by Dynah Zale
Tressie slid into the pew behind her friends. After taking off her coat and hat, she quietly acknowledged everyone before reaching out for Bryce to sit with her.
Olivia did a double take when she glanced back at Tressie. “You colored your hair?”
The entire pew turned around to get a good look at Tressie’s honey blonde hair.
“Do you like it?” Her medium-length hair was full of bouncy, vibrant spiral curls.
“I love it,” Val responded. She ran her fingers through her shoulder-length hair. “Maybe I should get something done to my hair.”
“No.” Julian loved everything about Val. Her smooth ebony skin, thick shoulder-length hair and wide hips were what he dreamed about every night.
Bryce flashed the picture he drew in Sunday School class in Tressie’s face.
“This is beautiful,” Tressie complimented him.
“It’s for you.” His cheeks turned beet red when Tressie expressed her gratitude by kissing him on the cheek.
Olivia was mindful of the fact that her son was a flirt. That was why she prayed daily that he wouldn’t grow up to be like his father.
Olivia beckoned Tressie closer with her index finger. “It’s nice of you to join us this morning.”
“You know I was out of town on business. My plane arrived late, but I came straight here from the airport,” Tressie replied.
“Every week she has a different excuse.” Val eyed Tressie suspiciously. “Are you sure you’re not meeting a man?”
Tressie gave her a ridiculous look. “It’s not my fault my job requires extensive traveling.”
“Aunt Tressie.” Bryce tapped her shoulder. “Did you bring me anything?”
“I sure did.”
“Whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t make any noise.”
Last Christmas Olivia had made all the girls promise to not buy Bryce any more toys that made any sound.
“I brought you back a drum set.”
The entire pew turned around to see if she was telling the truth. Tressie excitedly nodded her head.
“She’s not bringing those drums to my house,” Olivia whispered to Dean before turning around. Then she summoned Tressie to her. “Tressie, will you go with me to the singles retreat? I don’t want to go by myself.”
“Julian must have told you that Val couldn’t go, because that’s the only reason you would invite me,” Tressie sarcastically replied.
When Julian snickered, Tressie knew she was right.
Olivia pleaded her case. “That’s not true. I always ask you to go.”
“Only after you ask Val.” Tressie shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, because I’m not going. I don’t like those singles retreats. The only thing there is saved men.” Tressie held up her hand to stop Olivia before she said something smart. “I already know that we’re supposed to associate with saved men, but you know what kind of man I’m looking for. I want a—”
“A thug that knows Jesus,” Val, Julian and Olivia said in unison. The kind of man Tressie desired had been branded in their minds through the years, and everyone knew she would settle for nothing less.
Her infatuation with roughnecks who usually led a life of crime that eventually landed them behind bars was a mystery. Payce, Tressie’s last boyfriend, cheated on her, conceived two children and jeopardized her freedom, but that wasn’t a deterrent for her. Instead, she remained persistent, faithful and prayerful that God would send her the type of man she longed for.
Reverend Simms rambled on for another five minutes before praying over his congregation and bringing services to an end.
As Dean and Olivia gathered their things, Dean’s grandpa approached them. “Don’t you two forget, I’m expecting the both of you over for dinner tonight.”
Judge Ernie West, the only white member of First Nazareth’s congregation and Dean’s paternal grandfather, was a faithful member who demonstrated his love for Christ by helping his community. He took advantage of his power and position to put a stop to the injustices targeted toward minorities. Plus, he promoted programs that encouraged self-empowerment for the youth.
“Not to worry. We’ll be there.” Olivia reached out to give him a hug and quick peck on the cheek. “Bryce is looking forward to spending time with you.”
“Bryce reminds me of Dean when he was his age. I enjoy the time we spend together, but if you two will excuse me, I see Reverend Simms calling me over.” He quickly wobbled away on his cane.
“All right, Grandpa, we’ll see you later.” Dean turned toward Olivia. “What would you like to do before dinner?”
“I thought maybe we could surprise your grandpa and cook dinner for him this time. He always cooks us a delicious supper. I need to stop by the market and pick up a few things before we head to his house. By the time he gets home we’ll have everything waiting for him.”
Dean loved Olivia’s thoughtfulness. “That sounds wonderful.” He lifted her lips to meet his.
An hour later Judge West, followed by Reverend Montgomery, Reverend Baxter and his entire family entered his home, greeted by the tantalizing aroma of sweet cornbread.
“Thanks for inviting us over, Judge West,” Colin said. “I was going to take Reverend Baxter and his family over to Mrs. Tootsies for some soul food.”
“Boy, don’t you know I can cook soul food? Just because I wasn’t born with soul don’t mean I can’t get down in the kitchen.”
“Judge West, don’t look now, but I think somebody is already cooking in your kitchen,” Colin kidded his elder.
“It smells as good as my cooking.” He sniffed the air.
Dean came out of the den and met them in the dining room.
“Boy, what are you doing here? I thought you and Olivia were coming over later.”
“She wanted to surprise you by having dinner ready for you by the time you came home from church.”
“She is so sweet.” He pushed by Dean. “Let me go give my future granddaughter-in-law a hug for always thinking of others.”
