Let the Church Say Amen (12 page)

“W
HAT’S UP
, T
ERRI
?”

Jonathan felt the tap on his shoulder and turned toward the sultry voice coming from behind his booth. He was at Bennigan’s Restaurant waiting to meet Kevin for lunch.

“Uh, hey, Veronica. How are you? And why’d you call me Terri?”

“As in McMillan. You know,
Disappearing Acts.”

Jonathan didn’t know whether to laugh at Veronica’s attempt at humor, but the stoic look on her face told him that it probably wasn’t such a good idea.

“I’m listening,” she said as she slid in next to Jonathan.

“What are you talking about?” Jonathan said.

“Oh, so now we’re playing stupid? I’m talking about the fact that you just outright ignored my phone calls.”

Jonathan had been dreading the inevitable confrontation with Veronica. He sighed deeply. He hoped he wouldn’t offend her with what he had to say.

“Veronica, part of the reason I wanted to go out with you was because I knew you were a no-strings type of woman. I knew you weren’t looking for a committed relationship.”

Veronica held up her palm. “Wait, hold up. Nobody said anything about commitment. All I’m talking about is returning a phone call. Seems like we’ve got some unfinished business.” Veronica threw Jonathan a pouty expression. “I thought that I pleased you that night at my place.”

Jonathan displayed a small smile. “You did.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Veronica said, returning the smile.

Jonathan glanced at his watch. Kevin was already thirty minutes late. He wished he would appear and save Jonathan from this conversation.

“Did you hear me? I said, ‘What’s the problem?’”

“I told you I was going through some things, that’s all.”

Veronica ran her finger along Jonathan’s arm. “And you also told me that I helped you forget about those things.”

Jonathan thought quickly and said, “Look, Veronica. The real reason I didn’t call you back was because I’m involved with someone.”

“Is it Angela?” Veronica didn’t give him time to answer. “I heard you two were kicking it.”

Jonathan didn’t respond. He and Angela hadn’t officially committed but they were spending more and more time together.

“Well, I’m not a man-stealer,” Veronica said, seductively leaning in, “although I could be one if I wanted to.”

She grabbed Jonathan’s hand, maneuvered it under her skirt, and placed it between her legs. She wasn’t wearing any panties. Jonathan tried to jerk his hand away, but Veronica had it firmly gripped. Jonathan looked around nervously. They were in a booth, but Jonathan still felt uneasy. Veronica acted like she couldn’t care less.

“It’s such a shame that you won’t get to experience the full range of this.” She pushed his hand deeper in her crotch. “I’m almost willing to bet you’ve never had anything this good.” Still holding onto his hand, Veronica eased it away. She lifted it to her mouth, seductively running his index finger across her tongue. “Oh, well, give me a buzz if things don’t work out.” Veronica dropped his hand, slipped out of the booth, ran her hands down her hips, and sauntered off without looking back.

Jonathan leaned his head against the back of the booth and closed his eyes. He refused to entertain any more thoughts of Veronica or having meaningless sex. That’s one of the reasons he enjoyed being with Angela. Despite their initial time together, there was no pressure to have sex. And until he cleared his head up, he needed to stay sex-free.

Jonathan felt a pair of eyes on him. He looked up and saw Kevin staring at him in amazement. “Man, who was that that just left?”

“That was Veronica,” Jonathan said, nonchalantly.

“Veronica, the freak? The one that you were telling me about?”

Suddenly Jonathan regretted telling Kevin about his night with Veronica.

Kevin was the only friend Jonathan had kept in touch with after he went away to college. A consummate ladies’ man, it was in his footsteps that Jonathan had followed prior to meeting Tracy.

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“Man, that’s the best-looking freak I’ve ever seen.” Kevin sat down across from Jonathan. “Tell me I did not see her stick your hand up her skirt?”

“How long were you standing there gaping?”

Kevin grinned. “Long enough. Is that what she did?”

“Yeah. Can we order now? I’m starved.” Jonathan motioned for the waitress. He ordered a Sprite and a dish of potato skins as an appetizer. Kevin ordered a Bud Light and asked for a few more minutes to figure out what he wanted to eat.

“Wow. I didn’t know you had it like that,” Kevin said, once the waitress had walked off.

“I don’t; believe me, man, I don’t.”

“So, what did she want?”

“To finish what we started.”

“And you ain’t all over that? Man, you’ve lost your mind.” Kevin noticed the melancholy look on Jonathan’s face. “Don’t tell me you’re still hung up on ol’ girl in Atlanta?”

Jonathan had told Kevin a little about Tracy. He had been careful not to tell everything, as he was sure Kevin wouldn’t understand.

