His First Lady (17 page)

“I’m tired; good night,” He said hinting to her to turn off the lamp on her side of the bed. She took the hint and he closed his eyes.

Greg swiftly sat up in bed his chest heaving and drenching in sweat. He breathed heavily as he looked around trying to make out where he was and what time it was. After fully awaking, he realized his house was dark and he was still in his bed. He looked at his clock on the night stand; it was 3 o’clock. He took the covers off of him and walked to the kitchen. It had all been a dream; all of it had just been a dream. It had seemed so real.

Greg tore off a piece of paper towel and dabbed the sweat from his chest. An eerie feeling engulfed Greg and the dream had everything to do with it. Greg was used to having dreams about cases he’d worked on that had shaken him to his core but this was different. It was like he was in the dream but just standing on the sidelines watching. He had a feeling that there was a message in the dream although it was all still a bit foggy, but it was clear that he saw two people in it; Sam and Pastor Leon.

He took a glass out of the kitchen cabinet and turned on the tap. Filling the glass halfway, he took a sip before taking the glass of water back to his bedroom. Sitting on the side of the bed; he pondered what it could all mean. Greg took a deep breath, got down on his knees and leaned on his bed. He bowed his head.

After an excruciating night of prayer and restlessness, Greg had called Ben and told him about a hunch. He hadn’t mentioned the dream because Ben was a skeptic and wouldn’t believe that this so called God of the universe that Greg always spoke of was now speaking to him in dreams. But Ben wasn’t just a good cop; he was a great cop, blessed with the ability of observation and persistence. A clue didn’t have a chance of getting by him.

After their conversation, Ben met Greg before Greg left for the church. Like old partners, they broke down what little evidence they had. Then Ben mentioned a listening device, Greg declined not yet ready to point fingers. But Ben being persistent as he was placed the small device in the palm of Greg’s hand anyway just in case he changed his mind.

Greg wrestled with himself the entire morning in his office unable to get much of anything accomplished. He wanted to be sure to examine his own heart and motives. Maybe it was his pride or maybe he just wanted someone to be accountable for Sam’s death. He struggled wanting to be led by God’s Holy Spirit and not his own natural man. He would do whatever God wanted and he had told God that.

Greg knocked on Leon’s door that had been closed most of the morning. A very lively Leon told him to come in. When he entered, Leon was writing something on a notepad. He stood up with a large smile to shake Greg’s hand.

“Pastor Greg, good morning, how are you brother?”

Greg shook Leon’s hand. “I hope I’m not interrupting you.”

“You’re fine, have a seat. I’m just making some sermon notes.”

Greg suddenly felt a slight bit of guilt as he sat down across from Leon. He had spent all night praying and lamenting about a dream; it was just a dream and maybe he had wrongly judged Leon.

“I don’t have anything so important to talk to you about that would take you away from God’s word. I just wanted to touch base with you.”

Leon loosened his tie and began rolling the sleeves of his white shirt up on each arm. “You’re not taking me away from it. Actually, I’m glad you came in. I wanted to talk to you about you preaching the sermon on First Sunday.”

A surprised look came across Greg’s face. “First Sunday?”

“Yes, you haven’t preached a sermon in a while especially a First Sunday service and I think it’s about time.” Leon said sitting down and reclining slightly in his leather chair.

Greg sat up straight, overjoyed. He was always working on sermons and even privileged to preach a few at smaller church gatherings but hadn’t preached a sermon on a Sunday morning in a long while since Leon was always protective of his Sunday authority. First Sundays were always more packed than others. It was a big opportunity.

Greg chuckled. “That sounds great. God has given me so much stuff that I can’t wait to share.”

All of Greg’s apprehension was gone. The entire night and morning, he thought that God was showing him something but now he was realizing that maybe he was making it all up. He had already judged and condemned a man who was not only working on a sermon to give to the people of God but one who was urging him to do the same.

“Man, you deserve that because I know how hard you work and how filled you are.” Leon laughed.

Leon’s body language and facial affect seemed to exhibit that he was as passionate about Greg’s preaching almost as much as Greg was. This absolutely thrilled Greg who couldn’t wait to do what he’d been waiting to do for more than six months now.

“I’m definitely bursting at the seams, I can’t wait.” Greg laughed. “I’ll have to pray about which one to preach; I’ve prepared so many.”

“Actually, I have a suggestion,” Leon said.

Greg’s smile dissipated and his forehead wrinkled in disappointing curiosity.

Leon raised his hand. “Give me a minute to explain,” Leon said seeing the change on Greg’s face.

“I think we need a powerful message about moving forward. I think the congregation needs to hear it but not necessarily from me,” Leon said sitting forward in the chair.

Greg didn’t know how to respond. The sudden excitement that he had felt just a second or so ago was dashed with Leon’s words. “You want me to preach on what you decide I preach on?”

“Not on what I decide you should preach about but so much is happening in the church right now and instead of it dividing us, we need to be unified in our cause. It’s time to move forward.”

Greg looked confused. “What should we be moving forward from?”

“So many people are stuck in a rut over Sam’s death and it’s just time to move ahead.”

Greg become intensely uncomfortable and shifted in his seat. “Stuck in a rut?”

“We hold funerals in this church all the time when members or their family members pass on to be with the Lord. It’s like this congregation is having a difficult time getting over Sam.”

The confused look that Greg wore on his face turned to a look of astonishment and amazement. He looked in Leon’s eyes but they were hollow like there was nothing behind them. Leon didn’t seem to notice. Greg shook his head not quite sure what to say.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to preach. I hope that if I decide not to preach on this subject but on a subject that the Lord chooses that you won’t be offended.”

