Golden Hue (Ascension)

by Stone, Zachary

  “I'm Ron,” a tall black man said, reaching out his hand to me. I shook his hand, introduced myself, and repeated the process a few more times. The members of the class, all eight of them, seemed friendly.

  Dr. Smart stood at a small, metal podium in front of the chalkboard and began to address us.

  “Good morning everyone,” he said. “I'm glad that all of you showed up this morning for Sunday School. I'd like to begin by welcoming the three guests we have the privilege of studying God's word with today. We’re very pleased to have you with us. Would each of you please tell us your name?”

  We each introduced ourselves.

  “I remember you, Eli,” Dr. Smart said. “How is the neck doing?”

  “Oh, it's all better,” I said.

  “My mom has been wondering about you, she’ll be glad you’re here.” he said. “Please make sure you see her before church is over. Actually, I hope you’ll stay for the pot luck we’re having afterwards.”

  “I'll make sure I talk to her,” I said.

  For the next forty five minutes Dr. Smart taught a lesson about the Biblical character Job. He explained how Job lost everything: his family, fortune, land, livestock, and health. However, he refused to curse God. As a reward, the Lord restored his health and made him more prosperous than ever.

  Dr. Smart continued to explain that during periods of stress, trials, and tribulation we need to draw closer to God and not further away. Because after we overcome the challenges, if we stay true to ourselves and our faith, God will reward us.

  “You’re my reward,” Cathy whispered to me at the end of the lesson.

  Reaching under the table, I took her hand and squeezed it.

  When class was over and the room was emptying, Dr. Smart came over to us.

  “Do you mind if I take a quick look at your neck?” he said. “I'm curious how well it has healed. It was a nasty wound.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  I pulled my shirt color down so he could see where I’d been bitten.

  “Amazing! It looks like it has healed up perfectly,” he said. “There’s not even a scar.”

  “Thank you so much for treating it at the clinic,” I said.

  “You’re welcome,” he said.

  “We need to get going,” Sarah said. “We don't want to be late for services.”

  “You have about ten minutes,” Dr. Smart said. “It was very nice meeting both of you as well. Are you related to Eli?”

  “I'm his... cousin,” Sarah said. “And this is Eli's fiancé.”

  “You’re a lucky man, Eli,” he said.

  “Thank you,” I said. “I know.”

  We finally walked out the classroom and headed towards the Sanctuary. On the way there, we were greeted and welcomed by at least a half dozen different church members. They all seemed glad that we were there.

  A few moments later we sat down on a wooden pew with a long, red cushion.

  “I enjoyed Sunday School,” Cathy said “It was a good lesson.”

  “I thought so too,” I said.

  Sarah seemed quiet as the church building filled with people. I looked ahead at the pulpit, and I saw that choir members in elegant blue robes with gold trim were gathering behind the pulpit.

  “We should have brought Bibles,” Cathy said. “Everyone else has one.”

  I felt a bit of guilt as I realized I didn’t even know where I kept my Bible. My mother had given me one as a child, and I read it frequently for many years but my study had fallen off drastically.

  I glanced again at Sarah. She looked like her mind was elsewhere.

  “Are you okay?” I whispered in her ear.

  She slowly turned her head.

  “The last time I was in a church was at my boyfriend's funeral,” she whispered. “I'm just having memories, that's all.”

  “I'm sorry,” I said.

  “Don't worry, I'm fine.”

  As the sanctuary filled to capacity, I could smell the scent of women's perfume. A number of women in flowered dresses and large, fancy hats had sat down in the pew in front of us. Normally the smell would have broken me out into allergies, but since my transformation it had no effect on me.

  The organ began to play and soon the choir was singing a hymn. A few moments later, the music director asked for everyone to join in. We stood to our feet with the rest of the congregation, and I hummed along to the song – the ability to sing was not one of my new powers. Sarah and Cathy were both singing beautifully.

  After a couple more slow hymns, the tall black pastor of the church walked to the pulpit and began to speak. I noticed a deep scar on his left cheek.

  “Good morning!” he said. “Aren't you glad to be in the house of the Lord this morning?”

  “Yes I am,” a woman shouted.

  “Amen,” said a man.

  “I'm so thankful to be here,” exclaimed the pastor in a booming voice. “I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday Morning than at church with my family, my friends, and my congregation. You know, the devil convinces some people there are better things to do on Sunday morning – like going fishing, or staying home and watching TV.”

  The pastor stepped down from the elevated platform and walked onto the floor of the sanctuary. He straightened his gray suit.

