The Reverend's Wife

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

  The church choir sang beautifully, but Charlotte focused on something else. No matter how many times she replayed Matthew’s words in her head, she still couldn’t accept or believe them. Racquel was pregnant. Six weeks to be exact, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. What had Matt been thinking? He was a straight-A student who’d won a full four-year academic scholarship, to Harvard no less, yet he hadn’t been smart enough to use protection? It was bad enough he and Racquel were having sex, period, but the very least he could have done was wear a condom, and Racquel could have used some sort of birth control as well. And what about all the diseases going around? She knew Matthew truly liked Racquel and maybe even loved her, but how did he really know he could trust her? How did Racquel know she could trust him for that matter? Charlotte just wished they hadn’t been so careless. From the very beginning, as soon as Matthew had started bringing Racquel around on a regular basis, Charlotte had worried she might end up pregnant—she’d worried that she or some other girl would realize what a gold mine they’d tapped into and would do all they could to trap him. Curtis, of course, didn’t feel the same and thought Racquel’s feelings were genuine, but Charlotte wasn’t so sure. She hoped they were for Matthew’s sake, of course; however, she also knew that lots of women allowed this kind of thing to happen whenever there was major money involved.

  But that was all pretty irrelevant now, because it was too late to do anything except be there for Matt and his child. She did wonder, though, what this was going to mean for Racquel, since she’d won a four-year scholarship, too, and was preparing to begin classes at MIT. Charlotte couldn’t imagine she’d still be able to go, considering her condition, so it would be interesting to see how things eventually turned out. It would also be interesting to hear what her parents had to say, because she doubted they approved of this regrettable pregnancy either. Although, as Charlotte sat thinking, something else dawned on her. She’d stopped taking her own birth control pills nearly three weeks ago, so what if she was pregnant, too? With all that had been going on—her drinking episodes and now this new problem with Sharon—she’d completely forgotten about it. She did want to have another baby, and she’d thought getting pregnant might change Curtis’s mind about divorcing her, but now that things were good between them, she would never want this happening without discussing it with him. She wouldn’t want him thinking she’d purposely done something this huge behind his back, as that might mean more bad feelings and animosity on his part.

  The choir sang another selection, but a wave of panic overshadowed Charlotte’s spirit, and she closed her eyes, praying she wasn’t pregnant. Not now, anyway. At least not until Curtis had confirmed he wanted another baby, which she knew wouldn’t be for a while since they were dealing with so many other delicate issues.

  Charlotte squeezed Curtis’s hand, and he turned and smiled at her. He was sitting next to her on the front pew, something he hadn’t done in a long time, and it gave her calm. To her right were her mom, dad, Aunt Emma, Anise, Janine, and Carl. They’d all graciously assembled together for the big announcement, and Charlotte welcomed all their love and support. Of course, even with all of them standing by her and Curtis, getting up a few minutes from now, looking out at the entire congregation, was going to be one of the most difficult things she and Curtis had ever had to do, but she still believed it was necessary. Charlotte had hoped, though, that maybe there would be some strange turn of events and that maybe Sharon wouldn’t show up, but sadly, she’d arrived well before service had started. She’d even smirked at Charlotte, and that’s when Charlotte had known for sure that if they didn’t tell their side of the story first, Sharon would take the floor and do irreparable damage. She would twist and turn things, making her version of what happened seem believable, and they couldn’t allow that.

  When the choir took their seat, Elder Jamison went to the podium. “Good morning, Church.”

  “Good morning,” everyone said.

  “As Pastor would say, this is the day the Lord hath made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

  “Amen,” various members agreed.

  “I know all of you have come to hear God’s Word, but Pastor and Mrs. Black have something very important to say to you, so one of our assistant pastors, Reverend Morgan, will be delivering the message. That way, once Pastor and Mrs. Black have spoken, they can go spend the rest of the afternoon with their family.”

