Preacher's Wifey (14 page)

“Those are some strong words to say, Nana.”

“I mean it. But one thing about it and two things for sure, you can't slick a can of oil. I got my eyes on her.”

The elevator door opened, and Seth emerged. He was wearing white linen pants and a Morehouse T-shirt. Even dressed down from his usual slacks and button-down shirts, he looked good. He embodied sexy.

“Ladies, what have we here? Have you all been gossiping about something or somebody? No, let me rephrase that. Who and or what have you been gossiping about?”

“Son, who said we were gossiping?”

“Nana, I don't know Allyson as well as I know you, but I do know that look you get on your face when you have been gossiping.”

“Look? What look are you talking about?” Ms. Todd said, feigning innocence.

Pointing to her, he answered, “That sneaky look right there. Now spill it. What y'all in here chatting about?”

This playful moment that danced between us seemed perfect. It was as if we did it all of the time.

“I don't know what you're talking about. Allyson, do you know what Seth is speaking of?”

I shrugged. “Nana, I have the slightest idea what Seth is speaking of.”

“Oh, so y'all gonna leave me out of the loop? Okay, I see.”

“Dinner is served,” Melanie announced. “Seth, honey, I did not know you had come down. I took care of everything you wanted me to take care of per Allyson. I would still like to double-check with you on your instructions for me just in case she might have forgotten something.”

“I am certain Allyson did not forget anything,” Seth replied. “I can almost assure you she did not.”

Melanie was taken aback. “How can you be so sure?” she asked through a sarcastic chuckle.

“Melanie, not now, okay? I have had one hell of a day, and the last thing I need is you questioning me. Please, if you want to help me, just do as I ask without question.”

She walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You are right, dear. I am totally out of place, not to mention I am being insensitive. Please accept my apology.”

He moved away from her touch. “No problem.” He turned to Ms. Todd and me. “Are you gossiping ladies ready to eat?”

“I thought you were not hungry,” I said jokingly.

“I really am not, but you did a good job of convincing me that I need to eat,” he replied.

Melanie started to pretend she was choking.

“Do you need some water, Mel?” I asked. I knew she was livid, but she was just so much fun to play with.

She glared at me. “It's Melanie, and no, I will be fine.”

“Seth, baby, before we eat, I just want to say a couple of things,” Ms. Todd said as she got up from the couch. “I am so glad we serve a God who is merciful, who is kind, and who is quick to step in and rescue us from the hand of the devil. You could have been dead and sleeping in your grave, but God made death get back and behave. For that reason, I believe we owe God praise. For through danger seen and unseen, He protected each and every one of us. You were raised in the church, and you have been raised to know God, and, Seth, this is a time for you to get back in right standing with Him, because if He never does another single thing for you, He has already done enough this day. You might have lost your business, but that's all right. There is something else better waiting for you.”

“Amen,” Melanie chimed in. “I totally agree with Mama Todd.”

“Nana, you are absolutely correct. The Lord has been dealing with me recently about getting back to where I used to be when I would pray and live a life pleasing to him. Allyson can tell you I was already thinking of leaving the clinic, anyway.”

“Really?” Melanie asked. “You never shared that.”

“I shared it only with Allyson. But, yeah, I had been considering going into mentoring or going back to being a surgeon.”

Melanie frowned. “Surgeon? That would keep you away from Carson Land even more hours than the clinic did. We would never see you.”

Everybody looked at Melanie. Why did she always feel she had to take over a conversation?

“Melanie, this is a decision I have to make on my own. Anyway, like I was saying . . . Nana, I want you to know that I appreciate your prayers. I would not have made it through my life without you keeping me before the Lord. Even when I went astray and was living the life I wanted to live, you never gave up on my spirit.” He walked over to her, and I saw a strong, masculine man transform into a little boy as he laid his head on her shoulder and let the tears fall.

I stood there in amazement. Although I was married to a pastor, I had never known Byran to be as transparent as Seth was tonight. Byran always seemed to have it all together. In all the time I had known Byran, I could not recall one single conversation where we talked about the Lord and living right. I could not recall ever praying with him or sharing my spiritual convictions. Matter of fact, I did not know if I was even spiritual. I mean, I did what I had to do for my role, but outside of church, I never really thought about God and how He wanted me to live. Once again, Seth had opened my eyes to something else.

