In the Midst of It All

by Tiffany L. Warren

  The young woman’s eyes opened wide. She covered her mouth with her hand and fresh tears poured from her eyes. Then she shocked Zenovia by dashing from the pew and running up to the altar.

  Everyone in the congregation looked at her strangely, because the pastor was still preaching. But the young woman didn’t care. She wept at the altar and called out the name of Jesus.

  After their initial astonishment, several members of the church rushed up to the girl and prayed with her. One of the people praying with the young woman was Corrine.

  The pastor said, “Obviously, the Lord has laid it on this woman’s heart to lay her burdens on the altar. I want everyone in here to point in her direction and pray with her. Pray that the Holy Spirit blesses her with a healing touch.”

  Zenovia didn’t know if that instruction included her, so she left her hands folded neatly in her lap. There was something unsettling about how joyful and sorrowful the woman seemed at the same time.

  Corrine and the other praying ladies led the young woman out of the sanctuary when she finally calmed.

  At the Friends and Family dinner, Zenovia was glad that Corrine had chosen a seat on the opposite side of the fellowship hall as Lynora and Justin. She had tried to talk Corrine into going out for dinner, but she wasn’t having it. She wanted to brag about her little cousin to the rest of her church.

  The bragging rights came from what the young woman—her name was Penny—had told the prayer team. She’d told them that Zenovia was a prophet and that Zenovia had told her things about herself that she couldn’t possibly know because they’d never met.

  Of course, it was all true, but Zenovia was uncomfortable with the attention being given to her by the church members. She’d never viewed her visions as prophecies, but as mere annoyances that made her feel like an outsider.

  “What did you tell that girl?” Corrine whispered after yet another one of the church members stopped at the table to meet Zenovia.

  “Nothing, really. I could just tell that she was upset, and I told her that God would forgive her for whatever she’d done.”

  Zenovia took a deep breath. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but Corrine looked at her as if she knew there was something being left out.

  Corrine sucked her teeth. “Mmm-hmm. You’re holding out on me, little cousin.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “Not only because that girl, Penny, was acting like she’d seen Moses, Abraham, and all twelve of the apostles, but because that scrumptious-looking chocolate dream has been staring you down since we got in here.”

  Zenovia shot a quick glance in Justin’s direction. “He’s someone I know from Cleveland. Nobody really. His parents go to church with Audrey.”

  “He’s a member of that Brethren cult?” Corrine asked, not trying to hide the contempt in her voice.

  Zenovia shrugged. “Well, he was. I haven’t talked to him, so I can’t say for sure.”

  “I will tell you one thing. He’s over there looking at you like he wants to reconnect.”

  Zenovia ventured another peek in Justin’s direction, but he was no longer seated. She was astonished to find that her stomach dropped when she noticed his absence.

  “Good afternoon, young man. Are you visiting with us today?” Corrine said.

  Zenovia didn’t even need to turn around in her seat to know who was standing behind her. Corrine’s bright and inviting smile completely told the story.

  Even though she wasn’t surprised by Justin’s presence, Zenovia still jumped when he placed his hand on her back.

  “Yes, I am visiting. Sister Lynora is an acquaintance of mine, but so is Zenovia. You look like her mother. Are you related?”

  Corrine beamed. “Yes, we are related! I’m Zenovia’s cousin.”

  Zenovia glared at Corrine. “Why don’t you just ask me, Justin? I’m sitting right here.”

  Justin sat down in the empty seat next to Zenovia. “I would have, but you didn’t seem to want to talk to me earlier.”

  “Why wouldn’t she want to talk to such a charming young man?” Corrine asked.

  Zenovia rolled her eyes. She could tell that she was completely alone on this one. Corrine had no doubt been won over by Justin’s stunning good looks and silky smooth voice.

  Justin replied, “I’ve always had trouble with Zee. I tried, with no avail, to get her to pay me some attention years ago.”

  Zenovia burst into laughter. “Stop it, Justin. I’ll have a conversation with you, but please stop the madness!”

