Book Store Rule

by Jones, Janice

  Out of respect, Maleeka stood up before she answered. “Yes, ma’am,” she answered apologetically as she looked the deacon directly in her eye. She did her best to avoid looking at that hideous hat again for fear of falling on the floor in laughter.

  “Is that all you have to say for yourself?” Deacon Osborne chastised.

  “I answered your question honestly, Mrs. Osborne. What else do you want me to say?” Maleeka’s reply was laced with a you are not my mother, so don’t you dare try to check me tone.

  “I want you to apologize, Maleeka.”

  “To who?”

  Now it was Aujanae’s turn to stifle her giggles. She could tell Maleeka was purposely trying to irritate Mrs. Osborne. Mrs. Osborne turned and stared coldly at Aujanae as a snort slipped through her nostrils. She then directed her admonishment back to Maleeka.

  “Well, first of all, to the Lord. And by the way, what happened out here that would send you into such an uproar you could not control yourself in church?”

  “Let me first address your first statement. I will ask the Lord’s forgiveness when I feel like it. I don’t need you barging in here telling me I need to repent and treating me as if I have no home training, Mrs. Osborne. Secondly, I know Deacon Ealy has probably given you a complete rundown on what happened in the narthex, so don’t come in here trying to see if you can get any more juicy details. And if he didn’t tell you the full story, it is really not anything I want to discuss. It’s a private matter that I should have never brought up in the first place. I won’t make the same mistake by doing it again for your sake.” Maleeka returned to her seat on the lounge sofa, raw attitude radiating like radium from her pores.

  Both Aujanae and Deacon Osborne stared at Maleeka, mouths opened and eyes bucked.

  “You know what, Maleeka? I’m going to be the bigger person here and leave before this gets to a place of no return, but please know that this conversation is unfinished. We will talk again when you are in a more calm and rational state of mind.”

  “Whenever, Mrs. Osborne!” Maleeka stated with as much calm as she could muster.

  Deacon Osborne left the ladies room in a huff, nearly slamming into another congregant as she entered.

  “What in the world was that all about, Maleeka? Why did you attack the woman who is going to be your mother-in-law like that?” Aujanae asked in hushed shock. She was trying not to give the woman who just walked in an earful.

  Maleeka replied as if no one else was in the whole church, let alone the restroom. “Girl, please. She attacked me first, and had the nerve to do it with that ugly hat on her head. She is not my mama. Who did she think she was, barging in here and demanding that I apologize to the Lord like she was one of his cherubs?” Maleeka said hotly.

  “No, you did not just say cherubs!” Aujanae’s statement was filled with mirth.

  The anger immediately drained from Maleeka, and the two women laughed like middle school pre-teens, barely able to keep themselves upright on the sofa.

  “Oh my goodness, I needed that laugh,” Maleeka said as they finally calmed down. “Girl, there is more to the story, but I will tell it to you after church. We can go and get something to eat and I will give you the full low-down. Right now let us go in this sanctuary and get some Word up in us.”

  The ladies washed their hands, left the restroom, and found themselves a seat in the sanctuary right as the choir was finishing their song. They got in just in time for Pastor Abraham’s sermon, which was titled ”Your Mouth Says You Love Him, but Your Life Says Otherwise.” The scriptural text was John, 14:15, “If you love me, obey my commandments”; John 14:21, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”: and John 15:10, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”

  By the time Pastor Abraham had finished his sermon, all of the laughter and the last vestige of anger that was still lingering was gone. All she could feel now was convicted.

  Aujanae was so caught up in the truth of Pastor’s Abraham’s words that she did not notice how glum her friend had become throughout the message. All she could focus on was how her trifling, cheating, no good husband and his skanky mistress should have been there to hear the sermon.

  At the end of service as they were leaving their seats, Mrs. Osborne and her husband stopped at the end of the pew as Maleeka and Aujanae were exiting.

  “I will talk to you a little later, missy, and if you talk to my son before I do, tell him I need to see him soon as well.” Mrs. Osborne starting walking away quickly, not giving Maleeka a chance to retort with any more saucy replies.

  Little did Mrs. Osborne know, all the fight had been drained from Maleeka as she felt so punished by Pastor Abraham’s message. How could she really say she loved the Lord and yet be living in sin and fornicating with Darrin?

  When Maleeka did not respond to Mrs. Osborne’s quickly retreating back, Aujanae took a good look at her for the first time since Pastor started preaching.

  “Maleeka, what’s wrong? You look so sad,” Aujanae asked.

  “You certainly do. What’s wrong? Your live-in boyfriend stressing you out?” Gerald Miller whispered discreetly, but not so much so that Aujanae, who was unaware of Maleeka and Darrin’s living situation, did not hear. He appeared at the end of their pew as if he had popped up through the floor.

  “Where is your man, by the way?” Gerald was being a little sly. Both he and Maleeka knew it.

  “As you can see, he’s not here, but I’m sure you knew that, because I would be willing to bet my next paycheck you have been watching me since I walked in the sanctuary.”

  Gerald chuckled at the very sharp but honest reply.

