd become a force of nature, and Daddy was still helping from the grave.
Details of Jasper's funeral had hit several newspapers, including a few in New York, Las Vegas, and California. Pictures of him and Zipporah ran side by side in celebrity columns, on television, and even in a few music magazines. He'd left her not only wealthy but well connected. She'd be able to greet and meet with anyone of power, and they were knocking down her door already.
There were some who were not happy about the way Jasper hadn't owned up to his responsibility, but they were the ones who didn't know the entire story. They were also the ones who soon learned that if it hadn't bothered Zipporah, it certainly shouldn't bother them. Business was business and the newly formed Las Vegas, Nevada, Moses and Lamb Entertainment Agency was all business.
Chandler and Zipporah had the buzz going about their company within six months of Jasper's death. Many of the bigwigs at the record companies had flown in personally to check out his roster of exceptional talent. There wasn't a genre in the business he couldn't supply talent for.
And, as he'd promised Zipporah, Chandler found the brightest and the best to create a Las Vegas show just for her. It was spectacular and she looked and sounded amazing. In no time she was pulling crowds away from Celine Dion and Toni Braxton. And to show that there were no hard feelings, Zipporah hired Alicia to co-manage the show. She knew it was better to keep Alicia where she could watch her; after all, Las Vegas wasn't that big.
Zipporah also found time to record Sister Betty's gospel album. Zipporah had written every song with the exception of the one Jasper had given her in the vision. She titled the album
Sheets of Love.
The album hadn't cost a lot of money because only one copy was pressed. The hardest part was finding a plant that still pressed vinyl. Sister Betty didn't have a CD player and balked at having to purchase and learn how to use one.
One of the proudest moments for Zipporah came when she was able to present a sizable check to a kinder and gentler Miss Thompson and the homeless shelter. She even apologized for her little “white lie” about being hospitalized. The check helped the forgiveness.
Two years after Jasper entered and left Zipporah's life, forever changing it, another change occurred. Chandler and Zipporah exchanged wedding vows. It was a new and adventurous time for the two of them.
For the first time Zipporah and Chandler shared a gift that was unmistakably blessed. On their wedding night they finally got to know one another the way the Bible had meant for a husband and wife to. Each had kept their vow of abstinence.
And not only was their wedding night amazing and exhausting for them, but Zipporah happily wrote a new song the next morning. Almost a year later it became a hit. Just around the same time they became parents to baby Jasper Chandler Lamb.
Sister Betty returns in time for Christmas in
Pat G'Orge-Walker's
No Ordinary Noel
Coming in October 2011 from Dafina Books
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Turn the page for an excerpt from
No Ordinary Noel
. . .
 
 
It was well past midnight when the reverend's phone rang. He'd hardly slept a wink, but when he saw the number on the caller ID, he immediately woke up.
The reverend yawned and answered, “Hello, Sister Betty.”
“I'm sorry to call this late, pastor,” she apologized. “This storm has made everything a mess. My bus ran late from Belton, and when I got home to Pelzer, I was too pooped to do anything. I saw that red light flashing on my phone, but didn't bother to check it right away because nothing good ever comes out of me doing so.”
By the time Sister Betty finished with her long apology and her aversion to checking her messages, the reverend was fully awake. He'd barely explained to her about the mess caused at the church by Mother Pray Onn accusing him of mishandling of her one hundred-forty-dollar-and-twenty-six-cents tithes and his reaction to it, when Sister Betty started to whip him with the Word. She gave him scriptural uppercuts from the Old Testament. “Psalms One Hundred and Forty-four says, ‘Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight!'” She then TKO'd him with scriptures from the New Testament. When she finished, he'd apologized more to her than he had to God.
“How God gonna give you a vision about leading folk to the Promised Land and then not give you the provision?” Sister Betty hissed, “Now I don't mean no further disrespect, but you acting like you forgot that God gave me that same vision and it was about the same time He trusted you to bring it about.” She waited for the reverend to dispute what she said, but he didn't. He couldn't.
“Reverend Tom, now tell me we didn't shout about it in your study when God showed us back then that there wasn't gonna be a need for a mortgage? You can't. And didn't the good Lord say to name it the Promised Land? Now I already told you that I'm tired from this long trip. I had to go see about a dear ole friend that's getting up in age and pray with her. Now my body is sore. I ain't got time to feed you Bible Similac like you a new babe in Christ. You're the head of the church, and if the head don't believe, then why would the body?”
Sister Betty went on to say a lot more as he held the receiver away from his ear. His shoulders slumped and a numbing pain began from the back of his head to the front. He held his hands to his ears to avoid the truth of her words..
