Reverend Feelgood

by Lutishia Lovely

  Destiny scanned the copy on the front, and then turned it over to read the back cover. “Who is it?”

  “She’s Pastor Montgomery’s wife, Vivian. Most people really like her, but I can’t stand her ass.”

  “Why not?”

  Melody told Destiny about a dance troupe that she joined at Kingdom Citizens, and then quit when Vivian insisted the girls take “spiritual etiquette” classes first. “She thinks she’s all that, but she ain’t.”

  “Do you mind if I watch them?” Destiny had asked.

  “What? For real?”

  “Might help me get extra credit in my morals class,” Destiny had teased. But what had captured her attention was the title. Something about being “uncommon” had sounded pretty cool.

  Destiny watched intently as on the DVD, Vivian encouraged the women in the audience to set themselves apart, to respect each other, to treat their bodies as sacred, and to live their lives by their own truth instead of following the actions of others.

  That’s it, Destiny thought, as she continued watching. That’s what had changed since she had the baby. She no longer wanted to do what all the other women in Nate’s life were doing, what her mother and grandmother were doing, what his manager and his choir director were doing. Destiny wanted to be uncommon. After Vivian ended her talk and the applause had died down, she asked the women present to join her in the Sanctity of Sisterhood motto, the SOS creed. Destiny listened, pressed REPLAY and listened again. She pressed REPLAY one more time, until she had it, and the next time she pressed it, she joined the ladies from the privacy of her living room:

  “I’m uncommon, I’m unusual, I am not the status quo.

  Set apart, an earthly treasure ’cause my Father deemed it so.

  Yes, I am my sister’s keeper, and it should be understood,

  That together we stand united, the sanctity of sisterhood.”

  Destiny felt something happen as she said those words, and she said them again and again. She wanted to talk to someone about what she was feeling, about whether it was possible to be Nate’s uncommon woman. She thought about her mother and grandmother.

  Kiki won’t understand, she thought. She’ll just tell me about the man of God and his needs.

  “Maybe Mama,” Destiny said. She quickly called the home number and, when it went to voice mail, decided not to call the cell. Obviously, she and Mark were out.

  Destiny paced the floor, continuing to bask in the light of this new truth, about being uncommon and original. She went to her computer and looked up the word uncommon. Rare, unusual, special, exceptional were some of the definitions. The more she read, the more excited she became. Destiny wished she could talk to Vivian Montgomery directly. Nate could probably arrange it, but Destiny needed advice right now.

  Suddenly, Destiny stopped dead in her tracks. “That’s who I’ll call!” She went to her computer, clicked open the address book, and minutes later was dialing the number.

  “Hello?”

  “Miss Nettie? This is Destiny. I need to talk to you.”

  22

  Big Daddy

  “You’re looking powerful pretty there now,” Deacon Robinson said, as he watched Jennifer walk up the sidewalk toward the church’s side entrance. “I had to wait just so I could open the door for you.”

  “You’re too kind,” Jennifer said, without much kindness.

  “You don’t know the half,” the deacon responded.

  “And I never will,” Jennifer shot back, but this time she smiled.

  Deacon Robinson opened the door for Jennifer and the two stepped into the church. “Time is running out for that date I’ve been requesting.”

  Jennifer had a million things going on in her head: trying to keep Nate’s PR schedule straight, battling with Katherine, who was handling his preaching calendar and always trying to throw her weight around, and Verniece, Nate’s latest addition, who’d had the nerve to actually call her out the week before.

  “Just so you know,” Verniece had said as she sidled up to Jennifer in the church parking lot. “Your days in Nate’s bed are numbered.”

  “So you can count?” was Jennifer’s quick retort.

  “Yeah, and add too,” Verniece replied without missing a beat. “And when all is said and done, one”—she pointed to herself—“plus one”—she pointed to the church—“is going to equal two”—she pointed to Jennifer—“without you!”

  Then she’d turned around and farted, actually farted, before she looked back once more, winked at an appalled Jennifer, calmly walked to her car, and drove off.

