Drama in the Church Saga

by Dynah Zale

  “I thought you said you didn’t want anything too big,” Olivia said.

  “I don’t, but this ring is beautiful. This is the one I want!”

  The sales lady beamed. Val could see her brain calculate how much her commission would be on such an expensive purchase.

  “Thank you.” Val handed the ring back to the saleswoman, and the pleasant expression on her face turned sour.

  “She thought she was getting that sale,” Olivia whispered.

  “She should have known better than that. What woman purchases her own engagement ring, except for Britney Spears?”

  Olivia chuckled at the thought. They strolled through the mall and window-shopped.

  “So, you and Julian are really going to get married?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes. We’ve been talking about it more and more now that the draft is here. I think he’s going to propose any day now. He doesn’t want to get married his first year in the league because he wants to concentrate on the team and the role he’s going to play with that team. He’s really worried about his performance and how well he’ll compete against different players. Playing in the NBA is so different from playing at the collegiate level. He wants to be able to go in and defend Kobe Bryant or block Kevin Garnett’s shots. I keep telling him not to worry so much about proving himself to the other players. If he concentrates on his game, the respect he wants will follow.”

  Olivia pretended she was interested in what Val was saying, but she couldn’t help thinking about Bryant and the baby.

  “Do you want to eat here?” Val asked. They stopped in front of a small lunch café called Kaffe Crossing.

  “Sure. I am hungry.”

  They entered the café and squeezed through the crowd of patrons to grab an empty table in the corner. Val and Olivia were regulars there. They loved the quiet, serene atmosphere that was provided by the dim lights and burning incense, in addition to the great food.

  “What would you ladies like?”

  Val heard a male voice behind her that was laced with the softness that accompanied a woman’s voice. She turned and looked into the eyes of man built like a sculpture. He wore a black tee shirt that outlined his well-defined pecs and revealed the bulging muscles in his arms.

  “I’ll have a glass of lemonade and a chicken Caesar salad,” Val told the waiter. “What about you, Livie?”

  “I’m starving. Can I get the Angus cheeseburger with cheese fries, and a pickle? I’ll also have a lemonade.”

  “Darn Livie, you really are pregnant. I’ve never seen you eat so much food.”

  The waiter scribbled their orders down on his pad and switched away.

  “Do you believe that?” Olivia pointed to the waiter. “He is fine. He should be a model.”

  “A lot of male models are gay. They just don’t advertise it. He apparently does,” Val responded.

  “Whoever his man is, he’s lucky.” Olivia stared in his direction.

  “Livie, you could try to change him.” Val laughed. “Seduce him back over to the loving arms of a woman.”

  The waiter walked back over to the table and placed their food and drinks in front of them. Before he had a chance to walk away, Val stopped him. “Excuse me.”

  He paused, turned, put his hands on his hips and looked at Val with attitude.

  “Can I have some French salad dressing?” she asked.

  Being overly theatrical, he acted as if Val’s request was a nuisance. He snatched a bottle of salad dressing from the table next to theirs and slammed it down on their table.

  “Is that all?” he asked.

  “No,” she replied. “What’s your name?”

  “Derrick!” he replied.

  “Derrick, I love that name,” Val said. Derrick responded with a blank stare.

  Val continued. “Derrick, when did you start here? I come here often and this is my first time seeing you.”

  His body language expressed how unhappy he was with Val’s question. “Well, Lois Lane, if you must know, I don’t work here. I’m friends with the owner and his waitress called out, so I’m helping him for the day.”

  “Oh, okay. I was just wondering. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  He sucked his teeth and switched away.

  “He acts just like I do when I’m on my period,” Olivia said.

  “Forget him. Back to what I was saying. I’ve been thinking about the wedding. I decided that I want something intimate. No press and no media. Also, I’ve decided not to hold the ceremony at the church.”

  “Well, where else would you get married?” Olivia asked.

  “I have been thinking about getting married atop the Bellevue Tower. Julian and I went to visit their ballroom the other day and the place is exquisite. It would be romantic to get married by candlelight.”

