The Sunday Only Christian

by E. N. Joy

  “OMG!” one of the women screamed. “It is him.” She immediately raced up to Lynox and threw her arms around his neck. “Mr. Chase, you look exactly like the picture on the back of your book.”

  “And even better than that spread in the Black Expressions catalogue,” the other girl added, bumping her friend out of the way so that she could get a hug from Lynox as well.

  While the two vied for his attention, they were making such a ruckus that soon others stopped to see what was going on. Before Lynox knew it, he was swarmed with females.

  “Are you going to write a sequel?” an eager fan asked Lynox.

  “If so, when is it coming out? I just can’t get enough of that fine, tall glass of water, Brad.”

  All the women giggled and blushed at just the mention of Lynox’s lead character, Brad. They were acting as if he were a real person and not just some character Lynox had created for a book.

  Deborah stood back in awe as she watched Lynox take it all in with pleasure. A smile caressed her face as she thought, My guy, the famous author. Watch out, Carl Weber and Eric Jerome Dickey! But no sooner had those thoughts escaped her mind, than a huge knot formed in the pit of her stomach.

  “Helen?” The word, in a mumble, came from Deborah’s mouth. Could it have been? Was Helen the woman she could barely see far off in the distance over the swarming crowd of fan’s heads?

  Deborah stood on her tippy toes, but that wasn’t working. She still couldn’t get a good view of the woman. “No, it can’t be,” she finally told herself. “She’s home babysitting my son,” she reasoned. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again, hoping to see things a little more clearly. Hoping to clearly see that the woman was, in fact, not Helen.

  The woman had walked a little closer, but had stopped and was now staring through a store window. The similarities between the woman and Helen were uncanny—but it couldn’t have been.

  Lynox was preoccupied with answering the questions all the reading fans were throwing at him. Deborah couldn’t rest until she proved that woman was not Helen. Because if it was Helen, that meant that her son was not far from her.

  Deborah began walking sideways, her eyes glued to the woman’s every move. Before Deborah knew it, something had stopped her in her tracks. “Oh, excuse me,” Deborah said after bumping into a woman.

  The woman smiled and nodded, but Deborah could see her true feelings of disdain behind the fake smile. After all, the woman had been nibbling on a pretzel that Deborah practically knocked out of her hand when she bumped into her.

  “I’m so sorry.” Deborah offered up one final apology without even looking at the woman.

  She continued to walk sideways until the woman she’d been scoping out was in full view. And as the woman came into full view, Deborah could see that she was pushing one of those mall rented strollers. Since it was a side profile, she couldn’t see the occupant of the stroller, but what she could see were the shoes she’d just purchased her son two weeks ago on the little feet that were kicking from the stroller.

  “Oh my God,” Deborah said, her body weakening and her having to catch herself from falling. “This can’t be. This just can’t be.” But it was. The woman and the child turned and faced Deborah’s direction, and Deborah could say beyond a doubt that the woman was Helen and the child was her son.

  Deborah threw her hand over her forehead, which was throbbing, and her other hand over her stomach, which was aching, and not because she was hungry. But when Lynox just happened to look up in search of Deborah, and then landed eyes on her, that’s just what he thought: that she was signaling to him that she was hungry. He was reminded that it was after lunchtime and he and his girl had been on their way to the food court before he got caught up in Fandemonium.

  “Look, ladies, I’m sorry, but I have to go now,” Lynox told the fans. “But if you want to be kept up to date on my future works and what I have going on and where I’m going to be, check out my Web site.”

  “Oh, I wanna know where you gonna be all right,” a woman flirted while others giggled.

  Lynox acknowledged her comment with a humble smile and then peeled himself away from the crowd and began to walk away.

  “One more thing, Mr. Chase,” a woman called out. “Do you have a girlfriend?” Once again, the other women chuckled.

