Rachelle could tell her heart was softening because God had begun answering her prayers.
As she had requested, Troy’s participation in St. Peter’s service this morning hadn’t forced her to maintain a plastic smile for three hours.
When he stood in front of the Inspirations choir and led them through a powerful rendition of David Lawrence’s “Encourage Yourself,” she had been able to focus on the message in the music instead of on him. She had fretted about being under the scrutiny of St. Peter’s members who had discovered her connection to Troy, but she should have been more concerned about what folks were saying about Aunt Irene.
Alanna had driven down from Dallas yesterday and had accompanied her to church this morning. The sisters purposely sat near the back of the sanctuary, where they saw heads leaning together so people could whisper when Uncle Charles led the deacons in collecting the offering.
A few people rolled their eyes and others pursed their lips when he reached their pew to pass the plate. He shared his usual polite greeting and seemed unfazed, but Alanna was boiling.
“Can you believe these Holy Rollers?!” she whispered. “This is why I rotate churches every six months. Just when you start to get comfortable and believe they’re sincere, they go to showing you their ugly sides. I never give ’em the chance to hurt me!”
Rachelle sat back and looked at Alanna. Since when had this diva found time to sit still in somebody’s church? Had she really visited one place for as long as six months without telling her big sister?
Alanna caught Rachelle’s gaze. “What?”
Rachelle chuckled and shook her head. “We’ll talk later.”
Yasmin tapped Rachelle on the shoulder and asked to go to the bathroom. Indigo, who had been sulking the entire service, interceded and grabbed Yasmin’s arm.
“I’ll take her.”
She and Yasmin slid out of the pew, past Chaundra, before Rachelle could respond. Her heart went out to the girls, especially Indigo. What fifteen-year-old wanted the notoriety of having a mother who drove while tipsy and caused an accident that injured another child?
Yasmin’s play dates had dried up, even with her best friend Carmen, but it had been harder for her to understand why her mommy’s accident was causing these problems.
Rachelle noticed when they arrived at church this morning, for the first time since the accident almost two weeks ago, that the same girls who had huddled around Indigo at her party were now treating her like she was contagious. Indigo had been careful not to look their way; she knew what to expect.
Chaundra had spoken to the girls in the group, but walked past them to sit with Indigo and Yasmin. However, even that hadn’t lifted Indigo’s mood. Both girls sat with their heads lowered for most of the service and focused on writing in or reading their bulletins.
After the offering, Pastor Taylor announced that in two weeks, the eleven a.m. service would double as an installation program, just for Troy.
“We’ll have our usual choir selections and other participation by the members,” Pastor Taylor said, “but a guest minister will render the message, and after the offering, I and other ministers Troy has invited to participate in this special service will pray over him and formally install him as St. Peter’s music director. Amen, church?”
Rachelle, Alanna, and their young cousins remained seated after the service and waited for Uncle Charles to finish counting the offering with the other deacons. Chaundra hugged Indigo and left with a young family who had asked her to babysit.
None of the girls’ other friends or their parents approached them to ask how Aunt Irene was doing. When Rachelle made eye contact with the women’s ministry leader, whom Aunt Irene raved about all the time, the woman turned her head and made a hasty retreat.
Troy stood at the rear of the church next to Pastor Taylor, shaking hands with members of the congregation as they departed. Rachelle averted her gaze when two women approached Troy together and took turns fawning over him. The petite one was dressed to kill in stiletto sandals and a form-fitting lavender dress. The other was tall and thick. She wore black slacks and a green silk blouse that draped her frame perfectly.
Guess they’re going to let him choose whether he likes “Minnie Mouse” or a sister with big bones, Rachelle mused.
Rachelle, Alanna, Indigo, and Yasmin were still waiting for Uncle Charles by the time those ladies and all of the other churchgoers had departed.
Pastor Taylor came over and hugged each of them, and Troy followed his lead. When Troy reached Rachelle, he hesitated but to ok her lightly into his arms.
She tried not to squirm when he embraced her. It amazed her that, after all these years, he still had that effect on her.
Pastor Taylor sat on a pew across the aisle and called Indigo and Yasmin over to chat with him.
Troy looked into Rachelle’s eyes. “You doing okay?”
Alanna, who stood next to her sister, cleared her throat. “Yeah, we are, Troy, thanks for asking.”
Rachelle wanted to kick her. An attitude wasn’t necessary all the time.
Troy took Alanna’s hands. “I’d be angry too, Alanna, if my family had been snubbed like yours was today. People sat through an entire sermon in which Pastor talked about the need to love others beyond what we think we can humanly do. They said “amen,” they clapped at all the right times. Some even shouted. But how many came over to you two or to Indigo and Yasmin and offered a hug or asked if they could pray for you or for Ms. Irene?”
Alanna stared at him without responding. Rachelle saw that her sister was taken aback by his straightforwardness.
“I’ll tell you what, though, Alanna,” he continued. “What I’ve learned over the years is that it isn’t about them anyway. God gave them a chance to replicate his love and mercy today, and from what I saw, not one of them took him up on the challenge.
“But in the end, will either of you do it? Will the girls or Deacon Charles? The next time you encounter someone who has made a serious mistake, will you be willing to love them instead of judge them? I guess that’s the whole point of this for you.”
Troy released Alanna’s hands and gave her a hug. He looked toward Rachelle as if he wanted to say something, but nodded instead and walked toward the rear of the church. Pastor Taylor had left through the same hallway seconds earlier, and Rachelle was guessing Troy didn’t want to be left behind.
“Hang tough, ladies, it’ll get better,” he said.
“How can you be so sure, Mr. Hardy?” Indigo called out after him. Her voice trembled, and her eyes were red.
Troy paused and turned toward her. He glanced at Rachelle before responding. “I’ve been in a pit similar to the one you’re in now, Indigo. Feels like the snakes are biting and no one understands. You’re hurt and angry at the same time. Embarrassed. Humiliated, and yet you have to go on. You have to.”
He spread his arms wide, eagle-like. “I’m walking proof that no matter how much someone hurts you, God can make things better.” He looked at Rachelle again, then disappeared down the hallway.
She wanted to run after him and tell him that she understood his pain, because it mirrored her own. They were always going to love each other. They just had to figure out how to do it from afar.