Book Store Rule

by Jones, Janice

  David looked at Toriyana and tried to decipher the truth of her statement. He only thought about it for a moment before he allowed a small smile to crease his mouth. He knew she was being completely honest with him.

  “Tori, as you can probably tell by the goofy grin on my face, I am very happy to hear that.”

  Toriyana smiled in return. “Then I guess we are both cool then.”

  Toriyana rose from the sofa and approached David. She held out her arms for a hug, and he quickly got up to oblige. When they broke the familial embrace, Toriyana spoke.

  “David, like I said, I’m glad you stopped by, but I actually have plans for my evening. Since you came by without calling, you have actually rudely interrupted them. So if you don’t mind, I would like to return to the solitude of my sofa and spend the rest of my post-Thanksgiving Friday relaxing alone and enjoying the television programs on my DVR.”

  David laughed lightly. “Please forgive me, Tori. I have never been kicked out of anyplace so politely before.”

  The pair laughed as they walked to the front door.

  “You be well, you hear, Toriyana Kent. God bless you,” David said sincerely.

  “I hope and pray the same for you, David Mathis. Have a great trip back to Phoenix and a great life.”

  One final hug and David was on his way out the door and Toriyana on her way to the mindless entertainment of her television.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  One year later, after the breakups and the startup in Phoenix.

  “I know the best man is supposed to give a special toast at the wedding, but is it okay for a good friend to offer a toast during the engagement party? I have something I would really like to say to the soon-to-be-newlyweds.”

  “I don’t think that will be off-handed at all. In fact, I would love to hear what you have to say about my fiancé and me.”

  “Thank you, beautiful bride-to-be. As Christian people, we are called out by God to be set apart, a peculiar people, living by a different standard than that of the rest of the world. For in 1 Peter 2:9, Peter says, ‘But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.’ You two people personify this scripture for me. I watched you two for this past year grow in love and respect for each other. I watched you two represent God in your courtship. You did not allow the values and ideology of the world to corrupt your purposes. In doing so, you brought sanctity back to the institution of marriage.

  “There were a couple of times, man, when we would be together, I would ask you about your lady or her whereabouts. You would simply say, ‘I’m not sure where she is, but until I make the commitment to make her my wife, she belongs solely to God in that manner, which means I know she is in good hands.’”

  The speaker stopped for a moment to look at the beaming couple, who smiled broadly at each other, happy to hear their example had been a testimony and an inspiration to others.

  He resumed. “I have been dating the same woman for the past nine months. I have tried to celebrate little monumental anniversaries with her, like thirty days from the time she allowed me to kiss her for the first time, or six months from the time of our first official date. And me, being a silly, sentimental person, stereotyped her by thinking that as a woman, she would find these things sweet and romantic. But she would say each time, ‘The only anniversaries I want to celebrate are the date you ask me to marry you, the day you marry me, and the dates of the birth of our children.’ I say that to say you have impacted us both in such a great way.

  “So the two of us, as I am sure everyone else here rejoicing in your engagement do too, salute you two for being Matthew 6:33 made manifest. ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’ Congratulations, David and Katrina, soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Mathis.”

  Gerald lifted his glass of champagne, and everyone else in the cute little reception hall did the same with their glasses filled with either cider or champagne. They drank in unison to acknowledge the happy couple. Maleeka beamed at the best man from her seat in the chair of the maid of honor, so proud of him, hoping to one day soon be saluted at their very own engagement party.

  David and Katrina shared a light kiss and then stood in appreciation of their friends. The joy flowed unanimously between almost everyone in attendance at the party. One lone attendee could just not bring himself to be excited for the couple. He, too, sat at the head table as a groomsman, trying his best not to sulk in plain view of all the other guests, including the date he brought along in hopes of making his ex-fiancée jealous.

  Darrin did not see the need to applaud a speech given by the man who stole his fiancée about the milestones in their new relationship. Darrin was also plenty salty that David had not chosen him as the best man for the upcoming wedding ceremony. Just as he had known Maleeka longer and better than Gerald, Darrin had also known David longer and better than Gerald.

  He apparently did not know Maleeka as well as he thought he did. He was quite certain she saw him enter with the beautiful woman on his arm as his date. Darrin wanted to get under Maleeka’s skin by bringing another woman to the engagement party. In an effort to make the jab more painful, he went out of his way to track down Trisha, the woman he was sneaking around seeing behind Maleeka’s back before they got engaged.

  After four years, Trisha, who had moved on to another department with the company they both worked for, had completely forgiven him. She just happened to be single and not dating anyone seriously, and she was anxious for the opportunity to hang out with Darrin now that he was also completely unattached.

  However, his plan seemed to be all for naught. Maleeka paid absolutely no attention to Darrin and/ or his date. She walked around the party seemingly happy, content, and completely unfazed by Darrin and convincingly not giving two shakes of a lamb’s tail who he brought to the party with him.

  When Maleeka broke off their engagement and asked him to leave her apartment a year ago, he was angrier at her than he had ever been before. At the time, he felt that Maleeka should have counted herself lucky he only destroyed her cell phone and not put his hands on her directly.