Headache or not, he respected her words. So he brought the receiver back to his ear and discovered she hadn't finished rebuking him. He heard Sister Betty's warning, “If your faith ain't increased by tomorrow when I go down to that bank, then don't you come with me. I may have a ton of money in that bank, but I can't blackmail them with haters and faith blockers in my way.”
The next morning, Reverend Tom was exhausted. Sister Betty's telephone rebuke had pushed sleep aside and given him a lot to ponder.
However, despite that, on Monday morning he couldn't help but remember his history with Sister Betty. As he started to read the morning paper, the thought of her brought a surprised smile to his face.
Sister Betty was one of his most senior members and had been a blessing to him ever since he took over as pastor. Her quirkiness was well known to some and a puzzle to most. As far as he was concerned, she was a woman who had God's ear. He had also adopted her as his spiritual mother, especially since both of his parents passed away long before he had finished college, and she was always telling him what to do anyhow.
She also watched his back and stood between him and the desires of several unmarried females at the church who were looking to add the title of First Lady to their letterhead and bank account. Sadly, there were also a few married women who would have made an exception to their marriage vows had he given them a reason.
Through the good and the bad, Sister Betty had never left his side. She made certain that he knew that God had not left either.
Before he knew it, it was around noon and time to pick up Sister Betty. He rechecked the weather and learned the forecasters had upgraded their report to an almost certainty that an early winter storm would cause havoc on the roads.
As he pulled out of his driveway, Reverend Tom whispered an affirmation: “God in heaven, forgive me for my unbelief and my unmerited pride in what You've placed in my hands. But Lord, all days are Your days, too. Now if Moses didn't let the Red Sea stop him from helping his people, I'm not about to let the threat of a snow storm, lack of finances, or a congregation of unbelievers stop me from helping mine.”
After a short drive, Reverend Tom slowly pulled into the winding driveway of Sister Betty's luxurious home. Before he could step from the car, she stepped outside to meet him.
Sister Betty was dressed in her traditional all-white everything. At that moment, her everything was a heavy wool overcoat, gloves, boots, and hat. On this particular day, she'd bundled up so tight she looked like a white box with a large Bible attached to its side. She stayed ready for any storm—natural or spiritual.
Sister Betty's small feet hopscotched through the slush until she made her way inside the car. Without ceremony or waiting for him to open the door, she said, “Praise the Lord, Pastor.”
“Sister Betty,” the reverend replied. He chose to leave it at that.
Sister Betty chuckled as she fastened her seatbelt and gave him the once over. “You look like you still holding onto about a quart of faith, so I sure hope you're ready to roll for the Lord this glorious day.”
Judging by the way she acted at that moment, it was hard to believe she'd just chewed him out the night before. Nevertheless, the joy only lasted long enough for him to put the car in drive. Before they'd gotten off the block, she'd become more like a Mama Betty than the Sister Betty he'd needed.
Sister Betty adjusted the scarf around her neck and pointed to the car's heater. “It's so cold in here I can see my breath. Now turn that thing up. I told you I don't have hot flashes no more and I need a lot of heat.”
Reverend Tom did as she requested. He then waited a moment until she adjusted to the blast of heat from the heater before he added, “Okay, my short but powerful ride-or-die gal. Let's go and reclaim the Promised Land.”
“I don't know how many times I need to remind you that I really don't like the word
die
used in the same sentence as my name,” Sister Betty murmured.
“Don't worry about that,” the reverend laughed as he finally pulled out of the slow-moving traffic. “You are not going anywhere anytime soon. Heaven doesn't need you up there as much as I do down here.”
“From your lips to God's ears and His will.” Sister Betty sat back. Her head leaned to the side as she thought,
I want to thank you, Lord, for Your grace and for Your mercy, too.
A smile crept across her face as she praised her God.
The reverend looked over and smiled, too. “I see you're smiling,” he said softly. “Are you and God collaborating again?” He let out a laugh when he saw the surprised look upon her face.
“Why yes, Reverend Tom, we are constantly in cahoots.”
“Mind sharing what God has revealed?”
“It's not so much what He's revealed to me as much as me discussing with Him where we're going to end up.”
“Oh, I see. You mean the Promised Land.”
Sister Betty shifted her Bible and winked. “That's right, me and the Lord; we are chatting about the Promised Land. So now you quit interruptin' before I have to start speaking in tongues to keep you out of my heavenly business.”
The reverend returned her wink with a smile and turned up the heat just a little more in the car. “Well, Sister Betty, I'll get us to the bank and see about the Promised Land in about ten minutes instead of forty years.”

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