Tonya tried to regain her composure as best
she could before she answered the phone. It was
The unknown kid watched Marcus fall to the
ground. He did not see Tony run towards him.
He noticed him just as Tony lounged at him. When the weight of Tony’s body came against him,
they both fell to the ground. The
unknown kid’s head hit the curb and then the asphalt. Tony was upon him and,
with tears in his eyes, struck blows upon him blindly. While Tony administered his judgment, Jason
looked to Marcus. Marcus was bleeding from the side of his head. Jason thought
Marcus was dead.
“Tony, we have to get the pastor to the
hospital. Tony!”
Tony continued to beat the unknown kid.
Jason left Marcus to pull Tony away from the kid. Tony gave him one last kick.
“Go and get his car. We have to take him to
the hospital.”
Tony ran to Marcus’ car. He got inside and
clumsily backed the car to where Marcus laid.
As he got out of the car, he saw a cell phone in the passenger seat. He
took it.
“Here’s a cell phone. We can call 911” Tony
said as he handed the phone to Jason.
The phone rang in Jason’s hand.
“Hello.”
“Hello. May I speak to Marcus?”
“He’s been shot. We’re taking him to the
hospital. I have to call 911” Jason hurriedly said and then hung up.
Tonya sat with the phone still to her ear.
She was shocked and all emotion had drained from her. Marcus was shot. She
wondered what that meant. How bad was it? Was he dead? She consoled herself that if he was dead;
whoever answered the phone would say he was dead. But, she wondered if he was
going to die. Marcus had to be all right, she told herself. Things couldn’t end like this. Tonya began to
say “This can’t be real” over and over in her mind.
Tonya thought about Marcus’ smile and sense
of humor. She thought about how considerate he was of other people. She thought to herself that Marcus was the
type of person people easily too for granted and maybe she was guilty of doing
that. Tonya decided that she needed to
get herself together. She had to think
of someone to call to find out what was going on and she couldn’t call anyone
sobbing. She decided she would wait a
while and then try calling Marcus’ parents.
Jason and Tony got Marcus to the
hospital. Jason tried to answer
questions about what had happened and whom Marcus was as best he could. He told some lady at a counter that Marcus
was a pastor and at what church he pastured.
Jason watched the doctors wheel Marcus away on a bed. When asked if he was related to Marcus, Jason
burst into tears.
“Yes, Yes I am. He’s my pastor.”
Members of
“The pastor has been shot” she said slowly.
The office was instantly filled with one
phrase prayers – “help us, Jesus”, “have mercy”, “we need you, Lord”. The ladies quickly decided what action needed
to be taken and who needed to do what.
Some were dispatched to the hospital.
Some were assigned phone duty to answer any inquiries. Others were
assigned notification details. Others
were assigned the job of notifying members of what had happened. Sister Maryland gave the caller the names and
number of Marcus’ parents. She waited
the time she thought it would take for the hospital to contact them and then
called. She asked if there was anything
she could do or anyone they needed her to call.
They said no and that they were headed to the hospital.
Just before Marcus’ father walked out of the
house, he called Delvin. Janet answered the phone and said that Delvin had
stepped out for a moment. When she heard
the words that Marcus had been shot, she screamed. Through tears she said that she would call
Delvin on his cell phone and they would meet them at the hospital. Marcus’ Father hung up and fought back
tears. When he got to the car, he saw
his wife sitting inside crying like he had never seen before. He got in the
car.
“Baby, it’s going to be all right. I know Marcus is going to be fine. Everything
is going to be all right.”
“How do you know? How do you know?”
“Because Marcus isn’t finished. His work isn’t done. We still need him.”
“Lord, what happened? Who shot my baby?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll find out”.
When Marcus’ parents got to the hospital,
they ran into Jason and Tony first. They
asked what happened and Jason told the whole story as best he could while
fighting against his tears. Marcus’
father moved on to find someone who could tell them what was happening with
Marcus. Eventually, a young doctor appeared and greeted the
“I’m Dr. Ragland. Are you Marcus Austin’s
parents?”
“Yes, we are.” said Mr. Austin. “How is our son?”
“Well, Mr. Austin, did you have any trouble
with your son behaving when he was young?”
“What? Why? What are you talking about?”
“I just asked because your son is hard
headed. I mean literally. His hard head saved his life and prevented any
major head trauma. Who ever shot him did
so with a small caliber gun and wasn’t a very good shot. Basically, the bullet hit him on the side of
the head at an angle and ricocheted off.”
“Is he going to be all right?”
“Yes. Even though the bullet didn’t
penetrate the skull, it did do some damage.
In addition to a laceration from the bullet, there is bruising and
swelling. He is going to have one hell
of a headache, but your son is lucky.”
“My son’s not lucky” said Mrs. Austin. “My son is blessed and favored. When can we
see him?”
“Well, he’s sleeping right now and we want
to see him wake up on his own. So, it may be a while, but you can look in on
him.”
Just as the doctor was about to usher them
back to see Marcus, Delvin and Janet arrive.
It was obvious both had been crying and when Delvin got closer to his
mother; his tears began to flow again.
“Have you seen him? Is he alright?”
“He’s going to be fine. We’re going to see him now.”
“I knew it.
I knew something bad was going to happen. I just can’t believe it.”
“There was no way anyone could have seen
this coming. It’s going to be all
right.”
“Marcus could have seen it. He should have stopped it. I told him it was
dangerous.”
“Well, Delvin, what
was he supposed to do? Just stand by and
let someone get hurt?”
“That’s better than him getting killed over
a woman. I told him a jealous husband
was a dangerous thing?” Delvin burst
into tears and sobbed heavily. His
parents and wife froze.