  “That sounds beautiful.”

  “I want a six o’clock wedding.” Val paused. “Livie, will you be my maid of honor?”

  Olivia’s heart was softened by Val’s request. “I would love to be your maid of honor.”

  “Great, so you’re going to help me with everything?”

  “Yes, I’ll help with whatever you need.”

  Olivia was happy about Val’s pending nuptials, but she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Val had a great boyfriend who not only loved her, but showed her how much he loved her. He always bought her little presents or would leave small notes reminding her of how much he loved her. She wished Bryant could be more like Julian.

  Val knew there was something on Olivia’s mind, and she was dying to find out what was bothering her. She hoped that if she kept talking, Olivia would eventually open up.

  “Julian went to training camp with a lot of different teams, but he thinks that the teams most interested in him were the Miami Heat, Seattle Supersonics, and Milwaukee Bucks. I hope he doesn’t get picked by Milwaukee. Girl, I can’t imagine myself living in Wisconsin. There isn’t anything there but cheese. I would go crazy.”

  “Val, you’ll adjust.”

  “What school would I transfer to, the University of Wisconsin? Wouldn’t it be exciting if he went to Miami with the warm sunshine, celebrities, and the parties? I heard that they party in Miami twenty-four hours a day. It would be great, but I’m not going to complain. Wherever my man goes, I will follow.”

  They sat for a brief moment not saying a word before Val finally broke the silence.

  “Livie, what’s up? You’ve been blue all day long. Is everything all right?”

  Olivia flashed Val a phony smile, scared that if she said too much she would burst into tears.

  “Is the baby all right?”

  “The baby is fine.”

  “It’s the church, isn’t it?” Val concluded with a hint of menace in her voice.

  Unable to hold back the tears any longer, the burdens and concerns Olivia had held in for so long poured forth.

  “I knew it was the church,” Val said, her teeth clenched. “I am so mad at what they did to you, Livie. But don’t worry, I will handle everything. I will give them a piece of my mind. They will be sorry they ever messed with you.”

  “No, don’t do that, Val!”

  “Girl, I’m so sick of that church taking advantage of you. I think it’s disgraceful how those members sit in church every Sunday and call themselves children of God when they treat people so badly.”

  Val paused to take a forkful of her salad. “The church is where people go for acceptance and church people are the most judgmental. I attend First Nazareth because Pastor Simms knows his Bible and he preaches the word, but outside of that I can’t support that church.”

  “Don’t condemn the church like that, Val. They’re not bad people.”

  “No, they’re not bad people, but they are not without sin either. So who are they to point out someone else’s faults when they have their own?”

  Olivia thought for a moment. Val did have a point, but she didn’t want to talk about the church. “Val, it’s not the church. It
’s Bryant and the baby.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” Val didn’t know what to say. “What’s wrong with you and Bryant?”

  Val never thought to think that Olivia might be having problems with her boyfriend. Since Olivia barely spoke about him, Val often forgot he even existed.

  Olivia told Val about how Bryant and Danyelle smoked marijuana in the apartment, even after she had asked both of them not to. She was concerned about how the smoke could affect the baby’s health. She also described Bryant’s distant behavior toward the baby.

  “Olivia, you know that you have got to be positive and stress-free,” Val said, stroking her cousin’s arm. “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. You and the baby are going to be perfectly fine. Bryant will come around. Maybe it just hasn’t hit him yet. You really aren’t showing yet, but as you get bigger and he realizes that there is a part of him inside of you, he’ll be just as excited as you are. So just enjoy the time you have now, because once that baby gets here, you’ll have no time for yourself.”

  Olivia smiled a genuine smile for the first time that day. She was glad Val was not only her cousin, but also her best friend.

  “Are you coming to the party tonight?” Val asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve been really tired lately.”

  Julian’s mother was throwing a draft party that night in honor of her son. She had invited all of Julian’s friends and family. Julian opted not to go to New York for the draft ceremonies because he preferred to watch it from home.

