The First Lady (30 page)

This day, I returned home a little later than usual. The women had already eaten dinner and were now together in the living room. I watched appreciatively as Savannah and Marlene sat side by side, an open Bible between them.

“Even though Psalms 23 is read at funerals,” Savannah said to Marlene after reciting the Scripture, “I think it should be read and believed by a person while that individual is alive on earth.”

“Why?” Marlene asked curiously. “I mean, if he’s gonna lead me to ‘lie down in green pastures,’ I’d rather it be while I’m dead. To lie down, in that particular Scripture, doesn’t that mean death?”

I was waiting for Savannah to look to me for assistance in explaining the verse to Marlene, but she didn’t. She just went right on to explain it as if she were teaching Wednesday evening Bible study. As a pastor, I must admit I was proud of my sheep. As a man, I was impressed.

“You need to know that you don’t have to want for anything; God will provide all of your needs,” Savannah explained as she took Marlene’s hands into hers. “You don’t need crack.” She shook her hands for emphasis. “God is your rock.”

Marlene nodded her head in agreement as she fought back tears. “Yes, I know that now.”

“But I want you to believe it, Marlene.” I decided to jump in. “Believe that God will deliver you from this. He delivered me.”

Savannah looked up and smiled at me as a single teardrop fell from Marlene’s eye. We made a wonderful team.

“Well, Marlene,” Savannah said, looking up at the clock on the kitchen wall. “It’s almost nine o’clock. I better get ready to head out. But before doing so, let’s close in prayer. Pastor, do you mind if I close?”

“I don’t mind at all,” I stated. “Shall we join hands and bow our heads?” Savannah proceeded to say a nice little prayer that sealed our accomplishments with Marlene for the evening. It allowed us to touch on and agree on a successful and permanent recovery for Marlene.

“Well, Sister Marlene,” Savannah said, rising, “you just keep on keeping on, and trust in God.”

“I will, Sister Savannah,” Marlene said, rising and giving Savannah a hug. “I’m going to turn in too. I never knew how much all this praying could wear folks out.” We all chuckled. “But on a more serious note, it works. Prayer really works, and I’m living proof because I’m getter better and stronger each day,” Marlene said with conviction and pride.

“Amen, my sister,” Savannah said, giving Marlene a high five. “Amen.”

“Well, you drive home safely,” Marlene said before she exited the kitchen and went to her room to prepare for bed.

“Sister Savannah, let me walk you to the door,” I said, leading the way.

“Marlene really is making progress, isn’t she, Bishop?” Savannah asked as we walked to the door.

“She certainly is, and you are a big part of that,” I said.

“Oh, Bishop,” she said modestly, shooing her hand at me.

“Seriously, Sister Savannah,” I said, looking into her eyes so that she’d know I was sincere. “You have a powerful anointing. It’s as though your every word is guided by God Himself.”

“Well, Bishop, I do ask God to give me the proper words to speak, so my words are, in fact, guided by God. But I’m not in there working with Marlene alone, Bishop. The way you open up and your honesty … I mean, you are such a humble man, and I admire you so much for that.”

As Savannah spoke, she looked up at me wondrously, and her eyes reflected her feelings. And for the first time, I noticed just how beautiful she was, not just on the inside, but on the outside too. I bet if she’d let down that bun she always wore, her hair would flow like Samson’s. I bet she was hiding a lot of things—things she would hopefully reveal through her own counseling with me—things that, once she could let go of them, would allow her to be an even more beautiful woman, if that were at all possible.

Just look at her. If I weren’t seeing Lisa Mae, I swear I would consider—

Before I could finish my thoughts, I felt Savannah’s lips press against mine. It was almost as if she were reading my mind and decided to thank me with a kiss for all of the wonderful compliments I had just given her in my head. Before I could even let the first kiss sink in, she immediately gave me a second peck on the cheek, then told me good night and slipped out the front door.

I wiped my lips, still a little shocked. It was a nice, soft kiss. It was a good kiss; nothing like the passionate kisses that Monique and I had shared, or even the occasional kiss Lisa and I shared, for that matter, but nice nonetheless.

