A Good Man (55 page)

“Yes, but I have to do something first.” Sonya hugged Larry. “Thank you.”

“Thank you, my princess.” Larry stepped away.

Sonya faced John and Tony. “John, Tony, before I tell you my decision, I have a few things to tell you … and the rest of the world.” Sonya took a deep breath. “I am not twenty-five. I’m forty.”

“No way,” Tony said.

“Way,” Sonya said. “My real name is Sonya Richardson, and I used to play a lot of basketball. I have four WNBA championship rings and two Olympic gold medals. And yet John beat me soundly twice in a one-on-one basketball game in Alabama. I didn’t even score a point. I still can’t get over that. Anyway, Tony, I’m old enough to be your mama. Are you surprised?”

“Yes and no,” Tony said. “I knew you were some kind of athlete, and I kinda knew you were older than your sister. But forty? No way.”

And now for the next bombshell. Help me, Jesus. “And about my sister. Shani is not my sister.” Get ready, world. More specifically, get ready, John. “Shani is my daughter.”

Tony blinked, smiled, and laughed. “She’s your … daughter?”

John only stared at Sonya, his smile gone.

Is that his stone face or what? Sonya thought. Lord, help me. Make his face shine again.

“Yes, um, Tony. She’s twenty-six going on seventy.” I can’t read John at all. What’s he thinking? Why isn’t he smiling? “When I was barely a teenager, I did something I shouldn’t have done and got pregnant. And then I did another thing I shouldn’t have done. I gave up my daughter for adoption. I regretted it every day for the next twenty years until we found each other again six years ago. I love her with all my heart. Tony, her real name is—”

“Shani Neliah,” Kim interrupted. “That’s my real name.” Kim hugged Sonya and whispered, “I love you, Mama.”

That wasn’t for the world, just for me. Thank You, God. What You have for me is just for me.

Sonya wiped her daughter’s tears and her own. “Before I tell you two what I hope is the last decision I will ever make alone, I have a few more questions. Tony, is there anything you would like to tell me that I don’t already know? You know you failed that lie detector test miserably yesterday. Start there.”

Tony swayed a little, putting his hands behind his back. “I lied all through that test because I wasn’t thinking about you, Jazz. I was thinking about Shani. I am in love with your daughter.”

Sonya rolled her eyes. “I already knew that, Tony.” She looked directly at the camera. “You see, America, we did a little flimflam on you. What happened in New Orleans really didn’t happen the way you saw it happen. For three days, I hung out with Tony and his family when the cameras were rolling. After they packed up the cameras, my daughter and Tony went out on the town until sunrise.” Sonya narrowed her eyes at Tony. “Why are you still standing there? I’m not your princess. Go get your princess, Tony.”

Tony zipped up to Shani and lifted her high into the air. When he finally let her settle down, he said, “I love you, Shani.”

“I love you, Tony,” Kim said, and then they kissed.

And kissed.

And … kissed.

“Hold up now,” Sonya said. “I’m not done with your man yet. Let him go, Shani.”

“Yes, Mama,” Shani said.

That “mama” was for the world. I will never get tired of hearing that. “Tony, do you really, honestly, with all your heart, soul, and mind, love my daughter, Shani?”

Tony nodded. “Yes.”

“And you’ll protect her and care for her,” Sonya said, “and keep her in line better than I ever could?”

“I’ll try,” Tony said, “but I’d rather let her be free.”

“Good answer, Tony,” Sonya said. That’s the only right answer. “Shani, do you love Tony with all your heart, soul, and mind?”

“Yes.”

Sonya smiled. “Y’all can kiss some more.”

They did.

Hey, bud, watch your hands. “Now get out of my sight and out of my light. You’re ruining my take.”

Tony and Shani walked over to Larry.

Sonya addressed the camera. “America, I’m really not like this. I am so shy. You wouldn’t believe how shy I am. I may have played in front of thousands, but I am so … shy when I’m with the right person.” She smiled at John. “John?”

“Yes, Sonya?”

Oh, God, I hope that’s a smile. “You passed the lie detector test with flying colors. You answered every question truthfully. Is there anything you want to tell me that I don’t already know?”

“You have a beautiful daughter, Sonya,” John said.

