Good to Me (2 page)

Joseph returned the old man’s smile. “It’s tight but it’s right. What you’ve said is true. God doesn’t owe me anything and
I need to quit acting like He does. I know I’m going home soon. I’mma just wait on the Lord and let Him renew my strength.”

“Now that’s the man of God I know. Waitin’ is only hard when you need to ’velop patience. And as a pastor-to-be, believe you
me, you gone need a lot of it. ’Velop it now. God know what He doin’. Just thank, God could’ve used anything to exercise your
faith… financial troubles, troubled marriage… anything. I ain’t sayin’ He puts those thangs on us, but He does allow
’em to happen and He works ’em out for our good.”

“I’ve never thought of it that way.” Joseph looked as if a lightbulb came on in his head. “I
can
count this one with all joy then.”

“Absolutely. In due season, you’ll obtain favor if you faint not.”

“You mean reap if I faint not.”

“Same thang.”

“Not quite. That Scripture says, ‘let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’ Now
over in Proverbs it says, ‘whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtaineth favor from the Lord.’ Now I’m looking to
obtain favor in that way, are you speaking prophetically?”

“Boy, you always lookin’ for a prophecy. Let’s finish this over lunch,” the old man chuckled. “One thang’s for sho.” He stood
to face Joseph. “When He does send you a wife, you gonna be pleased. ’Cause you done gone from being a ladies’ man to a man
after God’s own heart. Everything you learnin’ ’bout Him and ’speriencin’ with Him, He gone make sho you ’sperience it on
earth through her. She gone be the ’stension of His arms, His heart, Himself. The moment God started working on you two years
ago, He started working on her. She gone be a mighty woman of God.”

Joseph confessed aloud, “I receive her in the name of Jesus,” and he walked with Chaplain Nesbit to the canteen.

“
MAGNIFIQUE! MAGNIFIQUE!”
CHARITY EXCLAIMED,
blowing kisses with both hands to her two staff people, Iesha and Harmony. “This place looks wonderful,” she said, looking
around the suite and admiring the purple and black balloons, decorations, and the sign that read,
WELCOME TO HORIZONS CHRISTIAN COUNSELING CENTER
. “You guys have done a wonderful job setting up. This open house is going to be the bomb.”

“The bomb?” Iesha, her administrative assistant, asked with her head cocked back and her hand on her hip. “Sistergirl, you
need to leave the slang to me. It doesn’t become you at all. One minute you speaking French and the next you talking Westside.
I believe they call that a
faux pas
.”

Iesha and Harmony erupted in laughter. Charity laughed too.

Imitating Iesha, Charity put her hand on her hip and swung her shoulder-length bobbed hair. “
Excusez-moi, mademoiselle
. Let’s get one thing straight. I might be your big sister, but in this place, I’m your boss. You’ll want to leave the shot-calling
to me.”

“My bad, Boss. Well since you handling things around here, tell me where you put the music so we can get this party started
right.”

“Oh shoot!” Charity said, stamping her foot on the carpet. “I knew I was forgetting something. Do either of you have music
we can use?”

“I have a sounds of nature CD in my office,” Harmony offered slowly.

“Pst!” Iesha sucked her teeth. “Don’t nobody wanna listen to no birds or thunderstorms. Cherry, I got some Missy Elliott,
Jay-Z, Nelly, R. Kelly—”

“Iesha, sweetie, this is an open house for a Christian counseling center, not the grand opening for Club 2000.”

“I was just trying to help you out.”

“Good,” Charity said, walking toward her office to get her purse. “It’d help me out if you would go to my car and get the
Fred Hammond, Kirk Franklin, and Israel and New Breed CDs.”

“All right, then. I see how you want to be.”

Charity handed her keys to her sister. “And please remember to call me Charity at work.”

Iesha took the keys and playfully rolled her eyes as she spun around on her heels, away from Charity. Charity shook her head,
trying to make light of the situation in front of Harmony, whom she’d met two years ago at a counselors’ workshop. Charity
was excited about working with her, a woman in her fifties who was always patient with insightful things to say. But the most
important quality to Charity was that Harmony was a born-again believer. She hoped that Harmony wasn’t offended by Iesha’s
comment. “Harmony, you’ll have to pray for her. She’s not yet come in under the Blood.” Charity was glad to see Harmony smile.
“Keep your CD on standby in case folks get tired of hearing mine, okay?”

