Midnight Blessings

MIDNIGHT

Blessings

Brenda Ablee

Midnight Blessings is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2012 by Brenda Rudd

Smashwords Edition

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews

To my children,

My Miracle and My Blessing

Table of Contents

Chapter_One

Chapter_Two

Chapter_Three

Chapter_Four

Chapter_Five

Chapter_Six

Chapter_Seven

Chapter_Eight

Chapter_Nine

Chapter_Ten

Chapter_Eleven

Chapter_Twelve

Chapter_Thirteen

Chapter_Fourteen

Chapter_Fifteen

Chapter_Sixteen

Chapter_Seventeen

Chapter_Eighteen

Chapter_Nineteen

Chapter_Twenty

Chapter_Twenty_One

Chapter_Twenty_Two

Chapter_Twenty_Three

Chapter_Twenty_Four

Chapter_Twenty_Five

Chapter_Twenty_Six

Chapter_Twenty_Seven

Chapter_Twenty_Eight

Chapter One

Whitney Cole stood in the airport terminal watching her friend of fifteen years fidget and stammer as she said her goodbyes.

Are you ok? Whitney asked wondering why her friend was acting so uncharacteristically jumpy, Tiffany was the most self-confident person she knew. Tiffany nodded, a short bounce of her head, and stepped toward the terminal. Stopping in mid-stride she turned and walked back to Whitney.

Take care of him, Tiffany said, nodding toward her son. After high school, Tiffany’s parents had promised her a trip anywhere she wanted to go, if she actually managed to graduate. This was going to be the biggest adventure of her life, and she wasn’t going to miss it for anything or anybody—not even for the little boy who stood so trustingly beside his young godmother.

I will. You’ll see when you get back. Everything will be great, Whitney said, holding Joseph’s hand and looking down at him for his nod of agreement. Because she was looking down, she missed the guilty look that flashed across Tiffany’s face.

Whitney was happy to help babysit for Joseph while her best friend was gone on her vacation. She loved him and knew that Tiffany had, had a hard time in the past so she was happy to help make her dream of a real vacation a reality.

This is for you, Tiffany said handing Whitney a slim white envelope don’t open it until you get home, OK? Tiffany waited until she had Whitney’s agreement before handing it over. I really love you, and I wouldn’t leave my son with anyone but you, she confessed, on the brink of tears.

My goodness, Tiffany, Whitney said, smiling, shocked by her melodrama. You’re only leaving for two weeks. We will be fine, and we’ll tell you everything that happens when you get back. This time, Whitney did see the grimace that flashed across her friend’s face.

Are you OK? she asked again instantly worried.

Instead of answering her, Tiffany gave Whitney a tight hug and then hunched down in front of Joseph and hugged her three-year-old son, kissing him good-bye. Mommy loves you, she said. Always remember that, and be good for Whitney. Then, with a final wave, she turned and walked into the airplane terminal with a skip in her step. She never looked back.

Exiting the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and driving toward her house, Whitney felt excited to have this time alone with her godson. Even though he was technically just her godson, he had spent a large part of his life with her already. She had been there when he was born, and she’d kept him extensively when Tiffany disappeared for long periods of time.

It was not unusual for Tiffany to leave Joseph with Whitney with the promise of I’ll see you in a couple of hours, only to have those couple of hours turn into a couple of days or even weeks. Whitney knew that she would miss Joseph terribly when she left for college in the fall. He was like her own child, and she loved him dearly.

Whitney steered the car onto the interstate and thought back over the time she had spent with Joseph. If she were to add up all of the months that Joseph had spent with her and her parents, it would equal a large majority of his young life. Whitney baby sat for him, changed diapers, wiped runny noses and spent long nights awake when he was sick. Tiffany was never one for doing for anyone but herself, so she would always call Whitney over for the icky stuff as she would call it.

Whitney knew that when she left for college, she would miss a lot of his growing up. So when Tiffany asked her to keep him for a while, she had jumped at the chance to spend this precious remaining time with him.

Well, Joseph, what do you want to do first? Whitney asked, fully intending to spoil him rotten. When she received no response, she turned to see that Joseph was sound asleep in his car seat. Whitney smiled and then quickly turned her attention back to the road.

