Chapter 15
At 8:35 A.M., the sun was high in the sky. Lance lay in bed with his hands stretched behind his head watching the Bobby Jones gospel celebration. Ricky Dillard and his choir, The New Generation Chorale, was putting on a show. Ricky directed the choir as if he were directing a twenty-piece orchestra. With his right hand, Ricky directed the soprano section to sing a high note. With his left hand, he ordered the alto section to sing a lower note. But when Ricky pointed his left foot at the tenor section and the men chimed in, Lance was outdone. “That dude is crazy.”
Arykah stepped from her closet wearing a floor-length scarlet-red V-neck dress with an empire waist. A dressy but not too elegant beading lined the neckline and waistline. The price was still dangling from the sleeves. If Arykah wore the red dress to church that morning, it would be another Sunday that she wouldn’t wear a repeater. On her feet were her brand-new Christian Louboutins. She came and stood in between Lance and the television. “How do I look, honey?”
Lance had only one word for his wife. “Magnificent.” He loved the color red on Arykah. She lifted the front of the gown so that Lance could see her shoes.
“Are those the famous Christina Aguilera’s?”
Arykah laughed out loud. “I do believe that you’re mentally challenged, Lance. These are Christian Louboutins.”
Lance frowned. “Who?”
Arykah waved her hand at him. “Oh, forget it.” She rotated on her heels and modeled the outfit. “So, how’s this for a Sunday morning?” Being a plus-sized woman, Arykah took extra precautions to always look her absolute best. She had come to terms long ago that vanity played a huge part in her everyday life. She was extremely vain, and she knew it.
“Absolutely stunning,” Lance said. “I think I’ll wear a black suit with a black shirt and my red silk tie.”
“Perfect,” Arykah said. Lance often tried to match her colors. She turned from him and started to head back to her closet.
“Mother Pansie called me last night when you were out with the ladies.”
Arykah stopped walking and turned to look at Lance. Whenever Mother Pansie called Lance, it was always for some type of drama. “What did she want?”
“She informed me that she’s gonna sit Miranda Blackmon down from the choir. She won’t be singing with the young adult choir this morning. Miranda is pregnant at fifteen years old. The mothers feel strongly that the wrong message is sent when a young, unwed, pregnant girl participates in a church activity.”
Arykah inhaled, then exhaled. She inhaled again, then exhaled. Her stomach and breasts rose and fell with each breath she took. Arykah was getting ready to snap, but before she went totally off, she would wait and get Lance’s take on the situation. He only told Arykah what Mother Pansie said what she was going to do about Miranda. Lance hadn’t yet shared with Arykah how he responded to her. Hopefully, Lance put the old woman in her place. Arykah wanted to know how Lance handled the witch. Before she spoke, Arykah prayed to the almighty, ever-loving, most high God in heaven, that she didn’t have to show her behind on a Sunday morning. Arykah’s behind was big, and it was wide. If need be, she would expose her entire backside.
Arykah folded arms beneath her breasts, sending them high into the air. “And how do you feel about Mother Pansie snatching Miranda from the choir?” Her neck danced along with her question.
Lance swallowed. Arykah’s body language sent him vibes. Crossed arms, a dancing neck, and direct eye contact told him that she was a tad bit disturbed by what he had just told her. “Well, for one thing, Cheeks, I have to respect the mothers’ opinions and—”
“Respect their opinions?” Arykah cut Lance’s words off. “Their stupid, ignorant opinions? First of all, we’re talking about a young, impressionable teenager who made a mistake, Lance. Gladys brought Miranda to my office, and the three of us discussed Miranda’s pregnancy. They told me that Mother Pansie wanted Miranda to stand before the whole church family to apologize for getting pregnant and ask for forgiveness.”
“That’s usually how it goes, Cheeks.”
Arykah stepped out of her stilettos, lifted her dress over her head, and threw it on the bed. She came and stood totally naked in front of her husband. “Why? Why do you make young girls stand before the church and put themselves on blast like that? That’s humiliating, Lance. I know that pregnancy is something that can’t be hidden. I know that eventually, when Miranda’s belly gets bigger, everyone will know she’s pregnant. But what I don’t get is why someone has to be shamed for a sin they committed.”
Under normal circumstances, Arykah’s nude body would turn Lance on and he’d reach out and caress a body part. But the vibes she sent him that morning and her loud voice told him that sex was the last thing on her mind. She was ready for battle.