  People whispered and all eyes landed on Charlotte and Curtis. It was obvious that most folks were dying to find out what this was all about.

  “I also want to say that, as of today, I don’t know a braver couple than our pastor and first lady,” he said, glancing over at Curtis and Charlotte. “I want you both to know how proud I am of you and that I’m here for you always.” Then Elder Jamison looked back at the audience. “Thank you all for being here today, and if you would, let’s please offer our pastor and first lady a huge welcome.”

  There was much applause and the majority of people stood to receive them. Cutis held her hand, and while Charlotte was very thankful for everyone’s devotion to them, she couldn’t recall ever feeling so nervous when walking to the podium. But she took a deep breath and prayed for this to go quickly.

  Curtis waited for everyone to be seated, released her hand, and pulled the mic from its holder. “I would first like to say that you are by far the most loving congregation I have ever known, and I really appreciate that. You go out of your way to support me as your pastor, and you support my wife as your first lady and my family as a whole, and we are both extremely grateful. But, of course, there comes a time when mistakes are made, bad decisions enter the equation, and as human beings, we sometimes don’t do the right thing… and unfortunately, that’s what we’re here to talk to you about.”

  Charlotte watched how attentive everyone was and hoped she’d be able to get her words out when it was time for her to speak.

  “A little over a year ago, my wife and I went through some very trying times with our marriage, and I’d made the decision to divorce her.”

  There was more whispering, people nodded in disbelief, and most everyone was shocked.

  “I know this must come as a surprise, but it’s true. We basically went our separate ways, and I was pretty much sitting back waiting for my son to leave for college so I could begin the dissolution process. But in the meantime, I started having phone conversations with a woman who is a member of this church, and I spoke to her almost daily. I did this for more than a year, until last week. I also visited her twice during this same period of time, and while I never touched her, not once, it was still very wrong. I had no business talking to or going to see her, and I’m very sorry for that. I’ve apologized to God, and now I’m apologizing to all of you because you deserve so much better than this.”

  Charlotte looked around, and interestingly enough, no one seemed incensed by any of what Curtis was saying, and she knew it was because he’d said he hadn’t slept with this woman. They could hear the sincerity in his voice, and they could tell he was being truthful with them.

  “You deserve better than this, and I’m ashamed of my actions,” he continued. “Not to mention, it was only a few years ago that I disappointed many of you with another mistake I made, so you can only imagine how much I regret having to stand before you today. To be honest, I tried looking for other ways to handle this so I wouldn’t have to face you, but it was my wonderful wife here who said the best thing for us to do was speak to you directly. She thought it was better to tell you everything before you started hearing rumors and lies from someone else, and now I’m glad I listened. And finally, before I pass the mic over to her, there’s something else I want you to know. She and I have worked things out, and if it’s left up to me, we’ll be married until I take my last breath.”

  The congregation stood and applauded, and Charlotte wanted to burst with joy. Everything was going so well… until she saw Sharon getting up, sliding out of her row, and walking into the a
isle.

  “I don’t believe you people! You’re actually going to sit here clapping and giving this man a standing ovation? And don’t get me started on this tramp you call your first lady. Are you people insane? Didn’t you hear him say he’s had a relationship with me for months now?”

  Charlotte watched her slowly turning in a circle, making sure she addressed members in every direction, but she wondered why Lana had just walked into the sanctuary, giving Curtis what looked to be an everything-has-been-taken-care-of sort of look. Charlotte had thought it strange that she hadn’t seen Lana yet this morning, and suddenly Curtis appeared calm and unworried about what Sharon would say or do next. Then, in a matter of seconds, six police officers entered through the double doors, quickly making their way down the aisle to where Sharon was standing.

  “Sharon Green,” one of them said, “we’re going to need you to come with us.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re under arrest for five counts of tax evasion, fraud, and the illegal use of three aliases.”

  Loud gasps and noisy conversation resonated throughout the sanctuary. Everyone was clearly stunned—including Charlotte.

  “Let me go!”

