Love Like Hallelujah (7 page)

As Vivian finished reminiscing, she looked up to find Derrick’s eyes fastened on her.
God has brought us from a mighty long way.

Praise and worship was almost over. Darius and the band were playing their jazzy instrumental rendition of a gospel classic. The melodious sounds of the different instruments drifted over the audience. Eyes closed, some hands raised, others standing in the congregation, the words echoed in the minds of those who knew them as the instruments played:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, How great Thou art
…

For a moment, almost everyone in the congregation was focused on Christ. Their deep, collective worship ushered in the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit. Doubts and fears eased, worries dissipated, sadness evaporated. The power of God blew into the sanctuary like a gentle breeze, wafted over the sounds of the saxophone, sat on the strings of the guitar, and perfumed the piano keys. As the chorus was played for the last time, Stacy was given the microphone to vocalize this declaration of the saints.
How great!
Her impassioned soprano took the worship up another level.

Yes, almost everyone was caught up in the glory of the promise—almost, but not quite. While most had their eye on Jesus, one woman had her eye on Derrick.
He looks so serene
, she mused, drinking him in like a cool glass of water in the desert heat.
I wonder if that’s how he’ll look while sleeping, after a night of loving me
. She had no doubt that that was how the story would end, with the highly esteemed man of God in her bed. She’d waited years, bided her time, but now she was ready to claim what was hers. Robin squirmed in her seat, the very thought making her salivate. She glanced over at her unknowing opponent, Vivian, standing with her arms lifted toward heaven, a tear rolling down her face.
Yeah, tramp, get your praise on now, ’cause you’ll be singing a different song in a minute
. Her smile turned into a sneer as the music ended. She caught herself, and forced her eyes away from the woman who had what she wanted, who had what she deserved, who had what she was going to get—one way or another.

The pulsating jets of hot, steamy water pounded into Millicent’s shoulders, neck, and back.
This is what’s been missing.
Millicent, who’d exercised regularly in LA, had joined an upscale fitness club in La Jolla and adopted a strenuous workout schedule. It proved to be a great reliever not only of stress, but also of bad memories.

Weeks had passed since Alison’s visit, but thinking of her friend’s parting words still rankled.
Stop blaming God, Millicent. It was you who decided Cy was your husband, you who insisted on trying to force things to happen. That wasn’t God’s voice, it was yours. The sooner you accept responsibility for your actions, and the sooner you forgive yourself for what you did, the sooner you’ll truly be able to put the past behind you and get on with your life
.

Alison’s unsolicited advice echoed what her mother and her mother’s pastor had told her: quit blaming God. If she did, they all admonished, she’d not only feel better, but she’d gain a new lease on life. But didn’t she have that with her new job and home? The correct answer was no, because Cy still occupied her most important home, her heart, where love resided. But who wanted to pay attention to details like that? Certainly not Millicent. It was easier to act as if all was well, even when it wasn’t.

Millicent stepped out of the shower and dressed quickly. The day was young; she planned to take in a movie, maybe head to the beach. Her life was a mundane routine of home and work. She was amazed at how much KCCC had accounted for her social life back in LA. Without a church family, the weekends sometimes seemed to go on forever—and back at Kingdom Citizens that had never happened.

Reaching in her bag for the car keys as she rounded the corner, she didn’t see the gentleman heading her way. “Oops, I’m sorry,” she began as she bumped into him, looking up into sparkling blue eyes.

“Millicent?” the man asked. “Millicent Sims?”

Millicent’s brow furrowed. The guy was handsome, well-built. He must have been about six feet tall and obviously worked out on a regular basis. The shorts and muscle shirt fit him well. “How do I know you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the stranger said, holding out his hand. Millicent took it, still looking into his eyes. “Jack, Jack Kirtz. I met you on the beach in San Diego.”

That jogged Millicent’s memory. It had been several weeks; she was surprised he remembered her name. She took a step back, then stopped herself from giving him a head-to-toe once over. On the beach that day, he’d worn casual slacks with a large pullover. He looked quite different in workout clothes! “Pastor Kirtz?” she asked.

“Only if you insist,” he replied in a friendly manner, grabbing the towel around his neck with both hands. “For you, I’d prefer Jack.”

Millicent was immediately on the defensive. “Why for me?”

“I don’t know,” Jack countered easily. “I’m casual like that, I guess.”

