16
Shante, Deandrea and Misha stepped off the elevator and were greeted by their escorts from the church. They walked through the hotel lobby into the convention center where a barrage of people ran to greet Shante. Her escorts surrounded them, making a path toward the vendor hall.
Deandrea’s cell phone beeped. She smiled as she said hello to her husband, excusing herself. She dipped past the escorts and disappeared into the crowd. Deandrea seemed happier now.
Although she had just eaten, Shante was still hungry when they arrived at the hall. There were people lined up in front of the table waiting for her. Shante estimated there were about a hundred people waiting. She planted a smile on her face and walked toward the people. The sound of applause rang out in the room as Shante walked past the group. She stopped briefly to speak to a couple of people and shook hands with a few. She finally made it to her seat behind a long table. At the right of her, she spotted another table selling copies of her books, CDs and DVDs. God, is this what my ministry has come to? I am a minister of the Gospel, not a celebrity.
The first lady in line was directed by one of the escorts to approach the table where Shante sat. She had three books in her hands. This began a marathon of signing books, taking pictures, and speaking briefly to her fans. Shante’s mind was jumbled as she listened to each one tell her how much they enjoyed her books. Did she write them for enjoyment or for their deliverance? Shante saw her books as a ministry. Yet, she realized, some people only read them for entertainment. Maybe Max was right. She should come off the road. It didn’t seem as if she was accomplishing anything.
“Pastor, I brought you something to eat and some juice,” Misha said as she set a plate filled with fruit and pastries on the table in front of Shante.
How did she know? Shante stared at Misha. She appreciated the help. If LaToya were here, she would probably do the same thing. But, Misha was different; it was almost as if she could read her mind.
Shante paused briefly to take a bite out of one of the pastries. She savored every morsel of the cream-filled flaky treat. One of the escorts approached her and whispered in her ear that there were a few more minutes before service started and they were cutting off the line for the book signing. There were so many people, she could not see the end of the line.
Deandrea walked up to the table with her lips curved in a sly smile. Apparently she and Jarrod were not arguing anymore. Shante welcomed the return of her old friend. Maybe now she could talk to her about her problems.
The large audience in the main convention hall erupted in applause and cheers as Shante walked onto the stage with Misha and Deandrea trailing behind. First Lady Edmunds, dressed so elegantly in her lavender designer suit and matching hat, stood to greet them and offered them a seat. Pastor Edmunds was on the stage addressing the audience.
“Aw yeah. I told you. She’s in the house. Give it up for Shante Patrick!” he announced to the audience, who was now standing on their feet. Shante waved to the crowd of people clapping and screaming.
Shante felt that too much was put on her as an individual. Did they know she had issues? She wondered how they would react if they knew she was forty-six and pregnant. Or how would they react if they knew her perfect life was so imperfect.
“I’m going to introduce to you the ladies with her this morning.” Pastor Edmunds looked at the paper he held in his hand. “We have Sister Misha Taylor. Y’all may not know her, but you do know her husband, a great Gospel singer and a powerful man of God, Bernard Taylor. Stand up, First Lady Taylor, so they can see you.”
The audience gave Misha little applause as she stood and waved to the crowd. Pastor Edmunds continued addressing the audience. “The next lady—my God, seems like I have known her for years. She’s the wife of my very best friend in college, my frat brother, my road dog, y’all know what I mean. Tomorrow night, she is going to minister to us in song. She’s a powerful woman of God. Y’all give it up for Copastor Deandrea Fuller, wife of my friend Pastor Jarrod Fuller, all the way from South Carolina.”
Deandrea stood and waved to the crowd like she was Miss America and sat back down.
“I didn’t know she was coming to the conference. When I found out she was here, my spirit leaped, and I told my wife we had to get her to sing for us. She’s a classically trained pianist and an anointed woman of God, and we are so blessed to have her here with us. Y’all, give these ladies a great big God Bless You. They have traveled near and far to be here with us today. Praise God.”
The audience applauded.
“How long is this man going to talk?” Deandrea whispered in Shante’s ear. Shante held back a laugh. She wanted the service to go forward too. She was delighted when he finally introduced the speaker.
Service proceeded quickly once Bishop began his sermon. Altar call was longer than his twenty-minute sermon. A throng of people jammed in front of the stage for prayer. Shante could feel the pain, sorrow and joy of the people at the altar. She felt connected with them. She wanted to run to the altar for prayer herself. Everyone expected her to be so anointed that she didn’t need prayer.
What would people think if they knew she felt her perfect life was unraveling? Max, the man of her dreams, was so angry with her he couldn’t talk to her. Her spirited sons had their own problems that were causing problems in her home, and what was she going to do with a baby? Shante shook away the thoughts and bowed her head in prayer.
“Pastor Patrick, I’m so delighted you could join us for lunch,” Pastor Edmunds greeted Shante as she approached him in the small conference room set up to look like a dining room at the hotel. He hugged her tightly and poured out compliments back to back. It was so unnecessary. She was still going to preach tomorrow, if it was the Lord’s will. Right now, the only thing she was interested in was the lunch menu.
Shante walked around the tables greeting the other ministers gathered there while Deandrea and Pastor Edmunds spoke to each other. She seemed to be enjoying the attention she was getting. Deandrea was in character, wearing her first-lady mask. She had that church talk down, and everyone around her seemed to be taking it all in.
“You know Jarrod talks about you all the time. It’s good to finally meet you. I’m looking forward to hearing you sing tomorrow,” Pastor Edmunds said.
