“I’m sorry, we’re not interested,” she stammered.
“Wait, I’m sending someone for you,” Abe said. I’m going to save you.
“Who is this?” his uncle demanded, apparently yanking the phone from his aunt.
“I’m from the EPA of Tangipahoa Parish. I was just telling your wife about the human health risk of using well water for any purpose,” Abe said in his best Creole accent. “We offer a service to houses that still have functioning—”
“We’re not interested,” Charley said before hanging up.
Oh, but I know someone very interested in you, Uncle Charley.
After meeting Blanche at the corner, Abe arrived at the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s office fifteen minutes late with a color palette and an easel ready to paint the chief a picture.
Chapter 15
Can you keep a secret?
Vanessa could see Pat’s wide southern smile from behind the sun-activated tinted windows of the Rawl’s Mercedes sedan. She almost wanted to cry because only the two of them knew the reason for her crescent moon grin. A secret in her womb that she knew was true since the best friends’ last telephone conversation was confirmed by her doctor only yesterday. Willie was clueless. Four months of oblivion.
She met her guest on the landing just outside her house in an attempt to head off her inquiries, but Willie was on her heels. They passed hugs around. Like a slow motion reel, Vanessa saw Pat’s hands extend toward her mid-section. She grabbed her hands and held them firmly between the two of them. Making eye contact, she shook her head ever so slightly.
“You didn’t call me back last night,” Pat said through her teeth. Her smile was still in place.
Vanessa hugged her again and whispered in her ear, “I had nothing to tell you that you didn’t already know.”
“Oh, darling,” Pat sang.
Their embrace was prolonged. Vanessa could feel Willie and Ben’s eyes on them. She dabbed her eyes and pulled away to engage the others before they became suspicious.
“I wondered why my wife insisted upon us staying in your guest room. Looks as if we’ve kept our women locked up.
We’ve got to stop being so selfish and get them together more often,” Ben said, unlocking the trunk with his remote key chain.
“I think you’re right, except it’s Vanessa that has kept me locked up. If you know what I’m saying,” Willie winked.
Vanessa swatted her husband out of embarrassment. While the men pulled the hanging bags off the top, Vanessa grabbed Pat’s mid-sized Coach suitcase from the side of the trunk. Pat tried to snatch the bag from her and they played tug-of-war with the handle for a while.
“Ladies, there are enough bags to go around,” Willie said incredulously.
“Yeah, Vanessa, why don’t we let the guys get that,” Pat said, plucking her knuckles until Vanessa let go of the luggage. “We’ve got some catching up to do.”
They trotted around the now discarded suitcase arm in arm, climbed the stairs, entered the house, and climbed more stairs. They didn’t stop until they were behind the door of the guest bedroom. Pat scanned the room with her eyes as if she had not previously seen the lilac and blue décor.
“I guess this will be the nursery, huh?” Pat said.
“Girl,” Vanessa plopped on the edge of the bed, “I haven’t even thought that far.”
“You’re going to be a mommy.” Pat approached her again with her hand extended as if she were Buddha, and to rub her belly was good luck.
More like mommy dearest, Vanessa thought to the degree that there was no reason she needed to be a mother.
Pat sat beside her and rubbed away on her belly, although Vanessa felt it defeated the purpose since her belly wasn’t really protruding, everything else was.
“I haven’t told Willie yet, so I hope you haven’t blabbed to Ben.”
“I didn’t want to say anything until you went to the doctor. I just figured he’d get a big surprise this weekend. But why on earth haven’t you shared the good news with your husband?”
“’Cause I don’t know how,” Vanessa whispered. She didn’t really know that it was good news. Her chest began to heave as she felt herself getting emotional yet again. Being pregnant explained a lot of things that were going on with her physically, but she wondered what she could do to cut off the waterworks.