  “Thank you!” Justin exclaimed. “That’s all I wanted in the first place.”

  Zenovia turned toward Justin and deliberately looked him dead in his eyes. “Go ahead, talk. From the looks of the buffet line, you’ve got about two minutes before they start feeding us, and I happen to be hungry.”

  “I’ll need more than two minutes.”

  “That’s all you’ve got.”

  Justin tilted his head to one side and grinned mischievously. “Not if you have dinner with me tomorrow night.”

  “Absolutely not,” Zenovia replied adamantly.

  She was in no hurry to revisit her past. Actually, the past was very safely behind her until Justin decided to show up with all of his grinning.

  “Lunch?” he asked.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “What about a midmorning snack?” Justin pleaded.

  Corrine interjected, “Zenovia, what is wrong with you? Don’t make this man beg!”

  “Because I will beg, you know,” Justin said. “I just want to catch up and maybe finish some unfinished business.”

  “Ha! We did not have any unfinished business,” Zenovia replied.

  Zenovia was becoming more and more annoyed with the conversation. Yes, she’d been insanely attracted to Justin. But unfinished business? No. They did not have unfinished business.

  He finished very nicely when he stole a kiss from her and went away to the Brethren headquarters.

  But even though she was irritated, Zenovia was curious. Why was Justin pressing so hard to spend time with her, right in the face of his acquaintance Lynora? Did his feelings run deeper than Zenovia had imagined?

  She dismissed the thought immediately. That was impossible. Justin was being Justin. A ridiculous tease.

  “Would you look at that?” Zenovia asked. “They’re calling our table right now.”

  Zenovia stood to her feet and Justin did the same. “I’ll stand in line with you,” he said. “We can talk now if you want.”

  Zenovia sighed. “Won’t your friend be angry? What was that she called you earlier? Baby?”

  “Nobody over here is worried about Lynora,” Corrine said. “You two have your conversation and I’ll handle her.”

  Zenovia trudged grimly toward the buffet line. “Go ahead, Justin. I’m listening.”

  “I have some questions,” Justin said. “I’ll leave you alone if you answer them. Is that fair?”

  “Okay, I’ll answer your questions. But you better not ask me anything crazy.”

  “Why didn’t you write to me?” he asked.

  “Are you serious with that question? Why would I write to you?”

  Justin narrowed his eyes. “Number one, because I wrote you a very nice letter. Number two, because you kissed me back, Zee. I thought we were going to get together one day.”

  “First of all, I did not kiss you back. I ran away from you. If you’re gonna reminisce, please do it properly. Next question.”

  “I see you still want to live in denial. But, okay, next question. Were you in love with Tristan?”

  Zenovia crossed her arms angrily. He had no right to ask her that. Because if she had been in love with Tristan, then he’d violated that love and probably some unspoken code for brothers.

  “Are you going to answer me?” he asked after Zenovia hesitated further.

  She had asked herself the same question during her freshman year of college, when she’d found it almost impossible to accept a date from
any of the men on campus. She’d wondered if she still carried a torch for an inaccessible man who she would probably never see again.

  The answer she’d discovered was a complex one.

  She’d admired Tristan, and found him mature, compelling, and attractive all at the same time. But his lack of reciprocation left her feeling empty, so the feelings had eventually faded into nothingness.

  Justin should’ve been asking about Emil. Her heart was still missing the piece that he’d stolen. She had no doubt that if she saw Emil again, her heart would do flip-flops.

  She answered him. “I was not in love with Tristan. I had a crush on him and then he became my best friend. And then…”

  “Then what?” Justin asked.

  “Then nothing. I left the Brethren and never talked to him again.”

  Justin nodded slowly. “Maybe it’s you and Tristan who have unfinished business.”

  “No, I don’t think so. Tristan made every choice for the perfect life that he wanted to live, and I didn’t fit into that picture.”

  “Well, you’d fit perfectly into my picture….”

