Preacher's Wifey (20 page)

“I would not advise you to do that, because you are going to make yourself appear stupid. What woman marries a man on a premise like that other than one who is just as money hungry as he is? See, the people around here love me so much, even if you stood up and said something like that, they would not believe it. But, hey, if you want to try it, go right ahead.”

“Have you forgotten that I have a copy of the contract? All I have to do is get up and present my evidence.”

“You
used
to have a copy of the contract. That one you had locked in your safe in your closet . . . I have it.”

I had to bat my eyes really fast to prevent the tears from falling. He had thought of everything.

“Well, how do you think your little parishioners will feel about your affair with Shatrice and your son, BJ?”

His nostrils flared, and the vein in his neck appeared. I had struck a nerve.

“They have nothing to do with this issue between us. The best thing for you to do is leave them out of this.”

“Or what?”

“I am serious, Allyson. Do not bring them into this. My son is deceased, for God's sake. Let his soul rest in peace. As for Shatrice, she will never open her mouth to tell anything. If she had wanted to do that, she could have done it by now.”

“You do not know what she will do. You can never put anything past anybody. The same way I never thought you would do this to me, you have done it. I was a good wife, wifey, whatever the hell I was to you. You said so yourself. You have continuously laid my heart in the road to be run over like road kill. You took my emotions and played with them, as if I were some type of electronic video game. And you call yourself a man of God? I know men who are not pastors who have a better relationship with God than you do. Greed has driven you to this. If you don't be careful, Byran, you are going to wake up one morning and you will not have a thing. Yeah, you may keep this church, your businesses, and your money, but you will lose the more important things . . . the things you cannot buy.” He sat looking at me, as if I were speaking a different language.

“That was a real good speech,” he said, clapping. “You sound as if you have finally cracked open the Bible you carry in here every week for show.”

“Your entire life is for show. You knew when you met and married me, I barely knew anything about God and what it means to live right. And it took someone else to help me realize it. What you do not understand is you can take the money, but you cannot take what is in my heart. Keep your money, Byran. Keep it all. I may not be able to live the type of life I have adapted to, but there is something on the inside of me that tells me I can make it. I will be all right. You, on the other hand, unless you change, you will not come to a good end, because your heart is not right.”

“Please spare me any more of this sermonic plague. Stick to what you are good at it, which is giving men what they want in exchange for what you want, because preaching is not your thing, love.”

Was he slick calling me a whore? Was that how he saw me?

My pride would not allow him to see me break down, but I wanted to go curl up in the corner and emotionally dump it all. He was right. For years I had behaved like a whore. I went into relationships with men based on the amount of money they had and what they could do for me. When they gave the money, I gave my body. Somehow the notion that I had acted whorish had escaped me, because I felt that since I was in a relationship, it was different. But this situation had taught me you could even be married and have whorish ways.

“I want a divorce, and I am going to file for a divorce.”

“No, you will not. You are not going to embarrass me or put me in jeopardy of losing my church. I will not allow you to do that.”

“It is not up to you. You can have it all. You owe me nothing. I will submit to you in writing a statement that says I give up any rights I have to anything. I just want my life back. I want to be free.”

“When you signed that contract, you signed your life away. However, I am not a hard man to work with. Fine . . . if you want the divorce, but I will not let you out of this contract for another four years. On our fifth anniversary I will give you your life back.”

“Four more years dealing with you? I do not think so.”

“You have no choice, Allyson. Listen, be grateful that I am willing to work with you. I gave you plenty of opportunities before you made this deal to back out, but you did not. Now, woman up and have some integrity. I will have my attorney revise the agreement to reflect an expiration date.”

This was turning into a bigger nightmare.

“Why four years?”

“In four years my probationary contract here will have expired, and I will have gotten this church to where I want it. I will have made sure they cannot vote me out, no matter what happens. So until then you are stuck with me. But, honey, you will be just fine. You give me what I want. I give you what you want.”

“What I want is to be rid of you. And, Byran, getting rid of you is what I will do.”

He leaned forward on his desk. “Let me be very clear, darling. This marriage will not expire for another four years.” He got up from his seat and walked to the front of his desk and leaned back against it. “Otherwise, it will be until death do us part.”

The look he had in his eyes scared me. Was he this coldhearted and cold-blooded?

I stood up in the face of his intimidating scare tactic. “If God be for me, He is more than the whole world against me.”

I picked up my purse and left him standing there with his ego to keep him company. I realized this was not my battle to fight. When I got myself in this situation, I had no knowledge of who God was. But now I had gotten a small inclination of His power, and I was going to let Him take care of this.

I was beginning to know it mattered not how you started, and that the real testimony was in how strong you finished.

And I planned to finish strong.

