Gabriel nodded.
“Moms taught us with her words and actions to be fiercely independent and never let a man close to our hearts. Well, at least me anyway. Tiffany seemed to go in the opposite direction.”
Gabe nodded like everything was making more and more sense.
“Not only was Moms convinced that all men are no good, she was also convinced that all men of God are no good as well. Because of my father, she developed a hatred for God and anything having to do with God. She’s convinced that every preacher is a hypocrite and that God isn’t real. And for whatever reason, that was the one lesson Tiffany decided to learn from her.”
“And, so how did you find your way to God?” Gabe asked.
I shrugged. “I guess I wasn’t willing to believe He wasn’t real because of my mother. I kept my heart open, and one day, I heard the truth and accepted Him. How ironic that the place I got saved at was Love and Faith Christian Center.”
Gabe frowned.
I explained. “I got saved after hearing a sermon Bishop Walker preached. And he’s a worse hypocrite than my father ever could be. He’s downright evil. I guess it goes to show that God can use whatever and whoever—His Word is more powerful than their hypocrisy.”
Gabe shook his head. “Still, that doesn’t mean they should be allowed to continue in their positions of leadership, misleading God’s people and benefitting monetarily from it.”
“I agree wholeheartedly. Speaking of . . .” I picked up the remote. I had set the TiVo to record the 6:00 news. “You’re not going to believe what happened today.” I forwarded through the news and commercials until I saw Deacon Barnes’s face on the screen. I pressed play and turned up the volume. “Brace yourself.”
Twenty-six
We both sat watching the news in horror. Even though I had heard the story from Sandy Jensen earlier, it was even more terrible hearing it officially on the news. They were careful to protect the identity of the mother and son, saying only that they’d left the area to go be with family members and to get professional help for the boy. They mentioned Bishop’s response, or my response, at the end, using all the right buzz words, deeply regret this tragedy . . . glad for the truth to come forward so justice could be pursued . . . will be in constant prayer for this family and all the other families that have been affected by these horrible crimes . . . immediate measures being taken to provide mental health services . . . blah, blah, blah. All rhetoric and lies. I felt sick being a part of it and prayed that God would forgive me.
Gabe stood up and paced the living room after I turned off the television. I could tell from his face that he didn’t know what to say. He finally said, “We must get you out of this.”
I nodded.
He paced a little more and turned back to me. “This Bishop knew and could have saved the little boy, yes?”
I nodded and bit my lip.
“God is a God of justice, and this man shall not continue to prosper in his evil.” He came back and sat on the couch next to me. “We must get you out of this.”
I nodded again. “Let’s not talk about it anymore, okay?”
Gabe took me in his arms. “Okay, angel.”
We sat there quietly on the couch, but I knew Gabe was praying—for the boy and all the other boys, for me to disentangle myself from the situation, and for God to work His righteousness against Bishop Walker. I knew with him praying, something was sure to break. Soon.
“I’m very sorry for your father leaving all of you. It seems to have had an effect on each of you in some different way, yes? Even all these years later, his memory still haunts each of you. Is that why you thought I would get on a plane and leave you to go back to Africa?”
I nodded.
“My beautiful angel, as I said, I will never leave you. In fact . . .” He leaned over to pull something out of his pocket and got into his kneeling position on the floor in front of me again. “I will never leave you, and I never want to be without you. I will ask you this again and again, as many times as you need me to ask you—”
“Yes, Gabe.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you.”
His face spread into a broad grin. He opened a little box he had pulled out of his pocket and slid a band onto my left ring finger.
When I looked down at a beautiful emerald cut diamond solitaire in a thick gold band, tears sprang into my eyes. “Oh, Gabe. It’s beautiful.” I looked up at him, wondering when he could have gotten it. “Is it—”
“Of course, dear. Conflict free, straight from Canada.”
“Canada? How?” He had only been in town two days. “I mean, when did you order it?”
He grinned. “Three months ago. After the first time you said, ‘I love you.’”
More tears fell, and I pressed my forehead against his. He kissed my tears away. “Do you like it?”
“It’s perfect. I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful ring.”
“And I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful wife.”
He kissed me gently on the lips, and I sat there in his arms, dreaming of the day when we’d go back home, but not sure of how or when.
A little while later, we heard the door open, and Moms and Tiffany came in. Tiffany walked over and placed a carryout carton on the table in front of us. “We brought you guys something. We figured you might be hungry. Let me grab you guys some silverware and napkins.” She headed for the kitchen.
Moms grunted. “They don’t need no forks.” She laughed at herself, but seemed to be breathing a little hard.
I stood to help her over to the armchair. “You okay, Moms?”
She waved me away. “I’m fine, Tree. Just a little tired. I shoulda known better than to go somewhere with Tiffany, running me all over the place. You young folks tire an old lady out.”
Tiffany came back from the kitchen in time to hear her. I looked at her, and she raised an eyebrow and subtly shook her head to let me know she hadn’t done anything to tire Moms out.
