Sex in the Sanctuary

by Lutishia Lovely

  “‘The Lord will make a way,’ the preacher solemnly replied.

  “It was just a couple days later that old Brother Johnson breathed his last. As per his instructions, the preacher went to the bank, drew out the money, retrieved the suitcase from Mr. Johnson’s home and put the money inside. After the funeral service was over, the small gathering of people drove to the gravesite. The preacher spoke a few more words, and then the graveyard workers began lowering the casket into the ground. As soon as they and the scant crowd had departed, the preacher walked over to the grave. Kneeling down he began to speak.

  “‘I went and got your money just like you asked. And, true to your wishes, here’s one million dollars.’ The preacher then pulled an envelope out of his coat pocket and let it float silently into the open grave. He paused a moment, then continued. ‘You’ve always been a smart man, Brotha Johnson. And since you knew where you’d spend the money, I’m sure you’ll know where to cash this check.’”

  Bishop Anderson let out a loud guffaw after the punch line. The other ministers reacted with equal amounts of laughter and groans. It was apparent that Bishop Anderson, taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes, had enjoyed his own joke the most. King looked at his watch just as Bishop McKinney was warming up for one of his long-winded stories.

  “Well, I got one better than that for you,” he began in his most prolific preacher’s voice.

  King pushed back from the table. “I’m afraid it’s going to have to wait,” he said with a smile. “Duty calls.”

  As the men began moving there was a knock at the door. Tony entered and looked around the table for Cy. “Uh, Mr. Taylor, your guest has arrived.”

  “My guest?”

  “Yes, a Ms. Sims? Millicent Sims?”

  “Oh, right.”

  “Should I bring her back to join the pastor’s wives?”

  “No, just, uh, make sure she gets seated out front, will you?”

  “Sure, sir, I’ll take care of it, Mr. Taylor.”

  The frown on Cy’s face lasted but a moment and then was gone, but not before King noticed it. He waited until the other ministers had filed out before him and then asked Cy, “Everything okay?” He fully expected the typical Christian all’s-right-with-the-world-I’m-fine-just-blessed response and was taken slightly aback when Cy responded, “Not really.”

  “You want to talk about it?” King asked before remembering that at present, he was the last person to give advice on relationships, but also remembering more than one female stalker he’d endured over the years.

  Cy paused. “Naw, brotha, it’s just one of those things.”

  King didn’t press. He was having “one of those things” with a woman himself. Both men were silent as they walked down the hall toward the main sanctuary.

  Tai looked around her as she entered the sanctuary. The place was almost full, even for the afternoon session. Not surprisingly, there were a disproportionate number of females in attendance. Cy Taylor’s pedigree must have preceded him, she thought sarcastically. Yes, she was seeing some members she hadn’t seen in a while.

  She continued down the aisle, smiling at some, waving at others. No matter what was going on with her and King, this was still her church, these were her friends as well as members and she loved them. She spotted Sistah Wanthers and Sistah Stokes sitting on the second pew to her right. She hugged both ladies warmly.

  “Sistah Stokes, you’re looking good. Is that a new suit?”

  Sistah Stokes preened like a peacock in full feather. “This old thing? I’ve had this suit forever, just ain’t worn it much. It’s probably my new scarf that makes the difference.”

  “Well, whatever it is, you look lovely.” Tai moved quickly to Sistah Wanthers, lest she feel she was being left out. “Now, I know I haven’t seen that hat before! Sistah Wanthers, nobody can wear a hat like you.”

  “Ah, go on, Queen Bee,” Sistah Wanthers replied, reaching up and lovingly patting the wide-brimmed hat decorated with leaves and flowers. “My niece got it for me, wasn’t that nice?”

  “It sure was. You ladies are going to make it hard for Minister Taylor to concentrate on his topic.” Tai winked conspiratorially.

  Sistah Wanthers gasped, pinched back a smile and put a hand to her mouth while Sistah Stokes blushed and began to fan herself with a program. “Now, you just go on, Queen Bee. Everybody knows you’re the finest thing in here! And you’re losing weight, aren’t you? You must be, ’cause that suit sure looks good on you. Sure looks good. I think I’m seeing some curves I ain’t seen in a while.” Now it was Sistah Wanthers turn to wink.

