see you again.”
“ Stop hogging the bride, kiddo,” Jess complains good-naturedly. “I'm her ancestor too, you know.”
Caylin laughs and steps back, giving Jess room to take her place in my arms.
“It's so good to finally meet you, Anna,” Jess says before releasing me. “It's been a long time coming.”
“ It's nice to finally meet the two of you too,” I tell them.
“ Where is she?” A woman says loudly from the depths of the home’s interior.
Two beautiful black women walk up the hallway from the back of the house. One is dressed in a pair of jeans and a nice dark blue shirt while the other is dressed in an old-fashioned dress with a black and red rose print pattern. I remember seeing the first woman in Malcolm's memory about Lilly's wedding. She was standing on the dais in the place of the Maid of Honor. The second woman is someone I don't remember ever seeing, but I instantly feel like I know her.
“ There's my baby girl,” the older of the two women says, taking me into her arms. “Oh Anna, it's been too long.”
After the woman lets me go and steps back, I look at her face and can't seem to shake a sense of déjà vu.
“How do I know you?” I ask.
“ You and I spent a great deal of time together before you were sent to Earth,” the woman says. “My name is Utha Mae, Anna.”
“ Were you the one Will and I stayed with while I was here?” I ask, remembering Will mention someone very special taking care of me while I was in Heaven.
“ Yes, I was,” Utha Mae says proudly. She begins to look me up and down with a look of pride on her face. If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought she was my mother. “I knew you would grow up to be a beautiful woman, inside and out. Malcolm sure is a lucky man. He gets someone with beauty, smarts, and the purest heart of anyone I've ever met.”
“ Has that man been treating you better?” The young black woman asks. “Cause if he isn't, I'll find me a way to get back to Earth and kick some sense into him.”
“ Get in line, Tara,” Jess says. “If anyone gets to kick Malcolm's ass, it's me.”
“ Uh,” I say, trying not to laugh at their eagerness to do bodily harm to Malcolm. “He's treating me very well. There isn't any need for a Heavenly intervention.”
Jess groans her disappointment. “Man, I was really hoping you would say something different. I've been waiting for a good reason to ask God to send me back to Earth for a visit.”
“ You're just jealous that we can go back anytime we want,” Caylin teases.
“ I'm totally jealous!” Jess admits. “But I bet if I have a good enough reason, God won't deny me the chance to go back. At least he better not if he wants Heaven to remain peaceful or in one piece.”
I look at the women standing before me and can’t help but notice someone very important missing from the greeting party.
I look over at Lilly and ask, “Is my mother here?”
I can tell Lilly was waiting for me to ask this particular question and feel a slight tension enter the merriment of the moment.
“No,” Lilly answers, “Amalie isn’t here.”
“ Why?” I ask, feeling my heart drop inside my chest at the possibility that my own mother doesn’t want to see me.
Lilly seems at a loss to know how to answer my question.
So, Utha Mae tries.
“ I’m sure she just needs some time, baby girl,” Utha Mae tells me. “Let’s be patient. She still has a while yet to show up.”
I hold back my tears of disappointment and try to preserve the joy of the moment. But, why wouldn’t my own mother want to see me? Did she feel like my birth cheated her out of a real life? Did she regret not doing what Lucifer suggested and abort me so they could be together? There really wasn’t any way for me to ask these questions to those present. How could they know what my mother was thinking?
“ Who’s ready to eat?” Tara says in what I can only assume is an attempt to quickly change the subject.
“
“ Stop hogging the bride, kiddo,” Jess complains good-naturedly. “I'm her ancestor too, you know.”
Caylin laughs and steps back, giving Jess room to take her place in my arms.
“It's so good to finally meet you, Anna,” Jess says before releasing me. “It's been a long time coming.”
“ It's nice to finally meet the two of you too,” I tell them.
“ Where is she?” A woman says loudly from the depths of the home’s interior.
Two beautiful black women walk up the hallway from the back of the house. One is dressed in a pair of jeans and a nice dark blue shirt while the other is dressed in an old-fashioned dress with a black and red rose print pattern. I remember seeing the first woman in Malcolm's memory about Lilly's wedding. She was standing on the dais in the place of the Maid of Honor. The second woman is someone I don't remember ever seeing, but I instantly feel like I know her.
“ There's my baby girl,” the older of the two women says, taking me into her arms. “Oh Anna, it's been too long.”
After the woman lets me go and steps back, I look at her face and can't seem to shake a sense of déjà vu.
“How do I know you?” I ask.
“ You and I spent a great deal of time together before you were sent to Earth,” the woman says. “My name is Utha Mae, Anna.”
“ Were you the one Will and I stayed with while I was here?” I ask, remembering Will mention someone very special taking care of me while I was in Heaven.
“ Yes, I was,” Utha Mae says proudly. She begins to look me up and down with a look of pride on her face. If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought she was my mother. “I knew you would grow up to be a beautiful woman, inside and out. Malcolm sure is a lucky man. He gets someone with beauty, smarts, and the purest heart of anyone I've ever met.”
“ Has that man been treating you better?” The young black woman asks. “Cause if he isn't, I'll find me a way to get back to Earth and kick some sense into him.”
“ Get in line, Tara,” Jess says. “If anyone gets to kick Malcolm's ass, it's me.”
“ Uh,” I say, trying not to laugh at their eagerness to do bodily harm to Malcolm. “He's treating me very well. There isn't any need for a Heavenly intervention.”
Jess groans her disappointment. “Man, I was really hoping you would say something different. I've been waiting for a good reason to ask God to send me back to Earth for a visit.”
“ You're just jealous that we can go back anytime we want,” Caylin teases.
“ I'm totally jealous!” Jess admits. “But I bet if I have a good enough reason, God won't deny me the chance to go back. At least he better not if he wants Heaven to remain peaceful or in one piece.”
I look at the women standing before me and can’t help but notice someone very important missing from the greeting party.
I look over at Lilly and ask, “Is my mother here?”
I can tell Lilly was waiting for me to ask this particular question and feel a slight tension enter the merriment of the moment.
“No,” Lilly answers, “Amalie isn’t here.”
“ Why?” I ask, feeling my heart drop inside my chest at the possibility that my own mother doesn’t want to see me.
Lilly seems at a loss to know how to answer my question.
So, Utha Mae tries.
“ I’m sure she just needs some time, baby girl,” Utha Mae tells me. “Let’s be patient. She still has a while yet to show up.”
I hold back my tears of disappointment and try to preserve the joy of the moment. But, why wouldn’t my own mother want to see me? Did she feel like my birth cheated her out of a real life? Did she regret not doing what Lucifer suggested and abort me so they could be together? There really wasn’t any way for me to ask these questions to those present. How could they know what my mother was thinking?
“ Who’s ready to eat?” Tara says in what I can only assume is an attempt to quickly change the subject.
“
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