William’s eyes narrowed when he spotted Spencer seated at a corner table with Jimmy Vaughn, a folded copy of the day’s newspaper among a stack of papers between them. I bet you that’s where the story came from, William thought.
“William, this is what we’ll do,” Reverend Chance said. “Let’s immediately go on the offensive. I need you to schedule as much press as you can—radio, TV, print—and I will just hammer my message. We won’t address this story. We will just talk about our own message. We will talk about what we will do to change this city, what we will do to help every citizen.”
“So you want a media blitz, starting now?”
“Yes, as soon as possible,” Reverend Chance said. “And don’t miss an outlet. Get the black newspaper. Get the paper that ran that story. Get everybody. Try to even catch up to the political bloggers. Let’s hammer our message home.”
“Daddy, don’t you think we need to have other people out there instead of you?” Olivia asked. “That way, you won’t be caught in the awkward position of being asked a bad or embarrassing question. If we are out there speaking for you, we can push forward your message, but not expose you to tacky reporting.”
“No, I think I should be the one out there,” Reverend Chance said, and Olivia rolled her eyes. “Olivia, I know you disagree, but this is the right course of action.”
“No, it’s not!” Olivia retorted. “You keep making these wrong moves. You came clean about that gambling story, which got us into this mess to begin with. And now you want to expose yourself even more by being directly interviewed. Just listen to me. I can run this campaign and I can get you elected. But you can’t keep going against every piece of advice I give you. You’ve got to let me do my job. You wanted me to manage the campaign. Well, let me manage it.”
“Olivia, I appreciate your management, I do,” Reverend Chance said, “but ultimately, the decisions are mine. And this is a decision I’ve made and it’s final. I will be the one going on the interviews.”
Olivia pursed her lips but said nothing more.
“So what do we need to do to make these interviews happen?” Reverend Chance asked the table at large.
“William, I need you to get back to the office and prepare mock questions from every possible angle,” Olivia said, casting a glance at her father. “Since our candidate is going to do these interviews, we’ll need to do some quick run-throughs so he can be prepared and have the right answers.”
“It’ll take a while to get ready for that,” William said. “His schedule is pretty booked for today and I have to make appearances as well.”
“This has got to be priority,” Olivia stressed. “Clear the schedule for the next couple of hours and let’s get this done. I want to control this message, and to do that, my dad needs to be prepared as he goes on this insane mission. I need you to pull this together now. Immediately.”
William raised his hand. “But—”
“It can’t wait,” Olivia snapped. “We’ve got to hop on this now. We want to have the best impact we can, so we’ve got to move now. So let’s clear his schedule and get him prepared for these interviews he is so intent on having. We can’t let him go out without having gone through a series of questions, so we can properly structure his responses.”
Reverend Chance grimaced but nodded. “She’s right,” he sighed. “Okay, well, clear my appointments and let’s make this happen. I can’t believe we’re having to scramble over something that happened ten years ago.”
“Yeah, the media can be pretty rough.” William felt for his pastor. “I’m glad I’ve lived a pretty straight life. Some people would call it boring, but at least I know there won’t be any skeletons falling out of the closet, helped by nosy reporters.”
“Yeah, keep your closet clean, William,” Reverend Chance said. “Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the newspaper.”
Chapter 20
Nikki ripped open the envelope. The words on the page were exactly what she had expected, but had hoped against. Their mortgage was two months late and a third month would mean serious trouble. They had been in this position once before and had to save the house from going into foreclosure.
“What are we going to do?” she wondered out loud. Their financial burdens seemed to be growing rather than shrinking. When they were in New Orleans, they weren’t being faced with losing their residence. That apartment had been tiny, but at least it hadn’t stressed them.
Their mortgage money had been spent on getting the Protégé fixed last month. It seemed that there was always something going wrong. Nikki looked around the large living room. The house was way more space than the three of them needed. But it was in a good neighborhood and beautiful. They had both fallen in love with it the instant they saw it. She and William had been surprised to find they could afford it. Of course, “afford it” was subjective. They had been able to get in, thanks to a zealous loan officer who provided them some creative financing—a no-money down loan. They had been able to get into the house, but Nikki was afraid they wouldn’t be able to stay in it. This letter from the bank pretty much told her that.
The weight of a sick child and a pending foreclosure pressed into her, giving her a headache. Nikki rubbed her temples with her fingers. I just don’t know how we’re going to handle all this.
Nikki put the mail to the side and went upstairs to get on the computer and work on her class assignment. The hospital had sent Psalm home with her, and now, the child was sleeping soundly in her bedroom.
Nikki was finishing her paper when William walked into the house just after 9:00 P.M. and dropped the keys on the table next to the door. She heard him enter the house, but made no move to greet him. He climbed the stairs and walked into the office.
“Hey, baby,” he said, sighing and then stooping to kiss Nikki, who continued to work on the computer. She jerked away from him.
“Hey, what was that for?” he asked.
She continued typing. “I hope you had a good day.”
