Bittersweet Interruptions - Ch. 11
June - Nine months later
“Ma’am, Dr. Foxworth will see you in a minute,” the friendly receptionist said to the businesswoman waiting in the blue and green painted lobby. Both colors were soothing aquatic shades that had been strategically chosen for their ability to promote inner peace. The owners of the business believed that people in pain desperately needed all the peace they could get and from every possible source.
“Thanks so much,” Nyla replied, crossing her shapely legs in the red jeweled buckle suit she wore. Her now completely healthy hair had grown almost down to her shoulders. And instead of wearing her tresses in tiny ethnic twists the way she had for months as they had grown stronger, Nyla wore her hair in a multitude of curls that caressed her heart-shaped face.
Nyla’s presence at the pain management center wasn’t for medical reasons. She was here on business. Her new business to be exact. In the time since that game show, her life had been bombarded with changes.
The first change occurred in Nyla’s spiritual life. By using Proverbs 4:20-27 as a guide for her life, she immersed herself in the Word, keeping the scriptures before her eyes through Bible studies (personal and communal), in her ears through tapes and CDs, and in her mouth by speaking daily confessions.
As a result of doing those before mentioned things, Nyla found herself growing and maturing in leaps and bounds. And despite the challenges of being a single Christian woman, she couldn’t be happier. She really loved the Lord and in the past few months, He’d manifested himself as a very real presence in her life by leading and guiding her in every decision she’d had to make. And that was both personally and professionally. Because of her relationship with God, Nyla was not lonely or needy. In fact, she felt more than complete as an individual right now.
The second change took place in her professional life. Instead of changing her career path, Nyla simply enhanced it by acting on an idea that was birthed on that fateful group date she’d participated in over ten months ago. Now she owned and operated One-Hand-Up, a company that promoted community based programs that rallied businesses and individuals together to sponsor scholarships for local students.
Nyla’s goal was to establish these types of programs in as many American cities as she could. She wanted to prompt the wealthy to help the less fortunate in their communities to rise up from poverty through education.
As a wise businesswoman, she found a way to meet the needs of a largely ignored portion of society and at the same time build up a successful career for herself. Because of Nyla’s fierce dedication to this worthy cause and the fact that her business was solely funded by a percentage of the money she raised, she had more than enough motivation to keep aggressively pushing forward.
****
Meanwhile, Dr. Foxworth rushed into his partner’s office to speak with him. As soon as Kirk saw his friend’s flushed face, he knew something was amiss. “What’s wrong? Is it Bonnie? Is she having the baby now?” Kirk asked. He was more than ready to cancel all of his appointments to be there for his best friend.
Brentt shook his red head of hair and rapidly as he closed the door behind him. “No, it’s nothing like that. Bonnie’s fine. As a matter of fact, I just got off the phone with her. Her mother’s coming for the weekend.” At that reminder, Dr. Foxworth briefly looked up towards heaven and digressed from the current topic for a moment.
God, I know I’m new at this praying thing, but I’m gonna need Your help big time this weekend, Brentt prayed, concerning spending more time with his irritating mother-in-law.
Whenever Dr. Foxworth’s mother-in-law came over to visit, she acted like she didn’t want to leave. Having single-handedly reared her two girls in a low income trailer park for most of their lives, Hilary Collie had been more than pleased when her oldest daughter had met and married the wealthy doctor. Especially since having Brentt as a son-in-law meant that there would be dramatic changes occurring in the whole Collie family lifestyle. Not only was Brentt financing her youngest daughter’s college education, he’d moved Hilary into a nice home of her own.
In spite of all that, Hilary insisted on spending two weekends a month at the Foxworth house even though she lived in the same city, only ten minutes away. Brentt really wouldn’t mind having his mother-in-law around, if she didn’t beg so much or always looked for new reasons to ask them for money. Thank God Bonnie and her younger sister, Roseanne didn’t act like that, otherwise he’d be completely overwhelmed by greedy women.
Then remembering what he’d come in here to do, Brentt got back to the subject at hand. Hastily sitting down in one of the high-back chairs in front of Kirk’s desk, he leaned forward to look at his friend eye-to-eye.
