The Pastor's Wife (3 page)

T
errance stared in disbelief at the perfectly shaped figure in front of him. He had to blink several times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. When he deduced that he wasn’t, he said, “Zinetta, put your clothes back on.”

Zinetta locked the bathroom door and slithered toward him. “Come on, Pastor. Don’t tell me I’m not turning you on.”

He took in her body, which was healthy and perfectly toned. Her short, feathered haircut made her look like a lighter version of the actress Gabrielle Union. Of course she turned him on, but her being completely naked in the men’s restroom of the Hyatt Hotel also turned him off. Monty might jump for joy at the sight of a naked woman trying to seduce him in a public restroom. But for Terrance, it was disgusting, especially because the scholarship banquet was taking place right in the room next door. Terrance was the keynote speaker for the banquet, held by Calvary Baptist Church. He’d taken a moment during dinner to run to the restroom. Did Zinetta really think he was about to get it on with her in the men’s bathroom?

“Zinetta, I will ask you again. Please put your clothes back on.”

A confused look crossed Zinetta’s face. “I…I don’t understand.”

“What’s not to understand?” Terrance asked as he reached down to pick up her dress and underwear, which she had discarded at the door. “I want you to put your clothes back on.” He handed the clothes to her.

“B…But Gwen said you were in here waiting on me. She told me how she overheard you telling Brother Baker that it was your ultimate fantasy to have me in a public place.” Zinetta took her clothes from Terrance and covered up her private parts. Her butterscotch skin was turning crimson. “I would’ve never done something like this. But Gwen said you liked aggressive women.”

Terrance let out a long sigh. “Gwen as in Tongela’s friend Gwen?”

“Well, yeah.” Zinetta closed her eyes as realization set in. “That witch.”

Terrance suddenly felt bad for her. He couldn’t believe Tongela had set Gwen up to do that. Well, yes, he could. Tongela and Zinetta had been rivals for his affection for months. Truthfully, he didn’t care for either of them.

“Just put your clothes back on, Zinetta. I’m going back into the program.”

Zinetta slipped her dress over her head. “I hope you don’t think bad of me, Pastor. I was just—”

Terrance cut her off. “Don’t worry about it.” He’d become used to the women of his church—and every church within a fifty-mile radius—throwing themselves at him. As one of the only single, black male ministers in the city of Houston, he’d become a prime target for the husband-stalkers. If he had a dime for every time someone had tried to fix him up or come on to him, he’d be a rich man.

He had politely shunned most of the women who had all but thrown themselves at him. They just didn’t capture his interest. Well, that excluded Savannah. He didn’t quite know what it was about her, but something inside him wanted to get to know her better.

Terrance walked out of the bathroom and back toward the ballroom. He saw Tongela and Gwen snickering over in a corner as they watched the bathroom.

“Evening, Reverend Ellis,” Tongela called out.

“That was foul, Tongela. And you know it,” Terrance responded as he stopped in front of the two.

Tongela was just about to say something when Zinetta came racing out of the bathroom like a crazed woman. “You tramp! I’m ’bout sick of you!”

Terrance grabbed her just as she clawed at Tongela. The attack caught Tongela off guard, but only for a minute, because she quickly began to attack back.

“Don’t be mad at me cuz you’re a ho! Like he would want you anyway!” She swung wildly at Zinetta, hitting both Terrance and Zinetta on the side of the head.

Two other men who were walking out of the ballroom noticed the brewing fight and came rushing over. By that time, Terrance was smack-dead in the middle of a girl fight.

It only took about five minutes to get the women under control, but it seemed like an eternity.

“Sir, we’re escorting the ladies out,” said a security guard who had come upstairs in the midst of the chaos. “Can you come to our office and give us a report of what happened?”

Terrance sighed deeply. He had never been so embarrassed. The program had all but stopped as everyone stood around staring.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Terrance responded, “but I’m here to deliver a speech. I’m not involved in what happened here. I was just trying to break it up. I can talk to you after the banquet, but right now, I’d like us to refocus on the reason why we’re here. Now, please excuse me.”

Terrance held his head up as he made his way back in the banquet room. Thankfully, a lot of people were there. Maybe no one would piece together that the two women fighting were from his church.

He took a quick gulp of water after returning to his seat at the head table. He needed to settle down—and fast—because these women were getting completely out of control.

T
errance took a deep breath and tried not to let his frustrations show. “Brother Baker, we have gone back and forth about you and this bickering and name-calling. Now this is my last warning.”

Carl Baker, one of the longtime deacons at Lily Grove, didn’t try to hide his scowl. “Well, tell that old battle-ax to stop interrupting me.”

Mamie stood up. Her white hair hung limply on her shoulders. Her turquoise blue dress draped her size eighteen frame. “Who are you calling a battle-ax? Don’t make me get ugly in the Lord’s house. I will take off my wig and beat your—”

“Aunt Mamie!” Terrance snapped. “I know you’re not about to go there.”

