A Christmas Prayer Read online

“She’s been pretty lonely since my dad passed away, and I sort of feel bad about leaving her alone during the holidays.”

  Alexis knew a number of women who’d lost their husbands, but none of them had moved in with their children. Chase’s dad had passed two years ago, so Alexis wondered why Geneva was still living with Chase. If she’d been ill or didn’t have the financial means to take care of herself, Alexis could understand it, but Geneva had a huge mansion of her own and was extremely wealthy. Not to mention, the woman was sixty-five years old and feistier than most forty-year-old women. She was headstrong and noticeably independent, so none of this made sense.

  Chase continued. “Since I’m her only child, I’m all she has. But she’s definitely moving out before our wedding. She’s already promised.”

  Alexis didn’t say anything, but now she was sorry she’d agreed to go to breakfast with him. She fully understood how much Chase loved his mom, and she had the utmost respect for any man who took care of his mother the way Chase did, but Geneva Dupont was a real handful and one of the most controlling mothers Alexis had met. Geneva also didn’t seem too fond of the idea that Chase had asked Alexis to marry him, but in front of Chase, she pretended she was ecstatic about it.

  Just as Alexis got up to go take a shower, Chase’s phone rang again. She knew it was Geneva, because whenever Chase didn’t answer his phone, his mother waited maybe five minutes to call him again. Sometimes she called back within seconds. She did this sort of thing all the time, calling him for no reason—especially when she knew he was visiting Alexis or they were out somewhere together.

  He finally answered. “Hey, Mother…no, it was in my jacket, and I didn’t get to it in time,” he said, looking at Alexis.

  Alexis shook her head and left the bedroom. She’d do anything to get out of going to breakfast with this woman, but she didn’t want to disappoint Chase. All she could hope for was that her time with Geneva wouldn’t be as bad as she was imagining. Maybe Geneva would treat her nicely for a change. It would take a miracle, but that’s what Alexis was counting on.

  Chapter 3

  Geneva walked ahead of Chase and Alexis, but then stopped when they approached the entrance of The Tuxson, waiting for Chase to open the door for her. No one would realize it, but what Alexis had figured out months ago was that part of the reason Geneva usually walked so far ahead of them whenever they went out to eat or even to church was because she wanted to make sure Chase opened the door for her first and then just held it for Alexis. It was the kind of petty thing that most people wouldn’t care the least bit about, but you had to know Geneva to understand it.

  As they walked closer to the maître d’, Geneva stepped to the side, admiring herself. She glanced down at her red-bottom shoes and then at her black St. John pantsuit, confirming that nothing was out of place. She even stroked both sides of her thick salt-and-pepper mane, which was pulled back in a classic bun. Alexis had never met anyone so vain. The other thing that bothered Alexis was that whenever Geneva went to breakfast, lunch, or dinner with them, it always had to be at The Tuxson. Alexis loved The Tuxson as well, but did they have to go to Mitchell’s most exquisite restaurant just to have breakfast? Especially since Mitchell had more than enough mom-and-pop diners to choose from. These were diners that had some of the tastiest food, too. But no. Geneva Dupont wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that, because it was beneath her.

  “If you’ll follow me,” the fiftyish man said.

  As they wound their way through a fairly full dining room, Geneva smiled widely and waved at a table full of socialites she’d spied. They smiled and waved back, and there was no mistaking that they were just as uppity as Geneva.

  The maître d’ pulled out a chair for Geneva, and Chase pulled out the one directly across the table for Alexis.

  Geneva sat down and then said, “Why don’t you let the man do his job, Chase? He’s always trying to help with something.” She smiled at the maître d’.

  “Uh, yes, ma’am,” the man said, clearly feeling awkward. He paused and then said, “Your waitress will be with you shortly.”

  Wow. So now Geneva didn’t want Chase pulling out a chair for Alexis? His own fiancée? This woman was hopeless.

  Geneva set her Chanel bag on the empty seat adjacent to her, and just so there wouldn’t be any questions or drama about Alexis laying her handbag on top of it, Alexis hung hers on the back of her chair. She sort of wished they weren’t sitting face-to-face, but then Alexis also wouldn’t want to sit elbow to elbow with her. So maybe it was best that Chase was slightly sitting between them.

  Chase picked up his menu. “They have some great specials today. I think I’ll have the rib eye and egg entrée.

  “Steak this early in the morning?” Alexis said, scanning her own menu.

  “That’s the thing about menus,” Geneva said without ever looking up to acknowledge Alexis. “They have lots of variety so folks can choose whatever they want.”

  Alexis took a deep breath. “I wasn’t suggesting that Chase not get what he wants. I was just asking a question.”

  Geneva ignored her and kept looking at her menu.

  Chase tried to brighten the mood. “What about you, baby?” he said to Alexis. “What’re you having?”

  “Not sure yet.”

  “Hello,” a redheaded woman with layers of curly hair said, moving toward and standing between Chase and Geneva. “I’m Pamela, and I’ll be your server this morning. Our specials are listed in your menus, but can I start you off with something to drink?”

  “I’ll have some coffee,” Geneva told her.

  “I’ll have apple juice,” Alexis said.

