The Pastor's Other Woman (9 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Avery

God knows I was not prepared to answer that question, and I was so glad that He sent Mommy in the nick of time. Having to go down memory lane and try to explain my feelings to a six year old would have been tough. She barely understood what I tried to explain to her, and there was no way that she could understand why I felt the way I did towards Drew. Shoot, some days I couldn't understand why, but slowly, God was revealing things to me as I got older.

I didn't necessarily hate Drew, but I had a strong dislike for him. As far back as I could remember, I got this funny feeling whenever he was around. I never felt a connection, and often times my grandparents would tell my mother that I was able to discern his spirit. It took me years to understand what that meant, but now I did. I always knew Drew was not here with us because he loved us, but I could never understand why my mother couldn't see it. Blinded by love maybe.

There were so any times that Drew could have been a great husband and father, but whatever demons he had in him wouldn't allow it. I remember the first time that he left me hanging. I was in the second grade, and we had grilled chicken sandwiches for lunch. I never ate the school lunch because Mommy would make it, but this particular day, she wasn't feeling well, so I had to eat what was served.

At first bite, I knew something was off, but my little greedy tail was starving, so I pushed through. By the time we made it back to class, my stomach was feeling queasy, and I knew that at any moment I was about to blow. Before the thought was complete, I was emptying everything out that I had just put in. The nurse couldn't reach Mommy, so she got the number for the church and called Drew.

"Yeah?" He answered like he was being bothered.

For him to be a loving Shepard of a flock, he sure didn't act like it on the regular.

"This is Nurse Rita, and I have Avery here with me. She just left lunch and got really sick and needs to be picked up," she said.

Now, a normal loving father would have dropped everything but not him.

"So call her mother," he said, like that was the only option she had to do.

I could tell Nurse Rita was taken aback, but she kept it professional.

"Well, from my understanding, she is a little under the weather herself. That's why I called you."

"Hold on," he said, trying to cover up the receiver, but I could make out that he was talking to someone in the room with him.

It sounded like a woman, but her voice didn't sound familiar. After a few more seconds of the rustling and voices, he came back to the phone sounding even more agitated than before.

"Someone will be to get her," was all he said before the line went dead.

Thirty minutes later, I saw my Uncle Bryce rush in with a worried look on his face as he asked Miss Ann, the front desk clerk, where I was. Before she could answer, he noticed me sitting in the corner with the trashcan in front of me. He rushed over to me, and all I saw was love and concern for me. Something I never saw in my so called father.

"Come on pumpkin, let me get you home," he said while picking me up in one arm and grabbing my backpack with the other.

That memory was just the first of many that I had of Drew not being there when I needed him. He never taught me how a man should treat a woman, he never made it to any of my recitals or school award ceremonies, he didn't even acknowledge us too much unless it was out in public and mainly around church. He was always saying little smart comments about my mother's weight and her self-esteem. I hated when he did that. But as I got older, I just prayed more that God would open her eyes to what everyone around her already saw. Today may have been rough, but it was definitely an eye opener. I just hated she had to go through so much pain.

Right before I turned off my light and got under my covers, there was a knock at the door and a notification that I received a text. I ignored the text right then and invited whoever it was on the other side of the door to come in.

"You OK, pumpkin?" My mom asked as she came in and sat down beside me.

"Are you ok?" I asked her, taking the focus off of me.

I would never forget the time that she went into such a deep depression and wouldn't even get out of the bed. I just prayed that didn't happen to her again.

"Don't worry, baby. I'm not going down that dark road again. I have peace in the middle of this storm right now. I just want to make sure my girls are ok," she said, moving a stray curl from my face.

"Actually, I'm better than I have been in a long time, and Kammy will .be just fine. I had a talk with her earlier. It's just gonna be a little while before she really understands what happened, but she's a smart girl. All she cares about is going to Disney World," I said as we shared a laugh.

"Get some rest, baby. Tomorrow will be eventful to say the least," she said, getting up and kissing me on my forehead

"Do you want me to go with you?" I asked.

If we thought today was fireworks then we knew tomorrow would be World War III.

"Laila Ali, Jr, I can handle tomorrow," she giggled calling me by the name that she had given me after a fight I had one year at school.

It wasn't right to beat that girl like that, but God in Heaven knows she tried me to the max.

I didn't know everything that was going to go down tomorrow, but I knew that if Drew showed up as scheduled it was about to go down.

"I love you, Mommy."

"I love you so much more, my baby," she said closing my door.

