Reverend Feelgood

by Lutishia Lovely

  “I agree with Derrick, man. Moving Destiny in before the two of you marry isn’t wise, especially right now, at such a crucial time for the ministry. And believe me, I understand your wanting her by your side, in your home, and in your bed.”

  “Speak to it!” Derrick said.

  Nate laughed. “Well, my brothahs, I’m not going to lie about that.”

  “You might as well not,” King said. “I’ve been there. I know. Destiny is a beautiful woman and if it were me, I wouldn’t be able to get the ring on fast enough to hit that fine—”

  “Uh, yeah, King,” Derrick interrupted. “I think Nate gets the picture. But there is one other thing, Reverend Thicke. And if you thought your mother was in your business, then that shoe is going to fit me in about two seconds. We’ve been dealing with a particular topic in our men-only meetings that I need to bring up here. It’s about abstinence outside marriage.”

  “Derrick, I’m telling you now…that’s not going to happen. I’ve been active since I was thirteen, man. Ain’t no way I’m going six months without it, especially with my woman ten minutes away.”

  “And there’s the matter of any other woman who might be, uh, enjoying your favors. She needs to go, too. Destiny deserves to have all of you, man.”

  “Y’all are putting a hurting on a brothah! But there’s something you two might not understand. At Gospel Truth, I have some spiritual relationships that are a part of tending my flock.”

  “Man, don’t even try it,” King countered. “The only spiritual relationship is the one between you and your wife, Nate. All of the other ones are just pussy.”

  King and Derrick shared what they knew of other ministers who maintained “spiritual relationships.” They offered scriptural viewpoints to the contrary regarding these beliefs, even as King empathized with Nate, and shared times when he’d been unfaithful.

  “If you want your marriage with Destiny to not only last but be an exciting, productive, loving union,” King concluded, “you are going to have to commit to her and only her one hundred and fifty percent, every day, for the rest of your life.”

  The three men talked for over two hours, holding nothing back of what they felt about Nate and Destiny, and what they expected of him as a fellow minister and member of the association. Nate argued his points, but Derrick and King were unrelenting in their position. By the end of the conversation, Nate had agreed to abide by the rules of Total Truth, and to six months of marital counseling from Derrick, King, and their wives.

  “It’s for your own good,” Derrick said finally.

  “It’s because we love you,” King added. “So what do you think, man? Do you think you’ll be able to make it until the wedding in June?”

  “What I’m thinking,” Nate answered seriously, “is that we need to move the wedding up to Valentine’s Day.”

  43

  House Cleaning

  The week following his conversation with Derrick and King, Nate scheduled a meeting with a very exclusive group of Gospel Truth members. Along with marital counseling, the two seasoned pastors had delivered some sage ministerial advice. Nate planned to implement their suggestions immediately, one of which was to trim and tighten the inner circle around him. There were only seven people around the table, Deacon Robinson, Nettie, and Katherine among them.

  “I’m making some changes, effective immediately,” Nate said, after Deacon Robinson had opened the meeting with prayer. “We’re getting ready to shore up the leadership in this ministry, strengthen its backbone and foundation, so we can withstand the growth that is sure to continue, as well as the challenges that come along with such growth. Some of these changes are also a result of my impending marriage, and the addition of an amazing first lady to our congregation. I want to make sure that my wife is welcomed into this church and given the same respect, love, and deference as I am now afforded. Her comfort beside me is of the utmost importance. I will not tolerate otherwise. Now, these alterations are few, yet crucial. And unless I am given impeccable arguments by one of you to the contrary, these decisions will stand.”

  Nate took a moment to look around the room, meeting every eye looking back at him before continuing. “As of today, every appointment, meeting, phone call, and request of any kind, from any member, concerning me or the executive office, must go through Katherine and/or her office. No exceptions. Any and all calls for counseling, prayer, or any other ministerial guidance from a female member is to go through my mother. In due time, my wife will undoubtedly become a significant leader in the women’s ministry. Until then, Nettie Thicke is the woman in charge. Any questions so far?”

