The Favorite Son

by Tiffany L. Warren

  CHAPTER 47

  Dawn heard the doorbell ring as she nursed the twins and looked up at the clock. Who could be visiting at noon? The only girlfriend she had was Amber, and she was in Atlanta. Blaine was in Dallas working on ministry strategy with Pastor Wilson, or at least that was where he said he was. She’d stopped trying to check up on him years ago, as long as he left her alone.

  Perhaps it was a package being delivered. Blaine had most of his items delivered to the church, but sometimes she ordered things in the mail. Had she ordered anything lately?

  Since the doorbell continued to ring, Dawn took the babies off her breasts and put them in their cribs. She straightened her gray sweatsuit and went downstairs with B. J. at her heels.

  She looked through the peephole and was surprised to see that it was Kenya. Dawn opened the door slowly with her eyes wide.

  “Hi, Dawn!” Kenya said with a bubbly tone.

  “Um … hello.”

  “Well, are you going to invite me in?”

  Dawn looked over her shoulder. “Sure, but are you here for Blaine? He and Akil are in Dallas right now.”

  “I’m here to see you!”

  “What? Why do you want to see me?”

  “I can’t drop by and visit my first lady? I thought we were friends.”

  Dawn’s first instinct was to not trust Kenya. Why should she? Kenya was the one who’d stolen her spot in So G.I.F.T.E.D. She’d come with her songbird trills and runs and had gotten Dawn unceremoniously removed from the group.

  But it was lonely as first lady of a megachurch. No one just dropped by to say hello. That wasn’t official protocol. Many of the women didn’t think she was good enough for Blaine and were vying to be her replacement, so they couldn’t be trusted. And the older women judged her home. It was either too untidy or too extravagant. She was never enough for them.

  So even though Kenya wasn’t exactly a friend, a visit from her wasn’t totally unwelcome.

  “Well, sure you can come on in. I was just about to make myself and B. J. some lunch. We can share.”

  Kenya gave her a bright smile and stepped inside. “You’ve got some new furniture.”

  “Yes, we did a little remodeling. Blaine picked out all the original furniture. I wanted to give the house more of a feminine touch.”

  “Well, it looks really good. You did a good job.”

  Kenya followed Dawn into the kitchen, and Dawn took out some chicken salad that she’d made the day before, croissants, and fruit.

  “Would you like herbal tea?” Dawn asked.

  Kenya nodded. “Yes, please.”

  As Dawn moved around the kitchen she found that she enjoyed this little bit of excitement. Her chicken salad was really tasty, and she loved for people to try her food.

  “I have chicken salad and fruit. Oh, and I made a cream cheese pound cake the other day. Would you like some of that too?”

  “Yes to the chicken salad and fruit. No thank you on the pound cake. I don’t really eat sweets. They wreck my figure.”

  Dawn looked down at her rolls. “Well, they wreck mine too, but that doesn’t seem to stop me.”

  “You’ve had babies, girl! And you have a man already. It’s okay to let yourself go a little bit. I’m still single. I have to find myself a man before I start eating pound cake.”

  “You shouldn’t have a problem finding a man. I don’t believe that.”

  “There is a limited pool of good men. Trust, by the time we hit thirty, most of the good ones have already been snapped up. You know anyone you can introduce me to?”

  She thought about it for a moment. “What about Akil?”

  Kenya burst into laughter. “Those guys are like my brothers! Plus, Akil is a player extraordinaire. I don’t think I’d be able to trust him, knowing half the things I know.”

  “He did used to get around back in the day.”

  “Back in the day? He still gets around. Pray for his salvation.”

  The topic of conversation made Dawn uncomfortable. She remembered, all too vividly, that Akil was always Blaine’s partner in crime. If Akil was still hoing, she wondered if Blaine was too. Deep down she knew Blaine was cheating. How could he not be? He wasn’t touching her, so she knew he was touching someone.

  “Maybe the guys know someone to hook you up with. There are quite a few single brothers in the congregation, but I don’t know them well enough to offer a recommendation.”