  Lynox stopped in his tracks. Staring at Deborah he replied, “As a matter of fact, I don’t.” He strutted over to Deborah and said, “I have a woman.” Once again he extended his elbow for Deborah to grab a hold of. Just as they had been a few moments ago, the two were arm in arm, heading off to the food court.

  Deborah would have blushed at Lynox’s gesture, but she was too busy trying to keep her eyes on Helen. She deliberately and quickly tugged Lynox toward the food court and away from the direction of Helen.

  “Hey, you must be hungry.” Lynox laughed as Deborah practically dragged him toward the food court.

  She had spotted Helen, but she could not risk Helen spotting her. Once she felt they were safely out of Helen’s view, she relaxed and tried to have a civil conversation with Lynox. “You know you left a lot of disappointed, heartbroken women back there.” Deborah nodded over her shoulder at the women whose eyes she could feel burning a hole through her back. Eyes envious that it was she who was walking arm in arm with the great novelist instead of them. Deborah loved how it felt. She loved how Lynox made her feel. She loved everything about him. Caught up in his rapture, eventually she’d forgotten all about the fact that Helen, with her son in tow, had been heading in their direction. Lucky for Deborah, though, Helen had stopped off into a store.

  “So what do you have a taste for?” Deborah asked as she and Lynox approached the food court.

  He looked down at Deborah, giving her the googly eyes. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.” He immediately turned his attention away from Deborah and began scanning the choices of vendors in the food court.

  “Oooh, you bad, bad boy you. Did you forget you’re out with a Christian?” Deborah asked while she scanned her choices as well.

  “And did you forget that you are out with a man?” he reminded her. “Or don’t y’all cover that kind of stuff in that singles ministry of yours.”

  “We cover lots of stuff. As a matter of fact, you should join us one Friday.”

  Lynox looked over at Deborah like she was crazy. “Woman, I can think of a lot of better things to do on a Friday night than sit around listening to a bunch of lonely, single women male bash.”

  Deborah play punched Lynox in his arm. “That is not what the singles ministry is about. It’s a support group for singles.” Deborah thought for a moment. “Although I do admit that, once upon a time, that’s exactly what it used to be.” She laughed, thinking back to some of the stories she used to hear from those women. But thank God for taking the ministry to a higher level in Him.

  “See there,” Lynox quipped.

  “But it’s not like that anymore. Back then it was just single women. Now there are men in the ministry as well. It’s different. It’s better. You should really think about joining us one Friday.”

  “Ah, first it will be a Friday, then a Wednesday Bible Study, then a Sunday or two. The next thing you know, I’ll be an usher,” Lynox joked on.

  Deborah play punched him once again. “And what would be so wrong with that? I know I wouldn’t mind following an usher like you anywhere—including hell,” Deborah joked. “You know I’m just joking on that one.”

  Lynox turned and grabbed Deborah by the shoulders. “I know you’re joking. But just so you know, I’d follow you to heaven, because I know that’s where you’re going.”

  “Oh yeah, and how can you be so sure about that?”

  “Because where else do angels go?” He planted a kiss on Deborah’s forehead and she thought she would die. Lynox pulled away from her and turned his attention back to the smorgasbord of food choices. “So, have you decided what you’ll have?”

  “You,” sl
ipped out of Deborah’s mouth before she could catch it.

  Lynox laughed. “Oooh you bad, bad girl you.” He shook his head. “But seriously, I think I’m going to have a good old-fashioned burger and fries from that joint right there.”

  Deborah looked toward where Lynox was pointing. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a nice greasy burger. I think I’ll have the same.”

  “Great, then could you order for me?” Lynox asked Deborah as he began examining his hands. “I just shook a million hands. I need to go wash mine.”

  “No problem,” Deborah agreed.

  Lynox pulled out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to Deborah. He then headed toward the restroom to go wash his hands.

  Deborah placed the food order. Once the order was up, she found a table for her and Lynox and sat down. She whipped out a bottle of hand sanitizer, put some on her hands, prayed over her food, and then took a bite of her burger. “Ummmm,” she couldn’t resist saying out loud. The burger was delicious. She took another bite, then closed her eyes as she melted in the taste. When she opened her eyes, Lynox was standing there with a distraught look on his face.

