The Pastor's Heart

by Desiree Future

  “It’s just business Sinclair, you know how it is.” Mr. Dunbar said smugly as Sinclair whirled around to face him.

  Kingston began walking towards Mr. Dunbar as he became upset. “Being disrespectful will not be tolerated. Being disrespectful to my companion in my house will have you thanking God that I’m a pastor and not a man of the world.” Kingston said sternly staring at the man cowering in the corner.

  “Let me tell you something you sleazy son of a…..” Sinclair began.

  “Sinclair, no!” Kingston shouted interrupting her.

  “When I get done with him trust me you will have your turn too since it seems like that’s all you two do is take turns hurting people. All that buying a new property was a bunch of bull crap. You two were trying to buy my property from right under my nose and I have the documents to prove it!”

  She then turned her attention back to Mr. Dunbar who had mysteriously bolted for the door in those few seconds. “By the way your partner went running for the hills this tells me you knew about this. You knew all about this.” Sinclair went on as she just shook her head realizing it was no mistake at all Kingston was the man who was trying to steal her property. “I prayed to God, the God you told me to trust. I prayed to Him that this was all just a mistake but I see it’s not. Your name and signature is on the bottom of this document.”

  “Let me explain, he showed me the property at 12179 Reutuf. I even saw the building.” Kingston said as he inched closer to Sinclair but she just backed away. “I really didn’t know, all I knew was Mr. Dunbar found property that I could potentially buy. I don’t know what he did but you have to believe me.” Kingston pleaded with Sinclair.

  “But my address is 21179 Reutuf Street is on this document as property to be purchased and you signed it as buyer. How in the world don’t you know? It’s your business to know. I worked hard all my life to make sure I wouldn’t have to eat out the trash or sleep in the alleys again. I lived on the street that was my life when I aged out of foster care. One woman gave me a job and a place to lay my head. I worked my fingers to the bone to make my business what it is and I refuse to let you or anyone else take it away from me.” Tears had started to stream out Sinclair’s eyes and all Kingston wanted to do was hold her in his arms.

  “I am so sorry; I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Kingston inched even closer than ever to Sinclair. Before Kingston knew it a vase was being hurled right at his head.

  Things just went from bad to worse Kingston thought after ducking behind a chair to avoid being hit with a vase. He had never seen this side of Sinclair and prayed she would soon calm down.

  There was a booming sound coming from the room. If it were not for Sinclair’s lips moving she would not have known it was her shouting loudly at Kingston.

  “This is my life, not some fairy tale! I can’t be bought like some two dollar hooker or crack head on the street! I had to work for everything I have, nothing was given to me! Nothing! It might not matter to you because you have never done a hard days’ work in your life! You have never had to go hungry or live on the streets! To myself and all those aging out kids, my business is there everything. It’s their ray of sunshine out of the darkness and for you to try and take that away from them, from us!!” Sinclair broke down crying before continuing. “You are just is a crook with a collar. All the trust that I had for you is gone and there is nothing left and to think I actually fell in love with you. I might not know what love is but this is definitely not it. Goodbye Kingston Carter we are through.” Slamming the door behind her, Sinclair ran out into the stormy rain.

  *******************

  Sinclair woke up to find bright lights gleaming in her eyes, trying to turn away she felt pain in her chest. She heard a strange voice telling her not to move but she couldn’t understand why anyone was in her bedroom.

  The only color to this all white room was from the burgundy window valance that let the some sunlight into the plain room. Two chairs aligned the window while a tall tray sat next a rollaway drawer.

  With the built of a football player, the fair complexioned man wore a well-trimmed beard and glasses that matched his blond hair. With his white jacket and stethoscope hanging around his neck he went to Sinclair.

  “Sinclair, how do you feel?” A strange voice asked her that she clearly did not recognize.

  “Stop trying to move Sinclair.” Came from a voice she did recognize, it was Kingston.

