Reverend Feelgood (12 page)

“You’re looking powerful pretty there now,” Deacon Robinson said, as he watched Jennifer walk up the sidewalk toward the church’s side entrance. “I had to wait just so I could open the door for you.”

“You’re too kind,” Jennifer said, without much kindness.

“You don’t know the half,” the deacon responded.

“And I never will,” Jennifer shot back, but this time she smiled.

Deacon Robinson opened the door for Jennifer and the two stepped into the church. “Time is running out for that date I’ve been requesting.”

Jennifer had a million things going on in her head: trying to keep Nate’s PR schedule straight, battling with Katherine, who was handling his preaching calendar and always trying to throw her weight around, and Verniece, Nate’s latest addition, who’d had the nerve to actually call her out the week before.

“Just so you know,” Verniece had said as she sidled up to Jennifer in the church parking lot. “Your days in Nate’s bed are numbered.”

“So you can count?” was Jennifer’s quick retort.

“Yeah, and add too,” Verniece replied without missing a beat. “And when all is said and done, one”—she pointed to herself—“plus one”—she pointed to the church—“is going to equal two”—she pointed to Jennifer—“without you!”

Then she’d turned around and farted, actually farted, before she looked back once more, winked at an appalled Jennifer, calmly walked to her car, and drove off.

“Look, Deacon Robinson.”

“Please, call me James.”

“Look,
James
. I am sure you’re nice and everything. But I don’t date older men.”

“Word has it that you’re sleeping with Nate, and he’s older than you.”

Jennifer hadn’t intended to be rude but the deacon had gone there. So he deserved what he got. “Let me rephrase that then. I don’t date shriveled-up, dried-up old men. Is that clearer for you?”

“It sure is,” Deacon Robinson said, as he calmly took off his glasses and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe them. “And if I meet a man like the one you just described, I’ll be sure and tell him you’re off limits.”

“Deacon! Just the man I want to see!” Nate came around the corner and immediately put his hand out to one of his mentors, who was also head of the deacon board.

“Oh, hi, Jennifer,” he said as an afterthought. Jennifer was chagrined, but remained quiet as she followed behind the two men and listened.

“I can’t thank you enough for all your help with getting the plans together for our new church,” Nate continued.

“Spring is just around the corner,” Deacon Robinson said. “Perfect time to break ground.”

“Well, we couldn’t have pushed up the timetable without you. Now that you’ve bought out Axel, yours should be about the largest construction company in Texas. Am I right?”

“Largest in the southeastern states,” Deacon Robinson corrected. “Will be the largest this side of the Mississippi in five more years.”

“You don’t say?”

“Yes, I do,” Deacon Robinson said, cutting a look behind him and meeting Jennifer’s eye.

Jennifer began to follow Nate and the deacon into Nate’s office.

“Uh, give us a moment, Jennifer. I’ll be out to talk with you after I finish meeting with Mr. Moneybags here.”

Jennifer tried to tell herself that it didn’t matter that the man she’d just insulted might be richer than she thought. She knew he owned a construction company, but had assumed its reach was limited to Palestine and the other surrounding small towns. She had no idea that Deacon James Robinson was
that
James Robinson, the owner of the SLR Construction Company, which had been on the news, buying up smaller companies like jelly beans. No wonder Nate treated him deferentially, and no wonder Deacon Robinson had so much swagger. He could put his money where his mouth was.
So what. Trying to hit on me when he’s old enough to be my daddy…I don’t care if he has more money than God, he’s not Nate.

He wasn’t Nate, but he was important to Nate, Jennifer decided. That’s why she would apologize to Deacon Robinson the first chance she got, and if he played his cards right, she might go on one date. “But only one,” she whispered to herself, just as the door to Nate’s office opened.

“All right, you take care, man,” Nate said as Deacon Robinson stepped out of his office.

“Oh, I’m gonna do that, man,” Deacon Robinson responded. He passed by Jennifer, tipped his hat, and walked on.

Jennifer entered Nate’s office with a newfound respect for the deacon who thought she was “powerful pretty.” Maybe she could use his attraction to her to help Nate secure additional finances, or other resources from James’s company. As the afternoon wore on, Jennifer warmed to the one date she’d go on with Deacon Robinson. True, she wanted Nate to be her husband. But until then, Deacon Robinson might play a nice role as Big Daddy.

