There were a couple of other questions, but just as Curtis was ready to move on to the next section, Sharon waltzed in. He’d so been hoping this wouldn’t happen, and only God knew what she might say or do before the evening was over. But he couldn’t let her presence stop the teaching of the lesson, so he went on. “If you will, let’s take a look at verses twelve through sixteen. And it reads, ‘God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.’ ”
No sooner than Curtis had finished reading, Sharon stood with her Bible. “If you don’t mind, Pastor, I have a question about a part of this particular passage.”
Curtis glanced over at Charlotte, who discreetly shook her head in amazement, and then he said, “Okay.”
“What I’d like to know is why do people place themselves in tempting situations if they know they don’t want to commit sin?”
Curtis had a bad feeling about this. “We all do it because we’re human.”
“I understand that part, but maybe I should give an example. If a man is married, and he knows committing adultery is a sin, then why would he spend time with another woman? Why would he tempt himself that way when he knows, as the scripture says, that these desires give birth to sinful actions?”
“Because we all make mistakes, but the good news is that we’re all gifted with the ability to learn from them.”
“I see. Then what about the part that says when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death? Does that mean when people knowingly enter into temptation and commit sin, the result will be death? Does that mean they’ll end up reaping what they’ve sown?”
Curtis knew she was indirectly threatening him, but he kept a straight face. “Yes, we all reap what we sow, no matter what.”
“Okay, I get it now, and thank you for answering. Oh, and one more thing: If a person has lustful desires, how does he or she control them? I know you said we’re all human and that’s why we sometimes give in to temptation, but how do we stop ourselves?”
“Through prayer and by reading the Word. We should all do that regularly.”
Sharon smiled. “Thank you. And if you don’t mind, just one last question. I’m sorry to keep asking so many, but tonight’s passage really has me excited, and I’m learning so, so much. I was reading ahead after last week’s lesson, and since I walked in a little late this evening, I don’t know if you said whether you’d be covering verses nineteen on. That section talks about listening, obeying, and doing.”
“No, we’ll get to that next week.”
“Sounds good. I can’t wait because I think many times, we don’t listen to God or obey Him, and that’s when we’re forced to deal with consequences… anyway, I’ll wait until next Wednesday. Sorry, everyone.”
The congregation laughed, clearly thinking her questions and comments were genuine—thanks to the honest look plastered across her face and the well-feigned sincerity in her voice. They had no clue she was obsessed with their pastor or that she wasn’t dealing with reality very well, and this worried Curtis. He wasn’t sure what this woman was planning to do next, but he knew this wasn’t the end of her.
Chapter 37
Charlotte hadn’t been sitting more than five minutes when her longtime stylist, Robin, walked over and greeted her. “Hey, how are you?” she said, hugging Charlotte the same as always.
“Good, and you?”
“Couldn’t be better. How was your holiday?”
“It was great.”
Charlotte had been a customer of Robin’s Hair Creations for years, and unless Robin retired or moved to a different city, she would likely continue coming to her every Thursday forever. Charlotte kept a standing appointment, and she wasn’t sure anyone in the city of Mitchell was more talented, dependable, and kind. Sometimes they could talk for hours on end about God, life, politics, clothing, and everything else one could think of, so Charlotte had long since stopped seeing her as just her stylist and mostly saw her as her friend.
Charlotte took a seat in Robin’s chair, and Robin wrapped a cape around her.
“Are we still doing a relaxer today?” Robin asked. “I know we sort of talked about it last week.”
“Yes, definitely.”
Robin parted Charlotte’s hair with her hands, examining it. “It doesn’t look all that ready to me, but I guess you do have a little new growth.”
“I do, and you know I don’t like it when it gets too thick. It makes combing it every day a little unmanageable.”
Robin rubbed a petroleum base at the beginning of her edges, so no chemical would damage her skin, and then she added some to the inside sections of her hair as well. “So what’s new in the Black household?”
“Well, Matt’s taking finals this week and gearing up for graduation, so we’re all pretty thrilled about that,” she said. She wished she could tell Robin about her personal problems, how she and Curtis were dealing with some loony woman named Sharon, but too many people were around.
“Still can’t believe he’s eighteen and preparing to head off to college. Time sure does fly.”
“Tell me about it. I still remember when he was just a newborn, and now he’s grown.”
“Amazing.”
“Oh, and Curtis and I went to a women’s conference in Detroit last weekend, and it was huge. One of the largest ones I’ve been to in a while.”
“You didn’t tell me you were going anywhere.”
“I know. Curtis was the speaker on Saturday evening, and I decided to surprise him at the last minute.”
“How nice.”
“It was. We enjoyed ourselves and then flew back on Sunday. So what’s going on with you?”
“Well, a few friends and I went to a birthday party, and I met a new guy.”
“Really?”
“Yes, girl, and he seems so nice. He’s also a very handsome attorney, so that doesn’t hurt either.”
“I guess not. Good for you, and I hope it works out.”
