The Someday List (7 page)

They saw little of each other because of Rachelle's infrequent
visits to jubilant, but the few times the girls had been together,
they spent every waking moment bonding.

Can we call Taryn later so I can say hi? Yasmin scribbled the
message on the back of her church bulletin in pink gel ink.

Rachelle smiled and nodded. She looked past Yasmin at Aunt
Irene, whose lips were pursed.

Aunt Irene's eyes darted to and fro as she scanned the pulpit.
She made eye contact with Uncle Charles, who sat near the front
on a pew reserved for church trustees that offered a full view of
the congregation. She motioned in Rachelle's direction with a
jerk of her head.

Rachelle took it all in and frowned. Aunt Irene noticed her
attentiveness and turned on a smile.

"Good to see you;' she mouthed silently to Rachelle.

The choir finished the hymn with a flourish and Rev. Taylor
approached the podium. "Please bow your heads and join me in
prayer;' he said.

When Rachelle opened her eyes after the `Amen;' she caught
Aunt Irene peering at her again. Rachelle leaned past Yasmin so
she could whisper in her aunt's ear. "Is everything okay?"

Before Aunt Irene could respond, Pastor Taylor cleared his
throat and asked for everyone's attention.

"As St. Peter's members know, we've been without a music director for some time, since Sister Hightower and her family moved
to Delaware. God has blessed us with some stellar candidates for
the position, and during last month's church meeting, we voted
to hire the young man who joins us today. This gentleman not
only knows music inside and out and plays piano and drums, the
brother can also sing, y'all!"

Rachelle chuckled along with the rest of the congregation. There
was nothing like a man who could hold a tune. During her years
with the Baptist Student Union Choir, she had seen many a church
sister swoon over the brothers who sang solos with passion and
fervor. From Pastor Taylor's description, it appeared that might
happen today.

"What makes this young man even more special is that he
and I have a special bond," Pastor Taylor said. "As I've previously
mentioned, I met him about ten years ago, when I was pastor of
a church in Milwaukee. He and his family became members, and
he soon was blessing us with his gifted voice.

"The fact that he and I have reconnected, in the city where he
attended college, shows you how incredible God is at bringing
people together in his own timing;' Pastor Taylor said. "We'll
have him here part time to help our music department flourish, but the real reason he has come back to jubilant is to work at his
alma mater. Everson College recruited him as a fellow for the
engineering department, where he'll serve on the faculty.

"This young man is smart, he has integrity, and he loves the
Lord. Everybody stand to your feet and welcome St. Peter's new
director of music, Troy Hardy!"

Rachelle's hands froze in mid-clap. Breath flew from her body.
Troy Hardy. Her Troy Hardy?

She plopped down, onto the cushioned pew, while the new
church staff member received an enthusiastic welcome. Aunt
Irene sat down too and leaned over to her.

"I'm sorry," she said into Rachelle's ear as the thunderous applause and cheers surrounded them. "I didn't know you were
coming. I was planning to tell you. You okay?"

Rachelle's eyes were fixed on Aunt Irene, but her mind was
replaying images of fourteen years earlier: that wilting bouquet of
yellow roses. The thin gold band she had used her meager savings
to buy. The love that overflowed from her heart to her handsome
young husband-Troy Antonio Hardy.

All these years later, her long-ago choices still had the power
to sting. As the men and women around her settled down, she
had a clear view of him.

He was still movie-star gorgeous. Same broad smile and quiet
strength. Lifting weights was clearly still a hobby, because his
muscles strained to fit comfortably inside the arms of his collared shirt and blue suit jacket. His golden complexion seemed
unmarred by time or life's woes. The shaved head suited him.

Rachelle's heart double dutched. She inhaled deeply to stifle
the tears that threatened to surface. The emotion surprised her,
given that she had been married to someone else for more than
a decade.

But Troy would always be the first man she loved, no matter
how badly Gabe, or her parents, wanted to erase him from her
past. She would always be linked to him because of a series of
first experiences that only he had shared with her.

Rachelle shook her head to clear her thoughts. Here she was
in jubilant, trying to get away from all that had been troubling
her recently, trying to figure out what kind of life she wanted in
the years to come, and she had run smack-dab into one of her
lifetime regrets.

She sat facing the man who might hold the key to her happiness. He was the one person with whom she had experienced an
inexplicable joy and sense of purpose. Why had she let him go?

Rachelle lowered her eyes and gazed at her left hand, at her
ring finger. The four-carat diamond Gabe had given her last year
for their tenth wedding anniversary sparkled. It left no room for
misunderstandings. She was very married.

She looked up at Troy and sighed. People took God too seriously
sometimes.The Man upstairs obviously had a sense of humor.
Right now, though, laughter didn't seem fitting.

Since traveling back in time wasn't an option, Rachelle needed
an escape plan. She had left Troy once before, against her wishes.
Today, she pondered how quickly she could manage if it were
her mission.

egardless of the history between them, Rachelle had
to give Troy his propers. The boy was on fire.

He thanked the congregation for the warm welcome and assured them he was not only joining the staff but would soon
become a member of the church.

"I'm looking forward to being a part of St. Peter's ministry
and mission;" Troy said, to a swell of applause from members.
"The Bible contains numerous references to music and its significance in ministering to God's leaders and his people. We can't
underestimate the power of a God-inspired hymn or gospel song
to lift someone's spirit, help him or her connect with the heavenly Father, or give him or her answers to questions they've been
wrestling with.

"I'm praying that we can take St. Peter's awesome choirs to a
new level of excellence, to the glory of God;" Troy said. "Let's work
together to make it happen."

Troy turned toward the church's pianist, drummer, and saxophonist, and they began playing the opening strains of an upbeat
song. He raised the microphone to his lips, reared back his head,
and uttered, "The presence of the Lord is here .."

