Lady Elect (19 page)

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Authors: Nikita Lynnette Nichols

BOOK: Lady Elect
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“I have a secret to keeping fit.”
“What's the secret?”
“Exercising. A few hours after my food digests, I'll run a few miles. You wanna join me?”
Arykah slouched down in her chair and belched. “Uh-uh. You could've kept that secret.”
Chapter 14
Arykah
was running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off. Everything had to be perfect for when the ladies arrived that evening. Monique wasn't a stranger to the Howell house, but Chelsea, Gladys, and Darlita would be visiting for the very first time.
Arykah had heard the rumors that had been flowing around the church about how massive the bishop and Lady Arykah's home was. The associate ministers, the deacons, and the finance committee were the only church members that had stepped foot inside of their home when Lance held meetings and prepared a feast. Arykah knew that the ladies, aside from Monique, were coming to get an eye full, to see for themselves how she and Lance lived.
In the living room, Arykah looked all around. Everything was in its place. She glanced at the glass cocktail table. It was shining and smudge free. The mantle above the fireplace displayed a neat row of photos of Arykah and Lance from their wedding and honeymoon in Jamaica. The grandfather clock stood tall next to the fireplace, and the pendulum swung back and forth.
“Is the staircase to your liking, Mrs. Howell?” Arykah looked toward the winding staircase. An elderly Polish woman stood at the base of the steps with a dust rag in one hand and a bottle of Murray's wood oil soap in the other. The wood flooring shined so bright that Arykah could see her reflection. She walked up the steps, then walked back down looking for any spot on the railing that hadn't been polished.
“Great job, Graciela.” Arykah was well pleased.
The mahogany floors were shining and the winding staircase was sparkling. Arykah paid Graciela handsomely for her services, tipped her well, then sent her on her way. Next, Arykah went into the kitchen to check on Lance. She saw him standing at the stove with his white chef's hat on and a matching apron with the words
Chef Lancelot
embroidered on the upper left side.
“How's it going, Chef?” Arykah asked, sneaking a peek at what Lance was creating.
The aroma in the kitchen was delightful. Arykah saw milk chocolate melting in a sauce pan. “Ooh, chocolate. That's my favorite. What are you gonna do with it, honey?”
“That's for the chocolate-covered sliced apples.”
Arykah frowned. She'd never heard of chocolate-covered apples. “Apples? Not strawberries?”
Lance went to the refrigerator and pulled out a tray of the first batch of sliced chocolate-covered apples he had already prepared. He took one from the tray and brought it to Arykah's lips. “Take a bite.”
Arykah bit into the apple and could've sworn that she'd bitten into a piece of heaven. “Um, this is so good. I never thought of mixing apples with chocolate.”
“The key,” Lance said. “is the green Granny Smith apples. They are the same apples that are used for taffy apples.”
“Oh, so that's the tang I taste?” Arykah asked.
“Yep, the sour taste of the apple blended with the sweet taste of the milk chocolate makes the whole thing pop.”
“Very creative, babe. What else are you serving this evening?”
“I got a surprise for you,” Lance said smiling.
Arykah returned the smile. “You know I like surprises.”
Lance grabbed her by her hand and pulled her to the large center island. Arykah saw a white cardboard box sitting in the middle of the island. She had seen the box earlier that morning but thought nothing of it. It wasn't often, but whenever Lance was called upon to cater an event, he used white cardboard boxes to transport food. Arykah hadn't given the white box on the center island any thought.
Lance opened the box and told Arykah to look inside.
“Oh my God!
Babe, when did you—? How did you—? Where did you get these?” Arykah couldn't believe what she saw inside the box.
Lance laughed out loud. “I think that's the first time that I've seen you at a loss for words.”
Inside the white box were two dozen high-heeled-shaped cookies decorated in various colors of frosting. Arykah picked up a stiletto cookie with yellow frosting. “How cute is this.” She picked up another stiletto cookie with red and white frosting. “These are fab, babe. Where did you get these?”
“From the cookie lady at church,” Lance said.
“Sister Ethel Avery?”
“Yep. She sells cakes, cookies, and pies every Sunday after church.”
“Honey, I know all about Ethel's sweet treats. I'm one of her biggest customers, but I didn't know she could get down like
this
,” Arykah said biting into a cookie. “Oh, this is so good.” She looked at Lance. “These are shortbread cookies. Did you know that?”
“Of course I did,” he responded with a sure smile on his face. “Isn't it my job to know that shortbread cookies are your favorite?”
“Honey, you are too much.” Arykah kissed Lance's lips softly and looked inside the box again and was amazed at how detailed the stiletto cookies were designed. Some were decorated with edible crystals. Arykah saw a high-heeled shoe boot with edible shoestrings. “Ethel has outdone herself. I will definitely be sure to thank her personally at church tomorrow.”
“Take a look at these,” Lance said, pointing to a Chinese takeout container that sat on the counter. It was filled with what Arykah thought were lollipops wrapped in plastic.
“What are those?” she asked, already moving toward the container.
Lance pulled a treat from the container. “These are cakes on sticks. Ethel made these too. She put small bite-size balls of cake on sticks and decorated them with frosting and—”
“And put them in plastic, then placed them in a Chinese takeout container,” Arykah completed Lance's statement. “I can't get over how creative Ethel is besides cakes and pies. I just had no idea. Did you pay her?”
“Of course, I paid her.”
“How much?” Arykah asked Lance.
“Why?”
Arykah looked at how gorgeous the stiletto cookies and cakes on sticks were. “Because I'm going to double it. For this kind of creativity, Ethel deserves it.”
 
