Diamond in a Rough: Prayer Changes Things

By Denea Whitest

Follow Diamond, Sissy, Christina, Leeya, and Desiree through this riveting tale of domestic violence, drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality, and murder that plagues the lives of these five Philadelphia families. Join them as they navigate through the pain, drama, and deceit that each family faces. Diamond, a God-fearing woman, plays an intricate part in each person's life, encouraging them through the message of salvation in Jesus Christ that with God, they are able to see their own worth, potential, and value of a second chance. Just like natural diamonds, they are formed under pressure. Through her own pressures in life, Diamond was not afraid to share her experiences with Sissy, Leeya, and Desiree to show why she is a diamond in the rough.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684569632

Book preview

Scene 1

Sissy Carter was a beautiful five-foot-seven-inch-tall, slender-build thirty-eight-year-old single black female with long, black, curly hair. After a wild night of drinking and partying, Sissy was up early Saturday morning, sitting on the living room sofa suffering from a hangover. Her six-foot-two-inch-tall, 185-pound, stocky-build seventeen-year-old son, Kevin Carter, just came in through the back door after being out all night dealing drugs.

Sissy. Kevin, is that you?

Kevin. Yeah, Mom, it’s me. (Comes into the living room and flops down on the sofa.) Why are you up so early?

Sissy. Because those stupid Goody Two-shoes church girls came knocking on the door, and they woke me up by trying to sell those stupid little books again. I don’t know how many times I have to tell those people that I am not interested in going to their church hall.

Kevin. They call them kingdom halls, Mom, not church halls.

Sissy. Church halls, kingdom halls, who cares! They’re all the same to me. They are filled with nothing but brown nosed Goody Two-shoes type people who always look down on girls like me.

Kevin. Why don’t you tell them that you’re not into all that church foolishness so that they will stop coming over here?

Sissy. I tell those people that every time they come, and yet they still keep coming. You would think that they was getting paid or something, and that’s why they keep going door to door telling people that they need to be saved.

Kevin. To them they are getting paid. They think that they have to go out door to door rain or shine so that they can win souls over to their God in order to get into heaven.

Sissy. I don’t believe in all that mess, but enough about them, where were you last night?

Kevin. I was out working. Why?

Sissy. Are you sure about that?

Kevin, looks at Sissy with an irked look on his face. Yeah, I’m sure. Why are you worried about where I’ve been?

Sissy. Because I thought I saw you at the club last night. I was there with Leeya and a few other friends, and they too thought they seen you.

Kevin. Naw, that wasn’t me.

Sissy. Oh, I thought it was.

Kevin. It wasn’t, but do you think I look old enough to pass for twenty-one?

Sissy. Yeah, boy! I was just telling my girlfriend Leeya how much you have grown, and she agreed. In fact, she said you don’t look seventeen. You look like a full-grown man, and if she didn’t know any better, she would date you herself.

Kevin. For real! She said that?

Sissy. Yeah! I told her she wouldn’t know what to do with you.

(Kevin and Sissy both laugh.)

Kevin. You know what, now that I think about it, I do look a lot older for my age. I probably could pass for twenty-one. I might go just to see how it is.

Sissy. Well, let me know when you are going, and me and Leeya will go with you.

Kevin. Okay. Do they ask for ID?

Sissy. No, but if they do, just give the doorman an extra twenty dollars, and he’ll let you in.

Kevin. Ard cool, I might go next weekend. I’ll let you know.

Sissy. Okay, let me know.

Kevin. Oh, before I forget, here’s three hundred dollars towards the bills and some food. Is that enough?

Sissy. Yeah, that’s fine. Thanks.

Kevin. No problem.

Sissy. Do you want me to make you some breakfast?

Kevin. Naw, I’m ard. I wanna get me some sleep so I could get up and take my car over to Frank’s shop.

Sissy. You just got that car. What could be wrong with it already?

Kevin. Mom, I brought the car a year ago for my sixteenth birthday.

Sissy. Dag! It’s been that long?

Kevin. Yeah, it was.

Sissy. Wow, time is flying. It seems like yesterday when you first came home with it. You remember how all the neighbors were looking at you.

Kevin. Yeah…especially those nosy old bags that live across the street.

