Been There Prayed That (9781622860845) (9 page)

“Your clients must be writing you blank checks to have you catering events on Sundays now,” Paige said as Tamarra followed along side of her down the buffet line at the Golden Coral. Since Paige hadn't had the pleasure of enjoying Sunday dinner with her best friend in quite some time, she invited (insisted after Tamarra had initially turned her down) that they meet at the Golden Coral Buffet. The line moved swiftly as it wasn't nearly as crowded on Thursdays as it was on Sundays.

Although the last thing Tamarra had on her mind was food, she'd been glad a few days ago when she sat on her couch screening her calls, and then finally decided to answer it, that it was Paige. Her mother had just called, and she'd let the call go to voice mail, so when the phone immediately rang again, she had assumed it was her mother. She let out a deep breath when it was Paige's voice she'd heard on the other end of the phone instead of her mother's.

“No, it's not that. When I booked the catering affairs, I must have been looking at the wrong month or something, not realizing the dates fell on Sundays.”

“And back to back Sundays no less.” Paige shifted her head and her slicked back ponytail swung from side to side.

Tamarra tried to detect whether or not Paige was insinuating that she wasn't being truthful, but she couldn't tell. But what if, in fact, that's exactly what Paige was getting at? It wasn't like it was the truth. Tamarra had lied to Paige, telling her the reason for her absence the last couple of Sundays at church was due to catering events she had to tend to. Thank goodness for Tamarra that Paige didn't really go to Bible Study on a regular due to her work schedule, or else she would have questioned her on being absent from Bible Study as well.

“I know. I have no idea what I could have been thinking.”

“I do,” Paige said with confidence.

Tamarra froze at the thought that someway, somehow Paige had learned the ugly truth about her having a brother and what he'd done to her. Had her mother somehow managed to reach out to her best friend and fill her in on all the filthy details? That wouldn't have surprised Tamarra as it wouldn't have been the first time she felt her mother had betrayed her.

Learning her lesson about jumping to conclusions, like she'd done so many times in her and Maeyl's relationship, she decided to act nonchalant. “You do?” Tamarra put a couple of pieces of lettuce on her plate as the foundation for her salad.

“Yep. It's Maeyl and that woman, isn't it? Sasha's her name?”

Relieved and willing to go with the lesser of the two evils that had been plaguing her thoughts, Tamarra agreed. “I guess you could say that.”

“Tamarra, girl, I can't believe you haven't talked to him about it yet.” Paige shook her head.

Tamarra couldn't believe it either. She couldn't believe that in the past two weeks, Maeyl and Sasha had actually been the least of her worries. For all she knew, the two of them had been secretly seeing each other behind her back.

Tamarra simply shrugged her shoulders at Paige's comment and the two women continued down the buffet and returned to their table.

Paige's plate was practically full, while Tamarra had barely placed anything on hers. Scarfing down a few bites of her meal, Paige noticed Tamarra's half naked plate and her sparse appetite.

“Are you sure everything is okay?” Paige asked Tamarra. “The last time we came here and you barely put anything on your plate, it had to do with you and Maeyl.”

Paige was referring to the time when Tamarra was dealing with all the gossiping and whispers that were floating around church regarding a picture of her and Maeyl that had been posted on the church website. The picture was misleading, making it appear as though Tamarra and Maeyl were in a compromising position. Tamarra had initially thought Maeyl was responsible for posting it, but she later learned that it was Helen. And the thought of Helen and Maeyl being in on it together had only briefly crossed her mind.

Tamarra was fit to be tied when instead of kicking Helen out of the church, Pastor ended up giving her a leadership position in children's church. Sometimes Tamarra felt as though their pastor wasn't nearly as hard on members for their actions as needed to be, but that was something she and some other members were praying on, that the New Day pastor would walk in holy boldness and put the smack down when need be.

“It doesn't have anything to do with Maeyl,” Tamarra answered.

“Oh, then something is wrong then.” Paige said it as though she'd tricked Tamarra into confessing.

Tamarra knew she couldn't hide the truth from Paige (the truth that something was wrong that is) because she'd done a great job in hiding the fact that she even had a brother. So now, even though she knew she needed to talk about what was truly bothering her, she couldn't. So she decided to follow up one lie with another. “Oh, I can't fool you. I guess the thing with Maeyl is bothering me.” She didn't feel like she was really lying because now that Paige had brought the issue back up, it was bothering her.