“Remember when you thought we should look into that new community incentive program that some of our colleagues in Georgia have been talking about?”
Kirk nodded. “Yeah, the one that gets wealthy citizens to help send poor students to college.” The one that reminds me so much of Nyla, he mused, recalling that she’d had a similar idea on their group date.
“Exactly,” Brentt said, his green eyes almost as wide as his smile. “Well, the person that runs the company is out in the lobby waiting to see me now.” He paused and sat back in the chair, milking the moment for all its juice, adding to the excitement.
“And…” Kirk said, prompting his friend to get to the point. He’d never seen Brentt this excited before or this drawn out. “Man, come on out with it.”
But Brentt would not comply with his friend’s prodding. He was enjoying this moment far too much take a shortcut. “At first I thought the person coming to see me was a man, because the name on the all correspondence I’ve received said to contact N. Duncan. Well, it’s not. That person’s a woman.” Brentt paused to see if Kirk would make the connection on his own.
When he didn’t see the light of recognition come upon his colleague’s face, Brentt decided to expound. “Dude, N. Duncan is Ny-la Duncan,” he said, putting extra emphasis on the woman’s first name. It never dawned on Brentt that Kirk might not feel the same way about Nyla as he did ten months ago. After all, a lot had changed since then.
Since that group date, Kirk had made a three hundred and sixty degree turnaround in his personal life. He was now a born again Christian. He even witnessed to Brentt and Bonnie who eventually turned their lives over to Christ, too. And now that he seldom dated, Kirk spent much of his free time helping the needy through the various outreaches in his church. Consequently, he has turned into somewhat of a renowned community staple.
On a professional level, Kirk’s company has soared through the roof over the last few months. He and Brentt attribute that increase in business solely to the fact that people prefer receiving treatment for their chronic pain by two praying doctors. Especially since their examining rooms, which contain various framed Bible scriptures and quotes, make no secret of their belief in God’s ability to heal.
“Nyla?!” Kirk choked out. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as his body visibly shuddered with full comprehension of what had just been told to him.
When he finally opened his eyes again, his dark pools were very focused, the way they usually were right before he prepared to go to surgery. Kirk needed his mind just as clear now, lest he wake up and find out that this was all just a dream.
Swallowing the emotional lump in his throat, Kirk asked, “Do you know if she’s married?” God, please don’t let her be married. Please don’t let her be married, he fervently prayed as he waited for Brentt’s answer.
Brentt shook his head. “Although Felisa did call her Ms. Duncan, that doesn’t necessarily mean that she doesn’t have a man in her life.”
“No disrespect, but I could care less about Nyla dating anyone right now. Just as long as she’s not married. If there’s no husband in the picture, then that means that there’s still a chance for me and her,” Kirk said adamantly as he stood up and began to pace the floor with his hands clasped tightly behind his back.
Suddenly, Kirk stopped and faced his friend again. “I never told you this, but I promised myself that if God ever brought Nyla across my path again, and if she was still single, I’d marry her. Besides my mother, that woman has affected my life more than any other woman I know. Because of Nyla, I became more community oriented. And as you well know, when I became more community oriented, I met Rev. Allen at one of my mentorship meetings. God used Rev. Allen to lead me to the Lord. Then I, in turn, led you and Bonnie to the Lord, too.”
“Wow! This woman has affected all of our lives then. No wonder you’ve been turning down dates left and right. In a way, it’s like you’ve been saving yourself for Nyla,” Brentt said, his green eyes still wide with amazement. Most of this was news to him. He’d had no idea of Kirk’s secret promise or of his friend’s new willingness to get married.
Now convinced that this was an opportunity that had been bestowed upon them by fate, Brentt knew that they had to seize this moment. He looked up at his friend with a secretive smile. “Dude, I have an idea that is almost guaranteed to bring out any remaining feelings Nyla may still have for you. In fact, it just might make her yours today,” Brentt said confidently, formulating the plan in his mind even as he spoke.
Kirk smiled and came closer to his friend, patting him on the back. “Now that’s the sign of a true friend. A true friend will tell you exactly what you need to do to get your life-mate. I’m all ears, man.”