Sissy. Who? Millie and her sister?

Kevin. Yeah! They are always in my business. I don’t know whose worst, them or those two stupid cops that be all on my top.

Sissy. Don’t worry about them. They’re just jealous because you’re a young black man doing better than them, that’s all.

Kevin. Yeah, I know. Those old heads wish they could drive a car like mines and have it fully paid for at that. Millie and her sister is probably still paying a car note on that hoopty they be driving.

Sissy. I know that’s right.

(Sissy and Kevin both laugh and high-five one another.)

Sissy. Speaking of that, you never told me why you have to take your car to the shop?

Kevin. I just need to get it inspected, and I want to get an oil change, that’s all. Frank told me to drop by, and he would take care of it for me.

Sissy. Oh, I thought something was wrong with it.

Kevin. Mom, I’m driving a Cadillac. Don’t you think if something was wrong with it that I would be taking it back to the dealer and not Frank?

Sissy. Yeah, well, I wasn’t looking at it that way. I just heard car in the shop, and I naturally assumed that something was broken.

Kevin, looks directly at Sissy. I keep up with the maintenance of my car so that it could last longer. Unlike some people I know.

Sissy. Some people like who, me?

Kevin. Yeah, you. You don’t ever keep up with your car. I always gotta remind you when you need to service it.

Sissy. That’s because I don’t know anything about cars. And besides, that’s what I got you for so that I don’t think about all that stuff. My job is to drive and go.

Kevin. Yeah, you keep thinking that, and one day, you gonna wanna drive, and it’s not gonna go nowhere.

Sissy. Yeah, you’re right. I do have to get better with keeping my car up to par. Are you happy now?

Kevin. It doesn’t have anything to do with whether I’m happy or not. I’m telling you this is for your benefit, not mine. ’Cause one thing about me, I’m not driving anything that doesn’t look good or run good.

Sissy. Well, good for you! But I, on the other hand, don’t care.

Sissy, starts rubbing her stomach. I’m hungry. You sure you don’t want anything to eat?

Kevin. Yeah, I’m good. I wanna make a phone call before I go to sleep.

Sissy. Ard well, I need to eat ’cause I’m starting to get the bubble guts from all that alcohol I drank last night.

Kevin, chuckles. Ard, Mom, you make yourself something to eat before you start stinking up the place. I’m going to bed.

Sissy, laughs as she placed the money Kevin gave her in her bra. Oh yeah, and thanks again for the money. I sure could use it.

Kevin. You welcome. If I’m not already up, can you wake me up around 12:30 p.m.?

Sissy. Yeah, okay. Ard, Kevin, goodnight or good morning, whichever one applies.

Kevin. Ard, Mom.

Kevin went up the stairs to his room.

Scene 1’s message:

Sissy condoned her underage child’s disrespectful behavior toward her, other adults, and authority figures. She encouraged him to hang out in clubs among other things. She never questioned how her seventeen-year-old son could afford such an extravagant car such as a Cadillac and, moreover, could afford to give her such a large amount of money. Sissy tried to be Kevin’s friend instead of his mother. You cannot be your child’s friend and parent too. There must be boundaries!

Scene 2

Kevin was up in his room; he took all the cash out of his pocket and laid it across his bed. Then he picked up the phone to call his friend Timmy Sanders. Timmy was a five-foot-seven-inch-tall, 130-pound, light-skinned sixteen-year-old black male with a short dark-fade haircut. Timmy was lying in bed when he heard the phone ringing. He rushed to answer it before it woke up his mother.

Timmy. Hello!

Kevin. What’s up, bro?

Timmy. Yo, who is this?

Kevin. It’s me Kevin.

Timmy. Oh, I’m chilling. What’s up with you?

Kevin. I’m good! I’m just counting all my bread I made hustling last night.

Timmy. How much did you make?

Kevin. Around two gs.

Timmy. Wow, oh, for real?

Kevin. Yeah, man, I’m trying to take over these streets. That’s why I’ve been trying to get you out here to sell with me so we both can come up.

Timmy. Come on, man, I’ve already told you. I don’t know anything about hustling, and plus I don’t ever want to see jail again.

Kevin. Again! Young bull, you ain’t never been booked.

