The Estates

by LaJill Hunt

  It took everything within Jonah not to laugh. Zeke prided himself on being a ladies’ man and being able to pull any woman he wanted. He was tall, athletic, handsome and charming everything women gravitated toward, so for him it was easy. When he called the store and made the offer, Jonah could only imagine what his friend was plotting when he was on the phone with what he thought was a woman.

  “Wait, you are who he talked to?” The woman whose name he now knew was Lydia giggled. “Okayyyyyy.”

  “I have your kicks, just like I promised. Let me get them for you.” The guy gave them a wink, singing as he walked off. “I choose you baby.”

  “I am so sorry,” Lydia shrugged. “When you said you talked to a woman, I just thought…”

  “It’s all good,” Zeke told her and leaned on the counter. “You can make it up to me.”

  “Really? And how’s that?” Lydia asked.

  “How about you give me your number and we talk about it over dinner tomorrow night.” Zeke smiled.

  “I’m flattered,” she told him. “But I really don’t think you’re my type.”

  “Why not?” Zeke stood up.

  Jonah could no longer hold his laughter and a slight muffle escaped. Zeke turned and gave him an ugly look.

  “Here you go!” The tall guy came back carrying the box of sneakers. “Size thirteen, right?”

  “NO! I said eleven and you said you had them. I asked like five times.” Zeke shook his head.

  “Calm down, boo. I got you,” the man laughed.

  “Stop playing Ricardo!” Lydia took the box from him. “They are an eleven. Is this all for you tonight?”

  Lydia opened the box and took out the red sneakers, passing them to Zeke who inspected them all over.

  “No, that’s not all,” Zeke told her. “I’m still tryna figure out why you say I’m not your type.”

  “I guess I kinda know what I like,” Lydia told him, then gestured toward Jonah. He was really confused and made sure she wasn’t talking about someone behind him.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Zeke laughed. “Him?”

  “What? He’s cute and he’s different?”

  “He’s corny and white!” Zeke said and turned to Jonah and said, “You know you’re my boy, no offense.”

  “None taken,” Jonah told him, still shocked at what was taking place.

  “Trust me, she likes corny,” Ricardo told them. “Now the whole white thing is kinda shocking to me. But, whatever floats your boat.”

  “That will be twenty eight seventy,” Lydia said.

  “Wow, I thought they would be way more than that. I can maybe swing that. Do you have any in a ten and a half? I got thirty bucks,” Jonah stepped up to the counter next to Zeke.

  They all laughed and he was confused.

  “I told you he was corny.” Zeke shook his head. “These kicks are way more than thirty damn bucks.”

  “I thought she said twenty eight seventy,” Jonah responded.

  “Twenty eight hundred sweetie!” Ricardo told him.

  “DOLLARS?” Jonah was shocked. “For some gym shoes?”

  “They aren’t gym shoes man,” Zeke said, taking out his credit card and handing it to Lydia.

  Jonah glanced up and his eyes met hers and she smiled. He looked down again, hoping she didn’t see him blushing.

  “Really at the end of the day that’s what they are,” Lydia told them.

  “No they aren’t,” Ricardo said. “They are limited edition classics and a rare collector’s item. They are more than ‘gym shoes’ don’t get it twisted. Why do you work here again? Oh, that’s right because your daddy knows the owner.”

  “I think it’s because of her amazing customer service skills and her gorgeous smile,” Jonah shrugged.

  They all turned to look at him and this time when he looked up at Lydia he didn’t look down. The energy between them was so intense that he knew it had to be love.

  “Well damn. Maybe he ain’t so corny after all,” Ricardo said. “I think they may be a match made in heaven.”

  Ricardo was right; for Jonah, Lydia was heaven sent just for him. They began dating and it was as if he had known her his entire life despite their many differences. He grew up in the suburbs of Anne Arundel, Maryland and she was from the inner city of Baltimore. He graduated from high school and immediately entered the police academy and a navy reservist and she was working on a Master’s Degree in Education. He was a corny white guy who loved animals and she was a beautiful black woman who enjoyed running and was afraid of dogs. His family loved her, her family didn’t feel the same. But they made it work. He proposed to her a year and a half later and she said yes. They were preparing to move in together when his Reserve unit was being activated and he was being sent to Afghanistan for six months.

  “I want to marry you before I leave,” he told her. “Let’s go to the courthouse tomorrow.”

  “No, I want us to have a wedding, baby. A beautiful church wedding with all of our family and friends and my dad walking me down the aisle,” Lydia leaned into his chest. They were laying on the sofa trying to figure out their living situation.

  “Do you think your family will even come to a big church wedding? Your dad technically didn’t even give me permission to marry you.”

  Jonah and Lydia were visiting her parents’ home one Saturday evening when he hinted to her dad that he wanted to marry her. He didn’t get the chance to ask his permission because her father immediately went into a lecture about how Lydia had an amazing future ahead of her and other goals to accomplish before she was tied down to be someone’s wife. He then continued to say how he and his wife had sacrificed to make sure that Lydia had everything she needed to accomplish those goals without the help of a man, especially one that wasn’t educated and headed in the same direction of success as his daughter. Jonah’s first instinct was to respond by telling her father that he had his own goals that he planned on accomplishing, but somehow becoming a K-9 specialist in the police department didn’t seem as impressive as he thought it would. He wanted to say that he wasn’t trying to tie Lydia down, but he loved her and wanted to make her his wife. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and he wanted her to be the mother of his children. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t. He figured he would save it for another time.

