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Authors: Nikita Lynnette Nichols

Lady Elect (23 page)

BOOK: Lady Elect
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“Who are they?” Arykah heard someone ask. She smiled in their direction.
When the cameraman told Arykah that they had all the shots they needed, she escorted the ladies into the spa where the owner, an elderly Caucasian lady, was waiting inside the door. Next to her was another woman, dressed in what looked like a nurse's uniform, holding a tray with flutes filled with champagne.
“Welcome back to The Massage Palace, Mrs. Howell,” the owner greeted Arykah.
Arykah smiled. “Helga, it's good to see you again.”
Arykah and Monique were not strangers to The Massage Palace. It's where they came often to unwind and get pampered. Arykah introduced the ladies to Helga. “These are my guests for the evening. Darlita, Chelsea, Gladys, and, of course, you know Monique.”
Helga shook each of the ladies' hands. “I welcome all of you. My staff and I are delighted to have you here this evening. Your rooms are ready. Come this way, please.”
Each of the ladies followed Helga and grabbed a glass of champagne from the tray on the way. They were assigned to private rooms where massage beds were set up for them.
When Arykah made the reservations with The Massage Palace, she specifically stated that she wanted each of her guests to have full-body massages, manicures, and pedicures.
Three hours later, the ladies met up together in the sauna.
“So, did everyone enjoy their pampering?” Arykah asked.
“Well, I can only speak for myself,” Gladys said. “I enjoyed it tremendously.”
Monique wiped her sweaty face with a small white towel. “I second that. This is exactly what I needed.”
Darlita pulled the belt to her plush white terry cloth robe tighter. “I don't know how I could ever repay you, Lady Arykah. No one has ever done anything like this for me.”
Because the room was steamy and cloudy, Arykah could barely make out Darlita's silhouette. “You don't have to repay me, Darlita. That is not what this evening is about. I wanted to treat all of you because I like you and I knew we'd have a great time together. I enjoy making people happy.”
“And that's exactly why you're blessed the way you are,” Chelsea said. “I've watched you from the first day you stepped foot into Freedom Temple. Everyone, me included, treated you so coldly. And for no real reason. We didn't know you, and we didn't wanna know you. I told you this two weeks ago, Lady Arykah, and I'll tell you again. I apologize for being the mothers' puppet. In some twisted way, I felt that I had to be loyal to them. I thought I owed them my allegiance.”
“We all did,” Darlita admitted sadly.
“But the moment I complimented you about your boots,” Chelsea continued, “you spoke to me like we had been friends for years.”
“And that's the true Arykah,” Monique said to Chelsea. “She's open, approachable, warm, and very honest. When you befriend Arykah, you have a friend for life. She will have your back and fight the tallest giant for her friends.”
“I know that to be true, Monique,” Gladys said. She looked at Arykah through the steam. “And I am happy to have you as my friend. I thank you for coming to Miranda's defense.” She knew Arykah had gone head-to-head with Mother Pansie for her daughter, Miranda.
“You're a superb first lady, but you're an even better friend,” Chelsea said.
Because the sauna was so muggy and dark, the ladies couldn't see Arykah's tears streaming down her face. All she ever wanted was to be accepted by her new church family. Arykah was happy that she had reached out to Chelsea, Gladys, and Darlita. She was sure that the evening at the spa was just the beginning of many more fun times to come. “Thanks, Chelsea. That means a lot to me. And I am so happy that all of you accepted my invitation to come out and have a great time.”
“Okay, group hug,” Monique said.
Everyone surrounded Arykah and hugged her. “Thanks, Oprah. Thanks, Ms. Winfrey. Thanks O,” the ladies joked.
Arykah laughed. “You're welcome, Gayles.”
It was almost 10:00
P.M.
when the ladies returned from the spa to Arykah's home for their food and shoes they had left behind. Chelsea, Darlita, and Gladys couldn't thank Arykah enough for what she did for them that evening. As they left her home, the ladies gave Arykah another hug and a kiss on her cheek. Arykah told the ladies that she was looking forward to seeing them at church the next morning.
Arykah walked into the living room and found Monique sitting on the sofa.
“Okay, why did you want me to stay behind?” Monique asked.
Arykah plopped down on the sofa next to Monique. “Because I wanna know what happened between you and Chelsea earlier this evening. Girl, I had to check her for lying on my bed and asking me about my sex life with Lance.”
