Authors: Lutishia Lovely
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Literary, #United States, #African American, #Christian, #Women's Fiction, #Contemporary Fiction, #Literary Fiction
Heaven Right Here (9 page)
18
Follow the Leader
Hope turned into the church lot and parked her Lexus convertible next to Vivian’s 700 Series BMW. She turned off the engine but remained in the car, enjoying the groove of Darius’s latest hit, “Looks Like Reign”:
“How does it look to be a kingdom citizen?
How does it look to bear His royal name?
I think it looks like we are more than conquerors,
It looks like blessings falling, in fact it looks like
reign.
Reign over troubles, over doubts and fears, reign,
reign . . .”
How does it look to bear His royal name?
I think it looks like we are more than conquerors,
It looks like blessings falling, in fact it looks like
reign.
Reign over troubles, over doubts and fears, reign,
reign . . .”
This is the one,
Hope thought as she reached for her briefcase and opened the door.
This will be the song the church troupe dances to.
Hope thought as she reached for her briefcase and opened the door.
This will be the song the church troupe dances to.
Hope had called Vivian the Wednesday following their Monday meeting and agreed to work with Melody and members from the fan group, Darius’s Crew. By Thursday, Vivian had orchestrated a conference call with herself, Hope, Darius, and Bo to develop a basic outline for aligning the group with KCCC’s youth department. Everyone agreed the fan club wouldn’t fall directly under the KCCC ministry, but rather that Hope would serve as a liaison between the two, overtly providing creative direction for the group’s expansion and covertly monitoring the girl’s activities. Darius was KCCC family, and if there was a way the church could help protect him from overzealous female teens, they were ready to do so.
Hope greeted the security guard as she walked up the sidewalk to the executive offices. “Hi, Greg.”
“Hello, Mrs. Taylor. You’re looking nice today.”
“You are too funny. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Hope?”
“No, you’re too fine for me to get familiar. I’d better stick to Mrs. Taylor.” Greg winked. “That way I stay reminded.”
“Well, in that case, I am
definitely
Mrs. Taylor to you.” Her phone rang as she stepped inside. “Hey, Frieda, what’s up? I’m just getting ready to go into a meeting.”
definitely
Mrs. Taylor to you.” Her phone rang as she stepped inside. “Hey, Frieda, what’s up? I’m just getting ready to go into a meeting.”
“Oh, that’s why you’re not available for lunch today? And you were the one squawking the loudest when I canceled on y’all to be with Giorgio.”
“Yeah, but this is different. I’m not canceling because of a man; this is God’s business.” She explained briefly about Vivian’s request for her to teach praise dancing. “I’ll call you later.”
“You do that because I want to invite you to church tomorrow.”
Frieda’s words had the desired effect. Hope stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh, wait a minute, something must be wrong with my cell phone. I know I didn’t just hear that
you
were going to invite
me
to church?”
you
were going to invite
me
to church?”
“Yes, I’m coming to Kingdom Citizens tomorrow.”
“And it’s not a holiday? I better say my prayers real good tonight because I know Jesus is coming.”
“And if he isn’t there, Shabach will be. We went out last night.”
“Shabach? I didn’t even know you knew him. Look, I can’t talk now. I’ll call you when I get out.” She entered the meeting room, turning off her cell as she did so. “Hello, everybody.”
Hope joined Vivian, the youth director, the youth minister, Melody Anderson, and Melody’s best friend, Natasha, who was also a member of Darius’s Crew. After exchanging cordialities and saying a prayer, Vivian began the meeting.
“I want to start by saying I have spoken to Darius, and while we’re not sure he’ll be able to join us today, he’s in full support of this meeting and the plans Hope and I would like to share with you.”
“Darius is going to be here?” Melody asked.
“He
may
be here,” Vivian emphasized. “And he is very excited about what we’re here to propose.”
may
be here,” Vivian emphasized. “And he is very excited about what we’re here to propose.”
Melody and Natasha exchanged excited glances.
“First of all, Melody, I’d like to commend you on the excellent job you’ve done organizing such a large group of young people to support one of our own. And so quickly! Darius tells me you just started this club, what, about a month ago?”
“Three weeks,” Melody corrected proudly.