“You really love that man, don't you?” Paige asked as if she'd just had a revelation about her best friend and the man she was dating.

“I really do, Paige. I really do.” Tamarra said it in a sigh as she picked around at her food. “After my divorce, I never thought I'd know love like this, a love so honest and true.” Tamarra wrapped herself up in thoughts of how much Maeyl loved her. Outside the love of God Himself, Maeyl's had been the love that made her feel safe and protected. Now the one thing that threatened that security, she couldn't share with him either. And how could he protect her from something he knew nothing about? She felt so torn.

Seeing the look of confusion on her friend's face, Paige all of a sudden felt torn too. It ached her heart to think that another man might hurt her friend. Tamarra had already survived a divorce that she hadn't wanted. She'd all out begged her husband not leave her for his other woman and the child that the two of them had out of wedlock. Paige couldn't sit quietly knowing that there was a chance that the scene could replay itself.

“Tamarra.” Paige set her fork down on her plate. “There's something I need to tell you. It's about Maeyl, Maeyl
and
Sasha and something I witnessed on Sunday.”

“Are you en route?” Lorain asked her mother over the phone.

“I am indeed,” Eleanor replied into her cell phone as she drove down the highway.

“I figured as much. When I called your home phone, and it went to your answering machine, I knew you were probably on your way to my house.”

“What do you mean on my way to your house?”

Lorain could hear the confusion in her mother's voice. “Uh, hello, it's Saturday . . .” Lorain looked at her watch, “at one o'clock. I thought you said you were going to come over and help me put the information bags together about the Single's Ministry,” Lorain reminded her mother as she sat in her living room with dozens of plastic bags, flyers, scriptures, and personalized items she'd had made up with New Day Temple of Faith Single's Ministry printed on them.

At her and Unique's last planning session, Lorain had come up with the idea that the ministry should prepare bags of information regarding the ministry. These bags would be distributed to current members, but more importantly, they would be readily available to other interested singles that might need more information.

Lorain had spent hours upon hours on the Internet working with printers and designers to create a logo, et cetera. She'd submitted all the necessary paperwork to the financial board for approval and payment to the various vendors and companies she'd used. She'd also found several entertaining Christian fiction books to include in the bags, books that she thought might be appropriate and relevant reads for Single's Ministries such as
The List
by Sherri Lewis and
The Single Sister Experiment
by Mimi Jefferson. She found it to be favorable that the books that had originally come out in trade paperback were now in mass market at very economical prices.

Immersed in the project, even missing Bible Study last week to work on it, Lorain was proud of all she had accomplished. Since she had done most of the leg work, her mother had agreed to come help her stuff the bags this Saturday at one o'clock. Lorain was excited about killing two birds with one stone, completing the bags and spending mother-daughter time. Now her excitement was starting to fade as it appeared as though her mother was bailing out and all the remaining work would be left up to her as well.

“Chile, I thought I told you that I have a movie date this afternoon with a fella who's courtin' me,” Eleanor stated in more of a bragging manner than one of regret for having to leave her only child hanging.

“No, you did not tell me that.” Lorain sighed. “Who are you going out with anyway? Brother Joseph again?” Lorain asked, referring to the gentleman whose phone number her mother had gotten when she'd visited her church a couple of months ago.

“Oh, no! That old fool couldn't keep up with me. I done met me somebody else. Broady's his name. He's a retired principal, and daughter, the man is fine. He gon' be ya step-daddy, just watch and see.” She chuckled.

Lorain just shook her head and smiled. She couldn't even be mad at her mother. If she had the option, she, too, would rather be out on a date than sitting in her living room on a Saturday afternoon stuffing bags. Come to think of it, it wasn't that Lorain didn't have any options, it's just that her options no longer lined up with her Christian walk.

It wasn't too long ago that Lorain was being wined and dined by rich doctors and lawyers, that is, of course, when they weren't wining and dining their wives. Then there were times when she had even more options than she cared to have. Those were the days when she'd double-dip date, which meant go out with one man Saturday afternoon and go out with a different one come Saturday night. After one too many trips to the pharmacy for penicillin and the ultimate HIV scare, Lorain had changed her ways, her heart, and her mind. Everything, especially her body, now belonged to God.

