Crowning Glory

by Pat Simmons

  “That’s right, Mother,” Deacon Deacon yelled over his shoulder from the driver’s seat. Closing her eyes, Karyn couldn’t wait to hear God’s message.

  After two more stops, the van pulled into the church’s circular drive. Buttercup was standing out in the cold, wrapped in a poncho with her arms folded. She wore another faux fur headband. Halo was at her side. Since Buttercup no longer rode the bus, he didn’t either. Halo had purchased an old clunker.

  They became officially engaged after the controlling authority—aka parole board—approved of their union. Although their debts had been paid, society could rest at night because big brother would always be watching them, and privately-run prisons were betting they would return as confined guests to their facilities.

  When Deacon Deacon opened the door, Buttercup and Halo were ready to storm the van. “Hold on, you two. Saints will disembark my cruise liner in an orderly fashion.”

  Consenting, Halo tugged Buttercup back, greeting riders as they got out. As Deacon Deacon assisted Mother Caldwell down, Halo reached for Karyn’s arm.

  Buttercup blocked her entrance. “Okay, what happened?” Wearing a game face, Buttercup’s makeup was all one shade. Karyn didn’t know if that was a good thing.

  “I’m mad at you,” Karyn said as she tried to walk past her.

  “Me?” Buttercup asked incredulously.

  “Yeah.” Karyn pointed. “First, you were right, which makes me mad. Second, you deserted me, and I have a ghetto roommate who is a career lock picker, and this makeup is not hiding this bruise well enough.”

  “What bruise?” Halo spoke for the first time. His hands balled into fists. “I just need a name and a description.” He separated his legs in a military stance.

  Buttercup smacked Halo in the chest with the back of her hand. “Your thug days are behind you. I’ve got this.” She pointed to herself then turned to Karyn. “Who?”

  Karyn didn’t doubt her friends meant business, but some things weren’t worth going back to prison.

  Once in the sanctuary, Pastor Scaife preached from Romans 8. It was a familiar passage, but the only phrase that kept ringing in her ear was verse 35: Who shall ever separate us from Christ's love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?

  CHAPTER 44

  It was Jet’s scheduled weekend with Dori, so Levi was dropping his daughter off at her house. They hadn’t spoken since Karyn’s revelation, which was fine with him. He left the task up to Rossi to make sure Jet was okay. It was bad enough he couldn’t stop thinking about Karyn, but after today, it would be the last time he would talk about her.

  “Levi, I—” Jet opened her door before he could leave a fingerprint on her doorbell.

  He held up his hand. Levi didn’t want to hear “I told you so,” or “I’m sorry I acted a fool.” Neither mattered. He knelt and hugged Dori. “Have fun with Auntie.”

  “Okay, Daddy.” She grinned, slipping off the backpack stuffed with her clothes.

  Tightening his coat collar, he began to walk away.

  “Levi,” Jet yelled from the doorway.

  Out of courtesy and respect, he spun around. Huffing, he waited.

  “I’m sorry.”

  For what? Slapping Karyn? Trying to warn me or for my hurting? Nodding, he struggled to accept her apology only because it was the Christian thing to do. Then Levi continued to his car, got in and drove away. Destination: his parents’ house for a family meeting he had requested.

  The unusual heavy traffic into St. Louis made Levi impatient. He wanted to get this ordeal over with. When Levi finally ambled through their front door, he was the last to arrive. Tia, his twin brothers, and his parents were lounging around the living room. A laugh escaped from someone. He hated to be the party pooper as the bearer of bad news.

  His father and Seth were debating stats for the upcoming Super Bowl. Solomon sat among them, seeming uninterested, but his expression betrayed him. Levi knew Solomon caught every word. The oldest twin liked to keep people guessing what he was thinking. It worked to his advantage because usually their assumptions were off.

  Seth looked up. “Oh, you’re here. Take off your jacket, man and get comfortable.”

  Levi frowned. Wasn’t he the one who called the meeting? Actually, this would be Karyn’s wake before he buried her name forever. He didn’t remove his jacket as he collapsed on the couch. Levi willed for this moment to be quick and painless. “I’m going to cut to the chase. Karyn and I are no longer seeing each other.”