The thought of Monique and the way she had kissed me, the way she had touched me, only made me miss her even more than I had. For the past few Sundays, I had been hoping to walk out and spot her somewhere in the church pews, but that never happened. Part of me regretted the decisions I’d made. I knew I had hurt Monique deeply when I started seeing Lisa Mae, and I had also hurt myself. I was enjoying the time I spent with Lisa Mae, and there was no doubt she was good for the church, but in the back of my mind—or maybe it was my heart—I had a nagging sense that I was missing something. I thought perhaps seeing Monique return to Sunday services would ease that feeling. Maybe it was just guilt over allowing one of my flock to believe she was unwelcome in my church. Or, if I was completely honest with myself, maybe I was second-guessing my decision to let Monique go. Perhaps I should have given our relationship a chance. It hurt to think I might never see her again, especially since she was still so often on my mind.

As I turned around to shut off the lights and get ready for bed, the phone on the end table caught my eye. I thought about calling Monique. Part of me just wanted to hear her voice—a big part of me. But there was another part of me that just wanted to check up on her as the pastor of the church, to make sure she was okay both mentally and spiritually. Just because she was mad at me, it didn’t mean she had to be mad at God. I picked up the phone and dialed Monique’s number.

What am I thinking?
I asked myself, hanging up before it could even ring once. I broke her heart. If I weren’t calling to tell her I’d split with Lisa Mae, there was probably nothing I could say that Monique would want to hear. It would be best for me to just leave her alone and let her get on with her life.

Shaking the thought of Monique out of my head, I went into the kitchen, where Marlene was in her robe and slippers, fixing a cup of tea. It was really good to see her doing so much better.

She had regained some of her weight; not a whole lot where she was fat or anything like that, but enough so that her ribs didn’t show through her blouse anymore. Her face looked less sunken, and her skin had regained some of its brightness.

“Did Sister Savannah make it out okay?” Marlene asked when she spotted me.

“Yes, she did.” I smiled, allowing my mind to linger back to the kiss Savannah had given me before she left.

Observing my smile, Marlene said, “Yeah, she’s worth smiling about, all right.”

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Sister Savannah. She’d put a smile on any man’s face. Matter of fact, I don’t know why that girl ain’t married yet. Maybe if she’d do something different with that hair of hers. But you have to admit, she’s kind, genuine, and loves the Lord. What more could a man ask for?” Marlene hinted. “Especially a man who loves the Lord just as much.”

I knew what Marlene was getting at, and she was right. Savannah was a sweet woman, and her strong Christian values would be a great asset to the church. But just as I had no choice when I ended things with Monique, I couldn’t even dream of starting something with Savannah. Lisa Mae and I were an item, a couple accepted by the church, and Lisa Mae was also a fine candidate for the position of first lady. Sure, I knew there was still no real spark between us, but I had to give those feelings a chance to develop. Lisa Mae had done nothing wrong, so what kind of man would I look like if I broke up with her now to start dating another woman? No, I had made my bed, and now there was no unmaking it.

“It’s okay, Thomas Kelly,” Marlene said when I didn’t respond to her comments about Savannah. “You don’t have to admit that you like her, but don’t worry, I won’t be jealous if you do.”

Things were just getting stranger and stranger. Now Marlene was throwing in her two cents about my love life. Everything had been much easier before people decided I was the church’s most eligible bachelor. “Marlene, I—”

She interrupted me quickly. “You don’t have to explain yourself, Thomas Kelly. I’ll admit that for a short while I thought about us getting back together, but now I see what’s real. You need a woman who can help you lead that church, and with my problems, I sure don’t need that kind of pressure.”

Her words left me speechless. I had no idea that Marlene had given thought to us being together again, and it was almost more than I could handle right now. Lisa Mae, Monique, Savannah, and now Marlene; these women swirled around in my head, making me wonder how I had ended up in this situation, less than a year after my wife’s death. Then I thought of Charlene and those letters.

“Marlene, I…” When I couldn’t express a complete thought, I just gave up. “I think I need to go to bed. Good night.” I headed for my bedroom, hoping I could quiet my troubled mind and get some rest.

“Marlene?” I questioned, still uncertain of the identity of the person standing before me.

