The Perfect Christian (4 page)
Read The Perfect Christian Online
Authors: E. N. Joy
Chapter Six
Of all the men in the state of Kentucky, Doreen Nelly Mae Hamilton had to be smitten with William Tucker. No one in town saw that love connection coming. The two were total opposites. Doreen was raised by parents who regularly attended and volunteered in the church. Willie's parents ran a juke joint named Our Place, which Doreen's parents referred to as a sin hole. Doreen dressed clean-cut and pretty; nice, handmade dresses as a result of her mother's handiwork. Willie wore a style that the children of Generation X think they startedâsagging. Why smooth, well-groomed, good girls always seemed to be a magnet for the boys who were rough around the edges, a.k.a. roughnecks, has yet to be figured out. Or was it the other way around? Was it the bad boys that attracted the good girls? Although the vote may still be out on that one, it was as clear as a bell that when it came to Doreen and Willie, the attraction was mutual. No one, not even Doreen's parents, could deny thatâtry as they might.
“The oldest of all three girls, what kind of example do you think you're setting for your sisters?” Doreen's mother rubbed her tiny baby bump that six months later would turn out to be yet another beautiful, bouncing baby girl for the Hamilton family.
Doreen just stood in the kitchen looking down at the ugly green designs on the linoleum kitchen floor. She could not figure out for the life of her why shades of green were such a popular décor color. She looked up and around the kitchen at the chipping mint-green paint on the walls.
“Child, are you paying me any type of never-mind?” Mrs. Hamilton asked her eldest daughter.
“Yes, Mama, I'm listening,” Doreen lied, because she wasn't. Why did she need to? She'd heard that same old song and dance a thousand times already. She'd heard it for over six months now, ever since old Willie boy introduced himself to her one night while she was walking home from the Jaimesons' after babysitting their little one.
He'd been hanging out at one of his boy's houses after helping him and his young wife move into their new place. After a long day's work, Willie and the fellas were hanging out on the front porch eating fried chicken and drinking beer, the payment for their labor.
Doreen had been able to hear the lively bunch long before she ever saw them. Their language, that's what had gotten her attention. Their mouths were just as foul as week old collard greens left out in the sun in the summertime . . . with a hunk of salt pork right in the middle of the pot. Doreen had thought their breaths had probably smelled like it too. Stinking words such as the ones they were using could only come from a stinking source.
Disgusted and no longer willing to allow the men's words to infiltrate her ear ducts, Doreen began to hum song 104 from the church hymn book. The closer she got to the men, the louder she had to hum until eventually she was singing. Even though she'd sung in the church choir since she could remember, Doreen wasn't the best of singers. As a matter of fact, she'd never had a true desire to even sing in the choir. In her opinion, she'd chosen the worse of two evils when her parents made it clear to her that the Hamilton children would do something in the church, be it ushering or singing in the choir.
Doreen's younger sisters had chosen to usher, reasoning there weren't weekly rehearsals for ushers, so they didn't have to worry about giving up yet another one of their evenings to the Lord. They already gave up Tuesdays for evening devotional, Wednesdays for Bible Study, and then both Sunday mornings and evenings for the two services. Giving up Thursday evenings to rehearse songs that they could sing right from the church pew was out of the question.
It was no biggie for Doreen, though. Actually, she looked at it as an opportunity to get out of the house and away from her nagging siblings. All they wanted to do was to sit up under Doreen and be in her business. They didn't mean to be so annoying to Doreen. The girls were just so fascinated by their oldest sister, that they watched her every move. They wanted to walk like she walked, talk like she talked, and dress like she dressed. Their parents had indeed put their firstborn on a pedestal. She was the mold that all the Hamilton children would have to fit.
At first, Doreen didn't feel any pressure in having to be the perfect child. She liked it. It made her parents proud. She could see it in their eyes every time they looked at her. Not only that, but it made God proud too. Doreen could feel it in her spirit. God, her mother, and father were who Doreen would live to please. And as a result of the way she carried herself, she would receive favor from them all.
Her mother would take in extra laundry in order to make money for the more expensive material to sew Doreen's dresses. Her sisters never complained. They just waited around for their turn, because they knew it was only a matter of time before they'd get to wear Doreen's hand-me-downs.