“Hey, Louie. How have you been?”

“I've been good, Ms. Allyson. How about you?”

“I am well. Ready to get out of Atlanta,” I said as I stepped into the limo.

“Jeff is already at Charlie Brown, waiting on us,” he said.

“Perfect.”

My phone rang.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

“Hey, love. Has Louie gotten there yet?” Seth asked.

“Yes, he's here. I just got into the car.”

“Great. Nana and I are waiting on you.”

“Oh, you went and got Nana?”

“Yep. I told her you were coming for a visit, and she demanded I pick her up. She really became fond of you when you were here.”

“Wow. I am humbled by that,” I said, beaming. “I am excited to see the both of you as well. I have missed you.”

“Trust me, we missed you too. And don't you worry about a thing. We are going to work this out. We will figure out a way to get you out of this mess.”

“Thank you, Seth. I owe you big for this.”

“You owe me nothing. I hope to prove to you one day that I am not like the other men who have been in your life. I want nothing from you. Period.”

“I appreciate that.”

We arrived at the airport, and I saw Jeff standing next to the chopper.

“We just got to the airport. I guess I will see you in a few,” I told Seth.

“Looking forward to it. Claudia has prepared lunch for us. Hope you like chicken Alfredo.”

“Oh my goodness, I absolutely love chicken Alfredo.”

“Me too. It is one of my favorite dishes. All right, I will let you go so you can board.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

We disconnected, and I got out of the limo and went to the helicopter. Louie carried my Louis Vuitton luggage to Jeff, who placed it on the chopper. I felt sorry for them because I knew my bags were very heavy. While I did not plan to stay with Seth permanently, I had spent the past few days packing all my belongings, and a lot was crammed into those bags.

I was grateful that Byran was still not staying at the house. He was no doubt spending most of his days and nights at the hospital with Shatrice, who was still battling the infection, which had now spread throughout her body. I saw it as a blessing and got rid of any evidence that proved I had ever lived in the house. I took down our wedding pictures; I even packed up the dishes that belonged to my great-grandmother. All of what I came into the marriage with was either in the bags I had with me or at my mother's, in storage. Kristal had come over to help me get it all done expediently.

I could not explain why I felt compelled to make a move so quickly, but I had the strangest feeling that if I did not get out of there, things would get worse. When I got ready to leave the house, I left the house keys, the keys to both of my cars, the bank and credit cards, the checkbook, and anything else that connected me to Byran on the counter.

None of it mattered anymore. I no longer cared to gain the world and lose my soul. My plan was to get my divorce, go to school for nursing, and earn an honest living, like most Americans. Thankfully, I had no children to factor in, and that made it easier to pick up and walk away from my life as I knew it—forever.

So I was on my way to Carson Land to figure it all out. Once I was settled in my seat on board the chopper, I retrieved my iPad from my bag and pulled up the PocketSword app. I had never been one to read the Bible, but lately all I wanted to do was read it. The words seemed to come to life right before my eyes, and it seemed that every time I started reading, I would always start with a passage that spoke directly to me. The book of Psalms was my favorite. I had heard Byran tell the Bible Study class once that if you were newly saved, Psalms was a good book to start with, so I was yet to move away from it.

When the app came up, it was still on the same passage. Psalms 61:1–2, I had read this morning.
Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

I felt peace in my heart as I read it again. Next on my list to read was Psalms 37. My dad had suggested it when I called to let him know I was leaving. He said I would find comfort in the words, and comfort was what I needed.

Dad was right. I felt comforted. Again, it was like God himself was speaking to me. Why did I not read the Bible before? I turned to another chapter I had spent the past couple of days meditating on.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back to allow those words to penetrate my spirit. I could feel the peace of God traveling through my body. I did not know how it was all going to work out, but I knew it was going to. I had nothing to my name but my clothes, shoes, jewelry, and a few other things, but I did not care. I had joy and an expectancy no one could take away.

I opened my eyes to see that we were approaching Carson Land. I had never really paid attention when we took off a few weeks ago, but as we descended, seeing Carson Land from this vantage point was spectacular. The sun was bright, and the rays caused the lake to sparkle like a flawless diamond. The entire property was awe-inspiring.

We landed on the pad, and I could see Seth waiting. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and jeans. He looked as perfect as any man could look. I could hardly wait to get out and run into his arms.

Jeff opened the door to the chopper and said, “Once again, it has been a pleasure to serve you, Ms. Allyson.”

“Thank you, Jeff. You are the best pilot I know.”

He grinned like a Cheshire cat. Funny how a compliment can go such a long way.

Because of the engine, I barely heard Seth when he welcomed me. We stood for several minutes hugging each other. Finally, we let each other go, hopped on the golf cart, and rode up to the house. We walked in, and both Ms. Todd and Melanie were waiting.