What did that mean?
She didn’t know why Jack made her uncomfortable, but he did. The pastor title, maybe? If he’d been a regular guy, she may have been attracted. As uneasy as she felt, she’d checked, and found, no wedding ring. She stared around him.

To her dismay, he turned and started walking beside her. “You come here often?”

Millicent started to lie but knew that could backfire, so she told the truth. “I just joined but yes, I’m here three to four times a week.”

Jack whistled. “That’s commitment.” He refrained from blurting out what he was thinking:
and boy does it show!
He appreciated her lean, toned body with long waist and legs. Something about Millicent turned him on, ever since he’d seen her gazing out over the beach, a myriad of emotions playing across her face. The feeling hadn’t diminished as she’d tried to brush him off at the sidewalk café. In fact, that had for some reason or other intensified his interest. “The offer I made you to visit our church, Open Arms, still stands,” he said as they reached the parking lot.

“Thank you,” Millicent said. She’d reached her Infiniti.

He stepped in front of her to open the door. “I’d really like to see you there,” Jack continued. “Our church can use more women like you.”

“You don’t even know me,” Millicent said flippantly, moving to get into her car.

“I don’t, but God does,” Jack replied. And with a wink, he was off.

Millicent watched Jack stride over to the fitness center entrance. His body was lean, calf muscles pronounced, buns tight. At the door to the club, he stopped and turned around. Millicent hurriedly closed the door and started the car, embarrassed he had caught her staring.
That’s the last thing I
need.
She further comforted herself with the fact that she’d thrown away his business card. She didn’t even know where the church was. But the image of tight buns and friendly blue eyes stayed with her all afternoon.

Cy sat back in Derrick’s well-appointed pastor’s suite. It was April, two months after the wedding, but it was still taking him a while to get back in the groove after his honeymoon. In fact, a part of him hadn’t wanted to return to Kingdom Citizens at all. It wasn’t the church itself. He enjoyed his role as associate minister and financial advisor. And he loved the brother on the other side of the desk, appreciated Derrick’s spiritual depth and biblical intellect. It wasn’t even the fact that this is where, almost a year later, he was still the brunt of “Millie gone mad” jokes regarding the Millicent debacle.

No, it wasn’t any of those things. It was Hope. She’d reinvigorated him in ways he couldn’t have imagined. He’d found his niche in California, found a wonderful spiritual family in Kingdom Citizens. But now he wanted something more, something different. The time he’d spent in the Cayman Islands had revived his love of travel, his desire to see every inch of the planet and make it a better place to live. Hope was just as adventurous, told him she’d be glad to traipse through the jungles of Africa, ride a rickshaw in China, or gaze upon the Taj Mahal. She’d not been able to travel as he had, and he wanted to be the one to introduce her to the world; he wanted to give her the world. Cy wasn’t caught off guard often, but he’d had no idea he could be this happy.

“Well, why don’t you take some time and think about it,” Derrick responded to Cy’s pondering a resignation. “You’re all discombobulated right now, just months into marriage, not thinking straight.”

“I can’t disagree with you, man,” Cy said with a laugh. “I still feel like I’m on my honeymoon.”

“If things go well,” Derrick said, leaning back in his leather swivel chair, “you’ll still feel like that in fifteen, twenty years. It’s not easy, but it’s possible.”

“I’ll definitely work toward that,” Cy answered. “The best thing about me and Hope is how well we communicate. I feel like I’ve known her all my life, can’t remember life before she was in it.”

“Man, you are gone!” Derrick said, laughing and shaking his head. “You are whipped, brothah, nose wide open!”

“No, no, no…”

“Don’t even try to deny it. I’ve seen that look. I’ve
worn
that look. And I know what it’s about! God sure is good, isn’t He?” Derrick reached for the intercom button. “Yes?”

“Excuse me, Pastor, but it’s Mrs. Reynolds again,” Derrick’s secretary, Angela, announced.

“Find out who she is and what she wants,” Derrick countered.

“I asked,” Angela responded. “She keeps saying hers is a personal matter.”

“Take a message, Angela. Better yet, transfer her to Tamika.” Tamika was Vivian’s assistant. “Tell her that all personal matters from female congregants are discussed with my wife.” Derrick stroked his mustache, a slight frown on his face.

“Problems?” Cy asked.

“Same old, same old,” Derrick sighed. “You’ll see. Don’t think the fact that you’ve got a ring on your finger is gonna stop the women from coming at you. You might even see an increase.”

“Unfortunately, I know you’re right. It’s already happened. And telling ’em you’re married don’t mean a thing.”