Those two weeks of waiting on those HIV results after learning that a past lover of hers had died from AIDS nearly killed Lorain before any disease might have ever had a chance of doing so. She hated to admit it, but the prayers she'd sent up during those two weeks were the first she'd ever prayed to God. She'd begged God to make it so that she didn't have the disease that she had compared to a death sentence. She promised Him that she would turn from her wicked, promiscuous ways if He spared her, not even knowing back then that when her test results had read negative, that it was only by God's grace and mercy.

Unlike many other people who find themselves between a rock and a hard place and make all types of promises to God if He brings them out, Lorain kept her promise and gave her life to Him. She kept praying, then when prayer wasn't enough, she started reading the Bible. And when she couldn't understand some of the things the Bible was saying, she began going to Sunday School to learn more about His Word. From there, she started going to Sunday service and eventually got saved, baptized, and now served as head over a ministry.

Lorain had come a long way. Although the HIV scare was devastating, even causing her to lose five pounds, she knew it had taken that circumstance to make her realize that she had abused her body long enough. She'd allowed men to abuse her body long enough. It was God and His love for her that finally made her realize that it was that initial abuse of her body that she'd suffered as a young girl that had initiated her down such a path of destruction. But now, once again thanks to His grace and His mercy, she was headed down a path of righteous.

“If you knew like I knew, you'd get you some business and go out there and find you a man too,” Eleanor stated. “I mean, how you gon' be running the Single's Ministry and it keeps you so busy that you can't find a man? It sounds to me almost like it's a curse. The head of the Single's Ministry is almost obligated to stay single, right? How they gon' have somebody with a man telling single people how to cope? That's just like a childless person being a child therapist, wouldn't you agree?”

Eleanor didn't even allow time for Lorain to respond before she continued ranting on. “Besides, didn't your pastor appoint you an assistant? Get that child to help you.”

“Puhleeze.” Lorain rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. “The last time I got together with Unique, she wasn't any help at all. All she did was bring her kids up in here to eat up all my food, which is why I haven't even bothered to waste my time by including her in anything else.”

“Ha! What food?” her mother laughed. “Any time I've ever been over to your house, there ain't never been no food there. That child must have created a miracle up over there.”

“I see you aren't going to be of any good use to me today, so tah-tah,” Lorain spat.

“Don't be hating on me,” Eleanor huffed.

“I'm not, Mom.” Lorain sighed, then looked at the mass of items around her. All of a sudden her head started to spin. She'd done her best at making sure everything was organized, but now that it looked as though she'd have to do the most tedious part of the task alone, it all just seemed overwhelming. “Anyway, you just go on out on your date. Have fun and don't worry about me over here.”

“I will go on out, and I won't worry about you.” Eleanor ended the call.

Lorain took a deep breath in the place where she sat Indian style in her living room. As she exhaled, she fell backward onto a pile of personalized ink pens and folders that were behind her.

Life just didn't seem fair right about now. Her mother was getting ready to spend her day at the movies having fun. Unique was probably at home with a bag of microwave popcorn watching a TV marathon or something. And here she was stuck, all alone with a mound of work that needed to be done. Lorain thought back to her mother's words. What good was having an assistant who didn't assist? As she started stuffing the bags, Lorain made a mental note that she'd have to have yet another word with the pastor regarding Unique.

 

 

Keeping true to her word, Lorain had phoned Pastor that Saturday afternoon and agreed to meet a half hour before Bible Study to discuss her issues with Unique. Although she wished she could have spoken with her pastor that very next day prior to church service, she knew better than to deposit anything negative into her church leader's spirit before Pastor had to preach the Word of God. So she had waited until now, four days later, to diplomatically tell her pastor that she believed there may have been some static on the lines of communication when God gave instructions to make Unique her assistant.

“Humph, I should have known.”

Lorain looked up to see Unique standing in the doorway of the waiting area outside of Pastor's office. “Unique,” she stood and greeted.

“Yeah, hello to you too.” Unique sounded anything but sincere.