  “We figured as much,” Seth said nonchalantly as he crossed his ankle on his knee. “Tia and I agreed it’s probably your fault.”

  Surprise jerked Levi forward. “My fault?” Fury built inside the pit of his stomach. His nostrils flared. He was ready to back up his bark with a bite. “Do you have any idea what she did?”

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s always the man’s fault. Tia reminds me of that all the time.” Seth winked at his fiancée and she reciprocated with a lifted brow and a smirk.

  “I’m sure you’ll side with me on this one.”

  Tia waved her hand in the air. “Please. I’ve already talked to Karyn.”

  “Really?” Levi’s interest was piqued, and he didn’t mind the distraction. “What did she say?”

  “Your name didn’t come up.” Tia shrugged.

  Levi eyed Tia. “Really?” What was the topic of discussion? Did Karyn tell Tia the gory details and why she did what she did? His questions were endless.

  “What is it, son?” his mother asked, breaking into his reverie.

  “Levi,” Vincent said. His father wasn’t a patient man.

  Three, two, one—go. “Karyn served time in prison for killing her baby.” Levi exhaled and braced for impact.

  Gasps were synchronized as mouths dropped open and eyes bucked. The chaotic onslaught of questions began. Suddenly, they quieted as if a vacuum had sucked the life out of the room. Their expressions were frozen as they stared at Levi as if there were a punch line to follow. Even the sunshine beaming through the sheer curtains paused.

  “What?” Seth jerked his head and frowned. “Come again?”

  “When was this?” His father’s question hinted that he didn’t believe a word of it.

  Levi punched the couch. “I don’t have all the answers. Does it matter?”

  “It might.” Solomon spoke for the first time.

  His mother’s brows knitted in concern. “Are you sure? That’s just not possible,” Sharon’s voice faded. “Is this hearsay, or do you have evidence of this rumor?

  “Come on, Mom. It’s not like I do background checks on my dates.”

  “Maybe you should. Women are the fastest growing prison population.” Solomon rolled out the stats from the Rolodex in his head. As a detective, his brain was priceless. He was an all-facts man; very little emotion. “That’s too bad because her sister seemed…Interesting,” Solomon added to everyone’s dismay. His compliments were few.

  Levi huffed. The timing was all wrong for Solomon to be infatuated.

  “Karyn?” Sharon stated in disbelief as she stared passed Levi. “She did what?”

  Tia shuddered as her eyes glazed over. “Why?” Seth automatically snaked his arms around her shoulder. Tia composed herself and whipped out her cell phone.

  “Who are you calling, babe?” Seth asked.

  “Karyn,” she answered annoyed.

  Levi held his breath, hoping Karyn would answer. Whether she did or not, Levi only heard Tia say before disconnecting, “Let’s do lunch.”

  His father stood to his intimidating height. After a few paces, he walked out the room. Levi would pay money to eavesdrop on his thoughts.

  “She doesn’t look like a criminal,” his mother rambled as if she was trying to convince herself.

  When his father returned, they waited for his reaction. His grimaces revealed he was still digesting the story, then he shook his head.
“As Christians, we’re commanded to show compassion, beyond that, I don’t know what to say. Where is my nephew when I need him?”

  Tia cleared her throat. “This is not making any sense. Evidently, Karyn needs a friend. I don’t know what she’s been through, but I feel in my heart that I’m no better than her when Christ judges us.”

  “Come on, Tia. Being noble is one thing, but murder? How can you ignore that? All I know is I’m keeping my daughter as far away from Karyn Wallace as possible,” Levi stated, gritting his teeth. “Maybe she’s a pedophile and set her sights on Dori.” The last statement sounded crazier than the first, but he couldn’t rule out any scenarios.

  “Levi.” Tia stood at the same time his father walked out the room again. “You’re talking about Karyn like she’s demon possessed.”

  “Stay out of it, babe,” Seth warned, failing to pull her back down.

  Tia defied her fiancé. “Levi, don’t you love her? Is it superficial or rooted? Don’t make a judgment call yet. Your brother better not desert me over any of my past transgressions…”

  “How did I get in this?” Seth balked with confusion.