Mamie glared at Carl, poked out her lips, and sat back down. “This fool ’bout to make me lose my religion,” she muttered.

Terrance let out a long sigh. “This is getting ridiculous. We’re in the midst of getting a new building. Our church is growing by leaps and bounds. We’re getting new members every church service, and yet, we’re dealing with the same old problems.”

“That’s cuz you got the same ol’ battle-axes trying to run things,” Carl spat.

“One mo’, Carl. Just one mo’ time you call me out of my name and it’s on,” Mamie threatened.

Terrance slammed his palm down on the large conference-room table. “Enough! I said.” He turned to his aunt. “Aunt Mamie, you know I love you, but I will put you out of this business meeting. You and Brother Baker,” he added, glaring at Carl. “Now, I will ask you for the last time, be quiet and refrain from name-calling.”

Mamie rolled her eyes. Carl leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms defiantly.

“Now, where were we?” Terrance said, looking at his agenda. These business meetings were getting more and more stressful, particularly because Carl and his aunt mixed like oil and water.

Raquel, who was sitting next to Terrance, reached over and pointed at the fifth item on his agenda. “We were discussing some new ideas for the youth.”

“And as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted,” Mamie continued, “I think we should start a mentoring group for the young people, but I think we should open it up to the surrounding community.”

“And I still say, we’re not in the business of caring for juvenile delinquents,” Carl interjected.

“It would be a great way to get some of these kids off the streets,” Mamie added, ignoring Carl.

“I don’t know, Mamie,” Eva said skeptically. “Why can’t we just do it for our youth here at the church? Why should we open it up to the public?”

“Because our youth here at Lily Grove are pretty much on the straight and narrow, and we need to help others who aren’t,” Mamie replied.

“Don’t they have a youth program like that at Zion Hill?” Raquel asked.

Mamie nodded as she reached down in her bag and pulled out a photocopy of a newspaper article. “Ummm-hmmm. They call it the Good Girlz, and I’ve heard such wonderful things about it. We’re always talking about looking at ways to bring more young people into the church. I think this is a way to do it.” She pushed the paper toward Terrance.

Carl continued to shake his head. “Y’all ain’t gon’ be happy till some teenager done stole the stereo system,” he mumbled.

Terrance decided to ignore Carl as well as he glanced over the article. “You know, I think that’s an excellent idea, Aunt Mamie. A church is more than just the four walls. A church that’s truly serving of God goes out into the community and does good as well.”

Mamie smiled triumphantly.

“And I have just the person to lead the group.” Terrance took a deep breath and flashed a wide grin. “Sister Savannah would be perfect to head up something like that.”

The room grew silent. Mamie’s smile slowly faded.

“Excuse me.” Eva cocked her head to the side. “Who did you say?”

Terrance thought back to Savannah and the young girl she was with. He’d only been around them a short time, but he could tell Savannah was making a difference in the teen’s life. He’d truly been impressed with the passion Savannah seemed to show toward the girl.

“I said, Savannah McKinney,” Terrance repeated.

“Flo’s granddaughter Savannah?” Mamie asked with an incredulous look across her face.

“Yes. And what’s wrong with her?” Terrance knew the answer, but for some reason he was hoping they would give Savannah a chance.

Eva leaned in like she was studying her nephew, trying to see if he was serious. “Terrance, you’ve got to be kidding, right? Savannah McKinney is not the type of woman we’d want being associated with this church in any shape, form, or fashion.”

Terrance knew people around Lily Grove didn’t particularly care for Savannah, but he did always like her spunky personality. And seeing her with Misha allowed him to see her in a whole new light, one that really impressed him. “You still haven’t told me, what is wrong with Savannah?” Terrance asked. “Something based on fact and not church-house rumors.”

“Fact is, she’s a ho,” Mamie mumbled.

“Aunt Mamie!” Terrance snapped.

Mamie put her hand to her mouth. “Oops, did I say that out loud? Sorry, she’s a garden tool.”

“You don’t know anything about her, other than the rumors that circulate around this church,” Terrance admonished.

“Maybe not,” Mamie said. “But I do know that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And Savannah McKinney got a cloud full of smoke surrounding her.”

Dorothy Mae, who’d been sitting quietly at the end of the table, finally spoke up. Her voice was steady, like she was trying to be reasonable. “Terrance, Mamie could have found a better choice of words, but as Eva said, she’s just not the one to lead the young people here at Lily Grove. Don’t we have another member who’d be more fitting?”

Terrance debated saying more to his aunts, because he really hated the way people treated Savannah. She seemed like a really sweet girl, whom no one bothered to give a chance. But judging from the looks at the table, no one would be trying to hear anything he had to say.

“How about we just table this issue for now,” Terrance said, glancing at his watch. “It’s getting late and I know we’re all tired.”

Several people nodded in agreement. Everyone stood and said their respective good-byes. Terrance glanced down at the newspaper article, loving Mamie’s idea more by the minute. His thoughts raced back to Savannah. They’d never go for the idea of her leading the youth group, but Terrance found himself intrigued, wanting to know more about her.

