*****
She stretched languidly trying to ease her tired muscles as he rubbed her feet. They had come back to the manor after the show and she felt the weariness descending on her like a heavy cloak. Her parents had told her over and over how proud they were of her and Kathy had hugged her with tears in her eyes. “You make us fall in love again.” She had said, her hand tightening on her husband’s.
“You humble me,” he told her huskily as he massaged the kinks out of her feet.
“I feel the same about you,” she wriggled her feet into his lap. “When I am writing; you are always uppermost in my mind.”
“I am honored,” he lifted her small foot and kissed the toes tenderly. “I wanted to get up and shout ‘Hey people this is my wife!’”
“I am sure everyone there already knows that.” She said as he sent a delicious shiver up and down her spine. His slightest touch always set her off and she was trying to get used to it.
“I wanted to say it in case someone in that entire massive crowd did not know,” he put her foot down and climbed up beside her. “You mean so much to me baby.”
“I want you to show me over and over again.” She whispered.
“I thought you were tired.”
“Never for this,” she said softly as he came over her.
Chapter 12
“I am so happy that we are now getting a chance to talk,” Reverend John Simmons said warmly as he poured them both cups of steaming coffee. They were in his office at the church and he had called his daughter’s husband to talk about his decision to accept the Lord as his personal Savior among other things. “We have not gotten a chance to talk since you have become involved with Kayla and since gotten married. I cannot tell you how happy I am that you have decided on this path.”
“Are you going to tell me that it's not an easy one?” Tyrese asked his father in law coolly, still not yet warmed up to him and the fact that he had not been there for Kayla in the past as he should have. He did not give a fig about his affair, that was between him and God and maybe his wife but he wondered if the man was in this business because he wanted fame.
Reverend John looked at him shrewdly. He knew what people still thought of him and even his own church members approached him a little warily now. “I was about to tell you that yes,” he said soberly putting aside his cup. “I started out because I wanted to be recognized. I wanted to be someone. I went in for the wrong reason and that is how I built this sanctuary, through very selfish reasons. But it changed and I changed.” He laughed shortly. “When God touches you then you are going to realize that it is not all business as usual. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, ignoring the important people in my life and I cannot hope to fix that overnight. I am happy that you are going into this for all the right reasons and I am happy that you are a very good husband to my daughter, more than I was to her mother.”
Tyrese felt himself warming to the man and realized that in his own way he was apologizing as he had been doing to everyone around him since the scandal. It was time to give him a break. “I am sure you are making progress,” he responded with lack of something to say. When Kayla had heard that her father wanted to see him she had told him firmly that she wanted to be present.
“Are you telling me that you do not think your husband can stand up to your dad?” he had asked her in amusement. She had been getting ready to go to the studio where she was teaming up to do a duet with international singing R & B sensation: Nick Ryan. He had called her up himself and suggested that they do a song together and if it was possible that they could write it together.
“I do not want him saying something to upset my man.” She had told him probably not realizing that she had called him her man.
“Your man?” he had teased her.
“Yes my man,” she had smiled at him. “I am allowed to say that because of this,” she lifted her left hand where her diamond rings glinted in the light.
“You are right.” He said soberly, giving her a quick kiss. “But I can hold my own woman.”
“Thank you for listening,” Rev. Simmons said now extending his hand. “And welcome to the family.”
*****
Kayla took her seat on the choir and adjusted her burgundy robe. Her husband was getting baptized and was being received as a member this cloudy March morning. He was not the only one doing so but surprisingly after he had made his decision and told his brother and sister in law, they had decided that they wanted to make that decision as well.
While at the manor Kayla had engaged them in prayer meetings and always prayed before every meal so they had come to accept who she was. There were a total of five persons being baptized and the fact that it was two brothers at the same time brought a level of pleasure and anticipation in the congregation.
The photographers were there as well so the place was packed and Kayla was brought back to the time when they were getting married. It had been a month already.
“Good morning my brothers and sisters,” Rev. Simmons greeted the congregation warmly. “We are here this morning to celebrate a joyous occasion. The commitment of brothers and sisters to the Lord and what more could we ask for? One of the persons being baptized here this morning is my son in law and he brought along with him his brother and his brother’s wife. What a simply joyous occasion.” He turned to the choir and nodded. “The choir with my daughter leading them off will now render an item.”
*****
First Lady Marion Simmons sat there with a smile on her face as she listened to her husband preached. They had gotten closer over the last month and he had been growing stronger in the ministry. He has been thinking about taking the ministry further and they were discussing it. In the past he had always made the decision all by himself but now he never made a move without consulting her first, they had at last become a team, something that she had wanted for a long time.
