Lady Elect (6 page)

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Authors: Nikita Lynnette Nichols

BOOK: Lady Elect
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“Good evening, sunshine,” Arykah greeted him.
“Good evening,” Lance responded without making eye contact with her. His words were quick.
Arykah knew that Mother Gussie had gotten to Lance. She could tell by his mannerisms.
Lance always greeted Arykah with open arms and a kiss, but not that evening. But Arykah hadn't spoken with Lance yet. So far he had only heard one side of the story, and there was no telling what Mother Gussie had said to him. Once he heard her side of the story, she was sure Lance's coldness toward her would thaw.
Arykah walked further into the kitchen and set her briefcase, purse, and keys on the center island. Then she stepped to Lance and tried to kiss his lips, but he turned away from her and Arykah caught the corner of his mouth.
“Is something wrong?” she asked him.
Lance rinsed his hands in the sink, dried them with the dish towel, then laid the towel on the counter. He leaned back against the sink, folded his arms across his chest, and looked at his wife. “I don't ask you for much, Arykah. And because I don't ask you for much, I expect that you'd be more dedicated and committed to whatever my needs are.”
“Is this about Brother Cartwright?”
“What do you
think
this is about?” he returned sarcastically.
For the second time in one day, Arykah had to catch herself from losing her cool. Yes, Lance was indeed her husband and head of their household. But speaking to Arykah as though he were scolding a rebellious teenager, Lance was
not
going to do.
“Okay. Before this conversation goes any further, you better change your tone. Don't you dare speak to me like I'm a child, Lance.”
Lance cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrows. “I
better
change my tone?” His tilted head and arched eyebrows didn't intimidate Arykah one bit. If Lance thought he was going to place blame where it didn't belong, he was in for a rude awakening.
“Yes, you better.” Arykah placed the ball in Lance's court. If he wanted to talk the issue out calmly, she was willing. There were no other options.
“I don't appreciate you telling me what I better do,
wife
.” Lance put special emphasis on the word “wife” to remind Arykah who was in charge.
Arykah caught the emphasis, and it made her chuckle. “Oh, you must not know about me.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked her.
Arykah mimicked Lance and folded her arms across her chest. “It means that I am
not
the one. Okay? I ain't the one,
husband.”
They stared at each other like a lion and a hyena ready to battle. Truth be told, Lance was caught off guard by Arykah's straightforwardness. When Mother Gussie informed him that Arykah had failed to represent him at Brother Cartwright's house, Lance was all set to come home and demand an explanation. However, he wasn't prepared for Arykah to stand toe-to-toe with him.
“Can you please explain to me what happened today ?” His voice was calm.
Now that her point was made, Arykah began massaging her temples again. The migraine was trying to make a comeback. “Look, Lance, I don't know what to tell you. I went to Brother Cartwright's house at one o'clock, the exact time Mother Gussie told me to be there. She tricked me.”
Lance looked at Arykah like she was from another planet. “What do you mean, she tricked you? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? Why would Mother Gussie purposely give you the wrong time to go and comfort the Cartwrights? It doesn't make sense.”
Arykah was stunned. She was totally expecting Lance to see that she had clearly been set up. After all, he was well aware of the dislike the mothers of the church had for her.
Arykah took a step backward and looked into her husband's eyes. The same husband who promised to love and cherish her forever. The same husband who vowed to honor and respect her at all times. The same husband who had convinced her that he'd protect her from the lions, tigers, and the two barracudas at Freedom Temple.
“Wow. I didn't see
that
coming.”
“You didn't see what coming?” Lance asked her.
“I never would've thought that you wouldn't back me up. Because of your secretary, I missed out on a huge deal this afternoon, but I guess that means nothing to you, huh?”
“I spoke to Mother Gussie and—”
“Of course you did.”
Arykah's interruption told Lance that she was highly upset, but so was he. “I spoke with Mother Gussie, and she assured me that she told you to be at the Cartwrights at eleven.”
Arykah chuckled. “And that's what you're banking on, her assurance?”
“She's been my secretary for years, Cheeks. And not one time have I ever missed or been late for an appointment. It's because of Mother Gussie that I didn't blow a major deal with Hiroshima Technologies this morning.”
“So, what are you saying, Lance? You think I'm lying on your faithful church secretary?”
“I'm not saying that anyone is lying.”
Arykah's voice raised an octave. “Oh, somebody is
definitely
lying.”
“Look, maybe with your house-showing appointments, it's possible that you got your times mixed up. You're a busy woman. It could happen.”
Don't curse,
Arykah told herself.
Don't curse.
“And it's
not
possible that Mother Gussie set me up? That could
never
happen, right?”
Lance didn't respond.
“Think about it, Lance. Just yesterday you fired Mother Pansie and put me in her place. You know that she and Mother Gussie are tight, and they both loathe me. Why is it so difficult for you to comprehend that Mother Gussie gave me the wrong time? She is avenging her friend, and they are in this together. And this whole thing is playing out exactly how they planned. You're upset with me. Their mission was accomplished.”
“Cheeks, that's ridiculous.” Lance just couldn't see the logic in Arykah's accusation.
It took every ounce of energy she had for Arykah not to call her husband a dumb, stupid fool. She picked up her purse and briefcase from the center island. “Okay, I can clearly see who won this battle. I guess this is the first of many.” She turned and headed out of the kitchen. “Be sure and congratulate Mother Gussie in the morning,” she said over her shoulder.
 