“Cheeks, when young girls are made to stand before the church, it isn’t to shame them. It’s to humble them and make them acknowledge what they’ve done.”
Arykah looked at Lance like he was an alien. “Are you for real? That’s the dumbest crap I have ever heard. Isn’t a growing belly, morning sickness, and swollen ankles acknowledgment enough? Miranda doesn’t owe the church anything. Freedom Temple isn’t reserving her seat on the right hand of the Father. That’s Jesus’ job. And He’s the only one Miranda owes an explanation to. Not the freakin’ church!” she yelled.
Lance saw Arykah’s nostrils flaring and her veins bulged from her neck. She was hot.
“Okay, Cheeks, you need to calm down.”
“And you need to man up,” she snapped. “Grow some cashews and man up.” Arykah saw Lance’s eyeballs pop out of his head. She knew she had just insulted her husband.
“Oh, you don’t like what I’m sayin’ to you? Well, let me tell you what I don’t like, Lance. I don’t like the fact that Mother Gussie and Mother Pansie are allowed to run through the church freely and bully people just because they feel they can. You give them way too much power.”
“I give them power?”
Arykah put her hands on her naked waist. “Well, heck, aren’t you the pastor of the church? Nothing gets done before you give the okay. No decision is made unless you sign off on it. You are the head shepherd, the bishop, the leader, and it’s your head that’ll roll when souls are lost. God has placed you in a position to win souls and to nourish His flock.
“Taking that girl out of the choir will be detrimental. Yes, Miranda has sinned, but so what? Just because she’s pregnant she can’t sing praises to God? How dumb is that? Miranda has admitted to falling down, and she admitted to making a mistake, but God forgives, Lance.”
“You don’t have to tell me that, Arykah.”
“Apparently I do. Do you really believe that God doesn’t want Miranda to sing to Him just because she’s pregnant? You think He wants her to stop worshipping and adoring Him because she’s pregnant? No, He doesn’t. If anything, the choir is exactly where Miranda needs to be. She needs to keep singing and praising and clapping and loving God. He forgave her of her sin, and He still loves her. Miranda is still His child. God hasn’t turned His back on her, so why are you trying to make her turn her back on Him? If you take that girl out of the choir and she leaves the church and gets into more trouble, that’s gonna be on you. You’ll have to answer for that. Now, you can mess around and let the mothers get you into trouble with God if you want to.”
Arykah turned toward her closet, then turned back around. “What about the boy that got Miranda pregnant? Doesn’t he sing in the young adult choir too? Was he told that he couldn’t sing ’til after his baby comes? Was he instructed to stand before the church and confess that he’d gotten a girl pregnant?”
“Mother Pansie didn’t mention anything about the boy.”
“That’s what I thought,” Arykah said. “So, it’s okay for Miranda to be yanked from the choir because her belly will grow and her sin will be exposed. But the young daddy can keep doing what he wants to do. You know that ain’t right, Lance. If you take Miranda out of the choir, then you take her baby’s daddy out of the choir as well. He doesn’t get a free pass. They both laid down and made a baby. Miranda didn’t do it by herself.” Arykah turned to walk away but stopped and turned around a second time.
“And shame on you, as a pastor and as a man of God, for letting Mother Pansie throw you under the bus. If Miranda’s soul gets lost, God will come after you, not Mother Pansie.” Arykah was finished with the conversation. She left Lance to his thoughts. She walked into the master bath and started the water in the shower.
Lance lay on the bed, on his back, looking up at the ceiling. He thought about everything Arykah said. Clearly she was hot and bothered. He wanted to try to talk more about Miranda’s situation with Arykah, but he knew she needed to cool off.
They showered separately, which was rare. Their shower stall was built for two, and Lance and Arykah looked forward to showering together every morning. Lance didn’t follow Arykah into the shower that morning, nor did she invite him in. In fact, they dressed for church in complete silence.
Lance was the first, as always, to be ready. When he saw Arykah hook the clasp to her diamond tennis bracelet around her wrist, he knew she was ready. “Are we driving the Benz, the Lex, or the Jag today?” he asked her.
“You go ahead and drive whatever you want. I’ll drive myself to church.”
Lance frowned. “Why?” Since they’d been married, they rode to church together.
Arykah looked into Lance’s eyes. “Because I said so.” She walked by him and left the bedroom.
Lance followed after her. “Arykah, that’s ridiculous. Why should we drive separate cars to the same church? What will folks think?”
Arykah stopped in her tracks and turned around. “Oh, now you’re worried about what folks will think when they look at you sideways? Well, how do you think Miranda feels?”