I looked down at my phone to see my goodnight text from James. As I replied, I couldn't help but to smile as the feeling of unexplainable joy took over my being.

Chapter Twenty

Drew

I woke up sore from the activities of the previous night. Once we got everything under control, Constance made me feel like the man that I was. I looked over at her sleeping peacefully, and though her body was calling me like that old school classic by R. Kelly, I knew that we didn't have time. I had a little over an hour to get to the attorney's office downtown so that I could get those papers signed and my money transferred.

Before hopping in the shower, I got Constance up so that we could be ready on time. Had I let her just continue to lay there, we would have definitely been late. That's one thing that Jewel didn't play, and that was being on time anywhere she went. Constance was another story. She took forever to get ready, no matter how much time in advance she had.

Once we had gotten dressed, I swung by McDonald's for a quick breakfast, Constance's treat of course, and we headed to the office. The email said that his office opened at 9am, so I was going to be there on the dot. The parking lot was empty except two cars that were parked in the space right our front. I saw the secretary walk to the door to unlock it just as Constance and I were stepping out of the car. Hopefully by noon the fund would be transferred, and we could be on our merry way.

"Good morning, can I help you?" Smiled the secretary.

She was a young white lady who put you in the mind of that stalker woman who was after Beyoncé's husband in that movie “Obsessed”. She was nice on the eyes, and I guess I was staring too long because Constance cleared her throat.

"Oh, um, I'm here to see Mr. Andrews," I told her, trying to regain my composure.

"Do you have an appointment?" She asked me as she sat down to her computer to pull up the calendar.

"Well, not exactly. I received an email about a week ago stating I just needed to come and sign a document by today. I just got around to seeing it late last night, so I rushed in to get it done before I left town," I explained.

"Oh yes, Mr. Webber. Give me a few moments to pull those documents, and I'll get Mr. Andrews for you," she said.

Her attitude seemed to change from when we first walked in, but I guess the look Constance was giving her made her uncomfortable.

I was so anxious to get this show on the road that I couldn't sit still. It seemed like forever before the secretary returned and asked us to follow her. We ended up at the end of the hallway where we entered the office of a much older gentleman. He looked to be around his early sixties, but his body looked to be well kept. He had dark skin the color of night with salt and pepper hair. I was tall, so he had to be around my height or an inch or two taller. Life as a lawyer must have been good to him.

"Good morning, Pastor," he said as his eyes shifted from me to Constance.

Had I been thinking, I should have left her in the lobby until this was over. I really didn't care that people knew about her now, but I didn't want this to affect getting this money. Just as I was kicking myself internally, he opened the manila folder on his desk.

"I just need your signature on these two pieces of paper, and everything will be complete," he said, and I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face.

I'm sure I looked just like the Grinch who stole Christmas with all of my teeth showing.

I signed on those dotted lines so fast as if my life depended on it, and in a way, it did. This was about to be the new beginning that I had been waiting on for almost twenty years. I knew God may not come when you want Him, but He's always on time.

"So now what?" I said as I handed him back the papers.

"Give me just one moment so I can get this information over to the bank," he said clicking on his keyboard then picking up his phone.

"Everything is a go," he calmly said, giving me a broad smile.

But something wasn't right. I felt Constance grab my arm, holding it tight, and she was smiling from ear to ear, but something had suddenly sucked all of the air out of the room, and I didn't know what it was, but I knew it wasn't about to be good.

Before I could stand up, the office door opened and in walked Jasmine.

"What on earth are you doing here?" I yelled.

Just the sight of her made me sick to my stomach now that she was no longer needed. I only played this game with her because she had the info I needed, and she was able to show me the side of her Jewel didn't have.

"So, this is how you do? I help you get all of the information you need in order for us to make a come up, and once you get it, you leave your son and I out to dry?"

By now, her face was red and stained with tears. If I cared enough I probably would have tried to comfort her, but I didn’t.

"Man, Jasmine, you knew what it was from the jump. You couldn't have been that stupid to think that I wanted to leave one insecure woman and leave with the next," I said.

"Insecure?" She said, like she was oblivious to that fact.

"Some days I didn't know who was worse you or Jewel. Jewel had issues with herself, and you, on the other hand, had issues with her. Every time I turned around it was 'Jewel this and Jewel that'. We could never focus on us, even if there was to ever be an us, because you were just as bad," I schooled her.

Jasmine may have been a good fit for me, but she wasted too much time trying to compete with my wife, to show me how down she was for the cause, that she couldn't see her own insecurities.