  Tai thanked them and moved on, smiling and making small talk with a few more members, inquiring about family and other situations she knew of through counseling sessions and calls to the house. She asked Mother Bailey about the hip that had been bothering her recently, thanked Sistah McCormick for all her hard work on the conference and blew a kiss to Sistah Stronghart. She reached the front row and looked back to see her motherin-law coming down the aisle, dressed to the nines in a navy blue suit with matching hat, purse and shoes. She had just sat down next to Vivian and two rows in front of Millicent, when the side door opened and the ministers entered. No one could have been more surprised than Tai at her reaction to seeing Cy Taylor. The room got quiet and the earth stood still. Tai’s eyes followed him up the steps, across the platform and down into his seat. It wasn’t until Mama Max tapped her that she realized she’d been staring.

  “Now, that’s a sight for sore eyes,” her motherin-law whispered.

  Tai swallowed and nodded, but couldn’t respond. She missed the quick look Mama Max gave her and the slight frown that wrinkled her brow. Tai casually looked around and saw her feelings reflected in the other women’s faces. It was as if the sun and the moon had left their heavenly orbit and come inside the church for a visit. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she saw Sistah Stokes adjust her scarf and Sistah Wanthers rearrange the veil on her hat. Denise Williams, the administrative assistant, was sitting as still as a statue, her eyes drinking in Mr. Taylor as if he were a cool glass of water in the deserts of the Holy Land. Kimberly Stevens, the director of public relations for the church, suddenly had business with Minister Hays and slithered and swayed down the aisle to conduct it as Lisa, King’s personal secretary, gazed at Cy with undisguised lust. Her eyes were shining and bright, her lips were parted slightly and her body was literally raised off the pew to get a better view of the afternoon’s guest speaker as he sat down.

  Tai admonished herself to calm down, even as she admitted it had been forever and a day since her heart had raced like that at the sight of a man. She relished it even as she questioned the fact. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t seen him before; in fact, she’d eaten dinner with him at Vivian’s house during their last visit. Maybe it was the way he wore that suit, like a second skin. And was his hair longer? It looked as though he’d let it grow out some, giving him an untamed, roguish look. Maybe it was the fact that she and King hadn’t made love in months. Whatever it was that was causing these feelings, she was going to rein it in, tie it up and put a lid on it. She was a married, virtuous woman of God, and she would not let her thoughts stray. She looked up and followed, as if mesmerized, Cy’s hand as he slowly rubbed his mustache while listening to something King was saying to him. Satan, get behind me! She would not let her thoughts stray. She would not! But the more she looked, the more her thoughts strayed, as if will had nothing at all to do with it.

  Hope waved in what she hoped was a discreet gesture, trying to get Louis, the head usher’s, attention. She hadn’t expected to see so many cars for the afternoon session and was grateful there’d been a parking space left for her in the reserved section, although she thought that Tony Williams’ attraction for her may have had something to do with that. He was always trying to get his flirt on. Well, no use looking a gift horse in the mouth! She was now glaring at Louis, willing him to look at her. She’d purposely waited until offe
ring so she could walk in unobtrusively. The sanctuary was almost full. Some of the members of her dance troupe saw her and waved. She waved back. One of them rushed over to ask her a question, which she answered before shooing the excited teenager away. She saw another getting ready to approach and held up her hand. If she didn’t stop the madness, the whole squad would be back by the door, vying for attention. She wanted to scream at Louis, who seemed to see nothing past the next row he was directing to stand and walk around the offering table. Finally Hope gave up and squeezed into the line, coming up the right aisle of the church directly into Louis’s path.

  “Hey, Louis, any seats left up here?”

  Louis frowned. For some reason that she could not fathom, Louis disliked her. “I don’t know, Hope, it’s kinda tight already.”

