by E. N. Joy
“I, uh, stopped by the other day,” said Pastor Frey. “I thought I saw your car out there, but I suppose I was mistaken. Or perhaps you could have been with your pastor or something.”
Mother Doreen still said nothing.
“Which is okay, because it just gave me more time to pray and to hear from God. You know, to make sure I was hearing Him right about my assignment.” Pastor Frey leaned in and whispered. “You know how it can be when God gives you an assignment. You gotta make sure you’re hearing Him clearly. That you’re not confusing God’s assignment with that of your own.” Pastor Frey winked, and then straightened himself back up.
Still, Mother Doreen just remained silent.
“Anyway, I guess I’ll just get right to the point as to why I’m here.” Pastor Frey took a step toward Mother Doreen. “I came here on assignment from God.” He took another step. “I came here out of obedience.” He took a third step. “I came here to get something.”
Mother Doreen swallowed, and then finally spoke. “And, what might that something be.”
Pastor Frey paused before answering her. “I guess it would be more like a someone versus a something.”
Mother Doreen swallowed hard again. “Oh, yeah? And what might... I mean, who might that someone be?”
Pastor Frey took two steps toward Mother Doreen, leaving just inches between them. “I came to get what God said is mine. I came to get something I should have never let go in the first place. I came to get my wife. And I’m telling you now, woman, I ain’t leaving without her.” Pastor Frey closed up those few inches that had separated him and Mother Doreen. “I came for you.”
Chapter Nineteen
“The nerve of him,” Tamarra spat as she listened to Paige tell her about the incident with Blake earlier that day.
The two women were in the kitchen. Tamarra had a catering event earlier and had brought in all of her warming pans to clean. She stood at the sink washing out a pan as Paige sat at the table picking at a plate of food Tamarra had brought back for her.
“I would have picked up the phone and called 911 right then and there,” Tamarra added. “Good thing Norman showed up when he did or no telling what that fool might have done to you.”
“I know,” Paige agreed. “Norman saw Blake when he arrived at the theatre. He tried to call and warn me, but I didn’t listen.” Paige shook her head as she thought back to her encounter with her husband. “I honestly don’t know who that man is anymore, Tamarra. I honestly don’t.”
“Well, I know who he’s not, he’s not the man I thought he was at first either.” Tamarra stopped washing the pan and thought for a minute. “I knew he was too good to be true. How slick and sweet talking he is. How he can just woo a woman right into bed.” Tamarra continued washing the pan. “Huh, I knew you’d be a match for him; knock his ego down a peg or two.”
With a mouthful of Tamarra’s specialty, macaroni and cheese, Paige asked, “What do you mean?” Her best friend’s comment had piqued her interest. “Blake doesn’t have an ego.” As far as Paige was concerned, Blake was one of the most humble men she knew. He’d always tried his best to pretty much stay under the radar. She wanted to know what Tamarra was talking about, and she wanted to know now. That’s why she couldn’t even wait until she swallowed her food to ask.
Tamarra nearly dropped the pan, realizing she’d said too much.
With that same mouthful of food, Paige began to speak. “Back when I told you that Blake had proposed to me, you know, when you confessed to me how my meeting with Blake wasn’t chance; that you and he had set the entire thing up,” Paige reminded Tamarra, “you told me that you just knew that if I would only give him the time of day, the two of us would hit it off just fine. Remember? That’s what you told me.”
There’s one thing Tamarra had learned from her parents, and that was if a person tells one lie, they have to keep covering it up with another. But if a person just tells the truth in the first place—the entire truth—then they won’t have to worry about keeping up with all the lies they’ve told. It was now that Tamarra wished she’d just told Paige the truth—the entire truth—in the first place. Because now she had to keep lying.
“Uh, yeah, I did say that back then,” Tamarra admitted. “But you know, I still had my doubts, because, well, you know your history with dating back then.” Tamarra swallowed hard. “Hey, how’s that macaroni and cheese?”