  “I will ask them at our next rehearsal, because a sista is pretty desperate. Do you know I set up an online dating account?”

  Dawn’s eyes widened. “On the Internet? Did you see anyone with potential?”

  “A few, but the competition online is just as stiff as at a church or anywhere else.”

  Dawn sat a plate in front of Kenya at the breakfast bar and another in front of B. J. at the kitchen table. Then she prepared the cups of tea, slid them across the bar, and took a seat with her plate next to Kenya.

  “You’re so lucky to have Blaine,” Kenya said. “How did you land him anyway?”

  Dawn laughed. “You may not be able to tell now, but I once had a very nice shape. He saw me in a bathing suit and the rest was history.”

  Kenya joined in on the laughter. “Girl, all you need is to work out a little. You could get your shape back.”

  “I know. I just don’t have any motivation.”

  “Aren’t you motivated to keep your husband?”

  Dawn couldn’t tell Kenya the truth, but some days she wished Blaine would leave. A woman like Kenya would never understand that. She saw Blaine as a prize. Dawn knew the truth.

  “Sure I am. But these children have me worn out.”

  “Why don’t you have a nanny?”

  “A nanny? I don’t have a job, so I didn’t think I really needed one.”

  “You’re rich. Rich women have nannies whether they have jobs or not.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do all day if I had a nanny. The children take up my whole day.”

  Kenya laughed. “You could go with me to the gym. We could get our hair and nails done. We could go shopping.”

  “We? We could do these things.”

  “If you want to. Remember, I used to be over three hundred pounds, Dawn. I know what it’s like to work hard and get the results. Let me help you.”

  “I’ll ask Blaine about it and see what he says.”

  “Don’t ask him. Just do it. Ask forgiveness and not permission.”

  Dawn laughed out loud. “Did you plan all this out before you got here?”

  “Well … to be honest, I saw you at service last Sunday, and you looked so depressed. Something in my spirit told me you needed a friend.”

  Dawn smiled. She wanted to jump up and hug Kenya, but she restrained herself. She had been extremely depressed at church last week. She was on the verge of tears the entire service. Before service started, Blaine told her that she looked like Sofia from The Color Purple in her dress. He thought of the meanest things to say to her.

  “Amber is my friend, but she spends most of her time in Atlanta. So I wouldn’t mind hanging out with you.”

  “Good! All of my friends are back home in Fort Worth. I would love to have a girlfriend in Oklahoma City.”

  “That’s great.”

  “We’ll start by finding you a nanny tomorrow. Then we’ll start going to the gym next week. You ready?”

  Dawn nodded eagerly. It was the most excitement she’d had since she’d married Blaine. It had been a long time since Dawn felt like she had something to look forward to. And she didn’t care what Blaine had to say about it. She wasn’t asking for permission or forgiveness.

  CHAPTER 48

  Camden called his mother for their weekly chat. Even though he hadn’t been back home since he’d left to work for Royce years ago, he still made sure to talk to his favorite person once sometimes twice a week.

  “Hello, my son,” First Lady Rita said.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “How are
you? I saw that there were tornadoes touching down right outside of Atlanta.”

  Camden had seen the damage done from the tornado, and it was pretty surprising that no one had gotten hurt.

  “It was about an hour away from me, so I’m fine, but thank you for asking.”

  “Thank you for asking! I’m your mother. I’m always going to inquire about your well-being. Speaking of which, have you found a girlfriend yet? I want more grandchildren.”

  Camden started laughing. It was usually less than thirty seconds into the call before his mother started badgering him about his love life, but this time he had great news to share, so he didn’t mind.

  “Well, since you asked, Amber and I recently started dating.”

  His mother squealed through the phone. “Hallelujah! I just love her!”

  “I know you do, Mom.”

  “You know, I always hoped that you’d choose Amber over Dawn. Even when you were teenagers.”

  “You did not! You thought that Amber was a hot tail. That’s what you always said.”

  “She was fast! But she was spirited. I always loved that about her. She says what’s on her mind and she doesn’t try to please anyone but God.”

