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“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,” Deandrea’s son screamed as he escaped from his towel and ran butt naked down the hall to greet his father. Jarrod had just arrived home from his long trip preaching and hosting a Christian talk show. Her twins, R. J. and Andrea, always managed to hear him when the door opened. Holding her daughter in the crook of her arm, Deandrea chased R. J. down the hallway holding the bath towel in her other hand. They had not seen their father in a week, and they delighted in his presence. Her plans were shot. She wanted to get the children bathed and in bed before her husband, Jarrod, returned home. It didn’t work out this time. He arrived early. Now she was going to have to fight to get them into bed.
“Whoa, buddy. You got all your stuff hanging out,” Jarrod said to R. J. This was his son. He looked just like him, even at three years old. Deandrea set the squirming child down and watched as she ran to greet her open-armed father. He picked both of them up in his arms and lifted them in the air smiling the entire time. Although he was smiling, his eyes were puffy and looked weak. However, he managed to get enough strength to lift two screaming children in the air. He glanced at Deandrea, winked, and gave a slight smile. He was happy to be at home. Deandrea was glad he was at home. She missed him so much when he travels. That was his calling, to preach the Gospel. He had to do it.
“R. J., you need to get your pajamas on,” Deandrea said as she reached out and took his hand amid his loud protests. This child was just like his daddy, always wrecking her nerves. When they first met, Pastor Raymond Jarrod Fuller and Deandrea were archenemies. They could not stand being in the same room with each other. The seminary had sent Deandrea to his church to do an internship. It was an instant dislike, to say it mildly. They fought all the time. They even had an incident in his mother’s kitchen. His mother, Miss Essie, had a fit when she came into the kitchen and saw they had torn it up with a food fight. To this day, she didn’t let them eat at the small dining table in her kitchen, afraid they were going to get into another fight. She allowed the children to eat there but not the grown-ups. It always brought a smile to Deandrea’s face, thinking about how they met and how far they had come.
“R. J., go put on your pajamas, and I’ll come in your room and read you a story,” Jarrod said. Instantly, the toddler stopped his protest and obeyed his father. Jarrod did not need to raise his voice or say anything in anger for this child to snap into obedience and run toward his room.
Deandrea sighed. He was going to have to teach her how to do that one day. Jarrod turned his attention to his daughter who was still squeezing his leg, afraid to let go, afraid he would leave again. She was a daddy’s girl. She had his eyes, big and round, although not as tired as his, still deep brown and bright as the sun.
“How’s my little girl? I have something for you,” he said.
Deandrea turned and followed her son into his room to help him put on his pajamas. He always brought the children something back when he travels. If he had the time, he would bring back a toy. If not, he would pick up some candy in the airport or brought snacks from the plane. They loved it no matter what he gave them. Deandrea reached R. J.’s room in time to see that he had his Bob the Builder pajama shirt on backward. She sat on the bed and helped him put his pajamas on and watched as he ran out of the room toward his daddy.
Deandrea sat on the bed listening to the sounds of happy children and a tired husband who played in the hallway. She looked around the room of the house Jarrod purchased before they met. They were neighbors in the exclusive subdivision in the suburbs of Greenville, South Carolina, and had never met. When Deandrea found out that her enemy lived in her subdivision, in a house that was bigger than her own, she almost flipped. She would have never thought he could afford to live out there. He wore old outdated clothing with run-over shoes and drove this big goose of a car. He was nothing to look at or aspire to marry. He had a terrible attitude and a quick tongue. Combined with her quick tongue, it led to a lot of heated arguments, and they did not care who listened. Everybody kept telling them they were just alike. She did not see it, and neither did he. They almost hated each other and were willing to give up their dreams to get away from each other. What a difference a few days make.
“Hey, honey. I’m going to put the kids in bed.” Jarrod walked into the room holding the children’s hands while they sucked on the lollipops he’d purchased in the airport gift shop. The twins leaped onto the bed and leaned against him as he sat in the middle reading a book. He looked up at Deandrea and forced a smile.
