“Fact is, she’s a ho,” Mamie mumbled.
“Aunt Mamie!” Terrance snapped.
Mamie put her hand to her mouth. “Oops, did I say that out loud? Sorry, she’s a garden tool.”
“You don’t know anything about her, other than the rumors that circulate around this church,” Terrance admonished.
“Maybe not,” Mamie said. “But I do know that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And Savannah McKinney got a cloud full of smoke surrounding her.”
Dorothy Mae, who’d been sitting quietly at the end of the table, finally spoke up. Her voice was steady, like she was trying to be reasonable. “Terrance, Mamie could have found a better choice of words, but as Eva said, she’s just not the one to lead the young people here at Lily Grove. Don’t we have another member who’d be more fitting?”
Terrance debated saying more to his aunts, because he really hated the way people treated Savannah. She seemed like a really sweet girl, whom no one bothered to give a chance. But judging from the looks at the table, no one would be trying to hear anything he had to say.
“How about we just table this issue for now,” Terrance said, glancing at his watch. “It’s getting late and I know we’re all tired.”
Several people nodded in agreement. Everyone stood and said their respective good-byes. Terrance glanced down at the newspaper article, loving Mamie’s idea more by the minute. His thoughts raced back to Savannah. They’d never go for the idea of her leading the youth group, but Terrance found himself intrigued, wanting to know more about her.
Maybe I won’t call Savannah to lead the youth group, Terrance thought, but now more than ever he was sure of one thing: he was definitely going to call her.
chapter 5
Eva held her arm out to quiet her sisters. They’d just spent two hours at the church for a budget meeting and had returned to help Dorothy Mae find her beloved brooch, which had fallen off sometime during the evening.
They were heading toward the conference room when Eva spotted Deacon Raymond Tisdale easing into the room.
“I thought everyone was gone,” Mamie said.
Eva waved to shut her up. Deacon Tisdale’s shysty behind definitely didn’t look like he was up to any good. “I heard him tell Terrance he had to get home right after the meeting, so what is he doing back here looking all sneaky?” Eva whispered.
“I suggest we go see, because there goes Louis Allen going in the conference room as well,” Dorothy Mae responded.
“I know they’re not trying to have some type of private meeting without Terrance,” Eva snapped. She tried to stay back and let Terrance run the church how he saw fit, but she wasn’t about to have the deacons doing something behind Terrance’s back. And if they were having some type of private meeting, they were definitely up to no good.
“Only one way to find out,” Dorothy Mae said, as she pushed her way past Eva and down the long hall.
The other two women followed her. All three of them stopped right outside the conference room door, which was cracked open.
“Now, Raymond, I’m not saying I don’t like the boy. Shoot, I think he’s a pretty good preacher. But he is ’bout to be thirty years old and ain’t got no wife or even a steady girlfriend,” a voice Eva recognized as Carl Baker’s said.
“And you know folks have started whispering that maybe he’s one of them DL ministers,” Louis interjected. “Now y’all know I don’t like gossip, but let me tell you what I heard. A reliable source told me that Zinetta Chambers got butt naked as a jaybird the other day and cornered Reverend Ellis in a hotel bathroom. And do you know what he did?”
“What?” several of the men asked.
“Absolutely nothing,” Louis said, like Terrance had committed a cardinal sin. “Told that pretty young thang to put her clothes back on and get out.”
“You lying,” someone interjected.
“If I’m lying, I’m flying,” Louis said. “Plus, y’all know he was counseling them two gay fellas from the choir.”
“So he ain’t supposed to counsel certain people because of their sexuality?” Dorothy Mae whispered. Eva waved her hand for her sister to be quiet.
“And you know he’s always hanging around with that Monty fella,” Carl said.
“Come to think of it, that Monty ain’t never been married either, huh?” Deacon Tisdale asked.
“Nope, though I did hear he got some gal on the North Side pregnant,” Carl responded.
“It probably was a cover-up,” Deacon Tisdale said.
“So y’all really think the boy is gay?” Carl asked.
Eva had to clutch her heart with one hand and use the other to grab hold of Dorothy Mae, who looked ready to charge into the meeting. Terrance and Monty were roommates in college, and Monty was really the only guy Terrance hung out with. But he was a busy preacher, Eva thought. He didn’t have time to be hanging out with a bunch of folks. That the deacons were trying to read more into his relationship was troubling.
“All I’m saying is, we got the big hundred-year Christmas service coming up in less than four months, and we got five churches that will be here visiting,” Louis said, clearly agitated. “That’s five ministers, and guess what? Every single one of them will have a first lady on their arms.”
“So, Reverend Ellis gon’ have the first man on his arm?” another deacon joked.
“Bruce, this is serious. We ain’t got no time for jokes,” Deacon Tisdale admonished. “Now, I been understanding for the longest, but I’m starting to wonder. I don’t want our church made a fool of at the biggest event this church has ever seen.”
“Why don’t we just talk to Pastor?” someone asked.
“For what? So he can go run out and get him a decoy? If the boy is gay, I want to know about it now,” Carl barked.
“He ain’t gay,” another deacon, Phil Wilson, responded. “I just don’t think he’s found Mrs. Right.”
