James hesitated a moment, trying to find words to describe what he was feeling. “I respect and appreciate that you came here to see me today. I want to be honest with you. I don’t know what I want to do next. A few days ago, the last person I wanted to talk to was somebody with ‘Pastor’ in front of his name.”
“And now?” asked Pastor Benjy.
“Now I feel like I’ve been hijacked from my life. I don’t know if I want to be made well, or if I want to just sit by the pool and die a slow, cruel death. One minute, I’m glad that I’m alive, and the next minute, I wish I were dead. I just need somebody to talk to, somebody that knows about these things.”
“Most men I meet aren’t very good at talking and expressing what they are really feeling,” Pastor Benjy said. “They are good at talking about cars, sports, work, and women, but not their feelings.”
“Most men didn’t just find out that two of their three children belong to another man, that the woman they were about to get married to is the biggest liar ever, and that their mother and brother are dead. Most men aren’t looking for reasons not to kill themselves.”
“This is true,” Pastor Benjy said. “What you said is good enough for me. Get your stuff and let’s go.”
The thought of getting out of town sounded like a miracle to James. His aunt made it clear she didn’t want him at the funerals. James didn’t mind not going; he did not want to cause his family more pain. With all that had happened, he couldn’t dream of going on what would have been his honeymoon.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about Pastor Benjy or this mission trip. However, James was positive he needed to get away, clear his head, and escape into something different. Who knew? Maybe he could find a whole new life and never come back to Houston again.
Chapter 24
Raquel’s burdened body sat at the edge of the steel chair as she looked into the eyes of her attorney. The last thing she needed was more bad news. At her bail hearing that morning, the judge had refused her request to get out on bail due to the seriousness of her crimes.
This was her first time meeting with Hector Jimenez, the criminal defense attorney Jesse Lo had recommended. He had spent most of his adult life building a successful track record. He gained notoriety when he got charges dismissed from a local politician accused of setting his business on fire for the insurance money. Jesse assured her Hector was the best defense attorney money could buy.
Hector was trying to convince Raquel she needed to take her chances and go to trial with a plea of temporary insanity, when his cell phone rang. Whoever was at the other end of the phone was doing all the talking while Hector nodded. At one point, he started nervously stacking and restacking the same documents.
When he hung up the call, he started pressing buttons on his cell phone. He was intensely watching some sort of video. Instantly Raquel believed it was the video captured at the ceremony site.
“Like I said, Raquel, you need to take the deal,” Hector said matter-of-factly.
Raquel didn’t bother to tell him that he had said no such thing until he saw the video. Hector picked at his beard, got out of his chair, and paced the floor. He reminded Raquel of the lawyers on TV. “I know ten years sounds like a long time. But honestly, considering what happened—and the fact that it is on tape—well, miss, it’s really a wonderful deal.”
Raquel felt like she had stepped into the middle of the conversation. He went on: “You don’t have a choice, Raquel. You don’t want to go to trial. With the videographer’s tape and the media hype, you could get much worse. In ten years, you will still be young. You can have some kind of life. Look, Raquel, there is no way they are letting you walk. Two people are dead. If this thing goes to trial, you might end up doing thirty or more years. Not to mention . . .”
Not to mention Raquel wouldn’t be able to afford to have Hector’s high-priced law firm handle a lengthy trial. He agreed to take her on initially, only as a favor to Jesse Lo. His powerful name was what caused the prosecution to offer her the plea deal in the first place. If they caught on that she couldn’t afford his firm, they would certainly be going for extended time.
He shuffled his papers and scanned them over again, like some new information was suddenly going to appear. “You have two days to decide. I’ll be back then with the paperwork.”
Raquel nodded. Hector walked out, and a few moments later, Jesse walked in.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Raquel asked.
Jesse looked down.
“You knew they would offer me a deal if Hector was on our team.” Raquel whispered, “Thank you,” and then started to cry.