Deandrea prayed for him as she walked down the hallway to their bedroom to wait for him to come in. She felt his tiredness in her spirit. She scheduled two weekends for him to spend with the family, one with the children and another with just her. She had to get him to relax. She prayed he agreed to take the break. If it was anything like the other times, he won’t. This didn’t stop her from trying, though.
Deandrea could set her clock to how this evening would go. It was the same routine as always. After Jarrod left the children, he was going to come into the room, kiss her and talk about his trip. Tonight, Deandrea didn’t want to hear about his trip. She saw him on television. She wanted to be with her husband. The world listened to him. Now, she wanted him to take a few minutes and listen to her.
Deandrea knew her life would change when they got married, but not like this. Some days she felt like a single parent. He traveled so much with his ministry, and she was left to take care of the kids, house and church. This was not what she gave up her successful psychological practice for. She was a board-certified clinical psychologist. She had her own practice and people working for her. She was very successful, even when she decided to go back to school and get another doctorate degree in theology. Her life was so together . . . until she met Jarrod and the bottom fell out.
In seminary, her college advisor, Professor Adabu, assigned her to do an internship at Star of David Baptist Church in a little town she never heard of called Snowhill, South Carolina. She thought he was crazy to assign her to a church so far from home. Deandrea waltzed into town with her arrogant and self-righteous ways and walked into Jarrod’s office with an attitude that she was better than those country people. He picked up on it immediately. The first day they met was the same day they had their first argument. Even though it seemed like a negative memory, she smiled as she thought about how both of them have changed since that day, even physically.
He got LASIK eye surgery and no longer had to wear glasses. Deandrea, well, she had a little snoring problem that she took care of. They both had gained weight. When they met, Jarrod made all of the ministers in his church run six miles three or four times a week. As their friendship grew, they would run together on other days. Now, both of them were so busy they hardly had time to run or talk anymore. She missed those days.
“Both the kids are asleep. I put Drea in her bed. How are things at the church?” Jarrod asked as he pulled his necktie loose. He leaned into Deandrea and kissed her so lightly on the lips she hardly felt it.
What about me, Jarrod? Deandrea could not pretend she was happy. He asked about the church first. He didn’t ask how she was doing or how everything went when he was away. He only cared about the church. She sat silently on the bed listening to him talk about all the things he had to do at the church.
Deandrea sighed and took his tie and jacket from the back of the flowered chair and walked into the large closet to hang them up. She never wanted to be a pastor. It was something Jarrod had suggested. He wanted the church to be in the hands of someone he trusted while he was away. He never asked her how she felt about it. He approached her saying the Lord told him to make her copastor. News flash, He did not tell me. She did it anyway. She was already an ordained elder in her church before she met him. She thought she would only have to preach a couple of sermons while he was away. Little did she know the responsibility of the position and that he would be gone all the time.
When they first met, Star of David was a small country church with a big membership. Now, years later, people were calling it a megachurch. They built a new, larger sanctuary and church growth had been outrageous with people driving from three states to get there every Sunday. Now the three thousand-seat sanctuary that they thought was too big at the time was so small. They had two services on Sunday morning, and Jarrod was considering adding a third. Deandrea didn’t want her husband to work himself to death in the church. She wanted him around a long time. She wanted him to see their children grow up and their children too. But he was working too hard. Sometimes she wondered why.
“Hey, baby, I missed you. Come take a shower with me,” Jarrod said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the back of her neck. As usual, his touch always made her forget, for a brief moment, her negative thoughts and gave her hope that everything would be fine. She turned to kiss him to let him know she was glad he was home.
“Come on,” he whispered. Jarrod slid his hands down her arms and intertwined his fingers in hers. She followed him into the bathroom. He pulled the oversized tee shirt over her head, his eyes never leaving hers. It had been a long time since Deandrea had seen that look—one of wanting. Her husband was home, and he wanted to make love to her.
He reached down and turned knobs on the shower making the temperature exactly as Deandrea liked it. The warm spray heightened her mood as Jarrod moved closer to her. Deandrea ignored the familiar chime of his cell phone ringing. She reached out and took his arm as he looked in the direction of the phone sitting on the vanity.