  The day after their fight, Darrin returned while he assumed Maleeka had gone to work, to retrieve the rest of his things from her apartment. His intention was to get his stuff and leave her key on the countertop in plain sight. As far as he was concerned, he never had to see her face again. He wanted nothing in his possession that reminded him of her. When he attempted to use his key, it did not work. He checked his key ring several times to be sure he was using the right one, but it would not turn the lock. Soon after he arrived, the door opened suddenly, and there stood Maleeka with her hands on her hips.

  “I know you did not think I was going to allow you access to my home after the way you behaved yesterday,” she stated with royal sista-girl attitude.

  The sight of her at that moment instantly made his temper flare, but he kept it in check this time. He only wanted to get his things and get back to his former, now current home again, with David.

  “Maleeka, I thought you would be at work. I came by just to get my stuff. I was going to leave your key on your countertop. I promise. It’s all a moot point, though, now since I see you have apparently paid somebody to change the locks. It must have cost you a pretty penny being that it was the weekend. But whatever. It’s your dime, not mine. Can I get my things?”

  Maleeka, too, was angry and hurt even further by Darrin’s demeanor. She knew she could get back at him, though, by telling him the truth about her “locksmith.” She opened her mouth to spill the beans, but quickly snapped it shut. She was not about to let Darrin drag her into any more ungodliness. She also did not want to drag Gerald into the middle of this ugliness with Darrin. Instead, she stepped aside and allowed him to enter the apartment.

  Darrin was
amazed to find all his stuff was neatly packed and stacked in the living room. He was not amazed it was there, but amazed that she had not destroyed anything after what he did to her cell phone. Not a thing seemed to be out of place. His clothes did not smell of smoke, nor were they discolored after being soaked in bleach. Everything was completely intact. Even though he was still simmering in his anger, he actually gained a new modicum of respect for his fianc ée—or former fiancée—at that moment.

  As Darrin began to grab his things, he expected Maleeka to start nagging or fussing, but she did not say a thing. He made three trips between her living room and his car, and not one word was exchanged between them. Maleeka did not even look like she wanted to say anything to him. She just looked like she wanted him gone.

  In the months following their breakup, Darrin had begun to realize he had made a big mistake stringing Maleeka along for years with the promise of marriage, but never making good on the promise. Maleeka loved him, supported him, and believed in him in ways not even his own parents had. His mother coddled him and his father tolerated him. Maleeka encouraged him and made him feel like a man capable of anything he chose to do. He foolishly, probably even unwittingly, took advantage of her, and now he had to suffer the ultimate humiliation of watching her interact with another man—a man who treated her better than he had.

  Katrina could not have been happier even if this was her wedding day instead of just her engagement party. There were not a lot of people at the gathering, just her and David’s closest friends and family. They wanted to keep this celebration small, choosing to have an intimate dinner party as their celebration, but she was planning a real big affair for her wedding in six months.

  David looked at Katrina from across the room, where he stood talking to Pastor Abraham. He was so enthralled with her beauty that he was scarcely paying any attention to what the pastor was saying.

  “David, son, did you hear me? I said be sure to sign up for the premarital counseling with Dr. Madison. Love is a many splendored thing, as the saying goes, but it is not enough to sustain you through the sometimes very harsh realities of marriage.”

  “I heard you, Pastor Abraham. I will mention that song to the choir at our next rehearsal.” David was responding to the pastor, but his eyes were glued on his fiancée.

  “What are you talking about, son? I didn’t say nothing about no song for the—” Pastor Abraham stopped himself short as he realized his words were falling on deaf ears. He saw that David was anxious to get back to Katrina’s side.

  “Go on back over there to your woman, David. We will talk about the technical stuff later.”

  David took off walking seemingly before Pastor Abraham could finish speaking his last word. David approached Katrina’s side and slid his hand into the hand that held her engagement ring as she talked to Gerald and Maleeka. He gently pulled the hand to his lips and kissed the finger with the ring on it.

  “You two are a mess,” Maleeka stated with a laugh.

  “We are not a mess. We are just very happy together, that’s all,” Katrina replied in their defense as she snuggled closer to David’s side.

  “Well, I hope your deliriously happy man will allow me to steal you away for a moment. I want you to go over here with me to talk to Aujanae. We have some ideas about the wedding that we need to discuss quickly. I know it’s your engagement party and all, but six months is not a lot of time to plan the spectacular wedding I have in mind.” Maleeka started steering Katrina away before either she or David had a chance to protest.

  “Man, if she is planning on making our wedding spectacular, you can only imagine what she will be expecting when you two get ready to get married,” David joked with Gerald.

  “I’m not making any firm commitments, declarations, or anything like that. I will just say I look forward to the time,” Gerald said as the two men took to their seats.

  “Hey, Aujanae. I’m so glad you could make it,” Katrina said as she hugged Aujanae. Maleeka followed suit.

  “Hello, ladies. I’m so sorry I’m late. I did not plan my morning well, knowing full well I was going to have to drop B.J. off at his dad’s before I got here. William couldn’t pick him up because his car is being serviced today.”

