The Preacher's Choice

by Vanessa Miller

  “That’s fine.”

  “Well, until tonight.” He walked out of her office wondering if he was being a fool to waste time on a courtship or whether he should just go ahead and buy the ring and ask this woman to marry him already. He’d spent less time getting to know Tanya than he had Ramona. He and Tanya had dated less than a month when she had convinced him to marry her. He should have known something was up; nobody falls in love that quick.

  Thinking about Ramona again, Isaiah almost retracted his thought on how quickly a person could fall in love. Because the more time he spent with her, the more he felt that she was the woman for him. He wondered if he could call what he was feeling love.

  ***

  “Mallory, you’ll never believe what just happened?”

  “Pastor Isaiah finally asked you on a real date?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Girl, all I can say is it’s about time. I don’t know how you let that man beat around the bush for this long. My God, the man may be rich, but he’s not the only man in the universe.”

  “His money has nothing to do with it. I like Isaiah for the man that he is, plain and simple.”

  “I’m just glad that the man he is, finally caught a clue. Good lord.”

  “Leave him alone, Mallory. Isaiah has been through a lot these past few years.”

  “Okay, okay, if you like him, then I love him. My mouth is closed from here on out.”

  “Thanks girl. Will you be coming straight home from work?”

  “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “I need you to help me pick out the right outfit for tonight.”

  Since Erin would be with them for part of the evening, Ramona didn’t want to wear anything dressy. They were, after all, going to dinner with an eight year old. Mallory had a white dress that she’d purchased from Macy’s that Ramona had been coveting every since she brought it home. The dress stopped at the knee and was layered in ruffles. It had a slimming effect that every woman loved and the color looked really nice with her caramel complexion.

  Mallory walked out of her closet holding the very item Ramona had wanted so desperately to wear. She grabbed the dress and the matching white shoes out of Mallory’s hand and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks cuz, you’re one in a million.”

  “Don’t even sweat it. The dress will probably look better on you anyway.”

  “We both know that’s not true, but I love you for trusting me with it. I promise not to spill anything on it.”

  Mallory sat down on the edge of her bed. “Don’t worry all night about spilling something on yourself. What you need to concentrate on is bagging this rich guy. I can’t believe this is happening to someone in my family. We normally get the duds of the bunch.”

  Ramona stood at her cousin’s bedroom door, anxious to go to her room and get dressed, but she couldn’t just let Mallory think of Isaiah as just some rich guy she was trying to bag. Leaning against the door post, she said, “Actually, Mallory, Isaiah’s father is rich. Isaiah has a considerable foundation that he is responsible for, but all of that money will be given away. I’m not sure how much money Isaiah has.”

  “Trust me, he’s got enough. Did you pay attention to those dresses he sent you? Girl, they weren’t cheap.”

  “What I’m trying to say is it’s not the money that attracts me. It’s the man. Isaiah is kind, warm and giving. And I’m just glad that he desires to spend his time with me.”

  Rolling her eyes heavenward, Mallory said, “Girl, I don’t know what side of the family you were born on.”

  “That’s just it. I may have been born to a family, who’d rather see the money before the man, but I’ve also been born again… and God has helped me to see the man and let the rest fall where it will.”

  “Mmph,” Mallory said with a smirk on her face.

  “What?”

  “Nothing, girl. I mean – I’m just saying… you talk a good game. But you still haven’t told Pastor Isaiah about Dwayne.”

  Talk about hitting a person right between the eyes. Since the night Isaiah had informed her that she’d never been married so she didn’t know anything about forgiveness, she’d searched for a way to tell him the truth. She hadn’t actually lied directly to his face, because she’d never actually said that she hadn’t been married. He’d just assumed that from what she’d wrote on her application.

  After a guilty pause, she admitted, “I’ve been trying to find a way to tell him the truth. But if we are getting ready to begin a relationship then I have no other choice but to tell him tonight.”

  Chapter Nine

  Erin wanted Mexican so they went to a family owned restaurant not far from Isaiah’s house. The three of them had placed their orders of chicken burritos with rice and beans. A bowl of salsa and chips had been placed on the table. Ramona wanted some of those chips, but couldn’t take the chance of wasting the salsa on her cousin’s white dress. Being an observant man, Isaiah noticed that Ramona’s eyes kept darting toward the chips.

  “You know you want some, why don’t you just grab a chip and be done with it?”

  “Do you know how many calories are in one of those chips?” Ramona responded, trying to make light of the situation without admitting that she didn’t want to spill anything.

  “I knew that was the problem.” Isaiah picked up a chip, scooped a mound of salsa on it and fed her as he said, “You’re too skinny to be worried about a few chips and salsa. And I may need to fatten you up a bit anyway.”

  Laughing as she bit into the chip, Ramona said, “Okay, okay, I’ll eat.”

  “That’s more like it.” Isaiah scooped another chip in the salsa and tried to feed it to her, but his arm slipped and the salsa spilled onto one of the ruffles of her layered dress.

  Ramona’s eyes widened as she glanced down at the destruction before her. “Oh no,” she whimpered.