Timmy. Well, not in a real jail, but I’ve been arrested before.

Kevin. What! When?

Timmy. Last year when I was fifteen years old.

Kevin. For what, dog?

Timmy. Because of this ugly girl who lived on my block. She told her mother and brother that I touched her when I didn’t. The truth was, she liked me, and I didn’t like her, so she lied and said I touched her.

Kevin. So what happened?

Timmy. Her brother came at me in school, so I trashed him. He had to get like twenty stitches in his head or something like that.

Kevin. Well, you did right. I would’ve trashed that punk too if he came at me over some lie.

Timmy. Because I beat him up so bad, I was arrested and charged with simple aggravated assault and sexual misconduct, which I think are felonies.

Kevin. I think they are too. But what does that have to do with why you won’t sell for me now?

Timmy. Because after seeing how hurt and upset my mom was from all that drama, I don’t ever want to put her through something like that again.

Kevin. Man, your mom won’t find out. You just using that as an excuse.

Timmy. I’m not using anything as an excuse, you don’t know my mom. She watches everything, and besides, I told you I don’t know anything about selling drugs.

Kevin. Man, what is there to know? Crackheads come up to you, you give them their stuff, and that’s all to it.

Timmy. Yeah, well, I’m still not sure about that because if my mom finds out, she will kill me. I can hear her mouth now…

(Timmy thinks of his mom, Diamond: Timmy, is you out of your mind? How could you do such a thing? Do you understand what this can do to your life? It can destroy you. Your whole future can be ruined, your college, your career, everything! Why would you throw your life away for a few fast dollars?)

Timmy. Man, she would truly lecture me to death, so I’m just not ready to take that risk right now.

Kevin. Ah, man, please, give me a break! I believe that all moms are all the same. Just throw them a couple dollars, and they’ll forget about everything.

Timmy. Naw, man, not my mom, I’m telling you. She lectures me day in and day out. She wants to know where I’m going, what I’m doing, and who I’m doing it with. Every moment of the day, every day of the week, and it is nerve wrecking.

Kevin. Yeah, whatever, bro, like I said before, you’re just using your mom as an excuse. You are just afraid of a real man’s hustle, that’s all.

Timmy. Man, I’m not afraid of nothing ard! I just don’t want to get involved in something that I don’t know much about, that’s all.

Kevin. Yeah whatever, man! If you weren’t afraid, then you would allow me to teach you everything you need to know. But instead, you’re acting like a nut.

Timmy. Man, I ain’t no nut.

Kevin. Then prove it, dog! Take your mommy’s panties off, man up, and come get paid!

Timmy. Ard, man! Just to prove to you that I’m not no nut, I’ll do it. What do you need me to do?

Kevin. Now that’s what I’m talking about. I have a big deal that I am trying to make happen next Saturday, and I want to put you down. Can you meet me at the park on Crews Street around three thirty this afternoon?

Timmy. Yeah, I guess.

Kevin. You guess so, or you know so?

Timmy. I have some work to do around the house first, but I’ll be there.

Kevin. Okay, cool, you’ll get the chance to meet my girl and some of my other young bulls that’s making paper too.

Timmy, hears someone pick up the phone. Hold on, Kevin! Who’s on the phone?

Timmy’s little brother, Jake, was on the line with them. Jake was a handsome four-foot-five-inch-tall, light-skinned, curly-haired little ten-year-old black male.

Jake, listening to Kevin’s and Timmy’s conversation for a few minutes. Oh, it’s me Timmy. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were on the phone.

Timmy. It’s okay, Jake. Who were you trying to call?

Jake. I was trying to call my friend Sam. He hasn’t been to school in days, and I wanted to make sure he is okay.

Timmy. Okay, I’m getting ready to hang up. I’ll let you know when I’m done.

Jake. Okay, Timmy, I’ll be in my room. (Hangs up the phone.)

Timmy. Ard, Kevin, I’ll see you around 3:30 p.m.

Kevin. Ard, young bull, I’ll see you later.

(Kevin and Timmy hang up the phone.)

Scene 2’s message:

It’s very important that parents learn how to be positive rather than a negative role models for their kids because if not, their kids are going to become the same type of a role model to someone else’s child.