  Zenovia had no idea how to respond to Justin’s statement. She was so relieved to see Corrine walking toward them even if she did have her pastor in tow. Anything would be better than answering Justin.

  “So this is the young lady that everyone is raving about!” the pastor said in his booming voice.

  Corrine looked so proud. “This is my little cousin, Zenovia Sinclair. Zenovia, meet Bishop Wilcox.”

  Zenovia reached for the outstretched hand and shook it. “Hello, Bishop Wilcox. It’s an honor to meet you. Your sermon was awesome.”

  “Thank you, but I believe the Lord was doing more work from the pews this morning than from the pulpit. I hear you shared an awesome prophetic word with our newest member, Sister Penny.”

  Justin’s eyes grew large. Zenovia panicked and said, “Bishop Wilcox, have you met Justin Batiste? He’s also visiting today.”

  Bishop Wilcox patted Justin on the shoulder. “We have met, thank you. Justin visits us quite regularly. I keep wondering when he’s going to join.”

  “One Sunday I’ll do it, Bishop. You know I’ve got some demons to face first,” Justin replied.

  “Don’t wait too long, son, Jesus is coming back!” Bishop Wilcox said. He sounded on the verge of launching into a sermon right in the buffet line.

  “I won’t, Bishop.”

  Bishop Wilcox smiled again at Zenovia. “But back to you, woman of God! I feel an awesome shifting in the atmosphere! Something is happening in the spirit realm and you are a part of it.”

  Bishop Wilcox shook Zenovia’s hand again, but didn’t wait for her to reply.

  Zenovia shook her head slowly as a look of sheer wonder covered her face. Something was happening in the spirit realm? And she was a part of it? She didn’t know what that looked like.

  But it sounded like something she’d been waiting to hear her entire life.

  Chapter Thirty

  Zenovia couldn’t believe she’d said yes to a date with Justin Batiste. She tried to replay the whole conversation in her mind to see where she’d gone wrong and lost the upper hand. But Justin had always been able to do that. He completely disarmed every one of her defenses.

  She also couldn’t believe how nervous she felt. It was Justin. She knew him, so it shouldn’t feel like this. She shouldn’t be getting sweaty palms and an upset stomach.

  But even though she shouldn’t be feeling any of those things, she absolutely was.

  Zenovia had decided against telling Corrine about the date. What if it went nowhere? What if all of Justin’s charm now came across as cocky and unbearable? She didn’t want to get Corrine’s hopes up, because it was a first date that might end up being a last date.

  When she heard the knock on her door, Zenovia’s stomach dropped. She took one last self-appraising glance in the mirror. She liked her hair—it was styled in a wild twist out that framed her face. Her long Bohemian skirt and peasant blouse completed her look. Before she went to the door, Zenovia grabbed a few silver bangle bracelets and slipped them over her wrist.

  On the second knock, Zenovia opened the door. “Hey, Justin.”

  Justin caught her completely off guard by hugging her tightly. It felt way too intimate for the first contact on their first date. Zenovia gently pushed him away.

  “What’s up with that?” she asked.

  Justin smiled. “You really don’t know how happy I am to see you? It felt like you disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  Zenovia blinked rapidly and struggled to catch her breath. “Uh… do you want to come in or something?”

  “I’m pretty hungry,” Justin said as he patted his tight abdomen. “How does chicken and waffles sound?”

  Justin’s simple statement made the air feel less thick. Zenovia exhaled gratefully. “It sounds really good, Justin. I’m hungry too.”

  As they walked to the car, Justin made all the correct chivalrous gestures—opening doors and walking on the proper side of the sidewalk. His extra effort was cute to Zenovia, because she’d never known that Justin worked this hard with women. He seemed like the type that just had the girls falling at his feet.

  “I didn’t disappear. It was more like being banished.” Zenovia did not want there to be any uncomfortable silences while they drove to the restaurant so she responded to Justin’s comment.

