The Pastor's Heart (7 page)

There was not a dry eye in the courtroom
, including both Ronald and his attorney.  Realizing she was defeated, the prosecutor had no further questions.   Sinclair was excused from the courtroom and went straight to see the judge in his chambers because he too was touched by her story.

Kingston was blown away at what Sinclair had just revealed.  He now knew why she had rarely spoke
n about her past, because it hurt her so much, yet she put it on display to help a stranger out.  He thought to himself she was truly a special woman indeed and she would make a perfect fit in his life.

“Here ye, here ye, the Carter Market Monthly Business meeting will now commence.  I will note for the record all board members are in attendance.  Calvin Carter, Louise Carter, Jamison Carter, Chelsea Carter and Kingston Carter,” the brunette haired, blue eyed woman said as she took her seat with her note pad in hand.

The
conference room was lavished with a long mahogany table.  Surrounding it were leather chairs that had high backs to make the long meetings comfortable for everyone.  Placed in the center of the table were fresh flowers straight from Louise’s garden.  She believed every table should have a nice inviting center piece to make people smile .

“Th
is meeting is to follow up on our opening a new store.” Calvin said as he sat at the head of the table in his normal chair.  With his wife Louise right beside; him, he continued.

His
children began applauding as his secretary Selma wrote down the notes of the meeting.

“This is a huge step for us because it means we can bring more to the community.  It means that Carter Market will soon become a household name like the other food store chains.”  Calvin proudly said as he took a sip of his green tea.  “So where are we are far as finding a location and the finances? Jamison, tell me what you got?”

“Well,” Jamison replied pulling out a map.  “I thought if we focus our attention in locating a building near or around the Metro system we can profit more because of the public transportation.  But on the negative side the cost of that would be much higher.”

“I t
otally agree with you there, son.  Financially speaking we would have to determine whether investing a ton of money to be near the Metro is more feasible than investing less money but not be accessible to public transportation,” Louise added in.

“What if we built a smaller store but made it a specialty store?”  Chelsea piped in as she began using her hands and gesturing as she was known for doing.  “Like where you can get three or four different kinds of Fig Newton’s so that son of yours can get his jollies on and we can stop ordering the low selling items,” Chelsea joked.

“Hey now,” Kingston pointed across to his sister sitting
opposite from him.  “Leave my Fig Newton’s out of this.  We are looking for a location, not to go insanely mad.  Please leave my Newton’s alone.”  Kingston said as he opened the package Fig Newton’s that sat right in front of him.

It was a well-known fact
that Kingston had to have his Fig Newton’s all the time and everywhere.  Since he was a child he always he had to have them.  His parents actually brought him home a box every week from their store.  At every board meeting there was Fig Newton’s for him while everyone else snacked on various pastries and fruit that sat on the table.

“I happen to think that is a great idea,” Calvin p
ut in while sipping on his tea.  “A smaller version of our store but selling only specialty items.  Hmm.”  Calvin was starting to like that idea.

“I think it’s a great idea as well.  But there is a problem,” Kingston said while looking at the huge map lying on the table in front of Jamison.

“What is the problem?” Chelsea asked while trying to steal a Newton from Kingston but he slapped her hand back before she could touch any of his precious cookies.

“The problem is,” Kingston continued and stood to his feet while his suspenders lay at the way side of his navy
-colored slacks.  “I really do like the idea of the specialty store but, I see a problem.  With us being in College Point now wouldn’t it be a disservice to have our customers travel to maybe DuPont Circle or U Street for one or two items?”  Kingston pointed out on the map.

“Kingston
, you do a have point there but how can we rectify that?” Jamison asked drinking from his coffee cup.

“I suggest we add a few specialty aisles to our store now and see how that works?  If that works then may
be the store just might work, but if it doesn’t then we have to try another plan.  It breaks down to us losing money rather than profiting if we go with a smaller version of our store.”  Kingston pointed out to his family as he offered a Newton to his smiling sister.  “I know someone in real estate so I’m going to try and reach out to him to see about a location.”

“Okay, here’s the thing.”  Calvin said after hearing everyone’s input.  “Everyone has good ideas as far as the new store is concerned.  I am a little reluctant in building a new store only because DC is such a small area.  Although well-populated it’s still a small area.” Calvin said while adjusting his tie.

“That’s true, it is a small area,” Louise agreed as she sipped on her tea.

  “And let’s not forget the tight restrictions on building any structure in DC now that could really pose a problem.  I would consider a current stru
cture where we can expand the size of the building to accommodate our needs.  That way the community doesn’t feel like we are tearing down their history.  The community is our customers and if we focus on that point I am more than sure we can come up with something to work.  And with that said this meeting is adjourned.”  Calvin said as he pretended to bang a gavel on the table.

“Everyone is excused with the exception of Kingston.  Kingston
, I need to talk to you in my office,” Calvin said as he and Kingston began walking out the conference room together.

“Yes, Pop what’s up?” Kingston asked as he plopped down in the leather chair adjacent to his father’s handcrafted Maplewood desk.

“I told you so.
” Calvin said while retrieving a soda from his refrigerator and pouring it into his empty tea cup.

“
Mom is going to kill you if she finds out you were drinking soda.” Kingston said looking at his father suspiciously.

Taking a gulp of the soda
, Calvin continued.  “It’s not about me, it’s about you.  Now didn’t I tell you she would come to you?” Calvin quickly changed the subject.