  “Look, Deacon Robinson.”

  “Please, call me James.”

  “Look, James. I am sure you’re nice and everything. But I don’t date older men.”

  “Word has it that you’re sleeping with Nate, and he’s older than you.”

  Jennifer hadn’t intended to be rude but the deacon had gone there. So he deserved what he got. “Let me rephrase that then. I don’t date shriveled-up, dried-up old men. Is that clearer for you?”

  “It sure is,” Deacon Robinson said, as he calmly took off his glasses and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe them. “And if I meet a man like the one you just described, I’ll be sure and tell him you’re off limits.”

  “Deacon! Just the man I want to see!” Nate came around the corner and immediately put his hand out to one of his mentors, who was also head of the deacon board.

  “Oh, hi, Jennifer,” he said as an afterthought. Jennifer was chagrined, but remained quiet as she followed behind the two men and listened.

  “I can’t thank you enough for all your help with getting the plans together for our new church,” Nate continued.

  “Spring is just around the corner,” Deacon Robinson said. “Perfect time to break ground.”

  “Well, we couldn’t have pushed up the timetable without you. Now that you’ve bought out Axel, yours should be about the largest construction company in Texas. Am I right?”

  “Largest in the southeastern states,” Deacon Robinson corrected. “Will be the largest this side of the Mississippi in five more years.”

  “You don’t say?”

  “Yes, I do,” Deacon Robinson said, cutting a look behind him and meeting Jennifer’s eye.

  Jennifer began to follow Nate and the deacon into Nate’s office.

  “Uh, give us a moment, Jennifer. I’ll be out to talk with you after I finish meeting with Mr. Moneybags here.”

  Jennifer tried to tell herself that it didn’t matter that the man she’d just insulted might be richer than she thought. She knew he owned a construction company, but had assumed its reach was limited to Palestine and the other surrounding small towns. She had no idea that Deacon James Robinson was that James Robinson, the owner of the SLR Construction Company, which had been on the news, buying up smaller companies like jelly beans. No wonder Nate treated him deferentially, and no wonder Deacon Robinson had so much swagger. He could put his money where his mouth was. So what. Trying to hit on me when he’s old enough to be my daddy…I don’t care if he has more money than God, he’s not Nate.

  He wasn’t Nate, but he was important to Nate, Jennifer decided. That’s why she would apologize to Deacon Robinson the first chance she got, and if he played his cards right, she might go on one date. “But only one,” she whispered to herself, just as the door to Nate’s office opened.

  “All right, you take care, man,” Nate said as Deacon Robinson stepped out of his office.

  “Oh, I’m gonna do that, man,” Deacon Robinson responded. He passed by Jennifer, tipped his hat, and walked on.

  Jennifer entered Nate’s office with a newfound respect for the deacon who thought she was “powerful pretty.” Maybe she could use his attraction to her to help Nate secure additional finances, or other resources from James’s company. As the afternoon wore on, Jennifer warmed to the one date she’d go on with Deacon Robinson. True, she wanted Nate to be her husband. But until then, Deacon Robinson might play a nice role
as Big Daddy.

  23

  Strange Bedfellows

  Nettie blew on the hot cup of freshly brewed coffee and got comfortable. Since the anniversary, she and Mama Max had pledged to try and talk at least once a week. So far, they were batting a thousand.

  “When’s the last time you seen that grandbaby?” Mama Max asked.

  “Oh, it’s been a while. Not since shortly after he was born.”

  “Now, that don’t sound like the Nettie I know. The way you love children, I would have thought you’d be halfway raising him by now!”

  “If Destiny were here, that would be the case. But with them living in Baton Rouge…”

  “Yeah, well, I guess you’ve got a point there. She back in school yet?”

  “Taking a full load of classes. Nate got her a full-time nanny, but Destiny ain’t one bit happy about leaving her son all day, I’ll tell you that. I told her a temporary loss was worth a permanent gain. She’ll be glad she stuck with it once she gets her degree.”