  There were none. “I have a list of members whose presence I feel no longer works in this ministry’s best interest. There are no new names, but a couple I want to reiterate. Jennifer Stevens is no longer a member of the executive committee, the public relations or marketing department or any active department in this church. I’m surprised she is still attending, but since that is the case, I want everyone to understand she is a member, nothing more. No access by her to any of the offices is to be allowed. Deacon Robinson, make sure you get with security so that they understand these are my orders where she is concerned. It has also been brought to my attention that Kirk Meadows has developed quite an alliance with Jennifer. At this very moment, he is being given his walking papers, after which he will enjoy the same status as Jennifer—a member to be considered hostile and potentially dangerous to the ministry. I want the ushers and security to keep an eye out.”

  Nate read off the names of several others and also discussed the forthcoming announcement about Benjamin. After those around the table voiced their opinions, and a few other pressing church issues were discussed, the meeting was adjourned.

  Nate was on a roll. He went directly from that meeting to his office, where he went through his electronic Rolodex and pulled several numbers. His calls were methodical, the conversations succinct. When he had concluded them, several women around the country and the Gospel Truth faithful, including Patricia, Anne, and Verniece, knew without a shadow of a doubt that they had been covered by Nathaniel Eli Thicke for the last time.

  44

  Talk to Me

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Jennifer. If the office said the tickets are sold out, I guess they’re sold out. But that’s just for the sit-down dinner with Reverend. There’s a general dinner happening at the same time, in the larger ballroom where the Christmas program will take place. You won’t have any problem getting in there.”

  “But that’s just it, Pat. I have to be at that dinner with Reverend. I’ve already told you why. I need to talk to him, don’t have his new number, and the office is guarding him tighter than the pope.”

  Since he’d announced his engagement six months ago, not being able to talk to Nate was only one of several things that had changed. Almost immediately afterward, so had all of his phone numbers. A lock had been put on the door leading to the executive offices, and additional security staff and assistants had been hired to manage the growing number of people wanting Nate’s attention or affection—or both.

  But Jennifer would not be denied, not now that she had concrete proof of what she’d believed all the time, that Nate was the father of Destiny’s baby. It had taken months of snooping, miles of travel between Palestine and New Orleans, and twenty-five hundred dollars in bribe money paid to a hospital clerk, but Jennifer had in her possession a copy of Benjamin’s birth certificate. She had it in her power to ruin Nate Thicke because Destiny had given birth when she was just seventeen. That meant Nate was having sex with her before she was legal. She didn’t know about Louisiana but in Texas, sixteen was statutory rape. Jennifer was determined to let him know what she knew, and to assure him that she could be trusted. After all, many people would take this type of information and sell it to the highest bidder. Jennifer would show him that she was different, that she was looking out for him. And then she would show him that she could look out for him better than
Destiny.

  “Please,” she pleaded with Pat, one of the few people of the inner circle with whom she still communicated. “I know there’s an extra ticket lying around somewhere.”

  “If there is, I don’t know about it. Sorry, Jennifer, I’m busy and really need to go.”

  “Oh, so it’s like that, huh? You’re too busy for a friend? You know what? You’ve changed since you’ve started working full-time at the church. When you were a lowly hostess, and I was Nate’s manager, you always had time for a phone call, lunch, anything to keep in the loop about what was going on with the man we both were screwing. But now, since it looks like I’m out and Destiny’s in, you no longer have time for me. Guess you’ll be trying to get her number now. Well, let me tell you something, sistah. Looks can be deceiving. You would be wise not to count me out.”

  “I’m not counting you out, Jennifer, and I’m not trying to blow you off either. It’s just that Deacon Robinson is waiting on this report I’m typing. If I hear of anybody with an extra ticket, I’ll call you.”

  “Never mind. I bet I know who’ll have a ticket that I won’t have to beg for. You handle your business while I give your boss a call.”