  Levi groaned. This was getting out of control.

  Before Tia could continue the inquest, Seth stood and dragged her away to the kitchen, which left his mother in the room. Levi took a deep breath and sat beside her. “Mom, what are you thinking?”

  She reached over and rubbed his jaw. Tears were in her eyes. “I can’t think. What are you expecting me to say?”

  “I don’t know. I expected you to be outraged and screaming and calling her a child killer…”

  “Somehow, I think you’ve already done that, but those things are playing in my mind like a marquee.” Sharon paused, and stared at some leftover Christmas decorations on a nearby table, then faced him. “If she were on drugs, I would be alarmed, but…maybe she suffered from some chemical imbalance like postpartum depression or something. I really don’t know.”

  “That’s what I was thinking, Mrs. Tolliver,” Tia said, rejoining the debate after breaking free of Seth’s entanglement.

  “Call it what you want, but no normal mother would ever harm her child. She’ll get no sympathy from me. I can’t overlook that,” Levi told them as his brother reluctantly returned to the living room. “Seth, what do you have to say about it?”

  “Absolutely nothing.” Seth eyed Tia.

  Levi needed one person on his side to say he had done the right thing. The loss of Karyn was different from Diane. Where Diane’s absence had left one gigantic hole in his life, Karyn’s exit was a pint-size hole that made it impossible to plug the leak. They hadn’t talked, and it wasn’t because he disconnected her phone service—but he’d thought about it. Neither had he taken Dori back to the bookstore. He diverted her attention to anything, even a camping trip in their basement, but every now and then she wished Miss Karyn was with them.

  “You need answers. You want me to talk to her?” Solomon offered.

  “No!” Everyone said in unison. Solomon’s talk meant fierce, unmerciful interrogation.

  ***

  On Monday, Levi entered his office dressed like a man in charge of his world from his starched oxford shirt to his polished leather shoes. What people couldn’t see was the void, the loss of companionship, the lack of contentment in knowing Karyn was a phone call away when he couldn’t see her. He had to play the part and convince people—mainly his cousin—that he was all right. He sped past Rossi’s open door as if he were on a mission to take care of some important business. He had almost made it.

  “Hey, got a minute?” Rossi called out to him.

  Grunting, Levi backtracked to the doorway. “Nope, I’m really busy.”

  “Great. Have a seat.” Rossi pointed to a chair in his office. “Crews have broken ground, and they expect the renovation on the old Majestic Hotel will be done in four phases. We’re getting calls now about leasing space.”

  Levi nodded. Good, business as usual.

  “We’re booking up fast. It seems a lot of people want to see the area regain its luster. A bakery wants in, a women’s dress shop, a bookstore…speaking of bookstore…ah, are we still holding a space for Karyn? ”

  “No.” Levi didn’t have to think about it. “It’s supposed to be Tolliver Town, not Criminal Corner.”

  “That was nasty and uncalled for.” Rossi shook his head. “And we’re cousins. Anyway, I’ve done a little research. Did you know that criminals —as you call ex-offenders—were responsible for archiving the Freedman Bank records in Utah? Giving a lot of us folks—African-Americans—a way to trace our family roots. Plus, there is a business near downtown St. Louis that hires former inmates to give them a second chance at starting over. The customers love what the owner is doing and support the shop faithfully,” Rossi said too smugly for Levi.

  “Listen, man, nobody is going to want to be a tenant next door to ex-felons, felons, or whatever they call people with a criminal record. No one is going to feel safe shopping with them around. We’re here to make money, not run a rehab neighborhood.”

  Rossi aimed his pen at Levi and fired. He missed. “I’m getting really tired of this dark cloud you’re carrying with you. What do you want from Karyn?”

  “An apology?” Levi didn’t know.

  “Now you listen. Since Adam and Eve, no one on this earth was perfect until Christ died for our sins. It’s His blood that makes us perfect.” Rossi leaned back in his leather executive chair and toyed with his mustache. “I haven’t been where you are sitting. I haven’t found love, lost love, and found it again, but I happen to be a one-of-a-kind man who believes in fairy tales. I would let her know I love her in spite of and I can’t live without her because of, propose, and marry before my lust takes over.”