  “How’s Katherine handling everything?”

  “Trying to control what she can, I guess. She hovers over Nate like a mother hen. I’ve had a couple women come to me and complain about how hard it is to work with her.”

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  “Me? What can I do?”

  “You’re Nate’s mama. If any female is going to run that church before he takes a wife, it should be you.”

  “No, it should be Nate. Me and Gordon tell him all the time not to let that woman run his life. He’s got to learn how to handle all his business. Plus, I know he’s got a soft spot for Katherine.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of Destiny and Simone.”

  “Lord have mercy…”

  “Mercy, Lord.”

  “What you hear about Simone these days?” Mama Max continued after a pause. “Not trying to gossip, you understand. Just need to know what to pray about.”

  Nettie whooped. “Maxine Brook, you are too much! But that’s precisely why I love you and don’t want you to ever change. According to Katherine, Simone’s doing fine. She hasn’t been back here though, not since the anniversary.”

  “So her and Mark’s marriage must be working out.”

  “I guess so. Katherine told me they went to Hawaii for the holidays. That sounds like working out to me. You said that Mark might be the better one for her. Looks like you’re right, and that she’s happy.”

  “And if not happy, maybe content at the very least.”

  “I sure hope so. She waited for Nate a long time.”

  “Chile, I still can’t get over the fact that you and Katherine are friendly.”

  “Sometimes marriage makes strange bedfellows.”

  “Yeah, but that piece of strange was in your marriage bed.”

  “This is old water you’re treading in, Mama Max. You know the story. That woman did me a favor sleeping with Daniel all those years, God rest his soul. Lord knows that having someone else to poke is the only way he left me alone. The man was insatiable.”

  “Yeah, I remember Amanda saying you didn’t like that aspect of marriage too much.”

  “Truth be told, Mama didn’t like it much herself. I remember her and Daddy arguing about it. I imagine she’d roll over in her grave if she knew I’d heard.”

  “So you and Gordon have passed the point of physical affection?”

  “Oh, it’s been done past. You know he’s got ten years on me. The only thing on Gordon that rises now is his blood pressure.”

  “Ha! Chile, you oughta quit.”

  Nettie took a sip of her now cold coffee. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you…we have!”

  “So back to Simone and Mark. They take the baby yet?”

  “No. Destiny won’t let them.”

  “Now, that’s a child who’s acting like a mama!”

  “Tell me about it. She’s a sharp one, that Destiny. I’ve been counseling her.”

  “Do tell!”

  “At her request, of course. She’d been watching some of Vivian Montgomery’s DVDs and had some questions. I’ve been answering them the best I could.”

  “Well, with you for a teacher, and God for a guide, that child’s gonna be all right.”

  “I think she might.”

  “I know she will.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  “And if I’m wrong, don’t tell nobody!”

  24

  Almost There

  Simone was neither happy nor content. She was pissed and frustrated beyond belief. Why can’t I get over him? she thought, throwing a silk-covered pillow at her reflection in the mirror of her newly redecorated bedroom. And why wouldn’t Mark believe her when she lied and said that Nate no longer mattered?

  It was only two in the afternoon, but Simone walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. She walked to the patio door that led to the well-tended garden landscape. The magnolias were in full bloom, and when she opened the door, their fragrance immediately assailed her senses. Her mind roiled as she walked among the blooms. She wanted to love Mark; she did love Mark. But he still wouldn’t have sex with her, not completely. He said he wouldn’t, so long as she was in love with Nathaniel.

  She’d sworn she wouldn’t be with Nate again, that she was over him, and ready to move on with the wonderful man under whose roof she lived. But then the holidays came, and with it, Nate had brought his fine self to Louisiana. They saw each other while both were visiting his newborn baby. The child was just a month old then, and Destiny was still healing. There’d been an innocent look, a not so innocent touch, and two hours later, they were in a hotel and each other’s arms.

