Chapter Four
Sunday morning at King David’s Christian Tabernacle
It was the first time William had laid eyes on April since last Sunday’s embarrassing incident with Sister Gordon. He had not even spoken to her. He spied her as she took a seat on the second row pew on the opposite side of the sanctuary, far away from where he and his family normally sat.
He attempted to call her on Monday while he was at his desk, but his call was answered by her voice mail. He left a generic message for her to give him a call when she had an opportunity. He tried again on Wednesday, and the same routine played itself out. On Friday when she had not returned either of his previous calls, he called her again. This time when the voice mail picked up, he was a little more specific in what he said.
“April, I would truly appreciate a return phone call. It is not like us to go this long without at least conversing. I know last week at church was awkward for you. It was for me as well. Please, baby. Call me so we can talk about it, preferably face-to-face.”
And still William heard nothing from his beautiful mistress. He was beginning to believe something terrible had happened. He had made up his mind to go to her home unannounced on Monday if he had not heard from her by today. He had even considered going Sunday evening, but he never saw April on Sundays. William always spent the holy day with his wife and child, choosing to at least not participate in his affair with April on the Lord’s Day.
But now that he had seen her face and knew she was all right, at least physically, he relaxed. However, no matter what, he was determined to go to her on Monday.
As April took her seat in the sanctuary, she could feel William staring at her from across the room without having to actually even see him looking. She was willing to bet her life savings that usher Gordon was looking as well. Sitting away from William and his family today served two purposes. She eliminated the chance usher Gordon would be in her face after service, and she could continue to make William squirm, wondering why she had not been in touch with him at all in the past seven days.
April had decided to put William’s loyalty and desire for her to the test. After last week’s humiliating episode, April no longer wanted to continue to play the part of William’s sneaky, albeit sexy, other woman. She resolved it was time to begin making moves to either be his one and only, or to begin getting him out of her heart for good. So she had purposely avoided William for the past week. She needed to know how not seeing her or even hearing from her for longer than ever before would affect him. April felt she had the upper hand after listening to the three voice mail messages he’d left for her this past week. The one she heard on Friday spoke of just the right amount of desperation she needed to hear. She understood it would not happen overnight, but from here on out, she would step up her game by having him make choices she never before demanded of him.
Aujanae sat next to William in the pew as he stared obviously across the room at the beautiful woman who usually sat near them. He appeared to be completely lost in his observation of her appearance in the sanctuary. It was as if everything and everyone, including her, was non-existent at that very moment. Aujanae began to believe that if she asked William where he was at that very moment, he would be completely unable to give her a rational answer.
“Billy!” Aujanae called to him in a loud whisper in hopes of breaking the trance the beautiful woman had on him. As she figured, he was so lost in his thoughts he did not even hear her initially. “Billy!” she repeated a bit louder. This time she got his attention as he jumped slightly at the sound of her voice.
“Yes, baby. What’s wrong? Why are you so loud in church? You startled me.”
Aujanae realized William knew he had been caught staring at April, but he was not ready to concede in his gawking, so instead he was going to try to make her believe something was wrong with her for being so aggressive in the sanctuary.
Aujanae really wanted to give her husband a not-so-pleasant piece of her mind right then and there, but she would not dare humiliate him or herself in that way. She remembered her vow to do all she could to keep her suspicions to herself and to keep things good between them.
“Honey, I’m sorry, but you seemed so far away. I just wanted to pull you back into the service and into the presence of God. Work, since I’m sure that’s what you were thinking about, can wait until tomorrow. This time belongs to the Lord.”
William nodded his head in concession to her suspicion about him thinking about work and apologized. “I’m sorry, Aujanae. I was consumed with thoughts of work. Forgive me. You are right. This time belongs to God.”
William righted himself in the pew and stared straight ahead. Aujanae looked away from the side of his face slowly, knowing he had just lied to her—and in church, no less. She began silently praying for the strength to not, at the very least, get up and walk out of the sanctuary so that she could release the tears that began building in her broken heart.
Maleeka began looking for Darrin the moment she and Tammy stepped into the sanctuary. The loud huff from her cousin let her know she saw her scoping the place for her man and that she was totally through with her. Maleeka did not know why she rode with Tammy to church today. The two of them had not spoken since last Sunday when Maleeka announced she was going to ask Darrin to move in with her. But it had been their tradition for the past couple of months. Maleeka’s car was having issues at that time, so Tammy agreed to pick her up for church. Even since the car had been repaired, the cousins continued to ride together, usually enjoying their time together.
Tammy had berated her for her decision on the entire ride to church. Maleeka took her verbal lashing with very little retort. Her mind was made up, and there was really no use in discussing it any further with someone who was not a party to her decision or her actions thereafter.
Maleeka spotted Darrin talking with his parents, Deacon and Deaconess Thomas and Shirley Osborne. “Tammy, I will talk to you after church. I’m going to sit with my fiancé and my future in-laws. Hopefully I will be catching a ride home with Darrin, but don’t leave until I let you know that for sure.” Maleeka kissed Tammy’s cheek and walked away before her cousin could give one of her famous sarcastic remarks about Darrin.
Maleeka approached Darrin from the rear, getting to him just before he sat down in the pew. She tapped him on his right shoulder while he faced left in conversation with his father. He turned, surprised to see her appear so suddenly.
“Hey there,” Darrin said as he grabbed her in an embrace.
“Hey yourself,” Maleeka responded while still in the hug. As Darrin released her she asked, “Do you mind if I sit here with you and your parents?”
Darrin replied with a shaky, “No.”
The two of them took a seat on the pew, Maleeka sitting very close to Darrin. She heard the unsteady answer, but ignored it. Darrin had been avoiding her all week. She was sure he was dodging her because he assumed she was going to pressure him about setting a wedding date. She decided to allow him to squirm for a few moments. It was no less than he deserved for playing silly games with her.
Just before praise and worship got underway, Maleeka leaned in and whispered in Darrin’s ear, “I would like to ride home from church with you this afternoon. There is something important we need to discuss. I know you have been avoiding me all week, but today I am not standing for it. And for your information, this is not about setting a date for our wedding, so there is no need for any further games or excuses.”
Maleeka then sat back in her seat and took Darrin’s hand in hers. She sang along with the praise team as they began their first song, not giving Darrin a chance to reply one way or the other. As far as she was concerned, the matter was settled. She and Darrin would talk about living together on the ride home from church.
Darrin knew he would run into Maleeka in church today, so he was prepared to have the dreaded conversation with her about their wedding date. Though he was still unsure of what he would say, he knew he could not continue to avoid her.
When she approached him, she startled him a bit, but instantly he realized how much he had missed seeing her this week. He grabbed her in a hug and reacquainted himself with her. When she returned his embrace wholeheartedly, he was again surprised. He was sure she would be a little stiff because she was upset with him for his avoidance tactics.
Once they were seated and she began whispering in his ear, he understood why she was so calm. She spoke with a determination that was unlike her, and he felt compelled not only to listen, but also to do as she said. He felt relief in hearing that she did not want to discuss a wedding date—but only a little. Something deep inside of him told him that whatever it was she wanted, he would not be pleased with it.