Scene 3

Timmy, gets out of the bed and goes in his little brother’s, Jake’s, room to tell him that he is off the phone. Jake, you can use the phone now.

Jake. Okay, Timmy!

Timmy. Jake, when you get off the phone with Sam, I want you to start cleaning up your room.

Jake. Okay.

Jake called his best friend’s, Sam Dickson’s, house repeatedly. Sam was a four-foot-six-inch-tall, eighty-pound ten-year-old Hispanic male with jet-black hair that he wore back in a ponytail. When Sam never answered, Jake started to seriously worry about him. Jake hung up the phone and went into Timmy’s room. Timmy was laying out his clothes to wear when he noticed Jake standing at his door with a confused and worried look on his face.

Timmy. What’s wrong with you?

Jake. I’m worried about Sam.

Timmy. Did you talk to him?

Jake. No! He never picked up the phone.

Timmy. Well, don’t worry, he’ll turn up.

Jake, notices Timmy’s clothes that were laid out on his bed. Are you going somewhere?

Timmy. Yes! I’m going to the park later.

Jake. Can I go with you?

Timmy. No, not today. I have to meet some friends.

Jake. I won’t get in y’all way. I promise!

Timmy. No, it’s not that. I just have some business to take care of. That’s all.

Jake. Well, can you take me over Sam’s house when you come back?

Timmy. Yes, if it’s not too late.

Jake. Okay! Thanks, Timmy.

Timmy. No problem! Now let’s clean up before Mommy wakes up so that she won’t say anything about us leaving. You know Saturday is the day that she likes everything cleaned, including the walls, so let’s get to it so we can finish early.

Jake. Okay, I’ll do the hallway and our rooms, and you do the kitchen and bathrooms. Deal!

Timmy. All right, little man, go get busy. But try to be quiet so that you don’t wake up Mom.

Jake. Okay, I’ll try.

Timmy and Jake cleaned the house from top to bottom, and when their beautiful five-foot-eight-inch tall, 145-pound forty-year-old caramel complexion with medium-length silky-black hair mother, Diamond Sanders, woke up, she was amazed at how wonderful everything looked. She was so pleased that she cooked the boys a big breakfast. After breakfast, Jake and his mother went in the living room to watch Saturday cartoons. Timmy went to his room to get dressed so he could be on time to meet Kevin. Around three o’clock, Timmy was about to leave when his mother called out to him.

Diamond. Timmy, come here please.

Timmy. Yes, Mom!

Diamond. Where are you going?

Timmy. I’m going out for a little while.

Diamond. Going out where?

Timmy. Just to the park

Diamond. The park! Why?

Timmy. I’m meeting up with some friends from school.

Diamond. Friends! What friends?

Timmy. Just some friends, that’s all.

Diamond. Well, do your friends have names?

Timmy. Yeah, but I don’t remember all of them.

Diamond. Then how are you calling them your friends?

Timmy. Well, I’m really only friends with one of them.

Diamond. And that is?

Timmy. My friend Kevin

Diamond. And does this Kevin have a last name?

Timmy. I can’t remember his last name.

Diamond. You can’t remember his last name! I don’t understand how kids can call people their friends and not know their full name.

Timmy. Mom, we don’t be worrying about that.

Diamond. Well, y’all should because what if they’re some crazy person or something.

Timmy. Mom, it’s not that serious.

Diamond. It’s serious to me! You shouldn’t call people your friends that you don’t know anything about. Like for one, do you know where he lives? Do you know if he has plans for college? I bet you don’t know the answer to any of that.

Timmy. That’s because I don’t be in his business like that.

Diamond. Well, it’s obvious to me that you don’t care about who you are hanging out with, but I, on the other hand, do. Therefore, I want to meet this young man for myself.

Timmy. Come on, Mom!

Diamond. Don’t come on, Mom, me, boy! I said I want to meet him. Do you have a problem with that?

Timmy. No, I don’t have a problem, Mom, but I just don’t like putting my friends on the spot like that.

Diamond. If he is your real friend, then he wouldn’t have a problem with meeting me. Don’t you think?

Timmy. Yeah, I guess so.

Diamond. I know so. You invite him over and tell him that your mother wants to meet him and see what he says. If he says no, then you need to question if he is the type of friend you want to have. If he says yes, then maybe, just maybe he might have some type of family values.