  Simone didn’t know how Mark found out. She swore the man had eyes in the back of his head, or spies, or both. Nate swore he didn’t tell him. But somehow he knew. That two-hour tryst changed Mark’s vacation plans. He had refused to sleep with her, after acknowledging that initially this was to have been the place of their official joining. After practically begging on her knees, he’d pleasured her with his fingers, brought her to a powerful climax, and then spent the night on the suite’s living room couch. Eventually, he moved from there to the bed, where after kissing him into a frenzy, he finally let her blow him. But he still refused to enter her. I won’t be in your body while he is still in your head. Mark had said he wasn’t made of stone. But after their week in Hawaii, Simone figured it was either that or steel. She’d gotten a lei, but hadn’t gotten laid.

  Simone finished her wine, left the garden, and went back inside the house. She wandered aimlessly from room to room, and ended up in Mark’s large master suite. She walked around it slowly, touching his things, breathing in his scent. She lay down in his bed and remembered all of the wonderful things he’d done to her and for her. She made a mental list of why she was in love with Nate, versus why she should be in love with Mark. With Nate, she ran out of ideas after just seven things. But with Mark, when she got to twenty and fell asleep…she was still counting.

  And that’s how Mark found her—curled up on her side, in his bed, looking like a goddess. Mark fondled himself unashamedly as he stood there watching his queen. He thought about Aunt Nettie, acknowledging that she’d been right. God had wanted to give Simone to him, and He had. And as hard as it was to wait, Mark was determined to hold out until Simone could give him all of her.

  God knows it was hard. Mark felt he hadn’t masturbated this much since he was a teenager. He wanted Simone more than he’d wanted any woman in his life. He’d lost count of the times he’d come close and almost given in. But his auntie’s words stayed with him: a temporary loss is worth a permanent gain. He knew that if he had sex with Simone while she was still in love with his cousin, it would be a rebound romance, a charity screw. Mark was a good man and he knew it. When he loved, he loved for real and he loved for keeps. He’d already lost one woman, and he didn’t plan on losing another. When he became one with Simone Chastity Noble, he planned to
be the only one in her bed, and in her heart.

  She’s close, son. She’s almost there. Those are the words Mark heard as he watched Simone for a few more minutes. He nodded to acknowledge His voice, then went to take a shower—a cold one.

  25

  Sharing Reverend

  Verniece stared at the Scrabble board, trying to find a move. “I think this game is locked up,” she stated firmly.

  “Are you passing? Because I’ve got a move,” Anne replied.

  “Dang, wait. Let me see.” The score was almost even. Verniece led by twelve points. But since among other letters she was holding the ten-point q, that lead wasn’t saying much. “Okay, here’s one, t-a-e.” She wrote down her three points with a flourish, pleased with herself for finding a place for this unusual word on the jacked up board.

  “J-a-i,” Anne said calmly, playing on the a Verniece just put down.

  That was ten points. Verniece’s lead was cut to five. “This game is locked!” Verniece declared again. She was hoping Anne would concede the game.

  “It’s almost over, I’ll grant you that,” Anne said with a twinkle in her eye.

  “You heifah! You know I’ve got the q!”

  “Uh-huh, and I’ve got another play. You passin’?”

  “You won!” Verniece declared, upsetting the board. Pieces of wood flew everywhere. They both burst out laughing, then got up and retrieved the pieces. In the end it didn’t matter who won. Both ladies were just pleased to have something to do, and someone to do it with.

  “What now? You want to order pizza?” Anne asked.

  “That sounds cool. What movies you got?”

  “Nothing new. See if there’s anything down there you want to watch.”

  Verniece plopped down in front of Anne’s small entertainment center to check out the movies stacked below the TV. She pulled out a classic and popped it into the DVD player.

  Anne went into the kitchen to get them both a wine cooler. Soon the music from the movie’s soundtrack filled the room: Fair Eastside…by thy side we’ll stand and always praise thy name. “Ha! Good choice,” she said, coming around the corner with the coolers and the cordless phone. “I love me some Morgan Freeman playing Joe Clark.”