“Oh, honey, you just tell him.” Pat wiped Vanessa’s tears away with her hands. “I don’t have to tell you that you are blessed among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes at the biblical cliché. “Next you’ll be telling me you’re pregnant also. Just know if this baby starts leaping and beating up on me from the inside, I’ll be too through. So stop, hear?”
They both laughed. Vanessa could hear Willie and Ben on the ground level and knew it was a matter of time before they came upstairs after them. She got solemn again.
“Seriously, this whole thing hasn’t even set in with me. I want to tell Willie, and the world, in my own time. It’s got to be the right time,” Vanessa said.
“Like this weekend?” Pat’s eye’s twinkled and Vanessa knew that meant she was excited.
Vanessa didn’t answer, but rather raised her brows and tried to replicate that sparkle of excitement. This wasn’t just her moment. This pregnancy was not just her pregnancy once her husband, her family, and their entire congregation knew about it.
“You know what this occasion calls for, right?” Pat sat up inspired. “Shopping!”
Saturday morning, Pat assisted Vanessa with breakfast. Vanessa was mindful of eating too much for fear of getting nauseous. They then headed to the church with their husbands to observe ministry meetings, but mainly to view the JM Morton Hall complete with new lettering, podium, and memorial bust encased in glass. They all prayed together; a prayer of consecration. As much as Vanessa wanted to pick Ben’s brain about Trinity Conference business, at one P.M. they left the guys to talk ministry while they hit the mall.
Pat was not a fan of walking the mall or necessarily shopping for bargains. She had expensive taste and every store they wandered in, she managed to find and buy something. Vanessa felt like Pat’s personal assistant, following her around, except Pat wouldn’t let her carry a bag over two pounds. Pat wore a safari-green belted pantsuit with ease. Vanessa felt doughty in a denim wrap around skirt. She already took to wearing bigger shirts to hide her midsection and at least slim her hips and rear end. They crisscrossed the t-shaped mall, hitting each anchor department store before leaving to find a boutique recommended by a store clerk.
The place was called Eden’s Closet, and it was designed for a diva like Pat. Although it was a small shop, it was organized to be shopper-friendly with accessories like purses and hats along the wall and a few racks devoted to everything from casual pantsuits to formal wear stocked in the middle.
“This place has less selection than I am sure you are used to back home,” Vanessa said, scanning a price tag on a butter-yellow suit with cream saddle stitching around the lapel. She figured the limited inventory added to the exclusive price.
“That doesn’t matter,” Pat said, flipping through each suit in her size. “What matters is I am two hundred miles from any other woman in my congregation. So the chance she shows up one Sunday as my twin is lessened greatly.”
Vanessa was going through the motions, but not really looking. She wasn’t even sure what size she wore anymore, and knew for sure she was a different size up top than on the bottom. She had turned into a pear. “I saw that gorgeous new suit hanging over the door this morning. Now, I know when you bought that you didn’t buy just one. So what occasion are you shopping for today?”
“For life,” she replied.
“Don’t you mean for sport,” Vanessa corrected.
“You’re right, I don’t need anything.” Pat reviewed the three suits she had over her arm. “I should be helping you. What have you added to your wardrobe lately?”
Vanessa had s
ettled a long time ago that they had two very different views of wardrobing. She felt she didn’t need anything as long as her bases were covered with the basics. She had no particular style although she leaned toward comfy casual these days. As far as new closet investments, she thought about the two jogging suits she bought when she noticed she was picking up weight. Her goal was to make Willie go with her on a nightly stroll after work.
“Pick something and come to the dressing room with me,” Pat continued. “Better yet, let me find you something. They have all sorts of maternity places now. When I was pregnant I almost went into a depression over the horrible frocks that were labeled maternity. What about tomorrow?”
“I’m wearing my—” Vanessa started.
