So, Walt had jumped into his newfound role as pastor with zeal and the woman of his dreams by his side. Walt would never admit it, but he’d never thought he could get a woman as gorgeous as Cynthia… not with his slight weight problem and his looks. Walt didn’t fool himself, even though he wasn’t bad on the eyes, he was never the most handsome guy in any room he’d ever been in. But Cynthia had wanted him anyway.
Everything had gone well for them at first, but then he started counseling some of the women in the church. Those women began telling him how lucky Cynthia was to have such a wonderful man as he was. Pretty soon, Walt found himself counseling quite a few of his women parishioners in the bed. He turned over and pulled Dynasty close to him as he said, “I’m speaking at a convention next month, and I think I’m going to take you out of town with me. Let you keep me company in my hotel room.”
“What about your wife? Don’t you normally take her out of town with you?”
“You let me worry about Cynthia.”
Dynasty turned to face him as she asked, “Why do you even have to worry about her? Why haven’t you asked her for a divorce yet?”
Walt rubbed Dynasty’s back. It always came to this with the church women he dated. But Walt had a ready answer. “These things take time, baby.”
“How much time?” Dynasty shot back.
“How ever much time it takes,” he said with a shrug. He then grabbed Dynasty and tried to get her back under the cover with him.
Dynasty pushed Walt away and sat up in the bed. With a frustrated look on her face, she said, “I can’t keep doing this, Walt.”
Walt was getting sick of playing this game with his women. He sat up and said, “Now baby, don’t start this stuff again.”
“But you promised me that we would be together,” Dynasty pouted. “I don’t feel right sneaking behind your wife’s back. And Margie keeps making me feel as if I’m doing something wrong.”
Walt shook his head. “How many times have I told you to keep your friends out of our business? Not to mention the fact that I’m a preacher and I could lose my ministry if word got around about you and me.”
“But Walt, I don’t understand why you haven’t asked your wife for a divorce yet. That way, things between us wouldn’t have to be a secret.” Smiling, Dynasty added, “We could even get married in front of the entire church. That way God would bless our union and you wouldn’t have to worry about living with a woman you don’t love.”
Walt lifted a hand, slowing Dynasty’s roll. “Now, wait a minute, I never said that I didn’t love my wife. Cynthia has been there for me and she is a wonderful first lady.”
Dynasty pulled herself up so that she was now sitting so close to Walt that their bare arms were rubbing against each other as she said, “If you love her so much then why are you with me?”
He gave her a ‘duh’ look. “Because you were down with the program. At least you had been. Now you’re letting your friends convince you that what we have is wrong instead of trusting that I know what’s best for us.”
“I do trust you, Walt baby. I just want to be right with God and I can’t do that if I keep sleeping with you without being married.”
“And you think it would please God for you to bust up my marriage and leave my children to be raised in a single parent home?”
Her brows crinkled in confusion. “Are you serious, Walt?” Her hands went to her hips. “You’re the one who said you wanted to marry me. When we first got together, you kept telling me that you wanted nothing more than to be with me, but now I’m a home wrecker.”
He pulled Dynasty into his arms. “Come on baby, I didn’t come over here to argue with you. I wanted to spend the afternoon with my baby and forget about the craziness of this world.”
“I feel like a fool and like I should have listened to Margie's warnings about falling for some married man,” Dynasty said, "You promised to marry me!"
He pulled her back down and as she lay next to him, cuddling in his arms, Walt said, “You know what my mama always used to tell me.”
“What?”
“Good things come to those who wait. I believed her and look how the Lord has blessed me.” He kissed the back of her neck. “So, now you just need to believe in me.”
“It’s getting harder and harder to believe in you, Walt. Especially since you just confessed to being in love with your wife.”
***
"I don't know, Mama, maybe you were right," Margie said after putting her daughter to bed and then coming back down to the family room to hang out with her mom.
Betty was watching Hoarders - Buried Alive and didn’t respond.
“Mom, did you hear me?”
Betty turned to her daughter. “Girl, I’m sorry, I was sitting here trying to figure out how anybody could get so depressed that they just let trash build up around them until they could barely get in and out of their house.” She pointed at the television. “I mean look at that.”
"I said, I think you were right about my working for Pastor Lamont being a mistake."
Betty lifted her remote and turned the television off. She turned to her daughter with fury in her eyes, "Did that JT do something to you?"
"No Mama, JT hasn’t come near me."
"You said he approached you a couple of months ago," Betty corrected.
"That was the first time I saw him at the church, and really all he was doing that day was trying to apologize, but I never gave him the opportunity before I lit into him."
"You did the right thing, so don't start feeling bad about that now.”
Margie knew that her mother felt that everyone deserved a second chance, but preachers who messed up, only got fire and brimstone from her. "I keep praying about my animosity towards JT and I really do believe that God expects me to be able to forgive and move past all of this. I don't know what's hindering me... but I do believe that unforgiveness blocks the blessing that God is trying to send my way."
Betty shook her head. "Well, if it's not JT, what's got you so upset?"
"To tell you the truth, Mama, I don't know if I'm overreacting or not," Margie said.
