Forced Out of the Darkness (30 page)

“What ‘what’ is?”

“What is going on at
work. My director has been riding my back for some time and I have to get a
plan of action.” Monti lied.

“How long do you need? You
are always thinking about me after the fact. In fact, most of the time I am
just an afterthought to you .”

“Give me a week or so. I
promise that I will get back with you and make this all good.” Monti knew that
he had no way of knowing that it would be good and he was not able to guarantee
that this would be all right. He just did not want the stress of this week to
follow him through this holiday weekend. He would use his time during the
weekend to sort through all this stuff. He did not know why Calvin was after
him, he did not know why he did not want to disclose his past to Cameron and he
was not sure how far reaching Calvin would go to prove his point.

“Fine but I expect you
to be fully open with me. If not, I want you to let me go so that I can find
someone who is open and honest. If you want to know anything about me that you
feel is necessary to continue in this relationship, please don’t hesitate to
ask me because I am an open book. I just request…no I don’t request, I demand
the same in return.”

They agreed to discuss
this issue after the holiday because they wanted to just enjoy the long
weekend. Cameron wanted to make sure he was ready for his new job. Monti’s head
was spinning and he could not go to sleep so he went downstairs to watch
television until sleep found him. Monti stayed downstairs that night by the
fireplace. Cameron stayed in the bedroom and drifted off to sleep. Cameron was
sleeping peacefully until he had a nightmare that woke him up gasping for air
and drenched in sweat.

Chapter Forty-Two

The Plan’s In Place

“What’s going on
H-Dub?”

“Not much Calvin. I
thought you were down in Atlanta?”

“Yes. I got here
yesterday. Man you know I gotta come down here and get my freak on.”

“Ok. You have been
there a day already. It never ceases to amaze me that as handsome as you are
and as freaky as you are that you travel the pride circuit to go to freak
parties.”

“I don’t have to come
down here for that, but you know what they say, ‘variety is the spice of life’
and I definitely love spicy.”

“I see. What is up?”

“I wanted to know if we
were all set for tomorrow with Monti’s fucked up ass.”

“Yes, you know we are
ready on our end. I thought it was a great idea that you came up with.”

“Harper, we been best
friends since high school and you know how crazy we was back in the day. Now
with your contacts and expertise and my inside connections we can finally get
that bastard back for David. This fuck-up’s been fucking over people for years
and now he has to pay for his shit. No one fucks with my family and gets away
with it.”

“I am sure that after
this weekend Cameron will be a free agent because he is gonna leave Monti’s
crazy ass once he sees him for who he is. Were you interested in getting to
know him more?”

“I would not mind that.
It’s sad that Cameron is going to be in the middle of this. However, we have to
focus on first things first. Monti needs to feel the hurt that he inflicted
upon so many other people and tomorrow is the day that he begins pays this
price”

“He is a keeper from
the photos that I have seen and how you have talked about him the past few
days.”

“We will cross that
river when we get there. Right now operation Major Exposure is in effect. Do you
have your team set?”

 “Yes, all the players
are ready. Tomorrow is a day that he will never forget.”

“Harper, you know I
can’t thank you enough for what you have done to help me. You know I am here if
you ever need me, right?”

“Calvin, I never
questioned our friendship and I know that you are there for me because you gave
me the seed money for my business. We will always be close man, you know that.”

“I am bout to get my
partying on. We will talk tomorrow evening.”

“Have a good one Calvin
and be safe.”

“You know it. Later.”

Chapter Forty-Three

Paying
The Price

“What time is church
going to be over?” Cameron asked Monti.

“Cameron, you know that
black churches don’t have a schedule that they follow. Today is communion
Sunday, I would say that it will be over at about 2:30 pm. I will call you when
it is over so we can meet for Sunday dinner.”

“I will probably be
done before you. We serve communion only at the morning service. I will hang
out in the area after church and wait for you to call.”

Monti had heard about
karma in his life but he never knew that he would have a lesson this soon. They
both left for church in separate vehicles. Monti knew that today was the day he
emptied his heart out to God and asked him to show him what he needed to do. Monti
turned on the radio and listened to gospel music on his way to church. He
arrived at church right on time as they were just beginning praise and worship.
The praise team led the congregation to forget all their cares and focus on
God. They ushered in the presence of the Lord into the service.

The Spirit was high in
the church and then the pastor got up with her black robe that hid her svelte
figure. She was a gorgeous light skinned woman with Native American features
and flawless skin. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that was so tight
that no hair was out of place. She wore frameless glasses that unless the light
was shining directly off of them you would miss that they were even on. She
looked as though she was in her mid-thirties though in reality she was 45 years
old. She had truly had some life experiences and knew when the move of God was
in the place. She went to the pulpit after praise and worship. This shocked the
people because normally they had offering and then more music before the pastor
began to speak.

            “
I have
been up since early this morning praying that God would speak to his people
today and give you a word that would open your hearts and not allow you to
leave the same way that you came in
.”