Moments later, the waitress returned with their drinks. Kevin smiled at her. “Thank you, beautiful. You can bring my drink anytime.”

The waitress rolled her eyes like she was used to tired pickup lines. “Have you all decided what you want?” she said, looking at Jonathan.

“Give us the double order of fajitas, please.”

The waitress scribbled the information on her pad, stuck the pencil in her apron, then asked, “Anything else?” She never looked at Kevin.

“That’ll be it,” Kevin snidely remarked. “Just bring my man’s potato skins. If we need anything else, we’ll summon you.” His hand flicked to shoo her off. The waitress threw him a hateful look before walking off.

“So much for her tip.” Kevin didn’t handle rejection very well. He usually didn’t have to. His half-Venezuelan background saw to that. His flawless caramel color, accented by light brown eyes and wavy black hair, and coupled with his outgoing and humorous personality, usually made the women find him irresistible.

“You need to let Tracy go,” Kevin said. “Don’t make no sense for a man to be wrapped up in a woman like that. There’s too many of them out there. You’re walking around in a deep depression, turning down a woman like Veronica. You have to be crazy. The best advice I can give you, let that girl go.”

Jonathan looked at his friend. He wanted so bad to talk about what was going on with him and Tracy, but the longest relationship Kevin had ever been in lasted only three months. He wouldn’t understand. Besides, Kevin definitely was not the most liberal-minded person on the face of the Earth.

Kevin noticed Jonathan still looked sad. “Man, what did that girl do to you?”

Jonathan didn’t respond—he didn’t have to. Kevin’s attention had already shifted to the two women in the booth across the aisle.

“Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”

Kevin slid out of the booth and walked over to the two young ladies. Both of them were beautiful. One had a short, cropped red Afro. Jonathan usually didn’t find women with masculine hairstyles attractive, but it fit her perfectly. The other woman had long, curly hair and big, puppy-dog eyes. They were sitting down, but Jonathan could tell they had the figures to match the faces. Kevin slid in next to the woman with the Afro. She looked like his type, exotic and intriguing.

The two women began giggling and whispering to Kevin.

Five minutes later, he returned to their booth and pushed a napkin Jonathan’s way. “Janine, the one on the right, said to give her a call. I told her you had just broken up with your girlfriend and needed some comfort.”

Jonathan wanted to ball the napkin up and throw it at Kevin. “That’s how I got in the mess I’m in with Veronica,” he said. “Plus, me and Angela are hanging pretty tight.”

Jonathan didn’t want to embarrass Janine, who was looking at him, smiling, so he took the napkin, folded it up and put it in his jacket pocket. Both women waved, then eased out of their booth to leave. Janine mouthed, “Call me” as they walked out of the restaurant.

Jonathan nodded. He’d never had a problem getting women, especially hanging out with Kevin. Which is why he had been so promiscuous in high school.

“I can’t believe you and Angela are back together,” Kevin said.

“Me either. And truth be told, I don’t even know how it happened.”

The waitress returned, and without saying a word, sat their fajitas on the table and walked off.

“What is her problem?” Kevin said loud enough for her to hear. “Somebody needs some good loving in their life.”

The waitress stopped, turned around, then stomped back to their table.

“For your information,” she said, wagging her finger in Kevin’s face. “I get good loving
every
night. Better than you could ever dream of giving. And the
woman
that gives it to me does things that you wouldn’t even begin to know how to do!”

She threw her nose in the air, then turned and walked off.

“A dyke!” Kevin said, his mouth gaping wide open. “I should’ve known since she wouldn’t give me the time of day. Man, I’ll never understand what a woman thinks another woman can give her that a man can’t.” Kevin shook his head, then reached in and began loading fajitas on his plate. “That’s what’s wrong with the world today, all these messed-up people. You can’t tell the gay people from the straight ones. That girl looks perfectly normal.” He glanced back over at the waitress who was glaring at him from the corner. “Damn, what a waste. ’Cause that sister is fine.”

Jonathan shifted uncomfortably over his friend’s comment. Nope, he thought, Kevin could never know he was one of those “messed-up people.” He simply wouldn’t understand.

“R
ACHEL, DON’T BE STUPID
.”

Twyla had been on the phone for the past hour trying to talk some sense into her best friend. Rachel wasn’t listening to a word she said.

“Twyla, I’m tired of discussing this. I’m going and that’s that.” Rachel surveyed herself in the mirror, the phone nestled between her head and shoulder. She had to make sure she was looking the best she possibly could. She had to make sure Bobby knew what he was giving up. Last time, she had lost her cool, but this time would be different.

“I’m begging you, don’t do this. Haven’t you made yourself a big enough fool behind this man?”

