The Best of Everything (3 page)

“You, too,” they both said. Melanie wrote in the gratuity amount, signed one of the copies, and they left for the parking lot. When they arrived at their automobiles, they hugged each other, said their good-byes, and drove in opposite directions.

Melanie went to her condo.

Alicia rushed to the mall.

P
hillip tried his best to concentrate on the sermon he was writing, but he just couldn’t do it. Not with all the problems he and Alicia were already having. He loved his wife, more than life itself, but he hadn’t counted on her being so stubborn about her ridiculous spending habits. He’d been trying to reason with her, but no matter what he said, she didn’t seem to be happy living a normal life. To her, normal meant expensive worldly possessions, it meant top-of-the line luxury, it meant Donna Karan, Dolce & Gabana, Ralph Lauren, and dear God, just yesterday he’d even seen an outfit by St. John. He hadn’t wanted to search through her closet, but his curiosity had gotten the best of him and he hadn’t been able to help it. But then, a part of him was glad he had, because he’d seen loads of clothing that he’d never seen before and he knew it was all brand new. Alicia had quietly and cleverly, or so she thought, removed every one of the price tags, probably hoping he wouldn’t notice one way or the other, but Phillip knew for sure that she’d just purchased most of it over the last two months. He knew because this wasn’t the first time he’d sneaked into her closet. He’d felt bad about doing it all the other times, too, but now his top-secret closet explorations had become commonplace. He’d become
almost obsessed with seeing what she was going to buy next; however, it was that sixteen-hundred-dollar off-white St. John’s pantsuit that pushed him over the edge. Shoot, if you asked him, she was way too young to even like St. John’s clothing styles, but then again, Alicia had very high standards and for all he knew, she’d purchased it mainly for status and also because of how much it cost. The tags were missing from that outfit, too, but Phillip had found it online and was quickly able to confirm the dollar amount. He hadn’t wanted to believe his eyes when he’d seen the actual numbers, but now he knew his wife had a problem—he knew she was a shopping addict.

Phillip glanced over at the bronze-framed wedding photo sitting on his desk, then picked it up and drew it closer to him. The day he’d married Alicia had been the happiest day of his life, and he’d known for sure that they would remain happy with each other for the rest of their lives. And they still could if only Alicia would come to her senses and realize all the trouble she was causing them. If only she’d take a long look at all the money she was tossing away and recognize the damage it was doing to their marriage. If only she’d think about the negative effect it was already having on their plans to have children in a couple of years or so.

Phillip could still remember the first day he’d laid eyes on Alicia and how he’d known right away that he was going to marry her. He’d known this with everything in him because he’d never been more attracted to anyone so quickly. It was true that she was a beautiful young woman, but he’d been drawn to everything about her. He loved her smile, her mannerisms, the way she talked, the way she walked, the way she laughed; even now, he still felt the same way—that is, with the exception of her spending habits.

Phillip sighed deeply, returned the photo to his desk, and
leaned back in his chair. He was so frustrated and wondered what it was going to take to get through to Alicia. Maybe he could convince her to talk to a counselor. Maybe there was some sort of local support group meeting like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or Gamblers Anonymous she could go to. He’d referred some of their church members to a couple of those affiliations, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever heard of anything that could help people who couldn’t stop shopping.

Or maybe it was time he confided to Curtis what was going on with his daughter, because there had been a couple of instances while they were dating when Phillip had heard Curtis telling Alicia that she liked to shop just a bit too much and that at some point she was going to have to think more about her future. He’d even told her that once she was married, he was ending her monthly allowance because he wanted her to become a lot more responsible and a lot less dependent on him. Of course, Alicia hadn’t cared about her father’s comments or concern in the least, but still, just remembering what Curtis had said led Phillip to believe that Curtis was starting to think she might have a problem or was eventually going to.

When Phillip heard a knock at the door, he looked up. “Come in.”

“Hey,” Curtis said, entering the office and taking a seat in front of Phillip’s desk.

“Hey, how’s it going?”

Phillip smiled when he saw the tailor-made, navy blue suit Curtis was wearing because it sort of explained, just a little, as to why Alicia had such expensive taste in clothing. Curtis always looked tip-top, and Charlotte was the exact same way, so in at least some fairness to Alicia, Phillip understood why she did some of the things she did. She’d gotten used to what she’d gotten used to, and it was hard for her to change that.

But the thing was, she’d spent the majority of her childhood
growing up with her mother and stepfather, and they certainly didn’t have a lavish lifestyle. They did live in middle-class comfort, but that was pretty much where it ended with Tanya and James—they were normal people. But even so, Alicia had somehow adopted the same tastes as her father and stepmother.

“I’m well, and how’s everything with you and my baby girl?”