“I know, you are wearing your robe in the pulpit. Honestly, I think that is so played out. Do you see Joyce Meyer or Paula White in a robe? What happens at the banquet? I bet you didn’t even think about that. Do you and Willie sit up in robes while you’re eating? If I were you, I’d have my 50th anniversary ensemble and might do a quick costume change before the banquet too, okay.” Pat snapped her fingers. She stopped to size Vanessa up over the top of her tortoise shell glasses that were on the tip of her nose. “What size are you now?”
Vanessa shook her head. “That’s just it, my hips have run for the border, and my butt is trying to catch up with them.” She attempted to look at her tush from over her shoulder.
“You need something in a jersey material. It is so forgiving.”
In a matter of minutes Pat had made a few selections for her and was leading the way to the dressing room as if she had been there before. Vanessa dutifully tried on each one although she had a strong desire to lie down on the bench inside the stall. The last one was a black and white sleeveless v-neck with a pale blue ribbon woven in at the waist to resemble a wide belt. Vanessa looked at herself from all angles.
“Don’t be afraid of it. It’s called your shape. I’ll admit this dress reveals some things, but you are going to reveal some things tomorrow, right?” The gleam in her eye let Vanessa know she had growing momentum. “Oh my gosh, this will be so perfect. Everyone is going to be loving you in this dress, and so excited, and loving on you and the little one in your belly when they find out.”
“Pat, I can’t.” Vanessa knew there was no way she would reveal her pregnancy to Willie tomorrow, let alone her congregation. Wouldn’t he be mad to hear something like that in front of everyone? Then she thought about Willie’s nature, and knew he would be delighted. He was famous for, ‘my wife is going to kill me when I tell you this,’ inserts into his own sermons. They lived a transparent life. They shared just about everything with their congregation, but it wasn’t going to happen tomorrow, she thought.
“I know, I know, you’re not used to going sleeveless. I have the answer. Voila.” Vanessa barely looked at the white sateen bolero with ruffles up and down the edges before Pat had her spinning like a revolving door to get into it. “It’s called a diva collar, diva.”
Vanessa turned around and had to admit she loved the way she looked. Pat convinced her that her black sling backs with the peak-a-boo toe that she already owned would go perfectly with this outfit. The forecast called for rain, she thought, and there was nothing worse than cold feet.
The next day Vanessa was having cold feet about telling her husband and congregation her secret. Pat was so bubbly and excited, that Vanessa knew she had to consider telling everyone before her friend let the cat out the bag. The thought alone gave her a bout of nausea. She made it through the morning on orange juice, two Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and high praise for the Lord. She enjoyed not having to worry about the order of service in preparation of preaching the gospel. She got to chill out in her own pulpit since Ben was preaching, which was a treat, but each time she looked over at her husband or at specific faces in the congregation, she thought they deserved to know.
She hadn’t wrapped her mind around what was going on inside of her body, what they had done, what had been created. During the closing prayer and benediction Vanessa zoned out. She got panicky thinking about being pregnant at 43, an age that seemed much older to her now in her present condition. She wasn’t sure about anything anymore.
Between morning service and the dedication banquet, when Willie was allowing their guest minister to wind down in his office, and the congregants saved seats and greeted each other, Pat was performing a transformation on Vanessa. She felt like she was back stage at the Apollo. She stepped out of her robe and into her diva collar. Pat loosened her bun and fanned out her hair before applying a tinted gloss to her ample lips.
Vanessa excused herself for the third time to use the bathroom. She surprised herself when she looked in the mirror. Her hair looked as if it had grown a full three inches. What was more surprising was that she didn’t recognize herself. She knew then that if she went in there and admitted she was pregnant, she would no longer be the Vanessa Morton Green she had come to know.
When she came out of the bathroom she met Pat’s approving smile with a grave admission. “Pat, I need you to support me in my decision to postpone this announcement.”
“What? Why?” Pat said.
“I’m forty-three, I’m old, and I just don’t know,” Vanessa said.” I thought that the possibility of motherhood was behind me—that I had successfully dodged that bullet. Now look at me, messing around with that Willie Green.”
