The Miracle of Being Thankful
She stands in the mirror of her 8 bedroom house, staring deeply into her hazel eyes. Her eyes shift to the permanent scar that her old ex-boyfriend gave her. She checks the time and sees she has a conference call in five minutes with her boss. When it rings, she stares at her phone and sees that her husband of four years is texting her. Hey babe. I landed and will be there in 45 minutes. She sends back, Sorry, but I gotta go, Babe. Got a meeting at the battered women’s house.
She grabs her bags and walks out of the house. She goes to her Range Rover and, buckling up, she stares at herself in the mirror. Not directly at herself though, but at the scar.
“You want another man?” King had screamed as he stood over Jazzlyna as she lay there trying to protect herself. Jaelyn is outside playing basketball. She stares at her son, thinking how much he reminds her of King. “No. No, King. I only want you.” She had tried to scream, but to no avail. King beat her. Then he left her for dead.
She waves at Jaelyn as she drives to the battered women’s shelter, thinking about all the women who live there and how they make her smile. They are so up and so perky, even though their situation isn’t the best. She pulls up and see She is in the exact same situation Jazzlyna had been in, and sometimes she’s hard to handle. Jazzlyna gets out of the car and smiles at her. “How are you doing, Neveah?”
“I’m good,” Neveah answers. “I got to see my son and daughter today. L’il Nae’s tooth came out. And Najee, well, she wants me home.
Jazzlyna looks at her, knowing Neveah’s kids are her only soft spot. She gives her hug. And in that moment, Jazzlyna begins thinking of a plan.
Neveah is 24 years old, with two little children – a 4 yr old girl, and an 8 yr old boy. She had been beaten by her children’s dad, in front of the kids. Then her boyfriend went ghost and left her in the house for dead, with the children asleep in their room. She lost custody of the kids before she moved into the shelter. That’s why Jazzlyna loves her and why she has so much heart for her. Cause even though she’s lost her kids, she is working so hard to get them back. Jazzlyna goes to her office and, throughout the rest of the day, all she thinks of is her plan for Neveah.
Three weeks later, just four days before Thanksgiving, Jazzlyna is ready. Neveah gets called in for a court date. She thinks they finally caught her babies’ dad. But when she walks in, she sees Jazzlyna and starts to wonder. Jazzlyna has a bright, warm smile on her face. “What’s going on, Jazz?”
Jazzlyna smiles at her. “You’ve brought out a lot of good things about me. So I wanted to give something back to you and put a smile on your face.”
Before Neveah can say anything, she sees her two kids running out. They all hug. And now she knows what Jazzlyna is talking about. She is getting her kids! As she holds them in her arms, she wonders how she will take care of them. But she doesn’t care. She is going to find a way.
Then Jazzlyna touches her shoulder and says, “You’ve got two more surprises,” and ushers her out the door. They get into the Range Rover and she drives them to a beautiful house that is just five blocks away from Jazzlyna’s. They get out and go inside. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a nice marble-type kitchen. The mahogany flooring is beautiful. They open the garage and there is a big SUV sitting there. “It’s all yours,” Jazzlyna tells her. “You’ve just got to pay the utility bills.”
Neveah breaks down and cries. “Thank you! Thank you! I can’t believe you would do this for me.”
“Baby girl, I know what you’ve been through. So I pulled some strings. When it happened to me, I thought no one had my story. I thought no one could relate to what I’d been through. And it made me feel so alone. And seven years later, you come along. And you make me know that I’m not alone. I’m so thankful that you came into my life. You are a miracle. And don’t you ever forget it.”
To be continued…
