Gary looked at her with a real proud look in his eyes. “You learned a lot.”
Shauntae nodded. “I did. Thank you for that.”
“You should thank God.”
Shauntae smiled a sad smile. “I do. Every day.” She tucked the last few things in the suitcase and zipped it closed. Gary lifted it and carried it into the bedroom.
“I’m sure I have a few things scattered around the house. I’ll come back for them tomorrow after I empty these suitcases.”
Gary was standing there staring at her.
“What?”
“Remember the last time we talked and you said, ‘Sorry I couldn’t be the woman you wanted me to be?’ The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. Because you weren’t supposed to be trying to be the woman I wanted you to be. You were supposed to just be you.”
“I know that now. My whole focus was ‘becoming Mrs. Right’ so you would marry me and take care of me and the baby.”
“But listen to everything you said you learned. You started out pretending, but in the process you started finding out who you really are. You started just being you.”
Shauntae scrunched her nose up, thinking about what he was saying. “Yeah. Now, I am being me.”
Gary took one of Shauntae’s hands in his. “And in just being you, you are becoming the woman I want.”
Shauntae frowned. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying we both got into this the wrong way and for all the wrong reasons. But what if God is turning the mess we made into something good? You said that you loved me and I said that I loved you and we’re already married. I’m thinking, shouldn’t we try to make this work?”
Shauntae walked over to the bed and sank down on it. She never imagined that the conversation would end up here. “I don’t know. I . . .”
“You don’t have to decide tonight. In fact, what if we do things right this time? What if we take the time to really talk and really got to know each other and really figure out if the love we were both feeling was real?”
“You mean like date, even though we’re already married?”
Gary chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so. And we can take some relationship classes together at the church. Maybe we’ll even back things up and take the premarital class. And we can do some counseling, too.” Gary sat down on the bed next to her and took both of her hands in his. “I think we should at least try. I don’t want to get a divorce and have to share custody of our child without at least trying to make it work.”
Shauntae sat there thinking for a second. “Okay.” Her hands were soaking up the familiar warmth of his hands. “I still think I should move out. It would be kinda weird living together trying to date and get to know each other. You know?”
Gary nodded. “Okay. I’ll help you move tomorrow. And you can keep the van if you want to. Or not. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Shauntae put a hand on Gary’s cheek. “Thanks, Gary. You’re such a sweet man. Thanks for being so sweet to me all the time.” Shauntae ran her hand across his face. “Thanks for everything you’ve done for me.”
Gary closed his hand over hers. They sat there looking at each other for a second and then he said, “You should get some rest. I’ll be back in the morning.” Gary stood up to leave. “Since there’s not much to move, maybe we can spend the afternoon together? Like our first date or something.”
“I’m spending time with Brianna after I move. We have a special day planned tomorrow.”
“Oh. Okay.” Gary’s face fell.
“How about brunch after church on Sunday?” Shauntae asked.
Gary smiled. “Ray’s on the River?”
Shauntae nodded. “I’ll call you and we’ll meet in the lobby when service is over.”
Gary kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you then.”
Forty-two
Shauntae stared down at her beautiful baby boy’s face. He looked exactly like his father, which didn’t seem fair. Brianna looked exactly like Devon. It was like she couldn’t make a baby that looked like her.
It didn’t matter, though. He was beautiful. And he was hers. She watched his little cheeks sucking on her breast and laughed. “Greedy boy. That’s why you’re getting so fat.” She pinched one of his fat little legs and rubbed his belly. He reached up with his hand that wasn’t clutching her breast and she slipped her finger into it. He closed his fingers around hers and held on tight. The feeling of him holding on to her made Shauntae feel happy inside.
She looked around the room at the pale blue walls in his nursery. The room was filled with everything a mother needed to take care of a newborn baby and was decorated with stuff fit for a prince.
Gary popped his head in the door. “You guys ready? Everybody’s downstairs waiting.”
“You know this little man eats first.” Shauntae kissed Gary Jr.’s finger. “He should be done soon. Wait a minute so you can hold him while I change into something more comfortable.” A few seconds later, the baby closed his eyes and slipped into his little milk coma. He acted like there were drugs in Shauntae’s breast milk. He could barely finish eating and would be knocked out asleep.
Shauntae handed him to Gary. “Don’t forget to burp him.” She threw a cloth diaper over Gary’s shoulder and walked down the hall to the master bedroom. She stepped into her closet and looked around at her clothes.
She had to smile thinking about that day almost five months ago when she sat on the floor of this very closet, packing all her clothes to move out. When she was crying and packing, she never thought she’d be moving back in again.
But she had. She and Gary had “dated” for the last two months of her pregnancy. They had done the premarital class at the church and had done marital counseling with Gary’s men’s pastor, Mark, and his wife. They went on dates several times a week and then, after a while, Shauntae came over to cook for Gary almost every day. Even though she’d had her own place, they spent most of their time together, falling in love—for real this time.
