A Lily Among Thorns

𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚁𝚃𝚈-𝙵𝙾𝚄𝚁

✞ C E L A I L a C R O I X ✞

"I'm so happy you could squeeze in the church. I'm sorry for such a short notice," Camille says from behind Celai, startling her.

However, Celai is able to manage her professionalism as she turns and smiles at the First Lady. "Oh, it's fine," she assures. It's more than fine considering God blessed her with work to do after she fervently prayed for it.

"I know Bernard already explained everything to you a few hours ago, but I just wanted to personally thank you since this was my idea after all. It came out of the blue, and two weeks later, you're already on top of the work."

"It's good you want to do something for the kids that have Spring Break coming up. I'm happy to help out."

"What have you done so far?" she inquires with a kind smile.

Celai shows her the two sketches of the soon-to-be decorated church and then the one she's currently working on. Camille raises her eyebrows in amusement. "Wow, you got a lot done," she observes. "And they're all so beautiful."

"Thank you, Camille," she says.

Her eyes draw to the one she's only halfway finished with and they widen. "Wow, can I see this one when you're done?"

Celai chuckles softly. "Of course. I'll let you know when I'm wrapping up on it."

Camille nods eagerly. "Alright. I'll be in the back with Bernard in his office if you need anything." She smiles again before she leaves Celai alone to focus on her work.

"Now, back to you. What were we talking about?" Celai says to Jayelle, who happened to be on a phone call with her when Camille walked in. "You and Wes?" she asks as she continues her sketching.

Celai hears Jayelle chuckle to herself. "After our date, we spent about two hours discussing how to file for permanent custody over Ty. Apparently, his dad is a lawyer."

"Sounds like Matchmaker Celai didn't do so bad after all."

"Yeah, but she's still the most annoying person on Earth."

"Mm, right after you. So, what's the new status with Ty?"

"Nothing is official yet but from what I know, Wes is talking with his dad about the case as we speak."

"Look at God," Celai praises. "So does that mean you're gonna stop avoiding Wes?"

"I'm willing to marry anyone who helps bring my nephew home for good. So to answer your question, we have another date next week."

Celai can hear the smile on her best friend's face. "I'll be needing a wedding date soon."

"It'll be after yours." They share a laugh before Jayelle continues. "Honestly, God's timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was starting to worry I was becoming a financial burden for you. But now, you won't need to lend me money."

"Girl, you are not a burden and you never will be. Yeah, I had that dry spell, but I'm doing well now by the grace of God alone," Celai truthfully says.

In only two weeks, her trust was starting to increase greatly in God, and while she had her mind stressing over her money last week, she barely thought about it the next. If anything, she became grateful that she didn't have to pay any house bills and she only had to worry about her personal ones.