  “Please come. It’s going to be such a big night for Julian. And I would like for you to bring Bryant. I really don’t know Bryant that well, but tonight would be the perfect time for me to get to know him better.”

  “All right. We’ll be there.”

  When Olivia and Bryant walked into Julian’s mother’s house, it was crowded with people. Olivia recognized a few of Julian’s family members and a couple of his teammates from Kentucky. She waved hello to Tressie who was standing in the corner talking to a very tall basketball player.

  Julian’s mother walked by carrying a tray of hot wings. Olivia thought Mrs. McCormick looked stunning every time she saw her. She had her hair pulled up into a ponytail and wore a thin layer of golden-brown gloss on her lips. Her low-rise jeans flattered her petite figure. Mrs. McCormick was often mistaken for a college student. Julian’s mother looked much younger than her thirty-seven years. She gave birth to Julian when she was seventeen. Julian never knew his biological father; he was killed in a car accident two days before Julian’s birth.

  “Hello, Mrs. McCormick.”

  “Hello, Olivia.” She reached over and gave Olivia a hug. “Congratulations. I heard about the baby.”

  “Thanks,” Olivia responded, a little embarrassed that Julian’s mother knew about her pregnancy.

  “This must be the baby’s father,” Mrs. McCormick commented while looking in Bryant’s direction.

  “Yes. Mrs. McCormick, this is Bryant.” They exchanged greetings as Bryant reached to shake her hand.

  “Val told me you two were coming tonight. Bryant, why don’t you come with me? I’ll take you in the living room with the rest of the guys. Olivia, you can go see Val. She’s in the kitchen.”

  “Val’s in the kitchen?” Olivia asked, not sure if she heard the woman correctly.

  “Yes, that child is in my kitchen. Please check in on her before she burns something.”

  Olivia walked into the kitchen to find Val walking around with an apron on. “Hey cuz, whatcha doin’?” Olivia asked.

  Val pulled a tray out of the oven and almost dropped a pan of honey-roasted wings on the floor. “Girl, you scared me. If I had dropped these wings Mrs. McCormick would have my head.”

  “I was surprised to hear that you were in the kitchen. Of all the rooms in the house, the kitchen is the last place I would expect to find you.”

  “Yes, I know, but I felt bad. Mrs. McCormick cooked all the food for the party by herself, so I offered to help. I only offered because I thought she was going to turn me down. She hates for me to be in her kitchen.”

  Olivia laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach. It was weird seeing Val wearing an apron. Olivia pulled out a stool to sit on.

  “No girl, don’t sit down. Come into the living room with the rest of us. The guys have turned on the draft and my kitchen duty is over.” Val took off her apron and threw it on the counter.

  “Where’s Bryant?” Val asked, looking around the living room.

  “I’m not sure. He was supposed to be in here with Julian and his friends.”

  Val pushed her way to a seat next to Julian, and Olivia sat in a chair not too far away from her cousin. Olivia wondered where Bryant was. Maybe he went to the bathroom.

  Julian was mesmerized by the pre-draft commentaries being aired by ESPN. A few analysts were sharing their opinions of where various draft hopefuls would wind up by the end of the night. His face was expressionless and his mind was preoccupied with his future.

  “Honey,” she called out to him. His eyes stayed glued to the television.

  “Julian.” She pulled his face toward hers and away from the television. “No matter what happens tonight, everything is going to be all right because we’ll still be together.”

  Julian smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips.

  “That’s why I love you, because you’re always by my side.”

  NBA Commissioner David Stern began the opening ceremony for the NBA Draft by making a short speech about the history of the NBA and the high standards the league holds each one of its players to.

  The room fell silent as the celebrants waited to hear the first name called from Mr. Stern’s mouth.

  “With the first pick for the 2003 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select LeBron James.” Julian’s head dropped. The wait and anticipation were taking a toll on him, Val thought. She massaged the back of his neck to help relieve the pressure. Val watched LeBron hug his mother and walk across the stage to shake the commissioner’s hand. They showed a quick interview with LeBron before they moved on to the next draft pick.