  “Touché, my fair lady. I will reiterate what I told you when I first met you: If you were my woman, you would never have to attend church without me.” Gerald left too, much in the manner that Mrs. Osborne had, leaving Maleeka with that thought to ponder.

  “Okay, Maleeka, what was that all about? And why do you look so sad?” Aujanae asked, totally confused.

  “What Gerald Miller said about me and Darrin living together is true. That is also the reason I look so sad. This is what I said I would explain to you after church over a good meal. I had no idea Pastor Abraham was going to put me and my situation on blast like this, though. Girl, I feel about as embarrassed as April the Whore did when she walked out of here. Pastor Abraham went straight for the gut shots.”

  The ladies started moving out of the pew once again, toward the door, and were out of the sanctuary before either of them spoke again.

  “How long have you two been living together? And does Darrin’s mother know? Is that why she was acting all crazy earlier today?”

  “Darrin and I have been living at my apartment since this past Monday, and no, Mrs. Osborne doesn’t know. That’s one of the reasons Darrin did not come to church today. He has not told his parents, and he was not ready to face them yet. The only people who know are Katrina, my mom, David Mathis, and Gerald Miller.”

  The ladies continue their trek to their cars. Maleeka’s explanation cleared a few of the cobwebs from Aujanae’s head, but there were still a few unanswered questions.

  “Okay, Maleeka, if Darrin’s parents don’t know, what prompted you to go off on her the way you did?”

  “To be honest, Mrs. Osborne was kind of caught in the crossfire. I was still angry with April the Whore when she came at me the way she did. Then when I looked at her, all I could think of was her son and how upset I am with him right now. So I kind of took both sets of emotions out on her—not that she did not deserve it, though.”

  All right, a little clearer still, Aujanae thought.

  “Gotcha. But tell me, why are you living with Darrin all of a sudden? And what is Gerald Miller’s role in all of this?” Aujanae asked as they reached their cars.

  “I’ll tell
you the rest when we get to the restaurant. Is the IHOP on Camelback cool with you?”

  “I’ll follow you there.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Katrina did not want her phone to be ringing right now. All she wanted to do was continue to mindlessly watch the Lifetime movie that was blaring on her forty-two-inch television screen in peace and complete quiet. Even so, she was none too surprised that the cute little jingle she used as a ring-tone was sounding. She was certain it was someone from church, probably Maleeka, wanting to know why she was not in service this morning.

  When Katrina looked at the clock on her cable box, she realized church could only have let out a few moments ago. Dang! Maleeka could have at least waited until she got home to bug her.

  Most people did not understand that when your full-time job is also the place where you worship, it can be a little overwhelming, stressful, and hard to separate the two. Add to that the stress of falling completely in love with David Mathis, whom she had not spoken to in several days. Since she was not ready to face him and find out why, Katrina figured she just needed a break today, so she skipped church.

  When she picked up her ringing cell phone to confirm and ignore the caller, she was surprised by the face that displayed on her smart phone screen.

  “Hello,” Katrina answered awkwardly.

  “Hey, Kat. I didn’t see you in church today. I just wanted to give you a call and make sure you weren’t sick or anything like that,” David replied smoothly. His tone did not convey his truth, however. He was actually quite nervous talking to Katrina right now. Her absence from church gave him the perfect excuse to just pick up the phone seemingly out of the blue and give her a call.

  “David. How thoughtful of you. I’m okay, actually. I’m just taking a much-needed day to relax away from my place of business, which also just happens to be my place of worship. Sometimes the lines get blurred, and in order to break away from one, I have to leave them both behind.”

  “I understand. It’s good to hear you are not under the weather,” David responded shyly.

  Then there were no words between the two for several seconds. Katrina was caught up in how excited she was that David had finally called. David, after hearing Katrina’s voice, was unsure of what was going on in his head; therefore, he was unsure of what he should say next.

  David had spent the past several days flip-flopping back and forth between missing and loving Toriyana and wanting to continue to see Katrina. He’d had only a little contact with Toriyana, and other than a quick passing in the halls of King David’s Christian Tabernacle, he had no contact with Katrina.

  Toriyana had been so upset on that initial day she posted very negative things all day on both her and David’s Facebook pages, calling him a cheater, a liar, and a womanizer. It had gotten so bad that he decided he needed to delete her as a friend from his page. David called Toriyana a few days after their fight to apologize, hoping she had calmed down. She told him then that she would only forgive him if he married her and either moved her to Arizona or he moved back to Detroit to begin a real life together. Since he was of the new mindset that the only real commitment was marriage, then she wanted a real commitment from him or nothing at all from him. David was completely taken aback by her ultimatum, but he told her he would think about it and get back to her in seven days. They were now on day four.

  Now, here he sat on the phone with Katrina, missing her as if she too lived nearly two thousand miles away instead of only a few short ones. He was so torn between these two women. Yes, he was in love with Toriyana and his feelings for Katrina were just starting to sprout, but Katrina was a great woman who was here, accessible, and more than likely willing to continue to see him on his terms. Toriyana, on the other hand, was in Michigan demanding that he marry her. He was still not sure he was ready to make that move.

  “David, are you still there?” Katrina asked.

