To Be Continued…

This is the story so far.  I haven’t finished it.  It’s still a work in progress.

11/15/2007

Ronnie Winchell had finally reached the Orchard Park Mall. He did not really need to go, but he wanted a new suit for Easter Sunday. He was visiting the New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church for their services and he wanted to look his best. He hadn't been to church in a year. He was a Christian, but he had lost interest in church after a rumor was spread about him at his last church. He was so hurt that he could not even go back to any church, much less his church home. Somehow, a rumor got out that he had gotten a lady pregnant at his church. He hadn't. No one ever said who the girl was, but the rumor spread like wildfire, even without a person being named. It had gotten to the point that he could not even walk in the church without someone giving him a nasty look. The mothers of the church were especially hard on him. At the time of the rumor, four single women in the church were pregnant. None of them would say that Ronnie was the father of their child, despite pressure from the leadership of the church. No one could say anything because Ronnie had not slept with any of the women. He hadn't slept with a woman since his wife died three years ago. To be honest, he was not even that type of guy. Ronnie was an upstanding gentleman. He had never mistreated a woman. He had never cheated on a woman. He had never even raised his voice at a woman. His own problem was that he had a gold tooth in his mouth that he had gotten when he was younger. That thing got him into more trouble. He was not a thug. He was not a rough neck. He just happened to be a guy with a gold tooth.

Ronnie never got over the rumor. Some of the people at his old church still think that he is the father of one of those children, if not all of them as one deacon surmised was the truth. Ronnie finally left the church because he could no longer take the ridicule. He hadn't set foot in a church since the last Sunday he attended his former church. He had not forgotten about God, though. He knew that he needed God, no matter how crazy the people who said they knew God acted.

A neighbor of his had been inviting him to church for the longest time. She was persistent with her invitations, too. It had gotten to a point where Ronnie did not want to be outside at any given time just in case she showed up outside. She cornered him one day, "Ronnie, when are you going to come to church with me. It seems like you have been hurt by someone at church. You have got to get over that and come back to God. Quit holding God responsible for what man did." The woman did not know how much that had pricked his heart. It was that statement that made him decide to go to church.

He had decided to wait for a major holiday, that way; he could not be singled out in the church service. At his old church, that was a constant habit, singling out people to put them on Front Street. Ronnie did not want that to happen. Most churches would be packed on a holiday Sunday, so no one could find him in the service. He hadn't even told his neighbor that he was coming to church. He did not want her pressuring him to do anything in the service. He just wanted to go to the church and then go home. He would be able to say that he had gone to church and no one could bother him for awhile.

Ronnie parked his car. He was far off from the mall. He could not believe how many people were at the mall. It was cars everywhere, even at 2:30 in the afternoon. "Why were not any of these people at work?" Ronnie thought. He started the long trek to the mall. He made a good living, owning a gas station. He chuckled. No one really knew that he owned the gas station. He was not the only owner. A friend of his owned the station with him. His friend did most of the work. Ronnie enjoyed managing the station and visiting with the people. He often wondered how people would treat him if they knew his secret.

He had wanted to tell the lady who drove the Subaru Tribeca how he was. He really liked her, but she would not give him the time of day. He had tried on several occasions to talk to her, but she acted as if she wanted him to just evaporate into thin air. He knew that she had a preconceived notion about him. She was always nice, but she had no interest in him whatsoever. He wished he knew what church she went to because he would gladly go visit her at church. If she could only see him in a tailor made Italian suit, she would have a different impression of him.

He was going to visit RayRay's Men's Store. Mr. Ray would have a perfect suit for him. Ronnie had called Mr. Ray and asked him to have a suit ready for him. Ronnie knew that MR. Ray would hook him up right. Ronnie was going to church once this year and he was intent on looking his best.