Monique's eyes bulged. “What?”
“Chelsea flat-out asked me if Lance could get down in the bed just as good as he got down in the pulpit.”
“What?”
Monique shrieked.
“She almost caught a left hook,” Arykah chuckled.
Monique was too outdone. “That cow lay on your bed and asked you how good your man was?”
“Yep. But I didn't even have to put Chelsea in her place. Gladys beat me to it, and she sent her out here to the living room to apologize to you for acting like a stank broad.”
“Well, Chelsea did apologize. She told me that she was out of line for implying that Adonis was living foul. I told her that I know my husband and I know he loves me. I also told Chelsea that Adonis wasn't going anywhere.”
“You think she got the message?” Arykah asked.
“Oh, she got the message, all right. Because I also told her that if I caught her grinning in Adonis's face, there'll be consequences and repercussions.”
 
 
Lance was asleep when Arykah crawled into bed and snuggled up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed the back of his neck.
He stirred and pressed the back of his body into Arykah's warmth. “Mmm, BoonQueesha is home.”
Arykah sank into Lance's backside and tried to bury herself in his flesh. She smiled because she truly did have everything in life that she had prayed for.
And that's exactly why you're blessed the way you are.
Chelsea's words danced in her head. She didn't want for nothing. Arykah loved the fact that she could be a lender and not a borrower. From her adoring husband, to her massive estate, to a job she loved, to her health and strength, Arykah was highly favored. “Father God, I thank you,” she whispered. She lay her head on her pillow and held her husband in her arms all night long.
Chapter 15
At
8:35
A.M.
, the sun was high in the sky. Lance lay in bed with his hands stretched behind his head watching the Bobby Jones gospel celebration. Ricky Dillard and his choir, The New Generation Chorale, was putting on a show. Ricky directed the choir as if he were directing a twenty-piece orchestra. With his right hand, Ricky directed the soprano section to sing a high note. With his left hand, he ordered the alto section to sing a lower note. But when Ricky pointed his left foot at the tenor section and the men chimed in, Lance was outdone. “That dude is crazy.”
Arykah stepped from her closet wearing a floor-length scarlet-red V-neck dress with an empire waist. A dressy but not too elegant beading lined the neckline and waistline. The price was still dangling from the sleeves. If Arykah wore the red dress to church that morning, it would be another Sunday that she wouldn't wear a repeater. On her feet were her brand-new Christian Louboutins. She came and stood in between Lance and the television. “How do I look, honey?”
Lance had only one word for his wife. “Magnificent.” He loved the color red on Arykah. She lifted the front of the gown so that Lance could see her shoes.
“Are those the famous Christina Aguilera's?”
Arykah laughed out loud. “I do believe that you're mentally challenged, Lance. These are Christian Louboutins.”
Lance frowned. “Who?”
Arykah waved her hand at him. “Oh, forget it.” She rotated on her heels and modeled the outfit. “So, how's this for a Sunday morning?” Being a plus-sized woman, Arykah took extra precautions to always look her absolute best. She had come to terms long ago that vanity played a huge part in her everyday life. She was extremely vain, and she knew it.
“Absolutely stunning,” Lance said. “I think I'll wear a black suit with a black shirt and my red silk tie.”
“Perfect,” Arykah said. Lance often tried to match her colors. She turned from him and started to head back to her closet.
“Mother Pansie called me last night when you were out with the ladies.”
Arykah stopped walking and turned to look at Lance. Whenever Mother Pansie called Lance, it was always for some type of drama. “What did she want?”
“She informed me that she's gonna sit Miranda Blackmon down from the choir. She won't be singing with the young adult choir this morning. Miranda is pregnant at fifteen years old. The mothers feel strongly that the wrong message is sent when a young, unwed, pregnant girl participates in a church activity.”
Arykah inhaled, then exhaled. She inhaled again, then exhaled. Her stomach and breasts rose and fell with each breath she took. Arykah was getting ready to snap, but before she went totally off, she would wait and get Lance's take on the situation. He only told Arykah what Mother Pansie said what she was going to do about Miranda. Lance hadn't yet shared with Arykah how he responded to her. Hopefully, Lance put the old woman in her place. Arykah wanted to know how Lance handled the witch. Before she spoke, Arykah prayed to the almighty, ever-loving, most high God in heaven, that she didn't have to show her behind on a Sunday morning. Arykah's behind was big, and it was wide. If need be, she would expose her entire backside.
