For the Sake of Love (3 page)

Sunday morning rolled around, and Bria had a hard time getting out of bed. All those hours at the amusement park in the hot sun had worn her out. She would've loved to have stayed in the bed and hugged the pillow tighter just a little while longer, but she knew if she cancelled out on going to church, so would Nya—her best friend ever since the fifth grade—and Chance. She didn't want to give them an excuse.

She fixed herself a cup of hot coffee hoping it would help give her some “get-up-and-go.” She cracked the blinds over her sink. Maple cabinetry with an antique white painted finish kept the kitchen light and airy.

As she sat at the breakfast bar reading the Sunday paper and sipping her Java, her cell phone rang. She perked up when she saw Spade's picture pop up and the caption “My Man” underneath. She immediately answered.

“When you get back from church I'm coming over. Put on something casual like jeans and flats. I have a surprise for you,” he said.

She liked surprises as long as they were good. But she acted like a young child in the sense that she wanted to know what the surprise was in advance, and if no one told her, she'd spend a lot of time thinking about it, trying to figure it out.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Didn't I tell you it was a surprise?” He sounded like he wanted to add “duh” on the end.

“Fine.” She pretended to pout. “Are you going to church today?”

Spade attended church on his side of town, which was about forty minutes away from Bria. “Yeah. I'll be headed out in a few. It's my Sunday to direct the youth choir.”

She liked the fact that he was using his musical gift to give back to the kingdom as well. “Okay. I love you. Represent for the family.”

He laughed. Whenever they had something important going on, they always told each other to represent for the family. In other words, do good.

“Love you too.”

Bria got off the phone feeling more in love than ever. She looked forward to the day she could wake up next to Spade and cook him breakfast.

She drained her cup and called her mom to tell her not to expect her for Sunday dinner. As an only child Bria maintained a close relationship with her parents. She spoke to her mom every day whether she wanted to or not. That was her obligation as the dutiful daughter. And she usually reserved some time on Sunday to spend with her mom and dad.

Bria, Nya, and Chance met at their usual spot next to the enormous potted fern at the front entrance of the sanctuary. Chance stepped out first looking like the Jolly Green Giant with Nya nipping at his heels. Bria thought it was kind of corny but cute the way they wore coordinating outfits. As soon as they greeted each other with hugs and kisses on the cheek, Bria started cracking on Chance.

“Chance, the Jolly Green Giant called and he wants his outfit back.”

“Here you go. Can a brotha get in the church good before you start?” he said. Being from Boston, Chance tended to act like the letter “r” wasn't a part of the English alphabet, and when he did use the letter it was often misplaced. It sounded like he said, “Heah ya go. Can a brotha get in the chuch good befah ya staht?”

They chuckled before going inside and taking their seats near the front. They preferred to arrive a few minutes early so that they could fellowship with some of the other members as well as get good seats.

Church opened with prayer; and then the choir sang three songs. Bria remained on her feet the entire time, clapping, singing, and praising the Lord. She could hear Chance singing off-key, but she wasn't about to joke. Oh, how badly she wanted to say, “Chance, your voice may not be best suited for singing.” But she refrained, certain that to God he must've sounded like an angel. All that mattered was that he was in the house of the Lord praising His holy name, she reasoned.

One of the associate ministers led the responsive reading and the congregational hymn followed.

Finally able to sit down, announcements were made and they saw a PowerPoint presentation of the latest missionary trip to Africa. Bria felt inspired. Although she didn't feel being a missionary was her calling in life, she did want to help underdeveloped, underprivileged countries in any way that she could.

The pastor came out and gave a redemptive message about the power of forgiveness. Bria shouted many “amens,” “preach pastor,” and “hallelujahs.” At the end of the sermon the pastor extended the gift of salvation and opened the church doors to anyone who needed a church home or wanted to accept Christ into their life. Young and old, men and women made their way to the front of the altar. Some were crying, and others were smiling. The congregation clapped and glorified God.

After service Chance offered to take them all out to Sunday brunch.

“I wish that I could,” Bria explained, “but I can't. Spade said he has a surprise for me after church, so I need to get home.” She made a pouty face.

Nya hugged her, and they were cheek to cheek. “Not a problem,” Nya said in her usual Southern twang so sexy that any man born beneath the Mason-Dixon line couldn't resist.

They broke apart and looked in each other's faces. “You take your matron of honor duties seriously.” Bria giggled. “I meant to thank you for e-mailing the guest list to the calligrapher, picking up the invitations when they were ready, and mailing them to the guests.”

“Girl, please. That's what I do.”

She looked into Nya's round face and for a split second she saw her as a little girl. A pleasant expression graced her face as she thought about the first time she and Nya met. She and her family had just moved into a subdivision in Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta.

“Bria, come here,” her mom had called to her. “There's a cute little girl out there who I think you should meet.”

Bria was nervous and didn't want to do it.

“Don't be shy. Just go up to her and ask her if she wants to be your friend,” her mom continued.

With her mother spying through the living-room window, Bria skipped to catch up with the brown-skinned, round-faced little girl wearing two pigtails and a plaid dress. Without making eye contact she said, “Do you want to be my friend?”

At the time it never occurred to Bria that Nya could've said no. Even though Nya responded favorably, that still did not stop her from occasionally poking fun at Bria about the proposal of friendship.

“Anyway,” Nya said, interrupting Bria's thoughts, “let's talk about the grand opening of The Spa Factory in just one more week.”

While an undergrad in college, Bria double majored in international business and marketing because she always wanted to be a businesswoman, a boss. During one of her core courses, she did a marketing analysis for a day spa in the Atlanta Metro area. Her professor was so impressed with her findings and well thought out, detailed business plan that he suggested she implement the plan. She agreed, because she had carefully researched the industry, the trends, the target audience, how to market to them, and so much more. She shared her ideas with her father, a prominent dentist, regarding her business. Her father loved her concept and agreed to help her secure the funding for her business.

