Don't Tell A Soul (17 page)

YVONNE

 

 

 

 

“W
hy are you getting off at this exit? This is the Cedar Point exit. Port Clinton and Put-in-Bay are a few exits up.”

Kingston smiles at me and says, “Change of plans. Let's stop at the amusement park for a few hours, ride some rides, eat some cotton candy, and then go to Put-in-Bay for dinner.”

“Caramel apples.”

“Is that a yes?”

I nod. “Only if we're getting some freshly dipped caramel apples. With nuts. That's my favorite thing to eat at Cedar Point.”

“Oh, I've got so many favorite things to eat there, but my ultimate favorite is the Pierre's butter pecan ice cream on top of a warm funnel cake.”

My stomach growls as Kingston describes some of the yummy treats waiting for us inside Cedar Point. I haven't been to the amusement park in years, not since I volunteered to chaperone the youth ministry a few years ago for their end-of-the-school-year outing.

“It shouldn't be too crowded this early, and the Memorial Day traffic is next weekend,” Kingston continues. “So we should be able to get some rides in before it gets too hot outside.”

“It tickles me that you like to ride the rides. That's for the young people.”

“We are the young people, Yvonne! We're far from old.”

“I guess so. I haven't ridden a roller coaster since I was in my twenties.”

“You never forget how. Buckle up and scream.”

I chuckle as I reminisce about roller coasters. “You mean, close my eyes and then scream.”

Kingston pulls into the Cedar Point parking lot, which is about half full. I'm glad I decided to wear my walking shoes. If I had gotten too cute, this would not have been a positive adventure.

As we walk to the front gate of the amusement park, Kingston's hand brushes against mine from time to time. Kingston doesn't seem to notice the contact, but I do. Each touch sends a little warm shiver up my arm. By the time we reach the front of the amusement park, I'm ready for Kingston to just go ahead and take my hand in his, but he acts totally oblivious to what I'm feeling. It has such an effect on me that I wonder if he's doing it on purpose.

“Oh no,” I say as we get up to the window to pay. Do Rhoda and Rochelle have some type of radar gun that tells them where Kingston and I are going to be?

“It's our friends,” Kingston says with a giggle.

“Your friends.”

I notice that Rhoda and Rochelle are wearing the same T-shirt, long jean skirt, white socks, and thick gym shoes. They even have matching sun visors with see-through blue, red, and green screens. I didn't even know that they made those anymore.

“Well, look who we keep running into,” Rhoda says.

Rochelle says, “It must be God. You know, they say you can leave the church grounds, but you can't get away from church folk.”

“Who says that, Rochelle?” I ask. “What are y'all doing out here today?”

“It's a free country, Yvonne, but if you must know, we are here for my family reunion,” Rhoda says.

“That's great!” Kingston says. “Are y'all barbecuing?”

Rhoda nods. “Yessir. We've got ribs, burgers, steaks, sausages, hot dogs. Anything you want. And the side dishes are delicious, too. I made them myself.”

“Good. Maybe Yvonne and I will stop at your family's pavilion when we get hungry,” Kingston says.

I narrow my eyes slightly at this suggestion. I have no intention of spending my date with Rhoda's country, pig feet– and hog maw–eating family.

Rochelle says, “Good! Y'all can sit with me and my boyfriend.”

Now, this is news! Rochelle hasn't had a boyfriend that I know of since she's been at New Faith. I am a little bit curious about his identity, and I wonder why she'd bring her new man around Rhoda and her family of crazies.

“He ain't your boyfriend,” Rhoda says. “He's your future husband. That's what God told me, so I'm going with that. Plus, he's my cousin and I know him. He needs a good woman to take care of him.”

What in the world? I'm about to put Rochelle's silly self on my prayer list. This heifer has completely lost her mind, letting Rhoda hook her up.

“Take care of him?” I ask. “What's wrong with him?”

“He got a leg amputated in the war,” Rochelle says.

“I'm sorry to hear that. Did he go over to Afghanistan?” Kingston asks.

“No, not
that
war. The war between him and his ex-wife,” Rhoda says. “She ran him over with his pickup truck.”

I can't take a second more of this. “All right, Rhoda and Rochelle. We'll see y'all later.”

Rhoda looks both me and Kingston up and down. “Yvonne, make sure you staying holy, now. Back when we were young, they used to make us have chaperones when we were courting.”

“We're both good and grown, Rhoda,” I reply.

“Ain't too grown to get a smite from on high!”

Rhoda is obviously affected by her own “anointing.” So much so that she needs Rochelle to dab the sweat droplets on the top of her forehead. I can barely get Kingston away from them before he bursts into laughter.

“You think it's funny now,” I say as Kingston and I walk up the main amusement park fairway. “But when she puts your name on the prayer list, in bold, don't say I didn't warn you.”

“Nobody takes Rhoda seriously, except maybe Rochelle.”

“You're right. Everybody knows that she's cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, but she's got something on just about every member of our church.”

“I'm not worried about her,” Kingston says. “You want something to eat? Some French fries or ice cream?”

“It's too early for ice cream, but I will take some fries.”

Kingston walks me over to the shaded tables and benches. “I'll be right back. You can rest your feet while I stand in line.”

“I look like I need a rest?”

“No, but I plan on wearing you out today, so you better rest while you can.”

I watch Kingston walk over to the food counter, and I find myself gazing at how his broad back tapers into his waist. He looks like he spends a good deal of time at the gym. I bet his muscles ripple just right.

Oh my Lord.

This is why I dreamed about Luke last night. I think Eva has loosed some type of lust spirit over me. That's the only thing that could explain the way my mind keeps wandering to things that are quite the opposite of holy.

