The Bishop's Daughter

by Tiffany L. Warren

  “You don’t have to worry about me, Mother.”

  “I know, Emoni. I never have.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Darrin

  Bishop stands before the Bible study class in his first appearance after Black Sunday. Everyone has questions, but the ones with answers aren’t saying anything. I’m guessing he’s about to give some explanation for his absence, because the entire church seems to be present. They had to move Bible study from the classroom to the main sanctuary.

  He starts, “Praise the Lord, everybody. It is a blessing to be in the house of the Lord one more time. Before we start, I want to squash the rumor mill. No, I didn’t have a heart attack; nor did I get into a car accident on the way home from Savannah. I did have a family emergency that needed my immediate attention. I apologize for any confusion that was encountered on Sunday morning. Now, I’m sure I can count on a few of you to get the word out to the congregation. You know who you are. I’m not going to call you gossips—I’m going to say the town criers.” The congregation laughs.

  Everyone looks relieved from what I can see, all except Sister Ophelia. She looks right angry, like she’s ready to lead a blue-haired revolution. She’s got her grandson, Kevin, stationed at her side, although he looks like he’d rather be anywhere but church.

  Bishop continues to smile and scan the room. His eyes rest on me and Emoni. She’s not sitting right next to me; she’s left a seat between us. But it’s a clear signal to everyone that we’re “together.” I’m okay with her sending out the signal, but I’m not sure I like Bishop glaring at me.

  Bishop continues lightheartedly, “I’m not talking about you unless it’s you.”

  Bishop goes on to give his study lesson on the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It’s a good lesson; Bishop hasn’t missed a beat, even with the turmoil going on in his household. I’m listening closely to the lesson when Emoni pokes me in the arm. When she has my attention, she passes me a note that says, “Look at Oscar.”

  My eyes go over in Oscar’s direction, and to my chagrin, the brotha is staring me down. Hard. Like he wants to come lay me out with a two-piece.

  Hope he’s not feeling froggy tonight.

  After Bible study is over, I walk up to greet Bishop. “That was a good lesson, Bishop. You bring out things from the Scriptures that I never would’ve gotten had I read them on my own.”

  Bishop pulls me to the side and asks bluntly, “Son, what are your intentions toward my daughter?”

  I was not expecting this—at all. “Bishop?”

  “She’s never had a boyfriend before, and I’m worried that you might just be too experienced for her.”

  “Bishop, I have nothing but honorable intentions toward your daughter. I am very fond of her, and I think she feels the same way about me.”

  Bishop nods. “Are you still seeing Sister Dorcas?”

  “Wow! Is nothing a secret around here?”

  Bishop answers, “I’m just doing my job.”

  I choose my words very carefully. “I don’t believe that Dorcas is the one God wants me to be with.”

  Bishop pulls me in real close and whispers in my ear, “Boy, ain’t nobody stupid around here. I ain’t been saved my whole life. If you even think of hurting my daughter, you gone regret ever setting foot in this church.” Bishop releases the death grip he has on my arm. For the benefit of any onlookers, he says, “So you say you want to join the men’s ministry?”

  “Uh, yes, sir,” I reply, feeling completely owned. It’s almost like Big Mathis is here.

  “That’s a good choice, son. You can’t go wrong with Jesus.”

  Bishop walks away, leaving me feeling like some kind of womanizer. I say a brief good night to Emoni and head out to my truck with my mind reeling. All of a sudden Bishop doesn’t trust me? I know Oscar has something to do with that. I’m so engrossed in my thoughts that I walk right past Dorcas, who is standing in my path.

  “Are we not speaking?” she asks.

  Her voice startles me. “Oh. Hi, Dorcas. I wasn’t sure you’d want to deal with someone on assignment from the devil.”

  “I’m sorry about that, Darrin. It was just a really intense situation. I didn’t mean what I said.”

  “I think you did mean what you said, and honestly, it kind of hurt.”

  “Is that why you were sitting with Emoni tonight? Were you trying to hurt me back?”

  “Emoni and I are dating now, Dorcas.” Might as well put it out there with everybody.

