Pink & Patent Leather (18 page)

At home, I peed on every stick and then stared at the strips until one turned pink, the other had a dotted line, and the last one had two straight lines. No matter the test, the end result was the same.

I was pregnant.

For just a few seconds, I let that news sink in and then, I ran into my bedroom and grabbed the phone. I couldn
’t wait to tell my mother. But right before I pressed her number, I remembered. This was the best news I’d ever had to share, and I couldn’t tell my mother. Nor my father. But maybe that was best. My parents weren’t the first ones I should tell anyway.

Tossing my phone onto my bed, I wrapped myself in a hug. I was pregnant! With Malik
’s baby! My dream was coming true. This was the best thing that could ever happen to me.

Grabbing my phone once again, I pressed Malik
’s number. Yes, we never communicated this way, but this was something he needed to know now. The phone rang twice, and then went to his voicemail, as if he had pressed ‘Decline’ on his phone. I hung up without leaving a message. He was probably in a meeting, but that was fine. I could wait. In fact, if he didn’t call me back, I’d even be patient and wait for Sunday.

I had four days to find the perfect outfit to be wearing when I told Ma
lik that he was going to be a daddy. And in four days, our relationship would finally be official.

Calling the Four Seasons spa, I made my usual appointments, planning to spend the entire day there on Saturday. Then tomorrow after work, I would start look
ing for that outfit.

But today, I would just rest and revel in this news. I laid across my bed and let my thoughts wander.

Mrs. Malik Stroman. Reverend and Mrs. Stroman. Sasha Simone Stroman.

Come Sunday, the world would know that Pastor Malik Stroman w
as going to be a father!

Glancing at my reflection in
the mirror, I wanted to kiss myself.

I wasn
’t trying to be conceited or anything, but I knew that I looked simply adorable in my Versace Pink sheath. The dress was the rave of this season’s Fashion Week. With its knee-length hem, and Peter Pan collar, it was certainly church-appropriate. But with the see-through back that dipped dangerously low, it was still a Sasha original. It was seemly and sexy at the same time. And then, my special-order Jimmy Choo four-inch, sling backs, and matching clutch, really set the entire outfit off.

Clearly, I had tak
en a lot of care getting dressed, but I had to. Today was the most important day of my life. Once I told Malik our news, my entire life would change. Knowing my man, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to present me right away as his love, the soon-to-be new First Lady. So I had to be prepared and I had to come correct. Show up and give Grace Tabernacle something they’d never had before—a truly fashionable, young, vibrant first lady.

With a deep breath, I grabbed my keys, wrapped myself in my fur-trimmed p
ink cashmere cape before I headed out of my apartment. All this week I’d tried to imagine what today would be like and I was far more calm than I’d expected. I’d been praying and praying for God to make the way clear, for Him to do what He’d done for the Hebrew children and to part the Red Sea and make what was about to happen easy for everyone concerned.

That
’s exactly what God had done. He removed my greatest obstacle—my parents.

I had been on my knees praying last night when my phone rang and the pictur
e that popped up on the screen was my mother.

“
Sweetheart,” she’d said the moment I answered the phone.

Right away, I heard the desperation in her voice. “
Mother, what’s wrong?” I spoke and held my breath at the same time.

“
I wanted to let you know that your father and I are driving down to Richmond tonight.” Before I could ask her why, she explained, “One of my line sisters, you know her, Valerie Stinson, well, she had a heart attack and I have to get down there to be with her.”

My mother had pledged her s
orority twenty-five years before and yet, she was still close to her Sorors, especially her line sisters, the other women she’d pledged with.

“
I’m so sorry to hear that, Mom,” I said. “I’ll be praying for Ms. Valerie.”

“
Thank you, sweetheart. We’re going to spend the night in Richmond tonight and will probably come back late tomorrow or early Monday morning.”

“
Okay,” I said. “Text me when you get down there. I love you.”

“
I love you, too, sweetheart.”

When I hung up, I was really sorry about what
my mother had told me, but as sorry as I was, I was equally relieved. That had to be a sign that God was answering my prayer. I was thankful because I hadn’t figured out the way to handle this situation with my parents at church. Of course, I could have waited for Malik to just come to my condo the way he did every Sunday, but when had I ever taken the easy route? Plus, I really felt the need to tell Malik our good news while we were in church. I wanted to make this announcement to him while we were standing on Holy ground.

So with that call, my parents were the first obstacle out of the way and I
’d be free to speak with Malik in his office once the services ended. Then, by the time my parents came home, Malik and I would be able to stand before them and together announce our plans for marriage.

Once I settled into my car, I pulled out of the underground garage, then turned my car in the direction of Grace Tabernacle. When I was just three blocks away from home, I did something that I
’d never done before while on my way to church—I called Malik.

My heart pounded as his phone rang. I wondered if he answered, would I be able to hold back this news? I really wanted to tell him in person, but for some reason, right now, I wanted to hear his voice.

After two rings, my call went to voicemail. But that was fine. Once I heard the beep to leave a message, I said, “You know who this is. And I just want you to know that,” I paused for a moment because I really wanted Malik to hear my next three words, “I love you.” Then with a smile I hung up. That would set the stage for the rest of the day.

Parking was
easy, of course; I just used my daddy’s spot. And as the usher led me to the pew where my family usually sat, I didn’t have the feelings that I usually had. Today, I didn’t covet Sister Stroman’s seat, since it would be mine next Sunday.  Even when she glanced at me with a scowl, I was gracious and smiled at her.