  “What? What’s the matter?” Deborah asked with a mouthful of burger.

  “I’ll bet you a million dollars you’ll never guess who I just saw,” Lynox said, slowly sitting down at the table.

  Deborah thought for a minute, and that’s when she remembered that she’d too seen someone who had given her that same reaction. So right then and there, something told Deborah that if she opened her mouth and guessed, she’d be a million dollars richer.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  “I saw Helen,” Lynox informed Deborah as he stood over her, still looking a little stunned. “She didn’t see me though. She was coming out of the women’s restroom as I was going into the men’s. And guess what?”

  Deborah braced herself for what Lynox might say next. Perhaps it would be, “And guess what? She was with a kid. She told me it was your kid.” In those few seconds, all Deborah could think was why had she just never come right out and told him about having a child? Now, exactly what she didn’t want to happen was about to happen. He was going to tell her how he’d found out about her child before she had a chance to tell him. Deborah couldn’t let that happen. The clock was ticking, but she was bound and determined to beat Lynox to the punch.

  “She was with a kid, I know,” Deborah started, then opened her mouth to say the words, “My kid.” But that never happened. Lynox interrupted her before she could.

  “Yep—a kid. Ain’t that something? She’s got a kid,” he said with a look of disdain as he sat down in front of his food. “Now you definitely don’t have to worry about me ever hooking back up with her again.” Lynox laughed, but then looked at Deborah to find the most serious look on her face. He grabbed her hands. “Oh, baby, you know I was just kidding. There was never a chance for me and that girl anyway. But her having a kid just drills in my point that much further.” He took a bite of his food. “No readymade family for me.”

  Deborah was now looking at him with disdain. “You know you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full.” Deborah stood up abruptly. “You know, depending on what you have to say, I suggest that sometimes you not talk at all.”

  All Lynox’s talk that made it seem like single women with kids were like the plague was taking its toll on Deborah. She was one of those women. How could she even think twice about wanting to be with a man who felt that way about women with children? Sure, just like one of the saints in the singles ministry had pointed out, he deserved to have his opinion and it was his choice whether he wanted to date a woman with kids. But did he have to keep drilling in his point and making it seem like the women should be locked up and the key thrown away?

  “Whoa, relax.” Lynox held his hands up in defense. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know why I mentioned her.” Lynox took another bite of his food. “Although I can’t imagine what type of dude would knock up that nut job. Bet he’s sorry.” Lynox chuckled.

  “I don’t even know why I’m putting myself through this,” Deborah exclaimed. “Not for a man who talks with his mouth full. Disgusting!” Deborah snatched up her purse and ran off in hysterics.

  Poor Lynox sat there dazed and confused with fries in hand all set to shovel in more food to his already full mouth. “Hey, sorry,” he apologized, food spewing from his full mouth as he talked. “I didn’t know that was one of your pet peeves.” He stood, taking one more bite of his delicious burger. “I promise not to talk with my mouth full again.” He trailed Deborah, laughing at the irony of him making a promise not to talk with a mouth full of food again while having a mouth full of food.

  Deborah stopped in her tracks. “You think this is funny? You think I’m a joke, Lynox?”

  Lynox was surprised to see tears rolling down Deborah’s face. He swallowed his food in hunks without fully chewing, just to get it down so he could talk to Deborah—without a mouth full of food. “I’m sorry, baby.” He put his arms around a weeping Deborah. “Obviously there’s something more going on with you.” He looked around at all the attention they were attracting. This time it wasn’t a crowd of raving fans. It was a crowd of busybodies trying to figure out what was going on. “Come on, let’s go outside and walk around. Give you a chance to clear your head.”

