Let the Church Say Amen by Reshonda Tate Billingsley Page B

up.
    “Is it Tracy?”
    Jonathan’s mouth dropped open. How did his father know about Tracy?
    “It is, isn’t it?” Simon continued. “I heard you on the phone with her the other day. I wasn’t eavesdropping, but you sounded very upset.” Simon patted Jonathan on the knee. “You can talk to me, Son. Is Tracy your girlfriend?”
    Jonathan didn’t know what to say. “No.”
    “Not any more?”
    “Something like that,” Jonathan responded. He desperately wanted to end this conversation.
    “So you two broke up? Is that why you decided to move back home? Is that what has you walking around here so gloomy?”
    Jonathan looked away so his father couldn’t see the tears in his eyes.
    “Son, it’s okay. We all get our hearts broken at one time or another. I remember the only other woman I loved besides your mother. Her name was Lillian Butler. She was like a cool glass of lemonade on a hot summer day.” Simon smiled at the memory. “That woman was spectacular, and she broke my heart in a thousand pieces. Up and married some doctor. Said she couldn’t spend her life as a preacher’s wife. I never thought I’d heal from that. Probably like you’re feeling right now. But two months after that, I met your mother, and she made me forget all about Lillian. So see, I promise you, you’ll find you another young woman to steal your heart. Although, honestly, I think you’ve found her already. That Angela is something else. You really should try to work things out with her. Everything happens for a reason. We may not understand God’s motives, but He knows what’s best for us. Turn to your faith now, son. It’ll help you be strong, and it’ll help you heal.”
    Jonathan let his father ramble. Faith. He would need a lot of that. He didn’t understand why he was hurting so much. When he left Georgia he thought he was doing the right thing, but now, with the emptiness he felt inside, he wasn’t so sure.
    “Do you understand what I’m saying to you, Son?”
    Jonathan hadn’t heard any of his father’s last comments. He nodded nonetheless. “I know I’ll meet someone else. I’ll be fine.”
    “Good. Before I get into what I came up here about, I was just wondering about you and Angela. You know she’s good for you?”
    “Dad, please.”
    “I’m just saying, personally, I think you and Angela should really try and work things out. That’s a good woman if I’ve ever seen one. And you two already have a solid foundation. I’ll never for the life of me understand why you broke up in the first place.”
    Jonathan knew how crazy Simon was about Angela. Not just because she was a dedicated member of their church but because she was simply the type of woman everyone fell in love with. She was good-hearted, sweet, respectable, mannerable, and didn’t have an evil bone in her body. It had always been Simon’s dream that they would end up married.
    “Dad, Angela has no interest in me. She’s moved on.”
    “No, I don’t think so,” Simon said, shaking his head. “That girl still pines for you. I see it in her eyes every time she asks about you, or someone mentions your name. That’s why you never ran into her on any of your trips home. Whenever she found out you were coming home, she’d skip service, and that girl never misses church. I just think she couldn’t bear to see you because she still loves you.”
    “Anyway.”
    “Okay, you don’t have to get back together with her, but at least do your old man one favor and work with her on the planning for the youth celebration next month.”
    Jonathan eyed his father suspiciously. “Come on now. As if she needs my help.”
    “She does. She has only a few other members working with her, and from what I’ve heard, she’s doing all the work. So could you do that for me? You know how good you are with the kids.” Simon smiled mischievously.
    Jonathan didn’t feel like arguing. Maybe the distraction would do him good. Unlike Veronica, he wouldn’t have