Seasoned with Grace

by Nigeria Lockley

  “I thought the stool worked with the intimate, conversational style of the interview and the condo’s low-key decor,” Diane Khan explained, leaning on against the stool.

  “No problem, Diane. I can call you that, right?” Grace asked. She stood, smoothed down her golden-yellow, A-line, peplumed dress, and stuck out her hand.

  “Absolutely,” Diane replied as she extended her arm and shook Grace’s hand. “I can’t believe this is the first time we’re sitting down to chat, considering how long you’ve been in this industry. Let me meet your people.” She scuttled over to the chairs mounted behind the couch in her platform heels and stuck her hand out in Pastor David’s direction, paused, and placed her other hand on her earpiece. “We’re going live in fifteen . . . fourteen . . . seconds,” she announced, shuffling to the stool to take her place.

  As soon as the director said, “And we’re live,” Diane Khan was ready to turn it on.

  “This is Red Tape, and I’m your host, Diane Khan, sitting down for an exclusive interview with Grace King and what looks like the Three Musketeers.” Diane pointed her copper-colored arm toward the men seated behind Grace. “Who do we have here with us today, Grace?”

  “This is Pastor Lawrence David of Mount Carmel Community Church. I just call him David. When I met him I decided I like the name David way more than Lawrence, and I’ve called him that ever since.” Grace reached back and rested her hand on his knee. “Now, this brother right here is Ethan Summerville, my attorney, agent, manager, my everything. He keeps me ticking.” She pointed at Horace with a smile wide enough to expose both rows of teeth. “And this guy is my Adam. A man made to love and lead me. They are all a part of my past, present, and future. If it had not been for their guidance, love, and support, I wouldn’t be here to tell you my story or expose Javier Roberts for the snake that he is.”

  “Snake?” Diane repeated. “Are you saying that there is no truth to the rumors about you being dismissed from the set because you continually made sexual advances toward Javier Roberts?”

  “Horace, please come here,” Grace said, ignoring Diane momentarily.

  “What do you need?” Horace stood beside the couch.

  “Please, make sure you’re getting all this fineness,” Grace said, pointing at the cameraman.

  Even Diane paused to absorb Horace’s fine-tuned physique and the shine that emanated from his cocoa skin.

  “Diane, you gotta get your own.” Grace snapped her fingers and rolled her neck. “No shade intended,” she said, sitting back and crossing her legs.

  “I feel naked. Can I sit back down?” Horace asked.

  Grace patted the vacant seat next to her on the couch, indicating Horace should share the spotlight with her. She waited until he sat down beside her before continuing her defense. “I’m pretty sure this speaks for itself, but let’s clear the air. Why on earth would I need or want to make sexual advances at Javier Roberts when I could have this man?” Grace asked, wrapping her arm around Horace’s rock-solid bicep to brace herself for the firestorm she was about to set off.

  Grace went on. “It’s Javier who is loony. He’s a rapist. He raped me. Ten years ago on the set of a Jonathan Black photo shoot, and now he is trying to victimize me all over again.” Grace’s leg shook as the words tumbled out of her mouth. The floor beneath her felt like mush. “This movie isn’t some unchartered territory or the efforts of a cinematic genius, as he would have others believe. What happens to my character in the film is what he did to me. He is sick,” she said, with her lips turned down in disgust.

  Diane placed her hand on her earpiece, waiting to receive directions from the segments producer. Grace could tell by the way she sorted through her cue cards that none of the questions she had prepared were related to the bomb that had just been detonated, and that she did not have a good segue ready.

  “Grace, are you alleging that Javier Roberts raped you?” Diane finally said. “Those are serious allegations that could lead to more legal woes for you.”

  Clearing her throat to respond, Grace sat upright to address Diane’s underhanded accusation, but she was interrupted by Ethan’s protective interjection.