Pulling up to her house, she knew that her mother and father would also be happy to see Joseph. Switching off the ignition, Whitney stepped out of the car, gathered the drowsy child in her arms, and headed into the house. She wasn’t in the house a full minute when her mother, Pam, came running to intercept her and Joseph. Well, mainly Joseph—for as much as Whitney would miss Joseph, so would her parents. They too had grown attached to the sweet little boy who had become a large part of their lives. After Whitney relinquished Joseph to her mother’s waiting arms, she remembered the envelope Tiffany had given her. She hoisted her purse up onto the coffee table and began searching through its contents.

What are you looking for? Pam asked her daughter as she observed her digging into her purse and pulling out a sealed white envelope.

Whitney looked up at her mother, waving the envelope around in a circle as evidence. Tiffany gave me this letter before she left. I just remembered it, Whitney explained, locating the envelope and ripping it open. Inside, she found a letter that had been folded into fours and two one-hundred-dollar bills. Whitney smiled, thinking that Tiffany was trying to give her a long overdue thanks for watching Joseph. But when she unfolded the letter and read the words, her smile vanished, and her jaw dropped.

Whitney couldn’t believe her eyes. Looking down at the letter she read the words in total disbelief. Thinking that her eyes must be playing tricks on her, she read the letter again. The words were the same.

Hey Whitney,

I know what you’re going to think when you read this letter. Let me assure you, I have not gone crazy, I have thought about this long and hard and have decided that this is best for everyone. I am leaving Joseph with you. I know you can raise him better than I can. If it hasn’t become obvious to you by now, this letter is to tell you that I am not coming back. Ever. I’ve enclosed two hundred dollars with this letter. It will help with Joseph for a little while. Don’t try to find me—you won’t be able to.

Bye,

Tiffany

Whitney felt faint. Oh, dear Lord—what was she going to do? Dazed, she walked over to where her mom was sitting, and without fanfare, she handed the short letter to her.

My goodness, child, what’s wrong? her mother asked, noting the fallen look on her face.

Read this, Whitney said, putting the letter in her mother’s outstretched hand. Pam quickly skimmed the contents. Oh, my precious Lord, she said, half rising out of her chair. Is this real?

I guess so, Whitney said with a shrug, She gave it to me before I left the airport and made me promise not to read it until I got home.

This is typical of her, Pam said jumping up and slapping the corner of the couch she had been sitting on. Leaving Joseph with you, for you to deal with—but now she’s gone too far. She has abandoned him like a rag doll. That poor child," Pam Cole finished looking at Joseph, who was happily playing airplane man. His arms were stretched out at his sides as he ran in circles around the furniture in the Cole living room.

What am I going to do, I’m only nineteen years old and on my way to college, Whitney said, looking to her as always for advice.

Let’s call Mrs. Addams. I doubt if she knows what her daughter has done. I’m sure she would want to take her grandson in herself, Pam said, reaching for the phone.

Pam was so certain that Tiffany’s mother would want to take in little Joseph that she was momentarily stunned speechless when Mrs. Addams informed her that not only did she know what Tiffany had done; she was actually the one who had recommended it. She shamelessly admitted that she neither had the time nor the inclination to take Joseph in. She was finished raising her children and wasn’t about to start over again with Tiffany’s mistake. Then the phone went dead.

Shocked and wide eyed, Pam hung up the phone and turned to her daughter. She has absolutely no intention of helping with Joseph, she said, still not quite believing what she’d just heard. But she knew they didn’t have time to dwell on Joseph’s heartless grandmother, so she plopped down on the couch and concentrated on finding another solution. Then, suddenly, her head flew up and she triumphantly raised a finger into the air; thinking she had found a potential solution to this dilemma, she brightened a little to ask Who is Joseph’s father? Maybe he or his parents will want to take Joseph in.

I don’t know who his father is, Whitney said, shaking her head in dismay. Tiffany was very tight-lipped about that. I begged her to tell me, but she said he was better left unknown. When I pressed her about it, she said Joseph looked just like his father and if they were ever in a room together there would be no mistaking or denying who the father was, Frustrated Whitney threw her hands up. I don’t have the slightest idea who he is. Short of putting Joseph in the same room with every man in town, we may never know.