“They make it hard for a brothah sometimes,” Derrick continued. “The things some of the women have done in this church…man…”

“Vivian’s a strong woman to be able to handle all that, year in and year out.”

“Oh, she’s strong, fearless; none of them want to go up against my wife.”

Derrick and Cy’s conversation drifted from their wives to the ministry to investments. Finally, Derrick turned to the Kingdom Citizens’ Shopping Center and Business Complex—the shops, business offices, bookstore, and restaurant development in which Cy was his liaison. The entire project would take a good two years to complete. It was a lot to handle, made easier with Cy by his side. Derrick wouldn’t try and talk him out of it if Cy was adamant, but he sure didn’t want to see a brother resign.

“How’s King doing?” Cy asked, gathering his things and preparing to leave. “Did you tell him I was sorry for not getting to hang out with him when he was here last?”

“He understood. You know you’ve got a standing invitation to go back and speak at his church. I think he wants to put together some type of economics seminar for his members. He’s trying to change their mind-set about money, get them to start saving and investing. You know that seventy percent of Americans are two paychecks away from homelessness? It might be even higher in the Black community.”

“Well, I’ll be glad to help him. I’ll give him a call a little later on.”

“And we want you on the committee for the Brothers’ Brigade Conference he and I are planning, along with some other ministers from Total Truth.”

“Oh, yeah? When is that scheduled to happen?”

“We’re planning it to run alongside Vivian’s national S.O.S. conference, about eighteen months from now.”

“I’ll do all I can. Just let me know.”

“Excellent. Thanks for all the good work, my man.”

“Anytime,” Cy said. He waved good-bye and left the office.

“Pastor,” Angela beeped in again, “what should I tell Mrs. Reynolds? She’s called twice since the last time I told her you were in a meeting.”

Derrick’s brows creased.
Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Reynolds
…The name didn’t ring a bell. “Didn’t you transfer her to Vivian’s line?”

“I did, but she keeps calling back here.”

Derrick sighed. This kind of stuff came with the territory but he didn’t have to like it. “Thank you, Angela. I’m sorry that you’re being harassed. Tell her she must speak with an associate minister, or my wife’s office, end of story.”

Derrick leaned back, thinking. It had been a long time since he’d been harassed. It definitely wasn’t unusual, especially from strangers. While he didn’t have a regular television broadcast, like King, he was seen frequently on Trinity Broadcasting Network and provided video feeds at the church’s Web site. No telling who this Mrs. Reynolds was. And no telling what she wanted. The fact that she referred to herself as “Mrs.” didn’t dim his suspicions. Like he’d just told Cy, rings, and the vows they symbolized, didn’t mean a thing to some people.

He reached for the phone. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey,” Vivian said, surprised. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Hum, and what were you thinking?” Derrick asked in a sultry voice.

Vivian responded in an equally seductive manner. “You’ll find out later tonight.”

“Baby! That’ll get a man riled up.”

“I sure hope so.” She paused. “So, what’s up?”

“Besides me?” Derrick asked. “Hey, do you know anybody at the church named Reynolds, a Mrs. Reynolds?”

“What’s her first name?”

“Don’t know.”

“Can’t say I do, babe, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a member. Not like in the old days when we could do roll call from memory.”

Derrick smiled. “Not quite, huh.”

“What did she want?”

“Who?”

“Mrs. Reynolds.”

“Ooh, sorry, baby. Your voice is distracting.”

Vivian smiled.

Derrick could feel her smile through the phone. “She’s been harassing Angela all afternoon. When asked why she’s calling, she keeps saying it’s a personal matter, whatever that means.”

“Transfer her to my voice mail next time, baby,” Vivian said easily. “I’ll try and call her tomorrow.”

“Tried that. She wants to talk to me.”

Vivian understood. “Oh, one of those.”

“Looks like it.”

“Well, we have had a reprieve. Guess we couldn’t think it would last forever.”

“I was praying.”

“You just shouldn’t be so doggone fine, and intelligent, and sexy, and—”

“Stop it now. I’ve got a meeting in half an hour. You’re going to make me cancel and come home early.”

“It’s all right, baby,” Vivian said mischievously. “You can cum later.” Chuckling, she hung up the phone.

Derrick smiled as he lowered the receiver. Mrs. Reynolds was forgotten, replaced by thoughts of Mrs. Vivian Stanford Montgomery, and what he’d do to her later that night.