The Pastor's Other Woman

by Boone, Denora

  Before he had come to visit this last time, I knew that it was now or never that I found out all that I could. Each time I brought the subject up previously about how much we were getting, he would change the subject like I was stupid. It had to be a grip because he was too hush hush for me now days. In the beginning, he was very open about what was going on and even told me the things he needed me to do on my end. This was all supposed to benefit not just him but our family that he wanted to be with. Nothing but lies, and I fell for it hook, line and sinker.

  I should have known things were off when he didn’t leave at the five year mark like he initially planned. Something about it not looking right if he left right after they received the money, but that was all another lie. During my search in his email, I found the documents that stated he had to remain married to Jewel, have children and be in the lead pastor position at her family’s church for ten years. After the tenth year Pastor’s Anniversary ceremony, they were to inherit a cool twenty million dollars. He was constantly telling me that he only had to be there only a little while and we would be set, but he knew all along that wasn’t the case.

  It finally hit me that he was planning on leaving with all of that money and living with his other family. He was not about to walk off into the sunset with another woman and kids along with all of that money.

  My son and I were going to be set weather he liked it or not, or like my boy Plies said, “It’s goin’ down tonight ‘cause these goons out lurkin’!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Drew

  Laying in the king size bed at the Hilton in Augusta, I couldn’t contain the excitement that I was feeling. In less than thirty minutes, I would be logging into my online account and seeing so many zeros it would make my head swim, and I couldn’t wait to get on with my life. I can’t say that the life I lived so far wasn’t good, but it just wasn’t with the person that I wanted it to be with. Not saying that I wanted it to go down like it did at the church earlier, but I couldn’t blame Constance for wanting this to all be over.

  She had been my rider ever since I met her a year after marrying Jewel, and unlike Jasmine, Constance didn’t need me for anything. Jewel constantly needed me to validate her and make her feel beautiful, and I just didn’t have that in me. Then there was Jasmine that wanted me to take care of her and her material needs. Constance, on the other hand, needed me for nothing. She had her own home, paid her own bills, took wonderful care of our kids and was the woman that I needed in and out of the bedroom.

  “So, why haven’t you let that li’l bust down, Jasmine, go yet?” Constance asked me, coming out of the bathroom.

  Everything about her was beautiful to me, from her long straight weave that she kept done to the caramel skin that covered her slim toned body. Her eyes were slightly slanted like a cat, and her pearly white smile could light up any room.

  “Come on now, babe. You know that was just to make all of this look good,” I said, getting up and walking over to her as she began to lotion her body.

  I took the bottle out of her hand and began to let the anointing flow through my fingers as I caressed her body. Constance tilted her head to the side and let out a soft moan. Every time she made that sound, it turned me on like no other, and it became hard to focus as the blood rushed down below. Turning her around to face me, I put her arms around my neck and pulled her in closer as my mouth met hers, and our lips began to worship one another.

  Constance broke our kiss but not our stare as she walked backwards over to the bed and eased back on it. The look on her face was the sexiest thing I had ever seen at that moment, and while I should have been able to block out every other thought while I looked at her, I couldn’t help thinking about Jewel. As long as we were married, she would never let me look at her naked body in the light, not that I really wanted to, but it was the principle of the matter.

  Not sure what made me look at the clock, but I looked over on the nightstand, and it read a half past midnight, but I didn’t remember getting a notification from my bank app like I usually did when I got a deposit. That was odd, and although Constance was waiting on me in all of her naked glory, that would have to wait. I needed to see what was going on with my money.

  “What are you doing?” She asked me with a look of disappointment on her face.

  “It’s after midnight, and I don’t remember getting a notification of the deposit. Maybe with all of your moaning I couldn’t hear it,” I said with a smirk on my face.

  “Well, hurry up because I don’t know how much longer I can wait. You do know that it’s been over a month since I have been able to feel your touch.”

  “Trust me, I know. And just as soon as I finish this, I’m going to show you something else that I know well.”

  I went over to pick up my cell phone and noticed that I hadn’t had one missed call from Jewel. To say I was shocked would be an understatement considering that she was always blowing my phone up. Before I went to my online bank app, I did see that I had a text from my daughter.

  Avery: I hope it was all worth it. Remember you reap what you sow. No matter if it’s a good harvest or a bad one but you will reap it. I’m just glad that you are finally out of our lives and my mother can be with someone who will appreciate and love her unconditionally. I pray God has mercy on your soul.

  There was no need to respond to her because she had no clue how covered I was. I preached the word of God better than any preacher, pastor, reverend or bishop that I knew, and there was no way God was going to pour out a cup of wrath on me. I could have looked at the situation at church as Him outing me, but in actuality, He helped me.