Maybe I won’t call Savannah to lead the youth group,
Terrance thought, but now more than ever he was sure of one thing: he was definitely going to call her.

E
va held her arm out to quiet her sisters. They’d just spent two hours at the church for a budget meeting and had returned to help Dorothy Mae find her beloved brooch, which had fallen off sometime during the evening.

They were heading toward the conference room when Eva spotted Deacon Raymond Tisdale easing into the room.

“I thought everyone was gone,” Mamie said.

Eva waved to shut her up. Deacon Tisdale’s shysty behind definitely didn’t look like he was up to any good. “I heard him tell Terrance he had to get home right after the meeting, so what is he doing back here looking all sneaky?” Eva whispered.

“I suggest we go see, because there goes Louis Allen going in the conference room as well,” Dorothy Mae responded.

“I know they’re not trying to have some type of private meeting without Terrance,” Eva snapped. She tried to stay back and let Terrance run the church how he saw fit, but she wasn’t about to have the deacons doing something behind Terrance’s back. And if they were having some type of private meeting, they were definitely up to no good.

“Only one way to find out,” Dorothy Mae said, as she pushed her way past Eva and down the long hall.

The other two women followed her. All three of them stopped right outside the conference room door, which was cracked open.

“Now, Raymond, I’m not saying I don’t like the boy. Shoot, I think he’s a pretty good preacher. But he is ’bout to be thirty years old and ain’t got no wife or even a steady girlfriend,” a voice Eva recognized as Carl Baker’s said.

“And you know folks have started whispering that maybe he’s one of them DL ministers,” Louis interjected. “Now y’all know I don’t like gossip, but let me tell you what I heard. A reliable source told me that Zinetta Chambers got butt naked as a jaybird the other day and cornered Reverend Ellis in a hotel bathroom. And do you know what he did?”

“What?” several of the men asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” Louis said, like Terrance had committed a cardinal sin. “Told that pretty young thang to put her clothes back on and get out.”

“You lying,” someone interjected.

“If I’m lying, I’m flying,” Louis said. “Plus, y’all know he was counseling them two gay fellas from the choir.”

“So he ain’t supposed to counsel certain people because of their sexuality?” Dorothy Mae whispered. Eva waved her hand for her sister to be quiet.

“And you know he’s always hanging around with that Monty fella,” Carl said.

“Come to think of it, that Monty ain’t never been married either, huh?” Deacon Tisdale asked.

“Nope, though I did hear he got some gal on the North Side pregnant,” Carl responded.

“It probably was a cover-up,” Deacon Tisdale said.

“So y’all really think the boy is gay?” Carl asked.

Eva had to clutch her heart with one hand and use the other to grab hold of Dorothy Mae, who looked ready to charge into the meeting. Terrance and Monty were roommates in college, and Monty was really the only guy Terrance hung out with. But he was a busy preacher, Eva thought. He didn’t have time to be hanging out with a bunch of folks. That the deacons were trying to read more into his relationship was troubling.

“All I’m saying is, we got the big hundred-year Christmas service coming up in less than four months, and we got five churches that will be here visiting,” Louis said, clearly agitated. “That’s five ministers, and guess what? Every single one of them will have a first lady on their arms.”

“So, Reverend Ellis gon’ have the first man on his arm?” another deacon joked.

“Bruce, this is serious. We ain’t got no time for jokes,” Deacon Tisdale admonished. “Now, I been understanding for the longest, but I’m starting to wonder. I don’t want our church made a fool of at the biggest event this church has ever seen.”

“Why don’t we just talk to Pastor?” someone asked.

“For what? So he can go run out and get him a decoy? If the boy is gay, I want to know about it now,” Carl barked.

“He ain’t gay,” another deacon, Phil Wilson, responded. “I just don’t think he’s found Mrs. Right.”

Louis huffed, “Well, what kind of church are we with no first lady? Folks bound to talk. Shoot, the first lady is supposed to host the Christmas breakfast. We been having them old biddies do it since Terrance took over as pastor three years ago. It’s been fine because it ain’t been nobody but us, but now that we’re expecting five times as many people, we need to be properly represented.”

“Well, what do you suppose we do?” Carl asked.

Deacon Tisdale shook his head. “I don’t know. It may be too late to do anything, but I do know this—if that Christmas service rolls around here and he’s still single, then we need to start asking ourselves is there something a little more low-down that we need to be concerning ourselves with.”

Eva couldn’t believe her ears. Not only were they insinuating that her baby was gay, but then they had the nerve to be thinking about firing him.

Eva felt sick to her stomach. She’d spent her life trying to keep Terrance on the straight and narrow, and despite the bumpy youth he had, she was proud of how he turned out.

“I can’t stand anyone messing up my baby’s good name,” Eva mumbled.

“So what are we gonna do about it?” Dorothy Mae asked.

Eva glanced toward the conference room door. “We’re goin’ to find our baby a woman, and we’re goin’ to do it in time for the Christmas celebration,” Eva proclaimed.