The Makeover (59 page)

Paulo shook his
head in awe.

“And next thing
you know, my ex asks
me
of all people to pray for him.  And
together, we prayed for God to forgive us both, for our immoral relationship,
for our own bitterness and ways we had hurt people, and for our pride. 
After that, the Lord led us both in accepting Christ into our hearts!  We
ended up
praying
together all night in my apartment!”

Phoenix’s next
words were drowned out by shouts of praise.

“And we parted
ways this morning in peace.  Not only did God cause me to forgive him and
find closure, but He led us to Christ together, and allowed us to part ways in
peace!  And here I am! A new creation in Christ! God truly gave me the
makeover I’ve been craving!”

Paulo was
sobbing as the congregation came to its feet. 

“And I just
want to share one thing.  I know I hurt my friend so badly, when all he
tried to do was love me, and teach me about loving myself, and letting Christ
love me.  He loved me just the way Jesus loves us, with light and
salt.  I just want to tell you, finally, that I do love you.  And
your prayers have been answered.  Thank you for praying for me!  And
I thank God for sending you and bringing me back to Jesus.  I thank God
for my makeover!”

Phoenix paused
as the congregation applauded thunderously.

Phoenix
swallowed and continued.  “So, please, if you’re someone that is concerned
about your outer appearance, or how much money you have, or your title—none of
that is important!  If you are looking for love in the wrong
places—don’t.  Only God can give you the love you want and the life you
want.  Come to Jesus.”

Phoenix smiled
as the congregation jumped and shouted praise.  She had done it. 
Except she had one more thing to say…

“Thank you
Jesus!  And to my friend, if you still want me, after all I’ve done, I
would be honored to be yours.  I now belong to Jesus again, so I can
belong to you, too.”

And as Phoenix
went back to her seat on the stage, Paulo leaned forward to hug his knees,
sobbing as James patted him on the back.

And as the Lord
used Phoenix’s testimony to bring over seventy people to Christ that evening,
He used it to answer Paulo’s question.

Phoenix was
going to be his wife.

Chapter 30

And we
know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love
God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28).

After the service,
several members of the congregation hugged Phoenix and wished her well. 
The woman who had signed her up to share her testimony met her backstage and
hugged her.  “I wish my granddaughters had been here to listen to your
story.  They are always worried about their appearance, when they need to
be worried about their relationship with Jesus.  I am so glad I obeyed the
Lord and signed you up.”

“Thank you,”
Phoenix beamed.  “I wanted to share what God has done for me in the past
few months.  I also wanted, in front of everyone, to apologize to my
friend.  I hope he forgives me for everything I put him through.”

“I do,” Paulo
said, standing behind Phoenix. 

Phoenix noticed
the woman flash a wide grin.  “I should have known she was talking about
you, since she said her friend owned a fitness center.  God bless you
both.” The woman left them alone.

Paulo grabbed
Phoenix’s hand and looked down at her with flashing eyes.  “You were
amazing.  I had no idea you were going to do that.  I was looking for
you all night.  I thought you’d left because of the way I’d acted.”

Phoenix
laughed.  “I wish I could have, but the Lord told me I had to share my
testimony this evening.”  She hugged him.  “I was so glad to see you
standing in front of the church.  I was so afraid you would miss it.”

“I was so angry
with you.  I might not have come if I had known you were here.  I am
thankful now that I refused to check my messages, even if I was being
immature.”  Paulo’s smile widened.  “But God takes all of our
foolishness and
still
makes use of it.”

Phoenix closed
her eyes.  “I saw that last night first-hand.”

“But, Phoenix,
I’m sorry for judging you, for jumping to conclusions the way I did.  When
I saw you guys hugging, saw his bag, and—”

Phoenix shook
her head.  “Don’t apologize.  When he showed up, that’s exactly what
I had planned, even though it was wrong.  I just wanted to hurt him, and
hurt you too, I think.  I
was
actually going to come back to you
and Cedric just showed up out of nowhere.”

“The enemy
never stops.  Thank God he led us all to keep praying for you.”

Phoenix started
giggling. 

“What’s so
funny, baby?” Paulo whispered.

“I used to call
you, James, and Cara the God Squad.  I felt like you all always knew what
was going on whether I told you or not.  I used to make fun of you all
behind your back.  Now I’m thankful he put a God Squad in my life!”

