was the place, he was the man.
I really didn ’t want to sit here and cry because really, I needed to be celebrating. I rose from the vanity and strolled, into the kitchen. A nice glass of Moscato was exactly what was called for. After filling up a flute, I strolled into the living room and grabbed a magazine. It was too early (just about nine) and I was too worked up (with all kinds of thoughts in my head) to go to bed. So I flipped through the magazine, checking out the competition. This was something I often did for work, though skimming through magazines and checking out the ads didn’t feel much like work to me.
I didn ’t look up again, until my cell phone rang. And when I glanced at the screen I was surprised that an hour had passed. But, I wasn’t surprised by who was calling. It was a little before ten now, and Bible study lasted two hours. So this call was right on time.
“ Hello, Pastor,” I said.
There was silence for a couple of seconds. Not that I co uld blame Malik. The sound of my voice had probably brought back all kinds of memories. He was probably hard right now, just hearing me. It was a wonder that he was even able to carry on with Bible study. Or maybe he didn’t. Maybe Xavier had covered for him, and all he’d done was sit in his office and imagine being with me.
Finally, he said, “ Sister Pink.”
Really? After the intimacy we just shared, he was still calling me Sister? He was really going to have to drop that. Unless we were role-playing or something.
“ Malik, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer that you call me Sasha. Just Sasha.”
“ Sasha.” He said my name so softly. Then, I heard him clear his throat. “Sasha,” he began, “I have to apologize. For what happened.”
I frowned. “ You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You didn’t do anything.” I wanted to add that I’d done all the work, but I didn’t think that would help.
He said, “ Yes, I do have something to be sorry for, and yes, I did do something. Because I should’ve stopped you.”
“ Trust me,” I said. “There was nothing that you could’ve done to stop me.”
“ Well, something has happened that made you think, made you believe, that what happened, was right. It was so wrong, Sister Pink,” he said, slipping right back into that Sister thing again.
I flopped back onto the sofa. Oh, my God! I was gonna have to go through this with him again? Was he still going to resist what God was trying to put together?
He said, “ I wanted to share a scripture with you that came to mind after you left.”
Well, that was one good thing—his mind stayed on me exactly the way I expected. Not that I thought he wouldn’t be thinking about me.
Malik said, “ The Bible teaches us that the flesh is weak, but it is the Spirit who makes us strong.”
“ Yes, I know that scripture very well, Malik,” I said, trying not to sound annoyed. But I really was. How many more mountains was I going to have to climb with him? Why was he putting up all this resistance? Didn’t he know that he would never win in a battle with God?
“ Our flesh was weak,” Malik continued to preach to me. “But I know that with prayer, we can build up our Spirit man to resist temptation. We need to get on our knees and pray, Sister Pink.”
Oh, lawd!
“We need to pray and not only ask God for forgiveness, but ask Him to lead us not into temptation and to deliver us from this evil.”
I rolled my eyes and said nothing.
Malik didn’t seem to notice. He was on a roll. He said, “Because Sister Pink, it was wrong. I’m a married man.”
That was when I had to jump in. Yes, he was mar ried, but to the wrong woman. “I know you’re married, Malik. But at the same time, I know that tonight was meant to be.”
“ Sister Pink, I really need you to hear me. What happened tonight will never happen again. I won’t be a part of committing adultery. I’m a holy man, an upright man.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah! Blah, blah,
I really didn ’t want to sit here and cry because really, I needed to be celebrating. I rose from the vanity and strolled, into the kitchen. A nice glass of Moscato was exactly what was called for. After filling up a flute, I strolled into the living room and grabbed a magazine. It was too early (just about nine) and I was too worked up (with all kinds of thoughts in my head) to go to bed. So I flipped through the magazine, checking out the competition. This was something I often did for work, though skimming through magazines and checking out the ads didn’t feel much like work to me.
I didn ’t look up again, until my cell phone rang. And when I glanced at the screen I was surprised that an hour had passed. But, I wasn’t surprised by who was calling. It was a little before ten now, and Bible study lasted two hours. So this call was right on time.
“ Hello, Pastor,” I said.
There was silence for a couple of seconds. Not that I co uld blame Malik. The sound of my voice had probably brought back all kinds of memories. He was probably hard right now, just hearing me. It was a wonder that he was even able to carry on with Bible study. Or maybe he didn’t. Maybe Xavier had covered for him, and all he’d done was sit in his office and imagine being with me.
Finally, he said, “ Sister Pink.”
Really? After the intimacy we just shared, he was still calling me Sister? He was really going to have to drop that. Unless we were role-playing or something.
“ Malik, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer that you call me Sasha. Just Sasha.”
“ Sasha.” He said my name so softly. Then, I heard him clear his throat. “Sasha,” he began, “I have to apologize. For what happened.”
I frowned. “ You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You didn’t do anything.” I wanted to add that I’d done all the work, but I didn’t think that would help.
He said, “ Yes, I do have something to be sorry for, and yes, I did do something. Because I should’ve stopped you.”
“ Trust me,” I said. “There was nothing that you could’ve done to stop me.”
“ Well, something has happened that made you think, made you believe, that what happened, was right. It was so wrong, Sister Pink,” he said, slipping right back into that Sister thing again.
I flopped back onto the sofa. Oh, my God! I was gonna have to go through this with him again? Was he still going to resist what God was trying to put together?
He said, “ I wanted to share a scripture with you that came to mind after you left.”
Well, that was one good thing—his mind stayed on me exactly the way I expected. Not that I thought he wouldn’t be thinking about me.
Malik said, “ The Bible teaches us that the flesh is weak, but it is the Spirit who makes us strong.”
“ Yes, I know that scripture very well, Malik,” I said, trying not to sound annoyed. But I really was. How many more mountains was I going to have to climb with him? Why was he putting up all this resistance? Didn’t he know that he would never win in a battle with God?
“ Our flesh was weak,” Malik continued to preach to me. “But I know that with prayer, we can build up our Spirit man to resist temptation. We need to get on our knees and pray, Sister Pink.”
Oh, lawd!
“We need to pray and not only ask God for forgiveness, but ask Him to lead us not into temptation and to deliver us from this evil.”
I rolled my eyes and said nothing.
Malik didn’t seem to notice. He was on a roll. He said, “Because Sister Pink, it was wrong. I’m a married man.”
That was when I had to jump in. Yes, he was mar ried, but to the wrong woman. “I know you’re married, Malik. But at the same time, I know that tonight was meant to be.”
“ Sister Pink, I really need you to hear me. What happened tonight will never happen again. I won’t be a part of committing adultery. I’m a holy man, an upright man.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah! Blah, blah,
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