  “Coffee for me,” Chase added.

  “Are you ready to order or do you need a few more minutes?”

  Chase looked at Alexis. “Baby, have you decided?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “What about you, Mother?” he said.

  Geneva nodded and then spoke directly to Pamela. “I believe I’ll have your veggie omelet.”

  “And you?” Pamela said to Alexis.

  “I’ll have the same.”

  Geneva locked eyes with Alexis but then quickly looked back at Pamela. “On second thought, I’ll take your eggs Benedict.”

  Alexis wanted to crack up laughing. Geneva was so immature sometimes, and as Alexis looked at Chase she could tell he had no clue that the reason his mother had suddenly changed her mind was because she just couldn’t see choosing the same thing Alexis had chosen.

  “I’ll have the steak and eggs,” Chase said.

  “With the rib eye or sirloin?”

  “Rib eye.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll get this ordered for you right away.”

  Geneva watched the woman leave the table and pursed her lips. “She’s not the classiest person I’ve seen working here. Good help must be hard to find these days.”

  “Mother, please,” Chase said.

  “What? This is a very upscale establishment, and normally they don’t hire women like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Those with tons of wild hair hanging all over the place.”

  Chase shook his head but then turned to Alexis.

  “So how are you feeling?”

  “Better—”

  “Now, how long has your mother been dead, exactly?” Geneva interrupted. “Did you say five years?”

  Alexis swallowed hard. “Yes.”

  “Didn’t you say your dad passed away years ago as well?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  “Hmmm…must be hard having to celebrate the holidays without either of your parents. It’s really too bad, because the holidays just don’t mean very much when you don’t have family.”

  “Mother,” Chase said, leaning back in his chair, “Lexi has plenty of family. She’s got her sister and niece and all her aunts and uncles. She also has us.”

  “It’s still not the same as having parents or children. Because if you don’t have thos
e, then what’s the point?”

  Alexis fought back tears, and she was so disappointed in herself for letting this woman get to her this way.

  “And anyway,” Geneva went on, “why do you keep calling a grown woman Lexi? Her parents named her Alexis, so I would imagine that this is what she prefers to be called.”

  Chase grabbed Alexis’s hand and squeezed it. “It’s my pet name for her, Mother, and Lexi doesn’t mind me calling her that at all.”

  Chase smiled at Alexis, but she wanted to sob real tears. All she could think about were her parents, particularly her mother, and how Geneva’s words were tearing her apart.

  Pamela brought their coffee and juice to the table and walked away again.

  Geneva shook her head. “I really should say something to the manager.”

  “About what?” Chase asked.

  “Their hiring practices. They need to stick with clean-cut staff members. It’s so much more appropriate.”

  “Mother, I really wish you wouldn’t.”

  “So, Alexis,” Geneva said, ignoring him. “Are you going to the mother-daughter ornament exchange the church is having? Oh, wait a minute.” She covered her mouth. “I keep forgetting. You don’t have a mother. Can you ever forgive me?”

  Alexis pulled her hand away from Chase, snatched her handbag from the chair, and rushed toward the ladies’ room. Tears rolled down her face, and once inside she slipped into a stall and closed the door behind her.

  If only her mom were here, she wouldn’t have to feel this way and not even the likes of Geneva would be able to hurt her. Worse, as much as she loved Chase and wanted to be his wife, she was now having second thoughts about it because of his mother. Alexis just wasn’t sure she could continue putting up with all her criticism and rude comments, and she certainly couldn’t imagine living under the same roof with that woman. Whenever the subject came up, Chase insisted that Geneva would be moving back to her own home very soon, but Alexis wasn’t so sure that would happen.

  Alexis sniffled, wiped her face with both hands, and tried to pull herself together. Then she heard a knock at the door.

  “Baby, it’s me,” Chase said. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ll be out in a few minutes,” she said, glad no one else had come into the bathroom. She knew it was only a matter of time before someone did, so she walked out of the stall.

  “I’ll wait here for you.”

  Alexis picked up a napkin from the stack sitting on the vanity, wet it, and patted her face with it. She patted it once more with a dry one and pulled out her pressed face powder sponge to freshen up. Next, she touched up her lipstick, took a deep breath, and left the restroom.

  Chase hugged her. “Baby, I’m really sorry about all my mother’s questions. I’m sorry for everything she said. Sometimes she just doesn’t think.”

  Alexis hugged him back, but what bothered her was the fact that Chase seemingly had no idea that his mother had made those hurtful comments and asked those questions on purpose. She’d known all along that if she wanted to get the best of Alexis, bringing up the loss of her mother would do it.

  They walked back to the table and sat down.

  “Alexis, I am so, so sorry that my questions upset you, and I pray you can forgive me. I certainly didn’t mean anything by them, and my hope is that once you and Chase are married, you’ll see me as your mother figure. Because I would really like that.”

  Alexis gazed at her and then at Chase, who clearly believed his mother was being genuine. So for the sake of keeping peace, Alexis went along with her future mother-in-law’s charade.

  “I’d really like that, too,” she said, forcing a smile and then looking down at her food. Alexis hadn’t meant a word she’d said, though. But neither had Geneva, so as far as Alexis was concerned, they were even—until next time.