“I will.”

“Would you mind greeting guests and having them sign the guest book at the entryway?”

“No, I don’t mind. What a wonderful opportunity to be a blessing, and to bless each and every person that comes through the
door.”

Charity smiled. That’s why she recruited Harmony to work with her. She had such a sweet spirit and was so pleasant to be around.
“Please do. I have some special people coming tonight, including my pastor, Reverend King from Damascus Road Baptist Church.”

“Yeah. I’ve heard of him. I went to a revival he did a few years back. He was good. I’m sure I’ll recognize him while I’m
hosting. By the way, I’m an excellent hostess. You know I used to be a waitress in my former life.”

Charity glanced at her watch, hoping it would mask the scowl that appeared across her face. “Oh, look at the time,” she tried
not to sound so obvious. “Guests should be here any minute, you’d better make your way downstairs. I’ll make sure everything
is all right up here.”

Charity watched Harmony walk toward the entryway. She was relieved that Harmony wasn’t offended by Iesha’s insensitivity,
but she took offense at Harmony’s
former
life
comment.
I bind up that reincarnation mess, in the name of Jesus.
She was a stickler for listening to the words that people spoke. Even though Harmony may not have meant anything by what she
said, Charity knew that since she had spoken it, a door had been opened. And if a door had been opened, Charity would see
to it that it be closed.

“Harmony,” Charity called. “Two things. One, if you see Iesha while you’re down there tell her I said she’ll be guiding tours
tonight. And two, remind me to bring up communication at our first staff meeting.”

“Okay.”

Charity made a mental note to speak with Iesha about how to talk to people and to remind Harmony to be careful about what
she says.

Iesha glanced at her watch. It was 4:50 p.m. The open house would begin in ten minutes. But more important, at 5:00 the building
would come alive with men getting off work. She sashayed her way through Present Day Office Park in case any of them might
leave their office suites early.

Present Day Office Park was located within Charlotte Executive Park, a community of five high-tower office buildings. Of the
entire park, Present Day was the only building that was black owned. The other buildings had professional names. Dead smack
in the middle of Park Abbey, Gateway Village, Lincoln Heights, and Wendover Towers sat Present Day. Aside from the name and
the owners—Doris and David Humphries—the building was a nice place.

She stopped by the building’s directory just to see how many men she would have access to. The names were countless. Dr. John
Webber, Ophthalmologist, Suite 303.
I think I need my eyes checked
. She grinned at the thought. Wallace Austin, Financial Planner, Suite 201.
It’s about time I start working on one of those Y2K or whatever those retirement plans are called
. Davis, Watson, and Blalock, Attorneys at Law, Suite 203.
Now, if that’s an office full of men I see a bad check charge in my future
. That thought made her laugh out loud. Dr. Donald Moore, Dentistry, Suite 412.
I got a sweet tooth for men that needs
—

“Ma’am, do you need some help?” a male voice came from behind her.

“Nah, I was just…” her voice trailed off as she spun around to meet face-to-face with a hazel-eyed redbone in black slacks,
a white shirt
that had to be dry-cleaned because can’t nobody iron like that
, and a tie with zebra stripes. “I was just looking,” she said, referring to him more than the directory.

“I saw you over here talking to yourself,” he grinned. “And I was going to direct you to the fifth floor where that new counseling
center is. I hear they’re having an open house at five. You’d be right on time.”

“I know,” she said, looking down. She was impressed that his patent leather shoes had a suede zebra print on top that matched
his tie. “Exactly what I was looking for,” she said, looking up. “The counseling center, I mean.”

His grin faded. “Oh ma’am. I didn’t mean any harm,” he apologized. “I’m very sorry. My name is Wallace Austin, my office is
upstairs.” He extended his hand to her.

“I’m Iesha.” She noticed that his hands were soft and moist. His nails looked manicured and there wasn’t a wedding band in
sight. “I work at the new counseling center you were going to refer me to. I was just looking to see if we’d been added to
this directory yet.”

“Whew, what a relief,” he exhaled. “For a minute there I thought you were a client. I was getting ready to be gone.”