  After I deleted the text message, I blocked both Avery and Jewel’s numbers. I didn’t need either of them having access to me after tonight. I opened my Bank of America app and saw that my account was still showing a balance of -$5,263.89. Before I began to panic, I noticed my email icon in the top left hand corner of my phone and clicked on it. The first few emails were just random stuff but what caught my attention was the one with the subject “Rivers Family Inheritance Documents”.

  I noticed that the email wasn’t highlighted like it was a new but like it had already been read. It was dated a week ago while I was in Atlanta with Jasmine, but for the life of me I didn’t remember reading it. To think about it that week was really a blur because all I did was stay in the bed with Jasmine. I knew it was about to be over, and although I wasn’t in love with her, I was in love with what her body could do to mine. The second I opened, it my heart sank to my feet.

  “Oh sh-“ I started but cut it off because I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

  “Drewsey, what’s wrong?” Constance asked, sounding concerned as I could feel her moving behind me and leaning over my shoulder to see what had gotten me tongue tied.

  Dear Pastor Webber,

  My name is Brian Andrews, and I am the attorney for the Rivers family. It has come to my attention that there was a change in the original bank account information that was initially verified by both your wife, Jewel Rivers Webber, and yourself. Upon further inspection, I noticed that Mrs. Webber signed the documents, but you did not. In order to make the transaction complete, I would need for you to come into my office no later than November 25, 2014. Once you have completed the signing of all documents, the transfer will be complete.

  I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you have any questions or cannot make it to my office, please, give me a call. Listed below is the number where you can reach me as well as my office address and hours of availability.

  Have a good afternoon,

  Brian Andrews, Attorney at Law

  Once Constance finished reading, I was already pacing the floor. I didn’t know what to do, and all of my plans seemed to be falling apart. This time tomorrow I should have been on an island with the love of my life and our kids, but now, I had to push my departure back.

  “Babe, stop pacing you’re making me nervous.”

  “You
’re nervous?” I said with an obvious attitude.

  “Uh, yeah. Why shouldn’t I be? You are the one walking around here looking like a mad man,” she said, turning her back to me.

  Before I knew what was happening or was able to control myself, I had yoked Constance up by her throat and had her pinned against the wall. This was a side of me that no one knew but Jasmine. I stayed having to put my hands on her because her mouth was so slick, but Constance never gave me that problem. That was, until today.

  For some reason, the pressure of getting outed at church, my daughter, Avery, trying to put her mouth on a man of God, and not getting my money as planned caused me to snap.

  “Don’t you ever in your life turn your back on me when I’m talking to you. Do you understand me?” I asked through gritted teeth.

  To my surprise, the look in her eyes held no fear. It was actually kind of sexy to me when I thought about it. But what she said next changed all of that for me.

  “You better gone and kill me now because if you ever put your hands on me again I will slit your throat and cry at your funeral like a grieving widow. Now let me go.”

  The iciness of her tone, and the fire in her eyes caused me to do just what she had commanded. I stepped back and watched her walk over to the bed and get right back in the same position she was in before I read that email. There was fire still in her eyes, but the fire of anger was now replaced by the fire of lust. Her body was now the one giving out commands, and just like a few minutes before I obliged.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bryce

  Once I left my parent’s house, all I could do was drive around with no destination in sight. I didn’t want to go home and be alone with my thoughts, so driving around with my worship music on low and talking to God was what I needed. The more I talked to Him the more I felt that I was finally understanding my purpose and where I needed to be.

  Not everyone would understand what was going on, but I knew that God worked in mysterious ways, and this was all His doing. As much as it hurt Jewel to find out this way, she was stronger than she gave herself credit for. Her inner strength to me was just as sexy as her outer appearance, and I knew it was just the way God had built her. She may have thought it would take her a long time to get over this, but I doubted it. I prayed and prayed that the pain she felt would not last long for her or the girls, and that if it was God’s will He would allow me to be what they all needed.

  As crazy as all of this sounded or would look to so many people, I knew that this was what God had for my life. There are so many times we take situations into our own hands when we can clearly hear the voice of our Father in heaven directing us to go one way, but what’s presented to our flesh looks like the better choice. We mess ourselves up and have to deal with a season, sometimes a few seasons, of darkness that may take us years to be able to see the light again.

  Me not going for what I knew God presented to me in Jewel all of those years ago caused me to miss out on so much. It caused her to deal with pain and disappointment for so long. It also caused me not to be there for my children. Yes, that’s plural. Both Kammy and Avery were my daughters, but it seemed that no one picked up on that. My parents could tell Kam was my child because she looked just like me, and although Avery resembled me some, she was the spitting image of her mother.

  Neither Jewel nor myself was proud of the mistakes we had made, not once, but twice, but it was time to finally face the music. On the two occasions that our emotions and hormones got out of control, Jewel conceived our daughters. Like I said before, God works in mysterious ways, and we won’t always understand them.