  “Beautiful, don’t move. You have tubes connected to you,” Kingston said as he stood closer to her so she could see him.

  Once she had adjusted her eyes to the extreme bright lights she was able to see that she was not in her bedroom at all.

  “What happened and why can’t I move my body?” She asked realizing something was very wrong.

  “You’re in the hospital Sinclair. You were in a car accident last night.” Kingston explained as he held her hand.

  “I’m Dr. Lundy, Sinclair I will be taking care of you while you are here. You have a broken leg and a few broken ribs and that’s why it’s so hard for you to move. The monitors attached to you will help your breathing and make sure your lungs are working properly.” The white male doctor said in a husky voice.

  “Did I hit anybody?” She asked while looking around the bare room.

  Looking into Sinclair’s bruised and swollen face Kingston answered. “You didn’t hit anyone. You hit a tree and your car flipped over several times.”

  “Madame, you will be in a lot of pain for a while because your injuries are pretty bad, especially that leg. I had to rush you into emergency surgery and place a metal rod inside your leg because it was broken in several places. You have two broken ribs, one of which missed your lungs by a centimeter and that’s the reason I am watching your breathing.” The doctor explained to Sinclair.

  “What does that mean?” Sinclair questioned the doctor.

  “That means,” the doctor began as he examined Sinclair’s cast. “Your injuries are pretty bad and you need to get plenty of rest so you can heal. God was truly watching over you because it could have been a lot worse. I’ll be back to check on you later but for now try not to move much and get some rest.”

  The doctor left the room leaving Kingston and Sinclair with an eerie silence between the two.

  “How did you know I was here?” Sinclair asked breaking the dead silence.

  “I jumped in my car to go after you because I was not letting you walk out on me.” He explained as he leaned over to adjust the covers on her to keep her warm. “I saw when you spun out, hit a tree and flip over.”

  “Thanks for staying to see about me. I’m fine but I just can’t talk to you right now.” Sinclair wrenched in pain as she attempted to adjust herself.

  “If you stop moving it won’t hurt as much. Here let me help you.” He said as he adjusted the pillow she was trying to adjust beneath herself. “I know you don’t want to talk about it now but we will talk sooner or later. I’ll be back in an hour, while I’m gone I want you to take a nap and don’t move too much as the doctor asked of you.” Kingston said as he kissed Sinclair on her forehead and left her in the lonely hospital room.

  “My car,” she managed to squeeze out because the pain was so unbearable.

  “Don’t worry about that now, concentrate on getting better.” Kingston did not have the heart to tell her that her car was totaled in the accident.

  *******************

  Sinclair had barely spoken to Kingston since being in the hospital even though he had been at her bedside every day. When she had asked him to leave he told her he was not leaving until she was released from the hospital. Mere words were exchanged between the two but he sat by her bedside every day with his newspaper and laptop, leaving only to go home to shower, change and then to return to his seat by the window.

  He had brought her flowers, balloons and her favorite White Chocolate Truffles but she didn’t touch any of them because she was still upset. She didn’t want to look at him but because
of the large cast on her leg she really couldn’t turn away. As much as she didn’t want Kingston there, he was all she really needed. Being in excruciating pain and having her heart broken made everything so confusing and all she really wanted was for all the pain to go away.

  Awakening Sinclair from her thoughts Robyn asked. “Hey are you all right? Do you want me to get the nurse?”

  “No, I’m fine, it’s just that I want to get out of this hospital and go home. It’s been ten days now and I don‘t understand why I have to stay here.” Sinclair complained.

  Before Robyn could answer Sasha appeared in the doorway. “Because you are not well enough that’s why.” Sasha interrupted as she glided into the room and kissed Sinclair on her cheek.

  “How is my boss feeling today besides grumpy?” She asked as he took a seat on the opposite side of Sinclair’s bed.

  “I have a ten pound cast on my leg, broken ribs and every time I take a deep breath it hurts. The food sucks and so does this place, I hope that answers your question.” Sinclair answered as sarcastically as she could.