Paige looked down at her plate. “Oh, yeah, it’s delicious. Thanks for thinking about me and bringing me a plate home. I haven’t eaten good since ... well, you know.”
“I know. It shows.” Tamarra laid the pan down on a towel she had spread across the counter. “You’re going to need to go shopping for some smaller clothes.”
Paige looked down at her droopy blouse. “I know.”
“Hey, do you have to work tomorrow?” Tamarra asked.
“Yes, I do,” Paige nodded.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. This was your first day back since ... you know.”
“Look, can we just get one thing straight?” Paige pushed her plate away and stood up. “I know what happened to me, Tamarra. You know, Pastor knows, and anyone who can put a news story together and knows that I’m Blake’s wife knows what happened to me.”
Even though when Blake’s arrest had been shown on television and they didn’t mention that the woman who’d been assaulted was his wife, Paige knew it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist for people to start eventually putting the pieces of the puzzle together. It was clear that most of her employees at her job hadn’t figured it out. They didn’t really know Blake. Because Blake had attended church with her on many occasions, she knew a couple of New Day members might figure it out as well. But she still took comfort in knowing that at least no one knew of the long-term abuse. That way, she wouldn’t get the sideways glances and have to read the questions in people’s eyes: “Why did you stay that long? Long enough for him to do that to you?” Paige would have no answer for them.
“I was raped ... by my husband ... by Blake,” Paige said boldly. “If you’re going to talk about it, just say it. It’s not going to bring up any type of memories. Trust me; the memories are already there, right in the front of my mind. So there is nothing you or anyone can say to ignite or trigger something in me. I haven’t forgotten. I will never forget. But I do know that through the strength of God, I will get to a point where when I wake up in the morning, it’s not the first thing I think about, and when I go to sleep at night, it’s not the last.”
“I’m sorry, Paige. I didn’t mean to—”
“You don’t have to apologize. Just don’t talk about the rape around me like I’m a child who you don’t want to find out the truth about Santa Clause. Okay?”
Tamarra smiled at Paige’s comparison. “Okay, friend.” She walked over and hugged Paige. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. I feel like we’re young ladies who just got our first place together and are living by ourselves for the first time.”
“I’m glad I’m here too.” Paige didn’t sound too convincing.
“You don’t sound so sure about that.”
Paige turned away from Tamarra. “I just can’t help that there is a part of me that still wants to be a wife—Blake’s wife.” She turned back to face her friend. “And I hope you don’t think this sounds sick or anything, but there is a part of me that misses being with my husband. . . I mean being with him ... being one ... being intimate. After all, when I married Blake, I was a virgin. He’s the only man I know.” Paige tried to shake the thought, the feeling, away. “How can I think that way? How can I want to have sex again with my rapist?”
Tamarra left that one alone. She did not have the answer to Paige’s question.
“You’re awfully quiet over there.” Paige wiped a tear that had escaped her eye. “You must think I need help.” She let out a nervous chuckle.
“Well, I do think you need help,” Tamarra admitted.
“Huh?” Paige was stunned by her reply.
“I think you need help in understanding your feelings. It might be beneficial if you knew why you were having the feelings that you are having. If maybe other women in your shoes have experienced the same feelings. . .” Tamarra suggested.
“Friend, I think you might be right. I’m going to go look at the pamphlets the doctor at the hospital gave me and see if I can’t find some type of women’s group to attend or something. You know what they say; misery loves company. I suppose I should go keep misery company.”
“I wouldn’t look at it that way,” Tamarra said. “I just think you need to be around women who know how you feel, who know what you’re going through.” Tamarra thought for a minute. “I can only imagine how different my life could have been had I gotten some type of help after my brother raped me. After I ended up pregnant and gave birth to his child,” she corrected herself. “My daughter—after I gave birth to my daughter.” Tamarra lightened up. “But thank God that He is a deliverer, and that He is a healer. Because if it had not been for Him, no telling how deep and messed up in myself I’d be right now.”