Paulo laughed
as he hugged his woman.  “I love you, Phoenix.”

“I love you
too, Paulo.”

Paulo
exhaled.  “Say that again, Baby?”

Phoenix cleared
her throat.  “I said, I love you too.  I fell in love with you right
from the beginning.  I am in love with you.”

Paulo hugged
her close.  He ached to kiss her, but remembered where he was.

“Ready to go?”
Paulo whispered.  “I want to spend some time with you.”

“Sure. 
Uh, let’s say goodbye to Cara and James.”

After saying
goodbye, they were on their way.

On their way
uptown, Paulo looked over at Phoenix.  “Are you busy tomorrow after work?”

“No, why?”

“I’d like to go
shopping in Cross County Mall in Yonkers.”

“Sure.” 
Phoenix nodded and chewed her bottom lip. 

She was
wondering how she could get Paulo into
Zales
to look
at engagement rings without being too obvious.

Two weeks
later, it was Valentine’s Day.

Paulo and Phoenix
were headed to her mother’s house in Washington Heights.  They had just
left Mrs. Elias’ house in East Harlem.

“I loved your
mom,” Phoenix said.  “She was wonderful!”

“Yeah,” Paulo
smiled fondly.  “I am glad you both hit it off.  She liked you, I could
tell.”

“Funny thing
is, she reminded me a little of my mom.  They’re about the same size and
complexion.”  Phoenix snorted.  “Except your mom is a lot nicer.”

“I’m sure your
mom will be fine.  I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Thanks for
coming with me today.  I’ve been wanting to talk to her for so long. 
I didn’t want this wedge to last between us.  She just doesn’t forgive
easily and—”

“Really? 
Hmmmm
,” Paulo said with a smirk.

“Yeah, well,
that’s where I get it from,” Phoenix retorted.   “Every time I have
tried to apologize to her in the past, even when she was wrong and hurt me, she
would find a way to continue the argument and make it my fault.  She has
never, ever apologized when she’s hurt me in my entire life.  It’s always
that I’m disrespectful or that God is going to punish me for defying her. 
She never owns up to her faults or the critical way she is.  I just
couldn’t face that as hurt as I was.  I stayed away to avoid saying
something worse.”

“That’s
understandable.  But that is the past.  We’re going to march in
there, introduce me, and mend those broken bonds, alright, Baby?” 

“Yeah, I hope
so.”

Once they
arrived, they prayed together, before exiting the car, and unloading several
bags bearing gifts for Phoenix’s mother and grandmother.

In spite of the
cold, February day, Mr. Rodriguez and Mr.
Kembro
were
outside playing cards.  “Hi, Mr. Rodriguez and Mr.
Kembro
,”
Phoenix walked over to them.

“Hello, young
lady.  Who might you be?” Mr.
Kembro
asked,
barely looking up from his hand.

Phoenix laughed. 
She’d forgotten that it had been six months and sixty pounds since the last
time she’d seen them.  “It’s me, Phoenix.”

Mr.
Kembro
and Mr. Rodriguez eyed her up and down.

“Uh huh,” Mr.
Rodriguez said, “Phoenix who?”

“How many
Phoenixes do you know?” she giggled, eyeing Paulo who winked at her.

“Phoenix Jean-
Baptiste
?” Mr.
Kembro’s
lit
cigarette fell out of his mouth.  “Is that you?  My goodness,
Gal!  You finally done up and lost some weight.  You
lookin
’ mighty fine, Gal.  Mighty fine!”

Mr. Rodriguez
struggled to reach out to hug Phoenix from his spot on his wheelchair. 
Phoenix bent and hugged him tightly.  “You look beautiful,
Mija
.  And who is this gentleman?  I heard
what happened to Cedric.”

Phoenix rolled
her eyes.  “Let’s not bother discussing him.  He’s out of my life for
good.  This is Paulo Elias.  He’s my boyfriend.”

“Well, I’ll
be!” Mr.
Kembro
exclaimed, reaching up to shake
Paulo’s hand.  “You look like a mighty fine gentleman.  Mighty fine!”

After they
exchanged a few more pleasantries and Mr. Rodriguez discussed his latest issues
with diabetes, his recent cataract surgery, and issues at his family’s
restaurant, Phoenix and Paulo were free to head up to see her mother.

Phoenix was
practically nauseous.  She leaned against Paulo, breathing roughly.

