Soon After

by Sherryle Kiser Jackson

  Each time, Willie would forbid another eventful outing, and each time, Vanessa would rationalize that the activity required limited mobility, and that it was okay since they were already out. Plus, her sister’s wedding was two months away. Although she was five weeks away from delivery, it was Vanessa’s duty, being her closest relative, to celebrate each milestone leading up to her sister’s big day.

  Today was not the typical joy ride. It was Vanessa and Willie’s anniversary, and since she was limited physically by the pregnancy, she figured she was due a special outing. They started off the day at the doctor’s. Vanessa didn’t know whether it was her fluid samples or if it were because her legs were the size of tree trunks that led her doctor to threaten to induce labor before her due date. The plan was to go with Keisha and Paul to the courthouse so that her sister and soon to be brother-in-law could file for a marriage license. As it stood, any celebration would be limited to driving past the colonel for a bucket of his southern fried hospitality to go.

  Vanessa reclined the seat on the passenger side of Willie’s car. Baby Green was turning somersaults in her belly. She couldn’t get comfortable as she waited with Willie outside the courthouse. She was anxious and eager to get back home, prop her feet up and maybe work on her book before dinner. Her tunnel vision, as it related to working on translating her spiritual advice into a helpful guide for the modern day Christian, gave way to the light. She was seeing the end. Soon she and Luella would have the tedious job of editing the manuscript and making connections in the publishing world. She hoped to birth the completed manuscript around the same time she birthed her son. It appeared he would beat her manuscript to the punch.

  “You never told me what committee you ended up joining?” Vanessa said to Willie. She was thinking about how a published book would hallmark her triumphant return to the Trinity Conference leadership in time for the Inaugural session and boost her credibility among her colleagues.

  “Huh?” Willie responded.

  Vanessa readjusted herself again to sit sideways and address her husband. “Trinity. You told me about Pastor Cartwright’s concerns and gave me the notes from the Budget and Finance committee, but you never told me what committee you either joined or are chairing.”

  “Oh, I’m helping with Public Relations with Pastor Mason from Colonial Beach.” Willie waved it off like it was no big deal without as much as a glance in Vanessa’s direction.

  Vanessa let out a puff of air. “I know you don’t appreciate me getting the church, and now, you, personally involved in the conference. You were right; this is my deal. You know if circumstances were different, I would be representing Pleasant Harvest myself.”

  “I’m in it now.” Willie patted her leg although she noticed his focus was still out the front windshield.

  “Willie?” Vanessa said to break her husband’s apparent trance, her left hand pulling at his forearm. “Look at me, honey.”

  Vanessa figured he was upset, but was unprepared for Willie to meet her stare with what she could only describe as grave concern. She felt the equivalent of a gail force that sent a chill through her. It remained after he looked away.

  “What?” Vanessa asked, rubbing her belly, now in hopes of calming the activity in her womb.

  “Nothing, Vanessa. I’ve got to get you home. As far as I am concerned, all Trinity Conference business and conversations about said business can wait until after my son is born.” He huffed. “Where are they?”

  “I have no idea. Apparently, a lot of people want to get married.” She turned her attention to the front windshield also.

  Vanessa sat forward when she saw a couple exit from the front door of the courthouse, thinking it was her M.I.A. sister and fiancé. They had been inside for well over the thirty minutes they said it would take. She sat back against the seat when the elegantly dressed pair proved to be complete strangers. She felt Willie hunch her to take a closer look at the couple that she had dismissed. The man was in a tasteful black pinstripe suit with a thin red tie. The woman was in a meticulously tailored, yet delicately detailed off white suite. Her skirt barely concealed a pale blue garter she wore on her right thigh. They were headed toward a Toyota Avalon parked not too far from them with a sign that read Just Married in the back window.

  This made Vanessa sit as far forward as her stomach would allow. The man was Abe Townsend, the pastor who took Willie’s place. The woman was Blanche Seward, Vanessa’s nemesis who had dated Willie before her and maliciously blabbed Vanessa’s financial blunders to Willie’s entire congregation before their churches combined.

  “Townsend and Blanche?” Vanessa exclaimed.

  “And the preacher says, ‘Judge not,’” Willie said. “Besides, I told you that they were together.”

  Vanessa watched Willie slouch down in his seat so not to be seen. Vanessa did the same until she realized it was ridiculous to do so. “Yeah, but I didn’t know you meant together, together.”