“Ma’am, Dr. Foxworth will see you in a minute,” the friendly receptionist said to the businesswoman waiting in the blue and green painted lobby. Both colors were soothing aquatic shades that had been strategically chosen for their ability to promote inner peace. The owners of the business believed that people in pain desperately needed all the peace they could get and from every possible source.
“Thanks so much,” Nyla replied, crossing her shapely legs in the red jeweled buckle suit she wore. Her now completely healthy hair had grown almost down to her shoulders. And instead of wearing her tresses in tiny ethnic twists the way she had for months as they had grown stronger, Nyla wore her hair in a multitude of curls that caressed her heart-shaped face.
Nyla’s presence at the pain management center wasn’t for medical reasons. She was here on business. Her new business to be exact. In the time since that game show, her life had been bombarded with changes.
The first change occurred in Nyla’s spiritual life. By using Proverbs 4:20-27 as a guide for her life, she immersed herself in the Word, keeping the scriptures before her eyes through Bible studies (personal and communal), in her ears through tapes and CDs, and in her mouth by speaking daily confessions.
As a result of doing those before mentioned things, Nyla found herself growing and maturing in leaps and bounds. And despite the challenges of being a single Christian woman, she couldn’t be happier. She really loved the Lord and in the past few months, He’d manifested himself as a very real presence in her life by leading and guiding her in every decision she’d had to make. And that was both personally and professionally. Because of her relationship with God, Nyla was not lonely or needy. In fact, she felt more than complete as an individual right now.
The second change took place in her professional life. Instead of changing her career path, Nyla simply enhanced it by acting on an idea that was birthed on that fateful group date she’d participated in over ten months ago. Now she owned and operated One-Hand-Up, a company that promoted community based programs that rallied businesses and individuals together to sponsor scholarships for local students.
Nyla’s goal was to establish these types of programs in as many American cities as she could. She wanted to prompt the wealthy to help the less fortunate in their communities to rise up from poverty through education.
As a wise businesswoman, she found a way to meet the needs of a largely ignored portion of society and at the same time build up a successful career for herself. Because of Nyla’s fierce dedication to this worthy cause and the fact that her business was solely funded by a percentage of the money she raised, she had more than enough motivation to keep aggressively pushing forward.
****
Meanwhile, Dr. Foxworth rushed into his partner’s office to speak with him. As soon as Kirk saw his friend’s flushed face, he knew something was amiss. “What’s wrong? Is it Bonnie? Is she having the baby now?” Kirk asked. He was more than ready to cancel all of his appointments to be there for his best friend.
Brentt shook his red head of hair and rapidly as he closed the door behind him. “No, it’s nothing like that. Bonnie’s fine. As a matter of fact, I just got off the phone with her. Her mother’s coming for the weekend.” At that reminder, Dr. Foxworth briefly looked up towards heaven and digressed from the current topic for a moment.
God, I know I’m new at this praying thing, but I’m gonna need Your help big time this weekend, Brentt prayed, concerning spending more time with his irritating mother-in-law.
Whenever Dr. Foxworth’s mother-in-law came over to visit, she acted like she didn’t want to leave. Having single-handedly reared her two girls in a low income trailer park for most of their lives, Hilary Collie had been more than pleased when her oldest daughter had met and married the wealthy doctor. Especially since having Brentt as a son-in-law meant that there would be dramatic changes occurring in the whole Collie family lifestyle. Not only was Brentt financing her youngest daughter’s college education, he’d moved Hilary into a nice home of her own.
In spite of all that, Hilary insisted on spending two weekends a month at the Foxworth house even though she lived in the same city, only ten minutes away. Brentt really wouldn’t mind having his mother-in-law around, if she didn’t beg so much or always looked for new reasons to ask them for money. Thank God Bonnie and her younger sister, Roseanne didn’t act like that, otherwise he’d be completely overwhelmed by greedy women.
Then remembering what he’d come in here to do, Brentt got back to the subject at hand. Hastily sitting down in one of the high-back chairs in front of Kirk’s desk, he leaned forward to look at his friend eye-to-eye.