“So it looks as though once again we've both asked to speak with Pastor regarding the Single's Ministry.”

“I guess it does.” Unique walked over next to the chair where Lorain had been sitting and sat down.

“Ladies,” Pastor said, entering the same doorway that Unique had just walked through. “Sorry I'm late, but I had to go to Manor Care nursing home in Westerville and pray with Sister Lana.”

That was one thing the members of New Day Temple of Faith loved about their shepherd. Instead of just praying
for
folks, their pastor prayed
with
folks; teaching them that all had access to God's ear in Jesus' name.

“Oh, that's okay, Pastor.” Unique stood. “I'm just getting here myself.”

“So, women of God, would you like to join me in my office?” The Pastor proceeded to unlock the locked office door.

The women shot each other uncomfortable looks. It was as if they were both thinking the same thing. Lorain spoke up first.

“Well, Pastor.” She fidgeted. “I was hoping that I could speak to you alone.”

“Yeah, me too,” Unique stated.

Pastor looked confused. “Well, Sister Lorain, when you called me you said that you needed to speak to me concerning Sister Unique's involvement in the Single's Ministry.” The Pastor looked to Unique. “Unique, when you stopped me after church service this past Sunday, you said that you needed to speak to me concerning Sister Lorain's involvement in the Single's Ministry. Once again, I figured since both of you each wanted to speak about the same subject matter, we'd all meet together. That saves me time, allowing more time to go out here and pray for folks. After all . . .” Pastor looked back and forth from one woman to the next, “neither of you would say anything about the other to me that you wouldn't be able to say in the other one's face, correct?”

Both women appeared to be caught off guard, all of a sudden wrestling with purse straps and shirts that didn't seem to be all the way tucked in.

Getting no verbal response, Pastor continued. “Now, if there is a personal matter either of you would like to discuss, then by all means we can do that on individual basis, otherwise, I'd like to kill two birds with one stone, if you saints don't mind.” Pastor smiled at both women.

“Sure,” Unique said through a light huff, “I don't mind.”

Pastor opened the office door wide and stepped aside as Unique walked in, then nodded for Lorain to do likewise.

This time, instead of sitting at the shiny, mahogany desk that rested in the office in front of a matching credenza, the Pastor took a seat on the leather sofa and instructed the women to do the same in whichever seat they pleased. Lorain sat on the sofa while Unique sat in a chair across from the sofa.

“Sister Lorain, how about you open in prayer?” Pastor asked.

“Certainly,” Lorain replied. They all bowed their heads, and she proceeded with a quick prayer.

“So I know last month's Single's Ministry meeting was cancelled due to Brother Haggie's Friday evening wedding ceremony,” Pastor stated. “So this upcoming Friday will be the first time you two will jointly run the meeting. How have you prepared? Do you have an agenda, and have you each agreed on who will cover which parts of the agenda?”

“That's what I wanted to talk to you about,” both women said.

Lorain looked at Unique. “You go first.”

“Oh, no, you go right ahead,” Unique insisted, obviously feeling as though she was the defense and wanted to save her closing arguments for last.

“Well, Pastor—” Lorain started.

“Oh, if it's about Sister Unique, feel free to address her as well.” Pastor smiled.

“Well, uh, okay,” Lorain shrugged. “Well, Pastor, and Sister Unique, I feel as though even though I've been assigned an assistant, I'm doing all of the duties myself. And if that's going to be the case, then I don't believe I need an assistant.” Lorain sat back and rested her hands on her crossed legs.

“Sister Unique, how do you feel about what Sister Lorain just stated?” Pastor asked.

“I find it ironic that what I wanted to discuss was Sister Lorain's lack of delegation,” Unique fussed. “She just took over like I wasn't even the assistant. Like she's on some power trip and wants to prove that she can do it all herself.”

Lorain was offended. “Well, you could have jumped in and helped anytime. I would not have been mad.” Lorain rolled her eyes. The Holy Spirit tapped Lorain on the shoulder and shook His index finger at her, reminding her that getting out of character would be the wrong thing to do. She adjusted her attitude. “I mean, I would have really appreciated any help you could have offered.”

“Really now?” Unique's tone was that of disbelief.

“Yes, really, but it's evident that you'd rather just sit back and allow me to do everything.”