Real Love 3 (Hungry Hearts)

by H. H. Fowler

  “You don’t need to pray about this one, hon. Just show up and God will do the rest. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.”

  Drake gazed at Sasha with a new level of appreciation. “You are more amazing than I remembered. How could I have ever been so foolish as to walk away from you?”

  Sasha withheld her initial comment. She didn’t want to spoil the atmosphere with words she’d already buried in the grave of forgiveness. Rather, she offered Drake a supportive smile and said, “If the Lord allows, we have our entire lives ahead of us to relearn each other all over again. Let us not give the devil any more chances to steal what belongs to us.”

  “Drake smiled in response. “Spoken like a true First Lady...” He extended a hand toward Sasha, beckoning her to return to his embrace. “I’m going in the shower. You’ve given me strength to prepare for this morning’s service. However, I would love for you to join me, Mrs. Beckford. I have some unfinished business I didn’t take care of last night.”

  Now Sasha was the one who needed strength because she was too tired to indulge in her husband’s burgeoning sexual appetite. “You’re not in the least saddened about Elder John’s arrest?”

  “I am not thinking about Elder John at the moment,” Drake said. “Besides, making love to my darling wife is all the consolation I need to help me cope with the challenges ahead.”

  Sasha smiled, despite the discomfort she felt in her lower region. “Oh Lord, what have I done? I’ve created an insatiable beast.”

  “As I have told you repeatedly,” Drake grinned, “I am making up for lost time.”

  Chapter Seven

  Just as the sister from the church had predicted, El Shaddai Ministries was teeming with people, so many in fact, that Hunter had to slowly maneuver her car around the masses to prevent causing a collision. It was surreal to think that this huge turnout was for Drake and Sasha. Hunter almost felt as if she was chauffeuring two of Devin’s Cay’s biggest celebrities – the way the people were screaming with excitement and pressing against the car windows.

  “Wow, Drake, this is crazy out here,” Hunter beamed. “I knew you guys were well-loved, but seeing all these people out here to welcome you and Sasha is mind blowing. I’m almost jealous.”

  Sasha grimaced at Hunter’s words. “This scene is nothing to be jealous over. I am literally terrified of getting out of this car.”

  “That makes two of us,” Drake said. “I wasn’t expecting all of this.”

  “What do you propose we do?” Sasha chimed back in. “Because I don’t intend to be trampled to death by this crowd.”

  Hunter laughed, finally bringing the car to a stop as near as she could to the church’s entrance. “You two are not staying in this car; that’s for sure. These people may throw a rock and break my expensive windshield, trying to get to y’all. I say wing it, because it’s quite clear these people are crazy about you guys and will not calm down until you address them.”

  Drake locked his gaze with Sasha’s, which was still brimming with terror. “Hunter’s right. We have to address their concerns and let them know where we stand regarding our decision to accept what appears to be our divine destiny.”

  Sasha nodded. “You take the lead and I’ll follow.”

  “Aww,” Hunter teased. “That is so sweet.”

  “Hunter, don’t push it,” Sasha warned.

  Drake pushed his side of the door open, only to be bombarded with screams loud enough to burst his eardrums.

  “I was praying for you, Minister Beckford!” some yelled. “We all were!”

  “Welcome home!” others shouted. “We always knew this was God’s plan…we never believed those crazy accusations anyhow!”

  Hearing about how the people were still receptive of Drake and his wife was one thing, but to actually experience it was another. Drake fought back tears as he realized that what he was seeing was nothing short of the mercies of God. What else could have kept the people’s hearts full of love but the power of God? Even if Drake wanted to doubt God’s plan for his life at this point, it would be impossible to do so, not with such confirmation coming at him from every direction.

  Drake helped his wife out of the back seat and pulled her close to him and they, along with Hunter, pushed through the crowd until they made it safely into the lobby of the church. The throng followed them into the sanctuary where the praise and worship singers burst into spontaneous singing. The musicians were soon in place, who, with various types of instruments, supplemented the atmosphere with an anointed melody.

