My Answered Prayer
By: Jordyn Johnson
I’m not used to writing a nonfiction autobiography, but this story has to be told. God did an amazing work in my life and I want to share it in its beautiful entirety, but for protectoral purposes I’m changing people’s names and certain events only slightly. I assure you everything else is real and the straight truth.
It all started when I was sixteen, and I heard the world shatter when my parents broke to my brother and me that we were moving. Now I could’ve handled across town or even the next county but no, we were moving from Northwest Ohio to Northeast Alabama… Alabama! I knew no one there and had no interest in leaving my life-long friends and family. However, if there’s one thing I learned from past experiences its God has reasons for everything… but what could He possibly have for me there? I was determined to stay and fought my parents every step of the way, but it didn’t really hit home until my dad went ahead of us to find a house. I missed him so much and it only made me realize how much our family was going to miss us. It was then that I came up with a plan I thought for sure would work…
“Dear Lord, I need a miracle, and if You find it in Your Will to let me live with my grandparents, I’d be forever grateful… Please, my Lord, I cannot live in Alabama; I’ve never been there. Besides, my life is laid out before me here and I’m happy with it… sort of. But God please, please, please don’t make me move. I really don’t understand why and I need You to show me because I’m going to do everything in my power to stay… I love You, Lord and my life is always Yours. Amen.”
That night was like any other; I kissed my mother goodnight and told my brother I’d see him in the morning. I went into my bedroom grateful that the next day was Saturday and I was to spend it with my grandmother who I was really close to and enjoyed having alone time with. I could talk to her about everything, and she always made me feel so at home and comfortable everywhere we were… she is in the least to say one of my greatest role models, and I hope to be just half the woman she is. Anxious for tomorrow, I put on my pjs and climbed into bed next to my overstuffed killer whale that I’d slept next to since I was… probably eight. That thing has so many repairs it isn’t funny, but I loved it… Ok confession; I still have it. We all have beloved things we hold on to… a four foot over stuffed whale was mine… Moving on. I said my prayers and begged God once more to show me why I had to leave my life behind, but I never imagined, ever in a million years, that He would’ve answered me the way He did.
I went to sleep, a deep sleep, you know the kind of sleep I mean, so deep you can’t wake yourself from a dream? Well, that’s how hard I slept that night, and when I opened my eyes to morning light, I couldn’t believe how fast the night went. With a groan and a stretch, I rolled over to my other side and found a man asleep next to me. Talk about flipping out; I screamed so loud I woke him and shoved him from the bed onto the floor. I got to my feet as did he, only I was still screaming waiting on my family to come in and rescue me.
“Ok, Ok!” the man put his hands out, “Calm down.”
“Calm down? There’s a strange man in my bed and you want me to calm down?”
“Your bed?” the man objected, “You’re the one that is in the wrong bed; do you drink?”
“No!” I detested, “But you must.”
“I’m not the one who’s in a stranger’s house,” he crossed his arms.
“Stranger’s house,” I laughed, “Take a look around; this is my-“ I went to point to a poster of Hilary Duff I had on my wall and found it missing. In fact, the room wasn’t mine… It was painted a cream color and had paintings in it I’d never seen before. Stunned, I turned to him with my arms awkwardly crossed, “I’m sorry, I-“
“No,” he shook his head looking around seemingly bewildered, “I don’t live here either.”
“So if it’s not your house, and it’s not mine… where are we?” I looked around some more and spotted an object on the dresser that was very familiar to me. My grandmother had given the dresser to my parents years ago when she and grandpa got a new one and somehow it was here in this strange house with my model car an jewelry box on one half and some items I didn’t recognize on the other. My brother had yet to finish making that model car… Ok this is freaky, I decided and turned back to the man who picked up one of the items I didn’t recognize, a buck knife.
“It’s my dad’s,” he explained, “But how…” He turned to me, “Who are you?”
“Oh, sorry; my name is Jordyn Tabers,” I told him extending my hand to him. He smiled and put his hand in mine giving my heart a new pulse… Suddenly I noticed his dark brown hair and his enchanting hazel eyes, and normally I’m not too crazy about facial hair but I loved his trimmed beard. He looked to be twenty five or six.
“I’m Slate Johnson,” he shook my hand seemingly checking me over too.
“So,” I tried to think of something to say, “I’m sorry I pushed you in the floor.”
“Oh it’s… uh nothing,” he waved it off picking up his shirt off the brown carpet, “So uh..how far along are you?”
“Excuse me?” Ok that was totally unexpected.
“Well, you are pregnant aren’t you? If you’re not I’m so, so sorry.”
“Of course I’m not-“ I was stopped in my tracks by the odd sensation of a kick from within my stomach. “Oh…my… but how?”
“Well unless you’re another Mary I’m pretty sure I know how-“
“That’s not what I meant,” I put my hand on my forehead, “I mean, I’ve never been with a guy.” At that, he began to laugh.
