Passing through Perfect (Wyattsville #3)(39)

They’s my life. Them two is my reason enough for getting up in the morning. I can’t think what a day would be like without seeing Delia standing at the stove with the coffee pot already bubbling or coming home in the evening and not hearing her tell Isaac them fanciful tales of hers.

If ever there was two people what deserve to live it’s Delia ’n Isaac. Isaac, he’s just a baby, he ain’t even had time to sin. And Delia ain’t never done one wrong thing in her life. It was me what pushed her into loving before we was married. I been down on my knees asking God to punish me instead of her.

Please, God, I say, let Delia ’n Isaac live; then you can do what you will with me. Hell with all its fire ’n brimstone can’t be no worse than this.





And Then Sorrow





It was near dawn when Doctor Goldsmith came to Benjamin in the waiting room.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I did what I could, but your wife’s injuries were too severe.”

You could almost hear the crack of Benjamin’s heart breaking. “What about Isaac? Is he okay?”

“He will be,” Goldsmith answered. “He suffered a pretty bad concussion and a broken leg, so I’m afraid he’ll be walking on crutches for a while.”

Benjamin bowed his head. “Thank you, sir. I know you tried to save my Delia, and I’m mighty grateful for that.”

“Would you like to say goodbye to her?” Goldsmith asked. His voice was soft and respectful, not what Benjamin would have expected.

“Yes, sir, I would,” he answered.

Doctor Goldsmith had a nurse take him back to the room where they’d left Delia. She was lying on a table with a clean white sheet covering her body. Only her swollen head was visible.

“Lord God, baby,” Benjamin moaned. “Who did this awful thing to you?”

Benjamin reached beneath the sheet and lifted her hand into his. It was cold and heavy, the fingers stiff and curled inward. He stood there for a long time, tears rolling down his face as he swore to Delia that he would never stop loving her and he would care for their son as long as there was breath in his body. Moments before he left the room, he bent and kissed her mouth. It too was cold and hard, nothing like the lips he had kissed every day for more than a decade. When the agony of such a loss became too great to bear, Benjamin closed his eyes and stumbled from the room. He walked with a shuffling step and his back hunched. Painful as the grief of this night was, Benjamin knew the worst was yet to come.

~

Isaac was still in the hospital the next day when they buried Delia, and Benjamin was thankful for that. He had no wish to share such sorrow with the boy. Isaac would have time enough to grieve. He’d have a lifetime to remember the horror of that night; there was no need to pile this misery onto the load he’d be carrying.

Luella came and stood beside Benjamin as a number of people stepped forward to say prayers and speak of what a wonderful woman Delia was.

“I ain’t never knowed a more kindly woman,” Bessie said. “The Lord is surely settin’ a place for her at His table.”

There was a chorus of halleluiahs and amens; then Luella stepped forward.

“There’s not one here who Delia ain’t helped out some time or another,” she said. “Now we got to repay them kindnesses! We got to see Benjamin and Isaac is taken care of.”

Another chorus of halleluiahs and amens echoed.

Benjamin was the last to speak. His voice trembled, and several times he had to stop because the lump in his throat was in the way of words. After saying how blessed he’d been to have Delia as his wife, he thanked the Lord for saving Isaac. He tilted his face to the heavens and said, “Lord Jesus, I know the Bible says vengeance is thine, but I got to lend a hand here. You got my Delia safe in your arms, but that bastard what did this to her is still walking the earth and he’s gotta pay.”

“Brother Benjamin,” Pastor John said, “it ain’t our place to right the wrongs of this world.” He was going to recite a passage from the Book of Isaiah, but by then Benjamin had turned and walked away.

Luella ran after him and grabbed onto his arm. “Benjamin,” she pleaded, “you got to let the law take care a’ this. Isaac needs family, and he ain’t got nobody but you. If you get your fool self killed—”

“I ain’t gonna get killed,” Benjamin answered and shook loose his arm.

~

Later that afternoon Benjamin returned to the hospital. At first it appeared Isaac was sleeping, but when he entered the room the boy opened his eyes.

“Hey, Daddy.”

In three long strides Benjamin crossed the room, then leaned over and kissed his son on the forehead. “How you feeling?”

“I ain’t too good,” Isaac answered. “My leg ain’t moving.”

Benjamin nodded. “I know. It’s broken, but the doctor says you’ll be good as new in time.”

“Is Mama gonna be good as new too?” Isaac asked.

Benjamin gave a sad shake of his head, then bent and pulled the boy into his arms. For a few moments he held him close, not speaking the words aloud but praying for strength.

“Isaac,” he finally said, “I know how much you love your mama, and she’s got the same love for you. Me and your mama, we’d never do anything to cause you hurt but sometimes things happen and we got no say in—”