Louis huffed, “Well, what kind of church are we with no first lady? Folks bound to talk. Shoot, the first lady is supposed to host the Christmas breakfast. We been having them old biddies do it since Terrance took over as pastor three years ago. It’s been fine because it ain’t been nobody but us, but now that we’re expecting five times as many people, we need to be properly represented.”
“Well, what do you suppose we do?” Carl asked.
Deacon Tisdale shook his head. “I don’t know. It may be too late to do anything, but I do know this—if that Christmas service rolls around here and he’s still single, then we need to start asking ourselves is there something a little more low-down that we need to be concerning ourselves with.”
Eva couldn’t believe her ears. Not only were they insinuating that her baby was gay, but then they had the nerve to be thinking about firing him.
Eva felt sick to her stomach. She’d spent her life trying to keep Terrance on the straight and narrow, and despite the bumpy youth he had, she was proud of how he turned out.
“I can’t stand anyone messing up my baby’s good name,” Eva mumbled.
“So what are we gonna do about it?” Dorothy Mae asked.
Eva glanced toward the conference room door. “We’re goin’ to find our baby a woman, and we’re goin’ to do it in time for the Christmas celebration,” Eva proclaimed.
chapter 6
Terrance wiped the sweat from his brow. He was pleased. As usual, he’d delivered a spirit-rousing sermon.
“Let the church say amen,” Terrance said as the choir began singing.
“Amen,” the congregation replied.
“I know someone out there is wrestling with something. I’m here to tell you, don’t worry about it. Pray about it. Come now, bring it to the Lord.” Terrance stretched out his arms.
He smiled as he looked at Savannah in the second row, her eyes closed as she swayed gently to the sounds of the choir. She opened her eyes and he noticed that they were filled with tears.
“The battle is not yours, it’s the Lord’s,” Terrance c
ontinued as he kept his eyes on Savannah. She inhaled deeply, then stood and made her way to the front.
Several eyes were fixed on Savannah as she walked up the aisle. She kept her gaze focused straight ahead.
Terrance waited a few more minutes before turning the microphone over to Raquel, who had been logging the names of the people who came to the altar.
“Giving honor to God, Reverend Ellis, members, and friends,” Raquel began, “we have six people who come to join by Christian experience, and one person”—she motioned toward Savannah—“who comes for prayer.”
Terrance didn’t know what, in particular, Savannah wanted prayer for, but he was pleased to see her come to the front.
He said a few words to the congregation before offering up a prayer for Savannah.
After he’d dismissed church and said his good-byes to the members, Terrance found himself looking around for Savannah. He wanted to talk to her privately and make sure everything was all right.
“Hey, Brother Edwards,” Terrance said when he noticed Chester picking up discarded programs in the sanctuary. “Have you seen Savannah McKinney around here anywhere? She didn’t come out through the front and I was hoping to speak with her.”
“Umph, I bet you were hoping to speak with her. I bet you was hopin’ for a whole lot more.” Chester chuckled.
Terrance shot him a chastising look. “Now, now, Brother Edwards, get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Come on, Pastor. Ain’t nothing to be ashamed of. That’s one fine young thang there.”
“Have you seen her?” Terrance asked, trying to ignore the dirty look on Chester’s face.
“Umm-hmmm. I saw her in the hallway in the back by the ladies’ room. Her equally fine grandmother was back there with her.”
Terrance shook his head as he walked off laughing. “Thanks.”
“Don’t do nothin’ I wouldn’t do,” Chester called out.
Terrance waved him off as he headed through the sanctuary to the back hall to the ladies’ restroom. He had just turned the corner when he saw Savannah standing with her head lowered. Her grandmother stood over her, wagging her finger. Savannah looked like a child being scolded by her parents.
“You’re just pathetic. How you gon’ let them women sit up there and talk about you like that?” Flo said.
Savannah didn’t respond.
“You gon’ learn. These people around this church ain’t nothin’ but hypocrites.”
“Then what do you come for?”
“To get under their skin.” Flo blew a frustrated breath. “I would’ve slapped that woman into next week if I was in a bathroom stall while she was talking about me like a dog. But what do you do? You come running out of the bathroom like a little girl. Crying like you crazy. They talked about Jesus. You think they ain’t gon’ talk about you? Especially because they jealous.”
Savannah dabbed at her eyes. “I told you, I was just upset because I didn’t do anything to these women, and I was mad that they were talking about how Terrance would never want a woman like me.”
“He won’t. But I told you that already. You need to get off that pipe dream. You’re good for one thing and one thing only with him, and that’s a romp in the hay. And quiet as it’s kept, ain’t nothing wrong with that. As long as at the end of the day, he’s the one who got used. You use men before they use you,” Flo warned again.
Terrance could no longer stomach the horrible things Flo was saying. He walked toward them to make his presence known.
Savannah’s eyes immediately grew wide. Flo looked like she could care less whether he’d heard her or not.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” Terrance said as he approached them. “How are you all today?”
“I’m fine,” Savannah said.
Flo didn’t respond. She just kept her arms crossed and looked him up and down.
