Jacquelin Thomas - The Pastor's Woman

He received a master’s of divinity degree with the Green family in attendance. Although he didn’t really expect his mother to be in the audience, Wade kept hoping she would come to see him graduate. He missed her dearly.

Wade had not spoken to her in ten years—not since the day they buried Jeff. His death was a wound that would continue to fester and never heal.

Even after her last customer left, Pearl was still wondering what made Wade leave the restaurant in such a hurry. He’d seemed really upset about something.

She cleaned up her station, picked up her dinner and Paige’s, then left the restaurant.

She drove straight home, listening to Yolanda Adams’s new CD.

Her cousin was waiting for her in the living room. “I’m so glad you’re home. I’m starved.”

She got up and followed Pearl into the kitchen.

Pearl sat the bag of food on the Venetian gold-granite countertop. “Guess who had dinner tonight at Milton’s?”

“Who?” Paige retrieved two plates from one of the cherrywood cabinets.

“Pastor Wade Kendrick.”

Paige’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Was he alone?”

“Yeah. Why?” Pearl wanted to know. “Is he seeing someone?”

“Not that I know of. That’s why I was asking you if he was alone.”

The thought of Wade with another woman bothered Pearl more than it should’ve. There was no reason for her to be jealous. They couldn’t have a decent conversation much less get involved. Besides, she had absolutely no interest in Wade.

At least that’s what Pearl kept telling herself.

When Wednesday rolled around, Pearl was ecstatic. Tonight the Chargers would play their first game of the season. This afternoon she was meeting Paige at Charlie’s Coney Dog Empire, one of Pearl’s favorite haunts.

After her errands she made her way to Charlie’s, conveniently located across from the hospital where Paige worked, so all her cousin had to do was walk across the street for lunch.

“I’ll have two with everything and a cherry Coke,” Pearl ordered with a smile. “And these,” she added, referring to the bag of potato chips she was holding.

She liked sitting at the counter in full view of the grill, where she could watch the cooks. Her standard order was always two Coney dogs with chili, mustard and raw onions, the toppings piled so high that half of it ended up on her plate.

Paige came up from behind Pearl, wearing a pair of royal blue scrubs beneath her coat. “Hey, girl,” she greeted. “How long have you been here?”

“Not very long.”

When the waitress came over, Paige ordered, then turned to Pearl. “After I eat this, I’m going to have to spend another hour on the treadmill tonight.”

Pearl laughed. “It’s so worth it. Besides you’ll work it off in the E.R. They usually have you running around like crazy.”

“How can you eat all those onions like that?” Paige asked when their food arrived. “You’re never going to meet a man walking around with onion breath.”

Pearl shrugged. “A little onion breath never killed anyone. Besides, I’m not looking for anyone. I’m content being carefree and single. It gives me a chance to focus on my career.”

She said a quick prayer of thanks before taking a bite of her Coney dog. “Mmm, this is so good.”

Paige nodded in agreement, her mouth full of food.

While Pearl ate her Coney dog, she contemplated her life. It was true, she was very content with her life but still, there was nothing wrong with some male companionship from time to time. And she wanted to get married one day.

A fleeting image of Wade entered Pearl’s mind, surprising her. Why am I thinking about him?

“You’re not saying much,” Paige stated. “Something bothering you?”

“I was just thinking about how it wouldn’t be so bad to have a man in my life. You know, it’s been a while since I’ve even been on a date.”

“A long while.”

Pearl nearly choked on her pop. “You didn’t have to say it like that. You make it sound like it’s been years.”

“Well, it has been a while.”

“Six months, four days and eight hours, but who’s counting?” Pearl responded with a chuckle.

Paige drank some of her pop. “So you’re saying that you’re ready to be involved in a relationship?”

“If the right person comes along.” Pearl picked up her second Coney dog. “I could eat two more of these.”

Shaking her head, Paige said, “You’re a heart attack waiting to happen. You should balance out all that junk food with some healthy foods.”

“I eat healthy most of the time, and you know it. It’s just that I have a thing for Coney dogs and pizza.”

“And white chocolate, and red-velvet cake and—”

“I have a sweet tooth, I admit it.”

They laughed, and finished their lunch.

“What time are you getting off tonight?” Pearl asked.

“Seven-thirty,” Paige responded. “I’ll pick up the pizza on my way home.”

“They’re playing Boston at home on Friday, right?”

Paige nodded. “D’marcus gave Opal our tickets already.”

“Great! I’m working the lunch shift but I should be home by five.” There was nothing she liked more than watching the game in person.

They talked a few minutes more before Paige went back across the street to Harper University Hospital.

Pearl headed home and spent the rest of the afternoon working on her music. She was composing the arrangements for a new song she’d written for the youth choir to sing. When she first took over as choir director, there was only a handful of teens coming to rehearsal. It wasn’t until she began incorporating some of her own original compositions to the playlist that other youth joined the choir. They were now thirty-eight strong, with others wanting to join almost weekly.

Pearl enjoyed working with the teens. They seemed to respect her and they listened to her. She even tutored a couple of them in history.

Detroit had its share of gang activity and Pearl knew that there was a lot of pressure for kids to join a gang. She hoped that by keeping them involved in church activities and stepping up as a role model and mentor she could save them from making a choice that would potentially ruin lives.

Although her father died when she was very young, Pearl had a happy and secure childhood. She grew up feeling safe and loved. But kids today were in crisis and Pearl was committed to doing whatever she could to help them make the right choices.

She was still working on the song when Paige walked into the apartment carrying the pizza.

“Hurry up,” Pearl said. “I’ll out it on pause until you get out.”

She set the pizza down on the counter and rushed off to take a shower.

Meanwhile, Pearl gathered paper plates, napkins and glasses, setting them on the coffee table.

She was seated cross-legged on the floor with the remote in her hand by the time Paige came running out of her bedroom.

“Did I miss anything?”

Pearl shook her head. “It’s just starting.”

On the first play of the game, the Chargers came down court and Lyman Epse hit a three-pointer.

“Did you just see that?” Paige screamed. “My man just scored three points. Yes!”

Pearl stood up and did a minicheer. “Go, Lyman. That’s the way you do it.”

She bent down to put a slice of pizza on a plate. Grabbing a napkin, she sat back down on the floor. “Now, that’s the way you start a game.”

She groaned in agony when the ball was stolen by the other team.

“It’s okay,” Paige told her. “We’re gonna get it back.”

“Ooh, I can’t stand him,” Pearl uttered when the camera panned to Dashuan Kennedy, Lyman’s teammate who was currently on suspension. “It’s just something about him.”