  Hope looked around. It was tight. She glanced over to the other side of the church. There were several places left over there, but Holy Jesus and Heavenly Father, the ushers would probably have a cow if she attempted to sit in the area reserved for pastors’, deacons’ and trustees’ wives. “What about up there, next to Sistah Wanthers?”

  Louis sighed audibly. “Come on.”

  Hope was itching to give an impromptu sermon on the virtue of good manners and brotherly love, but she figured it would be wasted breath. Louis approached the second row and held out his hand stiffly, the motion for her to enter the pew. She ignored the hostile eyes that glanced up at her as she excuse me’d down the row. She almost laughed out loud as she glimpsed the look of disdain on Sistah Wanthers’s face as she sat down beside her. Sistah Stokes looked at Hope from the top of her sleek hairdo to the soles of her pumps. Her eyes followed as Hope sat and widened with such horror you would have thought it was Hope’s vagina and not knees that showed beneath the hem of her skirt. The drama never ended. God had made her like a Coca-Cola bottle, and she wasn’t going to dress as if she were a Cola can. She met Sistah Stokes’s eyes and smiled indulgently.

  “Hello, Sistah Wanthers. That’s a beautiful hat you’re wearing.”

  Mrs. Wanthers attempted to change her smirk into a smile but was only half successful. “Your skirt’s a little short. Do you have something to cover yourself?”

  “No, ma’am, but I think I’ll be fine. I’ll just, uh, lay my Bible on my lap. Cover myself with the Word of God, hallelujah?” Hope barely managed to bite back a chuckle as she acquiesced to the older woman’s displeasure and placed her Bible at a strategic angle on her lap. “Is this better?”

  Sistah Wanthers only grunted before turning to the other side and speaking to Sistah Stokes. Sistah Stokes peeked over, frowned and began fanning furiously with her program while muttering, “Mercy, Lord, mercy!”

  Hope hid her annoyance behind a smile. This respecting your elders bit sometimes was a hard pill to swallow. Her kneecaps were barely showing! She spoke to Sistah Stronghart, who was seated on the other side of her. Sistah Stronghart complimented her on her new outfit. “That’s a gorgeous suit, Hope. You look beautiful,” she whispered sincerely.

  “Thank you,” Hope responded. Beauty was definitely in the eye of the beholder, and what was sinful to one person was sanctified to another. Whatever. Hope opened her program and began reading the afternoon’s topics. She’d been so engrossed in trying to find a seat and then trying to pacify Sistah Wanthers and Sistah Stokes that she wasn’t aware of the pair of golden brown eyes that had watched her ever since she’d entered the sanctuary.

  Two things happened that had never happened before when Cy saw Hope for the first time. One, she literally took his breath away, and two, he got an erection. Immediately. In the house of God, in the pulpit, in broad open daylight no less. My God! Who is this woman? he thought.

  It was as if he felt her before he saw her. That could be the only explanation he could give to why his head had come up just as she stepped through the doors. He’d taken her in all at once. The beautifully sculpted, heart-shaped face, the large, bright eyes and dazzling smile and a body that would stop traffic. He’d devoured her profile as she turned and talked with a kid who ran up to her. Her breasts tugged invitingly at the suit’s enclosure. His hands actually itched, and he swallowed as she turned, revealing a lush, plump booty, only partially concealed by her suit jacket. Cy thought of basketballs and pumpkins and suddenly wished he were a piece of silk so as to have an excuse to wrap himself around that booty and hug it ever so tightly. The picture of a sand-strewn beach wafted up in front of his mind’s eye, of him and an ebony goddess rolling languidly over the sand. That was where he’d seen her before! In his dream. Cy shook his head slightly and lowered his eyes, willing himself to lower his libido as well.