The two of them had nothing but a business relationship, but she could tell Jesse wanted to reach over and give her a hug. He had three children of his own, so he knew what ten years in jail meant for Raquel. She could see the tears in the corner of his eyes when he said, “We need to talk about the kids.”
He opened and closed his briefcase slowly. “What about their biological father?”
“They have never met him, and besides, he is a loser. He doesn’t know they are his, and that’s how I want it to be. He has nothing to offer them.”
“What about your mother?”
“She didn’t want me and she doesn’t want them.”
“What about the relative that has them now?” Jesse looked down at his paperwork. “Yes, James’s cousin Jackie.”
“I talked to her this morning. She definitely does not want them in a long-term arrangement. She barely wants them now.”
“What about James Sr.?”
Raquel was crying so hard by now, she couldn’t see. “I have tried to get a hold of him, but he will not answer the phone.”
“Is there a friend, somebody that I can call that will at least agree to temporary custody until we can find James?” Jesse pleaded.
Raquel sat motionless.
“What about your friend . . . the one I used to always see you with?”
“Karen? She has her own problems now, and besides, she is living with her parents and she’s never been the motherly type. And let’s not forget what I did to her at the ceremony. I’m so glad she’s okay.”
“Okay . . . well, let’s keep thinking. Come on, Raquel, trust me, you don’t want your kids as wards of the state. They will end up in foster care. Most foster parents are great, but some of them . . .? And remember, there is no guarantee that they will be able to stay together. And you have put so much work into them by sending them to the finest schools and programs. You don’t want to waste all of that. Come on, Raquel, give me a name, a number, something. There has to be somebody you can trust with your kids.”
“There isn’t!” Raquel stood up and shouted.
Jesse grabbed her hand gently. “There has to be. I can see it on your face.” Jesse stood next to her. “Raquel, this is not the time to let your pride get in the way. These are your children that we are talking about.” They both sat down.
Raquel couldn’t say it, so she wrote it down. She printed, Joan Dallas. Underneath it, she printed Joan’s cell phone number. Raquel had memorized it after finding it repeatedly on James’s cell phone.
Jesse grabbed his notepad. “Who is this?”
“James Jr.’s mother.”
“Is she a good mother?”
Raquel paused for a moment. “Yes.”
“What does she do?”
“She owns that new bakery everybody is talking about, Happy Endings.”
“Where does she live?”
“Those yellow condos near the stadium downtown.”
“I see, a business owner who lives downtown in an exclusive complex. This should be easy to approve, provided she agrees. So the two of you get along okay?”
“She hates my guts.”
Jesse’s voice went up several notches. “Do you think she will do it?”
“I have no idea.”
“Should I call her now?”
Raquel grabbed the pad from Jesse. “I’ll have to do it.�
��
“Okay, but you don’t have time to waste.”
Chapter 25
There was a phrase James’s mother used to say when things came together in a way she couldn’t explain. Like the time his aunt Lorene lost her job one morning, and then that same afternoon, when she should have been working, she ran into someone looking to hire her for a more lucrative position. Or the time James’s cousin Tania was short on cash, with a bad tooth that needed to be pulled immediately. She went to her mailbox and there was a $500 electricity refund check in the mail. Unbeknownst to her, they had been overcharging her for years. He could almost hear his mother’s voice whisper the popular saying “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
Since James was planning to leave after the mock wedding, he had his bags packed and his passport in tow. He showered and changed his clothes at Joan’s house, while Pastor Benjy made a few calls. Now, less than two hours later, James was seated in the back of a chartered plane headed to Mexico.
He knew one of the phone calls Pastor Benjy had made was to the police. He wanted to be sure James was no longer needed for questioning and could leave the country. James also worried one of the good little church people might not want him around and Pastor Benjy would be forced to rescind the invitation at the last minute, but none of that had happened.