Arykah folded arms beneath her breasts, sending them high into the air. “And how do you feel about Mother Pansie snatching Miranda from the choir?” Her neck danced along with her question.
Lance swallowed. Arykah's body language sent him vibes. Crossed arms, a dancing neck, and direct eye contact told him that she was a tad bit disturbed by what he had just told her. “Well, for one thing, Cheeks, I have to respect the mothers' opinions and—”
“Respect their opinions?”
Arykah cut Lance's words off.
“Their stupid, ignorant opinions?
First of all, we're talking about a young, impressionable teenager who made a mistake, Lance. Gladys brought Miranda to my office, and the three of us discussed Miranda's pregnancy. They told me that Mother Pansie wanted Miranda to stand before the whole church family to apologize for getting pregnant and ask for forgiveness.”
“That's usually how it goes, Cheeks.”
Arykah stepped out of her stilettos, lifted her dress over her head, and threw it on the bed. She came and stood totally naked in front of her husband. “Why? Why do you make young girls stand before the church and put themselves on blast like that? That's humiliating, Lance. I know that pregnancy is something that can't be hidden. I know that eventually, when Miranda's belly gets bigger, everyone will know she's pregnant. But what I don't get is why someone has to be shamed for a sin they committed.”
Under normal circumstances, Arykah's nude body would turn Lance on and he'd reach out and caress a body part. But the vibes she sent him that morning and her loud voice told him that sex was the last thing on her mind. She was ready for battle.
“Cheeks, when young girls are made to stand before the church, it isn't to shame them. It's to humble them and make them acknowledge what they've done.”
Arykah looked at Lance like he was an alien. “Are you for real? That's the dumbest crap I have ever heard. Isn't a growing belly, morning sickness, and swollen ankles acknowledgment enough? Miranda doesn't owe the church anything. Freedom Temple isn't reserving her seat on the right hand of the Father. That's Jesus' job. And He's the
only
one Miranda owes an explanation to.
Not the freakin' church!”
she yelled.
Lance saw Arykah's nostrils flaring and her veins bulged from her neck. She was hot.
“Okay, Cheeks, you need to calm down.”
“And
you
need to man up,” she snapped. “Grow some cashews and man up.” Arykah saw Lance's eyeballs pop out of his head. She knew she had just insulted her husband.
“Oh, you don't like what I'm sayin' to you? Well, let me tell you what
I
don't like, Lance. I don't like the fact that Mother Gussie and Mother Pansie are allowed to run through the church freely and bully people just because they feel they can. You give them way too much power.”
“
I
give them power?”
Arykah put her hands on her naked waist. “Well, heck, aren't you the pastor of the church? Nothing gets done before
you
give the okay. No decision is made unless
you
sign off on it.
You
are the head shepherd, the bishop, the leader, and it's
your
head that'll roll when souls are lost. God has placed you in a position to win souls and to nourish His flock.
“Taking that girl out of the choir will be detrimental. Yes, Miranda has sinned, but so what? Just because she's pregnant she can't sing praises to God? How dumb is that? Miranda has admitted to falling down, and she admitted to making a mistake, but God forgives, Lance.”
“You don't have to tell me that, Arykah.”
“Apparently I do. Do you really believe that God doesn't want Miranda to sing to Him just because she's pregnant? You think He wants her to stop worshipping and adoring Him because she's pregnant? No, He doesn't. If anything, the choir is exactly where Miranda needs to be. She needs to keep singing and praising and clapping and loving God. He forgave her of her sin, and He still loves her. Miranda is still His child. God hasn't turned His back on her, so why are you trying to make her turn her back on Him? If you take that girl out of the choir and she leaves the church and gets into more trouble, that's gonna be on you. You'll have to answer for that. Now, you can mess around and let the mothers get you into trouble with God if you want to.”
Arykah turned toward her closet, then turned back around. “What about the boy that got Miranda pregnant? Doesn't he sing in the young adult choir too? Was he told that he couldn't sing 'til after
his
baby comes? Was he instructed to stand before the church and confess that he'd gotten a girl pregnant?”
“Mother Pansie didn't mention anything about the boy.”