  “Well, I love all that about her too.”

  First Lady Rita cleared her throat. “I hope you don’t take too long getting this one to the altar. She’s no spring chicken. Don’t want to start too late on those grandbabies.”

  “I hear you.”

  “It’s not like you have to get to know one another. You’ve known each other your entire lives.”

  Camden should’ve known that his mother would go from zero to sixty in five seconds. This was the woman who took Dawn to bridal shows before she even had a proposal.

  “Do you think she’ll tell Dawn the two of you are dating?” First Lady Rita asked.

  Camden had considered that. Even though he hadn’t spoken a word to Dawn since that day at the church when she married Blaine, Amber had remained close to her. She was the godmother to all their children and spent birthdays at their house.

  “I think she will, but maybe not right away.”

  “That child is gonna be devastated if you and Amber end up married.”

  “Why?” Camden scoffed. “She has who she wanted.”

  “Now you know good and well that shotgun wedding isn’t what she wanted. That’s what your father wanted.”

  “Well, she went along with it. You know, I really don’t want to talk about that. I was just sharing my good news. I don’t really care about Dawn or Blaine.”

  “Okay, honey.”

  “I have some more good news for you,” Camden said.

  “You do? Well, what is it?”

  “I’m coming to Dad’s anniversary celebration. Amber asked me to accompany her.”

  First Lady Rita must’ve dropped the phone, because all Camden heard was scuffling, shouting, and yelling. Camden laughed and waited for his mother to come back on the phone.

  “God is good! I’m going to see my baby! Are you going to play too?”

  Camden said, “Well, no. I wasn’t invited to do that. But I will be in attendance.”

  “Wonderful. That’s just wonderful.”

  “Mom, do me a favor, and don’t tell Dad, okay. If he said he didn’t want me there …”

  “He wouldn’t say that,” First Lady Rita said. “But I’ll respect your wishes and not tell him.”

  “Thank you.”

  Camden was unsure about attending his father’s anniversary celebration, but he had promised Amber, so he would definitely attend. But if Camden got wind of his father saying he didn’t want him there, Camden was sure that he’d probably never lay eyes on him again.

  CHAPTER 49

  Blaine stared in disbelief at the middle-aged woman who was in his home, feeding his son lunch. He had just returned from a trip to Dallas to find a stranger in his home. Well, perhaps not a stranger. The woman was vaguely familiar, but he didn’t know her name.

  “Are you a friend of Dawn’s?” Blaine asked suspiciously.

  “Hello, Pastor Wilson,” the woman said. “I’m Sister Vera Jennings. I’m one of the ushers at Graceway, and your wife hired me to be your nanny.”

  “Sister Jennings. Well, carry on, then. Is my wife home?”

  Blaine tried to hold his anger in check in front of Sister Jennings. He didn’t want any of his members to see him explode the way he was going to do when he got his hands on Dawn. He would just wait a week or so and relieve Sister Jennings of her duties.

  But first, he had to deal with Dawn. Who did she think she was hiring someone to come into their home? Those types of decisions needed to go through him. And what in the world did she need a nanny for anyway? She didn’t have a job, nor did she have any hobbies.

  “First Lady Wilson isn’t in. She went to the gym. She says she had a spinning class.”

  Dawn was exercising? Well, maybe he wouldn’t be too hasty with his anger. Lord knew she needed to get rid of some of that jelly she was carrying around. Maybe she’d be in a better mood if she was exercising on a regular basis.

  “How long ago did she leave?”

  “She’s been gone for a couple hours. She should be back soon.”

  “Thank you.”

  Blaine went into his study to work on his remarks for his father’s anniversary celebration. It was taking place in under a month, and Blaine was the keynote speaker. There was so much he wanted to say about his father; they had grown very close since Blaine had followed in his footsteps. He was happy that he made his father proud, even though his mother felt differently.