  My mind was so focused on what I was going to do I hadn’t even realized that I had made it to Jewel’s house until I pulled into the driveway. I noticed the living room light was on as well as the light in Avery’s room since she faced the front of the house. Just as I was about to back out of the driveway because I didn’t want to disturb them I looked to my left and saw Jewel sitting in her car crying. As soon as our eyes met, I knew that she was in need. I could tell by the look on her face that she was kind of hoping it was Drew coming home, but her eyes also revealed that she was glad it was me.

  I got out of my car all the while keeping my eyes on her. Neither of us broke the stare as I got closer to her. Without a word, she unlocked the door, and I wasted no time opening it for her. The love that I had for her by now was so overwhelming and powerful that I couldn’t keep the tears from falling from my eyes as I opened my arms to receive her in them. I prayed that she wouldn’t make me feel like a fool and shun me, but to my relief, she got out and fell right into me. Holding her in my arms was one of the best feelings in the world, and though we were both hurting, I wouldn’t change this moment for anything in the world.

  ******

  It felt like hours that we had been standing outside crying in one another’s arms before we actually got ourselves together and went inside. Walking through the foyer this time felt nothing like any of the other times before this. Usually when I came over I felt a weight so heavy every time I walked inside, but tonight that burden was nowhere to be found.

  Making it into the house, I continued to hold Jewel as she cried on my shoulder. I couldn’t imagine the hurt and pain that she was feeling right now. Just by the look on her face, I knew the hurt was deep, and it was breaking me down that I couldn’t do a thing right now but pray for her.

  Once she was seated in the living room, I went to the guest bathroom to get her some tissue and a warm rag for her face. Before I took it to her, I went into the kitchen and got her a glass of ice water to drink. Moving about this house felt like I was right at home, and although I shouldn’t have been thinking about that at a time like this, I couldn’t help but to take notice of it.

  Walking back into the room, I saw Avery sitting there with her head on her mother’s shoulder as Kammy sat on her other side wiping Jewel’s tears away. It was at this moment that I knew that I had to be there for the three of them come hell or high water. No matter what, I would not let them down, and I would help build them back up as long as God allowed me to.

  “Here sweetheart, take this,” I said, handing the items to Jewel.

  She looked up and me and smiled but said not a word. I sat down on the other couch and just observed the three women that sat before me.

  Avery was growing into a wonderful young woman. She was smart, focused and on the way to much success in her life. She was one of the few young girls at our church that really put God first in everything that she did, and I could only thank Jewel for instilling that into her.

  Kammy was such a sweet little girl, so innocent and inquisitive, but she brought pure joy into the lives of everyone that she came in contact with. But the look that they each had on their faces right now tore me to pieces. The one man that was supposed to constantly love and protect them had hurt each one of them in the worst possible way. But as long as I had breath in my body, I wouldn’t dare allow anyone to hurt them ever again. If it took the rest of my life to make them feel better and to take the hurt away, I would do it until God called me home.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Avery

  I heard my mother come in the house, and I knew she wasn’t alone. I had watched from my bedroom window as my father drove up in his car, opened her door and she fell into the arms of the man that God had had for her. Yes, I knew that Bryce was my biological father. I had known for a few weeks now, and I was actually excited about it. Neither him nor my mother knew that I had found out, and I wanted to wait for them to tell me first, but with everything going on, I felt like maybe I should bring it up to ease their minds.

  “Um, I need to talk to you two about something. I know that this may not be the best time, but then again, maybe this is the perfect time,” I said to them.

  I watched as my mother wiped her tears and gave me her undivided attention. This was another reason that I loved her so much. No matter what she was feeling or going through, she made sure to
make my sister and I were her priority if we needed her.

  “What is it, baby?” She asked me.

  “I need to talk to you about something I heard a few weeks ago. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but when I heard you on the phone that day, Mommy, I couldn’t help it,” I said as I dropped my head.

  “Hold your head up, sweetie. There is no need to be ashamed. What did you hear?”

  Instead of just blurting out what I heard, I went back to that day from the beginning.

  Three Weeks Ago

  I had gotten home earlier than normal because it was an early release day for the seniors at school. I was shocked to see my mom’s car in the driveway because usually she got home after Kammy and I did on Thursdays. She had so much work to do at the church to get ready for the upcoming Pastor’s Anniversary and had been working overtime. But she wasn’t alone. My grandparent’s car was there as well.

  Walking into the house, I could hear the faint voices coming from her office on the other side of the kitchen. As I got closer to the door, I saw that it was slightly opened, and it sounded like I heard my mother crying. I didn’t know what was going on, and I didn’t want to barge in if they were talking about something important. As I turned around to head up to my room, I heard my grandfather say something that stopped me dead in my tracks.

  “Well, if you ask me, I’m glad that Bryce is the father of the girls.”