“I just wish you hadn’t had to go over to Power and Glory Ministries to get delivered.” Paige had a sudden thought. “But now that you are delivered, why don’t you come on back over to New Day?” she joked.
Tamarra laughed. “No, it’s not even like that. And it’s not that I couldn’t have gotten delivered at New Day. Many folks have gotten delivered at New Day. Remember that breakthrough Sister Deborah had awhile back?” Paige nodded. “It’s just that that wasn’t my appointed place. For all my stuff, I needed the leadership and guidance of an apostle and a church that operates in the prophetic. Not saying that New Day’s pastor isn’t an awesome woman of God. But God had something else for me, somewhere else, and He needed to use someone else. And that He did, in the form of Dr. Apostle Maurice Broomfield.”
“Amen,” Paige touched and agreed.
“But let me make it clear. It’s not the man who brought me out. Yes, Apostle is a powerful man of God, but he’s not God, and he’s not bigger than God.”
“Hmm, I don’t know about that. Apostle Broomfield is a nice-sized man.” Paige raised her eyebrows.
“Girl, you know what I’m saying.” Tamarra sucked her teeth, and then got serious. “But for real, don’t be talking about my apostle. I don’t allow that.”
Paige raised her hands in defense. “My bad, I repent.”
“But anyway, it’s like if you need surgery, you don’t go to just any old doctor. You pray about it and ask God to lead you to the person He has equipped to help fix your particular sickness. Well, it just so happens that for me, it was Apostle Broomfield. Again, not taking anything away from your pastor.”
“I know, I get it,” Paige said. “And I know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s like with me, when my issues with Blake first started, God used Sister Nita instead of Pastor. I thought that was strange at first. But then just like you said, God has His chosen vessels to help you with your particular issue.” A dreadful look fleeted across Paige’s face.
“What? What is it?” Tamarra inquired.
“Umm, nothing, I guess. But I was just thinking. Do you find it strange that God chose not to use Pastor for either of our situations? What do you think that means?”
Tamarra shrugged. “I don’t know, Paige. But you and I both know now that you’ve posed the question, God’s gonna answer it.”
Chapter Twenty
“Is everything okay?” Lorain asked in a calm panic as she entered Unique’s hospital room.
The doctor was just leaving. “Yeah, I think the girls are going to be fine.” The doctor looked over his shoulder at Unique. “Mom here just needs to take it easy.”
“Yeah, yeah. I hear you, Doc,” Unique stated.
“Keep an eye on your sister here for me, would you?” the medium height, dark-skinned, mini-Afro-wearing doctor whispered to Lorain.
“I’ll try, but I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that that is not going to be an easy feat,” Lorain replied.
“Hmm, you might be right about that.” The doctor looked over his shoulder again and playfully glared at Unique with his soft brown eyes. “We’ll have to think of a way to get her tamed.” He looked back at Lorain. “At least for this last trimester.”
“Well, Doc,” Lorain said, repeating what Unique had referred to him as, “if you come up with any ideas, I’m open for suggestions.”
“Is that so?” The doctor looked Lorain up and down. His eyes were doing anything but being discreet. “Then I’ll make sure that I definitely come up with something and get back to you. Is that all right with you?”
Lorain was a little thrown off. Something about this doctor’s eyes told her that the conversation had just turned serious. “Yeah, uh, well, I guess so,” she stammered.
“I take it your sister here will know how to get in touch with you?” The doctor stared into Lorain’s eyes while she stared right back into his.
“Uh, hello? Pregnant woman who just found out she’s having twins over here,” Unique called out. “Besides, she’s not my sister. She’s—”
“Twins?” Lorain yelled, walking past the doctor and over to Unique’s bed. “Did you say that you are having twins?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I said,” Unique replied. “Although I’m surprised you even heard that the way you were hanging on to Dr. McHottie’s every word,” Unique spat as the doctor quietly slipped out of the door to let the two women talk.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Lorain asked as she stood over Unique’s hospital bed.
“My sister called you,” Unique reminded her.
