Faithful (15 page)

“It took us a long while to get moving today, and then we had to drive from Leesburg.” She hadn't noticed how thick his eyebrows were. “How long have you been here?”

“A couple of hours.” The cluster of pink and green moved past them en masse. “Looks like your crew is leaving.”

“Yeah, we have a dinner to go to, and most of them have been here for hours.”

“Don't let me hold you,” he said. “Just wanted to say hi.”

“Glad you did.” She let her gaze fall on the people around her.

Neither of them moved.

Rod shoved his hands in his jacket. “When are you headed back home?”

She chanced a look into his eyes. “Tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” he said. “Guess I'll say good-bye, then . . . unless you're going to the homecoming party tonight.”

Phyllis felt a surge. “Are you going?”

“Yeah. My buddy over there just talked me into it.”

The wheels started turning. Earlier the four women had discussed the party and vetoed it. They weren't into parties anymore, and no one was up for hanging out late and making the long drive home, especially Stacy. But at Jasper's, some of the others had talked of going. Maybe Phyllis could go with them. She turned to see where they all were. Natalie was waving for her to come on.

She turned to Rod. “I might be there.”

“Okay,” he said again. “And in case you don't make it . . .” He gave her the hug she'd wanted last night. “Glad I got to talk to you a little. It's nice to meet people from college days who are brothers and sisters in Christ now.”

Phyllis said good-bye and made her way to the car, trying to get a read on her heart and mind. There was something about him. She'd thought about Rod off and on all day, how refreshing it was to talk to him. She liked him, liked being around him, much as she liked being around other believers such as Cyd, Dana, Stacy, Gretta, and Natalie.

Was it wrong to enjoy the fellowship of a Christian brother?

Admittedly, her heart didn't dance around her female friends the way it did around him, but she could ignore that. She would only see him once more anyway.

She hoped.

P
HYLLIS'S PHONE VIBRATED
amid the hoots and cackles that had dominated their time at dinner. With all the memories and exaggerated stories flying across the table, she hadn't laughed this much in years. She flipped open her phone and her mood fell. Home.

“Excuse me a minute,” she told them. “It's my husband.” Phyllis answered as she walked to the lobby. “Hi, babe.”

She heard a giggle. “It's not Daddy. It's me, Mommy.”

“Hi, sweetie!” Sean's voice cheered her again instantly. “How's my honeydew?”

“Fine. Guess what, Mommy? We've had Reese all day today.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. At first we were just gonna walk her for Miss Cyd, but Daddy asked if we could bring her over here, and she let us. And guess what else?”

“What?”

“She's
paying
us to play with the puppy.”

Phyllis chuckled. She was sure Cyd was giving them way too much.

“I wanna talk to Mom,” she heard Drew say. Then, “Mom, guess what Daddy let me do?”

“Hi, pumpkin.”

“Hi, Mom. Now guess.”

“I'm afraid to, Drew.”

“He let me stay up and read
Lord of the Rings
until eleven o'clock.”

Phyllis gasped. “You're kidding.”

“He did! And he let me watch the movie today too—the extended version.”

Phyllis laughed. “I'm glad you're having a good time. Where's Ella?”

“Taking a nap.”

“This late?”

“Daddy said she's off schedule, but you'd get her back on when you come home.”

“Oh really?” That wouldn't be fun. “Where's Cole?”

“Joe's house.”

Phyllis took a breath. “Where's your dad?”

“Right here. Bye, Mommy.”

“Sounds like the kids are having a good time,” she said when Hayes took the phone. She hoped they could keep it light. “You were right about being able to handle things. I can't believe you even took on a puppy.”

“Me either.” Hayes laughed a little. “And of course they're asking for their own dog now.”

Good. He seemed to be in a decent mood. Phyllis went with it, a smile in her voice. “Of course . . . but Mom's not up for that one. Guess we'll borrow Cyd's every now and then.”

Silence hung between them a few seconds.

“Cole's still acting funny today. Didn't want to be around me much at all.”