“The club has almost five hundred members on MySpace,” Natasha offered.
“Seven hundred and fifty,” Melody corrected once again after shooting Natasha an annoyed look. “We added another couple hundred this week.”
Vivian continued, telling the group about the dance troupe Hope had coordinated before she relocated to Los Angeles as a member of one of Kansas City’s premier churches, Mount Zion Progressive. Vivian shared the vision of using resources from the fan club—those who were members of KCCC—to be the core group of the dance troupe, while the primary dancers would perform with the church’s main choir, the Kingdom Citizens Chorale.
“Mrs. Taylor,” Vivian concluded, “is a talented performer with a heart for God. She has the experience and the passion to help lead this group to the level of greatness God intended.”
Melody sat up in her seat. “Wait a minute!
I’m
the leader of this group.”
I’m
the leader of this group.”
Vivian nodded. “I understand. But when your group performs under the umbrella of the ministry, Hope will be in charge. Do you have a problem with that?”
Melody looked at the youth pastor but didn’t respond.
“What do you think, Natasha?” Hope asked.
“Hey, I think it’s cool,” Natasha said. She ignored the evil eye Melody gave her and continued. “You got it going on, married to a millionaire and stuff. So you must be doing something right. Maybe there’s a thing or two we can learn from you.” Natasha shot a cautious eye toward her best friend. “I mean, Melody is the leader and stuff, but . . . you can help us, that’s all I’m saying.”
“And that’s all we’re saying, Melody,” Vivian said. “It’s clear you’re president of the fan club. Mrs. Taylor will be in charge of incorporating some of you into our worship arts ministry. What do you think about that?”
“I’ll tell you what I think about it.” Darius had opened the door unnoticed and now strolled over to the conference table to sit down. “I think it’s a fabulous idea. Hello, Pastor, Hope, ladies,” he said, winking at the girls.
Melody showed all thirty-two pearly whites in appreciation, her sulky mood quickly forgotten with Darius’s entrance. “Yeah, Darius. I think it will be cool for Hope—uh, Mrs. Taylor—to lead our dance troupe; that’s what I was just thinking when you walked in.”
Darius simply smiled.
Hope took over. “So now that that’s settled, ladies, here’s the deal. I want to start right away with eight dancers and choreograph a routine to ‘Looks Like Reign.’ ”
Natasha was obviously excited, and while Melody tried to hide it, her eyes held a certain sparkle as well.
“Sister Vivian wants us ready to perform at the New Year’s celebration.” Hope turned to Melody. “I’d like you to help me during the auditions for the eight initial dancers. Do you have some girls in mind?”
Melody slid a sly look at Darius before answering. “Well, Natasha and I,” she began. “And then there’s Tanishia and Shaira, Valencia, Micah . . .”
19
Sixteen Will Get You Twenty
Within fifteen minutes, the first meeting of the newly minted dance group, the Kingdom Crew, had adjourned. As soon as the youth minister’s prayer ended in an enthusiastic “amen,” Melody was by Darius’s side.
“Hey, D,” she said, a broad grin adorning her face. “Did you see us last Sunday?”
“I did, and you all looked great,” he said.
Melody moved closer to him, her arm lightly brushing his. In her nervousness, she stated the obvious. “We’re gonna be your dancers now.”
“Don’t you have to audition first?”
“Not me,” Melody said with confidence. “I’m the leader. Plus, I’m the one who did all this for you. We’ve got almost a thousand members on your Web site already.”
Darius looked down at a woman-child whose feelings were written all over her face. There was absolutely no attraction, so the words were unnecessary. But still, Cy’s recent admonition floated up in his mind:
sixteen will get you twenty.
sixteen will get you twenty.
He reached around and hugged her as an uncle would a niece. “Bo and I appreciate everything you’re doing,” he said. “Sometime in the next couple weeks, you need to meet with him. He has some ideas for giveaways that will give the fans in the club something to look forward to. Oh, and I almost forgot, this is for you.”
Darius reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. Groupings of multicolored crystals formed the letters
D
and
C
, held on a silver chain. “These are going to be marketed with the next album,” he explained to an enthralled Melody. “Because of all your hard work with the fan club, you get one of the first.”