“That's what I thought,” Arykah said. “So, it's okay for Miranda to be yanked from the choir because her belly will grow and her sin will be exposed. But the young daddy can keep doing what he wants to do. You know that ain't right, Lance. If you take Miranda out of the choir, then you take her baby's daddy out of the choir as well. He doesn't get a free pass. They both laid down and made a baby. Miranda didn't do it by herself.” Arykah turned to walk away but stopped and turned around a second time.
“And shame on you, as a pastor and as a man of God, for letting Mother Pansie throw you under the bus. If Miranda's soul gets lost, God will come after
you
, not Mother Pansie.” Arykah was finished with the conversation. She left Lance to his thoughts. She walked into the master bath and started the water in the shower.
Lance lay on the bed, on his back, looking up at the ceiling. He thought about everything Arykah said. Clearly she was hot and bothered. He wanted to try to talk more about Miranda's situation with Arykah, but he knew she needed to cool off.
They showered separately, which was rare. Their shower stall was built for two, and Lance and Arykah looked forward to showering together every morning. Lance didn't follow Arykah into the shower that morning, nor did she invite him in. In fact, they dressed for church in complete silence.
Lance was the first, as always, to be ready. When he saw Arykah hook the clasp to her diamond tennis bracelet around her wrist, he knew she was ready. “Are we driving the Benz, the Lex, or the Jag today?” he asked her.
“You go ahead and drive whatever you want. I'll drive myself to church.”
Lance frowned. “Why?” Since they'd been married, they rode to church together.
Arykah looked into Lance's eyes. “Because I said so.” She walked by him and left the bedroom.
Lance followed after her. “Arykah, that's ridiculous. Why should we drive separate cars to the same church? What will folks think?”
Arykah stopped in her tracks and turned around. “Oh, now you're worried about what folks will think when they look at
you
sideways? Well, how do you think Miranda feels?”
Arykah walked through the kitchen to the garage door and opened it. She grabbed the keys to the Lexus off the key rack, just inside the kitchen door, and pressed the alarm button on the remote. Silently, she got in the driver's seat, shut the door, and pressed the button on the garage door opener above her head, on the sun visor. Then she started the Lexus and drove the car out of the garage and left Lance standing looking at her.
 
 
Lance was already seated in the pulpit when Arykah, Myrtle, and Monique walked down the center aisle to the front pew. That was the first time since they'd become man and wife that Lance and Arykah hadn't walked into the sanctuary together on a Sunday morning.
When Lance knocked on Arykah's office door at the church, then poked his head inside, he saw her sitting behind her desk. He announced that it was time for them to head downstairs to the sanctuary. Arykah told Lance that she wasn't ready to go downstairs and he should go ahead without her. He looked at Monique and Myrtle sitting in the chairs opposite of Arykah's desk. They wouldn't give him any eye contact. He closed Arykah's door and went down to the sanctuary alone.
Arykah purposely kept her focus away from the pulpit. Every Sunday, she and Lance flirted with each before he stood to preach his sermon. While praise and worship was going on, she would wink her eye at him or blow Lance a kiss, and he'd return the gesture with a wink and a smile. But right then, Arykah wasn't giving Lance any eye contact whatsoever. He tried to send her a telepathic message by staring at her. Maybe she'd feel his gaze and look his way, but she ignored him completely.
After praise and worship ended, the young adult choir marched into the sanctuary and took their place in the choir stand. Arykah didn't see Miranda, but she saw the young man who had fathered her baby. She had to restrain herself from going into the choir stand and pulling the young boy out by his ear. But Arykah knew that he wasn't the problem. Her battle was with her husband, the pastor of the church. Arykah leaned over to Myrtle and whispered, “I am so mad. I should've stayed at home.”
Myrtle patted her arm. “It's all right, Sugar Plum.” Arykah had shared with Monique and Myrtle the argument that she and Lance had that morning before church.
Both ladies understood her point and felt that Lance and Mother Pansie were wrong for sitting Miranda down from the choir. But Myrtle told Arykah that driving two separate cars to church didn't help the situation. Fighting with Lance at home was one thing, but Myrtle warned Arykah that driving separate cars and ignoring her husband at church would send up flares. She advised Arykah to be careful to not alert the vultures at church that she and Lance were fighting because they would pounce on him like a cat on a ball of yarn.
Listening to the choir, Arykah couldn't concentrate on what they were singing about.
BOOK: Lady Elect
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