“It was brutal,” he said, rubbing his neck. “We had—”
“I don’t care, Will!” she said, turning away from the computer for the first time. “Your child was laid up in the hospital half the day, and could I get into contact with you? No.”
William’s face registered alarm. “What happened? Did she have another episode?”
“Yes, she did,” Nikki said. “But where were you? Nowhere to be found. I called your cell phone all day. Left messages there. And I left a message at the office as well.”
William slapped his forehead. “Dag, Olivia gave me a note saying you had called,” he shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled pink square, “but in the rush with everything going on, I forgot to call you back. I meant to.”
“So, why didn’t you have your cell phone on?” Nikki demanded.
“It was on.”
“I called, Will, and it went straight to voice mail.”
“I think something’s wrong with it.”
“Whatever!” she said as she got up and stalked out of the room. “I can’t believe you made me go through this by myself.”
“Baby, I’m sorry.” William followed her into their bedroom. “I didn’t realize you were trying to reach me. My phone—”
“I don’t want to hear it!” she snapped, plopping down on the bed. “Apparently whatever you had going on was way more important than your child.”
William crossed the room in two long strides and sat next to her on the bed. “Baby, I’m really sorry I wasn’t available to you. And I’ll stop by the cell phone place tomorrow to get them to look at it and fix it.” He paused for a moment. “Now, tell me what happened. How is Psalm?”
He rubbed the small of her back and this time, she didn’t pull away. Instead, she sucked in and slowly let out a ragged breath, then told him about Psalm’s rush to the emergency room.
After discussing the day’s events—both her time at the hospital and William’s ca
mpaign work—they decided to take a shower and go to bed.
As Nikki stood in the shower while her husband washed her back with a soapy sponge, Nikki’s mind wandered. The shower felt good, but her enjoyment was muted by pressing concerns. She knew there had to be a way to deal with these bills and this medical issue.
“Will, I really think I should go back to work,” Nikki said. “Psalm will be turning five soon and going to kindergarten.”
“Nikki, let’s not talk about that right now,” William said, turning her so the spray from the shower washed the soap off her back.
She wanted to say more, but held her words. The day had been stressful for both of them. Maybe now wasn’t the time to have this talk.
“I’m tired,” she said, twisting her body so the water ran over her head, but not her face. “I’ll be glad to get to bed.”
“Yeah, me too,” William said. They switched positions and Nikki lathered up his sponge and began soaping him.
They finished the shower and quietly dressed for bed. William pulled on shorts and Nikki donned a T-shirt. They knelt together on the floor next to the bed, praying in silence.
Nikki’s prayer was pretty brief, but she remained on her knees and waited quietly for William to finish his. Her prayers felt more like robo-calls to God these days, as she ran through the template she uttered every night, thanking God for life and asking a generic blessing for her family. As she knelt next to her husband, her mind was on the stress of bills and her child’s illness. She knew it was up to her to solve her own problems. She couldn’t depend on William or a God she could not see. She felt guilty at the thoughts, but she could not change them. She didn’t want to change them.
From childhood, Nikki had tried to rely on others, but they had always let her down. Her father. Her mother. Friends. No, she couldn’t trust anyone. She had learned that a long time ago.
When they rose from their knees, she asked William, “Do you want me to fix you something to eat? Are you hungry?”
“Nah, I’m just going straight to bed.”
“Mommy!” They both jerked into action at the sound of Psalm’s voice. They raced to her bedroom.
“Yes, baby?” Nikki said, standing next to the bed. William stood in the doorway.
“I want to sleep in your bed,” Psalm said.
Nikki scooped her into her arms. “Oh, sure, sweetie,” she agreed. “Come on.”
They returned to the bedroom and all three climbed into bed. “Good night, Psalm,” William said, kissing his daughter. Then he leaned over and kissed Nikki. “Good night, baby.”
“‘Night,” Nikki said.
She snuggled next to Psalm. “Good night, little girl,” she said, and nuzzled Psalm’s neck.
“Good night, Mommy,” Psalm replied before closing her eyes.
Before long, Nikki heard the soft breathing of her daughter and the heavier breathing of her husband, but sleep, for her, would not come. William was on one side, and Psalm was on the other. Listening for the slightest sound of discomfort from her child at her side, Nikki tried prayer. God, you know I’ve really tried to be a good wife, a good mother. Please show me the way to fix this.
Psalm’s breath was soft against Nikki’s cheek. Tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to trust. Please heal my baby.
Nikki raced across the living room to grab the phone, hoping its ringing had not awakened Psalm from her afternoon nap. “Hello?”
“Hey, Sister Broussard.”
“Hey, Sister James,” Nikki said. “How are you doing today?”
“Baby, I’m fine,” the head of the usher department said.
“I was wondering if you could run over here and take a few pictures for me? I’m trying to get some things ready for a presentation.”
“William has the car,” she said. “So I don’t have a ride.”
“Oh, that’s all right. I’ll send my son to pick you up. I really need to get these done today.”