Her father would always get his oldest daughter an extra quarter of a pound of licorice on Friday night after work and after cashing his paycheck. Of course, behind his back, she'd split the extra evenly among her siblings.
God? Well, He was just God, showing Doreen how much He loved her on a daily basis through His grace and mercy. In addition to that, God always seemed to answer every single last one of Doreen's prayers in the affirmative. If she prayed she'd get an A on her test, she did. If she prayed she'd not get picked on to do a church solo, she didn't get picked. Although Doreen could carry a tune back in the day, she knew dang well she didn't stand a chance in being on one of today's church praise and worship teams. Half of them might as well go ahead and sing rhythm and blues instead of gospel.
Singing from her heart though, God allowed Doreen's voice to blend in well enough so that there were no complaints from the choir director. Doreen's voice had been included in the many local choir competitions, of which her church had won a few. The winning church always received a nice-size monetary donation that would ultimately go to some sort of building fund or another after each member of the choir and their families were treated to dinner.
Much favor was Doreen shown by those she aimed to please most. In all honesty, she felt like Joseph from the Bible, only her siblings weren't jealous of her. They'd quickly learned that if their older sister got blessed, then they ultimately got blessed too. If basking in their sister's overflow was this rewarding, they could only imagine the favor and rewards that would come to them if they could be just like her.
The perfect sister to her younger siblings, the perfect daughter to her parents, and the perfect Christian to God, that is what Doreen strived to be. And she'd been well on her way until she tried to add yet another task on her “Perfect List,” which was the perfect wife. Trying to be the perfect wife to William Tucker would end up being a perfect mistake.
Chapter Seven
Looking back on Doreen's tenure with Willie that evening when she was walking home humming to drown out the expletives of her new neighbors, some might say when Willie stepped down off that porch and approached her, she should have kept right on going. The truth of the matter is that she had.
“That sure is a pretty sangin' voice you've got there, Missy,” Willie had complimented after Doreen's voice had lured him off his friend's porch and in her direction.
“Get thee behind me, Satan,” Doreen sang loudly toward the silhouette coming up beside her.
“Oh, it's like that?” Willie chuckled as Doreen kept on walking as if he wasn't even there. Ordinarily, his ego would have been bruised, but for the first time since he could remember, his mind was fixed on something besides himself. It was fixed on that pretty young thing named Doreen Hamilton.
Upon his return to the porch after being completely ignored by Doreen, Willie would learn from one of the fellas that Doreen was the daughter of a preacher who ran his own church. Next he was told that he didn't have a chance in hell, literally, to get with her. Plenty guys had tried, but that Doreen had only given two other men the time of day in her life: her preacher man daddy and God.
Words meant to discourage Willie only ignited the desire in him to hook up with Doreen. So that following Sunday when he showed up at her daddy's church just as dapper as could be, Willie was only looking for one thing. Trust and believe that one thing wasn't Jesus.
To this day, Mother Doreen had no idea that the same fella that wooed her that Sunday morning in church was the same fella she'd shot down on her way home one dark evening. It was a good thing for Willie she hadn't paid him enough never-mind to recognize him as the drinking and cursing hoodlum she'd basically referred to as Satan. This allowed him to make what Doreen thought was his first impression in a different light; actually, in the light.
Knowing exactly what he was working with, a preacher's kid, Willie upped his game and put on his charm to the tenth power. It was that same charm that had enabled him to get in the skirts of many a gal. Truth be told, though, ever since he'd set his sights on Doreen, no other woman had occupied his thoughts. He never even gave another woman the time of day. He was too busy planning and plotting on how to get with Doreen. What started out as a challenge for Willie turned into love. All his boys even teased him about going soft. Willie never let the peer pressure get to him, as six months later, he stood in Doreen's daddy's church prepared to make her his wife.
Good thing for Willie that Doreen never let peer pressure get to her either; otherwise, Willie would have long been kicked to the curb. Instead, though, Doreen was standing in front of a full-length mirror in the church bathroom wearing an all-white gownârightfully so considering she was a virginâabout to become Mrs. William Tucker.
