Men After God's Own Heart (14 page)

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Authors: Dijorn Moss

BOOK: Men After God's Own Heart
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Chapter Twenty-seven
Chauncey
After the retreat, Chauncey went and visited the one person who understood him the best, his sister, Nicole. Since the death of his brother, Henry, he and Nicole had grown closer. But something had happened within just the last two months that had caused their closeness to be strained.
Chauncey arrived at the front door of his sister's house. After he rang the doorbell twice, the door was opened by Tory, a six-foot-one-inch headache. He was handsome, he had a good job, no kids, and he went to church. But in short, Chauncey did not think that he was right for his baby sister.
“C, man, what's good?” Tory asked.
“Deacon McClendon,” Chauncey replied.
Tory gave Chauncey a little smirk and turned and called out, “Nikki!”
Nicole walked out of the kitchen with another woman by her side. They both wore a smile on their face. “Bighead, it's so good to see you.”
Chauncey gave his baby sister a hug, and it felt good to feel the warmth of her embrace. He broke aware from Nicole's embrace to observe the fair-skinned beauty with captivating hazel eyes that stood next to her.
“Hello.” The young woman extended her hand.
“Chauncey, this is my girlfriend, Rachel,” Nicole announced.
“Hello, Rachel. It's a pleasure to meet you.” Chauncey held Rachel's hand longer than he should have.
Chauncey realized that his invitation to dinner was an intricate plot set up by his sneaky sister. Nicole had made no mention of a fourth person, and a woman on top of that.
“Dinner is just about ready,” Nicole told her brother. “Are you staying for dinner?”
“I think I will.” Chauncey laughed inside at the absurdity of Nicole's question.
Chauncey was not inclined to spend an evening with Tory, to hear about his wonderful life as a business lawyer who coached baseball on the weekend, while feeding the homeless and attending every service on Sunday. He made Chauncey sick, but Chauncey couldn't deny his attraction to Rachel and his desire for his sister's above-average pot roast.
Chauncey followed Nicole into the dining room, where the sound of Mary J. Blige bounced off the walls. Chauncey felt his sister's choice in music was beyond inappropriate. For years Mary had been a symbol of depression and sexual promiscuity. Chauncey felt that by playing Mary J. Blige, his sister was inviting the spirit of promiscuity. Chauncey had a seat at the dining room table, which was decorated with an earth-toned tablecloth. Tory took a seat at the opposite end of the table, and Rachel sat next to Chauncey.
“So how was the men's retreat?” Nicole asked Chauncey as she put an empty plate in front of him.
“It was great. A lot of lives were changed,” Chauncey replied.
“We have a men's retreat at my church,” Tory offered.
“You should attend our retreats. They are off the chain. Is that what the kids say?” Chauncey looked around the table for confirmation.
“That's not what the kids say,” Nicole replied as she took a seat.
“That sounds so powerful. A bunch of men getting together to worship God,” Rachel mused.
Chauncey liked the soft tone of Rachel's voice. She sounded like a woman he could listen to for hours without getting bored. “It is definitely a powerful event, and as a deacon, you're pleased whenever lives are changed.”
Nicole rolled her eyes at Chauncey, and Chauncey gave his baby sister a wink.
“That is awesome that you're a deacon. Wow.” Rachel's eyes conveyed amazement.
“The food should be ready.” Nicole got up and headed for the kitchen.
“I'll help.” Rachel got up and followed Nicole into the kitchen.
Chauncey's eyes followed Rachel into the kitchen. Chauncey felt Tory's eyes follow him.
“Doesn't the Bible say that if you look at a woman lustfully, you've sinned?” Tory said.
“I haven't sinned. I've just admired God's greatest creation.” Chauncey's eyes stayed fixed on the kitchen.
“You should write for Hallmark.”
A few minutes later Nicole and Rachel emerged from the kitchen. Rachel carried a serving bowl filled with a chopped salad and a plate full of dinner rolls. Nicole followed behind Rachel with a steamy pot roast. Rachel sat the salad and rolls down next to an assortment of wines and wineglasses, then took her seat next to Chauncey.
“I hope you guys are hungry.” Nicole sat the pot roast down in the middle of the table.
Chauncey leaned in to take a whiff of the roast. “Sis, I know you put your foot in this roast.”
Tory reached across the table and grabbed a dinner roll and took a barbarian-like bite into the roll.
“Aren't you going to pray before you eat?” Chauncey asked Tory, who was fully engaged in consuming his dinner roll.
“I pray without ceasing.” Tory put his roll on a napkin. “But I'll go ahead and lead us in prayer if it pleases you.” Tory bowed his head like a knight. “God is great, and God is good.”
Chauncey could not help but let out a chuckle at Tory's rudimentary prayer. He felt a sharp pain in his shin and knew that Nicole had just kicked him.
“Thank you for this food and amen,” Tory said.
“Father, I just want to come to you and thank you for these blessings and gifts. I know that you are Jehovah-Jireh, our provider. Bless those who are less fortunate and those little kids in Africa that have no food, Lord,” Chauncey said. “And those homeless kids by the Staples Center that have no shoes, Lord. And bless this food my sister, Nicole, prepared, and I pray that there's not too much salt and garlic to cause us to become ill.” Chauncey felt another sharp kick to his shin and decided to conclude his prayer. “Amen.”
Chauncey put a napkin over his shirt. “I'm sorry, Tory. I just wanted to make sure we had enough on the prayer for it to get through. I mean, if you don't have enough postage, your letter won't get to its destination.”
“No problem,” Tory said as he started to eat.