“I will never give up on you, because the Lord has never given up on me. There is enough grace to cover all of us, and grace will lead us back home to our rightful place,” Ms. Todd said. “We have to trust that God has a master plan for our lives, and even when we do not understand what His plan is or how His plan will work out, we have to believe that He has it all under control.”

I did not realize I was crying until I felt the tears begin to cascade slowly down my face and plunge into the crease of my cleavage. I wanted what Ms. Todd had. There was such power in her words. I wanted that kind of conviction. Up until now I had just lived. I had never really thought about God's master plan for my life. My mother had taught me to live a good life, to treat people right, and I would be happy. However, I was beginning to realize that something was still missing. Somehow what I knew as living the good life was not enough anymore. There was still a void. A huge one.

“You are right, Nana,” Seth said, lifting his head and wiping the residue of his tears away. “I do not know a lot of things, but I do know that Jesus saved my life today. I do know that He has a way of getting your attention. And I do know that He must love me. I will never understand why He spared me and not the girls at the office.” He broke down in tears again.

We all stood paralyzed in the moment and allowed Seth to release his pain. He continued to cry for several minutes. All thoughts of dinner had evaporated, and we each went and embraced him. There was such a spirit of love in the room.

It was a love unlike any I had ever felt before.

“I'm going to miss you when you leave tomorrow morning,” Seth said as we sat in a love seat on the balcony outside of his bedroom. “Having you near me for the last day or so has spoiled me. I feel like this is the way it should be all of the time.”

Truth be told, I felt the same way. One day with him seemed like a thousand years.

“I am going to miss you too,” I said simply. Since the encounter we had before dinner, I had been a woman of few words. I could not wait to get home to do some soul-searching. I had experienced something I never knew existed. For the first time in my life, I wanted a real relationship with God.

“I hope you do not become a stranger after you leave. I know you are married, and I have to respect that. Speaking of which, please forgive me for any way I have behaved that was disrespectful to you as a married woman. The kissing, the touching . . . I am sorry.”

“There is no need to apologize. You have not done anything I have not allowed you to do.”

“I know, but I am the man. I am supposed to set the standard and the example for any relationship you and I have. But the moment I laid eyes on you, my heart felt weak. I knew I would not be satisfied until I had you. Or at least tried to.”

I smiled as I remembered Ms. Todd's words from earlier. She had said almost those same words.

“How do you know you want me, Seth? You barely know anything about me.”

“A man knows, Allyson. What I see in you is a pure heart that has been tainted somehow. I don't know how you got yourself in the situation you are in, but I would be willing to bet that right now, in this very moment, if you could turn back the hands of time, you would. You are more than what you give yourself credit for. So you should not be asking how I know I want you. You should be perpetually rehearsing in your mind all the wonderful reasons any man would.”

Was this guy some type of angel? Truly, he was too good to be true. No man had ever challenged me to think of myself in such a way. Most men were attracted to my outward beauty, and in turn I was attracted to their status. If they had money, they had me. But now I was inclined to believe that none of that truly mattered if you had love—and God.

“You are right. I should.”

“If you decide to never see me again, I want you to remember you are worth more than any amount of money that any man could ever give you. You are worth more than rubies or any other precious stone. You are worth more than a black card, red bottoms, or any designer shoe or dress. You are worth more than a quick lay. You are beautiful. You are wondrously made. I want you to believe that and know that. I want you to keep saying that until it becomes a part of you. Do you hear what I am saying to you?”

“Yes,” I said through tears.

He moved over closer to me and used his thumb to wipe my tears as they fell.

“You are too pretty to cry. You are too special to hurt.”

I leaned my head into his chest and cried like a baby. A part of me felt really bad for crying, because this night should have been about him, but his words were an emotional sedative. They soothed me.

“Thank you,” I finally managed to get out.

He lifted my chin and stared into my eyes. “Tell me . . . what are you dreams?”

“I don't really have any. I thought the sum of life was not struggling financially, making sure my mother was not struggling, shopping, enjoying friends, and supporting whatever dream or goal my husband had.”