  Willie and Vanessa watched the couple almost eye level to the dashboard. Abe opened the door for his new bride who clutched a small mini bouquet of off-white lilies. He brought her forward in an embrace that ended in a passionate kiss before assisting her into her seat. Abe jogged around to the driver’s side as if he couldn’t wait to whisk his bride away. They watched Pastor and First Lady Townsend until they pulled off and the sign was no longer readable from their windshield view.

  “Like boiled eggs and peanut butter; a weird combination.” Willie said, using his forearm to push himself up.

  “What’s that, preacher? Did I hear, ‘Judge not,’” Vanessa said, although she wanted in on this game too. “I think they’re more like pot roast and pancakes.”

  Vanesssa noticed her husband of exactly one year soberly staring at her before saying, “September twenty-second.”

  The smile that crossed Vanessa’s face quickly got compacted into a scowl. “That harlot stole my wedding day.”

  He reached out and stroked the cheek of her outraged face. “But she didn’t steal your man.”

  They kissed like two teenagers on a date. Vanessa squirmed against the armrest, cup holders and even her own belly that did not allow her to get as close to her husband as she wanted. She was both chilled and on fire. They were startled by a slam on the driver’s side window. Keisha and Paul had returned and her sister had slapped the official document up against the glass for them to see.

  Vanessa was jostled. Her heart rate seemed to escalate. Keisha opened the door to the backseat and was talking a mile a minute. She’d asked Willie to get out and take a picture of her, Paul, and the license for her memory book. Everyone seemed to be moving so quickly. The door was ajar and Vanessa felt a rush of wind that didn’t exist. She pulled her jacket around her as best she could and held it. She wanted someone to close the door. She wanted someone to tell her why her head was suddenly spinning.

  “Did you see Minister Townsend and Blanche Seward?” Paul asked from directly behind her as he entered the car first after the photo shoot.

  “Now you know I am too through,” Keisha said, poking her head into the backseat and into their conversation before sitting down. “How dare they get married before me?”

  How dare she get married on my day, Vanessa wanted to chime in, but she couldn’t speak. She was attuned to chaos, noise, and how weak she was feeling. Vanessa felt the jolt of each car door as it slammed shut; one, two, three. She wished they’d stop slamming doors. She wished they’d stop talking. Something was wrong.

  “Guys, guys, I think I am going to be sick, or I’m already sick,” Vanessa said, clutching her head with one hand and her belly with another.

  “Huh? What?” came the peanut gallery in the backseat.

  Vanessa looked down at her stomach and held her belly as she rode a wave of either nausea or a sinking feeling of dread. All she wanted to do was go lie down. She thought about what her obstetrician had said about delivering early. Her face must have given it away, because Willie began to look around
frantically as if the courthouse somehow had a medical wing.

  “Sick as in put in a call to Dr. Ryan, sick, or sick as in get you to the hospital?” Willie asked.

  “Both,” Vanessa replied.

  Her announcement caused a wave of hysteria among her fellow passengers.

  Vanessa could feel that her sister had moved over right behind her left shoulder, “Oh my goodness, sis. Is it you? Is it the baby? Is it labor? What’s the doctor’s number?” Keisha asked, pulling out her phone.

  “I got it,” Willie cried out. But he didn’t. He looked around as if the number fell from the sky onto the ground. Twice he reached for his wallet in his back pocket, but never retrieved anything.

  “It’s . . .” Vanessa began, but no one was listening.

  Paul was busying himself with the touch screen and GPS on his phone, “The nearest hospitals are in Cheverly or Greenbelt.”

  “Don’t you dare. Willie, I want to go to DC, Washington Hospital Center, where my doctor does her deliveries. We can make it. They will more than likely have to induce my labor if it is serious,” Vanessa said more adamantly than she wanted due to an unexpected cramp. “I want my luxury birthing suite!”

  “You think the baby may come—today?” Willie asked.

  “Oh my God,” Paul said as if Vanessa were delivering right there, right now, in the car.

  “If this baby shows off and comes this early, he’s getting put in the wedding party, even if someone has to roll him down the aisle in a wagon.” Keisha was serious.

  “Not now, Keisha,” Willie shouted over his shoulder.

  Vanessa imagined this was how it felt to be on the ship with Apostle Paul to Malta when the tides suddenly changed and shipwreck was imminent. People panicked. Vanessa remembered preaching in her sermon that everything would be all right, and that God would deliver the crew safely on shore. That’s what Vanessa chose to believe. She had done her own battling with fear during the entire pregnancy. She believed whatever was going on inside her belly would be okay. It had to be. Fear would not win.