  “You do that, Jennifer.”

  Jennifer ended the call and immediately called the church offices. Unlike Nate, Deacon Robinson’s private line number hadn’t changed.

  “What can I do for you, Sister Stevens?” Deacon Robinson asked after her greeting.

  “What?” Jennifer purred. “No ‘powerful pretty’ greeting for me today?”

  “Well now,” the deacon chuckled. “Seeing as to how I can’t see you, that type of greeting over the phone would be an assumption. An accurate one, I’m sure.”

  Jennifer smiled. This is going to be easy. Can’t believe I didn’t think to call him first, instead of player-hatin’ Patricia with her mousy looking self. “They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” she continued. “And if I may be so bold, it would be my pleasure for you to behold my beauty next month at the church’s holiday ball.”

  “I’ll look forward to it,” Deacon Robinson said after a slight hesitation.

  “Wonderful! I knew I could count on you.”

  “You can probably count on many people to behold your beauty, Sister Stevens.”

  “That too,” Jennifer laughed. “But I knew I could count on you for a ticket to the dinner. I’m sure you’re all too aware of how difficult they were to get, that they were sold out within a week.”

  “Excuse me, Sister Stevens, but I think we have a misunderstanding here. You don’t already have your ticket? You’re not already going to the ball?” Deacon Robinson knew that she wasn’t; Nate wouldn’t have allowed it.

  “No, but I am now. And I must say I’m looking forward to your finally getting the date you’ve been asking for forever.”

  Deacon Robinson cleared his throat. “But that’s just it, Sister Stevens. In this conversation, I didn’t ask you. You asked me. And while I’m flattered, I’m rather old school. When it comes to women and dating, I like to do the asking. Now, if you’re at the festivities, I’ll make it a point to greet you. But I don’t have an extra ticket.”

  “Deacon Robinson, I’m sure a man of your importance could get another ticket if you asked for it.”

  “On the contrary, Sister Stevens. All of the tickets for Reverend’s dinner are not only sold out, but there’s a waiting list for cancellations. They became a hot item after a few celebrity names were leaked who would be attending. If you’d like, I’ll transfer you over to the secretary who can put you on the waiting list.”

  For an entire month, Jennifer tried and failed to secure a ticket to the coveted preball dinner with Nate and his fiancée. Now she stood steaming, watching with the hordes of others who stood across the drive from the ballroom entrance, hoping to glimpse someone famous, or their beloved pastor and soon-to-be first lady as they exited their limos. She watched with loathing as well-dressed couples in tuxedos and gowns beamed for photographers the church’s PR team had hired, before showing their ticket and making their way inside.

  Her breath caught in her throat when Nate arrived. He looked dashing in his tailored, navy tux, and Destiny was positively radiant in a Vera Wang original. The onlookers cheered, most of them having fallen in love with Destiny’s beauty and charm. But will that love continue when they find out she was a teenaged whore? Jennifer glowered as she watched them pose for the cameras and wave at the well-wishers. When her attempts at getting a ticket failed, she had tried everything to reach Nate directly, including sending a certified letter to his home. It had been returned, unopened.

  She remembered the last phone call. She’d told his secretary that she was Jennifer Stevens, his former manager, who wanted to talk to him about a small but significant matter that had happened in New Orleans approximately two years ago. She’d had the secretary repeat the message back to her, and asked that it be delivered verbatim. She’d sat and waited to hear his voice on the line, sure that with the baby hint he would take her call.

  After a few moments, the secretary returned to the line. “The Reverend says he is unavailable to speak to or see you, now or in the future. He suggested you make an appointment with one of the associate ministers regarding any matters you’d like to discuss.”