He shook his head in disagreement. “Nothing about what you said is a dream.” He leaned into the arm of the love seat and pulled me back against him. “You told me that once you wanted to be a nurse. Why have you not pursued that?”

“What is the salary of a nurse?”

“It varies depending on what type of nurse you become.”

“I can guarantee you that whatever the salary is, it is not enough to support the lifestyle I have and am accustomed to having.”

“That may be true. But you cannot put a price tag on a dream. A dream is worth going after even if it pays nothing.”

“No one can survive off of a dream.”

“I beg to differ. I survive off mine every single day. Carson Land was a childhood dream. I grew up in the country and decided I wanted to die in the country. People thought I was crazy building Carson Land back out here in the middle of nowhere. They said people would not come all the way out here to do business with me. They said I would never make enough money to maintain this place. They said all sorts of things. And I have consistently proved them wrong. This property makes money while I sleep. If I never worked another day of my life in the medical field, I could still maintain my lifestyle.”

“So why do you work in the medical field if you don't have to?”

“Because it is not about what I have to do. I love what I do. Becoming a doctor was something else I dreamt of as a child. Truthfully, if I had died today, I would have died almost empty. I have done pretty much everything I ever wanted to do. I have accomplished most of what I wanted to accomplish.”

“What's left?”

“Finding a woman to share it with. Do you think I enjoy living alone on hundreds of acres of land, in a twentysomething-thousand-square-foot house? Not at all. What good is any of this if I go to bed every night by myself?”

“If you think that's bad, try going to bed with someone every night and still be alone.”

“You don't have to. Life is too short to be unhappy.”

“Yeah, but I am comfortable. At least with my situation I know what I am getting—what I am guaranteed. My worst fear is being broke and destitute and unable to take care of my mother. I feel like my mother has had a hard enough life as it is, and the way she struggled to take care of me when my father left is something I will never forget. I remember all too well the sacrifices she made to make sure I had not only what I needed, but most things I wanted. Thus, I make no decisions about my life that do not include the consideration of my mother. I would never admit that to her, but pretty much all my decisions in my adult life has been based on her.”

“You must be an unbelievably sad woman.”

I leaned up and faced him. “What do you mean? I am not the happiest person, but I am not that sad, either. You make me sound like a charity case.”

“You don't know how to make decisions for yourself. You have no idea what Allyson likes. You are so accustomed to catering to other people and what they want of you and from you. Can you imagine what it would be like to make selfish decisions for just one week?”

“No.”

“You should try it. For one week only, you should make all decisions based on what Allyson wants to do. Don't worry about your husband, your mother, no one. Just you.”

“I would not even know where to start.”

“Don't complicate it. It's really simple. All you have to do is quit thinking of anyone but yourself. That does not make you a selfish person. It just means you know how to make sure you are happy while you are making others happy.”

“I hear you.”

“I want you to do more than hear me. I want you to do it.”

“I will try.” I lay back against him. He had argued a good case and had an excellent point.

“Good enough.” He played in my hair as we sat in silence.

“Seth, I am coming up to go over a few things with you for tomorrow,” Melanie said. I looked on the wall near the edge of the balcony and spotted the intercom. I shook my head, because I knew it was probably driving her insane to have to sit and wonder what he and I were doing.

Seth didn't move. Instead, he continued our conversation as if she had never said anything. “What time do you want to go home in the morning?”

“I need to be home no later than ten. The thing is . . . how am I going to get there? My car is still at the hotel.”

“I already worked that out. I am going to have the chopper fly you into Charlie Brown Airport in Atlanta, and a car will be waiting on you there to take you to the St. Regis to get your car.”

“Seth, are you sure you want to go through all of that? I can always call someone to come and pick me up.”

“I am sure, and this is the end of this discussion. I will have Jeff, my pilot, be ready to pull up around eight.”

I had dated my share of wealthy men, but none of them had flown me anywhere on their private jet. Seth was really one of a kind.

“Yes, sir.”

“Girl, you better be careful with that kind of talk. That ‘yes, sir' business will have me reneging on everything I said earlier about respecting you as a married woman. I am just a man, you know.”