  “In addition to being her publicist, I serve as Grace’s legal counsel, and I can assure you that the only person who will have legal issues after this interview is Javier Roberts, who preyed on an innocent girl. Then, when he thought she was at her weakest point, he tried to use it to his advantage. We are fully prepared to fight this thing to the very end, if that is the route Mr. Roberts chooses to take.”

  Grace reclined, with a grin spread across her face. The Lord had certainly provided her with a ready defense.

  “Grace, Javier Roberts’s fans have taken to Twitter and Facebook and are flooding our news feed with the same question I have for you,” Diane said. “Why did you wait so long to report this alleged rape?”

  “Fear. That and the need for acceptance. They both held me hostage for a long time. My life hasn’t been horrible, but it hasn’t been bright, either. After making some mistakes as a teen, I tried to use my modeling career as a way to redeem myself. Then I discovered that redemption doesn’t work that way. Only Christ can clean up the mess that we make of our lives.”

  “Why sign on to do a major motion picture that depicts your rape?” Diane asked.

  Grace exhaled. “Again, I was afraid, and I was trying to cover up something while saving face, but then a wise man said something that broke me down and woke me up. Those words freed me from this and all the bad things that happened to me. The truth is more powerful than any lie. I am grateful for Pastor David for urging me to take the devil on.”

  “Is that why you invited Pastor David to sit in on this interview?” Diane asked, now motioning toward him.

  “Diane, I kind of invited myself,” Pastor David chirped from behind Grace. “I feel partially responsible for the things that have happened to Grace, because of the things that I did to her. Grace and I once had a romantic relationship. We were sexually active, and that relationship produced a child. Some members of the church we used to attend urged Grace to abort the baby so as not to put a blemish on my budding ministry. I don’t know what I was doing or where my head was that I didn’t see what was happening, but the next time I looked up, Gracie was gone.”

  Pastor David paused and took a deep swallow. Grace knew this had to be one of the most difficult situations in his life. The thought of his former sins being revealed to the whole world shook him way down in the city of his soul.

  “Do you need a moment, Pastor?” Diane asked, passing a glass of water and a napkin to Grace to give to the pastor.

  Pastor David gulped loudly and then continued. “That was the first time she was raped. In that moment people who were older and seemed wiser used their age, wisdom, and control over her to assert their own will on her—usurping the power that she had over her own body. I am here to be the first to confess that I damaged her and opened the floodgates for the devil and his demons to prey on her. I am here to apologize to her.”

  Pastor David swiped a few stray tears from his face. “Sunday after Sunday I beseech the congregation of Mount Carmel Community Church to dig deep within themselves to make right their errors, reconcile their affairs with men, and stop hiding behind their sin, but a leader must lead by example, not through speeches.” Pastor David bent over slightly and placed his hand on Grace’s shoulder.

  Grace adjusted herself and faced Pastor David.

  “I am here to say, Grace, I am sorry. I know that I cannot restore the things that are broken, but I am sorry that these things happened to you, and I will stand by you regardless of the outcome of this situation.”

  Chapter 35

  The constant vibration of Grace’s phone caused the steel countertop of the island in her kitchen to reverberate. Before the camera crew was done scuffing her floor on the way out, Grace had over a thousand new e-mails, direct messages from Twitter, and Facebook notifications. Just a few years ago, a day or t
wo would go by before the lawyers or public relations team of a celebrity would reach out to him or her, and at least three days to a week would pass before a celebrity started receiving death threats for something said or done.

  Grace covered her mouth in horror as she scrolled through her e-mails, just reading the subject lines: “He should have killed you too.” “Waste of time.” “Why would Javier need to or want to rape you?” “Liar, liar, liar.”

  Horace, Pastor David, and Ethan had formed a congratulatory circle near the window and were patting each other on the back for each defensive move they’d executed efficiently during the interview. None of them seemed to hear the squeals of agony Grace let out as she read through each bitter and antagonistic message. After admitting to being raped, she had expected to be embraced. Instead, she was vilified and was accused of being a monster. The three men continued to boast, complement each other, and give each other daps, one of them saying, “Yeah, man, you handled Diane that time,” until a jarring cry erupted in the kitchen. They tripped over each other as they leaped toward the kitchen.