When she went into labor, they were actually out shopping for the baby. They went straight to the hospital and Gary Jr. was born not even two hours later. Gary insisted that she move back home after the baby was born and she’d been there ever since.
Shauntae slipped out of the fancy white dress she had worn to church that morning. Baby Gary had been christened on his three-month birthday. She put on her favorite comfortable but cute black knit dress, which was still a little snug. She wasn’t sure if it was baby weight or weight that she had put on from eating so much of her cooking.
Gary came into the bedroom with the sleeping baby on his shoulder. “Come on, honey. Let’s go down and eat. Everybody’s waiting.”
He followed her down the back stairs to the living room where their whole “family” was waiting for them. They were having a big dinner after the christening.
Candy and their new “Two Sistas in the Kitchen” employee were getting the food ready. Business had been good the last few months. Shauntae had worked right up until the week before she delivered, when Gary had insisted she stop. Candy brought Sylvia on to cover her until she came back to work, but things were going so well that they kept her.
As soon as Gary came downstairs with the baby, Daphne was there to take him and put him in his bassinet. In the last few months, things had gotten better between Shauntae and Daphne, especially after the baby was born. She was a devoted big sister and was a big help to Shauntae when she was there.
Morgan and Brianna were huddled in the corner, giggling and talking. When they found out they were “sisters,” they couldn’t believe it and became even more inseparable. They had sleepovers almost every weekend for the past few months. And when Devon and Cassandra went on their honeymoon a few weeks ago, Morgan and Brianna stayed at Gary and Shauntae’s house for a whole week.
After Gary and Shauntae had decided that they were really going to make their marriage work, they had met with Devon and Cassandra for dinner. By that time, the
weird awkwardness between Shauntae, Devon, and Cassandra was gone. By the time Gary entered the picture, the four of them got along real well. Not best friends or anything like that, but cool enough to hang out when their daughters were spending time together.
Shauntae had never thought there would be a day when Devon and Cassandra were in her and Gary’s house, but there they were, getting ready to have dinner with everybody else. Darla was there, too, which was surprising because she was busy all the time. After she started back at her law firm, her old workaholic habits picked up again, which meant Daphne and Morgan were spending more time at Gary and Shauntae’s house than only the weekends.
Gary’s men’s pastor, Mark, and his wife were also there to share in their special day. They had walked them through some difficult counseling sessions while they were putting things back together. They couldn’t wait to preside over Gary and Shauntae’s “official” church wedding that December.
The last guest was Shauntae’s favorite—Mama Evelyn, Dr. Murray’s mother. In the couple of months that Shauntae was living in her house, the older woman had become like a mother to her and treated her better than Shauntae’s own mother ever had. Even though she wasn’t living there anymore, Shauntae still went to see her almost every day and still prepared all her meals.
Mama Evelyn had told all her friends about Shauntae and Candy, and now half of their business came from a kind of “gourmet medical Meals On Wheels” program they had developed. They kept getting more and more referrals of older people with special dietary needs who they cooked for and delivered meals to. If that part of their catering business kept growing, Shauntae and Candy would have to hire a couple more employees soon.
“Okay, the food is ready. Everybody come to the table,” Candy called out. The adults went into the dining room and the girls stayed at the breakfast table in the kitchen.
After everyone was seated around the huge dining table, Mark had them all join hands while he blessed the food.
After they finished praying, Gary stood to say a few words. “I want to thank all of you for coming to celebrate our dedicating Baby Gary back to God today. For me, I’m also celebrating my marriage and the beautiful wife God has blessed me with. I’m thankful for my daughters, my son, and all of you, our friends.” He squeezed Shauntae’s hand. “Baby, you want to say anything?”
Shauntae stood up. “I want to thank all of you for being here too.” She looked around the table. “I know it might seem kinda strange for us to all be together with the history between some of us and the way everything has happened, but I’m really happy that we’re all able to be together the way we are.”
She looked at Gary, Devon, and Darla. “We all share four children who have our blood running through them, and I know it’s the best blessing for them that we’ve all found a way to work together. This could be really difficult, but it’s not, and I’m grateful for that.”
She looked at Cassandra. “I appreciate you being a mother to Brianna when I couldn’t, and then being willing to let me be a mother to her again when I could. I’m really happy for you and Devon and I’m glad we all get to share her.”
She looked at Darla. “Thanks for sharing your beautiful daughters with me. Even after everything that’s happened, you allow me to share being their mother with you. That’s a real honor for me.
“Mama Evelyn, it hasn’t been that long, but you’ve become such a sweet mama to me. Your love has healed so many places in my heart and has helped me to become an even better mama to all my kids.” The older woman blew her a kiss.
Shauntae said to Candy, who had joined them at the table. “To my girl, Candy. Thanks for being such an amazing friend and for giving me the gift of cooking and letting me be a part of your business. You helped me discover some greatness inside of me and I’m so thankful.
“And to our dear pastors. Thanks for everything that you’ve walked us through and helped us to become. Me and Gary owe you big.”