  An officer handcuffed her and recited the Miranda warning. As two of the officers dragged her out of the church, Sharon kicked and struggled, shouting, “I hate you, Curtis, and if it’s the last thing I do, I’m paying you back for this.” She kicked and fought and yelled a few obscenities, but finally, she was gone. Charlotte wasn’t sure how and why this had occurred, but she was thrilled. Sharon was actually out of their lives. She was history, and Charlotte would have done a happy dance if it wouldn’t have looked so silly. Nonetheless, she smiled and thought proudly, Good-bye, good riddance, and thank God. Still, she couldn’t wait to hear how this had happened.

  Epilogue

  Five Days Later

  Charlotte was still in awe of the way things had turned out. Who would have imagined Sharon was a criminal? A white-collar criminal but still a criminal who’d committed crimes for many years. She was certainly crazy enough—that much had been confirmed over the last month—but not even Curtis had suspected she was a pro at cheating the government and stealing the identities of deceased women. She’d gotten away with a ton of misdeeds, and while she’d lived well in at least five different states, she hadn’t worked for anyone in over a decade. She also wasn’t self-employed the way she’d claimed, nor had she transferred from some Chicago company before moving to Mitchell. Everything she’d told Curtis had been a lie.

  They now knew who “John” was, too. Curtis had wondered why she’d made the mistake of calling him that on two different occasions. It seemed John had been Sharon’s last love interest and victim. She’d met him while living in Atlanta, Georgia, the last place she’d resided before moving to Mitchell, and things had turned quite ugly. She’d baited him, seduced him, and even purchased a wedding gown for their intended nuptials, but after a few months, John had announced that he wasn’t leaving his wife and told her their affair was over. Needless to say, Sharon hadn’t taken the news very well and had begun stalking him and his wife the same as she’d done with Charlotte and Curtis. However, unlike them, John and his wife were the kind of people who didn’t have to worry about public scandal, and John had reported her to the police. And it was then that Sharon had high-tailed it out of town and set up shop locally.

  But besides all that, what fascinated Charlotte even more was the way Sharon had been caught. As fate would have it, D.C. had ended up having more contacts than Curtis had counted on, and even Lana had done a little investigating of her own after she returned from Detroit. Well, actually, it had been her niece, Tracey, who’d decided to see what she could find out about Sharon’s background through a couple of websites that specialized in this area. Lana hadn’t told Curtis about it because, one, she’d broken his and Charlotte’s confidence by telling Tracey what was going on, and, two, Tracey had said finding anything relevant was probably a long shot. But then Tracey had discovered some conflicting information about Sharon when it came to names, birthdays, and Social Security numbers.

  That was when Curtis had phoned D.C., and he’d called a man he insisted was the best private investigator in New York—someone who big law firms used regularly. How D.C. even knew someone on that level, let alone how he’d met someone working in the Big Apple, was a mystery, but D.C.’s contact had come through brilliantly, and Curtis owed him. Of course, the catch was that by the time D.C. had contacted the investigator, it had been only two days before Curtis and Charlotte were to address the congregation, so Curtis had been forced to pay a large sum of money to make this happen. The investigator, along with some of his staff members, had worked all day and all night, both Friday and Saturday, and it hadn’t been until Sunday morning that they’d secured enough information to give to the police. It had been a close call, and since Curtis hadn’t seen Lana come into the sanctuary before he and Charlotte had gone to the podium, he’d known she hadn’t heard anything from D.C. yet. It was then that Curtis had decided they would have to go through with confessing everything to the congregation as planned.

  But thankfully, D.C. had gotten everything to Lana in the nick of time, and she’d contacted the police, letting them know there was a deranged woman in their congregation who had been threatening the pastor and his family. She had also given them copies of each of the arrest warrants that had been filed in the name of Sharon’s aliases, and this had sealed the deal. This was the real reason the police had been able to storm into the church with just cause and escort her out of there—this was also the reason they wouldn’t need to file an order of protection, and unless Sharon told lies from her prison cell, the news about Curtis’s relationship with her wouldn’t likely be newsworthy.

