Coming to a crawling halt at LeRoy Collins Boulevard and Fowler Avenue, Abraham looked around to make certain he’d taken the route the detour signs had indicated he should follow. The back route he normally took on Fletcher Avenue was temporarily closed, due to roadwork in the area. The massive gold and black emblem that hung between the two-cement pillars confirmed that he was at the main entrance of the University of South Florida.
LeRoy Collins, Abraham smiled to himself. He wondered if Pastor Leroy Paxton had been named after the famous street. He swung a hard left into the entrance and then navigated his way through the campus until he found the college of business. He parked the Escalade, got out, and waited. It was five minutes after one in the afternoon. Dominic should be making his way out of his Accounting class any minute.
While Abraham waited, he took in the charming campus – his eyes not escaping the huge Sundome, subtly towering in the background. The campus water tower was another famous attraction, which boldly flaunted the insignia of their baseball team. He then stared up at the tall pine trees lodged among the lush green shrubs, soaking in the warm spring sunlight. The scenes were magnificent – scenes visual artists would love for their canvases.
It reminded him of his hometown in Bermuda. Yes, Bermuda, Abraham thought. Another life, a different period of his existence he cared not to revisit. He noticed the grounds suddenly got thick with students, milling about in groups, some chitchatting, others dashing to their cars. It appeared they were late for something. Abraham kept his eyes focused ahead, on the group coming toward him. He recognized Dominic right away – always the one to spot the preppy look. Abraham waved at him, noticing the hesitation of his stance. He knows, Abraham thought…
“Hey buddy, I thought you dropped off the planet.” Abraham’s voice was lighthearted, offering his best mentoring smile, which wasn’t being received too well at the moment. “Either that or your cell phone dropped in the toilet.”
Dominic cracked a half smile, averting his eyes a bit from Abraham. “You know how it is. I’m studying for finals.”
He can’t even look at me. Abraham felt a pang of guilt toying with his heart. “The youth forum is tomorrow night. Let’s discuss the topic over lunch.”
“I can’t leave. I have another session in twenty minutes.”
“That’s no problem. We can discuss it later at my place.”
At your place? You have to be kidding!
“Sir…” Looking into Abraham’s eyes, Dominic tried to determine if they would reveal anything of the man’s secret sin. He saw nothing but what he’d always seen – compassion. Maybe he’d been wrong to pass judgment so quickly. “I can’t. Not right now…”
“Why did you leave the organ so quickly on Sunday?”
“I had something to do.”
“You had something to do,” Abraham parroted. He could see Dominic’s eyes searching him, trying to find that familiar connection. “Listen, I didn’t come here to chide you about–”
“Then what are you here for?”
Abraham folded his arms. “You might as well spit it out. I know something’s bothering the heck out of you.”
Dominic couldn’t believe he’d trusted this fellow – the biggest advocate on abstinence and personal purity, and here he was fronting as if he were still walking the straight and narrow. Yet, Dominic decided that the most sensible thing Abraham had taught him was to speak his mind – so, he did just that.
“Sir, what you do in the privacy of your home is between you and God. But by the same token, don’t stand here and pretend to be all spiritual when you know you’re having problems in your flesh.”
“Speak English.”
Tayah was the only other person who’d told him that. He hated to hear it coming from Abraham. “Come on, man, I was at your place the other night and a naked-butt woman was parading around in your house. Do you need me to be any clearer than that?”
Abraham smiled inwardly. Dominic had a smart mouth, but sometimes, his ability to see beyond an optical illusion caused him to jump to hasty assumptions. “So, that’s what’s been bothering you?”
“Are you for real? Sir, don’t make me disrespect you. You taught us to cherish the truth” Dominic was becoming increasingly incredulous as the conversation went on. “You’re not gonna admit that you had a prostitute in your place?”
“Prostitute?” Abraham kept the edge out of his voice. He hated referring to Honey as a prostitute, but it was a reality he had to accept for the moment. “Now how did you come to that conclusion? It seems to me you have already made up your mind about the situation. My account of the matter is unnecessary.”
“With all due respect, sir, why do I feel you’re playing games with me?”
“Do you think I’m playing games with you, Dominic? What do you suppose happened at my place?”
“Was she a prostitute?”
“It feels like I’m being put on trial here. Besides, you have established that…”
“Just answer the question.”
“You may call her that if you wish.”
“Did you have…?” Dominic fumbled with his words. The questions seemed rude, but his relationship with Abraham was incredibly forthright. Abraham would have it no other way.
“Did I what? Have sex with her?” Abraham said.
“Yes, and did you pay her for sex?” Dominic asked.
Abraham took his eyes off Dominic for a second, and then stared at a group of students laughing with one another. He was afraid something like this would happen. Abraham had always encouraged the young men in his mentoring program to adopt the wisdom of King Solomon, who withheld his judgment until he’d listened to both sides of a story. Apparently, Dominic had not grasped this lesson. If he had, Abraham thought, Dominic would have approached him for an explanation instead of avoiding him as if he had a contagious disease. So Abraham decided to let him sweat it out a little longer.
“You don’t need me to confirm anything for you,” Abraham said.
“Man, you’re making me crazy. I saw a naked woman in your front room.” Dominic shook his head in frustration. “Why can’t I get a straight answer out of you?”