After a few years I was done, and when I stumbled across a document that said if I stayed until my 10th anniversary as Lead Pastor we would receive twenty million, I knew Jasmine had no idea. If she did she would have told me. I still had to play the game though because if I walked out on her completely she wouldn't hesitate to let Jewel in on it, and I would be left with nothing.

"But I love you, Drew. Your son loves you."

She could have gotten an Oscar for this performance.

"My son? Oh, you mean the one who doesn't share my DNA?"

She had no clue that I had gotten her son tested a few months back on the advice of Constance, just to make sure we could be completely done with her after everything was done.

Constance had a feeling DJ wasn't mine, and I was so glad that I got it done. Had I not, she would have really been in my pockets. The look on her face let me know that she didn't have a comeback for this one because she was busted.

"Yeah, that's right, tramp. I made my man get that ugly little boy tested. You won't trap this one ‘cause he came into some money," Constance stepped in.

Just as Jasmine charged towards Constance, the door flew open and I heard, "Had I known it was going to be another WWE match so early I would have brought me some popcorn."

It was Jewel.

Chapter Twenty One

Drew

This was all bad. How did she even know that I was here? I looked over at the lawyer and knew that this must have been planned. He sat there in his seat unbothered by the whole thing. But one thing I did know was that there was nothing anyone could do once those papers were signed and the transaction was complete. I was the only one who had access to that new account and couldn’t care less how anyone felt about it. That thought alone made me smile as I sat down in the chair next to Constance. She must have been thinking the same thing because her face held the same smirk that mine did.

I looked at Jewel, and in twenty-four hours, she looked so different. Her face held this glow that I had never seen. The confidence that illuminated from her was radiating, and I found it breathtaking. Fine time for me to be thinking all of this while I was about to walk out on her. I couldn't front though, in all of the years of us being together, I had never seen her look this good.

"Look at you. I guess you can clean yourself up nice," I said admiring her.

The sundress she had on complemented her skin tone, her hair was flowing down her back in lots of curls and she even had light makeup that brought out a side of her I had never seen. She must have had on one of those girdles that held everything in place because her body was stacked.

"She has always cleaned up nice. You just never took the time to notice," I heard Bryce say, walking in with a smug look on his face along with Jewel's parents and her brother, Chris.

"What is this, a family reunion? Bryce, you're not family, so why are you here. Why are any of you here? There is nothing anyone can do now. I just signed everything that's needed in order to receive that inheritance, so you all are late," I said, standing up to get ready to leave.

"You know what? After all of these years, you still don't pay attention to details," Jewel said, walking over to the desk.

"What are you talking about, Jewel?" I asked, tired of the merry-go-round that we were on.

I wanted to know why everyone was here, but no one was looking nervous or flipping out over the information I had just given them. You would think that she would be losing her mind to know that I had walked out of her life with all of her family's money and my new woman.

"Did you even bother to read what you were signing? I used to always get on you for not reading things before you signed them," she said, handing me the papers that I had just held in my hands not even ten minutes ago.

"Go ahead and read, Drewsey."

All of my life I was told not to go signing papers without reading them in their entirety. I looked down and started reading just as Constance stood over my shoulder to see what it said. She too had warned me, but we all know how I don't take heed to warnings like I should. At the very top of the page I saw the words "Divorce Decree", and at the bottom was both mine and Jewel's signatures. I had just unknowingly given my wife a divorce.

"Ha. OK, I see. Well, that's one thing I won't have to worry about later on down the line. Come on baby, we got money to blow and a happy life to live."

I grabbed Constance by her hand ready to leave.

"Well, you two have a nice life. I hope you have a nice savings or a good job, Constance, is it?" Jewel said, stopping me in my tracks.

She may have gotten one over on me with the divorce, but I had her with the money being transferred.

"What do you mean by that?"

I was getting heated now because I was ready to go. Everything was signed, so I no longer needed to be here, but I needed to know what she was talking about. Something just wasn't right.

"What she means is that money you thought you were going to get transferred into that account she didn't know about, won't be transferred after all. So whatever savings you have, you may want to spend it wisely," my father-in-law said.

I felt like he was just blowing smoke out of his behind.

"That's where you're wrong, old man. I just signed for that transfer to hit the new account, didn't I, Mr. Andrews?"

Checkmate,
I thought until Jewel shook her head and held up that other piece of paper. It was indeed a money transfer slip, but the account number was for an account that I had never seen before.