D
and
C
, held on a silver chain. “These are going to be marketed with the next album,” he explained to an enthralled Melody. “Because of all your hard work with the fan club, you get one of the first.”
“Oh, thank you, Darius,” Melody said, reaching up to hug him fiercely. She hugged him tighter still, reveling in the moment she’d dreamed of each night—being in his arms.
Darius became aware of young, tender breasts pressed against his hard chest, and the faint wisp of M by Mariah Carey mixing with his Bvlgari pour Homme Soir.
“I have necklaces for all of you,” he said as he disengaged from Melody and hugged Natasha. Belatedly he realized how Melody had misinterpreted his innocent gift.
He looked at his watch and began walking toward the executive offices. “All right, girls, you be good.”
He knocked and stepped into Derrick’s office. He’d barely sat down before Derrick spoke. “Shabach is performing Sunday—here at Kingdom.”
Darius looked at Derrick. His frown said it all.
“Why have him here? In my church?”
“This is God’s house,” Derrick countered. “And I’m not going to let what’s going on in the streets affect what’s happening in here. His staff called me two weeks ago and specifically asked if Shabach could minister this coming Sunday. He hasn’t been here in two years, and that’s long enough for whatever is going on between you to be over.”
“It’ll never be over,” Darius grumbled.
“It can be over as soon as you decide it is,” Derrick countered. “It can be over on Sunday when you step up, be the man I know you are, and show Christ’s love. Will you try to do that?”
Darius nodded and left the room. He needed Bo . . . and a drink.
20
Chocolate Twinkies
The next day, the after-church KCCC crowd in the executive suites was the usual controlled chaos, made even more frenzied by Shabach’s presence and everyone vying for a chance to say hello. Shabach was comfortable holding court. Frieda, who’d been standing by him initially, walked over to the other side of the room where Stacy, Hope, Vivian, and other guests conversed in a circle.
Hope turned and hugged her cousin. “I called you back.”
“I know. It was late when I got your message.”
Hope looked from Frieda to Shabach and back again. Clearly, getting her cousin in the church building was only the beginning to getting her saved. “Well, I’m glad to see you in church.”
“Did you enjoy the message?”
Frieda leaned in even closer. “More like I enjoyed the messenger,” she whispered. “Sistah Vivian better hold on to that chocolate Twinkie.”
Before Hope could respond, the door opened, and Darius and Bo walked in. Darius walked directly up to Shabach and held up a fist to give him some dap. Shabach hesitated, looked at Derrick, and held up his fist. They tapped lightly.
“You were the heat in there,” Darius said sincerely. “Were those LA-Gritty’s beats on ‘Sanctified’?”
Shabach nodded.
“Thought so. Those were tight.”
“Yeah, Grit added a little sumpin’-sumpin’ to the flavor, for sho.”
Seeing there wasn’t going to be WrestleMania in the place of worship, the room exhaled, and conversation around the duo resumed.
Darius remembered what his pastor had said about being the bigger man. “Listen, man, I know we’ve had our squabbles and everything, but your nabbing the Stellar and me getting a VH1 nod . . . Both our careers on the rise and whatnot, I figured maybe now is the time to squash our decade-long fight. You down with that?”
“I ain’t down with nothin’ but making sure I get mine. That’s the only thing I’m focusing on . . . ever!”
“I hear that, dude, but I’m just saying as for my part in the madness, I’m making our peace part of my New Year’s resolution. I’m going to let bygones be bygones. That’s where my head is at . . . just so you know.”
“Okay, man, yeah, we cool.” Shabach signaled Frieda, and she walked over to join them.
“You know Frieda?” he asked Darius.
“Yeah, I know her. What’s up, Frieda?”
Stacy took her son from Mother Moseley and joined Frieda with Darius and Shabach. Meanwhile, Melody and Natasha finagled their way into the room on the coattails of Melody’s parents, the Andersons. Melody tried to get some one-on-one with Darius but as soon as her mother saw Darius and Bo, she made a face and motioned Melody to follow them back out of the office. It was just as well. Bo was on Darius tighter than a fat woman’s girdle, but Melody would be as patient as she needed to be. It was rare, but she did agree with one thing her mother often said: Good things come to those who wait.
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