Lela reached her car. She unlocked her door with the keys she had retrieved from her purse before reaching the car. She opened the back door and threw the bag into the backseat. She was still furious. She needed to go home and take a long hot bubble bath. That would make her feel better. She was even more upset because she hadn't even found a suit yet. How was Pastor Van Duren going to pay any attention to her and she was in one of her old suits? She made a face, "Why am I still thinking about that fool?" She chuckled, "I got it bad for that man. I need a life or something." She slammed the backdoor shut and then opened the front door and got into the car. She slammed the door behind her. She abruptly put on her seatbelt, hurting her hand in the process. She almost said a curse word, but she mentally stopped the word before it completely formed in her brain. She shook her hurt hand to ease the pain some. Shaking her hand did not help. Her hand still throbbed from the pain. She blew a deep breath and then started the car. She turned the power off on her radio so that she could say a prayer.

"Lord, please help me. I am lonely. I am tired of being alone. I do not know what to do anymore. It seems as if I have been left out here. All my friends have gotten married or will be getting married. I am stuck out here by myself. Please help me. Give me some kind of answer. Maybe Pastor Van Duren is not my husband, but I know You have one for me. Can he please show up some time soon? Take away the loneliness. Take away the emptiness. Please Father, I truly need You now. Please forgive me for acting incorrectly with the pastor. In Jesus' name. Amen."

Mrs. Logan smiled when she realized that the young man had recognized her. He stopped what he was doing and ran towards her. She braced herself for the impact of David's hug. When he reached her, he grabbed her up, gave her a big hug, and spun her around in the process. After a few seconds, he put her down and then gave her a wet kiss on the jaw. He did it on purpose, like he always did whenever he saw her.

Mrs. Logan wiped her jaw, "Boy, quit leaving her spit on my jaw. I do not know where your mouth has been."

David Victor laughed, "Sorry, Mrs. L. You know I love you like crazy. I get excited whenever I see you."

"Boy, you are going to get me into trouble with my husband talking like that," Mrs. Logan communicated.

"I can't help it if he gets jealous. He better treat you right or I will be there to scoop you up," David Victor beamed.

Mrs. Logan rubbed David Victor's arm, "Baby, you make an old woman smile. Now, do you know where my husband is?"

David Victor playfully frowned, "Why are you looking for that old man?"

Mrs. Logan twisted her lips, "Cause I love him. That's my Boomby. I am crazy about him."

David Victor laughed mischievously, "Boomby, huh. Wait until I call him that. That is too good."

"Boy, do not make me tan your hide. You know you can't call him that. If you do, we are going to have a problem," Mrs. Logan chided.

David Victor mad a sad face, "Sorry, Mrs. Logan. I was just playing around. Do you forgive me?" He smiled a big kool-aid smile.

Mrs. Logan twisted her lips and then slapped David Victor on his shoulder, "You are too much for me. If you see my husband, tell him that I am at Udetta's."

"Why do not you just call him?" Victor questioned.

Mrs. Logan rolled her eyes, "If I wanted to call him, I would have called him. Now, give him my message. You young folk do not know how to follow instructions these days. Lord, help us all." She walked off before David Victor could say anything.

David Victor laughed and walked off to go find Mr. Logan. He did not want to get into trouble with Mrs. Logan.

Mikala had been in Udetta's helping out. Mrs. Udetta asked her to run back and forth to the stockroom to get shoes for the customers. Mikala did not argue with Mrs. Udetta, she just began working as if she was on the payroll. Mrs. Udetta was happy, too. Normally, Mikala would complain if she was asked to do the stockroom running at the store. She would eventually do that task, but she would complain first.

Mikala had been doing a great job. Mrs. Udetta had received several compliments from the customers about how fast Mikala was retrieving the shoes and accurately. Everyone seemed happy that they were able to get what they needed so quickly. Mikala even seemed happy. Her mother on the other hand, was fuming. She was ready to leave the store. She still needed to find Mikala a dress for Sunday service.

Mrs. Udetta pulled Michelle Neu aside, "Let the child stay here. She is happy and enjoying herself. If you ask her to leave now, she is going to be upset. Do you really want to be dealing with her if she is upset?"

Michelle blew a deep breath, "I need to find her a dress for Sunday. If I do not do it now, she will never get a dress. That would probably make her happy. Why is she so hard to shop for?"