  “Willie, honey, I need you to snap out of it and drive. Paul, put the GPS away and pray. And Keisha, stop thinking about only yourself and that doggone wedding of yours and hold my hand,” Vanessa ordered with a quiet strength.

  The foursome arrived like a mass tidal wave in the emergency room of Washington Hospital Center along with Luella and Mrs. Grant who were called by Paul at the onslaught of the frenzy. Willie and Vanessa were removed from the crowd, triaged, and moved to the Labor and Delivery floor. Vanessa tried to ignore the prodding, the tests, and the monitors. Willie, on the other hand, paced the floor. Vanessa wondered If Willie was this nervous now, how would he manage when the baby got here?

  The nurses attending to Vanessa had little to say as they carried out the orders of Dr. Ryan. When Dr. Ryan had arrived, she scanned Vanessa’s chart and monitor tape before talking to the parents to be. “Remember we talked about the possibility of delivering early? We calculate the baby to be about four pounds, which is small, but a good weight as far as preemies go. Don’t worry about the baby. I’ve seen a four pound baby nursed, monitored, and ready to go home in a week’s time. But it is just too dangerous with your rising pressure to continue the pregnancy until you deliver naturally. We’ll have to induce labor.”

  Dr. Ryan must have seen the look of concern on both of their faces, so she assured them, “We’ll start an IV of a drug that will send you into active labor. It’s like kicking the little tike out early. I hope you’ve made room for him at home.”

  “He’s sending us a message that he can’t stay in there. He must be about his Father’s business,” Willie added, moving to Vanessa’s side to hold her hand.

  “Well, the blessing is beyond just being on the way. He’s practically here. He’ll be here within a few hours,” Dr. Ryan said, bidding them farewell.

  Vanessa and Willie Green spent the remainder of their anniversary engaging in family ministry of another sort in a luxury suite on the fifth floor maternity wing. Elijah Moses Green decided to show off and show up six hours later to help them celebrate. Neither Vanessa nor Willie could think of a better anniversary gift. And Keisha couldn’t think of a better addition to her wedding party.

  Reader’s Guide Questions

  1. Vanessa predicted there would be a change in winds and tides. How was her sermon, “Battin’ Down the Hatches,” a precursor to the events that followed? Was she correct in her assessment that in the end all would be in a new location, but would fair well?

  2. Why did Willie find it so hard to work with Luella as his administrative assistant? What made Keisha a better fit for him?

  3. How do the brothers’ beliefs prevent them from helping authorities like Chief Rich solve the case?

  4. What purpose does Willie’s cave serve?

  5. Roy’s mental stability is again questioned in Soon After. Discuss your opinion of his Tube Sock Theology.

  6. What relationship lessons can Willie and Vanessa learn from Paul and Keisha?

  7. Discuss Pat’s decision to leave the anniversary celebration, urging Vanessa to ‘get it straight’ before getting in the pulpit.

  8. Do you think it is necessary and always plausible for a pastor to work out his or her issues before leading a congregation ?

  9. Do Blanche and Abe want the same thing in a relationship?

  10. Can their relationship survive without similar expectations?

  11. Willie made reference to not understanding the mind of an arsonist. What was the intent and motivation behind setting the Harvest Baptist Church on fire? What was meant by, “I did it for Charley?”

  12. What makes Willie a likely candidate for Bishop? What obstacles can you foresee for him, his family, and his church after accepting the nomination?

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  UC His Glory is the brainchild of Joylynn Jossel, author and executive editor of Urban Christian and Kendra Norman-Bellamy, author and copy editor for Urban Christian. The book club will provide support, positive feedback, encouragement, and a forum whereby members can openly discuss and review the literary works of Urban Christian authors. In the future, we anticipate broadening our spectrum of services to include: online author chats, author spotlights, interviews with your favorite Urban Christian author(s), special online groups for UC Book Club members, ability to post reviews on the website and amazon.com, membership ID cards, UC His Glory Yahoo Group and much more.

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  Notes

  Urban Books, LLC

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  Deer Park, NY 11729

  Soon After Copyright © 2010 Sherryle Kiser Jackson

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  ISBN: 978-1-6016-2867-1

  This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living, or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.

  Distributed by Kensington Corp.

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