Timmy, answers with a frustrated look on his face. All right, Mom, whatever you say. Can I leave now?

Diamond, looks at Timmy with an evil eye. First of all, you better change that look on your face and check your attitude, or you won’t be going anywhere.

Timmy, holds his head down. I’m sorry, Mom! May I please leave now?

Diamond. Go ahead, but you better not be late for curfew. We have church tomorrow…you understand?

Timmy. Yes, ma’am, I understand. I’ll be on time.

Diamond. All right, be safe, and I’ll see you later…I love you.

Timmy. I will, Mom. I love you too, bye.

(Timmy leaves out to meet his friend at the park.)

Scene 3’s message:

Parent must know their children’s whereabouts, and the people they hang out with. A parent has the right to ask questions and demand answers. It’s important that parents get involved in their children’s lives.

Scene 4

When Timmy arrived at the park, he noticed Sam, his brother’s, Jake’s, friend, sitting on a bench alone. Sam was watching Kevin and his friends who were sitting on a bench not too far away. Sam was looking for his mother, Christina Dickson, who hasn’t seen in days. Christina Dickson was lovely 110-pound five-foot-three Hispanic female. Christina was on drugs, and sometimes she forgot that she has a young son at home.

Timmy. Sam, what are you doing here by yourself? Jake was trying to call you early this morning. Where have you been?

Sam, answers with a sad strange look on his face. I was out since this morning looking for my mom.

Timmy. Looking for your mom! Why?

Sam. Because she hasn’t been home for days, and I’m hungry. There’s nothing left to eat at my house. I came here hoping that Kevin might know where she is.

Timmy. Kevin! What made you think that Kevin might know where she is?

Sam. Every time I come to the park with my mom, she would go over to Kevin and shake his hand. So I thought maybe she came here again, and since Kevin knew her, I asked him if he had seen her.

Timmy. You did? What did he say?

Sam. Well, he said he doesn’t know my mom, and then he told me to get lost. But I swear, Timmy, I saw them talking all the time, and he was over my house talking to her on the porch the same day she went missing. You believe me, don’t you, Timmy?

Timmy. Yeah, I believe you, little man.

Sam. Timmy, I’m scared! I don’t know where she could be.

Timmy. Did she ever leave you alone like this before?

Sam. Yes, but never for more than a day or two.

Timmy. Why didn’t you say anything or tell somebody?

Sam. Because I don’t want to get my mom into trouble.

Timmy. Do you have a family member or someone you can call?

Sam. No, and I don’t know what to do because my mom is the only family I have. I don’t have anyone else to turn to.

Timmy. What about your dad?

Sam. He was killed when I was three years old.

Timmy. Really, my dad was killed when I was younger too. What about your grandmother, aunts, or uncles?

Sam. No, my mom was an only child, and my grandma and grandpa were killed in a car accident two years ago. Ever since then, my mom started changing.

Sam, holds his head down as a tear falls from his eyes. What if she never comes back? What’s going to happen to me? Where will I go? Who is going to take care of me? I’m going to be all alone.

Timmy, places his hand on Sam’s shoulder, in an attempt to console him. Ah…don’t cry, little man. She’ll be home soon, don’t worry. Until she does, I’ll call my mom to see if you can stay over my house with Jake. (Pulls out his cell phone and calls his mom.)

Diamond was in the kitchen cooking dinner, and Jake was sitting at the kitchen table eating a snack before dinner when the phone rang.

Diamond. Hello.

Timmy. Hello, Mom.

Diamond. Yes, what is the matter. Are you okay?

Timmy. Yes, Mom, I’m okay. I’m calling you about Sam.

Diamond. Sam! Jake was just talking about him.

Jake, jumps up from the table and starts tugging on her clothes as he hears his mom says Sam’s name. Mom, Mom, is that Sam?

Diamond, moves the phone to her chest. Boy, if you don’t stop pulling on my clothes.

Jake. Oh, sorry, Mom, is that Sam on the phone?

Diamond. No, it’s Timmy, go sit back down so I can finish talking to him. (Places the phone back on her ear and hears Timmy yelling.)