  An emotional Deborah took Lynox up on his offer. As they made their way outside, she felt like a fool. She couldn’t turn off the waterworks. She felt awful. Not just because she was lying to Lynox, but what kind of mother denies having a child just because the man she’s interested in doesn’t want to date a woman with kids? And she called herself a Christian? Surely her actions weren’t pleasing to Christ. After all, Christ had been denied by Peter—thrice. She thought she had Peter beat when it came to the amount of times she’d denied her son.

  Once outside the mall, Lynox led Deborah to a bench. It just so happened to be the same bench the two had sat on when they’d parted years ago. Deborah saw this sign as an omen. No way would she tell him about her son right there on that bench. If she did, there was a likely chance of a repeat. This time, him walking out of her life. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t take that chance. She wanted Lynox. She’d wanted him for a long time, and now she had him. She’d wanted a son, a replacement for the one she’d aborted so many years ago, and now she had him. Would it have been too much to ask God to let her keep them both? But in a matter of days, Deborah would question whether God would even allow her to keep one.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  “Pastor, I can’t thank you enough for approving the Single Shoe event for the singles ministry,” Deborah said through her cell phone. “I know some people might think it’s kind of out there. But I’m glad I was able to convince you that it’s fun and harmless. It’s something different, new, and it’s something we have never done before at New Day.”

  Deborah was excited about the event she was planning for the singles ministry. It was given the name Single Shoe, because the women were scheduled to arrive at the affair a half hour before the men. Once they arrived they were to take off one shoe and place it in a pile in the middle of the room and then go be seated. When all the men arrived, they would randomly pick a shoe from the pile, find out who the owner of the shoe was, and go sit next to her and get to know her. Initially when setting up the event, Deborah’s only dilemma was the fact that the number of male members in the group heavily outweighed the number of female members. So Deborah opened up the event to other single males of the church. Just enough men RSVPed so that almost every woman in attendance could be paired up with a guy.

  “Yes, I think it’s quite unique myself,” Pastor Margie replied.

  “Then perhaps you might consider attending, Pastor,” Deborah hinted.

  “Oh, no. Now you’re starting to sound like your predecessor.” Once upon a time Mother Doreen had been adamant in her attempts to get their single pastor to join the ministry. It was all to no avail though. “By the way, how is Mother
Doreen doing?”

  Deborah felt embarrassed that she didn’t know the answer to that question. Mother Doreen had been like a second mother to Deborah and the godmother of her son, yet she’d neglected to check in on her and see how she was doing. “She’s doing fine,” she told her pastor. She hoped she was doing fine anyway. She made a mental note to call Mother Doreen once she got off the phone with her pastor.

  “That’s good to hear. I’m sure she’s making a wonderful first lady. I say one Sunday some of us New Day saints should plan on dropping in on her at her church in Kentucky to show her our support.”

  “Ohhh, a road trip to Kentucky? Now that will be nice. Mother Doreen will be so surprised.”

  “I’m sure she will.” Pastor Margie smiled through the phone. “Well, I have to get back to my notes for Bible Study. I was recording some things with one of my cell phone features when you called me. I hope it saved.”

  “Oh, me too, Pastor, and I’m sorry I interrupted you.”

  “No problem. God bless you, woman of God, and have a wonderful week.”

  “Will do, Pastor. Bye-bye.” Deborah was going to end the call and then immediately call Mother Doreen just to confirm that she was doing fine. She’d hate for her to be down with a cold or something and here she done told Pastor the woman was fine. Before she could go forth with her plan she noticed her son, with a pen in hand, surrounded by a stack of papers that were scattered everywhere.

  Deborah raced over to him. “Nooooooo!” she yelled. “Not the manuscript I was editing!” As she got closer she realized that the entire time she’d been on the phone with her pastor, her son had been marking all over the manuscript she’d been paid to edit. He was merely mimicking what he’d seen her do on numerous occasions.

  As luck would have it—as bad luck would have it—the author who had sent her the manuscript had failed to put page numbers within the manuscript, so it was essential that the papers didn’t get out of sequence. Now how in the world was Deborah going to be able to put the manuscript in order?