Arykah walked through the kitchen to the garage door and opened it. She grabbed the keys to the Lexus off the key rack, just inside the kitchen door, and pressed the alarm button on the remote. Silently, she got in the driver’s seat, shut the door, and pressed the button on the garage door opener above her head, on the sun visor. Then she started the Lexus and drove the car out of the garage and left Lance standing looking at her.
Lance was already seated in the pulpit when Arykah, Myrtle, and Monique walked down the center aisle to the front pew. That was the first time since they’d become man and wife that Lance and Arykah hadn’t walked into the sanctuary together on a Sunday morning.
When Lance knocked on Arykah’s office door at the church, then poked his head inside, he saw her sitting behind her desk. He announced that it was time for them to head downstairs to the sanctuary. Arykah told Lance that she wasn’t ready to go downstairs and he should go ahead without her. He looked at Monique and Myrtle sitting in the chairs opposite of Arykah’s desk. They wouldn’t give him any eye contact. He closed Arykah’s door and went down to the sanctuary alone.
Arykah purposely kept her focus away from the pulpit. Every Sunday, she and Lance flirted with each before he stood to preach his sermon. While praise and worship was going on, she would wink her eye at him or blow Lance a kiss, and he’d return the gesture with a wink and a smile. But right then, Arykah wasn’t giving Lance any eye contact whatsoever. He tried to send her a telepathic message by staring at her. Maybe she’d feel his gaze and look his way, but she ignored him completely.
After praise and worship ended, the young adult choir marched into the sanctuary and took their place in the choir stand. Arykah didn’t see Miranda, but she saw the young man who had fathered her baby. She had to restrain herself from going into the choir stand and pulling the young boy out by his ear. But Arykah knew that he wasn’t the problem. Her battle was with her husband, the pastor of the church. Arykah leaned over to Myrtle and whispered, “I am so mad. I should’ve stayed at home.”
Myrtle patted her arm. “It’s all right, Sugar Plum.” Arykah had shared with Monique and Myrtle the argument that she and Lance had that morning before church.
Both ladies understood her point and felt that Lance and Mother Pansie were wrong for sitting Miranda down from the choir. But Myrtle told Arykah that driving two separate cars to church didn’t help the situation. Fighting with Lance at home was one thing, but Myrtle warned Arykah that driving separate cars and ignoring her husband at church would send up flares. She advised Arykah to be careful to not alert the vultures at church that she and Lance were fighting because they would pounce on him like a cat on a ball of yarn.
Listening to the choir, Arykah couldn’t concentrate on what they were singing about.
She was so angry that she had begun to shake as if she had chills running through her body. The longer she sat there and watched the young boy who had gotten Miranda pregnant, the angrier she got.
She leaned into Myrtle again. “I’m going home. I can’t be here like this. My spirit is jacked up, and I ain’t gonna sit here and be fake.”
Myrtle pressed her index finger down on Arykah’s thigh to keep her seated. “That’s exactly what you’re gonna do,” she said sternly. “When you get back home, you can rip Lance’s head off, but right here and right now, you’re gonna pretend to be the happily married first lady that everyone thinks you are.”
Arykah got even angrier than she was five minutes ago. She sat straight up on the pew and pinched her lips together and looked forward, not gazing on anything in particular.
Lance saw the exchange between Myrtle and Arykah. He could tell by Arykah’s body language that whatever Myrtle whispered in her ear was obviously something Arykah didn’t want to hear.
His wife was upset, and Lance wondered what he could do to fix the situation.
Thinking back on everything Arykah had said that morning made him realize that she was absolutely right. Who was Mother Pansie to tell Miranda that she couldn’t sing in the choir just because she was pregnant? Lance remembered Arykah’s harsh words. If anything, the choir is exactly where Miranda needs to be. She needs to keep singing and praising and clapping and loving God. He forgave her of her sin, and He still loves her. Miranda is still His child. If you take that girl out of the choir and she leaves the church and gets into more trouble, that’s gonna be on you. You’ll have to answer for that.
Lance looked at the young boy who had fathered Miranda’s baby. He was singing and clapping and praising God. His life hadn’t changed. Was he told that he couldn’t sing ’til after his baby comes? Was he instructed to stand before the church and confess that he’d gotten a girl pregnant? So, it’s okay for Miranda to be yanked from the choir because her belly will grow and her sin will be exposed. But the young daddy can keep doing what he wants to do. You know that ain’t right, Lance. Grow some cashews and man up.