The joy she'd been trying to hang on to was slipping away. Phyllis moved into a more secluded corner. “I think he'll get over it, Hayes. He has a good heart.”

“I've never seen him like this.” Hayes's voice took on an agitated tone. “He's upset because you told him I hate God.”

She leaned into the phone. “I didn't tell him that. He's old enough to draw his own conclusions. If you'd only agreed to take the kids to church . . .”

“Here we go,” Hayes huffed. “You know what, Phyllis? We'd be fine if you hadn't started going to that church. It's already come between you and me, and now it's coming between me and my son.”

Phyllis sighed. “Hayes, I'm in a restaurant, and I'm not going to argue with you. I'll talk to Cole when I get back. He'll be fine.”

“Well, I'm not so sure,” Hayes said. “But I'm tired of talking about it right now anyway.” He paused. “I'll see you when you get back.”

Phyllis tried to shake off the conversation as she walked back to the table. The women were divvying up the bill, talking about the homecoming party. She looked over Allison's shoulder to see what she owed and took out her wallet, listening.

“Maybe if I didn't live so far out,” Stacy was saying. “But I don't know . . . I'm just not into parties anymore.”

Gretta laid her money on the table. “I don't have a problem admitting it. I'm too old to stay up that late. Y'all had me up late at Jasper's last night, and I had to sleep till ten to recover.” She laughed. “I can't do that tomorrow. My flight's at 7:45 a.m.”

Daphne pouted. “But it won't be as much fun without all of us there, like the old days.”

Phyllis added her money to the pile. “So who's going?”

“All of us,” Daphne said, “except you four.”

Phyllis surveyed Daphne and the rest. “I'll join you all, if somebody'll give me a ride back to Stacy's afterward.”

“Way out there?” Daphne exclaimed. She lifted her eyes as if thinking about it, then smiled. “I guess we can arrange it.”

Natalie looked surprised. “What made you change your mind?”

Phyllis shrugged. “Might as well make the most of my time here.”

A
BOUT TEN THIRTY
, Phyllis and six of her sorority sisters walked into the closeout homecoming event on campus, and it really did feel like the old days. The theme was Old School, and the song playing— “Set It Off”—was the one that got everyone on the dance floor twenty years before. The place was packed, and with dim lighting it was hard to tell who was who. But their pink and green served as a magnet in the semi-dark, and right away they were in the thick of a good time.

Vic pulled Phyllis onto the floor, Randy grabbed Sonya, and the four of them mimicked one another with old dance moves from college, then pre-college when Vic and Randy broke out the Bump. That got everyone going in their corner of the floor, which moved the DJ to switch from the eighties to the seventies with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, which got
everyone
going.

After four songs Phyllis left the floor and stood on the side talking to a couple of friends. A few feet away she spotted Rod with the same guys he'd been with earlier.

The heart dance began. “I'll be right back,” she told her girlfriends.

He saw her coming and met her halfway. “You were having fun out there.”

Her eyes widened. “You saw me? Why didn't you come over?”

“You were having a good time with your friends. Didn't want to interrupt.”

His demeanor was easy, nonchalant, but his eyes were mesmerizing. Her gaze drifted to the dance floor for a moment to keep steady.

“So,” she said, locking eyes again, “I never got to hear about your mentor program.”

“Oh, I could talk about that all day. Those are my kids.” Rod told her about the program he and the PE teacher founded, pairing kids at the middle school with students from Morgan State University, also in Baltimore.

The PE teacher had recently graduated from Morgan and played football for the school, so he used his influence to get over a hundred students to sign up. Mentors had the permission of the principal to visit mentees at school, have lunch, and sit in on certain classes. Once a month they planned an outing for all of the mentors and mentees.

“Basically, we want to give these kids vision,” he said, “show them they can succeed in school and in life by making the right choices. And of course, I take every opportunity I can to shine the light of Jesus.”