“Remember when you thought we should look into that new community incentive program that some of our colleagues in Georgia have been talking about?”
Kirk nodded. “Yeah, the one that gets wealthy citizens to help send poor students to college.” The one that reminds me so much of Nyla, he mused, recalling that she’d had a similar idea on their group date.
“Exactly,” Brentt said, his green eyes almost as wide as his smile. “Well, the person that runs the company is out in the lobby waiting to see me now.” He paused and sat back in the chair, milking the moment for all its juice, adding to the excitement.
“And…” Kirk said, prompting his friend to get to the point. He’d never seen Brentt this excited before or this drawn out. “Man, come on out with it.”
But Brentt would not comply with his friend’s prodding. He was enjoying this moment far too much take a shortcut. “At first I thought the person coming to see me was a man, because the name on the all correspondence I’ve received said to contact N. Duncan. Well, it’s not. That person’s a woman.” Brentt paused to see if Kirk would make the connection on his own.
When he didn’t see the light of recognition come upon his colleague’s face, Brentt decided to expound. “Dude, N. Duncan is Ny-la Duncan,” he said, putting extra emphasis on the woman’s first name. It never dawned on Brentt that Kirk might not feel the same way about Nyla as he did ten months ago. After all, a lot had changed since then.
Since that group date, Kirk had made a three hundred and sixty degree turnaround in his personal life. He was now a born again Christian. He even witnessed to Brentt and Bonnie who eventually turned their lives over to Christ, too. And now that he seldom dated, Kirk spent much of his free time helping the needy through the various outreaches in his church. Consequently, he has turned into somewhat of a renowned community staple.
On a professional level, Kirk’s company has soared through the roof over the last few months. He and Brentt attribute that increase in business solely to the fact that people prefer receiving treatment for their chronic pain by two praying doctors. Especially since their examining rooms, which contain various framed Bible scriptures and quotes, make no secret of their belief in God’s ability to heal.
“Nyla?!” Kirk choked out. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as his body visibly shuddered with full comprehension of what had just been told to him.
When he finally opened his eyes again, his dark pools were very focused, the way they usually were right before he prepared to go to surgery. Kirk needed his mind just as clear now, lest he wake up and find out that this was all just a dream.
Swallowing the emotional lump in his throat, Kirk asked, “Do you know if she’s married?” God, please don’t let her be married. Please don’t let her be married, he fervently prayed as he waited for Brentt’s answer.
Brentt shook his head. “Although Felisa did call her Ms. Duncan, that doesn’t necessarily mean that she doesn’t have a man in her life.”
“No disrespect, but I could care less about Nyla dating anyone right now. Just as long as she’s not married. If there’s no husband in the picture, then that means that there’s still a chance for me and her,” Kirk said adamantly as he stood up and began to pace the floor with his hands clasped tightly behind his back.
Suddenly, Kirk stopped and faced his friend again. “I never told you this, but I promised myself that if God ever brought Nyla across my path again, and if she was still single, I’d marry her. Besides my mother, that woman has affected my life more than any other woman I know. Because of Nyla, I became more community oriented. And as you well know, when I became more community oriented, I met Rev. Allen at one of my mentorship meetings. God used Rev. Allen to lead me to the Lord. Then I, in turn, led you and Bonnie to the Lord, too.”
“Wow! This woman has affected all of our lives then. No wonder you’ve been turning down dates left and right. In a way, it’s like you’ve been saving yourself for Nyla,” Brentt said, his green eyes still wide with amazement. Most of this was news to him. He’d had no idea of Kirk’s secret promise or of his friend’s new willingness to get married.
Now convinced that this was an opportunity that had been bestowed upon them by fate, Brentt knew that they had to seize this moment. He looked up at his friend with a secretive smile. “Dude, I have an idea that is almost guaranteed to bring out any remaining feelings Nyla may still have for you. In fact, it just might make her yours today,” Brentt said confidently, formulating the plan in his mind even as he spoke.
Kirk smiled and came closer to his friend, patting him on the back. “Now that’s the sign of a true friend. A true friend will tell you exactly what you need to do to get your life-mate. I’m all ears, man.”
© 2006 Suprina Frazier
Comments