Nettie blew on the hot cup of freshly brewed coffee and got comfortable. Since the anniversary, she and Mama Max had pledged to try and talk at least once a week. So far, they were batting a thousand.

“When’s the last time you seen that grandbaby?” Mama Max asked.

“Oh, it’s been a while. Not since shortly after he was born.”

“Now, that don’t sound like the Nettie I know. The way you love children, I would have thought you’d be halfway raising him by now!”

“If Destiny were here, that would be the case. But with them living in Baton Rouge…”

“Yeah, well, I guess you’ve got a point there. She back in school yet?”

“Taking a full load of classes. Nate got her a full-time nanny, but Destiny ain’t one bit happy about leaving her son all day, I’ll tell you that. I told her a temporary loss was worth a permanent gain. She’ll be glad she stuck with it once she gets her degree.”

“How’s Katherine handling everything?”

“Trying to control what she can, I guess. She hovers over Nate like a mother hen. I’ve had a couple women come to me and complain about how hard it is to work with her.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Me? What can I do?”

“You’re Nate’s mama. If any female is going to run that church before he takes a wife, it should be you.”

“No, it should be
Nate
. Me and Gordon tell him all the time not to let that woman run his life. He’s got to learn how to handle
all
his business. Plus, I know he’s got a soft spot for Katherine.”

“Why?”

“Because of Destiny and Simone.”

“Lord have mercy…”

“Mercy, Lord.”

“What you hear about Simone these days?” Mama Max continued after a pause. “Not trying to gossip, you understand. Just need to know what to pray about.”

Nettie whooped. “Maxine Brook, you are too much! But that’s precisely why I love you and don’t want you to ever change. According to Katherine, Simone’s doing fine. She hasn’t been back here though, not since the anniversary.”

“So her and Mark’s marriage must be working out.”

“I guess so. Katherine told me they went to Hawaii for the holidays. That sounds like working out to me. You said that Mark might be the better one for her. Looks like you’re right, and that she’s happy.”

“And if not happy, maybe content at the very least.”

“I sure hope so. She waited for Nate a long time.”

“Chile, I still can’t get over the fact that you and Katherine are friendly.”

“Sometimes marriage makes strange bedfellows.”

“Yeah, but that piece of strange was in your marriage bed.”

“This is old water you’re treading in, Mama Max. You know the story. That woman did me a favor sleeping with Daniel all those years, God rest his soul. Lord knows that having someone else to poke is the only way he left me alone. The man was insatiable.”

“Yeah, I remember Amanda saying you didn’t like that aspect of marriage too much.”

“Truth be told, Mama didn’t like it much herself. I remember her and Daddy arguing about it. I imagine she’d roll over in her grave if she knew I’d heard.”

“So you and Gordon have passed the point of physical affection?”

“Oh, it’s been done past. You know he’s got ten years on me. The only thing on Gordon that rises now is his blood pressure.”

“Ha! Chile, you oughta quit.”

Nettie took a sip of her now cold coffee. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you…we have!”

“So back to Simone and Mark. They take the baby yet?”

“No. Destiny won’t let them.”

“Now, that’s a child who’s acting like a mama!”

“Tell me about it. She’s a sharp one, that Destiny. I’ve been counseling her.”

“Do tell!”

“At her request, of course. She’d been watching some of Vivian Montgomery’s DVDs and had some questions. I’ve been answering them the best I could.”

“Well, with you for a teacher, and God for a guide, that child’s gonna be all right.”

“I think she might.”

“I know she will.”

“I think you’re right.”

“And if I’m wrong, don’t tell nobody!”

Simone was neither happy nor content. She was pissed and frustrated beyond belief.
Why can’t I get over him?
she thought, throwing a silk-covered pillow at her reflection in the mirror of her newly redecorated bedroom. And why wouldn’t Mark believe her when she lied and said that Nate no longer mattered?

It was only two in the afternoon, but Simone walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. She walked to the patio door that led to the well-tended garden landscape. The magnolias were in full bloom, and when she opened the door, their fragrance immediately assailed her senses. Her mind roiled as she walked among the blooms. She wanted to love Mark; she
did
love Mark. But he still wouldn’t have sex with her, not completely. He said he wouldn’t, so long as she was
in
love with Nathaniel.

She’d sworn she wouldn’t be with Nate again, that she was over him, and ready to move on with the wonderful man under whose roof she lived. But then the holidays came, and with it, Nate had brought his fine self to Louisiana. They saw each other while both were visiting his newborn baby. The child was just a month old then, and Destiny was still healing. There’d been an innocent look, a not so innocent touch, and two hours later, they were in a hotel and each other’s arms.

