Mama B: A Time to Heal: Mama B, #8

By Michelle Stimpson

Mama B's been helping strangers through their issues, but her own daughter may have the biggest problem of them all—a problem with Mama B! When Cassandra invites her mother to a "therapy" session, the accusations launched are enough to send Mama B into a tizzy. Throw in some drama from her new job, the other siblings' knee-jerk responses to Cassandra, and a high-speed chase (at 60 miles per hour), and Mama B's got her hands full trying to keep her family together. But Mama B fans know she has her own way of standing up to a spiritual attack, and it sure don't involve fussin' and arguin' with folk. She knows exactly where to turn for Help.

This is the eighth book in the award-winning, best-selling Christian fiction Mama B series. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read for Joy by MLStimpson Enterprises
• Release date: Apr 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386069119

Michelle Stimpson

Michelle Stimpson is an educational consultant who lives outside Dallas with her husband and two children. She has also served as part of the writing and editing team of Heartbeat magazine, a publication of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas.

Book preview

1

Sometimes, the less you know about people’s business the better. That way you can love ’em without having to force yourself to overlook so much. When people try to tell me somethin’ bad about a third party, and I know good and well it ain’t gon’ do nothin’ but make me look at the absent person cross-eyed, I try to stop the gossip before it even hits my ears.

Yep, that’s what I do.

Normally.

But somehow, this particular day, I musta turned off my gossip radar because before I knew it, my daughter Debra Kay and I had been on the phone for forty minutes just yip-yappin’ about this and that and she told me something about my other daughter I couldn’t shake.

Back up now, Debra Kay. You say Cassandra did what?

Oh. It’s nothing. Really. Debra Kay got real quiet.

When all four of mine were living in the house, I knew there was big trouble when there wasn’t no noise. This was a big flashback moment.

Might as well go ahead and spill the beans now, chile, I told my oldest daughter. She the one who keep me up to speed on everybody in the family anyway.

She sighed.

I snapped my fingers and motioned for my husband, Frank, to turn down the TV so I could hear Debra Kay real good.

Okay. Momma. Cassandra has a boyfriend. And she moved in with him.

She did what?!

Momma. Calm down. He’s a really nice guy, Debra Kay tried to explain.

Nice enough to lead my daughter to a fiery furnace!

Frank put the tube on mute. He turned around from looking at the college basketball game and eyed me with a worried expression on his chocolate-kissed face.

I waved him off and he turned away again as I walked back to our bedroom so I could talk to Debra Kay in private.

"Now, Momma, Cassandra gave this a lot of thought before she decided not to renew the lease on her apartment. She is a grown woman. I think they’ll get married soon. This was their next step toward commitment."

Worse than what was going on with Cassandra was Debra Kay tryin’ to make me see everything was all right. I raised my kids better than this. And wrong is wrong whether you’re twenty-five or fifty-five. Matter of fact, it’s worse when you’re fifty-five ’cause you can’t even blame it on being young and foolish.

How long she been in this arrangement? I demanded to know. My reflection in the bedroom mirror showed my body language—hand on my hip, head cocked to the side, and my gray hair seemed to know something was off kilter by the numerous out-of-place strands.

She’s been living with Jake for about three months, Debra Kay said softly.

"And just when was y’all gon’ tell me about this here situation?"

Debra Kay mumbled something I couldn’t quite make out, but she might as well have said the word ‘never.’

I hadn’t heard Cassandra utter no ‘Jake’ name under no circumstances. She was keeping him a secret from me altogether, I suppose.

I think they’re going to set a wedding date soon, though, Momma, Debra offered again.

"I hope they don’t set no wedding date. Only date Cassandra needs is a move-out date, far as I’m concerned."

That’s the thing, Momma, this doesn’t concern you at all, Debra Kay said.

My mouth dropped. How you figure this don’t concern me? She still my daughter.

Cassandra is grown. She’s old enough to make her own choices. She can do whatever she likes. She doesn’t need a lecture, a Sunday School lesson, or a Scripture right now.

I sat down on the edge of my bed. If this ain’t some kum-ba-ya, tree-huggin’ sixties stuff, I don’t know what is. Well, what you reckon she needs right now?

Nothing. Just love.

When you love someone, you tell them the truth. Especially when it’s your child, I told Debra Kay. "Now, I don’t know what you been tellin’ her in these last three months and in the months before she made this ridiculous move with this Jake joker, but I sure hope it wasn’t all this do-what-you-wanna-do philosophy you just tried to give me, ’cause that philosophy is gonna land your sister in a world of trouble. She knows better. And you know better, too. I’m surprised at you, Debra Kay."