“Well, Sister Savannah, I was just looking for you. I was hoping, well, I would like it if you would have dinner with me.”
Savannah’s eyes widened again—but this time with delight. Shock registered all over Flo’s face.
“Dinner for what?” Flo interjected.
Terrance let out a small laugh. “Dinner to eat.”
“I would like that,” Savannah interjected before her grandmother could say anything else.
“Do you want me to come pick you up, or do you just want to meet me back up here at six?”
The sadness was gone from Savannah’s face. Now, she looked giddy. “I’ll be here at six.”
Flo huffed like she thought Terrance’s request was some type of scam. “You remember what I told you,” she said as she walked off. “You can’t trust none of ’em!”
Terrance ignored Flo. “Great, I’ll see you at six here at the church.” Terrance hadn’t really planned to ask Savannah out right then and there, but watching Flo give her a hard time just caused his basic protector instincts to kick in. But more than anything, Terrance found himself asking Savannah out because there was something about her that he was just ready to know better.
chapter 7
Raquel stood in the arched doorway of Terrance’s office, staring at him strangely.
“What?” Terrance asked, looking up from his desk.
“I’m just wondering why you’re sitting here at your desk in an empty room, smiling like a crazy person.”
A lopsided smile crossed his face. “I didn’t realize I was sitting here smiling.” He closed the church budget notes he’d been poring over before his mind started to drift to Savannah.
“You weren’t smiling. You were cheesing,” Raquel joked as she walked in and stood in front of his desk. “You wanna tell me what gives?”
Terrance debated for a moment. He was feeling like a little boy with his first crush after talking on the phone with Savannah two nights ago for almost three hours. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked to a woman that long, and enjoyed it. They continued their conversation over dinner yesterday.
He’d broken down and asked her for feedback on the youth project. Of course, she had been gung ho on the idea and had even suggested herself to lead the group. Terrance told her they were just in the planning stages and would get back to her later. Between their date and their phone call, they’d begun talking about everything under the sun. Savannah had a great sense of humor, and Terrance found himself laughing like he hadn’t laughed in a long time. In fact, his mind had started drifting because it was almost six o’clock and Savannah was picking him up from the church so they could go out again. Of course, he didn’t like the idea of her picking him up, but she’d been adamant that since tonight’s date was her suggestion, he allow her to take charge. That was another thing he liked about her, she wasn’t the typical demure “Whatever you say, Pastor” type of woman he had dated over the last few years. No, Savannah marched to her own drum and he liked that.
“Oh, it’s no big deal. I’m just in a good mood,” Terrance finally said. He didn’t feel completely comfortable discussing his love life with his secretary.
“Ummm-hmmm.” Raquel nodded skeptically. “That’s a new-woman look if I ever seen one. But if you don’t want to tell me who it is, I understand.” She feigned a look like she was hurt.
Terrance smiled. “What may I help you with today? Since I know you didn’t come in here to talk about my love life.”
“See, I knew that’s what it was.” Raquel laughed. “Actually, I’m probably about to spoil your good mood.”
“How?” Terrance asked, his eyebrows narrowing.
“Your aunts are outside. They look secretive and agitated. I don’t know what’s going on, but they told me to let you know they’d be waiting for you out back.”
“Waiting for me for what?” Terrance stood up, looked at his watch, then let out an exasperated breath. Savannah was going to meet him out back in less than five minutes. The last thing he wanted was his aunts to be anywhere around. “What do they want? I really don’t feel like dealing with them today.”
“I don’t know what they want.” Raquel shrugged. “And don’t raise your voice at me. I’m just the messenger.”
Terrance let a small smile form on his lips. “Sorry.”
“Ummm-hmmm,” Raquel said as she walked back to the door. “I told you I was going to make you lose that smile.”
Terrance leaned over and shut off his computer. Maybe if he could get back there, he could see what they wanted, then get rid of them before Savannah arrived.
“Thanks for bringing the message,” Terrance said. “I’m going to head out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Raquel bid him good-bye as he made his way down the long hallway and out the back door. All three of his aunts stood around on the steps, like they were engrossed in a deep conversation.
“Ladies,” Terrance said, “what can I help you all with today? Is this about yesterday’s budget meeting?”
Eva spun around. Terrance expected to see her face light up as it normally did whenever he entered a room. Instead she had a worried look.
“Hi, sweetheart. How are you?” Eva’s voice lacked the warmth it normally held.
Terrance lost his smile. “I’m fine.” He looked toward Mamie, then Dorothy Mae. “Wondering what’s going on with you all, why you’re standing out here looking so serious.”
Eva sighed, then took a step toward Terrance. She gently ran her hand along his cheek. “We’re just worried about you, that’s all.”
Terrance frowned up. He didn’t like where this was headed. “Worried about me for what?”
“We just want you to be happy,” Dorothy Mae added, stepping up next to him. “A fine young man like yourself shouldn’t be alone.”
Terrance let out a laugh. “I should’ve known that that’s what this was about. My aunts, always trying to find me a woman.”
“You’re an esteemed minister. You need a good woman by your side,” Eva chimed in.
The Pastor’s Wife Page 3