“That’s funny,” he shook his head before he put on his shirt, and I touched my belly feeling as if it wasn’t part of me when he drew my attention back. “Whoa!” he noticed a wedding band on his left hand, “I’m married?”
“And you’re in bed with me; what’s your wife gonna say?” I started laughing when he folded his arms.
“Check your hand.”
“What?”
“As weird as this all has been,” he reminded, “Check your hand.” Sure enough, I had one too. Amazed, I stared at it and sat down on the bed as the baby kicked me once more. “So, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that’s my kid.”
“It would appear so,” I said feeling a new connection to him… “This has got to be a dream or something.”
“Probably,” he took another look around, “I’ve got to say one of the weirdest dreams I’ve ever had.”
“And the most vivid.”
“Vivid?”
“It seems like reality.”
“Oh yeah me, too,” he agreed when a knock came to the bedroom door and a sweet new little voice.
“Mommy, Barney’s on!” a little girl beamed from outside. Slate and I looked at each other.
“Of the two of us, who do you think she’s talking to?” he about laughed. I shot him a look before I went to the door and opened it to a beautiful little four or five year old brunette with my eyes.
“Mommy,” she hugged me, “Come on; you have to see it! It’s the puppy episode!”
“Oh, well we can’t miss that,” I smiled not knowing really what to say to her. Suddenly, she looked to Slate and smiled real big.
“Daddy! Daddy!” she ran to him and hugged his waist, “You’d better hurry if you’re gonna make it to work.”
“Work, right,” he had no idea, “And where do I work?”
The little girl laughed, “Oh Dad.” She ran toward the door taking my hand and leading me out into the hallway, “Come on, Mom.” She pulled me down the hall of familiar figurines to a kitchen where I stopped when I saw the cutest little two year old boy. “Come on Tristan; Barney’s on!”
“Barney!” he yelled before running to the other room after his sister. It amazed me how much he looked like Slate and I followed them into the living room. The little girl sat cross legged in the floor while the little boy climbed up onto the couch and began to bounce up and down on the cushion.
“Tristan, get down,” I corrected him surprising myself. He listened and sat down instead before he came over and hugged my leg. I picked him up and kissed his cheek before he hugged my neck.
“Momma,” he laid his head on my shoulder.
“Tristan, you’re gonna miss it!” the little girl told him. He began to wriggle in my arms trying to get down and with a smile I set his feet on the floor. He ran with his little legs over to his sister and sat down beside her.
“Jordyn,” I heard Slate come up behind me, “Check this out.” He held up a crisp white uniform shirt with blue lettering to the name of the company I didn’t recognize. “I work at Paroway Enterprises! I never thought I’d ever make it into there.”
“Well, that’s great,” I smiled seeing he was excited, “What do they do?”
“What do they do? You’re not from around here are you?”
“Depends; where is here?”
“If you don’t know Paroway Enterprises then you’re not from here,” he shook his head, “People dream of working there; it’s one of the best places around.”
“Wow, well congrats,” I smiled, “But the way it sounds you’re gonna be late.”
“Crap!” he pulled on the uniform as the little girl came in again.
“Daddy, you gotta take me to school.”
“Honey, I’m not gonna have time,” he told her as he buttoned his shirt.
“It’s on your way, and if Mommy already made the lunches, we will be ready to go in five minutes.” They both looked to me and I just turned to the fridge. I pulled out the bread, ham, and mayonnaise and put them on the counter before opening every drawer to find a butter knife. “Mommy, it’s in the drawer at the end,” she laughed.
“Thank you, Sweetheart,” I went to it.
“Are you two ok this morning? You both are acting weird,” she looked to me and Slate.
“Of course we are,” Slate shrugged, “We’re just playing a little game; you have to tell us what we do in our everyday routine.” He’s brilliant, I smiled.
“Oh, ok,” she played along with a shrug, “Can I have eggs for breakfast?”
“Maybe tomorrow honey,” I told her before I handed a ham sandwich across the bar.
“Alright,” she took a bite of it watching me make the rest of the lunches as Tristan came in and climbed up on a chair waiting for his. I handed him one with a sigh, seeing I had to make another for lunch.
“Go get your shoes and back pack; we’ll be leaving in just a minute,” Slate told our daughter…Our daughter. Kind of a weird realization I noticed when she finished her sandwich and ran into the other room to get her things. Slate tied his shoes as I got out the orange juice and poured both kids a glass. Tristan quickly took his and chugged it down, and the little girl got hers when she came in. With her back pack on her back, she drank it down facing away from me and on her pack read the name Chloe. Her name was Chloe.
“Give me a kiss before you go, Chloe,” I told her hoping Slate would notice the name. He smiled at me as she came over and kissed my cheek.
“Come on, Daddy!” she hurried him along.
“I’m coming,” he tried to follow her out the door when she stopped him.
“You have to give Mommy a kiss, too.” Tristan came over and hugged Slate’s leg. He picked him up and hugged him back before setting him down and looking to me. “Come on,” Chloe crossed her arms. Slowly and hesitantly, we came closer both of us nervous and awkward. He kissed my cheek making the girl smile satisfied before she left the doorway, “Bye, Tristan!”