Nikki glanced at her notebook which was turned to her class assignment, then at Psalm, who was sleeping on the sofa. “Sure. I’ll be happy to come.”
“Good,” Sister James said. “I knew you’d agree, so I already sent him to get you. He’s on his way, so he should be driving up shortly. You’re such a sweet thing. Thank you, baby.”
Nikki hung up the phone and sighed. She went into the kitchen to turn off the oven, and put back into the refrigerator the chicken she had been ready to bake for dinner. She raced to change from the T-shirt she had been wearing into a sundress, not wanting to keep Sister James’s son waiting. Only a few minutes later, she heard the crunch of tires in the circular driveway out front. Nikki gently shook Psalm. “Come on, baby, we have to go somewhere.”
A groggy Psalm protested with a groan. “It’s okay, baby,” Nikki purred. “Somebody from church needs some help. So we have to go. Come on.”
She hoisted the child into her arms and grabbed her keys. Her homework for class would have to wait. The doorbell rang and Nikki smiled as she answered. “Hi, David. So nice to see you.”
Chapter 21
William sat across the table from Reverend Chance and Olivia. “I thought we were going to be on the front page in this paper?” Olivia’s question was more like a demand. Her fingernail stabbed at the paper as she pointed.
“Well, we gave the interview,” William said. “We can’t make them place a story in a certain section.”
“You should have done something, William,” Olivia insisted. “They ran that horrible story on the front page. They should have run this one there, too. It was positive. It hyped our message. It should not have been buried inside.”
“Well, at least we got in the paper,” Reverend Chance said. “I think you did a good job, William, making that happen.”
He smiled at William, but Olivia wasn’t having it. “Look, we have to be aggressive. It’s not good enough for us to be buried inside. The next time I say I want a story in the paper, I mean on the front page. We are not second-class citizens. This is unacceptable.”
She shoved her chair back from the table and stomped over to the coffee pot. Reverend Chance’s eyes followed his daughter. “She’s just looking out for me,” he told William. “She really wants me to win. So don’t let her hurt your feelings. She doesn’t mean any harm.”
William waved off the words from Olivia. “Oh, that’s all right, Pastor,” he said. “I know Olivia is just a very driven, hard working woman. She’s strong.”
“Yes,” Pastor Chance agreed. “She is.”
William’s cell phone rang. He picked up. “Hello?” He paused to listen. “Oh . . . um, sure,” William said. He hung up and turned to the pastor. “That was a client. She is having a problem with her computer. I told her I’d go and check it out. I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”
“Sure, go take care of your business,” Reverend Chance said.
Olivia butted into the conversation. “William, try not to be gone long. Next to my father, you’re one of the most important people to this campaign. You’ve been out in the public eye almost as much as he has. I have a few projects I need you to tackle today.”
“Okay, Olivia,” William said, standing. “I’ll be back as soon as I get this thing taken care of.”
“I really appreciate the sacrifices you are making, William,” Reverend Chance said. “When I’m in office, I’m going to remember your faithfulness.”
“Thanks, Pastor. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Chapter 22
Nikki wrapped up the photo shoot for Sister James.
“I’m going to send these pictures to that mission magazine,” Sister James said. “I always see those other churches’ pictures in there, so I decided to get our church in there, too.”
“Oh, that will be a really good thing,” Nikki said. “Give our church some exposure.”
“Indeed!” Sister James said. “All those big-city churches can’t be the only ones showing off.” She glanced at Nikki. “I’ve been missing you at ush
er meeting lately. And I didn’t see you at church Sunday.”
Nikki blushed. “Oh, I—”
Sister James pulled out a catalog. “These are the new usher uniforms we’ll be getting.” She pointed to a blue and white ensemble that looked pretty similar to the ones the ushers already wore.
“Oh . . . these are nice,” Nikki said, while thinking to herself that she could not afford to buy another usher’s uniform. Especially since she hadn’t been participating much lately anyway.
“Yes, they are,” Sister James said. “They’ll get here just in time for the Usher Appreciation Day. I’m going to tell everybody about them in our next meeting. I hope you’ll be able to make it to that one.”
“Oh, um, yeah,” Nikki said quickly. She knew she had to do better.
“Good,” Sister James said. “I’m going to have all the information ready. Everybody can place their orders then.”
“Well, isn’t that kind of soon?” Nikki asked. “I mean, some people may have to wait for payday. Or they may not have the money at all.”
“That’s nonsense!” Sister James waved off that idea. “We should want to look our best for the Lord.”
“Right,” Nikki said. “I’m not saying that. I’m just saying it might not be that easy for some people.”
“Easy?” Sister James laughed. “Serving the Lord isn’t about easy, child! We should be grateful to be able to make the sacrifice. And if someone does not have the money for the new uniform, then sacrifice is what they should do. They can give up a dinner out one night to pay for these beautiful uniforms.”
It’s a bit more expensive than a pizza, Nikki thought. “Well, I’m just saying that maybe we should take into account people’s finances and give them a bit more time to place their order than at that meeting.”
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