  “My dad is just trying to be intimidating like he does to all the guys I’ve dated. You’re not gonna let him scare you off are you?” Lydia teased.

  “I ain’t neva scared! I ain’t neva scared!” Jonah said in his best Bone Crusher impersonation.

  Lydia laughed. “And that’s what made me fall in love with you. You remember that day you and Zeke came in the sneaker spot? I saw this cute white dude with swag nodding to the beat.”

  “Swag?” Jonah laughed.

  “Yeah, the fact that you knew ALL the words to UGK’s International Players Anthem let me know that you had swag. Plus, you were with Zeke so I knew you couldn’t be that bad.”

  “Zeke just knew he was about to make that move on you until you shot him down!”

  “I told you on that day that I knew what I wanted and I got it!”

  Jonah kissed her and said, “I want to marry you tomorrow. You know I’m about to leave and just in case…”

  “I don’t want you to marry me out of fear.”

  “It’s not out of fear. It’s because I love you and I want to make sure…”

  “Just make sure you bring your ass back here in one piece so we can have a huge church wedding when you get back. Trust me, I’ll have plenty of planning to keep me busy while you’re gone. Now promise me you’re gonna do that when you get back!”

  “I promise as long as you promise to give me a baby as soon as we get married!”

  “I promise!” she said and he kissed her again.

  Jonah’s deployment went by quicker than they both anticipated. He hoped that by the time he returned, her father would have had a change of heart. However, thin
gs were no better when he got back. He was still not feeling the two of them getting married. Jonah knew it couldn’t have been because a race issue because Lydia’s older sister had married an Asian guy and he and her father got along exceptionally well. There was just something about Jonah that her father did not like. Things didn’t get any better once the two of them decided to move in together before the wedding.

  “So you’re just going to move my baby girl all the way out here and shack up, huh? You think that’s appropriate?” Her father asked while he was moving some of Lydia’s things into Jonah’s apartment.

  “No sir, not at all,” Jonah told him. “It’s just temporary until the wedding in four months. I would marry Lydia tomorrow if she would let me.”

  “So, you don’t think she deserves the wedding of her dreams? You just wanna take her to the courthouse without any of us being there, huh?”

  It was a no win situation and Jonah was glad when Lydia’s mother came in and said, “Leave him alone. He loves her, she loves him. They are saving money to close on their house. It’s happening. Let it go.”

  “I just think she deserves better. She is a good girl,” her dad mumbled, walking back out to the moving truck and Jonah could make out the words broke, struggling, and hopeless.

  “Thank you,” Jonah said to Lydia’s mother. “And you’re right, I do love her more than anything in this world.”

  “I know you do,” her mother said. “Just promise me you won’t let anything happen to my baby.”

  “I promise,” Jonah said and for the first time since they had met, she hugged him.

  Jonah kept his promise and he and Lydia were happily counting down the days to the wedding. She went to go meet her mother and pick up her wedding gown one evening and came back exhausted, falling onto the couch.

  “Did you get the dress?” he asked her. “How does it look? Let me see.”

  “Yes, I got the dress. It’s gorgeous, and no you can’t see it. It’s not even here so you can’t even sneak and take a peek. It’s at my parents’ house, safe and sound.”

  “Oh, I definitely won’t be going over there to see it,” he told her. She looked a little strange and he asked, “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m just tired. This wedding is taking its toll on me a little.”

  “You’re not getting cold feet are you?”

  “Of course not, baby. I love you and I can’t wait to become Mrs. Jonah Harrington.”

  “That sounds so sexy,” he told her. “Come on future Mrs. Harrington, let’s go to bed and practice making this baby you want.”

  “Give me a minute, honey. I’ll be right up.”

  Jonah went upstairs, took a shower, and climbed into bed, waiting on his fiancé. He didn’t even realize he fell asleep until he woke up and realized it was two in the morning and Lydia still hadn’t come upstairs yet. He went back down and saw that she was still laying on the sofa. Walking over and trying to wake her, he saw that she wasn’t breathing.

  “Lydia! Lydia!” He called out and started doing CPR on her. He was so confused and didn’t know whether to stop and call for help or keep going in an effort to save her. He grabbed her cell phone which was laying on the coffee table and dialed 9-1-1.

  Jonah took off his headphones and realized his dogs were barking incessantly. Something was wrong. He rushed out the back door to the kennels where they were kept. All eight of his German Shepherds were jumping and trying their best to get his attention.

  “Calm down guys!” he yelled as he walked closer and closer into the backyard. His nose filled with the smell of smoke and his eyes began to burn as he saw exactly why his four legged friends were barking.

  Micah Burke

  The Guesthouse

  1547 Harrington Way

  “So when do you leave and when are you coming back?”

