“Don’t believe everything you hear: Real Eyes. Realize. Real Lies.” Tupac Shakur.
As the days sailed by, Avery began feeling much better. Today was Sunday and she was up early to get herself and the baby ready for church and his christening ceremony. Meesha was having Makena’s christening, too. It was the perfect plan coming together for Avery. When Meesha told her about the date of Makena’s christening, Avery suggested that she have little RJ christened at the same time, to which Meesha readily agreed. She laughed at the thought of seeing Carlton squirm at having to dedicate a child to the Lord that could easily belong to him. Stupid fool, she thought.
Avery wondered how it would turn out. Would Carlton crumble when he held up RJ and presented the baby before God? She smiled a devilish smile.
“Heather…Lexie,” she called, holding RJ and walking up the hall toward each of their bedrooms.
When she looked inside each of their rooms, she saw that the girls were practically dressed. Avery smiled. The girls were so beautiful. Since her struggle with postpartum depression they seemed to go out of their way to be extra quiet, be more mannerable, and bother Avery less than usual. Knowing Ryker as well as she did, Avery surmised that he had talked to them and that was the reason for their pleasant behavior and attitude toward her. She wasn’t going to complain; she welcomed the bit of peace around an otherwise chaotic household with two little girls and a baby.
“Lexie, you look so pretty.” Avery entered her room and took a seat in the corner chair. The dark pink dress with layered soft tulle was one of the new dresses Lexie had chosen on their recent shopping excursion with their daddy. The girls had him wrapped around their little fingers. There weren’t too many times that he told them ‘no.’
“Thank you, Mommy.” Lexie twirled around and around before slipping her feet inside matching shoes.
Heather entered Lexie’s room. “Mommy, I don’t like my dress,” she said with her lip downturned.
“Honey, you look beautiful. Didn’t you pick out that dress when your father took you and Lexie shopping the other day?”
“Yes, but I don’t like it.”
Avery felt her mood shifting just that quickly. Heather could be a handful, especially when she didn’t get her way. She had that same spitfire, turn on a dime, personality as Avery and it caused them to clash often.
“Look, it’ll be fine. Lexie, tell your sister she looks pretty.”
“I told you not to pick that one. Go put the other one on—the pink one,” Lexie said instead.
“I don’t want to wear the pink one. You have on pink.” Heather began to pout and tear up.
RJ, as if sensing his sister’s frustration, began to pout and let out a loud cry.
“See what you’ve done,” Avery snapped. “Just go pick out another dress!”
“But…I—”
“I said, go pick out another dress or you’re going to be sorry, Heather. I don’t have time for your shenanigans this morning!”
RJ cried louder.
Avery stood up abruptly.
Thank God Ryker appeared. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“I can’t take it,” Avery said. “You have them too spoiled. All I want to do is go to church and…” she pointed at Heather who was crying now and clinging to her father’s pant leg. “You handle it.” She pushed RJ into Ryker’s arms and stormed out of Lexie’s bedroom.
They know how to ruin my day,” she mouthed as she went to her room and did the finishing touches on her makeup.
“Liam, sweetheart. You are such a handsome guy,” Peyton complimented her son. “And you look dashing,” she said, turning to Derek. “The two most handsome men in the entire world.”
“And you look absolutely gorgeous this morning, doesn’t she, son?”
“Yes, you look pretty, Mom.”
Peyton had slimmed down considerably. Even when she was pounds heavier, she could dress and make herself look like a runway fashion model. Today was no different. Her teal and cream Yves Saint Laurent pantsuit showed her newly defined curves while the two mobilizers might have gone undetected if it wasn’t for the slight change in her gait they caused and the bulky shoe portion of the brace.
At church, Meesha was seated in her usual space, on a row toward the front of the elegant sanctuary. The boys were in Children’s Church and Makena was in the nursery, along with her nanny. She looked up and smiled broadly when she saw Peyton walking in on Derek’s arm and Liam on her other side. Liam waited until Peyton sat down then turned and left out of the sanctuary and headed to Youth Church.
“It’s good to see you walking. God is good.”
“Yes, He is,” Peyton said, smiled, and lightly tapped Meesha on the back of her hand. Derek leaned over and greeted Meesha with a light kiss on the cheek and a pat on her back.