I pressed my lips together. Gabe must have noticed the worried looks on both me and Tiffany’s faces and stood and put a hand on Moms’s shoulder. “Mummy dear, you said you would let me pray for you, yes?” He gave her an endearing look, like he understood that he needed to milk the son-in-law thing.
Moms looked up at Gabe, looked at me, then back at him and shrugged. “I guess it ain’t no harm in it.”
Gabe walked behind her chair and laid both his hands on her shoulders. He said a very simple prayer releasing supernatural healing, life and forgiveness. He said a few more simple words, then bent to kiss her cheek. “Thanks, Mummy.”
“Thank you, baby.” She patted his face and kissed him back.
I was amused at the look on her face. She seemed surprised by the shortness of his prayer. I guess she expected him to be all long and religious. I had heard Gabe travail for hours in prayer on many occasions. I knew he could be very loud and passionate, binding demonic forces, crying out for the Kingdom of God to be established, and worshipping at the top of his lungs. I knew he understood that wasn’t the way to come at Moms and appreciated his sensitivity, knowing that the simple prayer he chose to pray was equally effective.
Moms reached for Tiffany. “Help an old lady upstairs to bed, okay?”
Tiffany nodded and helped Moms up the steps.
After they were gone, I put my arms around Gabe. “Thank you for that. I can’t believe she let you pray for her.”
“Remember how they taught us that people may not be able to receive God’s healing power if they’re filled with bitterness and unforgiveness?”
I nodded, biting my lip. He had given voice to what I had been fearing all along.
“Maybe I can spend time with her tomorrow, and we can talk.”
I chuckled. “Good luck with that.”
He smiled. “Don’t be afraid, my angel. God is still on the throne.” He kissed my lips, and then my neck, then pulled himself away from me. “I should go. You’re far too bea
utiful for me to be here this late.”
I walked him to the door. He gave me one last kiss on the nose. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yes?”
I nodded.
He tilted his head. “Thanks for everything that you told me. I am happy to understand you better.”
“Thanks for loving me and for being patient with me. I love you, Gabe.”
He kissed my lips, and I could tell he was having a difficult time leaving. “Good night my beautiful angel. My beautiful . . . wife.”
I smiled and watched him walk down the front steps to the driveway. “Gabe,” I called out to him as he was getting into the car. “Charge your cell phone tonight.” He laughed and waved goodnight.
When I got back into the house, I opened the food Moms and Tiffany had brought. I should have known. Fried fish and French fries. I put the carton in the refrigerator to eat the next day and went upstairs to go to bed.
After I cleaned off my make-up and put on a T-shirt to sleep in, I slipped into my bed. A million questions ran through my mind. When would we get married? I wanted to do it as soon as possible so Moms could be there and be happy. I knew neither me or Gabe would want an extravagant, expensive wedding. It would contradict everything we believed in.
Most of the people I would want to be there were in Africa. In fact, the only people here that were essential for me were Moms, Tiffany, Monica, and Kevin. And I knew there was no way Monica could travel anywhere anytime soon. But I wasn’t trying to get married in Atlanta.
There was no way I could get Moms to Africa in her current state. But maybe that was exactly what she needed to get healed, though. To be under the African skies where God was so near, you could feel His breath.
I’d talk to Gabe about it the next day and we’d get it all figured out together.
As I was about to drift off to sleep, my cell phone rang. It was becoming a regular occurrence. I squinted to see the caller ID then quickly flipped open the phone.
“Monnie, hey.”
“Hey, Trina.” She sounded upset.
“Is everything okay?”
“I saw the news earlier.”
“Oh.”
Neither of us said anything for a few moments.
“Monnie, I thought we weren’t going to talk about it. I don’t want you getting all upset. Remember the baby.”
“How could I forget him? His head is sitting on my bladder, and he’s kicking me in the ribs.”
We both laughed.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said, Trina. About how I should trust your love for me and that you would never do anything to hurt me. And I figured it out. Because I do know how much you love me and would never let anything hurt me. Or should I say anyone?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t ‘huh’ me, Trina. I know why you’re doing this. Bishop made the same threat to you that he made to me and Kevin in the hospital, didn’t he? And you agreed to continue representing him to protect us. To protect me.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Trina, how could you possibly believe I would want you to sell your soul for me? Just as much as you love me is how much I love you. I would never want you to do something like that for my sake.”
“But what about everything you said about being happier than ever and not losing your wonderful life?”
“Trina, I was being selfish. And being my best friend that loves me, you should have been honest and told me so. I was busy protecting myself at the expense of everyone around me. Kevin really believes this is supposed to be a part of his ministry. And when he saw the news today, it confirmed it for him. The boy on the news was the same age as Kevin was when his nightmare started. He knows he’s called to minister to little boys going through the same thing. He kept talking about how different his life would have been and how different our life together would have been if someone had been there to help him.”
I fingered Gabe’s ring and kept listening.
“It’s like you said, Trina, your call is to be a missionary in Africa. Mine is to be a supportive wife for my husband. How can I do that if I won’t even let him do what God is telling him to do?”
“What are you saying, Monica?”