At that very moment, Phillip wanted to tell Curtis about the difficulties he and Alicia were having and how he didn’t know how to go about fixing them. But he didn’t. He debated whether he should or not but instead he said, “We’re good.”

“I’m glad to hear it. You’re a fine man of God, and while I know I’ve told you this before, I’m proud to have you as my son-in-law.”

“I appreciate that and of course I’m proud to have you as my father-in-law and as my pastor. I often wonder how I’ll ever repay you for everything you’ve done for me. I mean, first you blessed me with this wonderful opportunity to serve as your assistant pastor and then you offered me your blessing when I asked for Alicia’s hand in marriage.”

“That I did, but you don’t owe me a single thing. All I want is to see you continue to grow as a minister and be a good husband to my daughter. That’s all I ask and nothing more.”

“And I will. I’ll do my best all around.”

“I know you will. I have no doubt about it. I love the people of this church, and I love my baby girl, and that’s why I’ve entrusted you with both of them.”

Phillip was glad Curtis had so much confidence in him, but now he knew he couldn’t tell him about the trouble he was having with Alicia. He wanted to, but he couldn’t chance the outcome. For all he knew, Curtis might somehow think his “baby girl” was right and Phillip was as wrong as wrong could be, and
he didn’t want Curtis holding any animosity toward him. He didn’t want him reconsidering the position he’d given him or the approval he’d given him as his son-in-law. So, no, it was better to pretend that life couldn’t be better between him and Alicia and to simply leave well enough alone.

Phillip repositioned his body in his chair. “So, the elder board meeting is still on for tomorrow, right?”

“It is, and it’ll be good having the architects join us so they can give us an update on the designs for the new church.”

“I can’t wait to see them.”

“I’m pretty anxious myself, and it makes me think back to exactly where I came from. When I first became a minister, it was only a short period of time before I became a pastor in Atlanta and had three hundred members. Then, I came to Chicago to lead a congregation of three thousand. Then, I led another large church and then came here to Mitchell and founded Deliverance Outreach. I’m not sure I thought we’d have over two thousand members in only six years, especially since Mitchell is a much smaller city than Chicago, but it just goes to show what God can and will do when one vows to become a better person and works hard at doing the right thing.”

“You’ve gone through a lot, and your entire life is such an amazing testimony.”

“I’ve gone through a lot but it’s mostly because I took other people through a lot. I did some horrible things that some people would have never forgiven me for, but thankfully God is a forgiving God and He believes in second chances. Truth be told, in my case, He believed in multiple chances because He gave me a lot of them. He never gave up on me, and I’ll always be thankful for that.”

“Like I said, your life is an amazing testimony.”

“That it is.”

“Oh and hey, I got your voice message yesterday, saying that you were going to be out of town next Sunday.”

“Yeah, that’s one of the other things I came in to talk to you about. I’m speaking at a church conference in Houston on Saturday evening, but Charlotte and I won’t be flying back until Sunday.”

“So, how many people are they expecting?”

“I hear twenty thousand.”

“Unbelievable.”

Sometimes Phillip still had a hard time believing that his father-in-law was
the
Reverend Curtis Black. He had a hard time believing he was actually married to the daughter of a world-renowned pastor and speaker, not to mention a bestselling author, but here Curtis was, clear as day, and sitting right in front of him.

“I wish you and Alicia could travel out there with us but, unfortunately, I need you to cover both services here on Sunday.”

“I wish we could go, too, but I know I have a job to do.”

“And you do it very well, too, because whenever I’m gone, all I hear is how much everyone loves you and how much they enjoy your sermons. So, you know there’s going to come a time when you’ll either have to lead Deliverance Outreach or head up another location because at the rate we’re going, we’ll definitely need to branch out to another city.”

Phillip wasn’t sure he’d heard Curtis correctly, so he didn’t say anything.

“What?” Curtis asked.

“Nothing.”

“You look shocked.”

“Well, actually I am.”

“Why? Because I know you don’t think I’m spending all this
time grooming you just so you can stand in the background. You’re my assistant pastor now, but, Phillip, you’re a true leader. I knew it when I first hired you, and as long as you stay on track and live according to God’s Word, you’ll do great things. You’re a much better man than I was when I was your age, so the sky is the limit in terms of what you can do. And from where I’m sitting your future looks extremely bright.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, and I just hope I don’t let you down.”

“You won’t. Because it’s like I just told you a little while ago, all I want is to see you continue to grow as a minister and be a good husband to my daughter.”

Phillip couldn’t have been happier when it came to knowing exactly how Curtis felt about his potential. But the idea that Curtis had repeated himself, word for word, made Phillip a little nervous. Phillip had no problem working as hard as he could so he could in fact continue growing as a minister, but he wasn’t so sure he could continue being a good husband to Alicia. Well, actually, he had no problem being a good husband to her, but he wasn’t so sure he could make her happy.

