He asked, “Have you found a church home in New Orleans?”
“I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t. Not that I’ve really looked.”
“Well, I attend a wonderful place. Pilgrim’s Rest. I was just appointed the youth pastor there.”
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“That’s wonderful.”
“Listen, we probably won’t be back in time for Sunday service, but they have a great midweek service. I can pick you up and we could ride over together....”
He sounded as if he was a bit hesitant, and so was I. Because while I really liked Jeremy in this hour that we’d spent together, I would need to make him understand that we would never be more than friends. Never....
“Hello,” Aaron said waving his hand in front of me. “Are
you still here?”
“Oh,” I opened my eyes and wondered when John
Legend’s voice had changed to Beyoncé’s. “I must’ve drifted
off to sleep. I don’t know why; I wasn’t sleepy.”
“I don’t know if you were asleep or not, but whatever you
were thinking or dreaming about, it sure had you smiling.”
My response: I only lowered my eyes, though I kept my
smile. How could I not? Reliving those first moments with
Jeremy, remembering how I’d said never...and now, two years
later, my never had turned into something that I hoped would
become a forever.
I shook my head, a little surprised at myself for having
that thought. Already, it felt a bit like a whirlwind, from
friendship to the L word in just two months. But we were
still far from the M word, especially since who knew what
would happen after graduation?
The thought of that made me a bit sad, but I pushed
it out of my head when the valet opened the door. Happy
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thoughts, only happy thoughts. This was going to be a week
of celebration and I wanted to stay in this mode.
I thanked the valet, then waited for Aaron as he got his
ticket from the attendant. As Aaron opened the restaurant’s
door for me, I said, “I told Jeremy this was place was too
expensive. We’re college kids.”
“For just a few more hours.” Aaron grinned. “We’re about
to enter the real world.”
I stepped into the restaurant and if the real world was
going to be anything like this, I was all in. Even though it
was the middle of the afternoon, it felt much later because
the mahogany paneled walls darkened the room. There were
plenty of lights, though, from the chandeliers that hung
everywhere. Very Crescent City.
Aaron spoke to the hostess.
“Oh yes,” she said as if she’d been expecting us. “Right
this way.”
We followed her through the room that really could have
been anyone’s living room with the heavy burgundy drapes
at the windows and the mismatched cushioned chairs at
the tables. All of it was perfect for the ambience. Though
the restaurant was Sunday afternoon crowded with tourists
and natives alike, the chatter was much softer than say, the
McDonald’s across town with half the people.
“Right in here,” the hostess said.
I was confused when the hostess stopped in front of room
and pushed open the door. Why was she taking me to a room?
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But I followed her, stepping inside. And my confusion
was compounded.
I blinked to make sure I was seeing what I saw. The room
was a little dark because of the same wall paneling as out
front, and I had fallen asleep in the Aaron’s truck, so maybe
there was some residual fog in my brain.
But the image in front of me stayed the same. “Mom?”
My mother sat at a long table wearing an expression that
I couldn’t decipher. She was smiling, but there were tears in
her eyes.
I would’ve asked her what was wrong except I couldn’t
figure out why she was in New Orleans a day early. And
how had she known that I was going to be at this restaurant?
And then...what were my sisters, Jada and Lauren doing here?
Along with Jeremy’s brother, Ralph and his wife, Jean, and
Dru, who sat at the far end of the table along with three of
my line sisters and their significant others.
It was a table full of people that I didn’t expect to see, but the one I expected wasn’t even here. At least if Jeremy was
here, I could get some answers.
Where was he?
Just as I had that thought, music came through the
speakers.
“Lost without you... ”
But it wasn’t Alan Thicke’s voice.
“Can’t help myself.”
Jeremy walked through curtains from the opposite side
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of the room. I wanted to ask him what was going on, but I
didn’t want to stop his serenade. Plus, I was stuck on the way he looked; he’d changed into a suit, the only one he owned. It was a little wrinkled, but he still looked gorgeous to me. That wasn’t a word I would normally use for a man, definitely not
for Jeremy, but that was all I had to describe my man who
stood before me, tall, dark and super fine.
“Jeremy?” I said his name as if I wasn’t sure he was really
the man before me.
He nodded as if to assure me, and kept singing as he
strolled closer. He was still a couple of feet away when the
music stopped and after a moment, he began speaking, “We’ve
been friends for a while now. Two years. And during that
time, every day you put not only a smile on my face, but a
smile in my heart.”
I pressed my hand against my chest.