"Well, tell me what’s going on, maybe I can help."
Margie wasn't so sure. Sometimes her mother went a little too far with her help and her comments. But Margie really needed to talk to someone. "I'm starting to have feelings for Pastor Lamont."
Betty threw her hands up in the air. "Oh Lord Jesus, help us right now," Betty exclaimed as she jumped off the couch and paced the floor. "Girl, didn't you get enough of fooling around with these no-good preachers when JT sent you through all of that drama?"
"See, this is why I didn't want to talk to you about this. I knew that you would automatically assume that something was going on between me and Pastor Lamont."
With a look of guilt on her face, Betty sat back down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump to conclusions." She waved her hand as if giving her the floor. "Please continue."
Margie was hesitant now. "Just forget it." Margie picked up the remote and turned the television back on.
Betty took the remote from her and turned the television back off. "I'm serious, Margie. I'm ready to listen. I've watched your growth over the years, so I trust your judgment."
"Thanks for saying that, Mom."
"I mean it, Margie. I really do."
Margie put her feet up on the couch and got comfortable. "Well first of all, I think the thing that really attracts me to Lamont is his love for God. He really desires to do God’s will and is not playing games at all.”
“You really believe in him, huh?”
“I do, Mom. These last few months of working for him, has shown me just what kind of man he is. And I can tell that he really cares about the people God has entrusted to him.”
“So are you telling me that the fact that this boy is gorgeous has nothing to do with what you’re feeling for him?” Betty asked, the skepticism heavy in her tone.
“I didn’t say that,” Margie grinned.
“I’m not blind and Pastor Lamont is definitely easy on the eyes.”
“Easy on the eyes?” Betty slapped her knee as she said, “That man is eye candy with a sugary sweet peppermint on top. When I attended your church last weekend, I could barely read my Bible for watching him.”
“Mom,” Margie playfully nudged her mother. “You’re not supposed to notice things like that.”
“Girl please, I might be older than you, but I’m not dead yet.”
They giggled. Then Margie said, "Okay Mom, you're right about how handsome he is, but I'm telling you, it's not just that. He has this presence about him, like if it ain't about Jesus then don't even bother him with the discussion. And I like that about him."
Betty said, "Yeah, especially since so many of these slick preachers think they are getting away with their dirty, but it seems as if God has stamped a scarlet letter on their forehead." She shook her head. "Oh they think they are fooling all of us poor dumb saints, but their aura speaks of the sins they have committed.
"I wish someone would tell them that we can see sin all over them. Then maybe they'd stop getting in the pulpit and trying to preach, when they need to be somewhere repenting." As Margie said these words, she realized that she no longer saw that aura of sin around JT, he, in fact, had the same presence about him as Lamont. She grabbed her mother's arm and said, "Oh my goodness, I owe JT an apology."
"What?" her mother exclaimed.
"It's just like you said, Mama, when a preacher is in sin, they have that slick used car salesman look about them. They don't see it, but I think God opens the rest of our eyes to it."
"Yeah, and?" Betty questioned, still not understanding what that had to do with an apology to JT.
"JT doesn't have that look anymore. He's telling the truth, Mama. He is a changed man. He's God's man and we both have to respect that."
Betty sat there for a moment, twisted her lip, and then she nodded. "Okay, let me pray on this a while. But I do agree that he who the son has set free is free indeed. So, I’ll to keep my mouth shut about him, huh?"
"You and me, both," Margie said as she leaned back against the couch and said, "Now I see why Cassandra had no problem with me coming to work for the church. She believes in her husband... and if my thought process is right on this, I think she can see that I'm not trying to do wrong anymore either."
"Well, I'm glad for Cassandra. She's a good woman and she deserves a good man." Betty grabbed hold of Margie’s pretty face and looked directly in her eyes as she declared, "You're a good woman also, Margie. And you deserve some happiness... I believe God has a good man out there for you. I’m not saying it’s Pastor Lamont, but if it happens to be him, well then I'm all for it."
"Yeah, but Mom, how do I know if this is God, or if I'm just lusting after another man of God?"
"Pray, baby. And don't move on nothing until God reveals the truth to you."
Fifteen
Taking a deep breath, Margie punched in the number and prayed. "Hi Cassandra, this is Margie Milner." Margie held her breath. The last time she'd called Cassandra had been several years ago. And in Margie's confused mind at the time, she'd told Cassandra that JT was cheating on both of them. She now fully realized that the only person JT was cheating on was Cassandra and she just happened to be one of the women he was cheating with.
"Hey Margie, is Lamont treating you okay over there?" Cassandra asked good naturedly as if they were mutual friends.
It seemed as if Cassandra had no fear at all about why Margie would be calling her house. This woman had completely put her trust in her husband... as if she had unmovable faith... the kind Margie would love to have. "I wanted to call and finally thank you for your part in getting me this job."
"That's not necessary," Cassandra said.
Margie shook her head. "I disagree. The day I saw you in this office, I treated you to a full dose of suspicion and mistrust. It was uncalled for and I'm sorry."
Cassandra laughed. "You were a bit rude," she agreed.
