This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it,” Curtis said out loud, even though no one was with him. This was one of his all-time favorite scriptures and after last night, he was hoping it would give him a certain sense of peace.
For the last hour, he’d been sitting in his study at the church, praying and reviewing the sermon he would be delivering this morning, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t seem to stay focused. He couldn’t stop thinking about the call from Tabitha and how he really wanted to see Curtina.
Curtis sighed, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes. Then he shook his head in disappointment. He was so sorry for all the problems he’d caused for so many people and sorry that year after year, he’d continued to disobey God’s Word repeatedly. He was sorry because God had certainly given him more chances than he’d deserved. Specifically, like the time he’d been ousted from his first Chicago church but had eventually found a second. Then there was the time he’d been kicked out of his second church, but had been blessed enough to found his very own right here in Mitchell.
Or even more was the way he’d hurt his first wife, Tanya, the mother of his firstborn child, yet she’d still found it in her heart to forgive him. Or how about when he’d totally misused his second wife, Mariah, but had still been blessed with his third and current wife, Charlotte.
And Lord knows, the most memorable chance God had given him was the time He’d been gracious enough to spare his life. The time his former mistress, Adrienne, had decided she couldn’t live without him and had walked into the sanctuary and shot him down from the pulpit. Just thinking about that entire incident sent chills rushing through his body and he regretted the day he’d begun messing around with her.
As a matter of fact, he was tired of regretting anything. He was tired of doing wrong, repenting, and then doing wrong again. His motto had always seemed to be, “It’s okay to sin as long as you remember to pray about it later—it’s okay as long as you ask God to forgive you.”
But deep down, Curtis had always known this wasn’t the way God wanted him or anyone else to live. Yes, it was true that God was a forgiving God but Curtis knew God didn’t mean for people to abuse His mercy. He knew this more than anything else, and he also knew he would have a lot of questions to answer on Judgment Day.
Just as Curtis opened his eyes and leaned forward, he heard a knock at his door.
“Come in.”
“If you have a few minutes, I need to speak with you about a couple of items,” Reverend Tolson said, entering the office.
“No problem. Have a seat.”
Reverend Tolson sat in one of the seats directly in front of Curtis’s mahogany desk but didn’t seem too happy. Reverend Tolson had been the interim pastor ever since Curtis had begun traveling around the country, doing book signings and speaking engagements, but now that Curtis was home on a regular basis, Curtis had been delivering the Sunday morning messages himself, at least two to three every month, and he wondered if Tolson was finding issue with it. Especially since Curtis had noticed that, as of late, Tolson had been somewhat short with him. At first, Curtis had thought maybe it was his imagination, but the more he thought about it, Tolson’s tone on last Sunday had sounded almost sarcastic and when Curtis had asked him to direct the morning’s praise and worship service, he’d seemed sort of rebellious.
“Just quickly before you begin,” Curtis said, “I have a couple of things to request of you. First, I need you to go visit and pray with two of our elderly, shut-in members. Here are their names and addresses, and if you could see them this afternoon or tomorrow that would be good. The other thing is that I need you to oversee this Wednesday’s Bible study session.”
“Again?” Tolson blurted out.
“Yes. Unless there’s some reason you can’t.”
“See, this is why I needed to talk to you. Ever since you came off the road, I’ve felt like nothing more than some lowly assistant and you and I both know that this isn’t what I signed up for.”
Curtis leaned back in his chair and locked his fingers together. There was a whole lot he already wanted to say but instead he said, “Go on.”
“My contract states that I’m supposed to be the interim pastor for at least another two years, so with all due respect, I think you need to step back and let me do my job.”
Curtis stared at Tolson and then wondered if the man knew who he was dealing with. It was true that Curtis had changed for the better and was trying to live in a more God-like way, but he would never be told what he should or shouldn’t do at his own church.
“I guess what I’m trying to say,” Tolson continued, “is that I’m not happy with the current arrangement and something needs to be done about it.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that because the bottom line is that I’m the senior pastor and founder of this church and that means my elder board and I decide who does what and when.”
“Maybe. But you just renewed my contract one year ago, and I don’t see how you can simply ignore it.”
“I’m not ignoring it. And that’s why you’re still being compensated what we promised.”
“Nonetheless, you’re not allowing me to do what I’m being paid for and I can’t continue like this.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then you know what to do.”
“Meaning?”
“Pack up and leave this church in the same amount of speed you rushed here in.”
“To be honest, Pastor, I would like nothing more. But only if you buy me out. Only if you pay me for the two years I have left in my contract plus an additional year’s worth of salary for my trouble.”
See, it was people like Tolson who made life so difficult, Curtis thought. It was people like him that made men like Curtis say and do things they didn’t want to. From the time this discussion had begun, Curtis had tried to keep an open mind and a friendly demeanor. But now Tolson was pushing too many buttons. He was acting too boldly, and it was time Curtis told him just the way things were going to be.
“You can either take the two years we owe you or nothing at all.”
Tolson smiled at Curtis. “Then I guess you’ve decided to take the high road. Which is too bad because now I want more than what I was originally asking for.”