Colin took off his suit jacket and draped it across the dining room chair.
“What are you doing here?” Dean held up his hands in a boxer stance and playfully swung a punch at Colin.
“Your grandpa invited me not only for dinner, but to also continue our discussion on the deteriorating school systems in the neighborhood.” He pointed toward Reverend Baxter. “Reverend Baxter thought he might be able to assist us in some way, so were all here to put our heads together.”
“Good. The more the merrier.” Dean invited the adults to sit while Bryce and Reverend Baxter’s children took off toward another part of the house to watch television. “Olivia made plenty of dinner for everybody.”
Twenty minutes later the men talked amongst themselves and Mrs. Baxter helped Olivia in the kitchen.
“Fellas, I don’t have to tell you the number of school officials who have been indicted on charges of embezzlement,” Judge West said.
“It makes me sick to think how these men are stealing from the poorest schools in the city. Their gain is these children’s loss.” Colin popped a peppermint in his mouth from the candy dish that sat on the end table.
“I went to visit one of the elementary schools so I could see for myself the damage lack of funding has done in the schools. It was horrible. I’ve never seen such conditions in a school. The first grade classes have huge rocks placed along the walls to block the rat holes. There are approximately thirty-seven to forty-seven students per class. I spoke to one of the teachers, and she complained that because there weren’t enough desks or books to go around she moved all the desks out of the classroom and everyone sits on the floor.”
“This is so unfair. They don’t have these kinds of problems in the suburbs.” Reverend Baxter shook his head in disgust.
“That’s why I want the church to build its own school for the community,” Judge West said.
“That’s a great idea, Grandpa, but that is going to cost a lot of money,” Dean said.
“Boy, I’ve already done my research. I do have a law degree,” he reminded his grandson. “We can start off by getting grants from the government, and the rest of the money we need will have to be provided by the Lord. This school will have a huge impact on the community. I’ve already outlined a curriculum, and since I have two professors in the room I was hoping one of you could review the initial business plan I put together.” Judge West pulled the papers out and handed them to Reverend Baxter.
“This sounds like you put a lot of thought into this.” Reverend Baxter studied the plans a moment. “You want to extend the school day and place students in an environment that speaks primarily in a foreign language. Plus, it looks like you have an intense math and science program here.”
“Yes, we are one of the richest countries in the world with the poorest educational systems.”
“What about this negative two hundred and nineteen thousand in the budget section?” Reverend Baxter pointed out.
“That’s the part I was talking about when I said we will need to rely on the Good Lord’s help.”
The men all laughed together.
“With God, anything’s possible.”
“Why don’t we hold a fundraiser?” Dean suggested.
“I don’t think a fundraiser will solve this problem.” In Judge West’s mind, he knew he had to think bigger than a fundraiser.
Olivia stuck her head into the den. “Dinner’s ready,” she hollered.
“Great! I’m hungry.” Dean was the first one to run to his place at the dining room table. The other men rose from their seats and followed.
“Judge West”—Reverend Baxter patted the old man on his back—“I don’t know why, but since the first time I met you at church last weekend I can’t get rid of this feeling that I’ve met you somewhere before.”
“It’s possible we could have been on a committee at one point together. Your face isn’t familiar to me, but I’m getting old. I can’t remember every face I met. I hope you don’t remember me from being in my courtroom.”
“No. I know for sure I’ve never been in any trouble with the law,” Reverend Baxter replied.
On their way to the dining room, the judge was stopped by a knock at the door. He told his guests to go ahead and he would join them once he answered the front door. It would only take him a moment, and then they could bless the food.
When the judge swung open his front door, uneasiness filled his soul. Standing before him was a deliveryman holding a huge dark-brown box in his arms.
“I have a package for Judge Ernie West.”
Hesitant to answer, the judge gave the young delivery guy the once-over look. “It’s Sunday. I thought you guys didn’t make deliveries on Sundays.”
“No, that’s not true. We deliver packages seven days a week. Anything to satisfy the customer.”
West doubted the man’s story. He was ready to shut the door closed in his face when he pushed the clipboard out toward him.
“I need you to sign here.” The deliveryman pointed to the dotted line.
Judge West could usually discern if strangers he met were friend or foe. For some reason, he felt this man was foe. Before taking the clipboard, he noticed the man’s nicely manicured hands. He didn’t look like a blue-collar worker. In fact, he looked like someone who rarely got his hands dirty.
The judge didn’t want to cause a ruckus, with his family in the next room, so he decided to take the package and immediately discard it outside his home. He signed the form and took ownership of the box. “Have a blessed day, young man.”
The judge’s well-wishes were insincere. “I wonder what this is,” he mumbled to himself. He turned around to walk back inside. As he attempted to close the door, it was suddenly thrust open and Ernie was forced against the wall.
“FBI,” an agent screamed in his face and flashed a badge. The agent pulled out his handcuffs and slapped them around the judge’s wrists. “You are under arrest for murder.”
The commotion made everyone in the house run to the door.
“What’s going on?” Reverend Baxter stepped toward them.
