Page 79 of A Taste of Grace

“Hey…” I waved at everyone but kept my eyes on Caleb.

“Hello.” Madeline’s chipper voice cut through the air as the girls rushed to me and looked between Caleb and me.

“Mommy Grace, this lady said she’s our real mommy. Tell her to stop lying.” Hannah pointed at Madeline and spoke with uncharacteristic boldness.

Her chest rose and dropped as if she’d been running. She and Esther held hands so hard their knuckles were white. My little girls were confused and frightened. I ignored everyone else and squatted, holding their waists in each of my hands.

“I’m taking you home.”

Caleb cleared his throat, forcing me to look into his eyes.

“That won’t be necessary, Grace. Madeline and I will tell the girls what’s going on. Mama can takeyouhome. We’ll see you later.”

My mouth dropped. I knew this sanctimonious bastard wasn’t dismissing me. I wanted to scream at him for excluding me, but I didn’t want to scare the girls.

Madeline’s smug smile pissed me off all over again.

“No worries. I’ll take a rideshare and see y’all at home.” I gave the girls a final hug and walked out of Caleb’s office, slamming the door behind me.

I moved to the lobby of the sanctuary and stood out of sight of the remaining parishioners. I pulled out my phone to call a ride as hot tears of embarrassment burned my eyes.

I would spend the night at my house before leaving for my DC trip in the morning. When I returned, I would recenter myself and my mental health.

The day Mama died, I vowed that no one would treat me like trash again. Caleb was no exception to that rule. I refused to relapse because of my husband and his raggedy ass judgment.

Unbelievable

Madeline threwme off guard so much when she stood up in the middle of the sanctuary that I couldn’t think straight. Of all days, my crackhead baby mama chose one of the busiest days to waltz her wannabe diva behind into my church to show out and leave me fixing her mess like she always did.

Any other time, my ushers would have stopped her in her tracks, but the old school members of my church knew who she was. They attended my over-the-top wedding and witnessed my commitment to my first wife. They also remembered howcrushed I was when I had to announce that I was divorced, although I never shared that Madeline was a drug addict. They were probably as shocked as I was at how this played out.

I was too stunned to take the mic from Madeline as she cracked a buttery smile that used to turn me into jelly. I was surprised drugs didn’t rot her teeth out, but here she was, skinning and grinning like she had just returned from a European vacation and had not abandoned our girls without so much as a goodbye note. Her entire performance, I bit my tongue so hard it hurt. Only after the service did I collapse.

“God, please help me,” I said the words over and over as tears flowed down my cheeks and onto my desk.

That woman caused so much pain in my life. I thought I would lose my mind and possibly my girls. I tried to process everything quickly, but it was too much and at the wrong time. My life was perfect, and she came back to ruin me.

When Grace knocked on my door, I was embarrassed and in my feelings. She had never seen me this weak, and she wasn’t about to today.

“Let me in…I’m here for you.” Her gentle voice cut to my heart, but I didn’t want her to witness my breakdown.

When I dismissed her, I stared out my office window until my mother arrived with the girls. By then, I was coherent. When I opened the door, Madeline’s conniving self stood next to Mama.

“Come in,” I said the words in a steady voice that surprised me.

The girls jumped on my legs, their eyes wild.

“Who is this lady, Daddy?” Hannah screamed the question.

Esther was uncharacteristically quiet. Her eyes were wide as she wrapped her small body around my leg like a pretzel. I leaned down and motioned for them to jump into my arms. They rushed into them, then I carried them behind my desk. Ipositioned each of them on my knee as they wrapped their arms around my neck. I looked at Madeline, who gazed at us as if she sucked a lemon.

“This is your mommy, the one whose tummy you were in.”

The girls stared at Madeline in silence. My mother gave me a frustrated shake of her head. Madeline held her hands with a bowed head as she stole quick glances at the girls in my arms.

That was when Grace returned to my office. As soon as she walked through the door, the girls slid from my lap and ran to her. The alarm on their faces paralyzed me. I needed to nip this mess with Madeline in the bud, so I sent Grace and my mother home so I could take care of business.

In hindsight, I knew I hurt Grace, but I needed Madeline gone. If I didn’t shut her foolishness down, she would return like a cancerous growth.

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