“No, I mean, why didn’t you call me when you were on your way to the hospital? You could have gone into early labor or anything. I want to be here for the baby.” A huge grin stretched across Lorain’s face. “I mean, the babies.”
Unique wasn’t smiling. “Oh, so, just being here for me isn’t enough?”
Was that a tinge of jealousy Lorain was sensing from Unique? “That’s not what I meant. I want to be here for you as well,” Lorain added.
“Yeah, well, everything turned out to be just fine. The girls were in there fighting or something, because I started having the worst pain, and they were moving around like crazy.” Unique rubbed her stomach. “Come to find, one little mama had been covering the other all these months.”
“Wow, if they aren’t one of the family, then I don’t know who is,” Lorain snickered. “Covering for each other ... fighting. They got it honest.”
Unique caught on to the pun and let out a chuckle of her own. “Yeah, you’re right about that. Speaking of which, have you and granny made up yet?” Unique asked. “Which is another reason why I didn’t want to bother you—I knew you had enough drama going on with you and Eleanor.”
Lorain sighed, and then sat down in the chair near the foot of Unique’s bed. “She still won’t take my calls.”
“Do a drive-by,” Unique suggested. “You know how you New Day Divas will do a drive-by in a heartbeat.”
“Hmm, as you’ll get to know hopefully one day, Eleanor Simpson is not somebody you want to do a drive-by on.”
“From what I saw, you the one somebody don’t want to do a drive-by on.” Unique began throwing fake punches. “You might sneak on ’em once or twice for showing up unannounced.”
“Unique, this is serious.”
“Okay, my bad.” Unique regained her composure. “But she did have it coming, and I can understand how you snapped and all.”
“I can’t, not if I call myself a Christian.”
“Well, she’s kind of sort of a supposed-to-be Christian too.” Unique shrugged. “So I’ll pray that she turns the other cheek.”
“Really?” Lorain asked.
“Sure. Grab my hands. I’ll pray now.” Unique closed her eyes and extended her hands out to Lorain.
Lorain felt all warm inside that even though Unique was laid up in the hospital bed, she
had the energy to pray for Lorain and Eleanor’s relationship. Lorain closed her eyes and placed her hands inside Unique’s.
“Father God,” Unique began, “I pray right now in the name of Jesus that you touch Ms. Eleanor’s heart. That you soften it so that she might forgive Lorain’s flesh for rising up and slapping her.”
“Yes, Lord,” Lorain mumbled.
“I ask that you would have Ms. Eleanor do as your Word says to do and to turn the other cheek.”
“Yes, God. Please, Lord.”
“Have her turn the other cheek, God,” Unique continued, “so that I may slap her on that one. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”
“Unique,” Lorain spat, opening her eyes and quickly removing her hands from Unique’s.
Unique couldn’t stop laughing.
“I do not touch and agree with that,” Lorain spat. “I rebuke that prayer in the name of Jesus,” she declared.
“Oh, God, I’m sorry.” Unique looked upward. “Really, God, I’m sorry,” Unique laughed. “I just couldn’t help it. Besides, I’m only keeping it real. The way your mama was running off at the mouth, the hurtful things she was saying to you ... Childddddd, I am not mad at you for decking her.”
“Well, I’m mad at myself. A daughter does not hit her mother under any circumstance.”
“Then don’t look at it as though you hit her. Look at it as though you laid holy hands on her. And they were holy all right, because you knocked the holy—”
“Okay, that’s it. That’s enough.” Lorain stood. “I see you’re all right. The babies are all right, so it’s time for me to go.” Lorain headed for the door.
“No, no, don’t storm off. I’m sorry,” Unique pleaded, trying to stifle her chuckling. “I’ll cut it out.”
With furrowed eyebrows and doubtful eyes, Lorain decided to give Unique a second chance. She walked back over to the chair and took a seat.
“I hear the drama ministry at New Day is putting on a play here soon. You should try out.” Unique seemed to be making small talk.
“Drama?” Lorain had a questionable look on her face. “I didn’t even know we had a drama ministry.”