  But he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He watched, fascinated, as she tried to get someone’s attention. Who? Oh, the usher. She looked around, licked her lips and tried again. Cy watched her tongue as it darted in and out of her mouth, and before he could banish the thought, he imagined that tongue darting in and out of his mouth. He squirmed uncomfortably in his chair and once again looked down at his notes. He willed the discipline that helped him excel at just about everything he did to take over, but his body and mind betrayed him. The next time he glanced up, she was walking down the aisle, the suit’s shimmer accenting each captivating step. He prayed to see her smile again and was instantly rewarded as she turned to greet the woman next to her as she sat down. The woman stared down her nose at Hope and spoke to her briefly before whispering to the lady on the other side. Cy smiled. Jealousy will get you nowhere, you old coot. Then he censured himself at the thought. What was he thinking? And why did he feel so protective over a woman he didn’t even know? Cy watched as her hair gently framed her face as she bowed her head and pored over the program. He continued to stare, hoping she’d look up again, so that he could catch her eye. And do what? Wink? Blow her a kiss? Shout out from the pulpit and ask for her phone number? Blatantly inquire if fries went with that shake? Lord, he was acting like a pimply-faced teenager. Shoot, he felt like a pimply-faced teenager, especially as he fought to cool down his body and lose the telltale bulge in the front of his pants. For the love of all things holy, it was actually throbbing! Dang! Would his jacket cover it? “Stop!” he whispered aloud. King looked over questioningly, but Cy refused to meet his gaze. Had he said that loud enough for King to hear? Lord, I’ve got to get a grip. He looked down at his notes again, then closed his eyes and started reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Finally, he and all parts of him began to relax. The afternoon session could now begin.

  The marriage bed is undefiled

  Vivian smiled warmly as she looked at her friend of over twenty years. Tai still looked good, but to Vivian’s observing eye, the strains of an unhappy marriage were beginning to show. There was a tension in Tai’s face that wasn’t there before, crinkles around and slight bags under her eyes that Vivian didn’t remember being there last summer. She reached out her hand and grasped Tai’s arm. “It’s good to be able to hang out with you again,” she said sincerely. “The workouts agree with you, too. You look good, girl.”

  Tai smiled appreciatively at her friend and replied, “Thanks, Viv, it has been good seeing you, too.”

  They were both quiet as Tai maneuvered her Lincoln SUV around the hotel’s driveway and turned onto the boulevard. Vivian glanced at her a time or two and thought she noticed a glistening in Tai’s eyes. Tai still didn’t speak, although Vivian knew there was a lot on her mind. She decided to let her friend take the lead. When Tai was ready to talk, she would.

  Tai leaned over and switched the radio from a gospel station to her favorite oldies channel. She still thought part of her love affair with these classic R&B tunes stemmed from rebellion at her father’s not allowing the music in their home when she was young. The soothing sounds of the Spinners talking about a rubberband man lightened the mood.

  “I haven’t heard that song in years!” Vivian sat back and bobbed her head slightly. “This reminds me of Charlotte when she was in love with Danny ‘Heartthrob’ Jenki
ns.”

  “How is Charlotte?” Tai didn’t know Vivian’s older sister that well, but she’d seemed pleasant and down-to-earth the few times they’d met.

  “Charlotte’s doing well, finally getting over the divorce and moving on with her life.”

  “How long has it been now?”

  “Five years already. Can you believe it? She’s actually seeing someone, a man she met at a job fair two years ago.”

  “How are the kids doing?”

  “They’re adjusting. Brent has had a harder time with it than Darrin. He really acted out when they first separated, skipping classes, fighting in school. But since they’ve started spending the summers with their father, things seem to have calmed down.”

  “And he’s remarried, right?”

  “Yeah.” Vivian couldn’t keep the irritation out of her voice.

  “You still don’t like her, do you?”

  “I guess not, although it’s not really fair. She didn’t have anything to do with Charlotte and Danny’s marriage failing. I guess seeing any woman with him other than my sister gets on my nerves. Let me rephrase that, seeing him gets on my nerves. He caused Charlotte so much pain. I only see them at family reunions. And try to have as little to do with them as possible. I can’t believe Charlotte even invites him, but she insists it’s best for the kids. According to her, he’s still part of the family. And then he insists on bringing her. He’s still a dog.”

  Tai smiled. “You know we have to love one another, sistah.”

  “I know,” Vivian continued, groaning. “But we don’t have to like them, do we?”