She had been secretly checking up on Erica Rose and knew she had finally gone to Florida and was finally able to relax. She had invested too much into this relationship to let another woman come into the picture and she was actually starting to like where they were at the moment. He was talking about them going on a cruise for their anniversary come May and she was thinking about it. She exhaled and settled back against the deep cushion of her chair. Her life was where she wanted it.
Kayla sang a solo about the Grace of God and his awesome power and wandered down the aisle, her eyes going to her husband as she sang about forgiveness and a new life in Christ. The baptism had taken place and the candidates were seated at the very front bench solemnly dressed in white to indicate that they had been washed clean.
After service they lingered while they were welcomed into the fold by the members and urged to stay for breakfast which they did.
*****
Erica adjusted slowly to the life away from the home she had lived for so many years. Her cousin, Rachel did not ask her any questions or even comment on what she had read but had opened her home to her and told her that in time she would get her life back together. She could still feel the shame of what she had done haunting her and at nights when she was alone in bed she would think about it and cry and ask God for forgiveness, sometimes she wondered if he was listening to her. He seemed so silent these days.
She had read the papers where it said about the two brothers being baptized and Rev. Simmons had done the ceremony. She had seen their pictures in the paper and had stared long and hard at the man who had been her lover. She still missed him and still thought about him a lot, God help her but she was determined to move on because he certainly had.
She had gotten a job in an insurance company and was feeling her way around, being polite but not making friends. She did not trust anyone right now and she needed time to heal.
*****
“What are you doing?” Tyrese asked her. They were spending several days at the apartment because they had been at the manor for the last few weeks. It was two weeks since he had been bap
tized and they had gone to church last week and both brothers had made the decision to form a mentor group for young men.
“I am cooking dinner of course what does it look like?” she asked him. He had just come home from the office and she had been at home working on the song she was going to be recording with Nick. She had left the studio early and decided to surprise him by cooking instead of ordering out.
“You don’t have to cook for me Kayla, we could have ordered something,” he sniffed the air appreciatively. She was slicing tomatoes for making a salad and the fried chicken was already covered but the scent was unmistakable. She had prepared the wild rice already and had picked up a lemon meringue pie from the pastry shop where she was stopped and asked for autographs so many times that she had almost been late getting back.
“I like this,” she murmured as she dumped the vegetables in the bowl and wiped her hands on her apron before coming over to him, sliding her hands around his waist. He was still in his sharp brown suit with the thin red stripes and looked incredibly handsome. “I like to think that we are a normal couple who lived a normal life and who can be able to go anywhere without being mobbed. I like the idea of me cooking dinner for my husband who comes home after a hard day at the office. So this allows me to pretend.”
“You sound as if you wished you had that life,” he gently smoothed back the wisps of hair from off her forehead.
“Sometimes I do,” she went on her toes and nibbled at his sensuous bottom lip, sending a spark through his body. “I really appreciate my fans and the fact that people love my singing but I hate the lack of privacy. A woman asked me just as I was leaving the store when was I going to have a child.”
Tyrese looked at her quizzically. “What did you tell her?”
“I politely told her that it was none of her business and then I wanted to go back and apologize to her for being rude.” She said with a sigh as she pulled out of his arms. “Could you pour the wine please?”
“You don’t have to feel guilty about being frank baby, it was really none of her business,” he handed her the glass of wine.
“I know,” she said after taking a sip. “So help me out here and tell me about your day.”
“You want to know what I have been doing today?” his tone was highly amused.
“Being normal, remember?” she said with a smile. “Now humor me.”
“Okay,” he sat beside her and pretended to think. He had taken off his jacket and placed it over one of the chairs and loosened the top two buttons of his shirt. “The plan for the mall is now being delayed because the design is all wrong. We have decided to bring it back to the original design it had when it was first built over thirty years ago but we cannot seem to get the special kind of cut stones they had before, we are still sourcing it.”
“See,” she pointed at him with her half empty glass. “I would not have know all of that if I had not decided to be normal this evening.”
“We talk about these things every night before we go to bed Kayla,” he reminded her with a laugh. “And you are the most normal person I know.”
“Am I?” she asked a little anxiously. “Sometimes I wonder if all this celebrity status is getting to my head and if I am no longer humble.”
“You, my wife have nothing to worry about,” he got up and came around to hold her from behind. “Let’s hurry up and eat, I want to make love to my beautiful wife.”
*****
Reverend John Simmons settled back against the mound of pillows with a smile on his face. He had made love to his wife and it had been wonderful. They had finally found their way back to each other. It was the first time since the scandal that she had allowed him to touch her and he had borne the lack of intimacy even though he had become like a starving man but he knew he had to wait on her. She was the one who had come to him earlier in the night when they had come home from the prayer meeting and said she wanted them to be intimate again.
“Are you sure?” he could have kicked himself as soon as the words came out of his mouth and he waited with bated breath for her response.
“I am not sure but I want us to at least try.”