In the end, all he could do was try his absolute best. That was all he had to offer, but if for some reason that ended up not being enough, he knew he could lose everything.

Not just his wife, but his job, too.

A
licia rolled her car to a complete stop, just outside their local mall entrance, and waited for the light to change. What she’d really wanted to do was head over to one of the larger malls that carried the higher brand-name labels, but at the same time, she didn’t want to chance driving all the way to Oakbrook or downtown Chicago because in a couple of hours, traffic would be treacherous. Then, if she wasn’t able to get back home until early evening, she’d have to deal with Phillip and all of his questions. And she didn’t want that. They’d finally called a truce, and she wanted to keep it that way. She wanted them to have peace, love, and understanding in their household, and she wouldn’t do anything to ruin it. Not today, anyway. She couldn’t promise him total cease and desist when it came to the amount of money she spent, but she was going to try her best to do better than she had been. She wouldn’t buy cheaply manufactured items, not under any circumstances, but what she would do was try to buy less in quantity.

When the light turned green, Alicia proceeded into the parking lot and drove around to Macy’s. When she found an open stall, she pulled in it, turned off her ignition, and got out of her car. After locking it, she was striding toward the building when she heard someone calling her name.

“Alicia,” the male voice yelled again, and when she turned around, she saw that it was Levi Cunningham, one of Deliverance Outreach’s former but biggest financial supporters—and one of the biggest drug dealers in the region.

“Hey, how are you?” she said as he walked closer to where she was standing.

“I’m good, and I see you’re looking as fine as always.”

“Thank you.” She wanted to tell him the same thing because he’d always been one of the finest men she’d ever laid eyes on, but as a married woman, she knew it would be inappropriate so she said nothing.

“So, I hear you’re married now,” he said as if he’d been reading her mind.

“I am.”

“Happily married or just married?”

“Happily.”

“Is that right? Well, I’m really sorry to hear that.”

Alicia smiled and looked away.

“Come on now, you know I always wanted you to be my girl but your father wasn’t having it. Not one bit.”

“Oh, well.”

“So, is this husband of yours treating you like royalty? Is he treating you the way a princess like you deserves to be treated? Because from what I hear, he’s working as your father’s assistant. Now, I’ll admit that I don’t have a clue about what the going salary is for an assistant pastor, but somehow I can’t imagine it being enough to take care of you. Not Pastor Black’s daughter. Not the woman who’s used to the good life and all its splendor. I mean, he might be able to pay a few bills around your house and what not, but can he buy you all the things you love and need? Can he do all of that? Can he give you everything you want and then some?”

“Good-bye, Levi,” Alicia said, and started walking away.

“Well, if you ever need anything, you can find me at my mom’s restaurant over on Chestnut. I hang out there just about every evening for dinner.”

“Good-bye, Levi,” Alicia repeated, and walked inside the doorway. A few seconds later, he walked in behind her, but thankfully all he did was smile and stroll past.

Alicia stopped in the first department she came to, which was shoes, and browsed through the sandal section. She couldn’t stop thinking about Levi, and she felt guilty. She couldn’t deny the attraction she had for him, not years ago when she was a lot younger, and not now that she was twenty-two and married to someone else. She knew Levi was bad news, and this was the main reason her father had told him his daughter was off-limits.

It was also the reason that a couple of years ago, her father had sat him down and told him that Deliverance Outreach could no longer accept his generous donations. Levi rarely attended service, but he’d told her father that he admired him, that he loved all the things her father was doing for the community, and that he wanted to support all his efforts. Which had been fine until her father had changed for the better and decided it wasn’t right for the church to benefit from drug money. Levi had never talked about what he did for a living and her father had never asked him one way or the other, but everyone
knew
what Levi did. They knew he ran a major conglomerate—an illegal conglomerate for sure, but a conglomerate nonetheless. They knew he had lots of people working for him, everyone from narcotics officers to petty street dealers, and that he never physically moved any drugs or used them. Everyone knew he was basically as clean as a whistle, essentially untouchable as far as the law was concerned, and that he was a very wealthy man.

Alicia picked up a pair of strappy sandals, checking to see what the price was, but as soon as she did, she felt someone rub their hand across her back. She jumped to the side, then realized it was her stepmother.

“Oh. Charlotte, it’s you. You scared me.”

“Well, I certainly didn’t mean to do that. How long have you been here?”

“Not long. Not long at all.”

“Neither have I. But I’m getting ready to head up to the Ralph Lauren section if you wanna come.”

“That’s fine. I sort of like these sandals but…”

“But what?”

“I already have a pair sort of just like them. The heel is a lot shorter, but they look pretty similar.”