  Those who weren’t lifting their hands in thanksgiving, were running the aisle with praises and those who weren’t running the aisle, were on their knees in tears. As the exuberant praise and worship singers simmered to a slower pace, the mothers of the church began to hum one Negro spiritual after the other, reminding the younger generation of the miracles and pure power of God that had delivered El Shaddai Ministries from the plots of the evil one. Now they could all join in with an old traditional hymn and say, “We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord. Trusting in His holy word. He’s never failed us yet. Oh! We can’t turn around, we’ve come this far by faith.

  Hunter was overcome with emotion. And despite her trying to keep a dry eye, she too was caught up with those who were weeping. However, they weren’t weeping as ones without hope, they were weeping because of the overwhelming joy that flooded through the place. Drake and Sasha could do nothing else except extend their hands in the air and worship the Lord of lords and the Kings of kings – the Lord God who’d made all of this possible. It was a time of refreshing and repentance for everyone. A brand new start with brand new powerful leaders.

  And although Drake had no sermon planned, he knew he had to get on the microphone to make an official announcement. He grabbed his wife’s hand and they humbly walked toward the pulpit. They seemed to stand forever, waiting for the congregation to quiet their energetic expressions. Drake found himself thanking the congregation repeatedly.

  “What do we say to all of this?” he said, clearly not in control of his emotions. “But I’m quite certain of this one thing: My wife and I have no hand in what’s happening right now…it’s all God…”

  ****

  On the outside, a black Tahoe with tinted windows drove by and stopped about ten yards across the street from the parking lot of El Shaddai Ministries. They’d driven by earlier, staking out the place, only to be met with an atmosphere swarming with a noisy group of people. Obviously, they could not do what they came to do. They left and came back half an hour later, happy to find that the people had moved their festive party into the building. But because the parking lot was clogged with their vehicles, blocking the main entrance that led to the back area of the church, the Tahoe had trouble gaining access to the property.

  Not to be deterred, two men, disguised as scary-looking clowns, hopped out of the back seat of the SUV and made a quick run through the maze of cars toward the back. They each carried four sets of gasoline-soaked, homemade gadgets, heavy enough to bust through windows and disintegrate upon impact. Their commands had been brief with few details given on how they were to be executed: Get rid of Drake Beckford and that pathetic church. These men had no boundaries and no respect for human life – the reasons why Elder John Dewey – former veteran gang leader of the ‘Island Bloods,’ had called upon them.

  ****

  “My wife and I are only twenty-five years old,” Drake said, continuing his emotional discourse. “An age when many of our friends are graduating from college and are beginning their secular careers. But here we are, accepting the position as pastors over a church that was founded over forty-one years ago by Rev. Henderson. Can you imagine forty-one years ago? We weren’t even thinking about being born yet.

  “I’ve heard many stories about how radical Rev. Henderson was in his younger days. He would go out into the streets and preach to gangsters, prostitutes, alcoholics and drug addicts, challenging them through the power of the p
reached Word. Many gave their lives to Christ and have remained faithful to the cross, including some of you wonderful mothers and fathers of this great church. Including Elder John Dewey, who at this time is incarcerated. Let us all pray for him and his daughter…I will not glory in one’s downfall, but I will say this, what the devil meant for evil, God has turned it around for good.”

  Someone suddenly began to scream out, “Fire! Fire! Fire!”

  Initially, everyone thought that it was in response to Drake’s inspiring speech, but all of a sudden, pandemonium broke out at the back of the church, as flying objects, blazing with orange and red flames, smashed through the windows. The gasoline-soaked gadgets were doing their jobs well, setting on fire everything that came into their path. The church only had three exits and with four hundred people trying to escape for their lives; it created mass chaos.

  “Drake,” Sasha cried, her hands locked on top of her head. “Is this God’s plan for us? To be roasted alive and join Him in heaven? I didn’t sign up for this!”

