It had been two months since that dreadful first Sunday in May, and Curtis was elated to be going home in a few days. He would have gone much sooner, but there had been major and unexpected complications. Internal bleeding, elevated blood pressure, and, worst of all, cardiac arrest. He couldn’t remember ever suffering so intensely or feeling so much pain. But now his doctors were saying his prognosis seemed promising and that he should eventually start feeling normal again. His recovery period would still take a few more weeks, but he was thankful just to be alive. Although, emotionally, he felt like his life had been turned upside down and tossed around in circles, and he still had no understanding of why Adrienne had decided things were so bad she had to shoot him. Worse, he couldn’t fathom why she’d killed herself.
He’d known she was in love with him, but never in his wildest imagination would he have anticipated her showing up at church with a gun in her purse. Except the more he looked back on it, the more he realized he actually should have suspected something. Specifically, that night she’d rung his doorbell and announced she’d been pretending she was still married. Before that, he hadn’t noticed anything strange about her and never suspected she had mental problems, but now it was clear that she did. Curtis wished she’d chosen another route to take, though, something other than committing suicide, because now he worried about her soul. He wondered how a person could ask for forgiveness once they’d taken their last breath. Yet, on the other hand, there was the theory, once saved, always saved—by the grace of God. So who was he to judge anyone, especially since it was finally time for him to admit that he’d become the same sinful, conniving, manipulative person he used to be when he was married to Tanya. He hadn’t wanted to mess around on Mariah, but his desire for a certain type of satisfaction had gotten the best of him. He just wasn’t strong enough to fight the temptation. He’d told his congregation how they needed to do that very thing, but he wasn’t capable of it himself. So now he had to ask God again why He’d ever called him to preach. Because no matter how many women he slept with, he couldn’t deny that he truly had been called. He still remembered what it felt like, and how he’d even tried to ignore it. And the fact that God had given him another well-known church confirmed he was destined to be a minister. He was supposed to preach God’s Word to as many people as possible.
But Curtis also had other concerns he was desperately trying to deal with. Mariah was preparing to divorce him, and the members of Truth had kicked him out. So once again he was losing a wife and a prominent church. Now he was glad he’d negotiated a few clauses into his contract that would protect him. Truth would have to continue paying his weekly salary and housing allowance for an additional three months. But after that, he didn’t know what he was going to do, because it would take a lot more than that to maintain his current lifestyle.
Still, the money was the least of his problems, because he still had two children to worry about. Alicia had come to the hospital every single day, and the two of them had spent hours trying to mend their relationship. But more importantly, he was happy to learn that she wasn’t pregnant by that hoodlum. He was even happier when the state’s attorney told them two other girls had come forward. Because with three charges of rape and another for possession with intent to deliver, Julian wouldn’t be leaving prison for a very long time. Although Curtis still couldn’t wait for the trial to start and be over with, because he knew it would be draining for Alicia. It would be difficult having to relive that horrifying incident, but Curtis would be there with her until the end. She’d have both her parents by her side the way she wanted.
He and Tanya had always had their differences, but not while he’d been in the hospital. She’d even come to see him the day he was shot and then a couple of times after, and she’d been very cordial to him. He knew she was in love with James, but she would always have a special place in his heart. He’d always hold a special place for his first love, his first wife, the mother of his first child. It was another truth he could no longer deny.
Then there was Charlotte, who was just walking in. She, of course, hadn’t been happy about the whole Adrienne situation, but was still planning to marry him. Which meant he would finally be a full-time father to his son. He’d also decided that, from here on out, his children were going to be his priority. He didn’t know what the future held for him in general, but what he did know was that nothing would ever come before Matthew and Alicia. No massive churches, no beautiful women, no anything.
“So how are you today?” Charlotte said, kissing him on the lips.
“Feeling stronger every day,” he said, trying to reposition himself in bed. “And you?”
“I’m good.”
“Matthew?”
“He’s fine, too. Begging to come see you, of course.”
“You are bringing him by after you pick him up from day camp, right?”
“He’ll never let me rest if I don’t.”
They both laughed.
“Come here,” Curtis said in a serious tone.
Charlotte lowered the side rail and stepped closer.