Well, what’s left?

In that instant, Whitney looked at her mother and made the only decision she could. She would never leave Joseph without a home. He was innocent of any wrongdoing, and she would do whatever it took to see him remain as happy as he was today. I have to keep him, Whitney said. He has an irresponsible mother and a heartless grandmother I can’t abandon him too, I’m all he has. At that moment Whitney looked over at the child in question and he awarded her with a smile that could light up a room; and she was sold.

Pam huffed, You’re only nineteen years old, Whitney, and headed to college in two months. How are you going to raise a child?

Whitney looked at her sadly, not knowing the answer. I don’t know, she finally said. But with the help of God, I’ll find a way. Anyway, once I see Brian, we can decide the best thing to do.

Her mother rolled her eyes but made no comment at the mention of Whitney’s old boyfriend, Brian. Repeatedly, Pam had tried to steer Whitney away from the fantasy that Brian was waiting for her like some knight in shining armor. The boy had not so much as picked up the phone and called Whitney in the last two years, he didn’t know if she were dead or alive, but she still refused to let him go.

Whitney’s mother was convinced that once her daughter saw Brian again, she would realize that this was all a fantasy and finally get over him. No man could be as perfect as she made Brian out to be. Once Whitney realized that, she would be able to get on with her life, meet a nice God-fearing boy, and settle down as God intended. But she would have to get over Brian first, and Pam was afraid that Whitney would get her heart broken in the process.

***

Getting ready to depart for school and caring for a child on her own was going to be a task, but it was a task that Whitney didn’t take lightly. She was determined to do the right thing by Joseph. God had given her charge of this precious child for a reason, and she was determined to make him proud of her.

Whitney and her parents had argued constantly about her taking on the responsibility of someone else’s child. She knew her parents had reservations about her leaving for school. And now that Joseph was going with her, those reservations had more than doubled. She spent the summer making arrangements. She knew that if her parents were not convinced that she could handle the situation, they would demand that she give up Joseph or go to a local college.

I’ll be fine, Mom, Whitney said reassuringly, after Pam had voiced her concern for the hundredth time over her plans. I have the two scholarships, she said referring to her academic and choir scholarships she had been awarded, so everything should be covered. Also, I just talked to the choir director, and he said that there are day care facilities on campus. So I can drop Joseph off at the day care on my way to class and then pick him up when I’m finished," Whitney said, smiling confidently.

She was happy with her performance. She wanted to put her mother at ease and didn’t want her to worry, but inside, Whitney was shaking in her boots. She didn’t have the slightest idea what was going to happen, nor did she know what campus life was like. And truth be told, she was terrified.

Pam smiled and looked sympathetically at her daughter, all grown-up and trying hard to put up a brave front. You can’t fool me; I’m your mother, she said, laying her hand against her daughter’s cheek and wondering when Whitney had become this magnificent woman. You just depend on God and his wisdom. He will never lead you astray. And remember, you can always come home.

Whitney smiled, her eyes welling up knowing that her carefully laid plan had failed miserably. She should have realized that her mother would know what she was thinking and feeling. Neither she nor any of her nine brothers had ever been able to get away with wrongdoing. They always got caught. And because Whitney was the only girl child, she was extremely close to her mother and the apple of her daddy’s eye.

***

The summer flew by, and before she knew it, the time to leave for school had come. Whitney soon realized the trials of being a full-time mother. She was already familiar with Joseph’s moods and attitudes, but knowing that from now until forever she would be his mother and he would be her sole responsibly came with a lot of pressure. But she was determined that this was a task that she would not relinquish and could not fail at.

Joe, we need your help up here! Pam yelled.

Pam’s husband came around the corner and entered Whitney’s room, looking pitiful, he was distressed into silence when it hit him that the time had come for his little girl, his baby, to leave the nest.