  “The conference starts on next Thursday, so I fly out Wednesday afternoon and I will be back on Saturday evening.”

  “You know we are supposed to attend the dinner for Deacon Garrison and his wife’s anniversary Saturday night. We discussed this month’s ago and I already sent the RSVP in.”

  Micah laughed, “Yes sweetheart I know.”

  “Why are you laughing?” Adrienne asked. They had spent most of the day together, ending the evening having dinner at his place while they watched two movies on Netflix until she left just before midnight, as she always did.

  “Because you are already sounding like a minister’s wife, that’s why. Is this what I have to look forward to?”

  “Yes, it is. And I’m just wondering why you keep taking on more and more of these conferences with your schedule already being full.”

  “I’m not taking on more conferences. You already know this one wasn’t even scheduled. It’s one I agreed to do at the last minute because Dad volunteered me to do it.”

  “You mean he ‘voluntold’ you to do it.”

  “Pretty much. Should I tell him you said I can’t go?” Micah asked. He met Adrienne soon after her parents moved to the area and joined the church. He had just began working as the youth pastor of Greater Works Assembly of Faith under his father. Micah loved being youth pastor because he had a sincere love for kids. But he knew this position was only a temporary assignment and a part of his being groomed to someday take over his father’s ministry. They weren’t even in elementary school when their father started the church. It was all Micah could remember; sitting in the pews beside his mother and brother while their father preached. Unlike his twin, Micah loved church. He loved the people, the music, the spirit, the emotion he felt as his father bellowed out a sermon. He knew he had been called to ministry like his father. It was inevitable.

  “I didn’t say you couldn’t go. I’m just hoping you know I’m not planning this wedding by myself,” Adrienne sighed. “I put in some applications online for a night job so I can…”

  “Night job? For what?” Micah sat up in his bed and turned on the lamp sitting on his nightstand.

  “This wedding is going to be costly, Micah. You already know that. We have my family, your family, the church members and staff that you know we have to invite, not to mention the people your parents are probably inviting. There’s no way my family is gonna be able to foot the bill on this one. I have to be able to help them pay.”

  “Adrienne, no one expects you to pay for the wedding. My mother has already started setting things in motion. I heard her talking to someone earlier about hiring a wedding planner,” he laughed. “Baby, we got this. Trust me. Your family doesn’t have to do anything except show up.”

  “Micah, that’s not right and you know it. There is no way my father is going to just let you all pay for the wedding.”

  “There is no way I’m gonna let you get a night job. With my hectic schedule we don’t get to spend enough time together as it is. Don’t do it. Everything will work itself out. I promise.”

  “Okay, Pastor Micah, I gotta go now,” she said. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. I could really show you how much if you would’ve listened to me and stayed the night,” he told her.

  “Now you know that wasn’t gonna happen when you asked me.”

  “Come on Adrienne. You know there would not have been any funny business. I wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want me to do.”

  “That’s the problem,” Adrienne giggled. “What I would’ve wanted you to do to me. Besides, how would that look? Me spending the night at the Bishop’s house?”

  “You wouldn’t be spending the night at the Bishop’s house. You would be spending the night with your fiancé in your future home which is separate from the Bishop’s house. And no one would even know that you were over here.”

  “Your parents would see my car there. And besides, the Bible says flee the appearance of evil. It’s not WHAT we would have been doing if I stayed over there, but what it APPEARED that we were doing. Why do we keep having this same argument every time I come over?”

  “B
ecause you never give in and spend the night like I ask you to,” Micah groaned.

  “I love you, your ministry and your immaculate reputation too much to even give into that temptation. Just think about this, in a few months I will be spending the night with you in our home every single night.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Me neither. Now, get some sleep and dream of me.”

  “That would be easier if you send me a pic to look at before I close my eyes.” Micah made a last ditch effort to at least get his fiancé to give him a glimpse of what he had to look forward to.

  “Goodnight Pastor Micah,” was Adrienne’s response.

  “Goodnight.” Micah didn’t even try to cover his disappointment.

  Neither one of them were virgins. They both knew that but they had been celibate since before they met almost two years ago. Adrienne was away at college and she came to visit one Sunday with them. Micah was instantly attracted not only to her athletic, toned body and beautiful smile, but he was also drawn to her humble spirit and quiet demeanor. He was surprised a few weeks later when he arrived at one of the local homeless shelters to find that she was volunteering as well. She told him that her parents were spending the holidays with out of town relatives and he invited her back to their house for dinner. His family immediately liked her as much as he did and they began dating. A year later, after receiving her father’s permission, along with seeking the nod of approval from his own father, he proposed in front of the entire four thousand members of the congregation in attendance one Sunday. Micah was happy that he was able to make his parents proud and distract them from the stress and strain that they had been dealing with caused by Malachi and his antics. He had lived his entire life being good: a good student, a good son, a good friend, a good boyfriend, and soon, he would be a good husband. Micah could not imagine doing anything other than being a good person and living out his purpose by serving God, serving in his father’s ministry, and serving the youth and the people that needed him. Doing the right thing just came natural to him.