The pastor stood in
complete authority before the congregation who was on the edge of their seats
ready for their lives to be changed. Monti was one of those that needed a word
from God.

            “I want to
talk today about paying the price. Sometimes in our walk with God, we get so
self-righteous that we think that we can do what we want to do. We think that
we can act how we want to act. We also think that we can treat other people any
way we want to without experiencing consequences of our actions. Turn with me
to the book of Genesis, in the 22
^nd
chapter and we can start around
the 2
^nd
verse. 2. And he said, take now thy son thine only son
Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him
there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee
of. Now go down to the 9
^th
verse. 9. And they came to the place,
which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood
in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10.
And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. (King
James Version) Now we can close our Bibles. The thought that God gave me to
speak on today is: Have you paid the price?”

The congregation went
into an uproar. They looked at one another and asked each other had they paid
the price. In the midst of the clapping, many congregants shouted out “Preach
Pastor”.

            “Many
people go around daily using people to fulfil their own lustful fantasies
without regard to the destruction that they are causing. In the Bible, there
are countless stories of people wanting to approach God but they were required
to provide a sacrifice. David said this in II Samuel 24:24, “I will not offer
burnt offering to God that cost me nothing.” There is a price tag that you must
pay in order to reach God. If you have wronged someone you are supposed to go
to that person and ask them to forgive you before you come to God. You can’t do
wrong to God’s people without paying the price.”

The congregants began
to stand up and talk back to the preacher. “Say that thing!”

            “Sometimes
we are our own worst enemy because we allow pride to hinder us from doing what
is right. You know you are wrong to be sleeping with this one and whoring with
that one and you have a spouse at home. You are plain wrong to feel that you
have to validate your manhood by how many women you bed or even how many men
you sleep with too. We have some of that here too. God will only cover your
secrets for so long before he allows them to be open for the world to see. You
cannot expect God to condone your stupidity, Beloved. Some people in here
choose to live in the darkness of their past instead of living in the light of
God’s love. They want others to accept them in their mess instead of standing
up and saying, “No, I am better than this.” How long will you be able to live
like this without God bringing this foolishness to an end?”

The pastor was
preaching right to Monti. She spoke as if she had a private seat in the
recesses of his mind and knew all the dirt and damage that he had done to
others in order to keep his secrets from being revealed.

            “Someone in
here has just made a mess of their life and does not know how to get out of
their situation. You can be forgiven. You have to allow others to do what they
are going to do. But you have to live Joshua’s statement when he said as for me
and my house, we will serve the Lord. Is there anybody here that is willing to
give it all up and let God clean them up? No matter what the price, your life
is worth more than all the secrets and lies that you have bottled up. If you
are living in a lie, then your relationship is nothing more than a lie. There
is no foundation in that. Have you paid the price?”

The pastor had been up
speaking for fifteen minutes and the congregants were on their feet. Everybody
in the sanctuary was excited about the message. As the pastor moved to close
the sermon about ten minutes later, she picked up the microphone from its stand
and moved down to the floor where the congregants were.

            “Nothing is
worth you staying bound up in a self-imposed prison. Are there any
truth-speakers in the room? You have to put aside every weight, and the sin,
which doth so easily beset us. You have to let it go. Your life is in jeopardy
because you want to hold on to darkness. Aren’t you tired of carrying the
weight of your past? Are you tired of carrying the pain of what your parents
did to you as a child? Are you tired of living a lie every day to the point
that you don’t know truth from lies? Have you looked in the mirror and found
out that you don’t even know the person looking back at you? You have to be
willing to come to God and lay it all down. He won’t judge you but he will help
give you the strength to persevere through whatever you may be going through. Sometimes
you will have to pay a price even though you have given it to God but just know
in those dark moments, God’s grace will be sufficient to carry you through to
the end. Lift up your hands and tell God that you surrender to him. Tell him
that you are willing to pay the price to gain your life back.”

The congregation had
lifted their hands. People were crying with their hands up in surrender to the
Divine. Others were on their knees praying. Monti could not help lifting his
arms to God. He was hurting; he had made a mess of his life and those that were
in it. He prayed out loud to God and said that he was willing to pay the price
for all that he had done. He wanted to be freed from this situation. He wanted
to be free from his abused childhood. He was tired of the way his life was. He
wanted to have his relationship with Cameron and wanted it to continue to grow.
He wanted the strength to tell Cameron everything and show him why he did not
have friends to share with him.

            “This
message was for someone in here today. If you heard God saying that you have to
let it go no matter what the cost and you are ready to move away from that old
person and try to walk in what God wants you to walk into, come on down to the
altar so that I can pray with you that God gives you strength to get this thing
together.”

With that invitation,
people from all over the sanctuary began to come forward and cry out to God. Monti
was one of them…He was on his knees with tears in his eyes and he prayed for
strength and direction. The pastor prayed with him and told him that it would
be ok. “No matter what happens, you have to know that God will carry you
through it all. You might have to lose some things in this process but just
know that is the price you had to pay to get your integrity back.”

Then Monti said, “God I
am willing to pay the price to get my integrity back.”