The text from James’s next-door neighbor said that their entire street had been inundated by reporters. He kept getting calls from Raquel, but he wasn’t ready to talk to her yet. James was glad he was going somewhere where nobody could find him.
Pastor Benjy and eight other men were in the back of the plane having some type of meeting. James was too exhausted to care what the meeting was about. He put his seat back and closed his eyes.
“Hello, I’m Kenneth Harrison.” The man held out his hand with a big, fake smile. The annoying voice coming out of his mouth reminded James of those obtrusive telemarketers who called his house like a long-lost best friend. “Pastor wanted me to come and introduce myself, and brief you on what we will be doing once we get to our destination.”
James nodded his head and gave him a sort-of handshake.
“About fifty of the men from our church use their vacation time to make this trip every year. Most will stay about two weeks. The men on staff, including myself, will stay longer. You can leave whenever you are ready. Let me know and I’ll get the church secretary to make the arrangements.
“Each team is made up of two men, one American man and one Mexican pastor. The two of us are set to be with Pastor Gonzales. We are the only team of three. You will simply shadow what we do. You will not have to speak or anything.” Kenneth took the empty seat next to James and buckled himself in. “Pastor Gonzales is a real visionary. I met him a while ago on my first trip to Mexico. Pastor Benjy helped him plant the church he pastors. Each time we visit Mexico, we have a different mission. The theme of this trip is meeting people where they are, in prisons and on the streets. We will go to various locations throughout Mexico.”
The word “we” caught James’s attention. What did Kenneth Harrison mean about “we”?
Kenneth continued talking. “You will also have your share of downtime. Pastor B told me you needed some time to just chill and think. I can certainly understand that. This trip came at the perfect time, just what I need to get refocused.” Kenneth lost his professional tone and started whispering to himself, “She was looking so good yesterday.”
“Excuse me,” James said. He thought he heard the good little church boy mention a woman.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, man.” Kenneth’s voice was casual and relaxed now. “My girlfriend, I dropped off some stuff over at her place yesterday. Let’s just say, I really need this trip. She opened the door, looking all laidback and sexy. A brotha wanted to just . . . God was with me, because I know I would have tried something if her daughter hadn’t been there. Yes, all these days and nights of celibacy are starting to show. I thought it was getting easier, once I actually found the woman God wanted for me. But, man, now I feel like a horny teenager.” He bowed his head like he was embarrassed.
“My devotion and prayer life used to be so fruitful,” he continued. “I could get up at four-thirty in the morning and easily go until it was time for work. Now I get up and all I want to think about is her. I walk around the house and wonder what she is doing. Oh, man, I’m sorry I’m babbling like I’m crazy. It’s just that sometimes it is easier to talk to strangers about things like this.” Kenneth looked around the plane. “Everybody around here expects for me to be so perfect.”
“I see.” James hoped Kenneth was finished talking. He hated when men talked too much.
“Do you?” Kenneth asked. “Everything was so simple when I was a new Christian; those were the good old days. Before I was Kenneth Harrison, the worship leader at Miller Street Church. I was just Kenny, sitting in the back pew, soaking up as much as I could. No agenda, no protocol, just Jesus. That’s what it is going to be like in Mexico, at least most of the time.”
Somebody called Kenneth from the front of the plane. Desperate for rest, with eyes that felt more like weights, James exhaled in relief. His tense muscles went limp and he drifted off to sleep, as if yesterday were only a dream.
Chapter 26
A trip to her favorite mall bookstore didn’t give Joan the rush she had anticipated. In her unbelieving days, she used to run to the store after work for the latest erotic masterpiece. Since she hadn’t been to the store in a while, she didn’t realize it had changed owners. Instead of the latest spicy novel, it housed children’s books, with a few handmade wooden toys scattered around.
The drama with James Sr. and Minister Makita had her needing an escape. Church, Bible Study, and work—week to week, and month to month—had gotten old, real old. She checked her phone as she walked out of the store and through the mall. Of course, there were messages from Tisha, Lila, and Janet. Joan didn’t have the energy to talk to them. All they wanted to do was go back and forth to church, and Joan was not in the mood.