“You’ve touched me in a special way and my only regret is
that it took me so long,” he paused as he stopped just inches
from me, his gaze glued to mine, “to see what was right in
front of my face. We met as this song was playing and I had
no idea that night that these words would quickly belong to
me when it came to you. Ginger, I’d be so lost without you.
So now....”
I gasped as he slowly lowered himself, not stopping until
he had eased down onto one knee. Then, he lifted the top of
a velvet box that I didn’t notice until this moment. And when
he slipped the ring from the box, I held my breath. It wasn’t
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because of the diamond; I didn’t need a lot of light to know
that it wasn’t very big. Jeremy just wasn’t into that kind of
thing and really, neither was I.
I held my breath because of this moment. This moment
that, in a way, I had just imagined on the ride over. This
moment that I never expected. This moment that I wanted
to remember forever.
“I love you so much, Ginger Latrice Allen. And my
greatest prayer now is that you will do me the honor of being
my forever wife. So, will you? Will you marry me?”
“Yes, she will,” my mother spoke her first words and
everyone laughed.
Jeremy’s eyes were still on me when he said, “Thank you,
Mrs. Allen but I kind of want an answer from her.”
I struggled to swallow the stone that had settled in my
throat. It took
a moment because I wanted my voice and my
words to be totally clear. “Yes, Jeremy. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He slid the ring onto my finger, then kissed my hand
before he stood. He kissed me, then held me and as our friends and family applauded, I closed my eyes and thanked God. If I
hadn’t pushed aside my fear, if I hadn’t started moving in my
faith, I wouldn’t be here right now.
So as my future husband held me and as my family and
friends jumped up from the table to congratulate us, I said
a heart prayer over and over: “Thank you, Lord. Thank you,
God. Thank you, Lord.”
PART TWO
THE PRESENT
Chapter Seven
August, 2018
Dru held the hand mirror in front of me. “You good?”
she asked.
I glanced at my reflection and turned my head from side
to side. Marietta, my makeup artist, had my face beat once
again, so I nodded. “Thanks, Dru.”
My best friend, who’d held the title of Executive Assistant
with me for the last seven years, was much more than that.
She was my project manager, my idea generator, and my brain.
Dru stepped over me and did the same for Jeremy.
But he held up his hand before she could hold up the
mirror. “I’m good.”
She nodded, turned back to me, then gave me a smile and
a thumbs up before she moved behind the camera.
Jeremy snapped the French cuffs of his tailor-made shirt,
then adjusted the gold and onyx cuff links that had his initials engraved in the center, before he turned to me. “You ready
for this, baby?”
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“I am,” I said with the smile that I always wore.
“Okay then.” The petite woman, who’s short blond bob
bounced with every word she spoke, swiveled in the chair and
turned facing Jeremy. “We’re ready, Pastor Williams.”
My husband said, “Then, let’s go.”
Angela Wiley grinned at my husband, then gave a nod to
me and her cameraman. “We’re ready.”
I wiggled my hips a bit to get settled on our sofa as the
producer of the show gave the countdown.
Then Angela began, speaking into the camera. “Hello
everyone, and welcome to Abundant Life and Abounding
Love. I’m Angela Wiley, your host, bringing you the best in
gospel news from across the nation. Today, I’m very excited
about our guest, Reverend Jeremy Williams.”
I tried my best not to narrow my eyes; I didn’t want the
camera to pick up on any angry-Black-woman attitude, but
was Angela saying she only had one guest?
“Welcome Reverend Williams. It is such a pleasure to
have you here.”
“Thank you,” Jeremy responded. Then, he grabbed my
hand. “My wife, First Lady Ginger Williams and I are excited
to be here.”
“Yes,” Angela said with a bit of ice in her voice. “Your
wife.” A pause and then, “Welcome First Lady.”
If the cameras hadn’t been running, I would have just
stared at her. But I gave her the smile that I’d perfected over the last ten years. The First Lady’s smile that I’d learned first from my mother.
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It was the right thing to do since Abundant Life and
Abounding Love was the number one rated gospel television
show in America. And today, they were in the living room of
our home in the upscale Kalorama section of DC, introducing
us to the whole country. So, I had to remember my purpose,
keep my focus, and be unbothered by this little heifer who was making it clear that she had her eyes on my husband.
Angela said, “So, let’s get to this. I’ve been following
everything you’ve been doing at your church, New Kingdom
Temple, and I have to say I’m blown away by all you’ve
accomplished.”
Jeremy squeezed my hand. “Thank you. My wife and I are
humbled by all that God has allowed us to do.”
