The Pastor's Heart (17 page)

“No
, but how did you know that?” Sinclair asked Louise while looking through a magazine to find a nice hairstyle.

“
The Carter men don’t care about your past, they only care about your future. Whatever they can do to make your today and tomorrow better than your yesterday, that’s what they do period.  It may seem that he doesn’t care about it but he does, he is just waiting for you to be ready to tell him your story.”

“What does this have to do with anything?” Sinclair was total
ly lost at this point, she thought her medicine had her delusional.

“It has everything to do with this.  He knows he messed up and he is sorry for it.  He is giving you the time and space
you need to clear your mind.  With time all wounds heal, he is just giving you that time.”  Louise explained as she waved to the receptionist to come over.  She whispered something to the Asian woman who then walked away.

“I remember my mom ta
king me to the fire station, telling me to count to one hundred and then ring the doorbell.  She had gotten back in the car and left me there with a note pinned to my shirt while I held onto a broken doll.  I was five and I never forgot that.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many foster homes I had been in by the time I aged out.  However, I can tell you I changed schools almost every year because no one wanted a kid with emotional and attachment problems. When I aged out the system I hitched hiked from Oregon to Washington DC with the clothes on my back.” Sinclair began when the woman came back with two glasses of lemonade and a plate of cookies on a rolling table which she placed between the two of them.

“I traveled through eight states with less than fifty dollars to my name. 
Some people said DC had better services for aged out kids, but when I got here I found out that it was a lie.  Everything was exactly the same as in Oregon.  While I was homeless I saw some many horrifying things no one should have to see but I refused to accept my conditions so I did something about it.  I realized when I was a kid no one would help you better than you.”  Sinclair paused and took a sip of lemonade.

“
I met Miss Marjorie after spending so much time using her public computers in her bookstore while trying to find resources to help myself.  She was my first real friend ever and she genuinely cared about me.  Before she died she told me to turn the store into a place to continue to help aged out people like myself. I have honored her dying wish but if I lose the agency I will feel like I failed her and I can’t do that because she did so much for me.  Miss Louise, I love Kingston from the bottom of heart but because of him I might fail Miss Marjorie.”  Sinclair said as the dam finally broke and tears came rushing from her eyes.

Louise jumped
out of her seat and hugged Sinclair while one stylist grabbed a box of Kleenex for her.

“Honey
, it’s okay. But what you just told me you need to tell Kingston.  He needs to know why you are so hurt.  He needs to know.” Louise said as she comforted Sinclair.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to start crying like
a big baby in the salon.”  Sinclair said while drying her eyes with the Kleenex the stylist handed her.

“Don’t worry about it.  Why do you think I scheduled the appointment so late
in the day? I knew the salon would be empty this time of day and that would be perfect.”  Louise said looking into Sinclair’s tear stained face.  “I am so glad God put you two together because you both have hearts of gold.  This is just something you have to go through to make your relationship stronger.”  Louise said as she handed Sinclair her lemonade and took her seat to finish getting her hair done.

“I met
Pastor Carter on a bus stop in 1968 in Philadelphia when I was nineteen years old.  He was stopped at the light and he asked me why I was on the bus stop so I asked him why he was driving.”  Louise said as both the ladies chuckled.  “I didn’t want to tell him I was just resting from my one mile walk and I still had another mile to go.  I was raised by my grandparents because my mother had so many other kids that she couldn’t care for me.  I knew money was really tight so I took the bus to school in the morning and walked home afterwards.  With the bus fare I saved I used that money to buy food for the house.”  Louise said as she took a cookie off the tray.

“Anyway, I would see Pastor Carter every day and he would offer me a ride but I always turned him down.  Then on one day I didn’t see him pull up at the normal time and I actually thought something happened to him.  I heard what sounded like a doorbell and I turned around to see Pastor Carter riding his bike while pushing a pink one with a bow on it for me.”

 
Louise remembered that day just like it happened yesterday.  “I married him six months later.  He saw I needed more than just a ride every now and then so he went and did something to help me.  I rode that bike until the tires literally fell off and Pastor Carter put them back on again. Kingston is just like his father in every aspect and his intentions are only to help you, not hurt you.  He sees you carrying so much around that he wants to help alleviate your load.  My son is deeply in love with you because of the special person that you are.  You may be hurting, but you need to get up and fight for you man if you love him as much as I know you do.”  Louise explained a she took her lemonade off the tray.

“T
hank you,” Sinclair said as she reached over the table and grabbed Louise’s hand and just held it.   

“
I know that you didn’t have someone to guide you as you grew up but I am here for you now.  Any time you need to talk to me I am here for you.  Now you can thank me by allowing the manicurist to do something with those raggedy nails of yours.” Louise said while smiling at Sinclair.

“Yes
Ma’am.  I really needed this, thank you.”  Sinclair held her head back to let the stylist do his magic.  This was the first time in weeks she actually felt relaxed and not just because she was getting pampered, but because she actually felt good. 

After spending time with Louise yesterday Sinclair realized that she really needed to talk to Kingston.  She needed to hear his side of the story without yelling and screaming at him.  She needed to hear him and tell her his side of the story without being blinded by rage.  She needed to be near him and to have him hold her in his arms.  She needed him in a nutshell, she thought to herself.

She had just turned
the TV on to find a sermon to watch when a news report came on the screen.  She almost fell off her crutches while she was at the kitchen counter pouring cereal into her bowl.