“Bye, bye, Sissy!” the boy waved to her. It was the most adorable thing ever.
“I’ve gotta go,” Slate told me.
“Yeah, bye,” I put my hair behind my ear as he left the house. I smiled and turned to my son. “So, I guess it’s just you and me, huh?” He nodded and took a bite of his sandwich. “So what do we do all day?”
“Work,” he said.
“Work? I have a job, too?” The little boy got down from his chair and came over to get my hand. He led me through the living room to my dream come true. An office… I had an office! I could write at my own desk, my own laptop, and there were shelves of books that I’d written. I walked in, in disbelief and found among my finished works the book I was working on then. Oh I’d hardly call this work! I was happy as I sat down in my chair when I thought of something. “So what do you do all day?”
“Play!” he yelled excitedly as he ran for his toy trucks in the living room. The glass doors in my office made it easy for me to watch him as I wrote the day away. Though I had a few interruptions when he needed a drink or a snack or a nap once, I didn’t mind.
Soon it was time for Slate and Chloe to come home, and for me to make supper. I wasn’t sure what to make so I went with a crowd pleaser, hotdogs and macaroni and cheese.
“Mommy, Mommy!” Chloe came running in to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I stopped stirring the noodles and hugged her loving the fact that I was her mommy. It didn’t take long before she and Tristan were playing. Slate came in the door kicking his shoes off and I went over to him.
“So how was work?” I asked him.
“It was awesome! I’m a computer mechanic there; it’s what I’ve always wanted to do!” he smiled now liking this virtual reality as much as me. “How about you; What’d you do all day?”
“I have my own office!” I beamed, “I’m a stay at home mom and I’m a writer! This is so great!”
“You’re a writer?”
“Yeah, why?”
“It’s just you don’t hear of a lot of people who are… it’s interesting.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“No, I honestly find it interesting,” he chuckled, “It's cool.”
“Well, thank you,” I liked the compliment, “So what’s it like working on computers?”
“Although it’s not really difficult, it’s important to keep a business running,” he shrugged. I could tell he didn’t want to just totally open up to me; we were strangers after all.
“Well, I made dinner if you’re hungry; it’s nothing extravagant or anything-“
“I can tell you’re a writer,” he smiled and walked past me.
“How?” I turned to him.
“Extravagant?” he snickered and went to the living room with the children. Suddenly I smelled the noodles about burning and I ran in to stir them once more. From the stove, I could see Slate playing with Tristan and Chloe. They just adored him… Chloe sat on his back begging him for a horsey ride as Slate crawled after Tristan who ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. Suddenly Slate reached up and slung Chloe off his back onto the floor in front of him tickling her. Her laugh filled the house and made me smile as Tristan jumped onto Slate’s back trying to rescue his sister. “Oh, no!” Slate rolled over acting as if Tristan had beaten him making him giggle. Both kids then tried to tickle him before he got to his feet. Chloe grabbed one ankle and Tristan took the other and as he walked toward me with a smile he drug them across the floor making them laugh.
“Come on, guys; it’s time for dinner,” I shook my head taking the macaroni and cheese to the table.
“Guys?” he looked at me, “What are you Yankee?” he joked not knowing I actually was.
“Does it matter?”
“Are you really?”
“Maybe,” I shrugged, “Are you saying you aren’t?”
“Around here there aren’t a whole lot of them,” he said.
“Them? What is this 1865?”
“In the South, we’re just a little sore about it still,” he explained, “Dang Yankees, as my dad calls them.”
“We’re no different than you guys,” I defended, “But we’ve accepted that the war is over.”
“Because you won,” he laughed, “Look, I really don’t care; I was joking about it all. Everyone’s a person I don’t care where you came from.” He nodded, “It’s actually kind of cool… So does it like snow up there all the time?”
“Like six months out of the year,” I shrugged, “Why it doesn’t here?”
“Only like maybe an inch in one storm and that’s about all we see all year.”
“For real? So Christmas is-“
“Green.”
“I live in a world where there is no white Christmas?” I couldn’t believe it. Christmas was my favorite holiday and it was picture perfect in Ohio, complete with snow forts, snow men, snow ball fights… Now there is none.
“Um, can we eat?” Chloe asked sitting in her chair with Tristan climbing up into his. “You two act like you don’t even know each other.” We looked to each other and smiled before we took our seats across the table from one another. Over dinner, the children talked about their day; Chloe learned to tie her shoe and Tristan found the remote we’d been looking for… apparently. Afterward, went pretty fast and I honestly don’t remember anything until bed time. Slate carried a sleeping Tristan to his bed and I followed him in watching as the caring father laid his son down onto his Bug’s Life sheets. He kissed his head and backed away allowing me to do the same. We left the dark room together and he shut the door quietly behind us. Suddenly, it was just the two of us standing in the hallway. With both kids asleep we were alone for the first time since that morning.