The Morning After

It’s been a year since the death of Ms. Essie Mae Richardson, the seventy-seven-year-old pillar of the Braxton Parks community. Before her untimely demise, Essie’s prayers brought redemption to many of her neighborhood’s problems; but now the impact of her death and the unfinished business that it left behind is threatening to unravel all that she prayed so hard for God to mend.While Colin Stephens still enjoys a blissful marriage to his wife, Angel, unbeknownst to him, she is wrestling with the guilt and regret of never saying goodbye to the woman she loved like a mother. And while their guards are down, a voice from Ms. Essie’s past steps in and threatens to steal the security that the Stephenses have taken for granted.To Jennifer’s relief, her fifteen-year-old son, Jerrod, was saved from gang-related activities by Ms. Essie’s love and guidance. But now, just when it seems that the teenager is on a winning track, he’s blindsided by more trouble than the streets could have ever offered.