“That tomorrow, I want you to go tell Bishop Walker that he can kiss your—”
“Monnie!”
“Sorry, girl, this cussing demon has been out of control lately. I think it’s the pregnancy hormones and all this drama. Tell Bishop that you’re no longer going to represent him and that you’ll be helping me and Kevin with our press campaign for the expansion of his ministry—helping people struggling with their sexual identity.”
“You guys are sure about this?”
“Even if it wasn’t about Kevin’s ministry, I couldn’t ask you to represent Bishop one day longer to protect us. I want you out of this, Trina. I have a feeling it’s about to get even uglier.”
“Yeah, me too, girl.”
“So you’ll tell him tomorrow? I hope you won’t lose your job.”
“I won’t. Me and Blanche already talked about things. She’s trying to turn into a human being on me.”
Monica laughed. “Call me tomorrow after you talk to him. I can’t wait to hear about the look on his face when you tell him off.”
“Yeah, girl. I can’t wait to see it.”
I decided to save my happy news for later, after the whole Bishop Walker drama was over and done with for good.
Twenty-seven
The next morning, I dressed myself in my sharpest altered suit, put on some heels and make-up, but let my unruly afro fly wild with a fancy matching scarf wrapped around it. I was all about handling business that day.
I gave a quick call to Bishop’s new secretary to let her know there was an urgent matter we needed to deal with and that I was on my way to his office. She had better watch her ‘tude, because she didn’t want to catch a piece of me.
I snuck down the hall to check on Moms before I left. She and Tiffany were curled up in the bed together again. I stood over Moms for a few seconds, making sure her chest was rising and falling at a normal pace. She cracked one eye open and said, “I’m breathing, Tree. Didn’t Gabe pray last night? You really need to work on your faith.”
I laughed and walked out the door, closing it after me.
In the car on the way to Love and Faith, I called Gabe to tell him about me and Monica’s conversation the night before.
“So I’m on my way to his office right now to let him know that Silver PR services will no longer be handling his damage control campaign. I promise, I never want to see his face again, ever in this life or the next.” The thought of Bishop Walker’s demonic grin caused chill bumps to rise on my arms.
I heard Gabe exhale his relief. “I knew God would get you out of this. Are you sure you want to go there by yourself? This Bishop, he sounds . . . almost dangerous.”
The hairs on my arms stood up even higher. I made myself calm down. “He’s not dangerous in a way like he would actually physically harm me. All his dirt is done through words. And lies. He’s got nothing on me, so there’s nothing he can do to hurt me. And he can’t hurt Kevin and Monica anymore because they’re willing to go public with the secret he was holding over their heads. Everything’s okay.”
“Still. Are you sure you don’t want to wait until I can get there? I could sit in the parking lot, and if anything goes wrong, you could call me on your cell phone and I could come to your rescue.”
“Gabe.” That man had a way of melting my heart. “I’ll be fine. I promise. Remember that day when those banditos tried to rob me of the food I’d bought for the children?”
He laughed, remembering my encounter with some thieves on a trip back to the village from a shopping excursion in the city. “I guess I have nothing to worry about then. I guess I just feel the need to protect my wife-to-be.”
“Oh, Gabe.” I could hear him smiling through the phone. “I promise I’ll call you the minute it’s over. Maybe you can come over and we
can spend the rest of the day together.”
“Sounds good, my dear.”
“Maybe we can talk about—”
“What?”
“Maybe we can talk about . . . you know, wedding plans and stuff.”
“Oh . . . okay.”
“What?”
Gabe chuckled. “One minute I’m begging you to marry me, and now that you’ve accepted, you’re ready to plan a wedding. The next day.”
“I know. I just . . .” I thought about how tired and deathly grey Moms looked.
“You’re concerned about your mother?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s going to be fine, my angel. We’re walking in faith, yes?”
“Yes, Gabe.” I pulled into the parking lot at Love and Faith. “I’m here. I’ll call you as soon as it’s over, okay?”
“Okay. I’m praying for you. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to call me.”
“I won’t.” I hung up the phone and wondered how long it would take me to get used to being loved like I was beginning to realize Gabe loved me. It seemed almost too good to be true. I quickly rebuked the thought and reminded myself of God’s faithfulness and that my relationships with men didn’t have to mirror my mother’s.
I sat in the car in the parking lot for a few minutes, praying. I needed God to word my mouth and end this thing without any fallout. I reminded myself of what I told Gabe. Bishop no longer had any leverage now that Monica and Kevin were willing to go public. There was nothing he could do to hurt us.
I finally got out of the car and walked into the church. When I got to the administrative suite, Bishop’s secretary was halfway pleasant to me. She greeted me and asked how I was doing. Things had probably been quieter for her after our press release and she must have decided to show me a little respect. She led me into his office. I appreciated her fake smile and all, but I wasn’t about to be drinking any water she might bring me.
Bishop rose to greet me. “Ms. Michaels, is everything okay? I thought the news report went reasonably well last night. As well as could be expected obviously, but I think our position came out clear, don’t you think?”
Selling My Soul Page 19