Moments later, Eva and Harper and Avery and Ryker walked up. Eva and Harper joined Meesha, Peyton, and Derek on the same row while Avery and Ryker took seats on the row behind them.
Everyone greeted each other.
“Why don’t you sit up here?” Peyton suggested.
Ryker showed his palm and shook his head. “No, we’re good,” he said with RJ in his arms.
“Did the girls go to Children’s Church?” Eva asked.
“Yes, we dropped them off, thank God,” Avery said, rolling her eyes upward. Ryker was not about to allow his son to go into the nursery. He had made it clear to Avery that RJ had to be basically walking and talking before he would leave his son. He did the same thing when the girls were small.
After making idle chatter for a few minutes, the ladies stopped whispering when the music started.
Carlton approached the podium after prayer and several songs from the choir.
Avery felt a lump form in her throat. Each time she laid eyes on Carlton, he looked finer than before, and this morning was no different. His black Armani suit and Ferragamo loafers matched his captivating swagger. It was enough to make her dizzy with lust as he stood in the pulpit.
Eva thought about the secret Avery had shared as she listened to Carlton’s message about second chances.
“And the word of God says, then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, I called out to the Lord out of my distress and He answered me.”
Carlton spoke freely, pulling from his vast memory of an abundant number of Bible passages. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me. All your waves and your billows passed over me. Perfecting Your Faith, Jonah was disobedient. He refused to follow God’s instructions. What happened to him because of his disobedience? You know the story.”
Carlton looked around at his attentive congregation. He had them just where he wanted them, glued to his message and the words God had given him to speak. Each time he stood in the pulpit before his congregation, he was reassured that he was doing what he had been called to do as a youngster. He felt right preaching and teaching about God.
“Jonah landed in the belly of a whale,” He continued as he began to slowly walk back and forth across the podium. “He was destined for death—destined for his life to end. But I’m here to remind somebody today that the God we serve is a God of second chances.”
The congregation shouted praises and hallelujahs as Carlton delivered yet another powerful, soul-stirring, spirit-changing message.
“Has anybody here ever messed up? Have you messed up so badly that you just knew there was no way you would be forgiven, that you would ever recover? Did your friends, your family, and your loved ones turn their backs on you and kick you to the curb?”
People in the sanctuary began praising God, shouting, and the organist played musical scales that further ignited the on fire congregation.
“I’m standing before you today to say that we all have messed up at one time or another in our lives. But the good news is that we serve a God of second chances. I know I’ve told you this before, but my spirit says that somebody in here needs a reminder of the goodness of God. Just like God gave Jonah a second chance by rescuing him out of the belly of the fish, he will do the same for you.” Carlton’s voice boomed. “His mercies are new every morning.”
Avery sat in her seat with a slight smile on her face. Arms folded, and body rigid, she thought about the results of the DNA tests.
Carlton, like always, preached with fervor as he walked back and forth across the carpeted floors of the sanctuary.
At the end of his message, he invited people to come forward and they did. They came forth in droves—youth, young adults, middle aged, and seniors came. Carlton had that kind of drawing effect. They came to the front of the church to dedicate their lives to Christ, seek prayer, or join Perfecting Your Faith.
“Wow, your husband’s sermons just get better and better,” Harper said at the end of service. “The man is a dynamic speaker. God is using him.”
Meesha blushed. “Yes, he is. Thank you, Harper.”
Eva stood next to Harper, his arm securely around her waist where she couldn’t ease out of his firm grasp even if she wanted to. Here they were, standing in front of Meesha like they were the perfect couple with the perfect marriage when things couldn’t be farther from the truth. She stood next to Harper with a fake smile plastered across her face, but hurting and confused on the inside.
Harper continued talking. “I’m sorry that Eva and I couldn’t accept the offer to be your little girl’s godparents.”
“No need for apologies. I understand that Avery and Ryker asked you first. It’s not a problem, really. His brother, Martin and his wife, agreed to be her godparents. They’re a wonderful couple.”
“Yes, we know Brother and Sister Porter, and you’re right, they are good people so that’s good to know. For what it’s worth, I’ve never told you that I appreciate you.”
Meesha cut her eyes briefly at Eva. Eva rolled her eyes up in her head.