  “Wow. That was quick. Well, I just wanted to apologize again, Darrin.”

  “Mission accomplished.”

  She rushes away from me—a little embarrassed, I guess. Part of me wants to go after her and smooth things over. If I were in a better mood, I probably would. But seeing as my pastor thinks I’m a gigolo, and his right-hand man wants to thrash me, I’m going to let her go.

  I’m about to pull off when I see Emoni running up to my truck. I roll down the window. “What are you doing out here? Oscar is going to have a nervous breakdown looking for you.”

  Emoni giggles. “I wanted to talk to you after Bible study, but you left so quickly.”

  “Yeah, your father was interrogating me, so I decided to make myself scarce.”

  “Interrogating you? About what?”

  I decide to keep the content of the conversation to myself. “Never mind that. Get in the car. We’ll go for a spin around the block.”

  Emoni jumps in on the passenger side of my truck. “Did you see Sister Ophelia?” she asks.

  “Yes, and she was looking right salty. What is she so mad about?”

  “She’s mad because Mother won’t announce Kevin and Sascha’s engagement. Daddy doesn’t think it’s proper, since they’ve been blatantly sinning and all. But Sister Ophelia went off screaming and yelling obscenities at Daddy, and he made her resign from her post as head nurse.”

  “Are you serious? I bet she was furious about that.”

  Emoni laughs. “Yes, she was.”

  “Look at us gossiping like two biddies.”

  “I know! Daddy was talking about you tonight. You are the town crier!”

  “I am not! I only know about five people’s names in the whole church! You are the town crier.”

  Emoni laughs. “You’re right. But it just felt good to share something about her when she’s out here running Sascha’s name into the ground.”

  I pull into a Krispy Kreme drive-through. “Do you want a doughnut?”

  “No, thanks.”

  I order my doughnut and then ask, “Is that what you ran out to my car to talk about?”

  Emoni shakes her head. “No. I just wanted to be near you.”

  See, I can’t take it when she says things like that. “Wow.”

  “What does that mean?”

  I park the truck in an available spot. “It means that I have absolutely no response to that. You have rendered me speechless.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  “That is indeed a good thing.”

  Emoni smiles. “I can’t wait until Friday.”

  “Yeah, about that. Are your parents cool with me taking you to Savannah?”

  Emoni crosses her arms defiantly. “I am a grown woman.”

  “All right, then. I’m not going to argue that point.”

  “Good.”

  Emoni is grinning at me with that mischievous look, raising the temperature in the vehicle about ten degrees. I crack the window so I can breathe.

  “You warm?” she asks.

  “Um … yeah.”

  “Me, too.”

  I take a deep breath and blurt out, “Emoni, will you be my lady?”

  Emoni bursts into spontaneous laughter. “Yes, of course. I thought I already was.”

  “Just making it official. What in the world is so funny?”

  Still laughing, Emoni explains. “Your lady? Who are you, Gerald Levert or somebody?”

  “So, will you be my lady or not?”


  Emoni holds her stomach like she’s about to laugh herself to pieces. “Stop! Let me enjoy this moment.”

  “You are so silly!”

  Emoni reaches over to hug me, and it feels so good. She says, “I don’t know how all this relationship stuff works. You’re going to have to help me.”

  “Not a problem.” For the first time in my adult life, the R-word doesn’t make me flinch.

  I drive back to the church parking lot to drop Emoni off at her car. Oscar is standing next to the automobile, looking perturbed.

  “See? I told you he would be looking for you,” I say.

  “Whatever,” replies Emoni with a toss of her head.

  “You’re saying that now …”

  “He’s not my father.”

  I raise both hands in defeat. “Okay. You’re the boss.”

  “I’ll call you.”

  “All right.”

  Emoni gets out of my truck, comes to the window, and brushes a kiss across my lips. I smile and wave at Oscar. I’m not at all surprised that he doesn’t wave back.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Emoni

  Darrin—excuse me, my man—just pulled off and left me standing in the church parking lot, face-to-face with my “protector.” Maybe if I ignore him and get in my car, he won’t say anything to wreck my wonderful mood.