"How di-" I started to ask before I was interrupted by Bryce.

"You never could hold your liquor well. Two drinks in and you will tell everything that you know and the next day remember nothing that happened. When you left to go to Atlanta the other week something in my spirit told me that I needed to give you a call. So, I did. You were so tore up I was surprised that you could even speak. I thought God was leading me to call and check on you so that I could pray, but He led me right to you confessing," he said, bringing that night back to my remembrance.

*****

Jasmine and I had just gotten in from the club and were about to have a party of our own. Her son was gone, and I knew that this was the last time that I would be with her in this way. I rarely drank anymore, but since I knew this was the end, I decided to go out with a bang.

We were throwing back shots, and Jasmine had fired up something that she wrapped as soon as we hit the door.

Now drugs wasn't my thing, but whatever it was had given me a contact so good I felt like I was floating. Whatever she put in the air mixed with that liquor had me feeling right.

Hours had passed, and we were still going at it when my phone rang. I looked at my screen to see it was Bryce calling. I figured that he was calling to let me know that Jewel was worried ‘cause it had been at least four days since I talked to her.

"What's up, my boy?" I said, as I watched Jasmine wind her body in front of me.

I swear when I got to Heaven I knew I was going to have me a couple of angels doing these moves. I burst out laughing at my own private joke as I heard my boy ask if I was ok. I didn't realize I had accidentally put my phone on speaker, and Jasmine answered for me.

"He's fine, Bryce, and when he gets this money we will be even better," she laughed as I smacked her on her behind.

"What's she talking about? What money?" He asked.

Now, had I been sober, none of this would have gone down no matter if he was my boy or not, but truth serum called Gin made me sing like a canary.

"Man, she talking about that inheritance money from Jewel's folks. I contacted the lawyer to let him know we were changing the account that it was supposed to be deposited to because our account had gotten hacked. He said that he needed Jewel to sign the form to authorize it and that he was going to send it over to me, right? So boom, when he did I got ole girl to sign Jewel's name on it."

"Who is Ole girl?" Jasmine yelled in the background.

"Shet up and mind yo' bizzniee!" I yelled and fell out laughing ‘cause I sounded just like my boy Lil Scrappy.

"Come on man, are you serious?" Bryce asked me.

If I didn't know any better I would have sworn this dude was sounding mad.

"You mad or nah?" I fell out laughing again.

"Yo, I'm done. This is where I draw the line. Had I known own all these years that this is what you were on, I would have never let you get close to her!" He yelled.

"He big mad now, baby," Jasmine said.

"Yeah, he is. It sounds like to me that you trying to be in ya feelings. Go ahead and tell it, but when you do just know that you gonna have to tell everything. You helped me with most of it," I warned.

"Nah, this is all you. I may have known about the women but not this," Bryce corrected.

"Who do you think my wife is going to believe? Her husband or someone who has a little crush on her? That's alright though. When I'm long gone maybe she will let you dry her eyes," I said and hung up on him.

"That's right, baby. You told him," Jasmine said to me as she sat on my lap and blew a cloud of smoke into my face.

*******

There was nothing that I could do about what was being said because now I remembered it as clear as day.

"So, I came clean with Jewel and her family. I let them know everything. I ran into her dad one day at the store, and that's when I let him know that I needed us to all sit down before you got back. He thought because I was in town you were home as well."

"But when I called my daughter to confirm what Bryce had let me in on she told me that you were still out of town. I always knew that you were up to no good, but after you got married, I had to leave it in God's hands. I knew sooner or later all would be revealed," her father spoke finally.

I couldn't help but to bust out laughing to keep myself from crying.

"After all of these years of serving the Lord and blessing His people, He does this to me? It was me that was laying hands. It was me that prophesied to the lost ones," I screamed.

"And it's gonna be you that bust hell wide open if you don't get right with God. For real. You been playing all of these years, and your time has finally come," her mother said.

I didn't even know that this li’l boy chest having woman was still alive.

"Sit cho lopsided chest having self down somewhere!" I yelled as Jewel started raining haymakers on me like she was a dude.

One punch hit me square in the jaw, and I felt the bone crack. You would have thought that jab would have made her stop, but it didn’t. I even tried to get a few locks in of my own. but what did I do that for? As soon as I brought my hand back to slap the taste out of her mouth, I felt like a herd of elephants were jumping on me. That's how hard her father, brother and Bryce were connecting those blows. After what seemed like forever, I just gave up and let the darkness consume me.