“Man, you must be on crack or something if you think you can waltz in here, making all these outrageous demands. Now get out of my office before I put you out.”
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll do what I tell you.”
“No, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave while you’re still able,” Curtis said and stood up.
Tolson stood as well. “Fine. I’m leaving. But just for the record, I do have ammunition. I have more than you could possibly ever imagine, and I certainly won’t hesitate to use it if I have to. I’ll do whatever I need to in order to get what’s mine.”
“I’m only going to say this one last time. Get out.”
Tolson turned toward the door, opened it and then looked back at Curtis. “I’m not afraid of you or anyone else, Mr. World-Renowned Reverend Curtis Black, so if I were you, I’d consider myself warned.”
After Tolson practically slammed the door, Curtis called Elder Jamison on his two-way pager. Elder Jamison was his right-hand man and confidant and he wanted to fill him in on the Tolson state of affairs as soon as possible. They didn’t use two-way communication all the time, but always on Sunday mornings, just in case Curtis needed to locate him immediately.
“Where are you?” Curtis asked.
“Actually, I’m on my way up to your office right now. We have a situation.”
“I’ll see you in a minute.”
Now what? And as Curtis strolled back around his desk, he hoped it wasn’t Leroy again, out in the parking lot, flirting with all the women who stepped out of their vehicles, those that didn’t have a man riding with them. They’d had a problem with him a couple of weeks ago and now Curtis was almost sorry they’d fed and clothed him a few months back. Of course, the church was in the business of helping anyone in need, especially the homeless, but Leroy was turning into a nuisance. Curtis liked him, but sometimes he was a bit much to take.
“Pastor, man,” Elder Jamison said as soon as he entered. “There’s a woman named Tabitha standing inside the back entrance, saying that if you won’t see her, she and her baby are staying for service and then she’s going to tell the congregation some very interesting news.”
Curtis was floored. He couldn’t believe Tabitha would go to such extremes, and he was already praying that Charlotte wouldn’t find out about this.
“Pastor, are you listening to me?”
“Yes. I heard you. Bring her in.”
“Who is this woman?”
“Elder Jamison, it’s a long story.”
“Are you in some sort of trouble? Because if you are, we can call the police.”
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
“Well, then, I’m not leaving you alone with her.”
“I’ll be fine. Just go get her and bring her up the back way.”
Elder Jamison looked dumbfounded and Curtis knew he was going to have to tell him everything. This had always been one of his greatest fears, that Tabitha would show up at the church. He’d feared it because with every scandal he’d gotten himself caught up in, the church was where they’d all been exposed.
When Tabitha and the baby arrived, Curtis asked Elder Jamison to wait outside and Elder Jamison closed the door.
“Tabitha, why are you here? We just went over this last night and you know we have an agreement. You know you’re not supposed to come near me. You know you’re not supposed to go public with any information regarding our past relationship or the baby.”
“Well, Curtis,” she said looking as radiant and as confident as ever. “I hate to ruin your little plan, but I’ve changed my mind. The contract doesn’t stipulate anything about public places so the church is definitely not off limits to Curtina and me. We’re just as welcome as anyone else who attends here.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this. Not now. Not when I paid you all that money up front and then I’ve been sending you child support payments without fail.”
“But it’s not enough.”
“Why?”
“Because I want more.”
“How much more money could you possibly need?”
“I’m not talking about money. I’m talking about your time.”
“Charlotte will never stand for that and if you keep breaching our contract, she’ll have you in court with a lawsuit. Now do you really want that?”
Tabitha laughed louder than Reverend Tolson had. “Your wife can do whatever she wants, but you’d better make sure she knows I’m ready for anything she throws my way. I’m ready for any and every court battle she wants to take me through because my daughter deserves to see her father the same as Matthew and Alicia. My daughter deserves better than the circumstances she’s been forced into, and she deserves having not one, but both her parents in her life. And on a full-time basis.”
Curtis was more than troubled by what he was hearing but he couldn’t help noticing the gurgling sound coming from the baby carrier. He couldn’t help watching the kicking of Curtina’s tiny little feet even though they were covered with a blanket.
Tabitha must have sensed where his attention was now focused, because she quickly picked up Curtina and walked closer to where Curtis was standing. Curtis was amazed to see that she was even more beautiful in person than she was in her photo. Her eyes were so stunningly dark that if there were such a thing as black eyes, he would surely have to call them that. His daughter was a perfect little doll and when Tabitha placed her in his arms he never resisted. He was completely mesmerized by her being and tears slid down his face and onto Curtina’s.
He held her in total silence and wished he never had to let her go.
He wished he could see her every day for the rest of his life and prayed that Charlotte would accept her. He prayed that Charlotte would be more reasonable and understanding than she had been because at this very moment, he knew he could no longer neglect his child. He loved Charlotte and he wanted them to be happy but he could not and would not allow Curtina to grow up not knowing or spending time with him. It just wasn’t right and Charlotte would have to be okay with his decision.
Either that or he was prepared to deal with whatever issues he had to.