Chauncey watched Nicole feed Tory some of her food, which Chauncey could not understand, because everyone had the same thing on their plate. Maybe it was Nicole's way of showing affection, or maybe she had added something different to her food and she wanted Tory to try it.
In any case, Chauncey lost his appetite while he watched his sister act like a silly high school girl. He focused his attention on Rachel, who sat at the table with her head down. She ate her food like she did not want to be noticed or disturbed. She glanced up and greeted Chauncey's stare with a smile.
“You have amazing skin,” Chauncey said.
“Thank you very much.” Rachel launched into a detailed account of the oils and lotions she used.
“So what church do you go to?” Chauncey asked Rachel.
“I don't really go to church, but I do watch that guy who smiles a lot on TV. I like him!” Rachel replied.
“Oh, Lawd! Well, there's nothing like being in the presence of God. There's fullness of joy that you can't get from home,” Chauncey said.
“But isn't God everywhere?” Rachel asked.
Tory nearly choked on his food at Rachel's valid point.
“So, Tory, I never got a chance to ask you what church you go to,” Chauncey said with a smirk.
“I go to the same church as Nicole.”
“Well, that's unfortunate,” Chauncey replied.
“Chauncey.” Nicole cut her eyes at Chauncey.
Tory frowned. “How's that? We study from the same Bible, and we believe that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.”
“We all have our unique way of worshipping God,” Nicole interjected.
“Yeah, but if it don't line up with the Word, then it ain't from God,” Chauncey argued.
“Look, you can believe what you want to believe, and I'll believe what I believe,” Tory responded.
“I believe in the Bible. I don't know what philosophy or doctrine you believe in, but it ain't the Word,” Chauncey said.
“My mother always taught me that we're all looking at the same building, just from different angles,” Rachel replied. “It's the same God, just different viewpoints.”
“Your mom must love Chinese food, because that sounds like fortune-cookie wisdom to me,” Chauncey said.
Chauncey was certain his comment would offend Rachel, but instead she burst out in laughter. Her laughter provided instant warmth to Chauncey. In spite of her beliefs, Chauncey attraction to Rachel was not severed.
Tory took Nicole's hand and kissed it. “You look real beautiful tonight, and dinner was excellent.”
“Thanks, sweetie. Why don't you go into the living room and watch the game while I get dessert ready?”
“Sounds good.” Tory gave Nicole another kiss on the hand.
It did not, however, sound good to Chauncey, who tasted the sourness of his meal in his throat.
“Chauncey!” Nicole slapped the table and gave Chauncey a head gesture in the direction of the kitchen.
“Excuse me,” Chauncey said to Rachel, who gave him a smile before she went back to her meal.
He knew he'd struck a nerve with his sister. She wore aggravation on her face. Chauncey was reluctant, but he got up and followed his sister into the kitchen, where the sound of the football game coming from the living room would muffle their conversation.
“Do you ever wonder why you're single?” Nicole asked.
“You could've told me that you were trying to fix me up,” Chauncey replied.
“I figured you needed help after the last date you told me about.”
“Any kids?”
“No,” Nicole said.
“Good credit score?” Chauncey asked, to which Nicole did a “so-so” hand gesture. “But she isn't saved.” Chauncey looked back at Rachel, who had her head down again.
“Go slow. She's had a rough life, and she wants to believe in God, but it's hard for her. You could maybe get her to change her mind if you ease off the criticism.”
Chauncey's head told him to stay far away from a nonbeliever. His heart did not want him to give up on Rachel so easily. “There's something about her that I can't deny.”
“You never know what God may have in store for both of you.”
“You may be right.” Chauncey glanced back at Rachel.
“Now, why are you trying to ruin things between me and Tory?” Nicole shoved the dishes into the sink.
“You can't tell me he's what God has for you! The man don't even go to church.”
“He's not perfect, but at least he's honest.”
“There's some honest atheists that are going straight to hell.”
Nicole grabbed the trash can from under the sink and took one of the plates she'd previously shoved into the sink. She slid the remaining food on the plate into the trash can before placing the plate back into the sink.
“If you would give people a chance, you'd be amazed at how wonderful and similar people are,” Nicole said.
“I just don't think he's right for you. I think your clock is ticking and you're settling. I mean, I don't know how else to put it.”
“You know what I think? I think you're jealous of me,” Nicole said as she took a strawberry cheesecake out of the refrigerator.
“What do I have to be jealous of? You and nursery rhymes Tory?”
“You're jealous that I found somebody, and you're afraid that you're going to lose me, because I'm all that you have left.”
“So long as I got King Jesus, I'm going to be okay. You want to wreck your life? Go ahead, but don't say that I didn't warn you.”
Nicole made a choking gesture toward Chauncey and grunted. “God, you can be so stubborn at times. Wake up, Chauncey. Life moves on. I loved Henry, and I was with him to the end, but it's time to move on and for me to be happy. You can't smother me because you're afraid that you're going to lose me, like you lost Henry.”
“You know what? You're really lost and confused, and you're not making any sense right now. I'm going to go,” Chauncey said before he let out a grunt.
Chauncey stormed out of the kitchen. Rachel hopped up from the dining-room table and tried to cut him off at the pass. “Hey, listen, I was wondering if we could go out sometime.”
Chauncey stopped dead in his tracks. “I would like that very much. How about you come with me to church on Sunday?”
“I was thinking more like a movie.”
Chauncey did not like to go to the movies, but Rachel's appeal was too much for him to resist. “Sure!”

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