Robin applied a bit of relaxer near Charlotte’s scalp. “You never know, but so far so good.”
“I’m glad, and I would love to meet him sometime.”
“If we keep seeing each other, you will. Oh, and I have some other great news as well. I’ve decided to expand the salon.”
“Really? That’s great, Robin.”
“I found a wonderful building a little farther north of here, and I’m so excited.”
“So when do you plan on moving in?”
“The building is already nice inside and out, but I’m having some remodeling done to make it a little more contemporary. They should be finished in about three or four months, and at the very latest, I’ll be able to move in by November or December.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Neither can I, and while you know I don’t like imposing, do you think Pastor would be willing to say a few words at my grand opening?”
“Of course. He’ll be glad to, I’m sure.”
“That would make such a huge difference with the media if I’m able to include his name on the press release.”
“We’ll do whatever we can to help you.”
Over the next twenty minutes, Robin added more relaxer to Charlotte’s new growth near her scalp and then applied it to her edges. “I’ll let you sit for maybe ten minutes, and then we can rinse this out.”
Charlotte heard Robin talking, but she wasn’t sure what more she’d just said because it was all she could do not to scream with irritation. Sharon had just walked into the salon, and Charlotte was fascinated by the nerve of her. As long as Charlotte had been a customer, not once had she ever seen Shar
on there before.
“You guys are busy today, huh?” Charlotte asked, hoping Robin would elaborate on what Sharon was doing there.
“I guess we are. She’s not my client, though. Sheba, one of the new stylists, started doing her hair about a month ago. I think I’ve seen her at church before, too, so do you want me to introduce you?”
“No, girl, that’s okay,” Charlotte hurried to say. “You know I like my quiet time, and for all I know, she might wanna do a little chatting. You know how it is, once people find out I’m married to Curtis, they usually have a ton of questions.”
“Yeah, I forgot about that. Sorry.”
“No problem.”
“Actually, she normally comes on Fridays, but maybe she had to switch days this time.”
Yeah, right, Charlotte thought. With the way this woman had been acting, chances were she’d been following Charlotte and had discovered that late Thursday mornings was when she got her hair done. It certainly wasn’t beyond her, not after seeing her in action last night at Bible study. And Curtis had also told Charlotte about Sharon’s phone call to him and how she wasn’t willing to take no for an answer. Charlotte then thought about Tabitha, Curtina’s biological mother, and how she’d suddenly begun frequenting Robin’s salon as well. She had no idea why these women who became obsessed with Curtis always became infatuated with her, too.
Two and a half hours passed, and Robin was just about finished styling Charlotte’s hair. She’d washed out the relaxer, placed her under the dryer with a deep conditioner, rinsed that out as well, and then dried her hair and gave her huge curls with a flat iron. She did this because Charlotte had never liked tight curls and preferred wearing her hair long and wavy.
When Charlotte looked up, Sharon walked out of the salon, and Charlotte thought it interesting how she’d purposely never made eye contact with her. When she left, though, Sheba came over and said, “You know, I hadn’t really thought about it until now, but your hair is the exact style and color of my client I just finished with. It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“I remember the first time she came in, she showed me a photo of the back of a woman’s head so I could cut it the same way toward the bottom and so I could see the color. She said she wanted it pretty exact, and then I sort of matched up the color as best I could. The color she was already using was very close to what was in the photo, anyway, but when I switched to the current one, she said it was perfect. I remember I laughed at her, too, when she said something like ‘every man has a certain look he’s attracted to’ and that the guy she was interested in liked his women with that hair color. She said he also liked it long.”
Charlotte held her tongue but wondered if Sharon had maybe had the audacity to somehow snap a picture of the back of her head at church. If so, how eerie.
When Robin finished, Charlotte paid her and went outside to her car. She was so relieved to get out of there, given what she’d just experienced with Sharon, let alone what Sheba had just told her and Robin. But as soon as she unlocked her door and grabbed the handle, a car pulled up next to her, and she turned around. The vehicle was identical to hers and had seemingly come out of nowhere, and she was stunned to see Sharon driving it.
The woman rolled down her window and tossed Charlotte a dirty look. “Just a word to the wise. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll move on so Curtis and I can start our life together.”
Charlotte lowered her sunglasses farther down her nose. “And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave this parking lot as fast as you drove in here.”
Sharon shook her head like Charlotte was a big joke. “Consider yourself warned,” she said, and sped off.
Chapter 38
Curtis, this woman is nuts, and you have to do something.” Charlotte had phoned Curtis and come straight to the church after leaving the hair salon. She was outraged.
“I know. I realized that last night at Bible study, and I’ve thought about little else most of today. I’d been hoping she would go away quietly, but now I know that’s not going to happen.”
Charlotte folded her arms. “Maybe we should call the police.”