Mrs. Udetta laughed, "Do not worry about the dress. I have one in the back that I think both of you will like. She will have a new dress for Sunday. Let the child be who she is. When she is ready to be a girlie girl, she will be a girlie girl. Leave her be."

Michelle twisted her face, "I just wish she would wear something else besides jeans. At least she wears the kind with sparkles. That's some good news."

Mrs. Udetta smiled, "She is a child. When she is ready, she will become a girlie girl. Just give her time."

Michelle blew a breath, "Ok. What does the dress look like?"

"Mrs. Udetta, do you have this suit in red," a lady holding a blue dress said.

Mrs. Udetta looked at Michelle, "I will show you later. Let me help her."

Michelle nodded as Mrs. Udetta walked off. Michelle hoped that she would like the dress that Mrs. Udetta had picked out.

11/14/2007

Boyd asked, "What happened?"

Brock laughed again, "I ain't gonna tell you over the phone. Hurry up and get here."

Boyd grunted, "Why you gotta clown? Alright, but this better be good." Boyd hung up the phone without even saying bye.

Lela walked slowly towards the exit of the mall. She was fuming, half at herself for acting a fool in front of Pastor Van Duren, half at Pastor Van Duren for acting as if he didn't care about her advancing towards him. She was hurt, noticeably hurt, but there was no one to even detect how she felt. She was lonely. Perhaps, she was going to be lonely for the rest f her life.

"If that nappy headed preacher doesn't know a precious jewel when he sees one, then forget his trifling no count tail. He ain't that fine anyway," Lela's inner self proclaimed loudly. "We don't need him anyway. He would be more trouble than he is worth, too. His ignant friend would probably always be hanging around. They both are some idiots," Lela's inner self screamed louder.

Lela audibly whispered, "Ok. You are right." She had to quiet her inner self. The woman was screaming too loudly. Apparently Lela's response was sufficient; her inner voice was stone quiet. Lela felt bad. The Christian side of her knew that she was wrong for confronting her pastor like that. She had been all out of place. She had to set things right, before Sunday. Thankfully, she had the number to the church programmed on her cell phone. She knew that the secretary was at the church today, too.

Lela grabbed her cell phone and dialed the number for the New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church.

The church secretary answered, "Praise the Lord. It is a great day at the New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church. This is Sis. Gould, how may I help you?"

Lela laughed. Sis. Gould always answered the phone like that. Lela responded, "Hello, Sis. Gould. It's Lela Rhineholt."

Sis. Gould smiled, "Hey, girl. How are you doing?"

Lela could feel Sis. Gould's smile through the phone. It made her feel a little better. Lela proceeded with the task at hand, "Can you put me through to pastor's voice mail?"

Sis. Gould paused, "I can just take a message if you want me to."

Lela blew an exasperated breath, "No mame, this is something personal."

Sis. Gould made a face that said, "Uhh huh, personal I bet." Sis. Gould responded, "Okay, give me a second. You know you can't be leaving the pastor no booty call messages on the church phone, girl." The church secretary laughed so that Lela would not feel indicted.

Lela laughed, "I know. It is not a message like that. He probably has no interest in me or any other woman for that matter."

Sis. Gould was about to ask Lela what she meant, but Sis. Gould knew better than to get wrapped up into church gossip. She tapped herself on the leg, her cue to let the thought in her head go. She said, "Hold on, Lela. I will transfer you."

Lela waited for the call to go to voicemail. Then she heard Pastor Van Duren's voice, "God bless you. This is the voice mail of Pastor Brock Van Duren. Thank you for calling me. At the moment, I cannot take your call, please leave me your name, a detailed message and your phone number. I will call you back as soon as possible. Again, please leave me your name and your phone number so that I can call you back. May God's peace fill your life full." The phone beeped.

Lela left her message, "Pastor, this is Lela Rhineholt. I called to apologize for my behavior at the mall today. I should not have acted like that and I should not have said what I said. Please forgive me. Good bye." Lela clicked the end call button, closed her phone up quickly, and threw it into her purse. She had to get out of the mall quickly because tears had begun to fill her eyes.