“I just want you to know how much I appreciate you being here. Because I know it’s been difficult.”
“Well, let’s hope the difficult times are behind us. But there is something I need to make clear.”
Charlotte sat down on the bed, facing Curtis.
“This sounds serious.”
“Actually, it is. I’ve been wanting to talk to you ever since the shooting, but I figured it was best to wait until you were better.”
“You haven’t changed your mind about marrying me, have you?”
“No, but in terms of our relationship, I think it’s important for us to be on the same page.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.” Her change in demeanor confused Curtis.
“Well, first I need you to understand that I won’t be as tolerant as Tanya and Mariah were. I won’t allow extramarital affairs. Not of any kind.”
“I don’t expect you to.”
“Because if I ever find out you’re sleeping around, you won’t ever see Matthew or me again.”
“We’ve discussed this before, and I promise you won’t have to worry about that. This thing with Adrienne has made me totally rethink who I am and who I’m supposed to be. I’ve spent every day in this hospital begging God to forgive me. I know I was wrong on every count, and that I’ve hurt too many innocent people. So from this day forward, I’m going to live my life a lot differently. I’m going to live it the way God expects me to.”
“I hope you mean that, Curtis, because it’s the only way we can be happy. It’s also the only way my father is going to forget about those charges.”
Now Curtis knew for sure that he was a changed man. In the past, he never would have allowed anyone to threaten him, and he would have told both Charlotte and her father where they could go. He was proud of his newfound decency.
“Baby, I don’t know how many more times I can say this, but I won’t be unfaithful to you,” he said. “I won’t disappoint you or Matthew.”
“I’m glad.”
“Good.”
“I’m also concerned about your financial situation.”
“I realize that, and once I’m back on my feet, I’ll do whatever I have to to take care of you.”
“But before that Adrienne incident, you were going to give Matthew and me the best of everything.”
“I still will. It might take me a few months, but I’ll still make it happen.”
All of these demands and high expectations were starting to irritate Curtis. But he was trying to give his future wife the benefit of the doubt. He was trying to understand how she felt.
“So does that mean you’ve been thinking about staying in the ministry?”
“Definitely. But the other day it occurred to me that I’ll have to do things a little different this time.”
“How is that?”
“You and I could start our own church. Start it from the ground up. That way, we can appoint the people we want on the board. It wouldn’t be a deacon board, though. Possibly some kind of governing committee. But regardless of what it is, you and I would also sit on it. Because if we’re the founders of the church and we’re also sitting on the board, we’ll still have control of everything.”
“You’ve really thought this out, haven’t you?”
“Not completely, but I do have a general idea of how this would work.”
“Where would the funding come from?”
“The bank. Donations from potential members. Fundraising.”
“And where would you want to do this? In the city? One of the suburbs?”
“No, and this is the part you might not like. To be honest, I’m not thrilled because I don’t want to leave Alicia.”
“Are you talking about moving?”
“Yes, because I think it would be much better if we made a fresh start in a smaller city.”
“Like where?”
“Six years ago I did this revival in a city called Mitchell. It’s northwest of here and has no more than a hundred fifty thousand residents.”
“You’re kidding? My Aunt Emma lives there. But I haven’t spoken to her in a while.”
“Does she like it?”
“As far as I know.”
“Well, maybe you could give her a call.”
“If you’re serious about moving, I will.”
“I’d at least like to consider it. But the question is, will you be okay with leaving Chicago?”
“It’ll be hard, because my parents are so close to Matthew. But if you think we can have a better life somewhere else, then I’m fine with your decision.”
“I do think a smaller community is best, and I’m sure the cost of living will be much lower than it is here. I won’t be earning as much as I did at Truth, but as our congregation grows, everything will eventually fall into place. My plan is to create programs that the city has never seen before. Day care, drug addiction, Christian competitive sports, libraries. And all of it will be started by us. Then, slowing but surely, I want our services to become nationally televised. You see it all the time with churches in major cities, but I’m planning to make it happen in Mitchell. My vision is so great, and this time I’m going to do everything that God wants me to do.”
Charlotte smiled. “Then sweetheart all I have is one question.”
“What’s that?”
“When do we get started?”