“I want to as well,” he had told her softly and he had done it right this time making sure he spent time on her.
“How about some tea?” she suggested after they were done. His wife was big on tea and always offered tea when she had something to think about or something to celebrate.
“That sounds lovely.” He told her with a gentle smile. He watched as she pulled on a robe to cover her nakedness and padded off to the kitchen. It was late in the night and a quick glance at the bedside clock showed that it was a little past ten o’clock. But his wife drank tea all the time. “His wife,” he murmured the words beneath his breath and realized that he had not said them in a very long time. He had not appreciated her and had thought that he could find happiness elsewhere and he had almost destroyed them along the way.
She came back bearing a tray with two delicate white tea cups and a matching tea pot. He started to climb off the bed to take the tray from her but she shook her head no and climbed up carefully balancing the tray on one of the side tables.
“Want me to pour?” he asked her.
“I will do it,” she told him quietly and proceeded to do so, passing the cup to him. “We have not officially talked about what happened and I would like us to get everything out in the open.” She added as she sipped her tea, eyeing him over the rim of her cup.
He looked at her and then put his cup on the tray. “What do you want to know?”
“Were you in love with her?”
He looked at her and wondered what the best answer would be. “I thought I was because-“ he paused and looked at her uncertainly.
“Please go on.” She urged.
“I was feeling left out Marion,” he told her quietly. “I know I did not do what I was supposed to do but I was not feeling anything from you. I am sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she told him with a gentle smile. “I was aloof for a long time so I guess I have to take some of the blame as well. I want us to start over and I want us to be honest with each other. It took our daughter for me to see what was missing in our marriage and I thank God for that.”
“Thank you.” He murmured.
“For?”
“For giving me another chance.”
*****
She had won! She stared at the award in her hands and was finding it hard to believe. She had been voted the best new artist of the year and her album had gone platinum! She had walked the red carpet with her husband with reporters asking her who she was wearing as she walked the red carpet in her ice blue gown and diamonds glittering in her ears and around her neck.
She had cried as she went up to accept her award, her speech emotional and sincere. “I have watched these ceremonies on television for a long time and never dreamt that I would be standing her accepting one of these,” she held up the award in her hand. “I want to thank God my Lord and the most important relationship I have and of course my husband Tyrese, I love you baby!” she said with a big smile making the crowd laugh and cheer.
“My husband believed in me enough to invest even before we had anything going on so I owe him so much! And of course my parents who are here as well, thanks mom and dad and my friends, my church members and my fans! I could never forget my fans that made it possible for me to be accepting this award. Thank you very much I love you! I am sorry, I know I was not supposed to be so long and you can ask my husband I am not usually so talkative, right babe?”
“No,” he shouted and they laughed.
“So I just want to say thank you and God bless you.”
*****
“Okay what do you want to do?” Tyrese asked here as soon as they got home. They were staying at the manor for this week and were planning on selling the apartment.
Tariq and Lorelei had come home ahead of them and it was now almost midnight but she was far from being sleepy. “Let’s go and
make something in the spotless kitchen that the chef thinks so highly of.” She had kicked off her heels and used her hands to hike up her very expensive dress as she headed to the kitchen.
“You want us to cook something at this hour?” he asked her walking fast to catch up with her.
“Maybe not prepare something but get something from the fridge and eat, I am starving and I am still on a high after the ceremony.” She pulled open the double doors of the silver and black fridge and stood there looking at the contents. “How about some ice cream?”
“I thought you were hungry,” Tyrese asked her in amusement as she took out a carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
“I have a sudden urge for ice cream,” she got two bowls out and spoons and started sharing it out.
Tyrese took the spoon from her and finished it indicating that she have a seat. He passed her the bowl. “Is that enough?”
“For now,” she told him with a saucy grin.”I won Tyrese! Best new artist and all I can think of is that they made a huge mistake.” She buried her head in her hands.
He reached over and removed her hands from her face. “You are a talented and terrific artist and one that the world respects. I knew would have nailed it baby, I had every confidence in you.”
“You started me on a path that is so overwhelming, I wonder if I am dreaming sometimes.” She held his hands in hers tightly. “For all the years of my life growing up in a home where the love was not shown I was so lonely and fearful and you came into my life and changed all that.” She bit her lip and blinked to stop the tears. “I thank God for you every day and I promise I will never let my creativity get in the way of our marriage.”
“I am holding you to that,” he told her gently. He wiped the tears that had drifted down her soft cheeks. “You have changed my life for the better my love, never forget that and I will always love you.”
She took his hands and rested them against her cheek, closing her eyes as she felt the warmth of his skin against hers.
“How about us finishing the ice cream and going to bed?” he said softly as he took his hands from her face. “I have plans for my wife.”
Love So Heavenly (A Clean Christian African American Romance) Page 12