Rachel was getting irritated now. She was tired of people always doubting her love for Bobby, and Bobby’s love for her. She knew it was still there. She could just tell in the way he talked about getting married. He said it like it was something he
had
to do and wasn’t his choice. He had even called her to make sure she had gotten home safely from jail. Granted, he just talked to her mother, but the fact that he even bothered to call at all spoke volumes. Then he refused to press charges against her. That clinched it for Rachel. She knew he still loved her.

“Twyla, you just don’t understand. Nobody does. I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t give it one last try.”

“But, Rachel, it’s his wedding day!”

“All the more reason for me to get off this phone and get going. Besides, as rushed as this wedding is, I know that ain’t nobody but Shante pushing it. Bobby wouldn’t want to throw together a wedding in two months.”

Twyla let out a long sigh. “Fine.”

Rachel smiled. She could just picture Twyla shaking her head in amazement. “Twyla, I know what I’m doing, okay?”

“Whatever you say. Call me when you get back. And don’t get yourself arrested again.”

“I will be the epitome of finer womanhood. I’m just going to make one last appeal to his heart.”

Rachel wiggled her hips in the mirror and smiled at her reflection. She was wearing a mustard-colored sundress that matched her skin tone perfectly. The front dipped just enough to show cleavage without being trashy. The dress hugged her size eight figure in all the right places.

“Like I said, whatever you say. Just call me. Bye.”

Rachel hung up the phone, determined not to let Twyla spoil her mood. She planned to ease into the church unnoticed and try to talk some sense into Bobby to call this wedding off.

Rachel took one last look in the mirror, smiled confidently, and snapped off the lights before stepping out of her meager little apartment. As usual on Saturday nights, her mother was watching the kids. If her prayers were answered, she could bring Bobby back to her place after all this wedding nonsense was over.

Rachel was still having a hard time comprehending that the love of her life was going to get married in her father’s church.

She knew Shante had been a member since she was six years old, but she was never there. Sure, her parents were active members of Zion Hill, but they knew Bobby was Rachel’s man, so they should’ve paid for their old stank daughter to have her wedding somewhere else. Bobby didn’t go to church, so it wasn’t like they could get married at his parents’ church, but they still could’ve found a nice garden or something. The fact that Shante was adamant about getting married at Zion Hill showed she had no respect for Rachel. And Rachel was not the least bit fazed about crashing her wedding.

Rachel swung her little Ford Escort into a parking space in the back of the church. The parking lot was already filling up and the wedding wouldn’t start for another hour. Rachel noticed her father’s car parked in the pastor’s spot and her stomach turned even more flips. She was too through with him. He was actually going to officiate this ceremony, even though he knew how much it hurt her. As always, he tried to feed her that mess about his obligations as pastor. What about his obligations as a father? Even her mother had pleaded with him to let one of the associate pastors handle the wedding. But no, he didn’t want any church members talking about him for not performing the ceremony.

“Fine,” Rachel muttered as she got out of the car. “Reverend Jackson, you’re going to feel like a fool when Bobby calls this thing off.”

Rachel made her way into the back of the church. She heard giggling coming from the main choir room and figured that’s where Shante and her bridesmaids were getting dressed. She definitely didn’t want them, or anyone from Shante’s family, to see her. They probably would tackle her to keep her from getting to Bobby.

Rachel eased past her father’s office and down the hall on the opposite wing. The groom usually got dressed in the old choir room just down the hall. It was a lot smaller, but perfect for guys who didn’t need nearly as much room as women.

Rachel hadn’t yet figured out how she would get Bobby to talk to her. She hadn’t figured much of anything out. She was just following her heart and praying that it would all work out.

For a minute, it seemed like God was on her side. Travis, Bobby’s best man, had just come out of the choir room. He was humming a tune, a huge smile across his face. Rachel broke into a smile herself. Travis had always liked her and Bobby as a couple. He told her on more than one occasion how he wished they could work things out.

“Travis.” Rachel’s voice was just a whisper. She had ducked into the men’s restroom and was now peering from behind the door.

Travis turned toward Rachel. The smile immediately left his face. “Rachel. What are you doing?”

Rachel looked up and down the hall, making sure it was safe to come out. “Travis, where’s Bobby?”

“Getting ready to get married.” Travis had a genuine look of concern across his face. “What are you doing here?”

“I just need to talk to him. Can you go get him?”

Travis walked toward Rachel and took her hand. “Rachel, you know you’re my girl, but don’t do this. Don’t mess up this day for Bobby.”

Rachel’s heart sank. Even Travis was turning against her now. “Please, Travis. Just go get him. Tell him to come talk to me and I’ll leave. Otherwise I’m not going anywhere.”

“Rachel,” Travis pleaded with exasperation.