“Thank you,” Sonya said. I really needed to hear that … acceptance in his voice.

“We’ll have to keep praying for her, though, won’t we?” John asked.

“Yes, though I think she’s in good hands.” And he better keep his hands off Shani this minute! Boy, we’re on live TV!

John left his mark and sauntered over to Sonya. “There’s something else you don’t know, Sonya.” He took Sonya’s hands. “You asked me if I was in love with you, and I said nope.”

Sonya nodded. “That’s what he said. Nope. I hate that word.”

“I’m still not in love with you, Sonya,” John said.

And I’m crying again. “But why?”

“I’m not in love with you, Sonya, because I love you.”

“But … what’s the difference?” Sonya asked.

“People say they’re in love or out of love. Love shouldn’t be something to get into and then get out of. Love shouldn’t be something you fall into or fall out of either. Love isn’t that easy. Love is not some place you can walk into and then leave any time you want. Love is a permanent place to stay.”

I’m trembling like a leaf, Sonya thought. My man’s preaching to the world!

“Love is patient, kind, and endures all things, Sonya,” John said. “Love never fails. I want to stay in that patient, kind place that endures all things and never fails forever. Sonya, I love you, and I want to live with you in that place of love forever.”

“I love you,” Sonya said.

They then set a record for the longest hug in reality TV history.

John pulled back first. “America, I’m forty-one, a former preacher, and a widower. My wife, Sheila, and daughter, Khari, died fifteen years ago. I came on this show to find a wife, and I have found her.” John kneeled and pulled a gold ring from his pocket. “Sonya Richardson, I want to make you my wife. Will you be my wife?”

“Oh, yes.” I’m a gold woman!

John stood and slipped the ring onto her finger. “You can wear comfortable shoes or no shoes under your dress at our wedding if you want.” John looked down.

Oh no … John, you don’t have to—

He slipped his feet out of his shoes. “I don’t intend to wear any shoes at our wedding.”

“What will the people at New Hope think?” Sonya asked.

“My apologies to the members of the New Hope AME in Burnt Corn, Alabama,” John said. “I know some of y’all expected to see us get hitched there, but I can’t wait that long. Sonya, I intend to marry you on the beach in Bora Bora … tomorrow.”

I have lost all feeling in my body. “Tomorrow?”

“We’re not getting any younger, and I know I can’t wait another minute.”

Oh, yes! Sonya threw herself against John. “God is good.”

“All the time,” John said. He kissed Sonya quickly. “Larry, how much time do we have before we wrap?”

“Two minutes, thirty seconds,” Larry said.

“Let’s set a record, then,” John said.

“I’m game,” Sonya said, and they locked lips all the way until the commercial …

… and Sonya kicked off her shoes toward the camera.

From the Tahiti Presse, April 5

John James Bond and Sonya Marie Richardson were married barefoot in a sunset ceremony on the beach at the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa. Tony Charpentier served as the best man, and Shani Neliah Allen served as the maid of honor. The happy couple will make their home in Burnt Corn, Alabama, where John has accepted the position of youth pastor at New Hope African Methodist Episcopal.

From the Commercial Appeal, May 5

Gary Lovett and Allison Howard were united in marriage by Pastor John James Bond, of Burnt Corn, Alabama, at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. Justin Talley and Tony Charpentier were the best men. The couple’s daughters, A’isha and Bria, served as flower girls.

From the Ventura County Star, May 19

Justin Talley, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Brandy Baldwin, of Ventura, were united in holy matrimony at the Bethel AME in Oxnard by Pastor John James Bond of Burnt Corn, Alabama. Gary Lovett and Tony Charpentier served as the best men. The couple will make their home in Oxnard.

From the Greenville Advocate, June 16

Pastor John and Sonya Bond of Burnt Corn praise God for the engagement of their daughter Shani Neliah Allen to Tony Charpentier, both of Los Angeles, California. The two will be united by Pastor Bond at the New Hope AME in Burnt Corn after filming of the Warner Bros. television series Folks finishes this August.

From the Greenville Advocate, March 21

Pastor John and Sonya Bond are the proud parents of twins Khari Jazz Bond and John James Bond III. Godmother Regina Mosley was there to witness the blessed event.

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