By the time the song wound to an end, after several encores, there wasn't a dry eye in the church. Troy gave the microphone
back to Pastor Taylor and left the pulpit to sit on one of the front
pews. He bowed his head, as if in prayer, while the men and women
who sat nearby reached over to pat his shoulder.

The song touched Rachelle, not only because she was hearing
Troy's moving tenor again, but also because she still had Jillian's
counsel on her mind. Be happy. Live fully. Love God. The lyrics
expressed joy over God's willingness to dwell among and bless
people who love him. This song was the musical equivalent of
Jillian's message.

With the way she had been feeling-and behaving-over the
past month, the song left her out of sorts. Going through the
motions at home had been frustrating. Searching for answers
this past weekend had been unsettling. And now, sitting here in
church, she felt hollow.

The blank Ten Things to Do list in her purse served as a searing reminder of how little she knew about herself when, by all
appearances, she led a picture-perfect life.

As Pastor Taylor encouraged adults and children in the congregation to give God a try, Rachelle contemplated how to ease
out of the sanctuary without Troy seeing her.

"It's not about coming here and sitting in the pews on Sunday,
really it's not," Pastor Taylor said. "It's about using this place as a
vehicle to form a relationship with the one who gives you life and
breath, the one who gives you new chances every day."

After his plea, ushers approached each pew with offering plates
and Rachelle gave up on slipping out of the service. She didn't want
to embarrass her aunt and uncle by leaving at an inappropriate
juncture or by appearing stingy.

Pastor Taylor prayed over the offering, then invited Troy to
share a few more words before the service ended.

Rachelle hadn't noticed a young girl sitting next to him until
she stood and went forward with him. He clutched her hand and
the two of them faced the congregation.

"Everyone, this is Chaundra;' he said.

"Hi, Chaundra!" the congregation bellowed.

The girl, who appeared to be about thirteen, looked at Troy and
smiled before waving and tucking her head down. With a short
bob, wire-rimmed glasses, thin legs, and a dusting of freckles
across her fair skin, she didn't resemble him, but she was cute.

Rachelle held her breath, waiting for him to introduce a wife.
I can handle it, I can handle it.

Instead, he hugged the girl and blessed everyone with a megawatt smile. "The two of us are thankful to be embraced by this
church family. We don't take your cheers of support or the graciousness you've shown since we arrived here last week from
Milwaukee for granted. As we settle in, please keep us in your
prayers. And for you other little ladies out there, feel free to help
Chaundra out. She'll have a better time learning about her new
city and new school if you girls teach her, instead of her having
to rely on me."

Pastor Taylor walked to the lectern and motioned for the congregation to rise for the benediction. Before he could speak, his
wife waved at him and mouthed instructions. Rachelle's heart
sank. She knew what was coming.

"Oh, yes;' Pastor Taylor said, acknowledging his forgetfulness.
"In all of our excitement over Troy, we didri t welcome our visitors!
Does anyone have a special guest today?"

Aunt Irene looked at Rachelle. When Rachelle shook her head,
Aunt Irene sat back in the pew. But Yasmin tugged at her arm.

"You haven't visited in a long time, Cousin Rachelle"' Yasmin
said. "You're a friend. Stand up. Say something"

"Not today." Rachelle spoke softly because a couple behind her
were introducing themselves.

She thought she was safe when several other churchgoers made
comments and took their seats, but Pastor Taylor clearly didn't
miss a thing.

"Sister Irene, I see you've got someone with you. Care to introduce her?"

Aunt Irene coughed and stood. "Well, Pastor, just a relative
visiting from Houston. She went to college here in Everson and
has come to service before with our family, so she's more of a
friend than a visitor ... and she's shy."

I love you, Aunt Irene.

Rachelle hoped the message reached her aunt telepathically
and that Pastor Taylor could read through the lines-she didn't
want to get up and speak.

It didn't work.

"We won't bite," he said to Rachelle. "Stand up, ma'am!"

All eyes were on Rachelle as she peeled herself from the pew
and smoothed her slacks. She took a deep breath and focused
on Pastor Taylor, since he was the one intent on unwittingly humiliating her.

"Good afternoon, church. My name is Rachelle Covington. I
bring you greetings from Houston, Texas .." Her voice trailed off.
One usually inserted the name of his or her church and pastor at
this point. Since she had an affiliation with neither, she was at a
loss. "Ah ... it's always a pleasure to worship here with my Aunt
Irene and Uncle Charles, and I pray that the rest of this week will
be blessed for each of you"

Rachelle sat down quickly, but couldn't help glancing at Troy.
He had turned around in his seat, and his mouth was hanging
open.

While Pastor Taylor closed the service, Troy's eyes remained
fixed on Rachelle. Rather than animosity or longing, she detected
an emotion she couldn't decipher.

Years ago, she knew what his every twitch or facial tic meant.
Now, although the face and voice hadn't changed much, she didn't
know him at all.

She wondered why his wife wasn't with him today. He hadn't
even mentioned her, and there wasn't a band on his ring finger.
Maybe he was a single father. The more she mused, the more her
curiosity mushroomed.

Before he decided to move in her direction and ask her similar
questions about her personal life, Rachelle grabbed her purse. She
turned to Aunt Irene and hugged her.

"Mind if I leave now and head over to your place?"

Aunt Irene pulled her key ring from her purse, twisted off a key,
and handed it over. "I understand;' she said and looked toward
Troy, who had been swamped by well-wishers. "You're staying
over, aren't you? Take Reuben's bedroom. He was supposed to
come home this weekend, but with him, there's no telling. College has driven him temporarily insane. He calls when he needs
money and comes home when every stitch of clothing needs to
be washed:"