Lance scanned the congregation until he spotted Miranda sitting next to Gladys in the rear of the church. Without hesitation, he stood from his seat, left the pulpit, and walked to the back of the church. Minister Weeks was quickly on Lance’s heels.
It wasn’t uncommon for Lance to disrupt the service and walk out of the pulpit to lay holy hands on the people. It was Minister Week’s job to move whenever Lance moved.
When Lance got to the end of the pew that Miranda sat on, everyone watched as he called for her to come to him. Arykah saw Miranda stand and excuse herself as she passed folks and stood before her pastor. The young adult choir was still singing when Lance turned to look at Arykah. In his eyes, Arykah knew Lance needed her. She slowly stood and made her way down the center aisle to where he and Miranda stood.
With Arykah by his side, Lance placed both of his hands on top of Miranda’s head and began praying for her. Tears came to Arykah’s eyes. After his prayer, Lance held out his left hand for Minister Weeks to pour holy oil in his palm. Lance then blessed the oil and poured it from his palm to Arykah’s palm. He instructed Arykah to place her hands on Miranda’s belly.
With tears dripping down her face, Arykah did as she was told. As soon as she touched Miranda’s belly, Arykah felt the fifteen-week-old fetus move. Immediately the Holy Spirit overpowered Arykah, and she began speaking in an unknown tongue.
Gladys saw the power of God moving through Arykah. “Thank ya! Thank ya!” she shouted in her seat.
When Lance saw that Arykah had finished blessing Miranda, he hugged Arykah. “You had my back, baby,” he whispered in her ear.
Arykah returned Lance’s hug. “And I always will.”
Lance kissed Arykah’s cheek, and she walked back to the front pew and sat down.
Then Lance grabbed Miranda’s hand and escorted her into the soprano section in the choir stand. Afterward, he returned to his own seat in the pulpit. Arykah turned around and looked into Mother Pansie’s face and sent her a message with her eyes. You ain’t runnin’ nothing.
Mother Pansie glared at Arykah. She’d gotten Arykah’s silent message clearly.
Mother Pansie crossed her arms over her chest and averted her eyes somewhere else.
Arykah turned back around and saw Lance looking at her. She winked her eye at him and Lance returned the wink, then smiled.
My wife is happy again, he thought.
Myrtle leaned into Arykah. “See what you would’ve missed had you left?”
“Thanks for making me stay, Momma Cortland.” Arykah was pleased. Lance made her happy. She saw Miranda in the choir singing and praising God just as she should be. Arykah stood up and started clapping and singing along with the choir.
Mother Pansie sat behind Arykah wondering how she had gotten Lance to change his mind about Miranda. When she had spoken with Lance on the telephone the night before, he told Mother Pansie that she had his full support. Mother Pansie looked at Arykah’s blond wig, her skintight scarlet-red dress, and her hooker heels. That Jezebel seduced him.
Mother Pansie was anxious for morning service to be over so that she could get started on the next plan to get Arykah out of Freedom Temple. But Mother Pansie was on her own now. Mother Gussie told Mother Pansie that she was done fooling with their pastor’s wife. Arykah was constantly showing up in Mother Gussie’s dreams in a bad way. The day Arykah came to the church and confronted her about the suit jacket fiasco when she tried to make Arykah believe that Lance had cheated on her, Mother Gussie had wet her pants. It was then that she realized that Arykah meant business. Mother Gussie believed Arykah to be the craziest woman she’d ever met. So crazy that Mother Gussie absolutely refused to come to church for work or morning service.
Lance hadn’t spoken with Mother Gussie in weeks. He assumed she resigned from her position as the church secretary.
Sitting in church, angry, Mother Pansie knew she had been defeated again. Lance had stripped her of her position of counseling the women in the church and assigned Arykah to do it. Mother Pansie was overruled when she confronted Arykah about having Miranda stand in front of the church and confess her sin. And now Bishop Lance, himself, took the girl and put her back in the choir.
Three times Mother Pansie had been defeated, but she refused to give up. Having to look at Arykah’s big behind, in a wig and dress that only a floozy would wear, Mother Pansie decided that she didn’t need Mother Gussie on her team.
Mother Gussie was weak, but Mother Pansie refused to be intimidated by Arykah. The fat broad had to go, and Mother Pansie would see to it. Come hell or high water, Lady Elect Arykah would soon be gone. For Mother Pansie, it had become a personal matter.