  Drake wanted to comfort his wife – to let her know that God’s plan was to give them a glorious future and not evil, according to Jeremiah 29:11. This was the act of a coward, spawned by the devil himself. However, Drake felt it was more important to get her and everyone else to safety first and then fill her in on the scriptures later. Every second counted toward them getting out alive. He suddenly remembered Hunter, but with the smoke starting to obscure his view, he probably wouldn’t be able to see anyway and prayed that she was amongst those trying to get out.

  Drake continued to thrust forward, gently pushing his wife toward the back exit, along with anyone else within his reach. Out of nowhere, one of the fiery objects came flying in their direction, connecting with the cuffs of Drake’s pants. Feeling the heat flushing against his flesh, and quickly spreading to other parts of his clothes, Drake dropped to the floor and began to roll in a feverish attempt to save his own life.

  Two of the deacons had busted the fire extinguishers out of the glass cage and were bouncing back and forth, trying to put out as much of the flames as they could. And they were doing a pretty good job keeping the flames at bay, if only until the fire trucks arrived. When Sasha saw them, she yelled for their attention like she’d lost her mind.

  “Over here, guys! I need you over here! My husband is on fire…” Sasha’s coughs were increasing, as the smoke was starting to get into her lungs. But when Drake’s screams shot up another notch, she forgot about her coughs and slipped completely into panic mode. “My God, help my husband before he burns alive!”

  ****

  Unaware of the bedlam at El Shaddai Ministries, Officer Mitchell had been yelling at John Dewey for the last fifteen minutes, trying to pull a statement out of him. But the man sat like a mute and no matter how worked up Mitchell got, Dewey was not moved by it.

  “You think you’re such a tough cookie, don’t you?” Mitchell taunted. “Well, wait until your old behind gets into the real slammer. Sexual molesters, pedophiles like you are gonna see what it’s like to be punished for your sins. I advise you not to bend to pick up your soap from the floor. Then again, if they don’t get you in the shower, they will get you wherever, whenever they can.”

  Dewey closed his eyes and smiled.

  Infuriated by Dewey’s actions, Mitchell slapped the table and roared, “Did you send those two men to kill your daughter? This is the last chance I’m giving you to come clean or else every deal is off!”

  “Young man,” Dewey still had his eyes closed, “haven’t you already read me my Miranda rights? Why are you pestering me with questions you know that I will never answer? I will only talk when my lawyer arrives tomorrow. Until then, please take me back to my cell so that I can get some much needed rest.”

  Mitchell stuffed both his hands into his pockets to stop himself from breaking Dewey’s neck. “Pompous bastard,” he spat. “Men like you make me excited to get up in the morning to come to work. I will bring you down, Dewey and you can count on that.”

  “Well then,” Dewey said, finally opening his eyes, “this session appears to be over.”

  “I guess it is,” Mitchell seethed. He gestured to two lower ranking officers who were standing outside the interrogation room, looking in through the tinted glass. “But know this Dewey: Your days are numbered.”

  “You’re worried about the babblings of a woman who’d lied to you about being raped,” Dewey quipped. “You haven’t seen anything yet, officer. And that is not a threat; just hardcore facts. I am about to become your worst nightmare.”

  Chapter Eight

  It was nearing the end of September when autumn was close at hand. Levi sensed the change in season was about to take him for a spin down that miserable road where it was difficult for him to sleep at night. His eyes felt itchy and he was coughing like crazy. However, he was not one to sit back and let his allergies control him. He would go in search of some Tylenol and Vitamin C to help stop this irritating feeling in its tracks. Thank goodness he had about five hours to recuperate before his shift started at the Blue Marlin or else he would have called in, requesting the day off.