After she graduated, she never lost sight of opening the spa. Halfway through graduate school she scouted out locations and found the ideal one. Her dad gave her the green light to proceed. She conducted more research to get the best products and establish relationships with the most credible vendors. When it came time to staff her organization, she immediately hired Nya to be her PR director. Nya had the gift of gab and a way with people that Bria admired. She was also the top sales rep at the company she worked for. She had no doubt Nya would be a good fit for the position.

Bria listened attentively as Nya went on and on about the outfit she was going to wear, the prominent people who were expected to be in attendance, and the media coverage that was guaranteed to make television, radio, and the local papers. When Nya finished rambling about the spa, she told Bria, “Have fun with Spade. Love you, girl.”

Chance patted Bria on top of her head like a dog. “Run along,” he teased.

She rolled her light brown eyes at him. “You're so not funny,” she smirked.

He reached out and embraced her, patting her hard on the back like he was trying to burp a baby. “Be good.”

“Ugh.” She pressed against his five-month-pregnant-looking stomach. As a chef she figured that must be a part of his job description. How could anyone trust a skinny chef? she reasoned. She didn't think Chance was a sloppy kind of fat; he was more like the loveable, huggable teddy bear-type of guy. Not the type of guy she'd ever be interested in, but that didn't matter. He was Nya's man, and if Nya liked it, Bria loved it. “I'll call you.” She directed her comment toward Nya and waved good-bye as she made her way to the Honda Accord her parents had given her the day she graduated from college with honors.

As soon as she entered her house she took off her shoes and trekked barefoot across the polished hardwood floors. Something about walking barefoot felt liberating to her.

She went upstairs into her bedroom and changed into a fitted baby tee, tight jeans, and flat thong sandals. She slicked her hair back into a long, flowing ponytail and touched up her makeup. Fifteen minutes later Spade rang her doorbell.

“Let me grab my purse and turn on the alarm,” she told him after answering the door.

He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her toward him. “Not before I get a kiss.”

She slightly tilted her head to the left and kissed him.

“I'll wait for you at the car.”

Her purse was waiting for her to pick it up on a bar stool in front of the island. She punched in her alarm code and locked the door behind her.

Spade opened the passenger door for her, and they drove toward Stone Mountain. She thought they were going to have brunch at one of her favorite spots, the Marriott Evergreen Hotel, but they didn't go that way. Unable to take the suspense any longer, she said, “Please tell me where we're going.”

Without taking his eyes off the road he said, “We're almost there.”

Bria placed her hands in her lap and fiddled with her fingers. He pulled off the interstate onto a trail leading to a wooded area. She couldn't begin to imagine where they were going or what they were about to do. She wasn't the outdoorsy-type, and Spade knew that. What was he up to? The suspense was eating away at her like a flesh-eating disease.

The sound of the tires crushing the gravel and woodchips underneath let her know they were in the boonies. She cut her eyes at him as Spade continued to follow the trail and stopped just before pulling up to a white wooden house.

“Where are we?” She tried not to sound annoyed.

He turned off the ignition. “You'll see. Come on.”

They got out, and the rocks underneath Bria's feet made walking the trail leading to the house bumpy. She appreciated Spade holding her hand to help her keep her balance.

A blond guy came out and greeted them. Extending his hand he said, “You must be Spade.”

Spade shook his hand and introduced Bria. “This is my fiancée.”

“Terrific.” Creases lined the guy's forehead. “Have either of you ever been up in a hot air balloon before?”

“A hot air balloon?” Bria repeated. Had Spade lost his mind? Why would he think she had any interest in riding in a hot air balloon? What if they got stuck in a tree? What if the heat thingy went out?

“No, we haven't,” Spade told the guy. He wrapped his arm around Bria's shoulder. “Surprise!” He leaned over and kissed her on the temple.

She wanted to protest, but Spade looked so eager to do this. She just couldn't be Debbie Downer.

“You're in for an adventure,” the guy said.

“I'll bet,” Bria mumbled under her breath.

They went inside the gutted out house to sign some release forms and met two other people who worked there. The blond guy then took them out back where a huge multicolored hot air balloon was parked.

“You ready?” Spade asked her.

She took a deep breath and exhaled. She figured that if she was about to try something this daring, it may as well be with her life partner. This would be one of those stories they could share with their grandchildren, she figured.

“I'm ready.”

The blond guy opened the door for them to enter and locked it behind them. That click sound made Bria feel trapped. She felt like hopping over the edge. Clutching Spade's hand she held on for dear life.

Blondie started up the hot air. Bria tried not to act nervous even though she couldn't have been more nervous.

“It's okay, baby,” Spade assured her. “I've got you.”

She looked up at him and relaxed somewhat. A rugged-looking guy assisted by untying the rope, and the balloon slowly ascended into the air.

Bria felt as light as the air they were ascending into. She couldn't believe they were floating on air. It felt surreal. Pretty soon they were flying above the trees.

“What do you think?” Spade asked, smiling as if he already knew the answer.

“I absolutely love it. The view is breathtaking, and the air feels right.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Thank you so much for this experience.”

“You're always so supportive of me and my dreams. I just wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you too. You're about to open up a spa in less than a week. That's a big deal. I took you up here to show you that the sky's the limit.” With her head resting on his chest he held her by the waist.

Bria's heart felt so full of love at that moment that if Spade did one more sweet thing, no matter how small, her heart would surely burst. She had been very vocal about her enthusiasm for starting her own company. Many nights she stayed up late sharing her business goals and long-term plans with him. He knew better than anyone how excited she was about this new venture.