  “You mean banished from the Brethren? But I thought you were only chastened, right? You didn’t get cast out of from the congregation.”

  “It felt like exile to Siberia. Tristan barely even spoke to me after it happened. I think that hurt the most.”

  Justin sighed. “Well, Tristan is a company man. He’s going to be loyal to the Brethren, no questions asked, for the rest of his life.”

  “What about you?” Zenovia asked. “I thought you were a company man, too.”

  “It all changed for me when I went to serve at the headquarters. I saw some things I didn’t agree with, and I had the audacity to open my mouth about them.”

  “Really? What happened then? Were you chastened?”

  Justin smiled a grim smile. “No, not exactly.”

  “Well then, what’s the problem, and what are you doing down here?”

  “Actually, I was cast out. And I moved to Baltimore just because it was the first city that came to mind.”

  “And you probably left a trail of crying women behind you.”

  “I wasn’t the womanizer you thought I was, Zee.”

  “Yeah, okay. You had me hemmed up in a corner at your house kissing on me and a date outside,” Zenovia countered. “Justin, don’t try to play. Maybe you’ve changed, but I know what you were back then.”

  “All right, I did date a few ladies.”

  “This is what I don’t understand. Why did you go serve at the Brethren headquarters? You didn’t really seem dedicated like…”

  “Like my brother? Like Tristan?”

  Zenovia hadn’t meant to make the comparison between Justin and Tristan. But it was obvious how different they were. It was almost impossible to believe they shared the same gene pool.

  Justin continued, “I went to serve at the Brethren headquarters because it was a status thing. It made me a better catch to the ladies.”

  “Are you serious?” Zenovia asked. “Please tell me that’s not the truth.”

  “Isn’t that what you think?”

  Zenovia sighed and looked out of the window. They were approaching the restaurant and it was a good thing. She would’ve preferred an uncomfortable silence to a really awkward conversation.

  Justin found a parking spot close to the building and came around to open her door. “I’m still a gentleman, even when I’m being insulted,” Justin said with a slight grin on his face.

  “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “It’s okay, Zenovia. Your offensiveness has always been part of what attracted me to you.”

  Zenovia l
aughed. “You weren’t attracted to me. You toyed with me.”

  Justin smiled but kept his response to himself. The restaurant’s hostess led them to a table in the rear of the restaurant. Justin ordered beverages for both of them.

  Zenovia endured his silent appraisal as his eyes slowly took her in. She watched the smile replace his serious facial expression, so she assumed that he no longer felt offended.

  “So you went to college and got all earthy on me, huh?” Justin asked.

  Zenovia’s hand went self-consciously to her hair. “This had nothing to do with college.”

  “Well, whatever the reason, I like it. It fits you.”

  “Thank you. I wish that you’d changed too, but you look exactly the same. You’re taking me all the way back, you know. Right back to the back row of the Devotion Center.”

  Justin nodded. “I know how you feel. I started having flashbacks as soon as I saw you at your cousin’s church. But at least you weren’t born into the Brethren.”

  “What difference does it make when you join?” Zenovia asked.

  “The way the Brethren serve God… or the way they serve the organization, it was the only way I knew how to worship. Everything else seemed strange to me.”

  Zenovia nodded. “I can understand that. The Fellowship of the Brethren was just another church when Audrey and I first joined. Have you talked to your mom and dad? How are they doing?”

  “I’ve called once since I’ve been here. My mother told me I was better off dead, and my father attached several different four-letter words with his new name for me—his apostate son. But outside of that… I guess they’re fine.”

  “That’s harsh. I thought Audrey was bad.”

  Justin clasped his hands and leaned forward in his seat. “Audrey is… well… she’s not okay, but I guess you know that.”

  Zenovia took in one deep breath and blew it out through her nose. “I know, but she hasn’t ever been okay. I try not to think about it too much, because there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  The waitress finally came up to the table to take their orders. Justin said, “We’ll both have the chicken and waffles special. Thank you.”