“I thought about that, too, but I’m trying my best not to because as soon as we report something like this, the media will be all over it. They’ll tear us apart, and I just don’t wanna subject Curtina to the same kind of public scandal we subjected Matthew and Alicia to—let alone humiliate Matthew right when he’s finishing up finals and getting ready for graduation next week. Imagine what it would be like on a campus such as Harvard to have his family’s private business flooding through national news outlets. So, unfortunately, we’re going to have to handle this situation a little differently. We also can’t push Sharon so far that she’ll end up going to the media herself. You know this is what usually happens when people can’t get what they want from us. It’s the price we have to pay because of what I do as a minister and writer… and sadly, because I made a stupid and very selfish mistake. I never should have gotten mixed up with this woman, and this is all my fault.”
“I agree about not wanting to cause more pain for Matthew and Curtina, but, baby, I have a bad feeling about this woman. I’m worried about our safety because who knows what Sharon might do? To us or to our children.”
“At this point, we only have one option,” Curtis said, picking up his cell phone and searching through his contact numbers.
Charlotte wondered what he was doing. “Who are you calling?”
Curtis raised his hand, silently asking her to give him a minute, and then he said, “D.C., hey, this is Pastor Black. I hate bothering you, but remember last week when you said if I ever need you for anything, you had my back? Well, I’m gonna have to take you up on your offer.”
D.C. drove his black Cadillac Escalade, the extended version with tinted windows, across the gravel lot and parked directly behind Curtis. They’d agreed to meet at a location on the outskirts of town, because Curtis knew he’d be dealing with an even bigger scandal if folks learned that D.C. had suddenly begun meeting him at the church. Running into him at a sandwich shop was one thing, but having regular contact was off-limits. Being a pastor and joining forces with the city’s most notorious loan shark wasn’t suitable by any means, and as it was, Curtis was ashamed of having to ask him for help. He was uncomfortable with the whole idea of it, but if he couldn’t go to the police, he knew D.C. was his only hope.
D.C. shook Curtis’s hand. “This must be pretty serious.”
“It could be.”
“What’s up?”
“Well, a lot has happened since the last time I saw you. My wife and I worked things out, and we’re no longer getting a divorce.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, ain’t it?”
“It is, but over the last year, I sort of started this little friendship on the side with this woman named Sharon, and now it’s become a problem.”
D.C. laughed. “Uh-oh, you musta hit that pretty good.”
“No, actually, I didn’t. I never touched her, but she won’t go away. She’s talking crazy and claiming God told her to pack up and leave her job so she could be near me. She used to live outside of Chicago, and now she’s upset because I won’t leave Charlotte and marry her.”
“Wow, Pastor, this is deep. So is she threatenin’ you?”
“Sort of. Let’s just say she’s obsessed with my wife and me for different reasons. She wants me to be her husband, and she seems to have gone out of her way trying to mimic Charlotte. She wears her hair the same way, she drives the exact same car, she wears similar clothing, and she’s almost the same height and weight. The resemblance is so close that from a distance, you’d swear you were looking at my wife and not her.”
“Sounds like you’re dealing with a nutcase.”
“It gets worse. Last weekend, I had a speaking engagement in Detroit, so Charlotte flew in and surprised me. But when we arrived back at the hotel and went up to my suite, who do you think we found i
n my bed… with hardly anything on?”
“Get outta here. This Sharon chick was in your hotel room?”
“Can you believe it? And I still don’t have a clue how she got in there. She claimed she paid someone from housekeeping, but who knows.”
“Well, it does happen. I mean, you’d be amazed at what people will do for money nowadays, especially with the economy being so out of control. But she was actually half naked when you walked in with your wife?”
“It was a nightmare. And then she claimed I’d invited her and proceeded to tell my wife we’d been sleeping together. But of course everything she said was a lie. And then the killing part was when she called me yesterday expecting me to say everything was good between us and that I was divorcing Charlotte. I keep telling her that’s not going to happen and that I can’t talk to her anymore, but she’s not hearing it.”
“This is serious, and it sounds to me like you’re going to have to put some fear into this trick. Let her know you’re not playin’ games.”
“I don’t want to hurt her physically, if that’s what you mean, but I really need this problem to go away. I can’t have my wife and children walking around in danger.”
“I hear you, and there are a lot of ways to send a message without killin’ somebody.”
See, this was the sort of thing Curtis had been a little concerned about. He couldn’t say he’d ever heard about D.C. killing anyone, but word on the street was that he’d ordered quite a few beatdowns and broken bones in his time. It was also common knowledge that D.C. wasn’t the kind of man you wanted to cross for any reason. He was as nice and as gentle as could be but not when you betrayed him or cheated him out of money. He also wasn’t lenient on people who stole from him either, such as some of the deputy loan sharks who worked for him. Although, there was last year when Curtis had asked him to go easy on Raven, the church’s former CFO, when she’d stolen money from D.C. to pay off gambling debts, and he’d chosen to be merciful.
Curtis leaned against his own SUV. “Right now, all I want is for you to have a couple of guys watch my house at night, have someone monitor my daughter’s school, and of course have someone follow Matthew and Charlotte.”
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