Phyllis was floored. “You'll probably never know this side of heaven how much you've impacted those kids,” she said. “That sounds like a big-time commitment on your part.”

“It is, but it's worth it. Actually, it's good to keep busy.”

Phyllis nodded with understanding. “I'm sure your girls keep you busy too. How old are they?”

Rod smiled. “They're ten and eight, running the house.” He laughed. “They keep me going.”

“Do you think you'll ever marry again?” The question escaped before Phyllis could lasso it.

He looked away for a moment. “The whole thing is still so fresh that it's hard to even consider right now. I guess if I found the right person . . .” He looked at her again. “But there's so much superficiality out here. I know this sounds strange, but what's appealing to me is a love for the Lord. That's what drew me to Michelle.”

“Doesn't sound strange to me.”

Not at all
.

“So tell me about your family. You said you had kids.”

She nodded. “Four—twelve, ten, eight, and eighteen months.”

“Whoa.” He smiled with surprise. “You're a busy momma. And your husband, what does he do?”

“He works with investments.”

“Sounds like you've got a blessed life.”

Phyllis smiled faintly and watched the dance floor. Seconds later she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Daphne spoke into her ear. “I was wondering where you'd gone.

You gonna stay with Rod all night or hang out with us?”

Phyllis cringed inside. It figured that Daphne had been keeping tabs on them. She probably wished
she
could hang with Rod all night.

Rod touched her arm. “I'd better let you get back to your friends.”

Phyllis spent the rest of the night wondering if they would have a chance to say good-bye.

When the lights came on at one thirty, the crowd moved slowly toward the door. Phyllis knew exactly where Rod was, but with Daphne near—and probably watching—she let slide her opportunity to say good-bye.

The women had driven to the party in two cars and parked in the nearest lot. As they walked out, Phyllis noticed Rod walking ahead of them, alone, in the same direction. Turned out his car was a few spaces from theirs, and as the women were hugging one another, he called out, “Which one of you lives in Leesburg?”

The women showed confusion, so he came over. Looking at Phyllis, he said, “I thought you said you all had driven from Leesburg.”

“Oh, that was earlier,” Phyllis said. “Stacy lives there, but she didn't feel like going to the party, so she drove back after dinner.”

“So they're about to take you way out there?”

Daphne came closer. “Can you believe it? We won't get home till three thirty. We're such good friends, aren't we?”

He turned to Phyllis. “My parents live ten minutes from Leesburg, in Ashburn, and I'm headed there now so I can bring the kids back in the morning. It doesn't make sense for them to ride out there. I'll just take you.”

A reaction rippled through her instantly—surprise . . . and a tentative thrill. But she sobered quickly. How would it look if she got in the car with this man at one thirty in the morning? Then again, he was driving to Virginia anyway. Didn't it make sense for him to take her? And it wasn't just any man. They all knew him, and knew him to be a good person.

Daphne looked sick.

Ria yawned. “I don't see what there is to think about. I could be in my bed in fifteen minutes . . . or two hours. Let's see.” She made her hands a balance and weighed the two. “Let me get my hug, girl.”

They all exchanged another round of good-byes, and Rod led Phyllis to the passenger side of his SUV. “You know how to get to her house?” he asked.

Phyllis reached into her purse and gave him a piece of paper.

“Stacy wrote it down.”

He studied it, then backed out of the space and navigated his way off campus, then up Route 1 toward 495 North. They were both silent, and she thought she might need to stay that way for the length of the ride. And keep staring straight ahead. Being this close to him in a closed space was raising a commotion inside.

When they reached 495, he glanced over at her. “So how do you like St. Louis?”

She just decided—conversation was better. Her mind had been floating with the scent of his cologne, the way his arm held the steering wheel, the angle of his leg. This would keep her mind in one spot.

“I like it fine,” she said, casting a glance. She continued, facing forward. “The kids have good schools, and I love my church.”

“What church do you go to?”

“It's a nondenominational church called Living Word.”

He shot her a look. “Dr. Mason Lyles?”