“Allyson,” Ms. Todd said, grabbing me for a hug. “I am so happy to see you, my darling.”

“My, my, my, Mama Todd. I don't recall ever getting such a greeting from you,” Melanie said, interrupting the moment.

“Melanie, can you go and see if Claudia is ready to serve lunch?” Seth interjected.

She scurried off—more like stomped off. I would never get why this girl was so childish.

“It is so good to be here. When I stepped off the chopper, I felt as if I was back where I belonged,” I confessed.

“God has a way of working things out, baby,” Ms. Todd said. “There is a way you can't go under, and when He ordains for something to happen, it has no choice but to be so.”

“You are so right. I want to thank you, Nana, Seth, you too. . . . It is because of you all and that night we were all standing in this very room that I came to the conclusion that I needed to get to know God. Since that time I have been reading my Bible and praying like never before. When I reflect back on it, if none of this had ever happened, I would not have recognized I needed the Lord in my life. So, again, thank you for leading me to Christ in a real way.”

Ms. Todd grabbed me again around my neck. “Chile, you just made me happy down in my sanctified soul.”

Both Seth and I laughed.

“Sorry to break up you-all's ‘Kumbaya' moment, but lunch is served,” Melanie announced.

“You know what? It is a pretty day today, and it's not too warm. Why don't we eat outside, by the lake?” Seth suggested.

“Sounds like a great idea to me.” I turned to Ms. Todd. “What about you? Do you feel up to being outside?”

“I feel as good—if not better—than you, honey. I got a little pep in my step, girlfriend.”

We laughed again.

“Mel, have Claudia and the others bring everything down to the lake,” Seth said.

“I see you didn't ask me if it was okay with me, too, so I guess I will just follow suit,” Melanie replied.

“Huh? You are eating with us? I thought you said you were behind on some things in the office,” Seth said, genuinely sounding confused.

“I am, but everybody has to eat lunch, right?” Melanie was clearly trying to mask her anger.

“Oh, you can eat in your office,” Seth told her.

“But you hate when any of us eat anyplace other than at a table. It has been your pet peeve since I have known you,” she countered.

“Melanie, can you just please ask Claudia to bring the food out? And I know what my pet peeves are. But I am making a special exception for you today, and I am telling you that you have permission to eat in your office today.”

Without a word, Melanie walked away, and we went out the back door and got back on the golf cart to ride to the lake. As we rode away, I looked back, only to see Melanie standing in the door, watching. That girl really gave me the creeps.

“It really is such a beautiful day. Seth, it was such a great idea to eat out here. The water only adds to the tranquility I feel right now,” I said.

He squeezed my hand. “It is my prayer that you feel this for the rest of your life.”

“Mine too,” Ms. Todd chimed in. “I hope you stay around, Allyson, because I am going to need someone I can trust to take care of my Seth when I leave.”

“It's not like you live that far away from here, Nana. You are only about twenty-five minutes or so away,” I replied.

“No, I mean when I leave to go home—to my heavenly home.”

“Don't talk like that. You are going to be around for many more years to come,” I told her.

“Yeah, Nana . . . we don't want to hear you talking like that today. This is a great day to enjoy good food and an addition to our family,” Seth said, looking over at me.

“I am not trying to scare you. But Nana won't be around here always. One of these days I'm going to leave this ole body behind and go home to be with the Lord. And, Seth, I want to know when I leave here, there is somebody who loves you just as much as me and will see to it that you are taken care of in the same manner in which I have seen to it all these years. That's all I am trying to say. I'm not predicting my death. I am just saying I don't want to leave here worrying about you.”

I nodded. “I understand what you are saying, Nana. I can assure you as long as there is breath in my body, Seth will be taken care of. I owe him so much for taking me in like this and helping me until I get established and on my feet. I will see to it that I have his back at all times.”

“Thank you, baby. I believe you. He needs a woman like you in his life. I hope I live to see that happen.”

We arrived at the lake. In the distance I could see two more golf carts heading our way. We would soon be eating, and no one was more ready than me.

“Seth told me about your situation,” Ms. Todd continued. “Back in my day, we would send somebody to go teach him a lesson, but I understand things are so technical now. But too bad you don't have any brothers to go over there and knock some sense in him. My brothers would have taken him down a dark road and beat the fool out of him, took his clothes and cell phone, and made him walk butt bare naked to the nearest house to get help.”

Seth and I burst into laughter. Ms. Todd was hilarious. “Yeah, I am sure that would have taught him to think twice before he screwed over anyone else,” I said, barely able to contain my laughter. “I wish it were that simple. He refuses to give me a divorce for another four years, but I refuse to wait four years for it.”