“Thank you for inviting me to sing. I look forward to it. I’m glad I finally got to meet you too. Jarrod has told me a lot about you,” Deandrea said.
Misha stepped beside Deandrea. Pastor Edmunds reached to shake her hand. The moment their hands met, Misha saw his life flash before her eyes. She saw tension in his marriage. She saw a troubled ministry. She heard his heart cry to God for help. She could not release his hand.
Deandrea noticed Misha’s blank stare and the tight grip she held on Pastor Edmunds’s hand. She tapped Misha’s hand. “Misha . . . Misha?” Deandrea said trying to get her attention.
“Excuse me,” Misha said coming out of her trance. “I’m sorry. You reminded me of something.” She lowered her head in embarrassment and walked toward Shante who was observing the scene from the other side of the room. The wait staff announced the meal was being served. Everyone sat down to enjoy the lunch.
The three ladies returned to Shante’s room. Shante kicked off her shoes and headed for the minibar. The meal of dried chicken covered in garlic sauce did not appease her appetite. She was still hungry, and she knew exactly where she wanted to go.
“Hey, y’all, let’s go to Miss Tootsie’s,” she suggested to Deandrea and Misha. They had eaten very little of the dried up chicken and overcooked vegetables.
“Miss Tootsie’s? What’s that?” Misha asked.
“It’s a soul food restaurant. I’m still hungry. I could barely eat that food with all that garlic. Do you want to go? We can take Dee’s car.”
“That’s Jarrod’s car. I took it. I let him drive the station wagon for a change,” Deandrea said as she began undressing in her room. She slipped on her jeans.
Misha left the room to change her clothes. Shante walked into her room to do the same. She slipped on her jeans that were already tight at the waist. She held her breath and squeezed the jeans together, trying to get them to zip. It was not working. She gave up and dropped on her bed. Tears fell from her eyes.
“Hey, girl, what’s wrong?” Deandrea walked into the room. “Are you that hungry?”
Shante shook her head. “My jeans don’t fit.”
Deandrea laughed. “What about the clothes Misha got you? What did she buy?”
“I don’t know. I was so shocked, I didn’t look in the bag.”
Shante walked to the closet and pulled out the motherhood bag and looked inside. She pulled out a pair of maternity jeans and a casual soft pink maternity blouse. Shante looked in the bag again and pulled out a navy dress with a matching jacket.
She put on the jeans and blouse. It was a perfect fit. She was puzzled.
“Dee, these fit perfectly. How did she know what size I wore?”
“She’s got the gift. You saw the clothes she picked out for me. They were a perfect fit too.” Deandrea waved her hand. “Turn around. You look nice. She does have good taste.” She placed her hands on her hips. “You should let her pick out some more maternity clothes for you.”
Shante faced Deandrea. “What’s wrong now?” Deandrea asked her.
“Don’t you think there is something funny about Misha? I mean, she seems a little different.”
“She is different. Didn’t you see how she looked at Pastor Edmunds today? God showed her something. I’ve seen that look before. She had that same look Jarrod gets when he’s about to prophesy to someone.”
“You think she’s a prophet?”
“I think she has the gift.”
“But she didn’t say anything.”
“Maybe she wasn’t supposed to. I’ve learned a lot of things about the gift by watching Jarrod. God reveals a lot to him about people. He doesn’t always tell what’s revealed until God tells him to.” She thought for a minute. “Funny God didn’t reveal to him how upset I had been.”
“Maybe God wants the two of you to work this thing out on your own.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if it can be fixed,” Deandrea sighed and walked across the room. She looked sad again. “Look at you and Max. You guys have the perfect marriage. That man loves you so much, and he hasn’t taken away who you are. You have a successful ministry, and your writing career is great. You’re still Shante. Me, I’m only the copastor and that title has no weight. It only means I’m in charge when Jarrod is not there. When he’s there, I’m nobody.”
Shante laughed. “You think Max and I have the perfect marriage? It’s so far from it. He’s mad at me for coming here to do this conference. I had to tell him I was in New York to help Camille with her wedding plans. That was the only way I was able to do the book signing and interviews. We don’t have the perfect marriage. Nobody does. Everyone has disagreements.”
“Well, at least you still have your career, ministry and marriage. I have nothing, no career, no ministry and—”
“Don’t say it, Dee.” Shante had to stop her. She couldn’t allow her to speak death into her marriage. She couldn’t let her friend go through this alone. She was in the danger zone; a point where she could no longer shed a tear for her marriage. She prayed God moved in her marriage quickly.
There was a knock at the door. Shante opened it to see Misha standing in front of her wearing jeans, a camisole, a jacket and some of the highest heels Shante had ever seen. She would love to be able to wear those shoes, but her feet would not allow it.
“Misha, come in for a minute. There’s something I want to ask you,” Deandrea said to her. “I saw how you looked at Pastor Edmunds today. You have the gift, don’t you?”
“Gift? What gift?” Misha made a puzzling face.
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Jarrod has the gift too. What did the Lord show you about him?”
“Now, Dee, if you really believe I have the gift, then you would know better than to ask me what God showed me, right?”
Shante laughed. Misha was smarter than she looked. She was so cool with her answer. “She got you there, Dee. Are we going to stand here and talk, or are we going to get something to eat?”
Shante left the room and picked up her jacket lying on the bed. She stumbled. She felt lightheaded again. She eased onto the bed. After a few moments, she felt better. The room was no longer spinning. She stood and joined them in the front room.
“Let’s get out of here,” Shante said. She had to remind herself to take the vitamins and iron the doctor gave her or else she had no idea how she was going to make it through the next several months.