Timmy. Hello! Hello! Mom, are you still there?

Diamond. Yes, I’m here. Your brother distracted me. What were you saying?

Timmy. I was saying that I’m calling you about Sam.

Diamond. What about him? He’s not hurt, is he?

Timmy. No…well, at least not physically.

Diamond. Well, thank God for that…. What’s the matter with him?

Timmy. I found him sitting here at the park by himself.

Diamond. What? Where is his mother?

Timmy. That’s the point. He doesn’t know where she is. She hasn’t been seen for days, and he was home alone, all this time.

Diamond. Oh my god, poor little boy! He must be scared to death.

Timmy. Yes, he is. He is crying right now as we speak. That’s why I’m calling you to see if it’s okay if he comes over there with Jake until his mom shows up.

Diamond. Sure, tell him to come on over.

Timmy. Okay, Mom, thanks.

Diamond. No problem! Oh, and, Timmy, don’t forget to tell your friend I would like to meet him.

Timmy. I won’t, Mom, I’ll talk to you later, bye.

Diamond. Okay, bye.

Timmy, hangs up with his mom. Ard, Sam, my mom said it was okay for you to come over to our house with Jake until your mom gets home. Here’s some money, buy yourself something to eat and then go straight to my house. Okay!

Sam, wipes his tears and then hugs Timmy around his waist. Okay, Timmy! Thank you so much.

Timmy, smiles. No problem, little man. Now you be safe getting there, okay?

Sam. Okay, I will! Thanks, Timmy. (Smiles and runs off.)

(Timmy walks away with this sad and angry look on his face, as to say what kind of mother would leave their young child alone for so long.)

Scene 4’s message:

When you sell drugs to people, you’re not just hurting that person; you’re hurting their children and families too. Parents, watch what you do around your children because they are watching you.

Scene 5

Timmy walked over to his friend Kevin still upset about Sam’s situation. Kevin and his friends Jared, Steve, Jessica, and Erica were all sitting on the bleachers laughing and joking. Jessica was Kevin’s current girlfriend. She was a gorgeous five-foot-three-inch tall, 125-pound sixteen-year-old Caucasian female.

Timmy, walks up to them. What’s up, Kevin?

Kevin. What’s up, Timmy? This is my mans, Jared and Steve, and my girl, Jessica, and her friend Erica.

Timmy. What’s up, y’all?

Jared and Steve. What’s up, dog?

Jessica and Erica. How you doing?

Kevin. Man, you were supposed to be here at 3:30 p.m. What took you so long?

Timmy. Man, my mom started talking to me and lecturing me about my friends. Then I ran into my little brother’s friend who was looking for his mom. As a matter of fact, he said he came up to you and asked if you’ve seen her, and you said you didn’t know her.

Kevin. Oh yeah! I remember that little young bull. I also told him to get lost. (Chuckles.)

Timmy. Well…

Kevin. Well, what!

Timmy. Do you know his mom or not?

Kevin. Yeah! I know her. She is one of my best customers.

Timmy. Well, have you seen her lately?

Kevin. Man, I don’t have time to keep tabs on no crackheads. She’s probably out on one of her binges.

Timmy. Well, you still could’ve looked out for him. You saw that he was scared and worried about his mom.

Kevin. He ain’t my problem, dog! He is his crackhead mother’s problem. She should have thought about him before she started getting high. If she don’t care about him, why should I.

Timmy, ashamed at Kevin’s response, looks at him with an angry look on his face. Whatever, dog! You don’t care about nobody.

Kevin. And why should I? Nobody ever cared about me.

Timmy. Ard, man, just forget it. So what’s up with this deal you wanted to talk to me about?

Kevin. Are you sure you’re ready for this?

Timmy. Man, I came here, didn’t I?

Kevin. Yeah, you did only after you got permission from your mom to come out.

(Kevin and his friends all laugh.)

Timmy. Man, forget, y’all! I didn’t come here for you to make fun of me.

Kevin. Ah, man, we’re just playing with you. Don’t take everything so serious. You gotta man up and stop whining.

Timmy. I’m not whining. I just don’t like people trying to play me.

Kevin. Ain’t nobody trying to play you, dog. I’m trying to teach you how to be a man and put your mom in