Mrs. Caroline Logan walked the food court looking for her husband. She had arrived at the mall after having to deal with an emergency. She knew that her husband was probably looking for her all day. She had to go into work on her day off. She was livid, but she had finally calmed down. she brushed her graying hair off her light beige forehead. She noticed David Victor Lyons out of the corner of her eyes. He was one of the other security guards that worked with her husband Bill Logan.

11/12/2007

Mikala and her mother walked around the department store for the longest time. Mikala was tired of looking at dresses. She wished that her mother would just pick a dress and then they could go look around the mall. Michelle would not comply. She wanted her daughter to pick out a dress that she liked. Mikala had no plans to pick out a dress. If her mother wanted her to wear a dress, she was going to have to pick it out. Mikala was not going to help her mother with this endeavor. Michelle got frustrated with her daughter. She decided to leave the department and go to Udetta's. If Mikala did not want to get a dress, she was going to go get her a dress.

Mikala and her mother exited the department store and headed to the escalator so that they could go to the second floor of the mall. Mikala made a face. She knew that they were going to Udetta's. Mikala had no interest in the clothing in the store, but she like Mrs. Udetta, so the trip to the store wouldn't be that bad.

When the mother and daughter group made it to Udetta's, they discovered that the store was full of women. There were women of all ages in the store. There were even some girls close to Mikala's age. Mikala looked at the young ladies with amazement. They seemed to be enjoying looking at the clothes and picking them out.

Mikala felt trapped. With the young ladies her age in the store fussing over clothes was going to excite her mother. Mikala knew that her mother was going to try to get her to go over to where the young ladies were and try the clothes on. Mikala had no plans on doing that. She had to find Mrs. Udetta and get close to her quickly. Mrs. Udetta wouldn't let Michelle give her daughter a hard time about wearing dresses. Mrs. Udetta always told Michelle, "Let that child alone. When she gets ready to be girlie, she will do it. You cannot rush her. It will probably take a boy paying her some attention to get her to get interested in girlie things. That's what it took for me. I was a tomboy and I did not dress like a girl until Ray came along. Now, look at me. I sell dresses to other ladies. Leave her alone." Mikala loved Mrs. Udetta. The wise woman usually got her mother off of her back for awhile.

Michelle had never been in the store when it was this full. She was usually able to get Mrs. Udetta's full attention. There was no chance that Mrs. Udetta was going to be able to cater to Michelle. The store owner was busy at the register. There were other sales associates walking around the store helping the customers, but Michelle wanted Mrs. Udetta. She had a knack for always knowing what Michelle wanted. If Michelle wanted an outfit today, she was going to have to deal with one of the other sales associates.

11/11/2007

Deacon Logan watched the exchange between Pastor Van Duren and Sis. Rhineholt. He laughed at the whole discussion. It was obvious that Sis. Rhineholt was flirting with the young pastor. Deacon Logan had wondered why more of the single women of the church had not been flirting with the young preacher. He was handsome. He seemed to have himself together. He was also very respectful. Perhaps, Sis. Rhineholt had telepathically staked her claim on the new minister and the other single women knew better than to miss with him. He and his wife had some reservations about hiring a single pastor. There was always the chance that a torrid romance could occur at any moment with a young pastor, especially one who had the wrong motives. After talking with Pastor Van Duren, it was apparent that he had his head on straight and could handle himself.

Deacon Logan watched as the woman walked off from the pastor sensuously. Pastor Van Duren watched her walk off intently. Deacon Logan laughed. It was hard for him to not watch the woman walk away, so he did not make a big deal that the young pastor was watching her walk away, after all, he was a man.

Precious and Alexia walked around on the first floor of the mall. There was not much of interest to Precious on this floor. This floor of the Orchard Park Mall housed all of the family orientated stores. There were stores for children, families, furniture, and the major department stores. All the men on this floor were more than likely married. Precious had no interest in married men. That was one line that she was not willing to cross. Messing around with single men was one thing, but breaking up someone's marriage was not a risk that she was interested in taking. She was not big on religion and church, but she knew that God did not like it when you messed up a marriage. She knew she had enough of God's wrath coming her way; she did not want o mess with an institution that He held so dear to His heart.