 
During dinner, Arykah refused to make eye contact with Lance. They sat and ate in silence until Lance couldn't take it anymore.
“You're giving me the silent treatment?” he asked Arykah. He noticed she was not eating but only picking at her meatloaf.
“What do you want me to say?” she replied without looking at him.
“Tell me about your day.”
Arykah almost dropped her fork. She looked across the table at Lance. “Are you serious? I mean, really, are you serious, Lance? You know exactly how my day went, but since you want to hear it step-by-step, here it goes.” Arykah laid her fork down on the table next to her plate. “I had an appointment to show a two-million-dollar estate this afternoon at one o'clock. But Mother Gussie called to tell me that Brother Cartwright had lost his son and you needed me to take your place to go and console the family.”
Arykah made quotation signs with her fingers to quote Lance's words to her. “So, because I
am
‘dedicated and committed to your needs,' I had no choice but to pass the listing to another agent.
“I arrived at Brother Cartwright's house at one o'clock, the exact time that Mother Gussie told me to be there, only to find that no one was home. I called the church to tell Mother Gussie that I was at the Cartwrights'. That's when she told me that I was two hours too late. Then I pulled the piece of paper out of my purse that I had jotted the address and time on. I saw that I had written down one o'clock and went back and forth with Mother Gussie about the time she'd given me and she had the gall to hang up on me.
“Because of her, I missed out on a two-million-dollar sale, I never got to comfort the Cartwrights, and I returned to my office to find the entire staff congratulating the agent who inherited my listing.”
“So, because Mother Gussie is still pissed at you for marrying me, she became pissed with me also. And you get pissed with me when she pisses
on
me. And while all of this pissing is going on, I'm pissed with
you
because you're not pissed at the right person.”
Arykah stood up from the table, threw her linen napkin on her plate, and stormed out of the kitchen.
A half hour later after Lance had cleaned the dinner dishes, he walked into the master bath and found Arykah soaking by candlelight in the oversized jetted tub. Fred Hammond's “Give Me A Clean Heart” was playing on her iPod that lay on the ledge of the tub close to her ear.
Lance sat on the ledge of the tub. He dipped his entire left hand in the hot water and created a rippled effect by moving his hand toward Arykah's upper torso. “A penny for your thoughts,” he said to her.
Arykah looked up at her husband. “Oh, honey, you don't wanna know what I'm thinking. Trust me on that, Bishop.”
Lance looked at the bubbles dancing in the water. “Is there room for two?”
It was Arykah's expression that answered Lance. He saw tears on the verge of falling from her eyes.
“Why the tears?”
“You wouldn't understand, Lance.”
“Try me.”
A single tear fell from her right eye onto her cheek. “I did.”
“I'm over the Cartwright situation.”
“Well, I'm
not
over it!” Arykah snapped. “I know what time Mother Gussie told me to be there. I'm not stupid, Lance.”
Lance reached forward and wiped her tear away. “No one said you were. You're making a mountain out of a molehill.”
Arykah's neck began to dance. “Well, excuse the heck out of me for trying to get you to see my side of the story. I'll tell you what; I'll just shut my darn mouth. How about that?”
“Your behavior is not called for,” Lance said as he stood and left Arykah to her bath.
She could have easily said something that would've given Lance just cause to set all of her belongings outside and have the county sheriff serve her with divorce papers.
Who the heck was Lance to tell her that her attitude was uncalled for? Perhaps taking one of his golf clubs and going upside his head, then driving across town to Mother Gussie's house and going upside her head may be uncalled for, but Arykah would've felt justified.
 
 
Before bed, Arykah was in her closet on her knees. “Father, I let You down today. I don't know if I'm cut out for this first-lady role. I just don't think that I can do it. I tried real hard not to cuss today, Lord. I bit down on the inside of my mouth so hard that my tongue is raw. But I almost let that broad get the best of me. And, Lord, sometimes men can be dumb as heck. I mean, why did You make them so dumb, Lord? I pray that You deposit some common sense into Lance real soon because I'm almost at my breaking point.”
 
 
Lance turned over and found himself in bed alone. The digital clock on his nightstand read 2:38
A.M.
He got out of bed and searched the master bath for Arykah.
When he didn't find her there, Lance walked up the spiral staircase and found her asleep in one of their guest bedrooms. He tapped her lightly on the shoulder. “Cheeks, get up and come to your own bed.”
Arykah stirred. “I am in my own bed,” she responded without looking at Lance. The bed she was sleeping in had been her bed in the townhome she owned before she moved into Lance's estate.
Lance exhaled. “You're behaving very silly, and I'm not gonna play this game with you. Come to bed.”
Arykah was facing away from Lance. She looked over her shoulder at him. “And what if I don't? What are you gonna do? Make me?”
“If I'm forced to,” Lance answered.
Arykah giggled sarcastically. “Humph, I'd like to see you try. That'll be the day.”
Her giggle may have been a sarcastic one, but Lance also heard a little playful daring in her voice. Since he and Arykah had been married, they'd never slept in separate beds. Lance needed to establish some ground rules in his household. The first rule? Argument or no argument, there will be no going to bed angry, and the guest bedrooms were for guests only.
“Don't play with me, Arykah,” he said while placing his hands on his waist wondering just how he would pick her up out of the bed.

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