I swayed and rocked with the choir, and marveled at how the sun glistened through the stained-glass windows. Ev
erything was brighter and lighter. This was a golden day. Then, Malik strutted out onto the altar, and I felt as if my heaven had opened up. But then when he took his place at his seat, for the first time in weeks, my mind wandered to Xavier.

I wasn
’t sure what got me thinking about my friend. I wasn’t sure if it was the empty seat next to Malik’s or the fact that today was the most important day of my life. But in those seconds, I wished so much that Xavier was here. I wished so much that I could share my news with him. And, I wished so much that he would’ve been happy for me.

It didn
’t feel right to be moving on with my life in such a wonderful way without Xavier, but there was no use lamenting over this. Xavier and I were over. It was clear, that he was one of those friends who was only meant to be there for a season. And I had to accept that.

I took my thoughts and attention back to Malik and now that I was focused on my man, I took in everything about him. For the first time, I noticed that Malik wasn
’t wearing his usual robe. Today, he did something that he didn’t do very often—he was wearing just his suit. His black suit with a blinding white shirt. But the best part was Malik’s tie. His pink-striped tie. The pink-striped tie that I’d purchased for him on Thursday when I went out to Tyson’s Corner to find my dress. In Neiman’s I’d bought that tie for Malik and then had it FedExed to his office.

I knew he
’d received my gift on Friday because I’d checked the tracking. But I hadn’t expected him to wear it today! For me, this was just another sign. Truly, this was a day that The Lord had made—for me and Malik.

“
Good morning, Church,” Malik bellowed from the altar.

“
Good morning, Pastor,” the congregation said in unison.

“
I’m feeling especially good this morning, praise be to God,» Malik said, and then, he turned in my direction. When he smiled, I thought I was going to melt.

“
I’m going to ask you to bear with me this morning, because I have some special news....”

My body must
’ve needed extra blood because I felt my heart pumping hard. I hadn’t told Malik anything about our baby, but maybe God had.  Maybe that’s why he seemed so happy, like he was bursting with excitement.

“
And I want to use the Word of God to share this news,” Malik said. “Open your Bibles to Isaiah nine, the sixth verse, and read out loud with me.”

Malik paused, giving us all a chance to find the scripture. I scrolled through the Bible on my cellphone and when I got to Isaiah six, nine, I was sure that I was about to faint.

There had been many moments on this journey when I’d had my doubts. Not so much because of my heart, but because of what everyone else was telling me. From everything Xavier had said, to my parents, to even Malik himself—there were times when the devil was using people to try to discourage me. But, I’d stood steadfast in knowing what God had told me, and thank God that I had. Thank God that I believed Him and I had faith when no one else did. Because God had clearly spoken to Malik through scripture, this scripture.

This was
it. This was the final sign.

Malik began to read, “
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” He paused for a moment and I rested my hand over my stomach. “Church, I’m going to stop right here and ask my wife to join me here in the pulpit.”

My
eyes got wider. Was Malik kidding? Was he really going to do this that way? I didn’t like Sister Stroman, not one bit. And I couldn’t wait for her to be gone. But for Malik to bring her before the church this was—this was going to be embarrassing, humiliating. Maybe it was because I had so much joy, that I had compassion for Sister Stroman. I didn’t want to see this happen to her.

Then, I thought about the role I was about to take. I was going to be Malik
’s wife. I had to learn to defer to him in all ways. So, even though for the first time ever I felt sorry for Sister Stroman, I sat up a little straighter, and nodded my approval.

Malik walked down the few steps and reached for Sister Stroman
’s hand to help her up to the pulpit.  The two of them wore matching grins and I thought that was kind of weird. Maybe God had told Sister Stroman, too. Maybe she didn’t have a problem with any of this. Maybe she didn’t want to get in the way of God’s plan.

The two of them stood side-by-side, holding hands. And then, time slowed down.

“Church, I’ve waited a long time, we’ve waited a long time. But, you won’t have to wait.» Even from where I was sitting I could see how Pastor held Sister Stroman’s hand just a little bit tighter, and they stepped just a little bit closer to each other. He continued, «We wanted to let our church family know today that Sister Stroman and your Pastor, me....»

The congregation laughed. Well everyone laughed except for me. My heart
was beating so wildly, I could no longer smile.

Malik finished with, “
We’re expecting our first child.” Then, he pulled his wife into his arms. And. They. Kissed.

All kinds of praises rose throughout the church: “
Thank you, Jesus!” “Bless you, Sister Stroman.” “Oh, my God, a baby!”

The praises went on and on. The pianist on the keyboard struck a few chords and then started playing
God Has a Smile on Me.

Most of the congregation stood, and swayed, and sang.

But not me!

Just a few minutes before, my heart had
been singing. Now I was sure, my heart had stopped beating altogether. While there were cheers all around me, tears streamed down my face. My tears were coming fast, but I wasn’t worried about anyone noticing. There were others crying tears of joy—though mine were far from that.

Opening my clutch, I pulled out a Kleenex, patted my eyes, then stepped over the members who stood to the left of me. No one seemed to notice as I slipped out of the pew. The praise celebration continued.

I made my way to the lobby and really wanted to get to the car, but once I was out of the sanctuary, I could hardly move. But, I could certainly pray.

“
How can this be, God?” I cried out. “Why would you let this happen to me?”

What was supposed to be the happiest day, had turned
into a nightmare that I didn’t understand. Malik couldn’t be having a baby with her—not when he was having a baby...and about to get married...to me.