  Chapter 4

  There was nothing like being in the house of the Lord, and Alexis was happy to be at church this morning. She was also glad to have Chase sitting next to her. Incidentally, this was where they’d first met. Their pastor, Reverend Curtis Black, had introduced them during Bible Study, and their chemistry had been immediate. Alexis remembered how she’d barely been able to take her eyes off Chase, and he’d seemed just as smitten with her. To this day, she still wasn’t sure why Pastor Black had thought they would be a good match, but a little over a year ago, she’d scheduled a counseling session with him to talk about all the sadness she was still feeling, and he’d ended by saying he wanted her to meet someone. In all honesty, meeting a man had been the last thing she’d wanted to do, what with the number of blind dates she’d gone on that had turned out to be total flops, and it was because of this that she’d basically given up on ever finding her soul mate. But Pastor Black had promised her that if she just gave Chase a chance, she wouldn’t be sorry.

  Then, as it had turned out, Pastor Black had told Chase that he’d been looking in all the wrong places for the right woman, and that it was time he met the one he was going to marry. Chase had known Pastor Black for years, and although Alexis hadn’t been aware of it at the time, Pastor Black was Chase’s personal spiritual adviser. Chase was responsible for making countless multimillion-dollar decisions that affected thousands of Borg-Freeman employees, along with the local economy and the company as a whole, and Pastor Black prayed with him and advised him often. It was amazing how much of a difference one year could make, and Alexis would always be thankful to Pastor Black for his wisdom and for bringing them together.

  The Deliverance Outreach Mass Choir sang “Grateful,” and just like every other time Alexis heard it, tears streamed down her face. It was such a beautiful song, and there were days when she so needed to be reminded of just how blessed she was, she would search YouTube to hear Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Crusade Choir singing it. She always wept with joy, because it was so easy to focus on problems, when in reality, she just needed to be thankful.

  Chase handed her one of his monogrammed handkerchiefs and held her hand. His smile always made her feel better, and she wasn’t sure how she could have even considered breaking off their engagement because of his mother. He loved and treated her too well for her to let him go, and somehow she would just have to tolerate Geneva and continue praying that the woman would soon have a change of heart. From the look on her face right now, it wouldn’t be today. She was sitting on the other side of Chase, and as soon as she and Alexis made eye contact, she quickly looked away.

  When the choir finished, Pastor Black walked up the steps and opened his Bible. He quoted his favorite scripture. “Today is the day the Lord hath made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

  “Amen,” most of the congregation said.

  “It is certainly a blessing to stand before you once again on this glorious Sunday morning. I trust that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving?”

  Members of the church nodded their heads and some answered out loud. Alexis couldn’t help thinking about her friend Paula and so many other women in the church who constantly talked about how handsome Pastor Black was. There was no denying that it was true, but Alexis tried her best to focus only on his qualities as her pastor and not on how good he looked.

  “Our family did as well,” he said, “and although in last week’s sermon I did talk quite a bit about being thankful, today I want to talk about what it actually means to be grateful. Saying we’re grateful and truly being grateful are two different things, and sometimes I’m not sure many of us can distinguish one from the other. It’s so easy to get caught up in our problems, issues, sad feelings, and the terrible pain we sometimes experience, and this is how we begin to dwell on all the negative aspects of our lives. It becomes the norm for us, and the next thing we know, we find ourselves in a rut. Sometimes the rut is so deep that we can’t even hope our way out of it. But the good news is this: Even when we can’t hope our way out, we can always pray our way out of anything.”

  There was thunderous applause and lots of Amens.
r />   “In Matthew seven, verses seven through eight, Jesus says, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened,’” Pastor Black said, turning the pages of his Bible. “And then there’s Philippians chapter four, verses six through seven, which says, ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ So you see, prayer can and will change everything in your life. There is no problem too large for God, and sometimes I think we tend to forget that, too. There’s not a single thing He can’t handle, but you have to pray without ceasing. You have to pray and believe and stop holding your own personal pity parties. Life is much too short for that. God wants the best for us, He loves us, and He wants us to be happy.”

  Alexis nodded and applauded Pastor Black’s words along with everyone else. He was so right about all that he was saying, and this was definitely a sermon Alexis needed to hear. She’d just been thinking similar thoughts when the choir was singing, but Pastor Black had brought the whole idea and benefit of prayer to the forefront.

  A half hour later, when Pastor Black finished his message and closed his Bible, he said, “Before I end, there’s something I want each of you to do. I want you to write a Christmas prayer. I know we’ve not done anything like this in the past, but this year, I really believe it will help all of us. As you know, the holidays can be hard for those who have lost loved ones. Even for Charlotte and me, last Christmas was the toughest holiday we experienced because we were estranged from our son and grandson. Thank God, they are back with us, but it was then that I realized that loss of any kind can cause major depression and heartache. Then, of course, years ago when we lost our little girl, Marissa, it took what seemed like forever before we fully enjoyed the holidays again. But whether a person is dealing with the loss of a loved one, illness, financial problems, or relationship issues, prayer is always the answer.”