My oldest daughter sighed. You know, I walk a fine line between you and Cassandra. I always have. It’s like I’m always protecting you two from each other.

What? I stood up. How you protecting her from me and vice versa?

I…look, Momma, you and Cassandra have a lot of issues to be resolved.

Issues?

"Yes. Issues, she repeated. I can’t be in the middle of y’all anymore. So, listen, I didn’t mean to tell you about her living with Jake, I’m sorry. That just slipped out. I’m going to call her now and let her know what happened. Whatever you want to say to her, just give me about ten minutes to prepare her. But I’m out of this…thing between you and Cassandra. I gotta go."

Wait, Debra Kay. What issues?

That’s for you two to work out. I’ll talk to you later, Momma. Bye.

Well, not only was I flabbergasted about Cassandra living with a man, I was dumbfounded by this notion that there was a problem with me and Cassandra and Debra Kay had been running interference all her life. What in the world?

I started to call Son and ask his opinion, but I changed my mind. Son got loose lips. He doesn’t know how to keep conversations private. Come to think of it, he probably didn’t know nothin’ more about Cassandra living with this Jake joker than I did.

My other son, Otha, might have known. He’s my out there child, moved out the house soon as he could and didn’t look back often.

Does Otha have a problem with me, too? What else don’t I know about my own children?

I quickly gave him a call, just testing the waters.

Hey, Momma, he answered quickly. How are you?

I’m good, Otha. You?

Same old same old. You all right? Frank good? Everything all right?

His questions eased my mind. He cared. And I should have known that already. Otha was too fancy-free to hold grudges and keep secrets. Everybody’s good. I was just calling to check on you. What you been up to?

Otha filled me in on some things at his job and his plans to visit Dubai next year.

While you makin’ all these plans to go overseas, you plan on coming home for Thanksgiving?

Probably. Depends on if I can get all the time off I want, he said.

I understand, I told him. But I’d love to have you here.

I’ll do my best.

I trust you will. You talked to your sisters or your brother lately?

Yeah, I talked to Son. He says he’s doing better, taking things easier since his heart attack.

Mmm hmmm, I had to agree, he sure is.

I talked to Debra Kay about two weeks ago, just catching up. I called Cassandra for her birthday, but somebody else answered and said I had the wrong number, so I left her a message on her cell phone instead of the landline. She must have finally gotten rid of that ancient thing, huh?

Yeah, apparently so, I said. I should have realized Otha wouldn’t know, either. This girl done left everybody in the dark.

Alrighty then. Well, it was good talking to you.

I love you, Momma.

Love you, too, son. Good night.

I wanted to ask him more questions. Did he know that Cassandra had an issue with me? Did he feel Debra Kay was the referee between me and Cassandra?

But I didn’t want to burden him. Otha was a good son. No need getting him involved in all this, whatever this was.

I was tired of wondering about it all, and ten minutes had passed since I spoke to Debra Kay, so I went ahead and gave Cassandra a call.

After one ring, I was sent straight to voice mail.

Frank tip-toed into the room, a worried expression on his dark, smooth face. You okay?

I held the phone in my hands still. I thought I was until that conversation with Debra Kay.

Frank sat next to me and put an arm around my shoulder. His embrace was comforting, reminded me that all was not out of order in my life.

What’s going on?

I sighed. Cassandra’s moved in with some man. And Debra Kay says me and Cassandra got issues.

Frank rubbed my arm but didn’t say anything.

Can you believe these things? I asked him.

Which thing?

Both of ’em! I said.

He shrugged. M-maybe? I guess.

I jerked to the side, taking him head-on. What you mean, you can believe it?

B, you and I both been alive long enough to be surprised by very little. Cassandra is in her fifties, but people can lose their way at any time. As for the second thing, I don’t see you talking to Cassandra much, even when you’re in the same room together. Not like you and Debra Kay. So, I guess I can see that there might be something there. What do you think?

I shook my head. I don’t even know. Ain’t but one place for me to start looking for answers, and that’s in my prayer closet.

2

Two days had passed, and Cassandra still hadn’t returned any of my calls or texts. According to Debra Kay, Cassandra wasn’t talking to her, either, since she’d accidentally told me about this flim-flam-foolery with Jake.

In those two days, I’d done little more than talk to the Lord and clean up the house. Saturday morning, when I was taking every dish