“Really? I thought you were a superhero, because you sure have rescued me.”

Without even turning to look at him, I knew he was smiling.
Good.
I was glad to be able to make him smile after such a horrific day.

“Seth, did you hear me? I am getting ready to come up. Is that okay?” Melanie said, slicing into the romantic moment. What could she have to tell him that was so pressing?

“Let me go and see what she wants,” he said as he rose up. “Otherwise, she will just keep on.”

“Okay. I will go into the guest room so you two can have some privacy.”

“You don't have to do that. Whatever she has to say, she can say in front of you.”

“But . . .”

“Allyson . . . not up for discussion,” he said authoritatively yet lovingly.

He pushed the intercom button to speak back to her. “Melanie, you can come up. I'll unlock the elevator.”

“Unlock the elevator?” I asked.

“Yes. Every night when I come to bed, I stop the elevator from coming to the third floor.”

“What happens if someone needs to get to you?”

“Well, of course, there's the stairs, but they hardly ever get used.”

“Gotcha.”

He unlocked the elevator, and in what seemed like seconds, Melanie was there. When she saw me, the muscles in her face tightened.

“Allyson, I didn't think you were still up. Can't sleep?”

“We were talking,” Seth answered for me. “What is so urgent that you had to talk to me right now?”

“Well,” she said, looking at me, “since the press conference is scheduled for really early in the morning, I wanted to discuss with you some notes our attorney sent over.”

Seth rubbed his hand over his head. “Are you serious? You came up here to go over some notes with me? After the kind of day I had, you want to further remind me of it by talking about some notes, Melanie? Really?”

Tears formed in her eyes, and panic swept across her face. “Seth, I am so sorry. I don't know what has gotten into me. I seem to have been screwing up all evening. Maybe the stress of this day has gotten to me more than I knew. I was so worried about you—scared that something had happened to you. Since I was on vacation for the past few days, I did not know you had left town and had gone to Atlanta. When I first got the news that the clinic had been bombed, my world stopped rotating. For a minute I could not breathe.” She touched his arm. “Seth, I thought you were dead, and all I could think about were the things I wished I could have said to you.”

“That is really sweet, Melanie, and I really appreciate you being so concerned. I know you care deeply for me, and that is why I trust you.”

Ms. Todd's words rang in my ears. I could see right through Melanie's semi-declaration of love. I got the strangest feeling about her.

Melanie went on. “I am glad you are able to recognize and appreciate my efforts to do all I can for you, Mama Todd, and Carson Land. You guys are my life, and I haven't the slightest idea what I would do without you.”

“Well, we feel the same way about you, Melanie. We are very blessed to have you.”

“Really? You mean that, Seth? Because I would go through anything and take down anybody to make sure that we hold on to our bond.”

“I know. But as for tonight, I just want to relax. I have no interest in rehearsing what is to be done tomorrow or rehashing what has gone on today. The only thing I do want you working on in the morning is arranging flowers to be sent to the families of my entire staff. I want you to find out if their families have insurance to give them a proper burial. If not, I want Carson Land to cover all their expenses. Additionally, I want a trust fund initiated in the names of each of their kids, and I want to donate all the money they will need in order to go to a college of their choice.”

“That is such a nice thing to do. That is why I . . .” She hesitated, refraining from completing her sentence. She was about to declare her love fully but remembered I was in the room. “Okay, I will get on this first thing in the morning. The press conference will begin promptly at eight o'clock. I will get up with the roosters, so if you think of anything else you would like for me to do, just let me know.”

“Thank you again, Melanie, for all your hard work and dedication to me and my family.” He leaned in and gave her a hug.

You would have thought she had reverted to being a high school teenager again with a crush on the most popular guy on the football team. I studied her. She was a pretty woman. She was not too tall in stature and had a shape like a video vixen. She had every right to be confident.

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that.”

“Great. Have a good night, Mel.”

Showing all her pearly whites, she turned and got back into the elevator. “I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well,” she said as the door to the elevator closed.

“Well, that was interesting. Her declaring her love for you, and you declaring your appreciation for her. How sweet,” I commented.