They had just returned from a trip over to Tiffany’s mother’s house to gather some of Joseph’s belongings. What they thought would be an ordeal had been disgustingly easy. When they arrived, Amanda Addams opened the door to her home, and without so much as a hello, she pointed to a back bedroom behind the stairway and allowed the Cole’s to enter and get whatever they wanted of Joseph’s clothing and toys. She even offered to help them pack, and if they missed anything, she said she would box it up and leave it on her front porch the next day.

How can anyone be so heartless? Pam breathed as they returned with a packed trunk. Pam was stunned by the cold treatment they had received from a neighbor they had known for decades. They had always been cordial to each other, but now it seemed as if Amanda blamed her for something, when all she was doing was trying to support her grandson. The attitude that Amanda had taken toward her and Whitney was shocking, but the indifference she showed Joseph, who was just an innocent little boy, was heartbreaking.

Joe, why are you just standing there? Please help us with this luggage, Pam said, running around the room and gathering stray clothing that didn’t make the cut and wasn’t going into the luggage.

Stress can kill ya, he said. It was his favorite saying, and he used it whenever Pam yelled at him about not doing something or doing it too slow.

Why do you always say that? What does stress have to do with anything?

Well, look at the way you’re running around this room and getting nothing done in the process, he said pointing to the poorly used material in her hand, nothing, except destroying that T-shirt.

Pam looked down at her hands, at the remains of a once perfectly pressed T-shirt, and saw that she had wrung it into a tight ball. Touché, she said, giving her husband a point in that round and then she let out an anguished sigh. My baby is leaving me, she said pitifully by way of explanation.

Ah, Ma, I’m not leaving—I’m just going away to school. Joseph and I will be fine.

Things are just not going to be the same, Joe said, taking both his wife and his daughter into his arms for a group hug.

***

On her way to her new life, Whitney stared, wide eyed, at all of the scenery passing by the rapidly moving car. She couldn’t wait to get to her new school and to her new apartment.

Finally, the car came to a stop. She looked out of the window, to take in her surroundings and realized that they had arrived. Oh my, she thought, with wide eyes, as she looked up at the main building, which encompassed half of the main campus. Whitney had thought she was ready for university life until she stepped out of her parents’ car and viewed the four-story building that would house most of her classes; this campus would be her second home for the next four years.

It’s going to be great, Whitney murmured as she stood there, contemplating her past and planning her future.

She couldn’t wait to surprise Brian with the news that she was now enrolled in the same university as he was. But she was also apprehensive about what his reaction would be when he found out that she was going to be raising a three-year-old with chubby cheeks and a sweet disposition.

Momma, said the beautiful little boy from inside the car.

Whitney turned from staring at the large building and marveled at Joseph. She still couldn’t believe the difference this child had made in her life. In just two short months her whole world had been rearranged, and she was content to go with the flow. She could still remember the day when Joseph had caught her by the hand and asked her as casually as if he was asking for the salt, Are you going to be my mommy now? Her heart had stopped, and tears had sprung to her eyes. What this child had gone through in his short life she would not wish on anyone. Whitney couldn’t stand the thought of Joseph being thrown around from person to person, to anyone who would keep him. She knew that that is what would happen if she didn’t do something to stop it. Joseph had learned to adjust to change quickly. Well, no more, Whitney had thought to herself. The buck stops here. Whitney hugged Joseph tightly, Yes, I’m your mommy, and you’re going to stay with me, OK? she’d replied.

OK, I like you, Joseph had said, still holding Whitney’s hand. From that day on, without any prodding, he had taken it upon himself to call her momma. Just like he was now.

I’m coming, honey, Whitney said, answering his summons. She climbed back into the car, and they continued on to the small studio apartment where she and her son would be living for the next four years while she attended college.

Chapter Two

Heads up! Judah shouted as he ran toward the basketball hoop and leaped to make a dunk. Soaring from the three-point line and gliding toward the basket, he waited until his wrists touched the metal of the hoop before tossing the basketball home to tie the score.

Judah was determined to beat his father for once in his life playing basketball. And his father, Martin, was just as determined not to let his son win. So they battled it out in the usual one-on-one basketball game they played every time Judah came home to visit.

"You can’t beat the teacher; I’ve got tricks you haven’t seen