  Sasha ignored her knowing that she had a rough time dealing with being in the hospital and dealing with Kingston at the same time.

  “Look Sinclair, you probably don’t want to hear this but you need to forgive and forget. Life is too short to be crying over something you can’t change. It’s probably a blessing in disguise that this happened.” Robyn said as she leaned into smell the flowers Kingston had brought Sinclair.

  “I had just left the airport after dropping off Desmond so he could go on his business trip when Kingston called me. He told me you were in a bad car accident and my heart sank to my stomach. All I could do on the way over here was pray that you were all right. We have been through so much together, you are like the sister I never had and to lose you would be to lose a piece of me.” Sasha sat quietly as she saw the rare emotion as Robyn went on.

  “Kingston told me about the fight you guys had. Now, Kingston may have been wrong on many levels but so were you. If you weren’t so busy trying to take on the world by yourself maybe, just maybe this wouldn’t have happened.” Robyn told Sinclair who was sitting up in her bed.

  “Robyn I don’t want to hear this right now.” Sinclair brushed her back behind her ear.

  “I don’t care what you want to hear or don’t want to hear. I see that man as a loving and caring man. The kind of man that loves you so much he would do anything for you including take that load you been carrying all these years. I bet you never even asked him his side of the story. Heck, he has been sitting by your bedside every single day since the accident. What man is going to do that if he didn’t love you? He has a business to run and yet he is here with you. You need to talk to him and find out what really happened. I’m sorry you’re in the hospital but I am grateful God put you on your back so you can just relax for a minute.” Robyn and Sinclair had been best friends for years and Robyn knew when Sinclair needed a swift kick in the rear and this was it.

  “How is my patient doing today?” Asked the doctor as he walked in with Kingston.

  In unison both Sasha and Robyn replied, “Grumpy!”

  Sinclair rolled her eyes at them both.

  “Well Sinclair in your defense some of the medication can make you a little irritable. I just need to check your breathing for a minute,” the doctor said as everyone moved away so he could check Sinclair.

  “Your breathing sounds much better now. Taking a few deep breaths every hour will help heal your ribs,” he said after checking her lungs.

  “Okay, no problem.” Sinclair responded as the doctor adjusted her bed back to its regular position.

  “I have checked over your chart and you seem to be doing better than I expected. I am releasing you first thing in the morning, but with restrictions.” The doctor said as Sinclair’s face lit up with excitement.

  “That’s great to hear,” a smiling Kingston added in.

  “Restrictions are no getting up on your leg without any help. No pushing or pulling anything with those broken ribs. All you can do is lie in bed, take your medicine and rest. You’ll definitely need someone to help you for a while, though with the proper rest you will continue to heal just fine.” He explained in detail while standing over Sinclair.

  “Okay Robyn we can rotate to help out Sinclair and I can get Oliver to take care of the agency when I’m with Sinclair.” Sasha offered.

  “Oh that’s a great idea, I will bring my laptop and I can work on my column from there. Pastor Carter can you pull the third shift?” Robyn asked as the three of them huddled in a circle.

  “I will do a step better; I will take care of Sinclair myself. I know she doesn’t want me here but I will take care of her one way or another. I will ask a few of my church members to come help her out while you guys run her agency. Sasha, you know the business extremely well so I need you to go to all of Sinclair’s appointments. Robyn, if you could help Oliver out at the agency that would really help.” Kingston delegated his plan to a surprised Sasha and Robyn just like Sinclair would herself.

  “Okay,” both Sasha and Robyn replied.

  “Great then its settled. I will sign the release forms and you can go home tomorrow.” Dr. Lundy said before shaking Kingston’s hand.

  “Pastor Carter, always a pleasure. Take care now, bye ladies.” The doctor said as he walked to check on his other patients not even bothering to wait for Sinclair’s response.