“I promise I won’t act a fool; just go get Bobby.”

Travis sighed, but seemed resigned that the sooner he went and got Bobby, the quicker this would be over with. “Wait right here.” He turned and went back into the choir room.

It seemed like he was gone a long time, but Rachel’s watch said it had only been a few minutes. Bobby slowly opened the door to the choir room and stepped out. He was wearing a black, double-breasted tuxedo with a gold bow tie and matching cummerbund. Although he looked amazingly handsome, he still seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I knew he didn’t want to get married,
Rachel thought, breaking out in a big, seductive smile.

“Hey,” she said, stepping out of the restroom.

“Rachel, what’s up?” Bobby bore a cautious expression.

Rachel began fidgeting with her purse strap. “I just wanted to see you, just in case you changed your mind or something.” She laughed nervously.

Bobby took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them and said, “Rachel, I’m not going to change my mind.”

There was an awkward silence between the two of them for a moment. Rachel said a silent prayer. This was her last chance. “I’m sorry, Bobby.”

“For what?”

Her voice cracked. “For everything. For Tony. For giving you a hard time. For not being the woman you wanted.”

“Rachel, that’s in the past.”

“Just tell me one thing,” Rachel said, sniffing.

“What?”

“Do you still love me?”

He didn’t answer.

Rachel continued, although she knew she was grasping at straws. “You’ve got to still care for me. You called to make sure I was okay after I got arrested. You didn’t press charges.”

Bobby sighed. “Rachel, you will always be special to me because you’re the mother of my child.”

Rachel searched his face, hoping desperately to see the love. “Is that all?”

“And because of what we once shared. But now, I’m marrying Shante. You’ve got to accept that.” Bobby looked at Rachel sympathetically.

Rachel stared down at the floor, despair written across her face. “So this is it?”

“Yeah, this is it. We’re still going to have contact. We have to for Jordan. But for you and me, it’s over.”

Rachel slowly lifted her head. She looked defeated, but that quickly changed when she noticed Shante storming down the hall, wedding dress and all. Rachel decided to act fast. “I understand. Good-bye, Bobby.” She leaned in, wrapped her arms around him, and planted the deepest, most ferocious kiss she could on his lips.

Bobby didn’t push her off and throw her to the ground like she feared. He kissed her back, albeit briefly, but he kissed her!

Rachel knew he still felt something for her!

Bobby clutched her arms and pushed her away.

“Rachel—” he began.

Too late. “I know you didn’t!” Shante shouted at her. She clawed out at Rachel but Rachel moved just in time. She mockingly laughed as Shante spouted out obscenities.

“Remember, you’re in a church,” Rachel said as she jumped behind Travis, who had run out from the choir room. She wasn’t scared of Shante, but even she knew hell hath no fury like a woman scorned on her wedding day.

“Shante!” Bobby shouted.

“I saw it!” Shante said, crying. “You kissed that tramp on MY WEDDING DAY!” One of her bridesmaids was now behind her and trying to restrain her. A huge crowd had started to gather.

“He sure did kiss me, sweetheart,” Rachel taunted. “That’s because his heart still belongs to me. It will always belong to me!”

“You two-bit slut!” Shante screamed. She lunged at Rachel and caught some of her hair. She jerked so hard she sent Rachel flailing to the ground. Before anyone could move, Shante was on top of her pounding her face. “You try and mess up my day!”

Rachel could only cover her face and try to ward off the blows. It took Bobby, Travis, and several bridesmaids to get Shante off Rachel.

They were still trying to restrain her when Simon came running down the hall. “What in Sam Hill is going on down here?” Simon asked.

“Ask your whorish daughter!” Shante screamed. “Ask her why she would come and try to ruin my wedding day!”

Rachel struggled to get up off the floor. She felt her lip and left eye swelling. Even though she hadn’t touched Shante, the bride looked like she had been dragged through the mud. Her veil was knocked off, the beaded bodice was torn, and there was a rip in her train.

“Rachel, what are you doing here?”

Rachel didn’t answer her father. She just rolled her eyes at all the people looking at her with a mixture of pity and disgust.

“Get into my office, young lady!” Simon ordered. When Rachel didn’t move, he bellowed, “Now!”

Rachel huffed, threw one last smug look at Shante, then sauntered off, limping because one of the heels on her sandals had been broken. She heard her father trying to comfort Shante and tell her and Bobby to go talk. Rachel smiled as she walked right past her father’s office. She had no intention of waiting on him. Rachel headed out to her car, a look of satisfaction crossing her face. She didn’t care that everyone was probably talking about her like a dog. All that mattered was she had broken up Bobby and Shante’s wedding. Her mission had been accomplished.