“I am not in the position to get hurt now that you love somebody else, because you were not mine in the first place.” Unknown
“Stiles, will you be coming home for Pastor’s doctor’s appointment next week?” Josie asked.
“Yes, ma’am. His appointment is Wednesday, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Ok, I’ll be there. How are you two doing?”
“We’re blessed and highly favored.”
“Good. Where’s Pastor?”
“He’s in the den asleep on the couch.
“He’s been taking his share of naps lately, huh?”
“Yes, he has. He used to say taking naps was for the lazy. All that’s changed. He takes at least one, sometimes two a day.”
“Listen, I’m praying for y'all. Call me if you need me.”
“Okay, I will.”
“I’ll see you soon. Love you, Josie.”
“I love you, too. Now go on and do what you need to be doing. Don’t worry about us. I’ll tell Pastor you called.”
“Thanks. Goodnight.” Stiles ended the call and his mind switched to his present situation between him and Kareena. “The story of my life,” Stiles whispered as he thought about Kareena and everything she’d said. How could she expect him to believe she was in love with him when she accepted River’s proposal? If she really loved him she would not have accepted another man’s marriage proposal. Stiles shook his head, pounded his fist on the desk, pushed back the chair and jumped up, causing the chair to topple over.
She wanted him to believe it was his fault. Yeah, maybe it was to a point, but she knew why he was the way he was. He had gone through some bad times, so had she, but not as bad as what he had experienced when it came to love and relationships.
Had he made the right decision? Placing his head in his hands, he pondered over what he’d done and what he hadn’t done. It wasn’t like he was moving out of Houston, giving up his church, or anything like that, but it sure felt like it.
He picked up the chair, set it back upright, and then sat back down. He reached for the phone lying on his desk, scrolled through the Contacts until he came to Khalil’s number. Dialing him, he listened as the call connected and the phone began ringing. No answer. He let it ring until it went to Khalil’s voicemail.
“Khalil, it’s Stiles, man. I’ve made my decision. I accept your offer. Call me when you get this message.”
Forty-five minutes later, Stiles heard his text notifier. He looked at his wrist and read the text message from Khalil.
Hey, hey, give it up for Holy Rock’s Assistant Pastor. Man, glad you accepted the position. I’m outta pocket right now, but let’s talk later this evening and go over your official start date, and see about getting you a spot to lay your head when you’re in Memphis.
Later that same evening, Stiles received a call from Khalil with Fancy on the other end, and surprisingly, Xavier was on the phone too. The three of them verbally extended him a round of congratulations.
“This is going to be cool, Stiles.”
“Yes, God is good,” Fancy added.
“Welcome back to Holy Rock,” Xavier said.
“When do you plan on hitting the M-town?” Khalil asked.
“I’ll be there in a couple weeks for Pastor’s follow-up appointment. We can arrange to meet while I’m there, if that’s cool.”
“Yeah, that’s straight. I’ll email you the contract. Look over the salary and benefits. “
“I hope you’re pleased with what we’re offering,” Fancy spoke up.
Stiles smiled. It was good hearing her voice. She’d gone through a lot, and for a minute he was concerned about her mental state. When it came to the love she had for Hezekiah, she was weak. Stiles often thought about a woman having that same kind of love for him, but that was one less thing he needed to think about.
“I’m sure I’ll be pleased, but I’ll look for the contract, read over it, and we’ll discuss it when I get there. Fancy, it’s good hearing your voice.”
“You, too, Stiles.” She was happy that he would be back at Holy Rock, even though it was part-time. The fact that he was returning was what was good about the whole thing—period. Who knew why God was allowing him to return. Maybe he would be the one to break through his brother’s impenetrable shell before there would be no turning back for Hezekiah. She quickly changed that pattern of thought. No one was beyond impenetrable, not for God. What was she thinking?
“Oh, Stiles, one more thing,” Khalil said.
“What’s that?” Stiles asked.
“Nothing major, just something Zay noticed. I remember you saying you were a couple years older than my father.”
“Yeah, I may have mentioned that.”
“Well, the three of us—me, Mom, and Zay were looking over your last contract.”
“Yeah, your birthdate stood out,” Xavier added.
“Why is that?” replied Stiles.
“Me and Zay were laughing about you being Dad’s big brother.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Actually, if Dad’s birthdate is correct, it would make him the oldest.”
Stiles frowned. “For real? I don’t think so. I thought I distinctly remembered my birth mother saying I was the oldest. Then again, I don’t know what to believe. Anyway, it doesn’t matter; I don’t have a relationship with him anyway and knowing your father, I’m sure he couldn’t care less whether I’m older, younger, or not his brother at all. He’ll never accept me either way.”
“Hezekiah has abandoned us all, not just you,” Fancy said. Stiles was sounding like he was a victim. He must have forgotten her family and what Hezekiah had put them through.
“I understand that. Believe me, I do. I’m just saying, with all I’m learning about my family, the more doubt I have about who I am, who my mother really is, and about my father. I don’t know what’s true, what happened, and what didn’t happen. Anyway, thanks for telling me. That brings up another subject.”
“Before you change the subject, I want to tell you, congratulations. We’ll be glad to have you back. Now, go ahead and tell us what you were about to say.”
“Thank you, Fancy.”
“If you’ll excuse me,” said Xavier, “I have to hang up. I have a videoconference in ten minutes.”
“Understood, talk to you later, Xavier.”
“Okay, Stiles.” Xavier left the call.
“Fancy and Khalil, I’m not going to hold you. I just wanted to ask if either of you’ve heard from Hezekiah.”
Xavier disconnected from his end of the call and left his brother and mother to answer Stiles’ probing questions.
Khalil answered the question. “Haven’t seen that busta since he and Mom’s divorce hearing. He thought he was gonna get away without saying anything to my mom, me, and my brother, but I had to confront him, tell him about himself. It didn’t make a difference to him, but it’s cool. Long as I got what I wanted to say off my chest. I can’t believe a man like him raised me.”
“Don’t harbor bitterness in your heart, son,” Stiles cautioned. “It keeps you from being all that God has called you to be, and you’re a man of God. You have to learn to forgive.” Stiles couldn’t believe he’d spoken those words to Khalil. Try practicing what you preach, said the voice inside his head.