  “I’m so sorry, Ramona,” Isaiah said as he grabbed some napkins and attempted to wipe the salsa off her dress. However, all he did was leave a dull red smudge. “I’ll fix it, just give me a minute.” He left their table and ran to the counter to get help as if their table had just been set on fire.

  Ramona dipped her napkin in her glass of water and dabbed at the spot.

  “My dad really likes you,” Erin said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

  Ramona’s hand stopped in mid dab. She put her napkin on the table as she turned to Erin. “Are you okay with that?”

  Erin shrugged her shoulder. “He seems happy now and not sad like he used to be,” she said and then dug into the chips and salsa, seeming to forget about the matter.

  Isaiah brought a waitress back with him who swished some kind of solution on a wet rag and then attacked the spot on Ramona’s dress. By the time the woman was finished, Ramona couldn’t see anything resembling the spot that had been on the dress.

  “Whew.” Isaiah wiped his forehead as he sat back down. “I really need to pay attention… I have a habit of spilling stuff on you.”

  Ramona put her hand on his shoulder and said, “It’s okay baby-” Ramona stopped mid sentence as she realized that she’d just called her pastor and boss ‘baby’. She removed her hand from his shoulder and began tapping it on the table. Thankfully, the waitress picked that moment to bring their dinner.

  Before Ramona could grab her fork and pretend the episode had never occurred, Isaiah put his hand over hers and waited until she turned to face him. When they were looking in each others eyes, he said, “I like how that sounds coming from you.”

  ***

  Isaiah couldn’t drop Erin off with the babysitter fast enough. He rushed Erin home and put her in the hands of Mrs. Powers who just happened to be his housekeeper. Isaiah thoroughly trusted Mrs. Powers, so he felt comfortable pushing Erin inside the house and then turning around and running back to his car. He opened the driver’s door and jumped in the car.

  “What’s the rush? The coffee shop is open until el-”

  She didn’t get to fi
nish her statement. Isaiah leaned over and captured her words with a hungry-can’t-get-enough kiss that stunned both of them. When their lips parted, Isaiah told her, “I’ve been wanting to do that since the day we met.”

  Regaining her voice, Ramona tried to make light of the moment. “You could have fooled me. I thought you were thinking I was the worst hiring decision you’d ever made and were trying to find away to fire me.”

  “I don’t know how much experience you have in dealing with men, but my actions toward you in the beginning were due to the strong pull I felt between the two of us. I’m sorry if I caused you to doubt your job performance.”

  Tell him. She felt a strong pull, but at the moment it wasn’t coming from Isaiah. Ramona felt as if the Lord was tugging on her heart string, telling her it was time to reveal the truth. She put her hand on Isaiah’s shoulder and said, “I need to talk to you about something.”

  Isaiah turned the car on and started driving down the street. “Hold that would you? Let’s go sit down at this coffee shop and talk until our hearts are content.”

  They took their coffee and crumb cake to a little table in the corner. With couples on either side of them, this was as private as this establishment got. Mostly filled with professional types, with no time for interaction with anything other than their laptop or Ipad. However, Isaiah could care less if everyone in the coffee shop were seated at his table, he was still going to pour out his heart to Ramona… it was time.

  “Even after everything Tanya did to me, I wasn’t the one to file for divorce. I wanted my marriage to work and was willing to give it another try.”

  Most people would think him a fool for such a statement. But Ramona recognized the strength of this man. Leaving would have been the easy way out, which is what she had chosen. But he had wanted to stick to his vows and love in spite of. Not a lot of people could do something so selfless.

  “You’re looking at me like I’m some sort of hero.” Isaiah shook his head. “That’s not it at all. When Tanya asked me for the divorce, I had just signed on as pastor of my church and to tell you the truth, part of the reason I wanted to stay in my marriage was so I wouldn’t have to explain a divorce to my congregation.”

  Ramona thought about staying in her marriage for fear of what the people in her church would think also. She wanted to tell him that so bad, but she couldn’t… not until she revealed her truths to him.

  “Your silence is scaring me,” Isaiah said.

  “To tell you the truth, Isaiah, I still don’t know where I stand with you. So, I just want to hear what you have to say for now.”

  “I told you over a month ago that I want you in my life,” Isaiah began again. “I just needed to get my head on straight. There was so much deception going on in my marriage that it really shook me up. I had a lot of hard feelings for Tanya.”

  “Do you still love her?”

  Isaiah grinned. “Oh, so now you’ve got some questions?”

  “You could say that the answer to that question is kind of important to me.”

  Putting his hand over Ramona’s he said, “No, I’m not in love with Tanya anymore. I knew it for sure that day she brought Erin to my office. She asked if we could get back together and I told her that ship had sailed.”

  Ramona knew that evil woman had been trying to make a move on Isaiah… that’s probably why she took an instant dislike to her… that, and the extortion.

  “I knew then that I was free from her, and that God had released me to love again.”

  Did he say love?

  He moved his chair a little closer to her and took her hand again. Gazing into her eyes he said, “I am ready to love again. I think God placed you in my life. But before we go any further, I have to make sure that you understand what’s going on with my family situation.

  “By that I mean, I have hired an attorney and I am fighting for full custody of my daughter. So, how do you feel about being with a man with a ready made family?”