She remembered she needed to buy James Jr. a new shirt and headed to Suit Palace. When she saw one of her old boyfriends, Darren, trying on one of his signature Italian suits, she knew she should have walked out of the store; instead, she walked right up to him and said hello.
Darren didn’t remind her of how she had brushed him off the last time they saw each other. He only took her cell phone and programmed his number into it, telling her to give him a call so they could catch up. Joan got close enough to smell his cologne. Just as she remembered, Darren smelled divine. She practically skipped away.
Two hours was all Joan could wait before she heard Darren’s sexy voice again. “Hey, lady,” he answered.
“What’s up? You busy?” Joan asked, and then held her breath for the answer.
“Just driving to the airport to pick up my cousin. He’s in town for the weekend. Why don’t you grab a friend and meet us for dinner tonight. I would love to see you again, spend some quality time together.”
Joan drew a blank. “I don’t know if I could get a friend on such short notice.”
“What about Tisha or Lila?”
“Oh, no . . . that wouldn’t work.” It was obvious she hadn’t talked to him in a while.
“Come on, Joan, there has to be somebody you can call. Meet us at Anthony’s at seven-thirty tonight.”
Joan hung up the phone. No, there really wasn’t anyone else she could call. There was no way Tisha would be anywhere near Darren, and Lila was practically married. All Joan had were church friends, and they wouldn’t understand why she needed this night out. A classmate was having a sleepover birthday party and James Jr. wouldn’t be back until the next day.
Suddenly Joan remembered the woman who had just moved across the hall from her, Sonya. She was some type of corporate trainer. They would talk briefly in the morning when they were both working out in the gym in their complex. The woman was new in town and had asked Joan about the hot spots. Of course, Joan co
uldn’t answer her. Ever since she became a Christian, she had stopped hanging out. But tonight she was about to get her party on.
Joan went and tapped on Sonya’s door.
“Hey, Joan, come in. It’s about time you came over to welcome me to the neighborhood.” She laughed.
“I’m so sorry. I kinda been caught up with work and stuff.” Joan walked in and her mouth dropped. “Oh my, you have beautifully decorated your condo.” Everything was red and black.
“You like?” Sonya grinned. “I wanted a sexy vibe to my place. I was a little worried right after I painted the walls. I thought I might have taken my theme a little too far. But it turned out hot!
“You want some ginger tea? I was just about to make a cup for myself.” Sonya started to prepare the tea. All of her appliances, including her stove, were a bright shiny red. Even the tiled floor was red and black.
“Of course, it’s good to meet a fellow tea drinker.” Joan sank into the red leather sofa. Sonya’s entire mantel was covered with high-end red and black stilettos. She had them mounted and on display, like works of art. “I wish I had the nerve to be this daring,” Joan said.
“The way I see it, you only live once, and I’m not living my life for anybody but myself.” Sonya handed Joan the tea in a cup with a red base and a black handle.
“I like the sound of that.” Joan took a sip. “Oh my, this is delicious.”
“You like? I fell in love with this tea in Thailand. The gentleman I was living with drank it every morning and every evening.” Sonya paused. “I know what you are thinking: ‘What was a black girl doing in Thailand?’ Well, let’s see.... I was going to school, drinking tea, and screwing as many fine Thai men as I could find.” Sonya burst out laughing.
Joan didn’t see what was so funny, but she started laughing too.
“What I wouldn’t do for a good lay,” Sonya went on. “Since I’ve been in Houston, all I have been meeting are straight losers. I don’t mind dating a married man, but come on, you need to be able to afford to have something on the side. These fools want something extra and can barely afford what they already got at home. I’m sorry, I’m not a buffet, burger, buffalo wing kinda girl. If they don’t take reservations, don’t have a wine list or a valet, then you need to keep moving.”
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