“I’ve got to get that call,” he spoke.
She thought, Please, Jarrod, don’t leave the shower. That phone call can wait.
Her unspoken thoughts didn’t keep him from answering the phone anymore than had she spoken the words out loud.
Deandrea slowly slid her wet body down the side of the shower and sat on the tiled floor wishing the spray of the water could drown how she was feeling.
She didn’t have to know who was on the phone. It was his calling. But who took a phone to the shower? Did he really have to answer that call? It could have waited. She should have been the most important person at that time. Apparently, to her, something was more important.
She pushed open the shower door and wrapped herself in the soft towel hanging on the wall. She heard him talking about church business. Some days, Deandrea just wanted the church to leave them alone—let them be married sometime. It was taking a toll on their marriage. Jarrod was exhausted. She was exhausted and frustrated. He had just returned from a long trip. Couldn’t they just let them have tonight?
Deandrea wiped the droplets of water from her body and reached for her silk gown. She slipped it over her head and drew back the covers on the bed. She eyed Jarrod sitting on the edge of the bed continuing his conversation. He hadn’t acknowledged her entry into the room nor the sexy gown she had purchased for his return. She sighed. The same as always, and she slid under the comforter and pulled it over her head.
“I’m sorry. I forgot to turn it off. It’s off now. Where were we?” Jarrod said as he crawled under the covers on their king-sized bed like he had not been on the phone for over an hour. Deandrea peered into his large brown eyes and could see his exhaustion. He snuggled into her and kissed her shoulder lightly. It was not the same, not like earlier. He didn’t have the energy now. Deandrea knew the routine. It would only be a matter of minutes, seconds even, and he would drift off to sleep and she would be wide awake, trying to force herself to go to sleep.
When they first married, they could hardly keep their hands off each other. Sneaking around, searching for a place to make love was like a game to them. Now, as Deandrea gazed at his sleeping body beside her, she wondered if they would ever make love again . . . and not just because of his exhaustion.
Jarrod had a mistress, and she knew it. She had known it a long time, and her name was ministry. The sad part about the whole thing was that when he went off with his mistress, he left her to take care of the child he left behind at Star of David. Was she a fool to take care of this child? Her husband trusted her, and she trusted him. She was the only one he could trust with the child he had nurtured so many years.
Deandrea wanted to do the best work she could for him. But it was a long drive to Snowhill from their home, about two hours. She had been praying about that drive every day since Professor Adabu sent her down there the first time. The drive did not seem as long, but it was harder since she had two active children with her now. The light in the entire matter was that she could leave them at the plantation with Miss Essie, and she allowed them to run around until they passed out when they got in the car. She also fed them well, and Deandrea did not have to worry about cooking. Without her help, Deandrea did not know how she would do it without Jarrod there.
“I love you,” Jarrod whispered.
Who is he talking to? His eyes were closed. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around Deandrea and pulled her close. She didn’t feel loved. This was the longest conversation they had in weeks. They used to talk all the time. There were times when she wanted him to be silent. He was so funny, so animated. She laughed until her side hurt. He still talked, but not to her. It was all about his mistress. It was never about Deandrea or their relationship and how she felt or any of the silly stories unless it was about his mistress. His mistress, his mistress, his mistress . . . That was all Deandrea heard. There were times when she did not like his mistress and what she was doing to him. She had taken away his joy and the brightness of his eyes. Deandrea feared his mistress was killing him.
Deandrea placed her hands on his back and prayed for his strength, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. She had to cover him with prayer. His mistress led him into all types of dangers and temptation each and every day. He had to know that of all the people he encounters every day, he can be assured that one person was keeping him covered in prayer.
“God, cover my husband and keep him safe from all danger. Keep him healthy and give him wisdom. Help him to resist temptation,” she prayed. She asked God to help him resist temptation every day. She would be a fool not to think that temptation did not come his way.
Deandrea rolled away from her sleeping husband and asked God to teach her how to minister to him as his wife, his children’s mother and the copastor of his church.