“The oldest of all four girls, what kind of example do you think you're setting for your sisters?” Once again, Doreen's mother had posed the question. This time, she held her newborn daughter in one arm and touched up her eldest daughter's hair with her free hand.
“Oh, Mama, you've been saying that since I started seeing William six months ago,” Doreen had replied to her mother. “Can't you just let me be on my wedding day?” Mrs. Hamilton cast her eyes downward as she held back tears. Doreen turned to face her mother, touching her shoulders. “Mama, those betta be tears of joy.”
Not wanting to cast a black cloud on her daughter's wedding, Mrs. Hamilton perked up and both forced and allowed a small smile to slightly split her lips.
“That's more like it, Mama.” Doreen pulled her mother in for a hug as close as she could without smashing her new baby sister, Bethany. Doreen pulled away, and then looked down at the baby. While rubbing the baby's cheeks with her index finger she said to her mother, “And, Mama, whether you want to believe it or not, I'm setting a mighty fine example for my little sisters. I mean, I'm not out here gallivanting around, sleeping with all kinds of menses. I saved myself for my husband, Mama. I'm getting married. What better example can I set for the girls?”
Mrs. Hamilton thought about it for a minute. “Yeah, I guess you're right.” She then shook her head. “But William Tucker? Of all the menfolk out there you could'a married, you chose him.” She closed her eyes, sighed, then opened them again. “But I reckon I don't know much about himâonly what I've heard on the streets. But I know his daddy and his momma. I went to school with his daddy, and if he's anything like his daddy was back when he was his age . . .” Once again, Mrs. Hamilton shook her head while closing her eyes. After exhaling, she opened her eyes, stared at her daughter, and continued talking. “Oh, child, if William is anything close to being like his daddy . . .” she placed her hand on Doreen's cheek, “I'm going to pray for you.”
Doreen smiled at her mother. “Oh, Ma, well, even if he ain't like his daddy, pray for me anyway, all right?” Doreen requested, still smiling. “All right?”
All her mother could do was nod while she held back tears. At that moment, her spirit confirmed in her that Willie would be nothing like his daddy. He would be ten times worse.
Chapter Eight
“Willie, who is that lady?” Doreen could barely contain her Christianity right about now.
This had been the second night this week where Doreen looked at the clock. It was after midnight, and yet, the spot next to her in the bed was empty. Having been married to Willie for not even a good six months, surely he wasn't tired of her already. Surely he wasn't the cheating, drinking, lying, gambling man that her mother had warned her he was. She'd pulled herself out of the bed to go hunt Willie down and see for herself.
Considering that he was sitting up in his parents' drinking establishment with a beer bottle in one hand and four empty ones in front of him on the table proved he was definitely a drinking man. The fact that he had playing cards in his other hand and a pile of money sitting in the middle of the table proved he was a gambling man. That heifer sitting on his lap proved that he was a cheating man. The words that came out of his mouth next confirmed that he was a lying man.
“What lady?” Willie answered his dumbfounded wife. “I don't see no lady.” He threw out a card and focused on the game as if Doreen wasn't even standing there.
“Don't you dare try to play me like a foolâlike I'm dumb and blind or something,” Doreen spat. “I'm talking about that woman sitting right there on your lap.” Doreen pointed at the thick, long-legged, barely wearing any clothing woman that sat on Willie's lap like he was Santa and she was telling him what she wanted for Christmas. Whatever it was must have been a secret, because she'd been whispering in Willie's ear when Doreen first spotted them.
“Oh, her right here?” He took a swig of his beer, and then set it down on the table. “This ain't no lady. This is Agnes.”
The other three men sitting at the table chuckled. Agnes gave Willie a playful punch and chuckled right along with the fellas.
Doreen looked Agnes up and down, rolling her eyes along the way. “I might have to agree with you on that oneâthat this is no lady. Because a lady wouldn't be settled on the lap of another woman's husband. Only a whore would be doing that.”
Agnes jumped off Willie's lap and made a move toward Doreen, but Willie grabbed her arm. He never said a word to Agnes, just gave her a look. It was a look that only allowed Agnes to roll her eyes at Doreen sharply and walk away.