“Appreciate me. For what?”
“For being a good friend to my wife. I know you didn’t agree with me when, well when she and I had our disagreement, but like Pastor Porter preached today, thank God we have a God who doles out second chances. I’m thankful I listened to him,” he said and kissed Eva on top of her head.
“Yes, his message was quite timely. One thing about Carlton is he lets God use him and speak through him.” What in the world is wrong with Eva? She’s acting like a zombie or something.
“That he does,” Harper said while Eva remained unusually quiet.
Meesha couldn’t get over Eva’s odd silence but thought it was not the proper time or place to address her concerns.
The nanny appeared with Makena and the boys and Avery walked up. Eva looked relieved.
“Would you like me to go get Heather and Lexie so they can be in here for the christening?” Eva turned and asked Avery.
“I can go get them,” Avery answered.
“I don’t mind. Really,” Eva said. “After all, I am RJ’s godmother. Let me do something to help.” Eva smiled. “You and Ryker go on and get in place for the ceremony and I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, thank you, Eva.” Avery smiled back.
Eva excused herself, pushed slightly against Harper’s hold, and walked away. Everyone else made the short walk to the altar from where they were gathered.
Holding his sleeping son, Ryker appeared, turned, and then said to his wife, “You about ready?”
“Just as soon as Eva comes back with the girls, but we can go and get in position at the altar.”
Avery looked around for Eva as she and Ryker made their way down to the altar. She saw Heather followed by Lexie and Eva. The three of them were laughing and chattering away. Avery wished that Eva would be able to one day have a child of her own, but she didn’t think that would be possible as long as she remained with Harper. Harper didn’t strike her as the type of guy who would get his vasectomy reversed or even adopt a kid. Poor Eva.
The christening ceremony was beautiful. Surprisingly, Carlton didn’t seem to raise one iota of suspicion as he removed a still sleeping RJ from Ryker’s arms, prayed over the baby boy, and then lifted him up toward the heavens as a symbol of returning him to God.
Carlton could only pray that the anxiety he felt when he picked up the little boy was not evident on his face or in his words. He looked at the sleeping baby, searching for any resemblance to himself. He saw none. He quickly looked at Avery whose gaze was fixed on him like concrete. It looked as if she had the slightest Mona Lisa like smile on her face. Was she gloating? Demon, he thought. Wicked woman.
He prayed over the little boy and then said a silent prayer to God that the child, like Liam, was not his. As long as Avery kept her crazy, delusional mouth shut, everything would be just fine. If she knew what was good for her, she wouldn’t want to push him because he could be very unpleasant when he was pushed. So far, he had been able to keep her quiet, but the way she did little slick things from time to time to get under his skin was starting to aggravate him.
Eva and Harper stood on each side of Ryker and Avery. Eva watched the exchange between Avery and Carlton. The expression on his face showed guilt and worry. Maybe nobody else saw it, but she did, and glancing at Avery, she could tell that Avery sensed it too. Good for him. He should be squirming, Eva thought and flashed a smile his way.
He placed RJ back in Ryker’s arms and moved on to his precious little girl and repeated the ceremonial blessing and christening over her life.
Meesha beamed with inexplicable joy as the godparents and her four boys stood before her husband and their father.
The couples, godparents, and their children went to lunch after the ceremony. The men talked mostly sports and work while the housewives discussed family, children, Eva’s love of culinary school, Peyton’s positive recovery, and other small talk.
The children, minus Liam, were somewhat mischievous, but that was normal. Liam kept his head glued to his phone, seemingly oblivious to everything going on around him.
By the time the final course of their meal arrived and they indulged in the scrumptious food, the afternoon was drawing late and the babies were starting to get cranky. Meesha’s nanny tended to Makena when she began to fuss. RJ followed with a bellow of his own. Ryker comforted the little boy by removing him from his stroller and cradling him in his arms. He pulled out a bottle of fresh pumped breast milk from the portable cooler. He asked the server to warm it. When the server returned with the warm bottle of milk, Ryker fed his son.
Avery felt herself becoming moody and suddenly demanded that they leave the restaurant.
Ryker didn’t put up a fuss. He gathered the girls, the baby…and his wife. They said their goodbyes and were the first couple to depart.