“And since when do you care about anything like that?” Charlotte teased as they headed toward the escalator.

“Since Phillip started complaining about how much money I spend.”

“Uh-oh. You know I’ve already been there and done that with your dad, and it definitely wasn’t a happy time in our marriage.”

“I know.”

“We argued all the time, and it even got to the point where I stopped showing him any of the things I bought.”

“I stopped showing Phillip pretty much as soon as we got married.”

“I know it’s tough, but the good news is that I’m sure things will get better. Phillip will eventually earn a lot more money than he does now, and then he won’t care about what you buy. I remember how upset your dad used to get when I shopped for myself, for you, and even for Matthew, but as soon as he got his first major book deal and started earning a lot of royalty dollars,
his whole attitude about my spending changed for the better. Then he started earning thousands from every speaking engagement he scheduled, and the ministry grew larger every single year. Although, since your father earns so much from outside sources, he doesn’t take as much of a salary from the church as he could, because he wants all the money from tithes and offerings to go back into the ministry.”

“Well, I just hope Phillip finally wakes up and starts being a lot more ambitious. I keep telling him that what he needs to do is work toward moving into a senior pastor position at a mega-church in one of the major cities.”

“Hmmm.”

Alicia frowned. “What?”

“Well, don’t you say anything to Phillip until he tells you himself, but I was talking to your dad a little while ago and he was saying how he’d just had a conversation with Phillip and that he let him know that he was grooming him for either the top position at Deliverance Outreach or at a future location in another city. So, as much as I know you don’t want to hear it, I doubt Phillip is going to be looking for anything else anytime soon. He’s always been happy working for your dad, but now that he knows the actual plans that Curtis has for him, I’m sure he’s even more content.”

“Well, that’s just great.”

“Everything will work itself out.”

“I don’t see how. Not when Phillip makes less than a hundred thousand dollars.”

“But it won’t always be that way. He’ll eventually make a lot more.”

“When?”

“I don’t know, but he will.”

Alicia picked up a sleek-looking black jean blazer and match
ing jean pants by Ralph Lauren but quickly placed them back on the rack.

“You like that?” Charlotte asked.

“Yeah, but I promised myself I’d cut down my spending just to keep peace between Phillip and me, and I’m really trying to stick to that.”

“Is it your size?”

Alicia checked the labels and saw that both were a six. “Yep, but oh well.”

“Give them to me,” Charlotte told her, and took them away from her. Then, she walked over to the checkout counter.

“You really don’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I want to. I know exactly how you feel, and it’s the least I can do for you.”

Alicia hugged her stepmother, who, at only nine years her senior, was more like a friend. “Thanks for everything.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

When they headed back down the escalator, they hugged again, exited through separate doorways, and out to their respective parking areas. Alicia was so excited about the outfit Charlotte had purchased, but just in case Phillip still had a problem with her buying something new, even though she hadn’t paid for it herself, she decided it was best not to bring it into the house until later. Or tomorrow if that ended up being a better bet.

She walked toward her car but stopped in her tracks when she saw Levi driving toward her in a shiny black, freshly washed Lexus LS 460. He drove behind her car and rolled down his window. “Don’t forget what I told you. If you ever need anything, you can find me at my mom’s restaurant.”

Alicia opened her trunk, placed her new clothing inside it, and then closed it back down.

“Hiding your own stuff from your own husband?”

How in the world did he know? Did she look that obvious?

“Shame, shame. A gorgeous-looking woman like you, hiding what she bought because her husband doesn’t think she deserves to wear quality clothing.”

“That’s not it at all,” Alicia tried to explain, but she knew her words were unconvincing.

“Then why’d you just put that Macy’s garment bag in your trunk and not inside your car?”

“Does it matter one way or the other?”

“No, but I’m just calling things as I see them. I’m an analytical kind of guy, and I pay attention to even the smallest of details.”

“Apparently so. But you’re wrong about me.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Hey, whatever you say. But seriously, though, I hope you’ll call me if you need me because I really am here for you. Your dad ended my relationship with the church, and I totally respect his reasoning behind it, but I still care about him, his family, and especially you. I know you’re married, and I guess I’m going to have to respect that as well, but I can’t help the way I feel about you. I’ve always been attracted to you, and I think you’ve always felt the same way about me.”

“Levi, please. We’ve only seen each other maybe five or six times over the last four years. We barely even know each other.”

“I know what I like, and it doesn’t take a hundred meetings for me to recognize that.”

Alicia felt her stomach fluttering. “I have to go.”

“That’s fine, but you just remember what I said, okay?”

He watched her for a few lingering seconds and then drove away.

Alicia sat inside her car and leaned her head against her headrest.

She sat there, feeling more guilty than she had earlier, and then she prayed that Levi would never approach her again.

She prayed and then drove home to her husband.