“What?
What did you just say?” asked his mother.
Immediately Delvin knew he had made a
mistake. Since Marcus first told him about Tonya, Delvin had been concerned
about where things were head and how they may have turned out. He felt that Marcus was taking an unnecessary
risk; a risk that could lead to harm – even physical harm. When Marcus told him that he had seen Tonya,
Delvin really began to worry about him.
So when Janet told him that Marcus had been shot, Delvin’s
mind quickly focused on what he believed could be the worse possible
scenario. That, in his mind, would be
that Tonya’s husband had found out where she had been over the weekend and had
come to
“Is Marcus having an affair with a married
woman? Please tell me he’s not messing a woman at his church”, his father said
in an infuriated whisper.
“No, no. It’s not like that. I mean, well, I
mean… Who shot Marcus?”
“Marcus was shot by a kid over a gang” said
his mother. “Now, what are you talking about?”
“Marcus had become really close to an old
friend who happens to be married. He was keeping it a secret and last week she
came to visit him. I couldn’t think of
any other reason some one would shot him. I thought that situation had taken a
turn for the worse. Marcus is going to
kill me.”
“No, he’s not because I’m going to kill him”
responded his father.
“Pipe down, my son is in there with a bullet
wound to the head. I don’t care who shot him or why. Nobody had any business
shooting him and you aren’t going to kill anyone. We’ll find out from Marcus what he’s been up
to.”
Marcus’ mother was perhaps less shocked than
anyone because she knew her son and she knew he had been up to something. She also knew that Marcus wasn’t very
careless, and having an affair with a married woman was indeed careless. She didn’t doubt that he had a friend, but
she didn’t doubt Marcus knew how to handle the situation. She would have a talk with her son. If she
could, she would talk with the woman, too.
The doctor allowed them to look in on Marcus
in pairs. When his father and mother
came into his room, seeing Marcus hooked up with IV’s and monitoring straps,
and hearing hospital equipment sounds weighed on his mother. She clinched his father’s hand as tears
rolled down her cheeks. The left side of
Marcus’ head was bandaged; otherwise he seemed to be just sleeping. Both
parents felt a sense of relief when they noticed his breathing. They moved closer to his bed and his mother
quietly called his name, hoping he would her, while trying not to disturb.
“Let him rest, Baby. He’ll be awake soon enough.”
“I know. I know. I just want to hear his
voice.”
“Let’s go so Delvin and Janet can come in.”
They left Marcus’ room. When they got back to the waiting area, they
noticed several members of
“Dear God, our Father. In humility and
brokenness we now stand before you. In times like this, we are reminded just
how fragile the thread of life can be.
We realize that even our best day is a close call with eternity. Lord, we thank you for life. We think you for
the life of our pastor and we thank for the lives of those in this circle that
pray for him. God, we thank you that
you’ve allowed Pastor Austin to continue your work here on Earth. He is a
blessing to us all, Lord. We pray now,
God, that you will allow your healing grace to speed his recovery. Lord, we
pray also for the young man who shot him.
We pray he finds his way from the dark path he is on. This we pray in
your son, Jesus’ name. Amen.”
When the circle broke, they noticed all that
were in hearing of the prayer had paused.
The prayer ended tension and uncertainty. That, along with the news that Marcus would
be fine, lifted a weight from everyone.
Smiles and light laughter could be heard as the church members shared
their affection for their pastor with his parents. They talked about how unselfish Marcus was
and how he had brought joy to attending church.
In their view, Marcus was an excellent pastor who had turned their church
around. Marcus’ mother felt both pride
and delight in knowing her son was so loved and appreciated. More and more she knew everything was going
to be all right.
Mrs. Roberts, the mother of Jason and Tony,
rushed into the hospital and into the waiting area. She looked around frantically for her
sons. She didn’t spot them immediately
and called for Jason. Jason walked over
to his mother, who took hold of both his arms as though she would shake
him. Instead, she looked at him with
both discuss and relief. Tony walked
over to them and Mrs. Roberts took a step back from Jason. She looked at both boys and shook her
head. She then embraced them both as
tight as she could. Mrs. Roberts looked around the crowded area. She spotted Pastor Austin’s parents. She took her sons by the hand and led them
over to the parents.
“Mrs. Austin, I am so sorry, so very sorry.
I don’t know what else to say.”
“Don’t worry about it. Marcus is going to be
fine. And your sons are going to be
fine, too. It’s going to work out.”
“I am so sorry for what happened to the
pastor. If it hadn’t been for him, though, what would have happened to my
boys? They could have been ki.., ki.., killed.”
Mrs. Roberts began to cry and Mrs. Austin
put her arms around her. She understood
a mother’s concern and care for her sons.
She was glad Marcus would be okay, of course, but she found she was also
extremely glad the tragedy did not include the death of one or both of Mrs.
Roberts’s boys. Marcus, she concluded
proudly, had saved lives. He was really
an instrument of God. Mrs. Austin gave
the two boys a hug.
“Thanks for getting my son to the hospital”
“We love our pastor, Mrs. Austin. We’re
sorry for the trouble” Tony said.
“He saved us” said Jason.
“Well, we’re glad all of you are safe.”
Somewhere a cell phone was ringing. Each
person looked at someone else as though they should answer it. Jason realized that the ringing was coming
from his pocket.
“Oh, I still have Pastor Austin’s cell
phone. Here you are Mrs. Austin.”
Marcus’ mother answered the phone
“Hello” she said. There was a pause on the
other end.
“Hello. May I speak to Marcus?” It was Tonya.