  But in spite of it all, life was still good, and today was one of the happiest days the Black family had experienced. Matthew was finally graduating and he was waiting on the top step of the stage, listening for his name to be called. Charlotte squeezed Curtis’s hand on one side of her and did the same with Curtina’s on the other. Alicia was up toward the front taking photos, and Charlotte wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her parents more excited. She knew her son had a baby on the way and that this was surely a worry for all of them, but after sitting down and speaking with Racquel’s parents, Charlotte and Curtis did feel a little better about things. They were very nice people, disappointed parents no less, but still wonderful people who expected Matt to leave for Harvard as planned. They wanted nothing to stand in the way of his education, and they’d already agreed to raise the baby until both he and Racquel graduated from college—of course, Curtis and Charlotte would do everything they could for their grandchild as well. This way, Racquel would still be able to enroll at MIT the semester after the baby arrived. She would definitely lose her scholarship, just as Charlotte had been thinking, but her parents were more than willing to pay her tuition.

  This certainly wasn’t the kind of life Curtis and Charlotte had envisioned for Matthew, nor was this anything close to the life Racquel’s parents had wanted for her, but as parents, the four of them loved their children and would support them completely. Yes, Matthew and Racquel had made a dire mistake and no one thought it was okay, but after all Curtis and Charlotte had subjected Matthew to for so many years, they knew the least they could do was see him through until the end.

  So again, life was good. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but they were truly a happy family. She and Curtis had finally gotten it right, and Charlotte knew their struggles had made them stronger, wiser, and more committed to each other. It was the reason she wouldn’t change a thing, not when they’d learned so much. She’d also taken a pregnancy test and learned she wasn’t expecting, but she wouldn’t give up hope on that either. For now, though, she was just happy existing and being Curtis’s wife.

  “Matthew Curtis Black,” the announcer read aloud.

  Charlotte beamed, Curtis looked as though he were ab
out to burst, and Curtina yelled out her brother’s name as loudly as she could.

  Yes, life was good—great, even—and Charlotte thanked God for everything she could think of. Most of all, though, she thanked Him for giving her another chance—and for saving her… from herself.

  Acknowledgments

  To God for guiding my direction, for protecting me and for blessing me with so much mercy, grace, and unconditional love.

  To my husband, Will. I love you from the bottom of my heart and soul, and thank you for still making me laugh every single day without fail. I thank God for the amazing twenty-one years we’ve shared together and that we’re still counting.

  To my entire family—my brothers, Willie Jr., Michael, and Dennis; my sister, Nancy; my mother-in-law, Lillie; my brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law (Gloria, Ronald, Terry, Robert, James, Tammy, and Karen); my stepson and daughter-in-law, Trenod and LaTasha and their children; my nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins (Lawsons, Stapletons, Haleys, Beasleys, Romes, Youngs, Garys, and the rest of the Robys); also my cousin, Patricia Haley-Glass, whom I grew up with, whom I love like a sister, and who is also an author—there is nothing comparable to family, and I love all of you so, so very much.

  Then, a huge amount of love to my girls: Kelli, Lori, and Janell who are also like sisters and who encourage me, love me, and support me no matter what. And, of course, I could never say enough about my spiritual mother, Dr. Betty Price—I love you dearly.

  To my incredible assistant, Connie Dettman; my editor/editor-in-chief, Beth de Guzman; my manuscript editor, Selina McLemore; my publicity director, Linda Duggins; my assistant editor, Latoya Smith; and everyone else at my outstanding publishing house Hachette/Grand Central Publishing—thank you all for absolutely everything! Then, to three other very talented and wonderful people: my freelance publicist, Shandra Hill Smith; my web designer, Luke Lefevre; and my online newsletter programmer, Pamela Walker-Williams—thank you all for everything.