  “Some people are fooled by Lucifer into sleeping in on Sunday Morning. Maybe because they drank too many beers at the bar the night before. Or maybe they danced at the club all night,” he said.

  “Preach it,” a woman called out. “Preach it!”

  “I go to bed early on Saturday night. I don't have any desire to go out drinking on the weekends. The party I look forward to is the Holy Spirit party I have right here on Sunday morning!”

  “Amen!” another woman called out.

  “I don't need no liquor to get Holy Ghost power,” he said.

  He pointed his finger at people in the congregation.

  “I got sister Margaret who prays for me every single week,” he said.

  He mentioned various people in the room that had prayed for or encouraged him.

  “No amount of booze, no joints of dope, and no lady of the night can make me feel like I do right now. I'm where I want to be, right now, in this church!”

  He walked back to the platform and took a chair as the choir started to sing an upbeat song. Everyone in the church stood up and began to clap. A few members of the church stood up, walked into the area between the two rows of pews, and began to dance.

  “Glory!” the choir sang. “Glory!”

  A few minutes later the song ended, a prayer was given, and the pastor began to give a sermon. He taught on marriage, of all things.

  “God commands us men to act like men, not pigs,” he said. “We’re to love our wives and sacrifice for them like Jesus did for all of us. Jesus gave his life for the church, and we should be ready to give our lives for our wives if need be.”

  “So if we’re willing to die for our wives, why do so many Christian men cheat?” he asked. “If we claim to be loving husbands, why do we break their hearts?”

  He pounded his fist on the pulpit.

  “I'll tell you why,” he said. “Because we listen to the devil.”

  “He tells us that some other woman looks better than our wife. Or he may try to convince us that some woman may treat us better than our old lady. However, I'm here to say that the grass is not greener on the other side. Not matter what Lucifer may say, your wife is the only woman that should be in your life. No one can love you like she can,” he said.

  I felt Cathy's hand wrap around mine.

  “But my wife doesn't take me to bed anymore, you say! Well, how do you treat her? How many times this month have you told her that you loved her? When was the last time you cleaned the house and told her to have a day off?”

  A number of women shouted “amen” enthusiastically.

  Before long, the pastor switched gears and discussed how women need to be faithful to their husbands and love th
em as well. He said the best way for a couple to stay together was to stay in church and mentioned that there was a special Thursday night Bible Study group for married couples of all ages.

  After his sermon, an offering was taken. As the ushers walked from pew to pew with the collection plates, I saw Cathy reach into her small, leather pocket book and pull out a fifty dollar bill. She must have enjoyed the sermon, I figured.

  When the usher came by she dropped the bill into the plate and looked back at me.

  “I'm going to make a good wife for you,” she whispered in my ear.

  “I promise I’ll do my best to be a good husband,” I whispered back.

  A final chorus was sung and a final prayer was made before the service was dismissed. As soon as people started walking out the door, an old lady rushed to the microphone and reminded everyone about the potluck in the social hall.

  Immediately upon standing, I started scanning the room looking for Ms. Juanita. I wanted badly to speak to her. On the far side of the room I saw her waving at me.

  “Eli!” she shouted as she made her way towards us through the crowded room. I took Cathy by the hand and headed towards her. When we met she wrapped her arms around me.

  “It's so good to see you Eli,” she said. “I've been so worried about you.”

  “I've been doing alright,” I said. “I wanted to take you up on the invitation to visit your church.”

  “I'm so glad you did,” she said. “And who are these two lovely ladies with you?”

  “Juanita, this is my cousin Sarah and my fiancée Cathy,” I said.

  She shook hands with each of them.

  “How long have you been engaged?” she asked.

  “Not long,” I said. “But I'm very happy.”

  “Thank you for what you did for Eli,” Sarah said. “He told us about how you took him in after he was attacked.”

  Juanita looked a bit confused.

  “I had no choice,” she said. “It’s what a Christian is supposed to do.”

  “I sure hope all of you’ll stay for the potluck. I made my famous sponge cake,” she said.

  I looked at Sarah to try and get an idea if we’d be staying or not.

  “We will stay for a little while,” Sarah said. “But then we really have to go.”

  “Good!” Juanita said. “I'll save the three of you a place at my table.”

  A moment later, Dr. Smart, her son, showed up and we followed them to the social hall – a large room at the very end of the Sunday School building. Tables were covered with platters of food: fried chicken, boiled shrimp, casseroles, meatloaf, vegetables, rolls, cornbread, and a wide assortment of desserts.

  A line was forming and Juanita insisted that as guests we stand at the very front. Although it felt a bit odd cutting ahead of everyone, we complied.