  Now that she’d seen the first couple’s grand entrance, a frustrated Jennifer decided to leave the throng of onlookers and go home. After witnessing the exclusive set entering for their private dinner, she had no desire to be one of the regular people at the program later on. She made her way around the crowd, crossed the drive, and was just about to enter the elevator for underground parking when a couple exiting their limo caught her eye. It was a stately and elegant looking Deacon Robinson, with a date. Jennifer’s eyes narrowed as she beheld the woman on his arm, complementing him nicely in a simple black dress with beaded shawl. Perhaps it was intuition or coincidence, but the woman suddenly looked up and caught Jennifer staring. Patricia’s brows arched slightly before she turned to walk with Deacon Robinson into the hall.

  Jennifer sat in her car, her fingers tapping out an erratic beat on the steering wheel. She refused to cry, because that would be acknowledgment that she had been defeated. Why couldn’t she get Nate to talk to her, to let her back into his life? If he married Destiny, she would take the leftovers—being covered whenever he could. Because the truth of it was she was in love with Nate Thicke, more than she’d ever loved anyone else. “I’ll try one more time to get him to talk to me,” she said out loud as she started her car. “And if he won’t listen…I’ll just have to find someone who will.”

  45

  What God Has Joined

  Destiny couldn’t believe it—her wedding day had arrived. From late November, when Nate had phoned with the news that he couldn’t wait until June to marry her, until now, life had been a whirlwind: moving from Louisiana to Nettie’s house, a barrage of meetings with Katherine, Simone, and a resort wedding planner, romantic yet innocent moments with Nate, caring for his son, and teleconferenced counseling with the Montgomerys and Brooks.

  The counseling was definitely strengthening Nate and Destiny’s bond. Each had been encouraged to let go of past attachments and expectations concerning the other, and to squelch individual desires that didn’t benefit both. “Constant communication is a must,” Vivian had stated during their first conversation. “Talk about everything, all the time. Don’t give a negative thought or assumption a chance to grow.”

  “Destiny? Are you okay?” Simone knew they had time, but Destiny had been in the bathroom for forty-five minutes.

  “Fine, Mom. I’m about to get out of the tub now.”

  “Remember to rub yourself liberally with that oil I brought you,” Katherine added from her perch in the resort suite’s massive living room. “You want your body to feel like silk tonight.”

  “The way Nate’s been sniffing around my house since she’s been here?” Nettie replied as she gazed out the floor-to-c
eiling windows. “That girl could feel like steel wool and he’d still be happy!”

  “Mother, Nettie, would you like a cup of tea? I brought a special lavender blend to help calm our nerves.”

  “That’s probably a good idea,” Katherine said as she joined her daughter in the kitchen. “After all that fussing I did about not having a big church wedding, I’m actually glad we’re here. Everything is so convenient, and with the resort handling all of the wedding details, this feels like I’m on vacation!”

  It was true. Katherine had not been pleased with her granddaughter’s decision to marry in Turks and Caicos. She had wanted Nate and Destiny’s wedding to rival the biggest Texas had seen. Katherine’s wedding ceremony had taken place in Naomi’s living room, and no family witnessed Simone and Mark’s hasty Las Vegas exchange. So Katherine’s dream of being a part of an elaborate wedding ceremony had rested in Destiny. But her granddaughter had had other plans.

  “Five hundred! I want a big marriage, Kiki, not a big wedding,” she’d said, echoing her new mentor Tai Brook’s words. This after Katherine had suggested the number as a proper amount of guests for someone of Nate’s stature. Kiki had thought the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek would have been an adequate backdrop, followed by a sit-down dinner and dancing with a live orchestra. Their counselors had encouraged a more subdued joining, especially in light of the fact they already had a child. The plan was for them to marry quietly, honeymoon, and then announce both their marriage and Benjamin the Sunday following their return. King would come from Kansas City to make the announcement along with Nate, and to show his and Total Truth’s support for what would at the very least be seen as an instant family and at the most could be viewed as a scandal.

  “Destiny, the masseuse is here,” Nettie said after answering the knock on their door. “The hair stylist and makeup artist will come in an hour. It’s time to get this show on the road, darlin’.”