  Levi wasn’t amused. “If I can move on after Diane, as hard as that was, I can move on after Karyn.” Did he sound convincing? Because he didn’t believe a word of it.

  “I love you, cousin, but you better drop the attitude. Put yourself in Karyn’s shoes,” Rossi tried to counsel him.

  “Ah, wrong size. I would never harm anybody, especially my child.”

  “Be careful, Levi. You’re boasting. Without the Lord, we don’t know what we would do. It’s the grace of God that we are what we are today. Don’t ever forget that.”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I find it hard to believe a woman would do that.”

  “Do you need our pastor to counsel you? You’re not listening to me.”

  Levi snarled. “Why should I make an appointment for counseling when you give it to me without me asking for it?”

  CHAPTER 45

  A few hours later, Rossi closed his office door and made the call. “We’ve got to do something,” he said as soon as Nalani answered.

  “We?” she snapped.

  Rossi held in a chuckle. “That’s right, your sister and my cousin. Let’s meet when you’re back in town. You wouldn’t dare talk bad to a minister face to face, would you?”

  “Umm-hmm.” She chuckled. “Actually, I’m in Fairview Heights now. I have a few hours before Karyn gets off work.”

  “Oh, can we meet for lunch at the Mississippi Grill in East St. Louis? It’s near their construction site.” She agreed.

  Arriving first, Rossi secured a table. When Nalani sashayed through the door, there was no mistaking that she and Karyn were sisters, but Nalani had a sweet sassiness that was appealing. She admitted she didn’t have Christ in her life, but she wasn’t opposed to it either.

  “At the moment, Karyn’s my priority,” she had informed him more than once when he tried to witness to her.

  That had given Rossi two missions: work with her about Karyn and Levi’s situation and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to her without a pulpit—show her the benefits of salvation. Standing, he placed a kiss on Nalani’s cheek, then waited for her to be seated.

  “You look pretty,” he complimented her choice of purple as he took his seat again.


  With that same Karyn-smile, Nalani winked. “You don’t look bad yourself. A suit and tie becomes you.”

  A waitress came to their table, rattled off the late lunch specials and gave them a few minutes to think about it. They ignored the menus.

  “How’s Karyn?” Rossi asked.

  “How do you think she is? She’s devastated. I’m not a praying woman, but I haven’t stopped praying for my sister. Men!”

  Rossi leaned closer. “She should have told him.”

  She lifted an arched brow. Her lips tightened as if she were puckering for a kiss. Her expression was a reminder that a kiss wasn’t coming. “The only confession my sister needed to make was to the Man upstairs. That was her past. That’s not who she is today.”

  Being combative wouldn’t solve anything. “Does she love him?”

  “Humph. I hope not for much longer, because it’s killing her.”

  “Well, imagine how betrayed my cousin must’ve felt. He loses his first love to a murderer, and then he chooses his second love who is…”

  Nalani’s chest heaved. Rossi could tell she was ready to attack. Lord, help me to choose my words carefully.

  “His second love is what, Minister Tolliver?” Inching up from the table, she leaned in to him, inches from his face. A challenge blazed from her eyes and Nalani clenched her teeth. Her paws—manicured nails—were in position to attack.

  He might be a minister, but he was still a man, and a woman bold enough to invade a man’s personal space was asking for some attention. Oddly, he wanted to spar with her, but this wasn’t their battle. “I like your sister. Maybe if she could call and explain to—”

  “Forget it. Excuse my English, but she ain’t going to do it. If she tries, I’ll hurt her. She deserves better. Any man who loves his woman is on her side whatever the situation.”

  Rossi raised his finger. “A good woman who says she loves her man will confide in him and trust him with her heart.”

  Nalani leaned back and folded her arms. “I heard somewhere that if a person takes one step, God will take two. In this case, Levi better make some big leaps, because my sister has less than three months on parole, and then we’re out of here.” She flicked her thumb as if she was hitchhiking. “Chicago is out, but there’s always Miami, L.A., Phoenix, even Oregon.”