  The voice of the pastor then cut through the chatter and conversation that filled the room.

  “I want to thank everyone who helped prepare this bountiful meal. Everything looks and smells delicious. Let’s say grace before we begin,” he said.

  The pastor uttered a short prayer, thanked God for the food, and urged everyone to dig in. The food did indeed look appetizing; there were several enticing protein sources to choose from.

  We quickly walked to Juanita's table, sat down, and began eating. The food tasted good and before long my plate was empty.

  “You must have been hungry,” Juanita said to me.

  “Well, I had a good breakfast,” I responded.

  “It apparently wasn't enough,” she said.

  Juanita looked at Cathy.

  “Are you sure you’re feeding your man enough?” she teasingly asked Cathy.

  “Well, I'm not as good of a cook as Sarah here, but I do my best,” she said.

  I excused myself and went to get another plate of food. As I was helping myself to some meatloaf the pastor came up to me.

  “I'm Pastor Demetrius Brown,” he said extending his hand. “I'm glad that you’re visiting our church today.”

  He’d a powerful grip, and towered over me. The scar on the left side of his face was even more obvious.

  “Thank you,” I said. “Ms. Juanita invited me a while back. I just wanted to take her up on the offer.”

  “What do you think of our church,” he said.

  “Everyone here has been very nice to us. I hope to come again sometime,” I said.

  “I hope you visit again soon,” he said. “For now, please enjoy the food. Feel free to take a plate home with you. There are always tons of leftovers.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  I walked back to the table and saw that Juanita, Sarah, and Cathy were deep in conversation.

  “Eli,” Juanita said. “You’ll have to bring your friends over to my place for lunch one day soon. I want to talk with all of you more, but Sarah says that the three of you have to head on.”

  “We will come over sometime,” I said.

  While Sarah and Cathy stood up I finished the meat loaf on my plate.

  “Please come soon,” she said. “And come to Wednesday night supper here at the church at 6:00PM.”

  “I'll try,” I said. “I'm going out of town for a few days, but I’ll be back.”

  A few minutes later, the three of us were back in the SUV.

  In the distance, I could see Pastor Demetrius standing outside of the Sunday School building watching us drive away. I ignored it and didn’t say anything to Sarah or Cathy.

  Chapter 3

  Cathy was eager to see her friends from the maternity home at the hospital. A small get together of all the survivors of the fire was going to take place and Cathy wanted to attend. It was actually more of a celebration, due to the almost miraculous recovery of Jessica and Sandy.

  “Do you want me to go in with you?” I asked Cathy.

  “No, this time I want to go alone,” she said.

  “I'll drop you off at the entrance,” Sarah said. “We will be back in an hour to pick you up. Don't be late.”

  As we pulled up to the hospital entrance Cathy reached over and kissed me on my cheek.

  “See you in an hour,” she said.

  Sarah slowed the vehicle, and Cathy hopped out.

  “So where would you like to go, Eli?” Sarah asked. “We have an hour to kill.”

  “Where would you like to go?” I asked.

  “Anywhere you’d like to go is fine,” she said.

  “I want to get a present for Cathy. I didn't get her anything for Valentine's Day,” I said. “Do we have time to go to a bookstore?”

  “Sure, I'll help you pick something out for her.”

  “I think I have an idea,” I said.

  We pulled into the mall parking lot and quickly walked into the large bookstore. Passing by large displays of hardback books and paperback novels, I found the religion section.

  “I want to find her a Bible,” I said. “I don't think she has one.”

  “That's a good idea,” she said. “I think she’d like it.”

  I looked at the various Bibles, but I was not satisfied. Finally, I came across one that had a dedication page and an area to record your family's history – births, deaths, marriages, etc.

  “I like this one,” I said.

  “You should get her a case for it too,” Sarah said.

  We looked at the available cases, and I found a black leather case that looked ideal. It was the right size and shape.

  “I wonder if they have any Valentine cards left.” I asked.

  “Let’s go look,” Sarah said.

  Thankfully, there was a small area that had a few cards on sale which had been picked through. Looking at them, I had a hard time deciding. I wanted to get something romantic but not overly mushy.

  “Here is a good one,” Sarah said.

  I took the card, read it, and loved it.

  “Let’s pay and go,” Sarah said.

  As we were walking out of the store, I saw Candace walking in. I turned my head and p
retended not to see her. I really didn't want to talk to her. The last thing I wanted to do was awaken any dormant emotion or feeling I might have for her. The episode in the tunnels had been extremely difficult for me.