"Yes, I was, and I have no excuse for myself, except it was the actions of my guilty conscience. I expected you to do what I probably would have done to you if the roles were reversed."
"Well then, I accept your apology."
"Thank you," Margie said and then to curb her curiosity, she asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, what's on your mind?"
"You seem so free of bitterness. And based on what happened between us, I tend to believe that God would forgive you a little bitterness."
Cassandra laughed again. "To tell you the truth, Margie, I used to think that God should be okay with my bitterness or the reasons I had for not trusting or forgiving my husband. But then one day, I took the time to have a talk with Jesus, and He made it all better... God took the bitterness out of my heart, and I don't ever want to go back to the way I used to feel."
"You are a powerful woman of God, Cassandra Thomas."
"And so are you, Margie. You just have to remember, that where you are weak, God is strong enough to get you through whatever it is you’re going through."
“Thanks Cassandra, I’ll keep that in mind.” They hung up and Margie got back to work.
But her conversation with Cassandra kept repeating over and over in her head as she worked her way through her assignment. Bitterness was not something that she wanted in her life. As she worked on the Sunday bulletin which held information about the weekly programs at the church and the names of the sick and shut-in, Margie noticed that the sick and shut-in list was getting longer. She kept praying for the people on the list, but lately Margie was wondering if her prayers were even reaching heaven, because the saints just didn’t seem to be getting any better.
So, when JT walked into the church and went directly to Lamont’s office, being careful to avoid her desk all together, as he had since the day Margie chewed him out, Margie decided that this was going to be the last day that JT would feel as if he had to sneak into his friend’s church. She continued to work, and waited until Lamont and JT walked out of Lamont’s office.
Lamont stopped by her desk and said, “I’m heading over to the park to view the site for this weekend’s revival, but if you need to reach me, I’ll have my cell phone with me.”
“Okay,” she said and then turned to JT and asked, “Do you think I could speak with you for a moment before you and Pastor Lamont leave?”
JT looked back at Lamont and with a worried look on his face, said, “Yeah, sure, what can I help you with?”
Lamont turned to walk away.
But Margie stopped him. “You don’t have to leave, Pastor Lamont, this won’t take but a minute.”
Lamont pivoted on his heels, but didn’t move from his spot by the door.
Taking a deep breath, Margie held JT’s stare and began, “I just wanted to tell you that I believe that you are a changed man. And I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you when I first started working here.”
The shock on JT’s face would have been comical if Margie wasn’t so serious. Recovering, he nodded. “I appreciate you saying that, Margie. And I want to let you know that I am truly sorry for what I did to you. It wasn’t right and I will have to answer to God for that.”
Nodding, Margie said, “And He is the only one you have to answer to. I forgive you.” Margie stuck her hand out and JT shook it. She then sat back down behind her desk and got back to work as if forgiving people who brought hurt and pain into her life was something she did every day.
***
Tony parked his car in the circle lot adjacent to Upper Edgewater Park because this spot provided the best view of downtown Cleveland. When he was a teenager, he used to drive up there and look down at the city with dream filled eyes. At that time Tony was the star quarterback for his high school football team. He had big dreams of going to the NFL, making a name for himself and then coming back home, buying up some of that downtown real estate and being set for life. But then an injury during his freshmen year of college se
nt him back home to the hood.
Tony hadn’t picked his current line of work. It had picked him. After coming home with no money in his pocket and no food in the cabinets at his mom’s home, he had to find a way to support himself and his mother. Now that he was eighteen, she no longer received any type of assistance from the government. Her minimum wage job didn’t do much past paying the rent and electric bill. Since he had been a football player, he’d always had some bulk on him, so he applied for security and body guard jobs.
The only person willing to give him a chance had been Daryl Junior, an old school gangster who had polluted the hood with heroine and crack for twenty years. Tony became his body guard and served him faithfully, taking care of problems as they came up. Through the three years of employment with Daryl, Tony had been ordered to kill eleven hustlers who’d gotten too big to remain in the same city with Daryl and his ego. When the Feds finally took Daryl down, Tony went freelance.
He got out of his car, took a small shovel out of his trunk and slow walked to the restrooms over by the pavilion area. He kept the shovel against his arm as if it were an extension of himself... nothing to see here, just strolling through the park.
When he reached the men's restroom, he quickly dug a small hole and shoved the dirt to the side. Once that was complete, he took the small shovel and placed it in the women's restroom. His client had requested that he take the preacher out during the revival, so Tony was making preparations.
After disposing of the shovel, he slow walked, while he whistled, down to the lower level of Edgewater Park, headed for the picnic shelter. On his way to the shelter, Tony watched as three of Cleveland’s finest preachers came toward him. One of them was a dead man walking, but just didn’t know it.
As he came upon them, Tony nodded. Walt Jenson was on his cell phone, so he paid him no mind, Lamont Stevens nodded back, but JT Thomas stopped and shook his hand.
“Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere?” JT asked
With a plastered smile on his face, Tony said, “I’ve brought my mother to your church a few times. She really enjoys it.”
Forgotten (Book 3--Forsaken Series) Page 10