 
Monique was the first of the ladies to arrive at Arykah's home.
“Hey, doll,” Arykah greeted her with outstretched arms.
“Hey, blondie,” Monique returned the greeting referring to Arykah's new blond wig.
She stepped in Arykah's foyer and embraced her best friend. “You are looking too cute.”
For the evening, Arykah donned stonewashed skinny jeans and a lilac wrap top.
“Thank you. Come on in.”
Monique followed Arykah into the living room and saw it empty of guests. “Am I the first to arrive?”
“Yep,” Arykah said, plopping down on the sofa. “You just missed Lance.”
“How is the bishop doing these days without a secretary ?” Monique asked, sitting on the sofa opposite from Arykah.
“Humph! As of yesterday he has a new church secretary. A
young
church secretary.”
Monique's eyebrows rose. “Really? Who?”
“Mother Gussie's granddaughter. Her name is Sharonda.”
“Mother Gussie isn't coming back? Did she quit?”
“Girl, who knows what Mother Gussie is doing? I found out yesterday when I called the church and Sharonda answered. She didn't know who I was, and I surely didn't know who she was. But I do know that she has a crush on Lance and has had a crush on him for years.”
“Who told you that?” Monique asked.
“Lance did. Sharonda was paroled recently.”
“Paroled? What was she incarcerated for?”
“I don't know. Do you remember that time when I called to tell you how Mother Gussie disrespected me when I called the church to thank Lance for the flowers he sent me after our first date?”
“Yeah,” Monique nodded.
“Well, Lance said that Mother Gussie had high hopes of him and Sharonda getting together when she got released from prison. She saw me as a threat.”
Monique shook her head from side to side. “Arykah, please. Are you serious?”
“I finally got Mother Gussie to back off of me, and now her granddaughter appears out of the blue.”
“You know what I think?” Monique said. “I think since you put fear in Mother Gussie's heart, she purposely sent Sharonda, who she knows has a crush on Lance, to start some crap.”
“Yep,” Arykah nodded. “I told Lance that. But, honey, I ain't gonna fret one bit, because if Sharonda tries to cross me, I'll snatch her.”
Monique laughed out loud. “Would you snatch her, girl?”
Arykah lowered her head and glared at Monique as if she were a stranger. “Excuse me. Have we met? Don't act like you don't know me, Monique. I will snatch Sharonda so fast, she'll get a crook in the side of her neck.” Arykah raised her hand in the air, closed her fist, then quickly brought her arm down, demonstrating just how she'll do it. “Chile, I'll snatch a broad in a hot second.”
Monique laughed at her best friend again. “Girl, you are nuts.”
The telephone rang. It was the guard at the gate again announcing to Arykah that she had more guests. Arykah told the guard to send them through. Five minutes later, Arykah greeted the ladies at the door. When she opened it, Chelsea, Gladys, and Darlita were standing on the porch.
“Hello, ladies. Welcome. Come on in.” Arykah stepped aside to allow the ladies inside. “The three of you just happened to arrive at the same time?”
“We chose to carpool,” Gladys answered while taking in the view of the marble floor in the foyer. A very large letter H, painted in black, was embedded on the floor just inside the entrance of the door.
“Give me your coats,” Arykah said as the three women made their way inside.
“This is so beautiful,” Chelsea complimented when she saw the winding staircase.
“And big,” Darlita added, looking all around. “Extremely big.”
“Thanks, ladies,” Arykah said, and hung their coats in the front hall closet. “We have about two hours before the limo gets here.” She waved her hand to the ladies indicating that they should follow her. “Come on. Monique is already here.”
Arykah brought the ladies into the living room. “Everyone knows Monique, right?”
“Of course,” Darlita responded, and made her way toward Monique. “Hi, it's good to see you.”
Monique stood and embraced Darlita. “How are you doing?” When Monique saw Darlita, she remembered her as the woman who was having marital problems. Up until that moment, she couldn't place her face when Arykah mentioned her name last week on the telephone.
Gladys greeted Monique next with a hug and a smile. “Monique, you get prettier every time I see you.”
Monique was surprised by Gladys's comment. The two had only acknowledged each other in passing. They had never been introduced to each other. Monique assumed she was guilty by association. Because the women at Freedom Temple hated Arykah, being her personal assistant and best friend, Monique was also on the receiving end of snarls and stares. “Thank you, Gladys. That's a nice thing to say.”
“You're Adonis's girlfriend, right?”
Monique broke from Gladys's embrace and looked to her left where the question had come from. Chelsea stood about three feet from her. Monique held up her left hand to show Chelsea her three carat princess cut diamond platinum wedding ring. “Actually, I'm his wife.”
Chelsea took a step backward. She seemed surprised by Monique's statement.
“His wife?
Really?”
Monique looked into Chelsea's eyes. “Really.”
“Oh, wow. I never would've guessed Adonis was married.”
What the heck is this tramp trying to imply?
Monique knew there was a reason she didn't care for Chelsea. She told Arykah that she was trouble. “You don't have to guess anything. Adonis wears his wedding band every day.”
“No, I don't think he does,” Chelsea countered. “A wedding ring is the first thing I look for when I see a fine man like Adonis.”
“Well, look again,” Monique said sarcastically.
“Hey, guess what, ladies?” Arykah said before Chelsea could respond to Monique's last statement. She, Darlita, and Gladys were standing near Monique and Chelsea as they exchanged words. Clearly Chelsea implied that either she was interested in Adonis or Adonis gave off vibes that he wasn't a married man.
Arykah knew the latter was untrue. She knew Adonis very well. Arykah considered him as her brother. Arykah also knew what Adonis had to go through to get Monique.

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