I sit up straight and look away from Kingston and enjoy people watching. There are cute little families pushing babies in strollers and holding toddlers by the hand. Sometimes I wonder what it would've been like to have a child to call my own. I enjoy teaching, and of course Pam's and Taylor's children are like nieces and nephews, but it is not the same as having your own.

My stubborn eyes travel back over to Kingston, and I notice he's talking on his cell phone. His arm is waving in an animated fashion, almost like he's having an argument. When he turns toward me with the tray in his hand, he is clearly not wearing his usual smile anymore.

He places the cell phone in his pocket and walks back to the table, where he sits down across from me. His eyebrows are pulled together in a frown.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

He nods. “Yes. It was my sister. She wants me to loan her five hundred dollars for my nephew who is in jail for the third time this year.”

“It's only May.”

“Exactly! She thinks my initials are ATM. It's hard being the only successful one in the family.”

“I don't really have much immediate family. I've got some second cousins down South, but my mama was an only child and so was I.”

“You should be glad that you don't have anyone hounding you with their problems.”

I don't say it, but I actually wouldn't mind hearing about or helping with someone's problems. If it wasn't for my church family, I'd be incredibly lonely. Thank God for the Sister to Sister ministry.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Kingston nods while he stuffs some greasy fries into his mouth. “Shoot.”

“What is your impression of Eva?”

“The new sister at church?”

“Yes. What do you think of her?”

Kingston swallows and wipes the excess grease from his hands. “I don't really know yet. She's so quiet, but she seems friendly.”

“She is. Do you sense anything else?”

“No. Is this a test? Should I be discerning something about her? What are you trying to say?”

“Do you find her attractive?”

Kingston's eyes widen. “So this
is
a test. I suppose she is an attractive woman, but I haven't really thought about it one way or the other.”

I wonder if Kingston or any other man could tell by the way Eva carries herself that she's led a rather loose life. After she kissed me, I started to doubt my own discernment. But if there is some mark on her, some identifying evidence of her movies, then Kingston doesn't see it, either.

“She made a pass at me,” I say and wait for Kingston's reaction.

His jaw drops in shock. Then he quickly snaps his mouth closed, because it's full of food. “Are you sure?”

I nod. “She kissed me.”

“Wow. What did you do? Throw some holy oil on her and recite some Bible verses?”

“You think you're funny,” I scoff, “but that's exactly what I wanted to do. Or something like it. The pitiful child called me this morning, apologizing again, but I don't know what to do about that.”

“Forgive her, and move on. Obviously, she misinterpreted something from you. I wouldn't dwell on it too long if I was you.”

“Really? What if it was you, and what if Eva was Evan and he kissed you? What would you do?”

“After I knocked him out cold?”

“Exactly.”

“I'd pray for him, and I would make it clear that our relationship wasn't a sexual one.”

“What a calm answer,” I say.

“I'm a levelheaded kind of guy.”

“So you're okay with me continuing a friendship with her?”

He shrugs. “Yes. I don't see a problem with it.”

“I'm going to be honest. I don't know how I'd feel about you being friends with a gay man who is attracted to you.”

“It's different with women.”

Now I'm the one with furrowed eyebrows. “What does
that
mean?”

“You all are always looking at each other naked, comparing body parts and all that.”

I lean back and burst into laughter. “No, we don't!”

“Okay, maybe not, but I think you should still be nice to that girl. She's young, and she has latched on to you for a reason. Maybe you need to show her how to be a true sister in Christ.”

“Maybe . . .”

“Can we talk about this after we ride the Raptor?”

My stomach flops at the thought of the twisty, twirly upside-down roller coaster. “Can I ease back into the rides? I was thinking the Blue Streak or the Wildcat maybe.”

“They tore the Wildcat down, and the Blue Streak is for toddlers.”

“Wah, wah.”

Kingston grins. “Okay. We'll do the Blue Streak first and then the Raptor. Ladies' choice.”

“Thank you!”

A sense of dread fills me as we head toward the wooden contraption. Kingston says we're young, but a part of me is feeling real senior like as I watch that tiny car fly over those tracks.

I whisper a silent prayer that this will be as fun as Kingston thinks it will be.

 

“I told you I hadn't ridden a roller coaster in years.”

Kingston holds an ice-filled plastic bag to the back of my neck to cure my nausea. I had second thoughts about that Raptor ride as soon as I clicked the lock on that overhead restraint, but Kingston was doing so much whooping and hollering that I kept quiet.

I shouldn't have.

When we stepped off the ride, I couldn't stop the sky and everything else from spinning. My vertigo was so bad that I had to sit down. But the first available seat was in the now-blazing sun, which made it infinitely worse. As much as I wanted to keep them down, those French fries found their way into the garbage can next to the bench.

“I'm so sorry, Yvonne. I didn't think you'd get sick.”

“Me either! I guess I'm just too old for this.”

Kingston sits down next to me and moves my hair out of my face. “You're not too old, Yvonne. You're just out of practice.”

I can't help but think that I'm out of practice with everything, not just amusement park rides. Kingston may have a slow learner on his hands.

“We can ride up to Put-in-Bay now if you want,” Kingston says.

The thought of getting in a car right now makes my stomach flip. “Maybe not yet. Can we just rest awhile?”

“We sure can.”

I close my eyes and take deep breaths as Kingston holds the cooling ice pack to my neck with one hand and massages my hand with the other. His touch is very calming right now, evoking nowhere near the excitement I felt earlier.

After about ten minutes of this tender loving care, I am ready to leave the park. “Let's go.” I say. “I'm ready now.”

“Are you going to be okay on the ferry?” he asks, apparently not wanting a repeat of the vomit.

“I should be. I feel better.”

“Great. We can do some sightseeing on the island and have dinner later. Does that sound tame enough for you?”