“Hey, my baby,”
he crooned, stroking her face with his fingers.  “It’s going to be
fine.  Remember your name.  You have already risen up from the ashes
of your life.  God made sure of it.  Just remember that, Baby, okay?”

As usual, Paulo
knew the right words to say.

They reached
her mother’s floor.  As the elevator opened, Phoenix came face-to-face
with her mother.  Paulo squeezed Phoenix’s hand and pulled her into the
hallway.

Phoenix and her
mother eyed each other for a second.  Her mother squinted and looked her
up and down.

When she
realized, as only a mother could, that the beautiful, svelte woman in front of
her was in fact her daughter, her hands flew to her mouth.  “Fe Fe? 
Is that you?”

“Yes, Ma,”
Phoenix answered shyly.”I’ve, uh, I’ve lost some weight and—”Phoenix took a
step closer to her mother. 

“I missed you
so much!  You look beautiful!” 
Magalie
threw her arms around her daughter’s neck.  “You are
beautiful.   And so skinny!  How much weight have you lost?”

Phoenix
smiled.  “Sixty pounds, Ma.  I’m a size four now.  I work out
daily and eat right, these days.  All because of his help.  He helped
me lose weight, go back to church, and get my life together”

When she
gestured towards Paulo, her mother froze.  “And who are you, Young man?”

Paulo
grinned.  “My name is Paulo Elias, Mrs. Jean-
Baptiste
. 
I am in love with your daughter.”

“What?”
Magalie’s
eyes widened as she took in the tall,
golden-toned man with the gorgeous green eyes, bright smile, curly salt-and
pepper curls, and broad shoulders.  “God bless you, Child!”  She
moved away from the door.  “Come in, come in.”

Phoenix led
Paulo into the apartment.  She greeted her grandmother with a hug, but her
grandmother, Rosemarie, was startled when the strange girl came barreling at
her.

“Who is this?”
she asked
Magalie
in Haitian
Kreyol
.

“
Maman
,
that’s Phoenix.  She has lost a
lot of weight.”

“Oh! 
Phoenix!”  Her grandmother hugged her precious grandchild hard.  “Why
have you stayed away for so long?  I could have been dead by now.”

“I know,
Grandmere
. 
I am so sorry to both you
and Ma for not coming sooner.  I just didn’t want to fight.”

“Well, you were
disrespectful…”
Magalie’s
frown replaced her wide
smile quickly.  “You hurt me a lot.”

“I know,
Ma.  I am sorry for hurting and disrespecting you,” Phoenix responded
ruefully.

“And I would
like to remind you that I
am
your mother.  You have no right to
speak that way to me.”

“Yes,
Ma.”  Phoenix kept her eyes on Paulo’s steady smile to avoid lashing
out. 

“But—”
Magalie
let out a heavy sigh.  “As I see this handsome
young man with you, I realize that I should apologize for what I said to
you.  I was foolish to tell you what I did.”

Phoenix looked
up at her mother in surprise. 

“I was just so
afraid you’d end up alone.  But I am proud of you.  You were willing
to be alone rather than let a man mistreat you.  Maybe if I had stood up
for myself with your father, he would have treated me better.”

Phoenix was
overcome as she hugged her mother.  “Thanks, Ma.  Your apology means
a lot.  But you know what?  I now realize that we are never
alone.  God is willing to be with us if we allow Him.”

Paulo looked on
proudly as his woman made amends and ministered to her mother.

“I know, Fe
Fe
.  I wish I’d known that then.”

Phoenix’s
brother, Charles, returned home from work.

“Look at you!”
He grabbed his sister in a bear hug.  “I am glad you came over.  I
wish I had known.  I got to get to my class.  You look fantastic.”

“When did you
start school?”  Phoenix asked, shocked.

He shook hands
with Paulo before turning back to his sister.  “Just last month.  Mom
kept saying how I needed to be more like you, educated and responsible. 
So I signed up at City College for evening classes! I’m in their physician’s assistant
program.   But listen, I’m coming by this weekend.  We got to
talk.  I’ve been calling you for six months.  Just because you argue
with mom don’t mean you got to have beef with all of us!  There is so much
we
gotta
talk about.  I’m about to be thirty. 
I am throwing a huge party next month and couldn’t even get you on the
phone.  I left so many messages.  I thought you were
gonna
miss my birthday.”