  “What were you doing with him?”

  Oh, well. So much for my mood. “Why wouldn’t I be in my boyfriend’s truck?”

  “I thought you were just friends,” says Oscar. The tremble in his voice tells me that he’s affected by my news.

  “We were, but now we’re more than friends.”

  Oscar sneers. “Did you make it official?”

  “If you’re asking whether we had sex, it’s none of your business one way or the other. Don’t insult me like that again, or you’ll be looking for some other pastor to smother.”

  I slam my car door and start the engine. Oscar knocks on my window. The only reason I open it is because the fool has tears in his eyes. “What, Oscar?”

  “Emoni … I—I love you. Darrin doesn’t even know you.”

  He’s affected me, though I thought he never could. “Oscar, you don’t love me.”

  “I do, Emoni. And it’s not going to stop just because Darrin is on the scene.”

  “See you later, Oscar.”

  I roll up the window and speed off. I wanted to be mean and nasty to him, but it’s hard to do that after someone professes his undying love. I check the rearview, and he’s still standing there in the same spot, looking lost.

  Am I on a roll or what? Darrin asks me to be his lady, and Oscar tells me he loves me? Wow.

  I don’t even know if all this attention is a good thing. I might start getting a big head and thinking I’m fly or something.

  I must be smelling myself when I walk through Mother’s parlor, because I don’t bother to greet her Women’s Leadership Council guests. They call themselves a council, but what they are really is a clique of the best-dressed biggest-diamond-wearing luxury-car-driving women at Freedom of Life.

  Mother clears her throat as I float on by them. “Emoni, we have guests.”

  “Hey, sisters. How y’all doing this evening?”

  I watch Mother’s face redden. She hates when I talk like common country folk. Especially since she’s gone out of her way to make sure her children have no trace of a Georgia accent.

  Sister Maggie responds, “Well, we are doing just fine, but obviously not as fine as you.”

  “That’s right,” says Oleta. “I hear Oscar has finally decided to make an honest woman out of you.”

  “Why, that is simply not the case, ladies. As a matter of fact, when it comes to the subject of Oscar, I’d much rather remain dishonest.”

  Everyone’s mouth, including Mother’s, falls right open.

  “Bye, y’all.”

  It takes all of the strength I can muster to stifle my giggles. When I get to the top of the stairs, I stop, grab the wall, and let my laughter come in quiet ripples. Sascha is coming out of the bathroom, wiping her mouth. She rolls her eyes when she sees me laughing. “What is your problem?”

  “Good evening to you, too, Evilene.”

  “You smell like doughnuts. Do you have any more?”

  I shake my head. “No, Darrin got some Krispy Kremes earlier, but I didn’t. And you’re too early in your pregnancy to be having food cravings.”

  “Shhhh! Mother’s friends don’t know.”

  “Oh, yes, I forgot. Sorry.”

  Sascha narrows her eyes in scrutiny. “What’s up with you and Darrin? I saw y’all hugged up at Bible study.”

  “We were not hugged up.”

  “Might as well have been, the way Bishop was looking at y’all. Oscar, too.”

  “Ain’t nobody worried about Oscar, and Daddy is going to have to get used to us.”

  “Us?”

  “Yes. Darrin just got finished asking me to be his girlfriend.”

  Sascha gives me a high five. “All right, girl! I’m proud of you. He’s fine.”

  “And rich.”

  “Even better,” squeals Sascha.

  An unexpected frown crosses my face. “So what’s wrong with him, Sascha? Why does he want me?”

  “You’re not serious with that question, are you?”

  “Yes, I am. He’s pretty near perfect so far. There’s got to be something wrong with him.”

  “If you say so.” Sascha heads back to her room, then turns for the bathroom again, grabbing her stomach.

  Morning sickness is for the birds. I am not having kids.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Darrin

  I’m swimming laps, trying to clear my head. Everything’s been kind of foggy since I officially asked Emoni to be my girlfriend, because I think we’re doomed.

