Saved Folk in the House by Sonnie Beverly Read Free Book Online Page A

and gave him a personalized speech about how special Zakia was and how special they expected him to treat her.

Chapter Seven
    Z akia and Zeke moved into Jay’s bigger, nicer house out in the suburbs. They decided to keep Zakia’s house as investment property. They agreed to also maintain his house as investment property after they finished building their dream home the following year. Within their first few years of marriage, the value of their portfolio increased significantly. Their life together was off to a great start.
    After their new home was built, Zakia decided to start entertaining coworkers. She was lining up perfectly with corporate America, following the rules, playing the games, and winning. She hosted the office Christmas party two years in a row. She had the favor of her bosses, and she had earned it.
    When Zakia became pregnant, the computer technicians from her job came in and set up an office in her home so that she wouldn’t miss a beat during maternity leave. She was very productive at home up until she went into labor.
    Zakia gave birth to a second son. He was beautiful and fit perfectly into her ideal world. He was called JJ for Jay Jr. Zeke adored his little brother, and Jay had never been more proud.
    “How did you get another boy? You know Essence was supposed to be a boy,” Eboni said one day.
    “Girl, I’m lining up, living right. Things work out when you live right and just let it come to you. Your man needs a revelation on that.”
    “He’s too comfortable, girl. Every time I leave him, he just waits, knowing I’m going to come back.”
    “Then don’t go back until he marries you.”
    “I try, but you know I love that man. Okay, I’m going to hold out the next time.”
    “I hear ya.”
    “But I’m really happy for you,” Eboni said, hugging her friend.
    “I know you are, girl. Thanks!”
    Two months after JJ’s birth, Zakia returned to her office downtown with far less zeal than when she had left. She kept the office set up at home for the days she didn’t want to deal with the traffic. Her bosses agreed with the arrangement, since she was just as productive at home as she was in the office. The setup worked very well, but with each passing year, Zakia lost a little more enthusiasm for her work.
    Jay was becoming a very skilled investor. He decided to break out of his safe real estate and mutual fund mode to really take some risks. He had a good feeling about a small software company whose financials looked great and whose earning potential looked even greater. He decided to take a chance and invest substantially in the company’s stock, and it turned out to be a smart move. The company took off, and Jay saw his investment triple. He was already confident, but being married to Zakia for the last five years had given him an assurance that he had never known. Eventually, Jay had the boys’ college tuition to any school in the country safely invested until it was needed.
    As the years passed and they grew and acquired and conquered, a funny feeling started to grow inside of Zakia. Her excitement about life was decreasing the more her family increased. She decided to take inventory of her life. She had it all and then some. She had beautiful, healthy children; a wonderful, loving husband with whom she was always in sync; a great job; financial stability; loving, supportive family and friends; her mother’s approval; and excellent health—yet she was missing something. She had no idea why, but there was a void in her that none of what she had—and she had everything materially—even began to fill.
    Zakia was too much of a doer to just let the feeling get the best of her, so she began to investigate and try different things to fill the void. She tried working out, and even though she was starting to look and feel better physically, the void was still there. She traveled to new places alone and with her family. She talked her husband into renting a Winnebago, and they drove