“Savannah, you’re right on time,” Marlene said as she stepped aside so that I could enter the house. Speechless, I stepped in, staring at Marlene with my mouth open. Dressed in her Sunday finest, she certainly didn’t look like the same sickly, drug-addicted woman I had met not long ago.

“Now, where I’m from, you better not leave your mouth open wide for that long. No telling what might end up in it, especially if you’re trying to get high.”

I laughed at her sassy words. “Marlene, you look … you look …” My eyes welled up with tears. I couldn’t find the words to tell her just how much healthier she looked, so I just threw my arms around her. “I’m so proud of you, girl.” I pulled away from her, holding on to her arms and admiring the beautiful, sharply dressed woman who stood before me.

“You like?” she asked with a playful twirl, modeling her outfit for me.

It was a blue two-piece suit with a long skirt that had a slight slit up the back. She wore matching blue pumps with a blue-and-white flower on the ankle strap, which matched the blue-and-white flower on the blue hat she was wearing. The strap of a blue purse dangled from her forearm, which she had covered with long white gloves.

“Oh, Marlene,” I said, hugging her again as I began to sniffle.

“Well, I must not look as good as I thought if you’re crying,” she said as we separated.

“Oh, no, Marlene, you look absolutely beautiful. You stand before me looking like a true woman of God. Now this is the Marlene I know you were meant to be.”

“Thank you, Sister Savannah, but you know I have to give you some credit for all of this. If it weren’t for you and the bishop praying me through my addiction for the past four weeks, then I don’t know where I’d be right now.”

“All glory to God, Sister Marlene. All glory to God. He’s working through me to help you. It’s all Him.”

“Well, you and God can fight over who wants to take credit for my successful recovery thus far,” she said with a smile, “because as you know, I have to take it one day at a time. This is only the beginning. But you know what, Sister Savannah? I think I’m going to make it.”

“I know you are,” I said, amazed at God’s power to change even the worst circumstances.

“Well, we better head on out to church. Thanks for picking me up. That way I didn’t have to go early with the bishop. It gave me more time to get myself together.”

“It’s no problem at all.”

The mention of the bishop made me feel a small twinge of embarrassment as I recalled how I had boldly kissed him the last time I was at his house. I’d left that night feeling like a fool. God had brought us together for a much higher purpose than becoming a couple. He’d brought us into a partnership to help save Marlene’s soul, and I felt childish having let that greater goal become confused with my crush. I felt even worse about what I’d done because it was well known that he was involved with Sister Lisa Mae. I was not usually the kind of woman who would try to steal someone else’s man, but that was exactly what it looked like I was trying to do. I hoped my brazen behavior hadn’t offended the bishop. I didn’t want him to think badly of me, especially since, if he and Lisa Mae ever broke up, I still wouldn’t mind having a chance at love with him.

“I know this is a big day for you, Marlene,” I said, struggling to divert my thoughts back to more sensible things. “You’re going back to church a changed woman. But let’s take a moment for prayer before we head out,” I suggested.

We joined hands and bowed our heads, and I began to pray. “Dear, Lord—”

“Uh, pardon me, Sister Savannah,” Marlene interrupted, “but I’d like to say the prayer this time if you don’t mind.”

I smiled. “Of course I don’t mind.”

“Lord,” Marlene began, “I have been through some dark times. I have abused my body with drugs, neglected the needs of my children, and strayed from your Word. But I know now, Lord, that through it all, even when I was at my lowest, You were by my side. I know You love me, Lord, because You sent Thomas Kelly and Sister Savannah to save me. They pulled me out of the darkness, Lord, so that I might see Your light and experience the fullness of Your love. For that, I am forever grateful. Amen.”

Her prayer was short, but moving. Marlene’s progress had touched me deeply, and I was grateful that God had put me in a position to be a part of it. My father’s meddling matchmaker ways might have been a nuisance, but in the end, he brought me closer to the bishop. If it weren’t for that, I never would have been asked to help Marlene, and I would have missed out on this powerful food for my soul.

She squeezed my hand and said, “Now let’s go to church. I want to make my entrance as a new woman and let everyone see the power of God’s love.”

Marlene was right about the impact her improved appearance would have on the congregation at Sunday services. From the moment she stepped out of my car, it was as if all eyes were on her.