“And now?”

“Girl, don’t start nothing, won’t be nothing, with’cho fine self,” he said, admiring the full-figured cocoa beauty. It felt
like he was eyeing her down with x-ray vision, but she didn’t mind. Those birth control injections she used to get blew her
up in all the right places. Her legs and waist were still small, but her breasts, thighs, and behind were men’s eye candy.

“Iesha! Iesha!”

Looking around and seeing Harmony coming toward her felt like someone pouring a glass of water over hot charcoal embers. She
didn’t know what it was about Harmony that she didn’t like, but she sure took the fire of pleasure out of working for her
sister. And the last thing she wanted to do was to be seen with her. She turned to Wallace and said, “I’m supposed to be getting
something out of my car. I’ll see you around?”

“You bet,” he said slyly.

Iesha walked away slowly. She knew where his eyes were. She walked toward the door so that Harmony would follow her outside.
No need to be seen with her in public
. They met at the door and as she impatiently received Charity’s message from her, she looked back at Wallace to see if he
was still watching her.
A lil’ trick I learned from Loretta Devine in
Waiting to Exhale. When she saw him still standing by the signboard with a mesmerized look on his face, she knew what that
look meant. She smiled,
this is going to be my year after all
.

“Will you be okay with that?” Iesha heard Harmony ask.

This chile just messes up my groove
. “Yes, Harmony. I’ll be the tour guide. Now gone.” Iesha shooed her away. She knew she should respect her elders and she
hated to be rude, but
dang!
Iesha walked to her sister’s Ford Explorer and opened the door with the remote. It was something about Harmony that made
Iesha not want to be around her long
. I can’t put my finger on it
. Iesha checked her thoughts. She realized she felt the same way about the Humphries, the people who owned Present Day.
Either they’re a little shifty or I’m just paranoid. Either that or Charity’s losing her touch
.
She used to be able to read people up and down.

“Where’s that girl at?” Charity asked, looking at the clock hanging in the waiting area. “She should’ve been back here by
now.” She walked out to the mezzanine and saw Iesha coming back into the building.
Talking about some Missy Elliott and R. Kelly.
Charity walked back into the suite.
If I had known she was going to show up looking like a hoochie from a video, I would’ve told her earlier she was working an
open house and not a grand opening
. Charity shook her head and walked out of the waiting area. She gave it a nod of approval, as everything was in its place
and ready for the event.

She had to admit it, Iesha was
wearing
that outfit. Those suede tan-and-brown patchwork boots set off her brown cowneck sweater dress just right. The thigh-high
split didn’t hurt it either. She even had a matching patchwork purse.
You go, girl!
Charity didn’t have to look at her sister’s nails to know they were manicured and perfectly polished. Only Iesha could pull
off wearing the auburn Afro puffs she was sporting. Charity chuckled to herself, wondering how long Iesha’s hair really was.
It was hard to tell because Iesha was always doing something to it—weaving it, braiding it, tucking a piece in it.
The lifestyle of the bling, bling
, she mocked Iesha. “Thank You, Lord,” Charity said aloud, remembering how God transformed her from her hoochie mama days.
“God, if You did it for me, You’ll do it for my sister.”

She continued walking through the office, making sure things were in place. Before she knew it she was thinking back on the
other things God had delivered her from, including a hellacious marriage. There was nothing that would make Charity turn her
back on God. He’d faithfully provided for her since she came to Him two years ago.

She remembered the exact day, time, and place she cried out to Him. “Lord, this man has put his hands on me for the last time,”
she had prayed. She didn’t know how God was going to do it, she just held on to a promise she found in the Bible about God
providing a way of escape. She knew it wouldn’t be easy. The only places her ex-husband, Emmitt, would permit her to go without
him were to church and work. The Sunday after she made her vow, she and their four-year-old son, Xavier, went to church. She
was inspired and comforted by Pastor King’s sermon, “Get Out of the Boat.” She left church determined that she was going to
do something different. And sure enough, she found herself in the parking lot of the battered women’s shelter. She sat in
the car for an hour, crying and cradling Xavier. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she apologized to him. She wasn’t sure if she
was apologizing for leaving Emmitt, or not leaving sooner than she did.