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365-day God who does all that He says He’ll do.”
    “Wow, you’re on fire this morning, aren’t you?” Charlotte said.
    Curtina laughed. “Daddy, you’re saying the kind of stuff you say at church on Sundays.”
    Curtis laughed, too. “I guess I am, huh? Daddy’s just happy, sweetie. Happy my little grandson is fine and thankful for all our other blessings. God is so good to us, even when we’re not all that great ourselves.”
    Curtina ate the rest of her cereal and drank her orange juice. “Mommy, can I go back upstairs to watch Sprout until it’s time to leave?”
    “I suppose. We’re heading out in about thirty minutes, though, so you make sure you have everything packed in your book bag.”
    “I will.”
    Curtina skipped out of the kitchen, and Charlotte couldn’t help thanking God for her little girl, the same as Curtis had just thanked the Lord for little MJ. Years were passing, and Curtina was almost five years old now, yet it was still hard to believe there had been a time when Charlotte couldn’t stand her. She was embarrassed to even think back to those days when she’d treated an innocent child so horribly, but it had only been because Curtis had conceived Curtina with another woman outside of their marriage. He’d had an affair and broken it off, then his mistress had died, and Charlotte’s stepdaughter had moved in with them. It had been the worst time of Charlotte’s life, or so she had thought, but soon she’d come to love Curtina as if she were her own, and Curtina loved, loved, loved her back. She never even brought up her biological mother, mainly because she barely remembered her, but it was fine, because to Charlotte, Curtina was in fact her daughter. It was funny how things changed and how time truly did heal all wounds, just the way folks always said.
    “So are you going to the hospital this morning?” Curtis asked.
    “Maybe around noon, and hopefully I won’t have to run into Racquel’s witch of a mother.”
    Curtis looked at her and then toward the television. Agnes wiped off the counter near the stove but never said a word.
    Charlotte knew they didn’t want to hear her ranting on and on about Vanessa, but she was still beside herself because of the way things had turned out yesterday. Charlotte had gone to the hospital first thing, yet Vanessa had said and done everything she could to stop her from seeing little MJ. She’d been downright rude, and since Charlotte hadn’t been able to contact Neil, she couldn’t do anything about it. She did finally hear from Neil early evening, once he’d finished a ten-hour brain surgery, but by then, she’d been too frustrated to talk about it or drive back over to the hospital. Charlotte wondered when this tug-of-war was going to end, and although she was trying her best to keep things cordial with Vanessa—at least when Racquel and Neil were around—she was growing very tired of this woman. Charlotte had held her tongue more than a few times, but she was also human and knew if Vanessa didn’t watch herself, this wouldn’t end well.
    “Curtis, something has to be done about Vanessa. She’s doing everything she can to keep me away, and it’ll be even worse once Racquel brings little MJ home.”
    “Baby, why don’t you give her some time? Give her a few more days to get past what happened over the weekend.”
    “Even a year from now, that woman will still be treating me the same way, so time has nothing to do with it.”
    “Maybe you could try a little harder to get along with her,” he said. “I know you don’t like her, but do it for the baby and Racquel.”
    Charlotte was stunned. It almost sounded as though Curtis was siding with Vanessa, but she quickly tossed that craziness out of her mind. She ignored it because there was no way her own husband was sitting there defending the enemy. He simply wouldn’t do that to her.
    Curtis must have picked up on what she was thinking and said, “Baby, I’m not taking