Kingston crossed his legs and held his head back thinking about his date with Sinclair.  He was still awe struck at not only her beauty
, but her spirit.

“Yes, you di
d Pop.  You surely did.  I thought it was a done deal but when she showed up at the church I almost fell over in disbelief.”  Kingston was smiling like a kid in the candy store when he saw Sinclair at the church.

“So how was your first date with her?”  Calvin was very interested in knowi
ng.

“We had a five hour long date and I didn’t want that to end.  She is an amazing, beautiful and talented woman.”  Kingston could barely get the words out just thinking about Sinclair.

Calvin could tell by the look on his son’s face that he did have a good time.  “So what does she do for a living?”

“She is the owner and director of a non-profit agency
.  She helps former foster kids now turned adults transition to independent living,” Kingston explained while adjusting his blue and white tie.

With a confused look on his face Kingston knew he had to fu
rther explain what Sinclair did.

“Here is how she explained it to me.”  Kingston started using his hands like
Chelsea to speak.  “When you turn eighteen you age out of the system because you are now an adult.  As an adult you are expected to care for yourself, so you no longer qualify for those services.”

“So what
happens to them if they don’t have anything?” Louise asked coming into the office and replacing Calvin’s soda disguised as tea with a bottle of water while not missing a beat.  “Soda in a tea cup? Nice try Honey.”  She said to Calvin’s and Kingston’s surprise.

“Most of them end up homeless. 
For some it leads them to a life of crime just trying to survive.  And trying to get any government help is almost impossible if you don’t have an address. Sinclair provides her clients with information on where to get food and shelter from.  She also gives them a book bag filled with everything from clean socks and underwear to personal hygiene products.  She does whatever she can to help them, including going to court and speaking on their behalf.”             

“Oh my God I never knew that.”  Louise said while reaching for her water on the
table next to her husband’s desk.  “Who does Sinclair work for?  Maybe we can help out?”

“Mom, Sinclair owns the
non-profit agency and I am more than sure if we donate anything she will be very appreciative.” Watching the faces of his parents light up as he spoke about Sinclair he knew they approved of her even though they hadn’t formally met her yet.

“Her parents must be so proud of her taking on a huge task like
that,” Calvin said as Louise nodded in agreement.

Kingston took a deep breath before he replied.  “She doesn’t have any parents
.  She was a foster child herself.” 

Louise rose from her cha
ir and walked over to Kingston.  “Of all the women that you have dated none, and I do mean none of them have what Sinclair has.  And what she has is a pure selfless heart.  Sinclair had nothing and rose up past her obstacles to turn back around to help others. Only a truly special person could do something like that.  God put her in your life for a reason so you better treat her like that queen she is because there is always someone waiting to take your place.”

Kingston’s mother’s words rang in his head as h
e drove home later that night.  He didn’t know where the thing with him and Sinclair was going, but he intended for it to be a nice journey for them both.

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

It had been rai
ning since the night before and thankfully it had finally stopped even though it was still a bit cloudy.  The pavement was still slick, but Sinclair had no problem speeding across the highway.  For an early Sunday morning there was very little traffic on the interstate which made it perfect.   She could easily get to her destination without getting tied up in traffic.

“NO!!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs as her car made a loud sound and a h
eavy jerking motion. Her car started to slow down even though she still had her foot on the gas.

“You’ve got to be kidding
me,” she said out loud while trying to coast her car to the shoulder of the highway.

Sinclair could not believe it; her car was having problems yet again.  She got out of her car and opened the hood t
o see smoke billowing from it.  This was not the time for her to be having car troubles. She cursed as she tried to figure out what she would do.

She would have called Robyn
, but she was away with Desmond for the weekend.  She couldn’t even call Kingston because he was at church.  Wearing a blue and black skirt suit, she intended to fix her car in her three inch heels.

Just as she was about to lean in to the car
, her cell phone started ringing.

“Step away from that car right now.”  Kingston demanded of Sinclair.

“What? How did you know?”  A confused Sinclair asked as she backed away from the car as she was told.  She looked around trying to figure out how Kingston knew what she was doing.

“I just passed you on the highway and I know those attractive legs anywhere.  I’m swinging back
to get you, I’ll be right back.”  Kingston replied as he headed for the next exit ramp to get off.

Just as the smoke started to disappear from Sinclair’s car Kingston pulled up.

“Are you all right?” Kingston asked Sinclair as he stepped out his black Lincoln Navigator.  “I know you were not about to try and do anything to a smoking car? That’s dangerous.”  Kingston asked, looking into Sinclair’s gorgeous eyes as he folded his hands in front of him.

“Look
, it wasn’t that bad,” Sinclair went on.  “Besides, I’ve done it before.”  She answered as they waited for the remainder of the smoke to go away.

“You’ve done
it before?” Kingston asked strangely.  Sinclair had many traits about her that he did indeed like, but this stubborn do everything by herself thing definitely had to stop.  “So now you are a mechanic too among the other hats you wear? From now on you are not to try and repair your car yourself. Got it?” Kingston told her as they went over to the car which had finally stopped smoking.

“I got it.” 
Sinclair simply replied.  She knew she would have been able to fix her car herself or at least do a patchwork job until she got to the mechanic.  Just having Kingston there banning her from doing it brought a small smile to her face.  She could get used to this treatment. 

“Now what s
eems to be the problem here?” Kingston asked looking into the hood of her car.