Simone didn’t know how Mark found out. She swore the man had eyes in the back of his head, or spies, or both. Nate swore he didn’t tell him. But somehow he knew. That two-hour tryst changed Mark’s vacation plans. He had refused to sleep with her, after acknowledging that initially this was to have been the place of their official joining. After practically begging on her knees, he’d pleasured her with his fingers, brought her to a powerful climax, and then spent the night on the suite’s living room couch. Eventually, he moved from there to the bed, where after kissing him into a frenzy, he finally let her blow him. But he still refused to enter her.
I won’t be in your body while he is still in your head.
Mark had said he wasn’t made of stone. But after their week in Hawaii, Simone figured it was either that or steel. She’d gotten a lei, but hadn’t gotten laid.

Simone finished her wine, left the garden, and went back inside the house. She wandered aimlessly from room to room, and ended up in Mark’s large master suite. She walked around it slowly, touching his things, breathing in his scent. She lay down in his bed and remembered all of the wonderful things he’d done to her and for her. She made a mental list of why she was in love with Nate, versus why she should be in love with Mark. With Nate, she ran out of ideas after just seven things. But with Mark, when she got to twenty and fell asleep…she was still counting.

And that’s how Mark found her—curled up on her side, in his bed, looking like a goddess. Mark fondled himself unashamedly as he stood there watching his queen. He thought about Aunt Nettie, acknowledging that she’d been right. God had wanted to give Simone to him, and He had. And as hard as it was to wait, Mark was determined to hold out until Simone could give him all of her.

God knows it was hard. Mark felt he hadn’t masturbated this much since he was a teenager. He wanted Simone more than he’d wanted any woman in his life. He’d lost count of the times he’d come close and almost given in. But his auntie’s words stayed with him:
a temporary loss is worth a permanent gain.
He knew that if he had sex with Simone while she was still in love with his cousin, it would be a rebound romance, a charity screw. Mark was a good man and he knew it. When he loved, he loved for real and he loved for keeps. He’d already lost one woman, and he didn’t plan on losing another. When he became one with Simone Chastity Noble, he planned to be the only one in her bed, and in her heart.

She’s close, son. She’s almost there.
Those are the words Mark heard as he watched Simone for a few more minutes. He nodded to acknowledge His voice, then went to take a shower—a cold one.

Verniece stared at the Scrabble board, trying to find a move. “I think this game is locked up,” she stated firmly.

“Are you passing? Because I’ve got a move,” Anne replied.

“Dang, wait. Let me see.” The score was almost even. Verniece led by twelve points. But since among other letters she was holding the ten-point
q,
that lead wasn’t saying much. “Okay, here’s one,
t-a-e.
” She wrote down her three points with a flourish, pleased with herself for finding a place for this unusual word on the jacked up board.

“J-a-i,”
Anne said calmly, playing on the
a
Verniece just put down.

That was ten points. Verniece’s lead was cut to five. “This game is locked!” Verniece declared again. She was hoping Anne would concede the game.

“It’s almost over, I’ll grant you that,” Anne said with a twinkle in her eye.

“You heifah! You know I’ve got the
q!
”

“Uh-huh, and I’ve got another play. You passin’?”

“You won!” Verniece declared, upsetting the board. Pieces of wood flew everywhere. They both burst out laughing, then got up and retrieved the pieces. In the end it didn’t matter who won. Both ladies were just pleased to have something to do, and someone to do it with.

“What now? You want to order pizza?” Anne asked.

“That sounds cool. What movies you got?”

“Nothing new. See if there’s anything down there you want to watch.”

Verniece plopped down in front of Anne’s small entertainment center to check out the movies stacked below the TV. She pulled out a classic and popped it into the DVD player.

Anne went into the kitchen to get them both a wine cooler. Soon the music from the movie’s soundtrack filled the room:
Fair Eastside…by thy side we’ll stand and always praise thy name.
“Ha! Good choice,” she said, coming around the corner with the coolers and the cordless phone. “I love me some Morgan Freeman playing Joe Clark.”

“Yeah, girl, ’cause Mr. Clark don’t play!” Verniece said, mimicking one of the lines in the film.

“You know it.”