“Yes, I do give her money,” Abraham admitted. “But I don’t pay her for having sex with me. Is that what you want to hear?”
The color drained from Dominic’s face. He backed away from Abraham and stumbled away to his next class, more confused than he’d been ten minutes earlier. He’d had his doubts, but hearing Abraham’s confession smacked him like a ton of bricks. He said he’d had sex with her.
Deep down he had hoped he’d been wrong – that there was another explanation, but obviously, there wasn’t any. Sorry, Tayah. His mentor had just admitted to something that went totally against what he’d been teaching them for five years. In his eyes, it was the mother of two-facedness, and he wasn’t sure if he would ever get over it.
Tayah threw herself into her work, trying hard to ignore the ache that had been swelling inside her for months. She’d been stuck at her desk all day, lost in statistical data, and color-coded spreadsheets. First thing tomorrow morning, she would present a slideshow for her board of directors. Apart from volunteering at the Black Heritage Festival, she worked full-time as a Financial Analyst with JP Morgan Bank. With her glowing track record, she was in line to become the next COO, hopefully before she turned thirty-five. So she worked hard, long hours to prove that she had what it took to succeed. But she would have it no other way, especially now, when things in her personal life weren’t going as planned.
With each passing day, it seemed as if she were falling deeper and deeper into the rut of depression. She was a strong-willed person, but after having been knocked down several times, she found it difficult at times to stay focused. For a moment, she moved her eyes away from the computer, feeling a sudden urge to do something she should have been doing all week. But her excuse had always been that there was too much on her plate to do. There was too much going on in her life, but neglecting such a
vital source of strength had left her depleted.
She pushed back from her desk and took the two-minute walk to the company’s main pantry. It was nearing three o’clock in the afternoon, so it would practically be empty. Once inside, she found a cozy spot against the window. She took off her shoes and then reclined on a velvety couch she felt convinced had been left there for the habitual sleepers.
Her BlackBerry always accompanied her wherever she went. As long as she had it, it was all that she needed. She navigated through her download folder, and pulled up her bible software. As she watched it load, she silently prayed for direction. She wanted to find the appropriate scriptures to read for what she was presently facing. Jeremiah 29:11 popped in her heart. She was familiar with it, but hadn’t read it for a long time.
“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then, you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you…”
She paused. She didn’t need to read any further. Everything she was experiencing in her life was suddenly spoken to. She had blamed God for her unexplained barrenness, but she’d been reminded that God’s thoughts toward her were of peace and not of evil. It was a refreshing thought, to say the least; actually, it was a rebuke.
Nonetheless, it left her somewhat comforted. She read and reread it again until she had committed the passage to memory. It quickly dawned on her that going weeks without reading God’s word left her susceptible to the miseries of broken focus. She threw her head back on the couch and allowed her mind to ruminate. But it didn’t last long. Her BlackBerry went off with a clanging noise. It never fails, she whispered, there is always a distraction. When she saw the number, she frowned.
“Hello Pastor Winder,” Tayah tried to balance her voice. She didn’t want to give off any signs that Dominic had confided in her about him.
“Why do you refuse to call me by my first name?”
“‘Cause, my daddy didn’t train me like that,” she quipped.
“I’ll be sure to tell Leroy to ease up on the military tactics. You’re a grown woman now.”
“You might as well tell him to toss me over the bridge,” she laughed.
“Well, that is true.” Abraham grew silent for a second before he spoke again. “Did Dominic speak to you?”
Tayah froze. She searched for the right words to say. “Um…today?”
“Yes…”
“No, I haven’t heard from him.” She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.” Abraham seemed to shift gears. “I won’t be able to make the youth forum tomorrow evening.”
“Oh, that’s not good,” Tayah commented. “The youth are expecting you to be there. They’re hyped up from the last discussion.”
Abraham chuckled. “They are always ready for a good squabble. But I’m sure you and Dominic would do an equally good job.”
“Thanks for the encouragement.”
“You don’t need it. You’re a natural like your father.”
“If I mind you, I’ll be thanking you all day.” She found it hard to believe what Dominic had told her about Abraham. He just seemed too fatherly. “Same topic? ‘ Friends with benefits’ part two?”
“I’m sure this could be dragged on for weeks,” Abraham chuckled again. “Try to wrap it up in this session. I want to introduce them to something else.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else you need us to relay?”
“No, that’s all.”
Abraham cut the connection, leaving Tayah alone with her thoughts. Soon her BlackBerry chirped, indicating she’d received two messages almost simultaneously. She read the first one, which came from Ian Laing:
“Hi Tayah, just letting you know the MLK Leadership Breakfast has been rescheduled for this Saturday – seven o’clock sharp at Embassy Suites on Fowler. We found a replacement for our keynote speaker who, unfortunately, still is in critical condition. Please get out the communication on this. Cheers!”
That reminded Tayah; she needed to send some flowers to the hospital. With so many things to do, it was easy to get distracted. The other message was from Dominic that succinctly read:
“Call me as soon as you get the opportunity.”
She stole a glance at her watch. She had to get back to her desk to put the final changes on her presentation. She returned a text that was just as succinct.
“I will call you within the hour.”
Chapter Fifteen