  For a brief moment, Blaine considered inviting Camden to the event. There were celebrities and preachers coming from all over the country. It would be one of the most well-attended gospel events of the year. Since Camden was a revered gospel artist, some would probably find it strange if Camden wasn’t in attendance at his own father’s anniversary party.

  Blaine decided that he would invite Camden. The worst that he could say was no, and he just might say yes. If he could convince Camden to come home for a visit, maybe, for once, their mother would be happy with something Blaine did.

  Blaine dialed Camden’s cell phone number. The phone rang three times before going over to voice mail. Blaine didn’t leave a message. He’d call him later.

  Blaine opened his laptop and started typing notes for his speech. He concentrated for a few minutes, but then he heard voices. It was Dawn … and was that? No. It couldn’t be.

  He rushed out of his office and into the kitchen where the voices were coming from. He felt his stomach drop when his eyes confirmed what his ears had just heard. Standing in the kitchen with Blaine’s wife was his mistress.

  “Dawn, where have you been?” Blaine asked.

  Dawn walked over and kissed him on the cheek. While Dawn’s back was to Kenya, Kenya lifted an eyebrow at Blaine and grinned. He didn’t know what kind of game Kenya was playing, but she needed to stop immediately.

  “Glad to have you back home, honey,” Dawn said.

  Blaine gave Dawn a strange look. Honey? She didn’t call Blaine any pet names. Never had. She was probably trying to keep up appearances for Kenya.

  “I missed you and the kids, babe. Imagine how surprised I was when I got home and you weren’t here. We have a nanny now?”

  Dawn smiled. “Yes! It was all Kenya’s idea. She dropped by one day last week and challenged me to get my butt off the couch. She even helped me pick the nanny.”

  “She did? How good of her!”

  “I saw my first lady looking down and out, and I wanted to offer my assistance. I hope you don’t mind, Blaine.”

  “I don’t mind at all. I’ve been wanting Dawn to get to know more of the women in the church. You two have singing in common, so …”

  “Singing isn’t the only thing we have in common,” Kenya said.

  Blaine narrowed his eyes at Kenya and tilted his head to one side. He knew this woman wasn’t crazy. He
thought she wasn’t.

  “Weight loss,” Dawn said. “She lost a lot of weight before, so she’s passionate about losing it and keeping it off.”

  “Oh, you have that in common?” Blaine said with a chuckle. “I’m happy to hear that.”

  Dawn’s expression darkened. “Yes, Blaine. I would like to lose weight.”

  “That makes two of us. I would like you to lose weight too.”

  “You know, Blaine,” Kenya said, “you could stand to lose a few pounds yourself. Your gut is expanding. You look about four months pregnant. Maybe you should come to Zumba class with us.”

  Dawn covered her mouth, but some of her giggles escaped anyway. Blaine couldn’t wait to get Kenya alone. He had some real choice words for her. This had crossed the line.

  “I’m a man. A gut on a man is sexy. Y’all the ones that need to keep it tight,” Blaine said.

  “Six-pack abdominals on a man are sexy. Don’t you agree, Dawn?”

  “Uh …”

  “Yeah, she knows better,” Blaine said. “Do you need to see about the babies? When is the last time you nursed them?”

  Dawn frowned. “The babies are fine. I pumped milk for the nanny to give them.”

  “Well, good then,” Blaine said. “I’ll leave you ladies to your girl talk. I’ve got work to do.”

  Blaine stormed out of the room, angrier than he could ever remember being in his life. Why would Kenya try to help Dawn lose weight and become more attractive? It didn’t make any sense. He didn’t know what Kenya’s plan was, but it couldn’t be good.

  In fact, Kenya’s presence in his home felt like a threat. If she thought she was going to force his hand about divorcing Dawn or if she thought he’d let her do anything to harm his ministry, she had another think coming. Graceway Oklahoma City was his church, and no mistress was going to be its downfall.

  CHAPTER 50

  Dawn looked down at the scale and grinned. She’d lost eight pounds in a week. One week of eating the diet that Kenya put together for her and one week of going to Kenya’s personal trainer, and she was down eight pounds. This was motivation.