  Grace tried to control it, but she couldn’t stop shaking like a loose shingle on a roof during a storm. Tears streaked her copper skin as she bit down on her bottom lip. She stared at her cell phone, which now lay on the floor.

  Ethan stooped down to pick up her phone, Horace massaged her shoulders, trying to soothe her, and Pastor David was the one soul in the room who was brave enough to speak.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  Burying her head in the slither of space between Horace’s arm and chest, Grace pointed at her cell phone, then proceeded to cry..

  Ethan tapped the phone’s screen and entered her password. After reading the message on the screen, he passed the phone to Pastor David, who read the message and adamantly shouted, “The devil is a liar!”

  “What does it say, man?” Horace demanded, slapping Pastor David on the shoulder with his free arm and still cradling Grace with the other.

  Pastor David stood perfectly still, with his mouth hanging open so wide, his chin hid his Adam’s apple.

  “Speak, Pastor! What does it say?” Ethan asked, chiming in.

  “I don’t know what’s more harmful—what the message says or its origin,” Pastor David said.

  Breaking from the safety of Horace’s arms, Grace ran to the sink. She leaned over and threw cold water on her face. She arose from the sink with splotches on her face, which marked the spots where her foundation, concealer, and blush used to lie. She addressed her support crew. “I am done for the day. I can’t handle any more of this. I’ll be upstairs. Please let yourselves out.” Pivoting on her heels, Grace turned to make her exit. Horace reached out to grab her arm, but she snatched it away so quickly, he was left clutching the air.

  “Solitude isn’t what’s best in this situation,” Horace said.

  She whipped her head around and stared at Horace, hard enough to bore holes into his head. “You think you know when you have no idea,” Grace cried.

  “Well then, can someone please tell me what in the world just happened?” Horace said.

  “Read it,” Ethan said to Pastor David.

  “Read what?” Horace asked, shrugging his shoulders.

  “An e-mail,” Pastor David said, finally breaking his silence. “An e-mail from a very disturbed person.”

  “Pastor, please just tell me what it says.”

  “The subject line of this e-mail reads ‘You deserved it.’ It goes, ‘Dear Grace, what a shame it is to see that you have accused someone as talented as Javier Roberts of raping you. I wonder if you understand the magnitude of your accusations. Probably not, or you would not be on national television, trying to play Diane, when really you are the woman at the well, misusing the blessings of God to distract holy men of God from their calling. I was completely shocked to see Pastor David behind you, supporting you as you recited these fables. As I watched that interview, all I could do was pray that Pastor David does not fall from his steadfastness again, after all that we did to protect him. And now my prayer is that you might come to know the Savior before that spirit of Jezebel really takes ahold of you and has you carted off to hell. You should be ashamed of yourself and the acts that you participated in. Sincerely, Thomas King.’” Pastor David ground his teeth. “You know that there are a hundred more like this.”

  “Who cares what those kooks think?” Horace said. “If you ask me, that’s what’s wrong with our country today—everyone’s too wrapped up in the lives of celebrities, and they don’t even know what their own child is doing. Grace, you need to forget about Thomas and his whole crew.”

  “She won’t,” Ethan said before Grace could muster up a response to Horace. She was grateful they were still in tune like that.

  Horace frowned. “Why?”

  “Because she can’t,” Pastor David added.

  “Thomas King is my father,” Grace revealed, putting an end to the mystery for Horace. “Now, if you don’t mind letting yourselves out, it would be greatly appreciated,” she said, curtsying.

  Ethan and Pastor David gathered their stuff in silence. To Grace, it seemed like they were moving slower than a toddler who’d just taken his first step. Grace strutted to the door and held it open to speed up the process.

  She didn’t know if there was a scripture that could correct the combination of punches thrown her way today. Hopefully, the Bible app she had downloaded to her phone would lead her to it. Pastor David and Ethan each embraced her before walking out and assured her that she would be okay. She looked over her shoulder at Horace and wondered why he insisted on breaking the rule, since her directive applied to him as well.