  As he got up to check his bathroom cabinet, his cell vibrated in his pants pocket. He pulled it out and checked it, surprised to see it was a text message from Yasmine, especially after he’d decided to ditch her and her drama-filled life at the last minute. He did not know what had become of her and he hadn’t any desire to inquire of her. Any shred of desire for pursuit that he may have had left for Yasmine had been completely taken away when he saw Sasha that night, coming out of the police station with Drake. His obsession with this girl was anything but over and he knew it the minute his prurient gaze bathed her lithe form from top to bottom. So blatant it was that even Drake had recognized it.

  Sighing forcefully, like he usually did when he thought about what could have been had Sasha given him a chance, Levi casually read through the words of Yasmine’s lengthy text:

  I supposed I should be upset with you, Mr. Johnson, especially because you didn’t visit me at the hospital. But I’m not upset. How could I be after you’ve helped save my life? I don’t blame you for leaving – especially after hearing about all that crazy stuff I did to Drake and all the other crap I’d gotten myself into with Ronnie. Anyways, I’m not going to be a burden to you much longer – not that you care, but I thought I should at least thank you for saving my life.

  “Ronnie has been arrested and won’t hurt me anymore – well, that’s the plan. You see, I will be testifying against Ronnie and to avoid being the victim of another murder attempt on my life, I will be placed in a witness protection program… at least until Ronnie has been indicted and put away for a long time. So, my handsome knight in shining armor, if we never see each other again in life, please know that I am indebted to you. Be good and stay out of trouble.

  Levi deleted the text once he was through reading it. No sense saving it because it would only mean that there was some measure of affection he felt toward Yasmine, which couldn’t be further from the truth. At least her life seemed to be getting back on track. He couldn’t say the same about himself; he was having all the trouble in the world trying to shake Sasha McKay out of his system – no matter what he did or how he tried to ignore her. Sasha’s heart-shaped face and her cute little lips would always pop up in his head when he least expected it. However, it was brutally worse when songs like Usher’s, “U Got it Bad” were playing on his Bluetooth speakers.

  Levi had to restrain himself from walking over to the speakers and smashing them with his fist. How pathetic the lyrics made him seem, sitting home alone, obsessing about a woman who wasn’t his and would never be. Usher wasn’t really his cup of tea anyway. How did that song get into his playlist? He let out another one of those powerful sighs as he grabbed the Tylenol pills and the Vitamin C from the bathroom cabinet and walked to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of orange juice.

  He swallowed the concoction and went to his bedroom to take a
short nap. Two hours later, he was awakened by his phone, vibrating on the dresser next to him. He was too woozy to check it, but the vibration went off again, and again, creating a sense of urgency. Maybe it was his boss trying to reach him. He grabbed his cell, only to give in to his annoyance when he noticed that it was Yasmine. If he’d known she would turn out to be a stalker, he would have never given her his number. He thought he was simply helping a young woman in distress. She was only to contact him if there was a real emergency.

  “I’ve been in my new place for almost a week and it suddenly hit me,” she texted. “We should keep the lines open, because I think the both of us could use the company.”

  Levi stared at the text, not feeling the least bit tempted to reciprocate.

  “Hello? Are you there? Levi? Please respond...”

  Levi’s thumb hovered over the keyboard of his phone, already regretting the move. “I’m here. What do you want?” he texted.

  “Are you annoyed with me already? Because it seems like you are.”

  “I was sleeping.”

  “Oh…sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you…I will text you later, if that is okay with you.”

  Levi shook his head. He really wasn’t interested in talking to this female. However, the gentle side of him wouldn’t allow him to be completely dismissive. “Yes, we can talk later…are you okay?” He didn’t know why he asked that.

  “Wow…you almost made me cry.”

  “Why?”

  “Because your concern seems so genuine, even though I know you would prefer to be left alone…I’m good at sensing people’s moods, even though we are communicating through text. But to answer your question: I’m trying not to lose it. Being told I’m eight weeks pregnant for my stepfather isn’t exactly the most exciting news.”

  Levi pushed up on his elbows, leaning against his headboard. He didn’t understand why Yasmine felt as if he wanted to hear about her sordid past. “What are you going to do about the baby? You don’t have to keep it, you know.”