Shauntae squeezed Gary’s hand. “And, finally, to my husband. Thanks for showing me what real love is. Your love completely changed my life. I’m the woman I am today because of your love and God’s love. Thank you, baby.” Shauntae leaned down to kiss Gary.
As they all ate and talked and laughed and the girls ran in and out of the kitchen and the baby cried and wanted to eat again, Shauntae felt like it was one of the best days ever. She was living a life she had never even dreamed of. She was becoming a successful businesswoman and her business was expanding daily. She had a “mother” who loved her like she was her own. She lived in a beautiful home with an amazing, loving husband. She had four beautiful children, and even though things weren’t perfect and they weren’t considered a normal family, they had made up their own, new normal and it was working just fine.
But most of all, she had a Father who loved her and who had brought into her life all the love she could ever want. She had forgotten to say it when she was thanking everybody at the dinner table, so while all the loud craziness was going on, she closed her eyes and turned her face upward and said, “Thanks, God. Thanks for my family and thanks for showing me real love.”
The End
Readers’ Group Questions
1. Shauntae, Sherice, and Candy made a “career” of hustling men. Discuss what led each of them to that choice. In spite of being a hustler, Shauntae seems to have a romantic streak. How does this affect her relationship with Gary?
2. Often, Shauntae can hear her mother’s voice in her ear, telling her how stupid she is and berating her about choices she’s making. Shauntae wonders who she would have been if she grew up in a house with a “good” mother and father. How much does our upbringing affect who we become?
3. After Shauntae realized she was in danger of going to jail because Darla was going to do a background check, she stayed at Gary’s house rather than going to the bus station. Why do you think she stayed?
4. Why do you think Gary wanted to marry Shauntae? How did that affect their relationship initially? How did that affect their relationship after he found out the truth about Shauntae?
5. When Shauntae started to open her heart up to God, she said that she was talking to Him and it seemed like He was trying to talk to her. What are the different ways that God speaks to us? After Shauntae’s prayers, she waited for an immediate answer from God. Discuss how God answers prayers.
6. The whole premise of the book is that Shauntae needed to figure out exactly what to do to “become Mrs. Right.” What do you think about Sherice’s and Mama’s advice, Shauntae’s studying movie characters, and all she did to please Gary? What was the difference between her studying the movies at the beginning and her studying the YouTube videos at the end? By the end of the book, what became Shauntae’s motivation for wanting to become Mrs. Right?
7. Gary told Shauntae throughout the whole book that there was nothing she could do that he wouldn’t forgive. Why did he say this? How did his reaction to her telling him the truth correspond to him saying nothing was unforgivable?
8. Throughout the story, God kept sending Shauntae the message of His love for her and that nothing she could do was unforgivable. Shauntae had trouble believing it and kept wondering whether God could be that good. Why might non-Christians or even Christians have trouble receiving the message of God’s love and grace?
9. Discuss the change in Shauntae’s character over the course of the book. What motivated her change? What factors caused her to change the most? What were the greatest obstacles to her changing?
10. Even after finding out the truth about Shauntae, Gary takes her back. Why do you think he took her back? Was this a realistic ending?
UC HIS GLORY BOOK CLUB!
www.uchisglorybookclub.net
UC His Glory Book Club is the spirit-inspired brainchild of Joylynn Jossel, Author and Acquisitions Editor of Urban Christian, and Kendra Norman-Bellamy, Author for Urban Christian. This is an online book club that hosts authors of Urban Christian. We welcome as members all me
n and women who have a passion for reading Christian-based fiction.
UC His Glory Book Club pledges our commitment to provide support, positive feedback, encouragement, and a forum whereby members can openly discuss and review the literary works of Urban Christian authors.
There is no membership fee associated with UC His Glory Book Club; however, we do ask that you support the authors through purchasing, encouraging, providing book reviews, and of course, your prayers. We also ask that you respect our beliefs and follow the guidelines of the book club. We hope to receive your valuable input, opinions, and reviews that build up, rather than tear down our authors.
What We Believe:
—We believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God
—We believe the Bible is the true, living Word of God
—We believe all Urban Christian authors should use their God-given writing abilities to honor God and share the message of the written word God has given to each of them uniquely.
—We believe in supporting Urban Christian authors in their literary endeavors by reading, purchasing and sharing their titles with our online community.
—We believe that in everything we do in our literary arena should be done in a manner that will lead to God being glorified and honored.
We look forward to the online fellowship with you. Please visit us often at www.uchisglorybookclub.net.
Many Blessing to You!
Shelia E. Lipsey,
President, UC His Glory Book Club
About the Author
Sherri L. Lewis authored her first book at the age of six. Her family considered her pencil and crayon on brightly colored construction paper creation a masterpiece. She continued to enjoy writing short stories and poems throughout her young adult life.
Her writing was put on hold while she attended Howard University as an undergraduate, then medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The writing bug bit again a few years ago and pencil, crayon, and construction paper were replaced by laptop and printer.
Becoming Mrs. Right Page 26