Leon glared at Greg for a moment then smiled famously. “You, my brother are free to preach on any subject. I just want us to grow together and be on one accord in the growth and blessing of this ministry. We can’t accomplish that by looking backwards.”

“I agree,” Greg said eyeing the stack of papers on Leon’s desk.

“I’m sorry,” Leon said seeming to notice Greg’s wandering eyes. “I’ve been talking so much and that’s not why you came to see me.”

“Funny, I completely forgot. It must not have been that important,” Greg said standing up causing his cell phone that was resting on his lap to fall on the floor. The phone’s battery and back fell off. Greg bent down to pick it up.

“You might need to upgrade if it falls apart that easily,” Leon joked.

Greg nodded. “I agree,” He said picking up the battery and the phone pieces. As he rose, his fingers slightly yet purposely grazed the bottom of Leon’s desk firmly planting the device.

Leon stood. “Don’t forget the lunch meeting today.”

“I won’t,” Greg responded.

“Good enough; work on that sermon.”

As Greg approached the door, he turned around. “I intend to, Pastor.”

Greg closed Leon’s door behind him and took a deep breath. He hated that meeting but it confirmed one thing; that dream wasn’t just a dream. He was even more suspicious and had even more questions than he had before. Greg closed his eyes and said a quick prayer. He hoped more than anything that he was judging Leon unfairly; he could ask God to forgive him for that. But if Leon had something to hide then God help them all.

Ariel lay on the procedure table staring at the monitor with one arm behind her head and the other at her side. The technician squeezed cold gel on her stomach before placing the probe on top of it. She smiled. As much as she didn’t want to be pregnant again, it was still amazing seeing life moving around in her belly on the screen. Hearing the
whoosh whoosh
sound reminded her of the joy that she felt during her other pregnancies.

She grinned wide as she stared at the monitor. The pretty olive skinned technician looked at her and smiled.

“Exciting isn’t it?” The technician asked.

Ariel nodded. “It is.”

Ariel thought the technician had such a pleasant demeanor and smile. At one time in her life she wouldn’t have even held long conversations with another pretty woman.
She had matured.

“Are your children excited about their new brother or sister?” The technician asked.

Ariel’s high came crashing down; she had to think quickly. She had almost engulfed herself in fantasy as if her husband was sitting nearby like he always did. “Yes, they are.” Ariel answered her. “I have three.”

“Me too,” The technician replied. “Two girls and a boy.”

Ariel nodded as the joy she was feeling earlier was taken away. “I have all boys; my youngest are twins.”

The technician smiled as she continued placing the probe on various parts of Ariel’s stomach and snapping pictures as she went.

“See here, this is the baby’s heart and the four chambers of it. What a good looking baby,” She said.

Ariel smiled feeling a sense of pride.

“The baby is developing right on time. You are currently at 16 weeks and 2 days.”

“So, is this baby going to be a beauty queen like her momma or a handsome stud like his father?” Ariel asked.

The technician grinned. “Oh, well it’s still a little early but it appears a handsome stud like his father.”

Ariel’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “His dad will be happy to hear that.”

“What about you?” The technician asked as she grabbed some tissues off of the table beside her and began wiping off the gel from Ariel’s stomach before reaching for Ariel’s arm and helping her sit up.

“Um, well,” Ariel sighed as she pulled her shirt over her small but pudgy belly. “I’m a surrogate.”

The technician raised her eyebrows as she handed Ariel the ultrasound pictures.

“Oh, how wonderful,” The technician said. “I guess I stuck my foot in my mouth.”

Ariel sifted through the ultrasound pictures. “No, you didn’t. This is all very new to me.”

The technician picked up Ariel’s chart. “Well, nevertheless, a child is a special blessing and it’s great that you’re giving this gift to a family.” The technician began writing some notes on Ariel’s chart.

“What’s your name again?” Ariel asked.

The technician looked up from the chart. “Daniela.”

Ariel scooted from the table. “Daniela, can you hand me my bag please?” She pointed at the Chanel bag on the chair in the corner next to Daniela.

“Of course,” The technician looked behind her then handed Ariel the large mustard colored bag.

Ariel reached in her bag and pulled out her compact and fiddled with her hair.

Daniela stood. “Okay, I’m going to sit you back out in the waiting room and the doctor will be with you shortly.

“How long have you been doing this?” Ariel asked still fingering her hair.

“About six years now,” Daniela said opening the door to the hallway.

“Wow,” Ariel said with a smile stepping off the bed and into her red heels. “It was nice to meet you.”

Evan couldn’t believe that that she had agreed to attend a First ladies luncheon. What possessed her to say yes to Nina’s invitation was still baffling to her. She stood in the mirror having critiqued and modeled at least 7 outfits; narrowing down to 5, then 2. Whatever she chose, it had to be cute yet sophisticated, sexy yet appropriate. One thing Evan knew for sure and that was that she had to dress to impress the First ladies because they were going to size her up.

Evan stood in front of her floor length mirror and snapped a picture of herself wearing a navy blue knee length dress. It clinched in a little at the waist but there was nothing that made it spectacular; maybe some pearls would help. She sent the picture to Mimi’s phone and decided to wait to get Mimi’s opinion.

Mimi immediately sent a text back,
‘Please give your momma her dress back’
.

Evan laughed but Mimi’s jokes only fueled the problem of feeling completely loss in her quest to impress. She had clothes but just felt that nothing would probably be good enough if these ladies were anything like Nina.

Evan fell back on her bed on top of all her First lady favorites and sighed. Another text came in and Evan almost didn’t want to read it. It was from Mimi, ‘
I’ll be there in fifteen minutes’.