“What the heck is going on here, Willie?” Doreen asked. “Is this why when I wake up in the middle of night I'm alone in my bed? 'Cause you're down here at your parents' place with other women?” She looked down at the pile of money on the table. “And is this why the lights was off last month? Because you gambled the electric bill money away?”
“Now, woman, you betta go 'head with all that.” Willie didn't give Doreen the look. He gave it to the cards in his hands instead, but she knew it was for her. She knew that look meant for her to walk away just as Agnes had.
“All right, I will go on, but only with my husband in tow,” Doreen agreed.
“Look, I just got a couple more hands to play; then I'll see you at home.”
“Fine,” Doreen said, turning away. She didn't go far though, only far enough to grab a chair, pull it up, and plant herself next to Willie.
The men at the table looked at Willie as if to ask, “You ain't got yo' woman in check yet?”
“I meant for you to go ahead home without me,” Willie explained to Doreen, throwing out a card. “I'll see you when I get done playing out this game.”
Doreen let out a harrumph. “Do you think I'm gon' head back home while my husband hangs around so he can be in the likes of another woman's company?” Doreen rolled her eyes. “Puhleeze.” She then looked at the man who was sitting at the table directly across from her and Willie. “It's on you,” she told him, informing him that it was his turn to play his hand.
“If you're here babysitting me because you think me and ol' Agnes there got something going on, then you're losing sleep for nothing. She's just a friend of the family is all. Been waitressing here since my parents opened the place. She's like family. A little sister almost.”
The men did all they could to keep from laughing, but a small chuckle escaped from one of their mouths. Willie smirked at him as if to say, “I'm the man.” He turned his attention to Doreen, finally looking his wife in the eyes. “I'm sorry if Agnes made you feel uncomfortable. She don't mean no harm.”
Doreen stared at Willie for a moment. “If you think you married some dumb little church girl who's going to let you do whatever you want, and then come back with some jive âI'm sorry,' and everything is going to be okay, then you've got another think coming. You married a saint, but you didn't marry Jesus.” Doreen stood. “Fellas, it's been real,” she said to the other men at the card table. “William, your wife is ret-ta-go.”
One man sank down in his seat, embarrassed for Willie for being checked by his wife in front of his boys. Another man let out a whistling air and tried to pretend he just hadn't witnessed Doreen take authority of the situation.
“Guess she told you,” the other man mumbled under his breath while picking at his cards.
Willie's light brown skin turned as red as a beet. Through gritted teeth he said to Doreen, “Like I said, I'ma finish this game, so you head on home and I'll meet you there.” He turned his attention back to the card game. “Hopefully with all these fools' money.”
That fired the men up as they all focused back on their game. Doreen stood there feeling defeated, but not willing to give up. “If I go home by myself tonight, then that's how it's gon' be.”
Willie paused before saying, “Then that's how it's gon' be.” He'd only said that because his boys were there. The last thing he wanted to do was to lose a showdown with his wife in front of them. It would set an awful pattern for some of the other womenfolk. Willie was the smoothest player in town. If other men's wives got wind of how Doreen set him straight, they might get the same idea about pulling the same stunt with their own husbands. And heck, those husbands were who kept his parents' place in business. He couldn't allow all that to happen now, could he?
Although Willie stopped going to church regularly a little while after he and Doreen got married, he recalled a similar Bible story. Now he knew firsthand how King Ahasuerus felt when he had to kick Queen Vashti to the curb and get with Esther.
God knew how much Willie loved Doreen and how he'd rather lose a leg than lose her as his wife. He loved her as much as any man could truly love a woman. But he was loving his wife the same way he'd witnessed his daddy love his mama over the years. He'd witness his daddy sit up under all types of women in their spot, right while his mother wiped down all the tables. He'd dared her to speak on it, so she rarely did unless she'd had a few too many drinks. So this type of behavior and treatment was all Willie knew. It was like it was in his systemâin his DNA. It was a curse, one that only prayer and deliverance could break off of him. Thank God he'd married a praying woman indeed. There was nothing like the power of a praying wife. But as Willie watched the back of Doreen exit through the doors, all he could do was pray that after all was said and done, he'd still have a wife.
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