  “Umm, hello. Me the patient do I get a say in this arrangement?” Waving her hands in the air Sinclair tried to object. “I vote no. I can take care of my own self because I have been doing it this long.”

  “Did you forget about your broken ribs, you can‘t even sit up without help or more important, that ten pound cast on your leg? Maybe that cast should be on your head because you have obviously lost your mind.” Sasha added in an irritated voice.

  “I think she has lost her mind,” Robyn agreed as she turned and looked to Sasha and Kingston and then back to Sinclair. “If you could take care of yourself we would not be standing here having this conversation.”

  “Remember I told you that my dad went against my mother when he found out she was doing so much work in the church? Do you remember that? My dad took all her duties and spread them out amongst the congregation so she could rest. Well, this is the same situation.” Kingston began as he made his way closer to Sinclair while Robyn and Sasha backed away.

  “Well I’m…” Sinclair started to say.

  “I’m not done yet.” Kingston continued as his voice became deeper. “I will have someone at your house to help you every day until you get better. I am not asking you for your permission, I’m telling you they will be there. I won’t be there because I know you need your space right now and I understand. Now whether you believe me or not I truly do love you,” Kingston said with such sincerity that a tear almost fell from Sinclair’s eye.

  “I admit it; I was wrong for doing business with someone I didn’t know. It was the dumbest mistake I ever made in my life. I had no idea it was your property that he, we were trying to buy. Nor did I know the manner he was trying to get it. Had I known any of this I would have stopped it before you got hurt.” Kingston needed for Sinclair to know exactly how he felt and she would hear it whether she wanted to or not.

  “If that’s not love I don’t know what is?” Robyn knew that Sinclair had a very stubborn streak about her especially when she was hurting. Kingston had rubbed her the wrong way and now she wanted nothing to do with him.

  “Only until I get this cast off.” Sinclair told Kingston in a snooty voice.

  “Only until the doctor says you can take care of yourself by yourself.” Kingston countered her.

  “Fine. Whatever.” Sinclair glared at him.

  “Fine. Regardless of what you might think right now I really do love you and when you are ready we will talk.” Kingston said as he looked into Sinclair’s dark eyes.

  “Good, now that that’s settled I have to go
. Feel better and I will see you soon.” Robyn said just as Sasha realized she had to get to work as well. They both departed together leaving Sinclair and Kingston by themselves.

  Sinclair was on the verge of tears knowing that Kingston really did love her, but the mental pain hurt so much she held them back. Kingston had taken his usual seat next to her bedside and sat quietly so crying Sinclair could not do. They spoke not another word between the two.

  Sinclair had fallen asleep and awoke to find that she had cried in her sleep and Kingston had left his pocket square under her eyes to stop her tears.

  GOD HEALS

  It had been three long weeks since Sinclair flipped out on Kingston and three weeks that Sinclair refused to speak to or see him. He had left several messages but she never returned any of his calls. He felt like his world had come crashing down on him yet he was the cause of everything that had happened. Kingston was totally lost without Sinclair he didn’t know what to do to repair the mess but he knew he had to do something because he couldn’t let her lose her business.

  Kingston’s head was pounding with such a headache that he thought he was going to pass out from the pain. He had missed Sinclair so much that he just could not bear the pain that he inflicted on her. The pounding still went on until Kingston realized it wasn’t his head pounding that hard but rather someone pounding on his front door.

  “What took you so long? I have been ringing this bell and knocking on your door for ten minutes,” Calvin said as Kingston opened the door and he slipped right in.

  “Pop, what are you doing here?” Kingston asked looking disheveled with his tee shirt hanging half way inside his pants.

  “What do you mean, what am I doing here?” Calvin asked looking at his weary son. “It’s third Saturday, it’s fishing day, Son.” Calvin replied as he walked into the living room to find it a complete mess.

  His once clean house was now the total opposite of its normal stage. Clothes, dirty dishes and papers littered his living room, kitchen and family room and even the dining room too.