Angela nodded. “Well, you should be proud. You’re a
young... couple doing things churches that have been around for generations haven’t been able to do. Let me share some
of your accomplishments with our audience.” She glanced
down at her notes. “You started a school in Southeast DC for
low income children where they’re provided with everything
from their school uniforms, to two full meals, computers,
iPads...and you make sure each student has internet services
in their homes.” She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it. “You built the New Kingdom Towers in Northeast, one and
two-bedroom luxury apartments for seniors who are living
on fixed incomes and their rent is determined by how much
they can afford to pay.” She paused as if she wanted to give
her audience time to appreciate that information. “And, you’ve
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paid off your church’s mortgage, which you built on the old
District of Columbia College campus, and includes your main
sanctuary and two buildings—a learning center and a library.”
She held up her finger. “And may I add, you’ve done all of this in ten years.”
“Well actually,” Jeremy began as he leaned forward, not
worrying at all about creasing his suit. He didn’t have to
be concerned about that—suits that cost thousands never
wrinkled. Jeremy continued, “We’re coming up on our tenth
anniversary this October, so we actually haven’t reached that
milestone yet.”
“That’s right, I’ve been reading about your upcoming
celebration.”
“Yes, we’ve been blessed and we want to share our
excitement with the community. So we have lots of things
planned throughout the city.”
“Wow, that’s great. So everyone out there knows about
New Kingdom Temple and it’s charismatic pastor,” after a
couple of beats, her voice dipped an octave when she added,
“and First Lady.”
“You’re so kind,” Jeremy said.
Those weren’t the words I would have said, so I just kept
my smile in place.
Angela continued, “But for the two people out there in
America who may not know about you,” she giggled as if what
she’d said was funny, “can you share a little bit about how you got started? If I remember correctly, you didn’t go to school
to be a pastor, did you?”
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“Actually, I did not,” Jeremy began. “I always wanted to
be a pastor, but I went to Dillard because that’s the school
my father attended. They didn’t have a Divinity program, so
I majored in Mass Communications and had planned to get
my Masters in Divinity.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“Yes, but just a few weeks after graduation, this
opportunity came up.”
“Yes,” I began, picking up where I always did in these joint
interviews. “We’d just gotten engaged,” I paused and gave
Jeremy our rehearsed loving gaze, “had just graduated, and
Jeremy had just accepted the offer to attend Duke University.”
“Oh,” Angela said, “Impressive.”
Jeremy pick
ed up. “But then, I got a call from New
Kingdom. It was a relatively new church, small membership,
less than one hundred, but they were looking for a new pastor
with a new vision.”
It was my turn. “The founding pastor, Cecil Donnell, had
passed away suddenly. They were so new, they were afraid
the church would disband. But one of the members of the
church we attended in New Orleans, Mary Logan, had a
cousin who attended New Kingdom Temple and it was Mary
who brought Jeremy to the New Kingdom’s board’s attention.”
“Wow, that was serendipitous.”
Jeremy said, “It was. I was the only minister they
interviewed, and one of the pastors from the church I
attended in New Orleans, Reverend Archie Lewis, agreed to
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mentor me. So it seemed like a low risk for the church and it
was a complete blessing for me.”
I nodded with a smile because that was always the best I
could do when Jeremy said that.
He told no lies—New Kingdom Temple had been a
complete blessing for him. When they’d made the offer and he’d accepted, the church was ecstatic. The board, which
consisted of three members at the time, didn’t care what
degrees Jeremy held or what he didn’t have—he’d come with
a high recommendation from Mary Logan and one of the
mothers of the church, Beatrice Hayden, told everyone that
God had spoken to her and Jeremy Williams was the one.
And Jeremy didn’t care that there were only 81 people on
the membership rolls. The fact that New Kingdom Temple
was in DC, where I lived, made Jeremy believe this was all
God-ordained.
“This is God’s stamp of approval on our lives, ” was what Jeremy told me back then.
Angela said, “It was a blessing to the church, that’s for
sure. You started with less than one hundred members and
now, you have over ten thousand.” She shook her head. “You
are amazing,” she said, looking straight into my husband’s
eyes.“No,” he responded, though he still wore his double-
dimpled smile. “God is. God is the one who’s amazing.”
“Well, Amen,” Angela said with a chuckle.
“Amen,” Jeremy said.
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Heifer, if you keep playing me. That’s what I wanted to say, but I kept on my First Lady’s smile.
“Well now, let’s talk about some of the juicy stuff.”
Juicy? Where was she going with this?
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