  “With the second pick for the 2003 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons select Darko Milicic.”

  The commissioner repeated his routine until he finally called Julian’s name. All of the guests were gathered in the living room listening to every word the commissioner said, “The Seattle SuperSonics select Julian Pennington.”

  The whole house erupted into a roar. Val jumped up and hugged Julian. His mother pushed through the crowd to congratulate her son. Soon Julian was surrounded by well wishers.

  After the commotion settled down, Julian yelled through the crowd, “Valencia! Where is Valencia?”

  Val emerged from the crowd and stood beside her man.

  “I want to make an announcement while everyone is here,” Julian screamed over the crowd of people.

  “First, I want to thank everyone for coming tonight. I appreciate all the love my family and friends have shown me, not just today, but throughout the years.” He looked toward his mom and stepfather, Jerald. “Thanks for all your love and support, Mom and Dad. Through the years both of you have struggled to provide the best for me, and I appreciate all the things you’ve done for me.” Julian walked over and gave his mom and stepfather a hug. The crowd applauded Julian’s kind words.

  He walked back to Val and grabbed her hand. “Now, I would like to thank my queen.” He looked deep into her eyes. “You have stood by me since the ninth grade. You cheered me on at every high school game. You encouraged me when I lost faith in myself, and I know you will continue to support me in Seattle.” Val blushed. “That’s why I want to ask you . . .” He bent down on one knee. “Will you be my wife?” Julian pulled a small, burgundy velvet box from his pocket. Inside was a three-carat, pear-shaped solitaire diamond engagement ring.

  The surprised expression on Val’s face showed that the proposal was totally unexpected. She hugged him and tried t
o hide her tears from the host of people watching them. Julian pulled her back from out of his arms and looked into her face. “Should I assume that your answer is yes?” he asked her.

  “Yes,” she replied and again the house erupted into a thunderous roar.

  Olivia watched her cousin accept Julian’s marriage proposal. She thought it was so romantic how Julian surprised Val. She knew that Val’s lifelong dream was coming true. Once again she wished Bryant looked at her the same way Julian looked at Val. Olivia looked around the room for Bryant, but did not see him. She walked into the kitchen, but he wasn’t there either. She walked to the back door and found him talking on his cell phone.

  “I’ll guarantee delivery by the end of the year. Trust me, you’ll have your package,” Bryant said into the phone. Bryant had his back toward the door, not realizing that Olivia was standing behind him.

  Olivia never heard him talk like that before. She wondered what he was talking about and whom he was talking to. Was Bryant dealing drugs?

  “Bryant!” Olivia opened the door and walked onto the back patio.

  Bryant turned around. “I’ll have to call you back,” he said into the phone.

  He walked over to her with his arms wide open. “Hey, baby, did I miss anything? Did Julian get picked yet?”

  “Yeah, he was just selected by Seattle.”

  “That’s great. I can’t wait to congratulate him. Come on, let’s go back inside.”

  “Wait a minute. Who were you talking to on the phone?”

  “Oh, that was nobody. It was an old friend from down south. He wanted to know if I could get him a few cases of shrimp. I work with a guy from Baltimore who can get cases of shrimp at a cheap price.”

  Olivia looked at him, unsure if she should believe his story.

  He noticed the worried look on her face. He gave her hug and said, “Don’t worry, it was nothing.”

  Chapter 3

  Elise stumbled into the house with a purse, briefcase, and a Bible all in one hand. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and tried to regain her balance. She laid her Bible down on the small vestibule table and walked across the marble floor that expanded throughout the front foyer. The clickity-clack of her high heel shoes echoed throughout the empty room. She walked into the kitchen, expecting to find her husband slaving over the stove, but to her surprise, he wasn’t there. She walked over and opened the oven door. Inside was a pot roast with potatoes. The aroma drifted past her nose, provoking her stomach to growl. From the den, Elise heard the sound of clacking computer keys. She followed the sound and there was her husband, with his eyes glued to the computer screen.