Another agent stepped in front of him and held out his arm. “I’m sorry, sir. Don’t come any farther, or I’ll be forced to arrest you.”
The entire house watched as the police treated Judge West like a criminal. The last thing the judge remembered seeing before they hauled him away was the sad look in Bryce’s eyes.
Chapter 2
“I don’t understand.” Olivia slammed a folded wedding program down on the table so hard, it disturbed her two sleeping shih tzus. “I’m sorry,” she spoke to her puppies. “Mommy didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You act like you actually gave birth to those two mutts,” Val said.
Olivia lightly punched her in the arm. “Don’t call my babies mutts. They’re sensitive. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Dean has been down to the justice building three times. Everyone he speaks to acts clueless. He can’t get any information on his grandpa. The only thing we know for sure is that his grandpa is in their custody for the murder of a little black boy.”
“That’s hard to believe.” Val listened closely to Olivia’s every word.
“I said the same thing. Dean thinks he’s being set up because Judge West is such a huge advocate for equality for minorities, but we can’t say for sure because he hasn’t talked to his grandpa.”
Val threw her a look of shock.
“Every time he requests a visit they tell him that Judge West refuses to see him. Dean is so upset, he doesn’t know what to do.”
“Reverend Simms was furious when he got the call on Sunday. Julian and I were in his office for our very last counseling session when he politely kicked us out. I had never heard him in such an uproar.”
Olivia took a deep breath to calm her nerves. When she looked across the table, Val’s three-carat canary yellow diamond caught her eye. The brilliance of the diamonds dazzled under the light. “I remember the day Julian proposed and placed that on your finger.” She pointed to the ring. “Time sure does fly.” Olivia folded another wedding program in half before handing it to Val to place in the huge stack of programs already assembled. “I can’t believe you’re getting married in only a few more days.”
Val’s face glowed from happiness. Thoughts of her big day made her cheeks rosy and her heart skip a beat. She couldn’t believe the day she had dreamt about her entire life was finally here. “I can’t wait to walk down that aisle.” She paused a moment to try and picture what the church was going to look like. “Livie,” Val addressed Olivia by her childhood nickname, “did I tell you I ordered twelve thousand dollars worth of calla lilies for the church?”
Olivia sighed, smiled and nodded her head yes. Val had repeated every detail of the wedding to her several times already. There wasn’t anything she didn’t know.
“Last night my wedding planner told me that the church had approved the candles I wanted set throughout the church.” She tapped Olivia’s shoulder to make sure she was listening. “Picture this, the entire sanctuary lit with long white candles, the intoxicating fragrance from the flowers surrounding our friends and family. Then, at the stroke of midnight on the New Year, Julian and I will be joined together as husband and wife.” A serene look spread over her face.
“You don’t appear to be nervous at all,” Olivia said.
“I’ve been ready to become Mrs. Julian Pennington.” Val grabbed a handful of grapes from the bowl of fruit set in front of her. “The part I’m nervous about is the wedding night.”
Bryce ran over to Val full speed and crashed into her lap. “Aunt Val, can I spend the night with you and Uncle Julian tonight?” he begged.
“Baby, I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying the night here with you and your mother. Besides, don’t you want to wake up here? Tomorrow is Christmas.” She kissed him on the cheek.
“I forgot tomorrow is Christmas,” he replied. “Is Uncle Julian staying the night here, too
?”
“Your uncle is out of town. He has a game tonight. So we’re going to watch him on television later tonight.”
Bryce cheered before running back toward his bedroom.
“I don’t know how he forgot tomorrow is Christmas. He asks me every morning how many days until Santa comes back to our house. Now, back to you. You never let on that you were scared to share your bed with Julian.” Olivia felt insulted that Val hadn’t voiced her concerns sooner.
Val carelessly shrugged her shoulders. “It’s funny, because I have every detail of my wedding planned out. In my mind I can picture how the church will look, the smell of the flowers and the taste of each entrée served at the reception, but I have no expectations for my honeymoon. Do you think that’s weird?”
“I think you need to stop worrying and allow your love for Julian to lead you through the night.”
Val got up from her chair and grabbed a shopping bag. “Let me show you what I bought.” She pulled out a black-and-red teddy and dangled it in front of her bosom.
“Is your chest going to fit in those cups?”
Val’s full-size breasts developed at the age of ten, and the rest of her body was still trying to catch up.
She playfully punched Olivia in the arm. “Yes, it’s going to fit. I tried it on and I must say that it looks good on me.”
“I’ll take your word on that.”
A hard and rapid knock at the front door interrupted their conversation.
“I bet that’s Danyelle and Tressie.”
When Olivia opened the door Danyelle rushed past her and down the hall to the bathroom. When the dogs saw her running they jumped up and started chasing her, biting at her pants legs.
“Clinton! Kennedy! Get off!” Danyelle yelled. “Livie, call your imitation guard dogs off me.”
Olivia whistled and the dogs came running to her side.
Tressie knelt down and played with them a moment before giving Olivia a quick hug. “I didn’t think we were going to make it here in time. Danyelle has been drinking herbal tea all day, trying to clean out her system for this drug test she has to take tomorrow.”
