Afterwards, when we in the car, I come right on out and ask her: “You all right, Brenda?”

“I’m fine. Never felt better.”

“Well, what just happened in there?”

“I ain’t sure, Cecil. But all I know is I felt the power of God move in me. I been feeling bad for not being a good mother, for dranking like a fish all these years, and here I am pregnant again and all I been doing is cutting back some, and it’s shameful. I know I can do better than what I been doing for myself and my kids. I ain’t dumb. We shouldn’t be living in no projects, ’cause I got good sense.”

“I know that, Brenda. It’s one of the thangs that attracted me to you. Did God tell you anythang in particular? Like what to do next, anythang of that nature?”

“No. I just feel cleansed. And I ain’t finished. I need to purge myself. I need to look into the light instead of the darkness. That’s what I been doing all these years, living in darkness.”

“Who told you that?”

“Nobody. I grew up in the church. I left when I started doing a whole bunch a unnecessary things to myself. But Cecil,” she say, looking over at me like she pleading, “I feel like God done gave me another chance to make my life right with you. You a blessing. I know you older and all, but it don’t matter to me. I wanna spend the best years of my life, and the best years of the ones you got left, with you.”

“You can put money on that.”

“Will you join with me?”

“You mean church? If I have to, I will, but I don’t like going to church every Sunday, Brenda.”

“I didn’t ask you to go every Sunday, now, did I?”

“No you didn’t. But, Brenda, please don’t turn into one of them Holy Rollers and try to save me and everybody else just ’cause you been saved. Please promise me you won’t do that?”

“I promise, Cecil. I just feel like it’s time to clean up my life. I think that’s why I came to church today. Something led me here.”

“I’m happy for you, Brenda. I’m just glad you can’t sang.”

“Why is that?”

“ ’Cause I ain’t gotta worry about you joining the choir.”

“Is that right?” she say, and then she just let out a hoot and hit me with her purse and started singing “Amazing Grace” real loud, like them people who get pulled off the stage with the rod on Amateur Night at the Apollo.

We done seen two miracles around this house: Brenda ain’t had a drop to drank since she found God, and I done lost eight pounds since I started walking evenings a little over a month and a half ago. I sure like her sober, and she say she certainly like what’s left of me.

Right now, we sitting out here at Lorenzie Park watching the kids feed the ducks. She mad with me. Ain’t said a word in the last ten minutes. She just put Sunshine on her left hip and started throwing breadcrumbs out in the water, too. Miss Q keep trying to count the ducks, but they keep flying away, and she get mad ’cause she have to start all over. For five, she don’t count too fast, but I been trying to help her, using toothpicks. I bought my fishing pole out here just so Hakeem could hold it in his hand to see what fishing feel like, but he keep wanting to run in the water to catch hisself a duck. I wanted to take ’em to McDonald’s and then over there to the Sammy Davis Theatre to see a little kids’ movie, but I don’t know now. Depends on what Brenda feel like doing.