“
Stanley Devilen is charged with fraud after he allegedly tried to dupe millions of dollars from local businesses in the metro area.  Using one of many aliases, including that of Chad Dunbar, he masqueraded as a real estate investor.  He conned many people into buying property that was not for sale.  He even sold a piece of property that is currently owned by the city of Hyattsville.  The crime came to light when Kingston Carter found himself being duped.”  The news reporter said as a shocked Sinclair poured the cereal onto the floor in disbelief.

“He contacted the authorities and upon further investigation it led to the arrest of Stanley Devilen, who is also wanted in Canada for running a similar scheme where he bilked a bank out of millions.”  The lady reporter said as Sinclair tried to steady herself on her crutches so she would not fall in shock.

“Oh my God! Kingston was telling the truth, I have to get to the church!” Sinclair said out loud while making her way to her bedroom to get dressed.

She wore a gray dress with black square patterns on it and added a black blazer to it.
  She added a glittery silver hairpin to her new hairstyle that she wore.

Just as she
was headed out her door Desmond and Robyn came running up her stairs.

“Your business is safe,
Chad Dunbar was a fake,” Desmond said waving papers in Sinclair’s face. “You don’t have to close the agency.”

“I know
; I just saw it on the news.  I was trying to get to the church to see Kingston.  Can you please give me a ride please?” Sinclair asked with pleading eyes.

“We sure can.”  Desmond said as he helped Sinclair down the stairs and into his car.  “Let’s go.”

“Don’t you look nice today? I love your hair blown out straight, it looks so nice.”  Robyn complimented Sinclair.

“Thanks
, Miss Louise came over and took me out yesterday to get my hair and nails done.”

“That was nice
of her to do that.  You look absolutely stunning.  But I have a question for you.  How were you going to get to the church with no car, Sinclair?” Robyn asked as she put her seatbelt on in the car.

“I was going to call a cab before I started walking down the stairs.  I figured it would take
them ten minutes to get here and it would take me about that amount of time to get down the stairs.”

“Well I am
glad we got here when we did, I can’t even imagine you trying to climb down all those stairs by yourself.  You just got the cast off for God’s sake, it would have gone right back on if you would have fallen.”  Desmond said as he put the car in drive.”

“Yes, that’s very dangerous, you could have broken your other leg,” Robyn agreed with her husband.

“And you my sweet,” Desmond turned to Robyn as
the light had just turned red.  “It was dangerous for you to try and run upstairs to Sinclair’s apartment behind me.  What were you thinking? You could have just taken your time, you are carrying our child, the last thing I need is for you to get hurt so please don’t try that again.” Desmond said just as the light changed to green.

“I promise I won’t run again.” 
Robyn said to a smiling Desmond who then kissed her hand.

“And I prom
ise I won’t let her.  From now until she has my niece or nephew she has to walk just as slow as I do.” Sinclair added

“Good. 
So from now on you two will take it slow,” Desmond said looking at Sinclair through his rearview mirror.

“Okay we promise.  Now can you step on that gas please?” Sinclair asked Desmond wishing she could drive herself.

Sinclair had no idea what she would say to Kingston but she knew she had to see him.  Never in her life had she ever missed someone so bad that her heart literally ached.  Sinclair had never had such a connection to another man until she met Kingston. He had done so much for her that she didn’t even know where to begin to even thank him.  He had gone way out of his way to make sure she had what she needed and if she didn’t have it Kingston made it his business to get it for her. He was surely a man of his word because she did not want for anything.  If only her stubborn spirit would have allowed her to speak to Kingston earlier she would not be rushing to across the streets to get to him. She made a mental not to stop being so stubborn.  She had come to realize that only the truly special people in her life made her cry tears of joy and Kingston was one of them and she had to tell him how much he meant to her.

********************

Calvin stood pacing the floor of
his church office while staring at his watch.  He had grown tired and decided he couldn’t wait anymore.

“Kingston
are you coming to church today? I will understand if you don’t want to preach today.” Calvin asked as soon as Kingston answered his cell phone.

“I’m coming to church Pop,
I just had to run a quick errand before I came.  It’s my turn to preach so I will be preaching this morning while you take your seat as you always do on third Sunday.” Kingston said to his father while giving the thumbs up to the man behind the glass counter.

“Are you sure
? Because I can preach, it’s no problem?” Calvin said as he went to grab a bottle of water from his small refrigerator.

“
Pop, you have always taught me to chase my dreams and to never let anything or anyone get in the way of me getting what I wanted. Well, right now I am chasing my dreams.  I will be there in time to preach, I won’t let you down, I promise.”  Kingston said while reaching for his wallet.

“Ok
ay son, just be careful driving. I know how you like to speed like Simon who taught you how to do an eighty in a forty.”  Calvin was feeling a little at ease knowing Kingston was at least all right.

“I promise I will drive safely.  See you soon.”  Kingston said as he hung up from his father.

Kingston took his item and was headed to his Navigator when he saw his reflection in the mirror.  He stopped and looked at himself like he had never seen his reflection before. Kingston couldn’t help but like what he saw in the mirror.  He was wearing a beige suit with his chocolate tie and chocolate shoes to match and under his jacket he was wearing his signature suspenders.  For the first time in weeks he actually felt happy.  He didn’t know whether it was the talk he had with God or the talk he had with his dad or the fact that he was literally holding his dreams in his hand.  Thinking it was all of the above he headed to the parking lot smiling like he had just won the lottery.

Had his father known he did an eighty in a forty
, he would not have been happy, Kingston thought to himself as he entered the church fifteen minutes later.  As he stepped onto the pulpit he kissed his mother on the cheek and shook his father’s hand and he took his seat next to them.  When he realized the choir was singing
He Has His Arms Around You
, he rose to his feet and started praising God.”  The Lord was certainly speaking to him and he surely was listening.