  We’re doomed because she’s destined to find out the real reason I’m in Atlanta and we’ll be through after that. No doubt she’ll go running off to her prince in polyester armor—Oscar the horrible.

  After my tenth full lap, I need a breather, so I pull myself out of the pool. While I’m huffing and puffing, Dorcas walks in, and she’s on a mission. Did I say that us living in the same building was a good thing? I recant that statement.

  “Hi, Darrin,” says Dorcas in a tone that I can’t decipher, but it sounds like a cross between saltiness and hateration.

  “Hey, Dorcas. What’s up?”

  “So when did you and Emoni get to be an item?”

  “That’s what I like about you, Dorcas. You cut right to the chase.”

  “I can’t believe I was so wrong about you,” responds Dorcas.

  I feel myself getting slightly offended. “What were you wrong about?”

  “I thought that we had a connection. Maybe a chance to build a relationship. But after one small disagreement, you’re off to the next woman.”

  I can’t believe my ears. “A small disagreement? You told me that I was on assignment from the devil.”

  “I spoke hastily.”

  “Maybe, but what does the Bible say in Matthew Twelve?” I counter. “‘For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.’”

  Hey, I shocked myself with that Scripture. Bible study is working out for me.

  “So in less than a week, you’re romancing someone else? I’ll repeat: I was wrong about you.”

  I throw my arms up and concede the conversation to Dorcas. “I’ve been digging Emoni for over a week, and if you weren’t so busy blocking, we would’ve hooked up sooner.”

  “Blocking? Who was rubbing whose feet?”

  “You told me from the jump that she was dating Oscar, and you knew it wasn’t true.”

  Dorcas is silenced. She wasn’t expecting that, but it’s true. Emoni had me from the first day I stepped into Freedom of Life. She’s the one who caught my attention first. Well, her booty caught my attention, but that wasn’t the only reason. She has intrigued and challenged me from our first con
versation.

  I continue, “But fine. If you want to say you were wrong about me, I can say I was just as wrong about you. We were both wrong.”

  Dorcas looks me up and down angrily. “What were you wrong about?”

  There is so much I can say, but I’m going to hold my tongue. I want to tell her that she can go on somewhere with her deepology—saying I was on assignment was unacceptable.

  Instead of saying that, I reply, “Dorcas, I don’t want to argue with you. Things didn’t work out with us. I hope that one day we can see past this and become friends.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. Have a nice life,” responds Dorcas as she turns and walks away.

  I watch helplessly as another woman walks away from me and out of my life. Dorcas was wife material, too. I wonder if I made the right decision in choosing Emoni over Dorcas. Maybe neither woman is right for me—maybe God wants me to be celibate in repayment for all of the stray booty I’ve gotten over the years.

  I say another prayer of repentance before I dive back into the pool. I let the cool chlorinated water soothe my doubts away as I daydream about Emoni’s stolen kiss.

  Chapter Thirty

  Emoni

  Darrin is here, picking me up to go to Savannah, and Daddy is not happy. He’s got Darrin hemmed up in the corner, interrogating him yet again. Funny, I’ve never seen him up in Kevin’s face like that.

  “So what do you have planned for my daughter?” Bishop asks.

  “Just doing her a favor, sir.”

  “Daddy, will you please stop harassing my boyfriend?”

  Bishop frowns. “I have every right to. You are my daughter.”

  “I am your adult daughter, and you need to respect my privacy.”

  Darrin says, “Emoni, I don’t mind answering your father’s questions. I’m sure that one day I’ll be as protective over my own daughters.”

  We go outside to Darrin’s truck with Daddy following closely behind. Darrin opens the car door for me while watching Bishop out of the corner of his eye.

  Daddy clears his throat and says, “Let me pray for traveling mercies for the two of you.” Darrin takes one of Daddy’s hands, and I reach for the other one. Bishop prays, “Lord protect these two, your son and daughter, as they travel on the highways and byways. Allow Emoni to find all of the answers that she seeks in meeting with this man. Lord make Darrin and Emoni to reverence you by remaining chaste and holy before you. In Jesus’ name.”