“Honey, you’re just scared, but you are past your first trimester. God has smiled on you, and He will see you through this pregnancy.” Pat held her hand. “I understand if you do not want to do this publically. Forget my little fantasy. You and Willie need to talk this over privately.”
“I don’t know if I will carry this baby.” Vanessa turned away from her friend’s gaze.
Pat grabbed Vanessa by the shoulder and turned her around so she could face her again. “Wait a minute, what do you mean?”
“I thought about it. I’m sick and throwing up all the time. This is past morning sickness. Something might be wrong, and I can’t take that risk.”
“Vanessa, you’re just letting the devil make way with your senses,” Pat said, grabbing her hands in hers.
“No, Pat,” Vanessa snatched her hand away from her friend and shook her head to refute what Pat just said. “I can’t be a mother.”
“I’m going to get Willie now,” Pat announced, heading for the door of the study. “Forget the banquet, the two of you need to talk because you’ve gone crazy.”
“Stay out of it, Pat,” Vanessa shouted. She gathered herself and studied the door as if to sense if someone was on the other side. She checked her watch. “I’m going to check with my sister to see if we are ready to get started. Then we’re going to go in, and I’m going to do nothing more than what I had planned in dedication to my father.”
“You want me to stay out of it while you talk crazy about not carrying the gift God has placed inside you. What’s your alternative Vanessa, abortion? You want me to stay out of it after we prayed in agreement to your consecration to God as leader of this house while you deceive your husband. How long are you going to hold the truth from him?”
Vanessa stood stoically. She didn’t have an answer to any of her friend’s questions.
“I can’t do it. A true friend calls you out and tells you when you’re wrong. Ben Rawls taught me to get it straight before you stand before God’s people. I love you dearly, but I’m not taking part in this—not today, not any day. So we can say our goodbyes now,” Pat said with her hands on her hips. “I’m going to get my husband, and we are going to go in there and do nothing more than say goodbye to your congregation, thank them for their hospitality, and tell them we’ve got to ease on down the road. I’ll let you explain our departure to your husband later.”
Vanessa watched her friend of twenty-five years turn on her three inch stiletto heels and leave.
Chapter 16
A Bump in the Road
Willie woke up thinking
maybe he was the only mature one in his circle. The past few weeks seemed to be filled with petty squabbles and disagreements between he and his wife, between his wife and her sister, and now his wife and her best friend. He didn’t find out about the latter until his guest minister left in the middle of their anniversary celebration. He was surprised that Ben fell prey to the nonsense and offered no other explanation than, “Normally, I wouldn’t play like a celebrity that preaches one minute and is led out early by his entourage the next, but I’ve got to back my wife up. We love you guys. Just talk to Vanessa, man, and I’ll call you next week.”
Vanessa was the common denominator. To say that he was turned off by her current behavior was putting it mildly. He feared the twelve years that separated them was finally making a difference. When they first got together, his outlook on life met her intensity and fierce independence somewhere in the middle of that gap. Now he wasn’t sure they were relating like they used to.
After spending the remainder of Sunday afternoon waiting for her to come to him with some sort of explanation, which did not happen, he planned to confront her. He wanted to know details about the weekend’s ordeal this morning, but she popped up with some sort of mystery doctor’s appointment. Willie went into church although the administrative offices were closed. He needed to prepare himself for the next day’s non-negotiable joint board meeting that maintained the church’s checks and balances system and integrity of operations. He left Vanessa an I-need-you message in an attempt to lure her to the office as well since she had the preliminary figures from the anniversary for the budget report.
She arrived at church after lunch and had a nerve to complain that Willie was in his office working instead of the main study connected to her office. Her dress was casual and her disposition was reticent. She stood in the doorway as if she didn’t plan to stay long.
“You know you are not on the network server. Whatever you work on down here will have to be recreated by Luella in the morning in order for her to print copies for the board tomorrow. That doesn’t make sense,” she said.
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