  “Uh, yes. I’m sorry. I zoned out for a minute thinking about some things.”

  Katrina was sure he was probably thinking about his girlfriend back in Detroit. She was unaware of their fight. She decided to steer the conversation in a different direction to hopefully erase the miles from his mind.

  “So how was church today?” she asked nonchalantly.

  “Well, from what I hear, it was way more interesting than just what happened in the sanctuary. In fact, your girl Maleeka’s name was front and center in the drama.”

  “What! What drama? What happened, David?” Maleeka asked. She was shocked, a little frightened even.

  “To be honest, I only heard lingering bits of gossip, but people were saying that she almost got into a fight in the narthex before service began. I didn’t get the full lowdown on who she was going to beat down, but folks were saying it took a few people to hold her back from kicking some tail.”

  “Wow!”

  Katrina was in complete shock. She had no idea who Maleeka would have that kind of beef with, especially not at the church. She surely hoped this had nothing to do with Darrin and her moving him into her apartment. Darrin had been known to cheat on Maleeka before, even though she did not see it that way. She prayed it was not about some other female. Katrina knew she had to call Maleeka quick to get the whole story, if there was even a story. Everyone knows that gossip and lies were spread in church quicker than the Gospel ever was.

  “Katrina, do you have any specific plans for your day off? I would really like to see you,” David said sweetly.

  Katrina nearly came unglued on her sofa. All traces of Maleeka and her alleged drama vanished. She could not get her affirmation out quick enough.

  “David, I have no plans whatsoever. I was just going to lie around and kick it here at home, but I’m open to seeing you as well,” Katrina said excitedly. When she was done speaking, she sat hoping she did not sound desperate and non-discriminate where David was concerned, which was pretty much the truth. She just did not want him to realize it—at least not yet.

  “Well, I have an idea. Why don’t I just come to your place and we can kick back and relax together, just two friends hanging out. If we feel like getting up to go out to get something to eat later, we will. Otherwise we will just order something to be delivered. I’ll bring a couple of my favorite DVDs. I’m sure you have a few of your own you could recommend. Wait. You do have a DVD player, don’t you?”

  Katrina giggled. “I actually have a Blu-ray player, but it will play your old school DVDs as well.” They both had a good chuckle. “Your idea sounds like a great plan. What time should I expect you?”

  “How about I see you in an hour?”

  “Sounds like the plan is in motion. See you when you get here,” Katrina replied as she hung up the phone, turned off the television, got up from the sofa, and began getting ready to receive her soon-to-arrive favorite guest.

  After she had primped and prettied herself, Katrina sat back on the sofa waiting for David to get there. Instead of turning the television back on, she picked up her phone to call Maleeka. She needed to get the 411 on what really happened at church today.

  “Hey, Kat,” Maleeka said as she answered her phone.

  “Hey, girl,” Katrina sung in reply. “How was church today?” she continued, feigning innocence.

  “Mm-hmm. Don’t try to play slick with me, Kat. I see you have heard about the drama.”

  “Oh my gosh! So it’s true? You were about to fight in church today? Girl, tell me what happened. And make it quick, because David is on his way over here.”

  “Ugh. Don’t be rushing me for no man, especially one with a big mouth, because I now know who told you what happened at church today.”

  “Don’t be talking negatively about my boo. Just tell give me the details so—” Katrina’s doorbell rang before she could finish her sentence and get the low down.

  “Shoot. I’m going to have to hear about it later. David’s here. I’ll call you later. Bye.” She rushed off the phone and to the door.

  Katrina opened th
e door and found David standing on the other side of it looking as scrumptious as ever. His beauty was so captivating that she nearly forgot to invite the man into the apartment.

  “Hey, David. It’s good to see you. Come on in.” Katrina stepped aside to allow him to enter. She then leaned in for their customary church hug, facial cheeks and upper bodies touching, lower bodies intentionally separated by six inches or more.

  David surprised Katrina, however, when he pulled her closer and embraced her just a bit more intimately. She tried not to let the shock register on her face, but she was sure she was beet red when they broke from the short cuddle.

  She knew David noticed her surprise and blush, but being the sweet man that he was, he decided not to bring any attention to it.

  “Look what I’ve got. Rush Hour One, Two, and Three for a little comic relief. Or if you’re feeling more dramatic, I’ve got an old school classic, The Color Purple .” David smiled as if he was extremely pleased with his selections.

  Once again, Katrina was embarrassed and tried to hide her inner blush. She was obviously thinking a little more along the lines of romance, because she had chosen The Notebook, Meet the Browns, and an old school but rarely recognized classic, Love Field, with Dennis Haysbert and Michelle Pfeiffer. Katrina had laid her selections on top of the television stand, but they were so casually sitting there, one really would not notice they were put there for the express purpose of watching any of them today.

  “Oh. Let’s see what you chose,” David stated as he went right to the three movies.

  So much for casual and inconspicuous, Katrina thought.

  David raised an eyebrow as he looked over the titles. He looked at Katrina, back at the titles, and again at Katrina. He smiled a sly smile and placed the movies in her hand. He then picked up the four he brought over and asked, “So where do we start?” His question was laced with humor he tried his best to conceal.