  Ramona opened her mouth to tell Isaiah that she would be honored to not only be a part of his life but Erin’s as well. But then she heard a voice that caused the hairs on her back to stand up.

  “Well, well, well… Ramona Verse, what are you doing here?”

  Like a disgruntled postal worker, Ramona knew these next few minutes in her life would not be good. She pulled her hand from Isaiah’s grasp and looked up to see Dwayne standing in front of them. “How are you doing?” she said trying to sound calm, hoping that he would just keep it moving to Siberia or maybe Libya.

  “I’m doing good. Obviously not as good as you, since I don’t seem to have a girlfriend right now,” he said while pointedly glancing at Isaiah.

  “But you do have a bunch of money that doesn’t belong to you.”

  “What’s mine is yours, what’s yours is mine sweetheart.”

  Isaiah looked from the man standing in front of his table to Ramona and then back again. “Am I missing something?” he asked.

  Sending a warning glance in Dwayne’s direction, Ramona said, “You’re not missing anything, he was just leaving… isn’t that right?”

  “I’ll leave after you introduce me to your date?” He said ‘date’ as if the word had rabies.

  Not waiting for Ramona, Isaiah stuck his hand out and said, “I’m Isaiah Morrison and you are?”

  Shaking Isaiah’s hand, he said, “I’m nobody important, just Dwayne Verse… Ramona’s husband.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Ramona’s what?”

  “Her husband.”

  “My ex-husband,” Ramona corrected.

  Isaiah stood up. “What’s going on here?”

  “Ah, my feelings are hurt. You didn’t tell your boyfriend about me?” Dwayne said, mocking Ramona.

  Ignoring Dwayne, Ramona turned to Isaiah and grabbed his hand. “This is what I wanted to talk to you about tonight. You got the wrong impression about my singleness. You thought that I hadn’t been married before.”

  Isaiah let go of her hand. “And you sure didn’t bother to clear that misunderstanding up, did you?” He looked at her as if she’d just broken his favorite toy. He pulled his car keys out of his pocket. “I need to pick up Erin. I can take you home. That is, unless your husband wants to take you.”

  “Ex-husband,” Ramona said again as she stood up and walked out behind Isaiah.

  “Oh, so you’re just going to leave me hanging?” Dwayne hollered.

  Isaiah was practically sprinting to the car. Ramona had to grab his arm to halt his steps. When he turned to face her, she said, “Please don’t leave me; I need to say something to Dwayne.”

  She turned and stalked back toward the man who had taken so much from her… and still it hadn’t been enough. Now he had come after the one good thing Ramona had in her life and she wasn’t about to let him get away with it without telling him just what a parasite he was. Pointing an angry finger at him, she said, “I just want you to know that you haven’t beaten me and you won’t make me hate you.”

  “I don’t hate you either. Matter-of-fact, I think I still love you… if you can believe that.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I believe. But what you need to understand is that there is no more,” she pointed from him to her, “you and me. I want nothing else to do with you. But I do pray for you. I pray that God will help you come to terms with who you really are, so that one day, you’ll be able to crush the monster that is inside of you.”

  When he’d walked up on Ramona and Isaiah, he’d been full of arrogance. But the arrogance was slipping as he was faced with a woman who had bothered to pray for him even after all that he’d done to her. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me.” She turned and walked away from him. But then she turned back and said, “Oh, and I want my money back.”

  She got in the car with Isaiah. “Thanks for waiting on me.”

  Isaiah didn’t respond. He backed the car out of his parking space and sped down the street.

  “Slow d
own, Isaiah. You don’t want to get a speeding ticket just because you’re mad at me.”

  “I just don’t understand how you could have lied to me about something as important as this.”

  “I didn’t lie to you Isaiah. I just didn’t correct your assumption.”

  Instead of dropping his speed, it increased as he said, “Really, is that why you checked the ‘single’ box on your application, when there was a ‘divorced’ box that you could have checked?”

  They came up to a red light and Ramona thanked God that Isaiah had to slow down. “I was angry about all the stuff Dwayne had done to me the day I filled out that application. He’d cheated on me several times and then stole all of my money when I asked for a divorce.”

  “So, he’s the reason you live with your cousin.”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought you were a breath of fresh air; a woman who didn’t lie and scheme to get what she wanted. I fell for you because of how honest and non-beguiling you seemed. But you are just as deceitful as my ex-wife. I don’t know where my head has been lately, but I’m sure figuring some things out now.”

  It hurt her to listen while Isaiah accused her of falsehoods. She hadn’t meant to mislead him, and would give anything if she could go back to the first day she recognized his misunderstanding concerning her marital status. She would have told him right then and there about her miserable marriage and the divorce that followed.

  “What gets me,” he continued, “is that I’ve talked to you about my ex-wife and my divorce and all the while you knew that I had no clue that you had been married… but you never said a word.”

  She turned and looked out the window. What could she say? He was right. She knew that she should have told him the truth, but she just hadn’t been able to pull the words out of her mouth. Tears rolled down her face as she accepted the fact that she had lost Isaiah before she’d ever really had him.