After ordering a large supreme with extra cheese, the ladies settled in to watch a movie that both had seen a zillion times. Before long, however, their favorite topic of discussion, their pastor, gave them something else to “lean on.”

“How many times have you been with him now?” Anne asked.

Verniece shrugged. “Enough to know I want to be with him a lot more times.”

The women giggled.

“I told you he could do the dang thang,” Anne said.

“You sure did. I’m glad that I was patient, like you suggested, ’cause that brothah was surely worth the wait. And that little tidbit about slipping a note in the handshake is what finally got me around Katherine the Cootchie Watcher.”

“The way that old heifah guards Nate’s dick, you’d think that she was hitting it.”

“Do you think?” Verniece began.

“No!” both women screamed, and then dissolved into hysterical laughter.

“I know we’re not the only ones,” Verniece said after Anne had paid the delivery man who knocked on the door. “And I’m cool with that. Truth be told, most women in America are sharing their men, whether they know it or not.”

“Uh-huh. Makes it a lot easier when you know that up front.”

“Yeah, like that story that made the news, of those women who looked like they walked straight out of another century.”

Anne looked quizzical as she took a bite of pizza. Then she remembered seeing it. “Oh, that polygamy case.”

“Uh-huh. I saw them on one of them talk shows, talking like they were one big happy family, calling each other sisters. One man had like forty-five kids.”

Anne thought a bit and then responded. “I think I could do that,” she said.

Verniece rolled her eyes.

“No, really. If I liked the other women, we all were cool, the kids were well-behaved and everything, I think I could live like that.”

“Not me. I’m a one-man woman looking for a one-woman man—believe that.”

“I don’t know. The women I saw seemed happy. They cooked together, did the chores together, each had different nights with the husband. When I was with my ex—boyfriend, not husband—there were times I would have gladly let somebody else have him so I could have some peace. Then again, there were times that
because
somebody was having him, I couldn’t get a piece. So I guess that mess is complicated.”

“Damn skippy it is. Like, what if we were living in that situation with Reverend Thicke, and you heard me and him huffing and puffing in the bedroom next-door. What would you do?”

“Heck, I’d probably come join you,” Anne quipped. The women laughed and high-fived. Then Anne continued. “But at least with the polygamists, everything is up front. There’s no lying, no sneaking around, no down low. So if the research is correct, and women are sharing men whether they know it or not, and whether they like it or not, I’d rather know.”

Verniece nodded. “I’m okay with sharing Reverend, I guess. It’s not as if I have his ring on my finger. The only one I don’t like is that stuck-up Jennifer Stevens. Ms. Noble, I can at least understand why she thinks she’s in charge. Hell, the woman is as old as the church! But Jennifer? That bitch just got here. Thinks she’s special just because she came from that megachurch in Kansas City.”

“It’s more than that,” Anne said, in her calm, quiet manner. “She helped Reverend Thicke blow up. You can’t deny that….”

“Reverend Thicke would have blown up without her fat ass.” Verniece waddled off her own sizable hindquarters and grabbed another slice. “I think she’s the reason I didn’t get on this year’s anniversary committee.”

“Oh, it don’t matter. This year ain’t gonna be like last year, with all the pomp and circumstance. Mostly it’s every five years where they make the biggest fuss.”

“Are you kidding? Our pastor is a
New York Times
best seller, girl. Everything he does from here on out is gonna be big!”

“I know one thing that’s big,” Anne said coyly, taking a large bite of pizza.

“Umm, I bet you’re talking about a sausage that’s not served on pizza!”

Neither one of these ladies were drinkers, and after two wine coolers apiece, the comment made them dissolve into a fit of giggles again.

“So what do you think I should do?” Verniece asked. “You know the best way to stay in Reverend’s rotation is to do something big for the ministry. Your spot is secure, now that you’ve replaced Simone as the church’s songbird. I’m so tone-deaf that even if I lip-synch, it’s off-key.”

The unexpected joke caused Anne to spew the last swallow of her strawberry cooler all over the couch. “That was funny, Verniece,” she said, getting up to grab some paper towels. “You really should think about doing comedy, because
that
was funny.”

“It may have been funny, but this is no laughing matter. Jennifer’s traveling with him, you’re a lead singer, Patricia is either hosting or heading up some committee every time the church doors open. What can I do?”

“Ooh, my favorite scene is coming up,” Anne said. “Let’s watch Joe Clark get out of jail. Then we’ll put our heads together and come up with something.”