  “Aujanae, I hope I am not being insensitive by asking you to be one of my bridesmaids, considering your divorce just became final a little while ago,” Katrina pouted.

  “Oh, Katrina! Not at all. I am so honored you asked me to be in your wedding. Trust me. I am fine. The divorce was painful, but not ugly. William was very amicable throughout the entire process, which made it that much easier,” Aujanae replied honestly.

  William and Aujanae had been officially divorced for one month. For the first three months after permanently breaking things off with April, who eventually packed up and moved back to Chicago, William tried relentlessly to win Aujanae back. He promised her he would never, ever cheat on her again, and he would do everything in his power to make her happy and give her and their son the best life possible.

  Aujanae never even considered giving him another chance. She knew deep in her own heart that she would never again own William’s heart completely, if she ever owned it completely to begin with. Though he said he would be faithful, and she believed him, she did not believe that he would be undeniably satisfied with just her. Sure, he would make the sacrifice, but Aujanae did not want to be anybody’s good enough, especially someone she once loved as much as she loved her husband.

  So William finally gave up his pursuit of his marriage and agreed to the divorce, completely on Aujanae’s terms. He refused to be bitter or fight with her over anything, considering what he had done to her and their family. Aujanae, who was not out for revenge, only asked that he pay the mortgage on the home that they formerly shared and that he pay a fair amount of child support to help take care of their son. She did not want to rake him over the coals as many women who were presented with the same set of circumstances as herself would have. The visitation schedule for B.J. was very liberal and open. They shared joint responsibility for their son, while Aujanae retained physical custody. William was allowed to see him on whatever schedule the two of them worked out together. Aujanae also returned to work as a high school English teacher.

  “I can’t believe you want to start planning the wedding right here at my engagement party, Maleeka,” Katrina said, feigning exasperation as she completely changed the subject.

  “That is what you get for giving me only six months to work with, Katrina. And don’t you dare turn into a bridezilla on me. Quit all that whining.”

  “I do have a wedding coordinator, you know.”

  “I know. And she is going to do things just as I tell her to. You are my best friend, not hers.” All three ladies cracked up laughing, even though they knew Maleeka was dead serious.

  “Well, you want to know what I think? I think we will be planning another wedding ceremony as soon as yours is over, Katrina. I think that if Mr. Gerald Miller has his way, he and Ms. Maleeka Davis will be headed into wedded bliss too. And soon.”

  Maleeka made a very poor attempt at looking shocked. She bucked her eyes and threw her hand flimsily over her heart. “Why, whatever do you mean, Aujanae?” Maleeka asked in a poor Southern imitation.

  “Girl, stop it,” Katrina said. “You know it’s true, and you know you want it.” All the ladies laughed out loud again.

  “What about you, Aujanae? Do you think you will ever marry again?” Katrina asked.

  Aujanae pondered the question, realizing she had actually never given it much thought until Katrina just mentioned it.

  “I don’t know. I mean, I’m not opposed to or sour on marriage just because mine did not work out. I guess I would have to just simply leave it in God’s hands. If He wants me married, He will let me know and send me my husband. But until then, I’m okay being single.”

  Just then, David, Gerald, and a man Katrina and Aujanae did not recognize approached the ladies. Maleeka knew the man well
enough, though.

  “You three are over here having way too much fun without us,” David said jovially as he walked up behind Katrina and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “Don’t be jealous, David,” Maleeka joked in return as Gerald possessively put his arm around her shoulder.

  Aujanae and the stranger were standing there unlinked, both feeling a little awkward.

  “Gerald!” Maleeka said as she gently nudged him, trying to discreetly get his attention.

  “Oh yeah. My bad. Katrina, Aujanae, this is my little brother, Christopher. He’s Deidre’s dad.” Both ladies nodded their acknowledgement of Gerald’s niece, whom they had met on previous occasions when she was with her uncle.

  “Christopher, this is Katrina, the bride-to-be, and this is Aujanae.”

  “Who is newly single,” Maleeka threw in.

  Suddenly Aujanae felt as if this introduction was part of a setup on at least Maleeka’s part. She looked at Christopher and could tell they shared the same thought.

  “Nice to meet you, Katrina. Congratulations on your engagement,” Christopher said.

  “Thank you, Christopher. It is nice to meet you too.”

  “Nice to meet you too, Aujanae. I don’t know if I should say congratulations to you on being newly single or not, but Maleeka here is grinning like that’s a good thing.” Everyone in the circle laughed.

  “It is nice to meet you too, Christopher. You and your brother look a lot alike. Your daughter looks like the both of you. She is such a beautiful young princess.”

  “Thank you, Aujanae. Should I take that to mean I am a beautiful old king?” They all had another good laugh.

  “You could probably get away with taking it that way,” Aujanae said flirtatiously after the laughter waned a bit. “And by the way, there is no harm at all in you congratulating me on being newly single.”

  The four other adults sang a harmonious chorus of, “Ummmmmmmmm.”