  Once Grace heard the ding of the elevator and knew Ethan and Pastor David were gone, she turned to Horace and began drilling him. She hadn’t wanted to dig into him while everyone else was around. He’d earned that much respect from her.

  “Why are you still here?” Grace asked, still holding the door open by the knob.

  Horace swiftly stepped up to Grace. He stood in front of her, his chest puffed up from pride or loyalty. She couldn’t tell which.

  “Because you don’t really want to be alone,” he said, tracing her jawbone with the tip of his finger. “And I don’t want to leave you, Grace King.” He tipped her chin upward and leaned into her, leading with his lips. First, they grazed her lips.

  “What makes you think I don’t want to be alone?”

  Horace pecked her lips with his. “Everything about you says you don’t want to be alone, from the dreamy look in those doe eyes of yours to the way your back is arched while you hold that door open,” he said, subtly slinking his arm around her waist and pulling her to his body. With his other hand, he grasped her jaw tightly and pressed his lips into hers.

  In that instant he infused the strength and love that those e-mails had sucked out of her back into her. The kiss was sweet enough to last until forever, and it very well would have if Grace’s only neighbor hadn’t decided to let her shih tzu run down the hallway without a leash on. The dog came speeding down the hallway and ran right into Grace’s unit. Horace let go of Grace and scooped up the brown ball of fur before he had the opportunity to rummage through the place.

  “Here you go,” Horace said sweetly to the old lady who owned both the dog and the only other unit on that floor.

  Once the woman disappeared down the hallway, he turned back to Grace. “Now that I saved you from that shih tzu, I know I’m entitled to at least a cup of coffee before you send me packing.”

  Grace smiled at the warm expression on his face and the radiance that had settled around him. He deserved more than a cup of coffee; he deserved her complete adoration. Horace had poured nothing but love into Grace, even after learning her dirtiest secrets and deeds. She didn’t understand why he would even care about someone like her, with so little to offer him. Early on she had thought she was bringing more to the table, because she had a larger bank account, but there was nothing she could
give him. Except herself.

  Grace shut the door, went to the kitchen, and turned on the Keurig. As it warmed up, she instructed Horace to have a seat on the couch for once, instead of standing by the window.

  “But I love the view. From my place I can see only into the alley behind the building and some old lady’s apartment.”

  “Just take a seat, buster,” she said, inserting the K-Cup into the machine. “Just relax, okay?”

  “Okay,” he agreed, exhaling deeply through his nostrils.

  Once the coffee had brewed, Grace sauntered across the living room floor to him and handed him his cup. Sinking down onto her knees, she bowed her head before him.

  “Grace, what are you doing?”

  “I’m lying at your feet.”

  “Why?” he asked, holding his head back awkwardly.

  “That’s what Ruth did when she offered herself to Boaz. Horace, you have proven yourself to be honorable, strong, and loving. I’ve never had a man like you in my life. I don’t think I am deserving of what you have to offer, but I want to walk this walk with you.”

  “Grace, as long as you’re walking with Christ, I will walk with you anywhere.” Horace placed his cup of coffee on the floor and kneeled down in front of her. He grabbed her hands and covered them with his own. “I can’t give you what you’re used to, but I can love you.”

  “That’s what I love about you, Horace. You’re not what I’m used to,” she said, kissing his chin.

  Cupping the sides of her face, Horace kissed her forehead, her nose, and then her lips. “Before this turns into something more, I’m going to go out that door, but first, let’s pray.” He took her hand in his and said, “Father God, we come before your presence with thanksgiving. I thank you for everything that has transpired in our lives, for it has led us to this moment in time. I thank you for sending Grace to Mount Carmel. I thank you for the forgiveness of sins and pray that you will use this woman for all to see how day by day you have seasoned our lives with grace, that good should come out of bad and light out of darkness because of your power, your faithfulness, and your loving-kindness. In Jesus’s name, amen.”