Alexia liked looking in the furniture stores. She liked to see what new designs were out. She liked seeing how the designs were put together. As much as Alexia liked looking at the furniture, she had an ulterior motive for looking in the furniture stores. Alexia knew that Precious would not mess with a married man. Precious had her flaws, but she did have some morals. Alexia wanted to put off Precious' man hunting for as long as possible. Precious knew complained about Alexia looking in the stores, so Alexia never stopped the tradition.

Precious and Alexia was walking around in the furniture. There was a black leather sofa set that would look exquisite in her apartment. She sat down on it. The leather felt good nest to her skin. She crossed her legs. A man walked by as she crossed her legs. He stopped for a moment, "Ohh that couch looks good on you." Precious made stealth like glance at his ring finger. He had a ring on it. She smiled, "Thanks. Whatever I am wearing looks good on me." The man smiled. He moved as if he wanted to sit down next to the sexy woman. She took note of this and stood up from the couch, "I better go find my man and see if he likes this couch." She walked off with a flip of her hip in the man's direction. He looked sad as he walked off.

Precious got close to Alexia who had watched the whole exchange.

Alexia was laughing, "Girl, you are so crazy. You ain't even right."

Precious laughed, "Whatever. You know I ain't even about to entertain a married man. Are you through acting like you are looking at furniture?"

Alexia made a face, "Why you gotta be silly?"

Precious frowned, "I ain't even crazy. I know what you are doing, Auntie Stalling."

Alexia stuck her tongue out at Precious, "Do not call me that. I have no idea what you are talking about either. Do you have somewhere else to be anyway?"

Precious started walking towards the exit of the store that led to the mall, "Yep, go find me a man."

Mikala Neu walked around the mall with her mother. She wished that she could ditch split up with her mother and go where she wanted to go. Mikala knew every inch of the mall. She hung out at the mall. She loved it. She had walked all of the 2,793,200 square feet of the mall. She had been in all of the stores. Most of the people in the stores knew her by name. She was the only teenager that really hung around the mall. Most of the teenagers hung out at the Woodhills Mall in the Woodhills area of the city. Mikala did not mind being different. She did not like hanging out with teenagers her own age anyway. They usually ended up in trouble more than anything else. Mikala hated being in trouble. She hated disappointing her mother, which it seemed like she had been doing more often than not lately.

Michelle tapped her daughter on the shoulder, "Mikala, what do you think about this dress?"

Mikala looked at her mother who was holding up a pink dress, "It is okay." Mikala did not mean it. She did not want to wear the dress.

Michelle shook her head. She could tell that her daughter did not like the dress. Michelle blew a breath. She could not figure out why her daughter did not like wearing dresses.

Mikala watched her mother. She did not know what to do. She did not like the dress, but she would wear it if her mother wanted her to wear it. Sometimes, Mikala wanted to start a big fight with her mother so that her mother would just leave her alone. She had started a small fight before. It took her mother 3 weeks before she said anything to Mikala after the fight. Mikala did not like those 3 weeks. From then on, she tried not to instigate any fights, although they still occurred. But at this moment, Mikala was fighting the urge to start a fight. She wanted to leave the mall so badly that she was willing to risk another 3 weeks of the silent treatment from her mother.

Michelle stepped back. She bumped into something. When she turned around, she saw that it was a lady that she had bumped into. Michelle looked at the lady, "I am so sorry. I was not paying attention." The lady smiled, "It is okay. I was not watching where I was going." Michelle smiled back at the lady, "I guess we both need to pay attention." The lady walked away, "Yes, we do. Have a good day of shopping." Michelle responded, "You, too."

While her mother was engaged with the lady, Mikala walked over to the jeans section of the store and started looking through the jeans. She saw a pair that she did not have. The jeans were dark blue with silver accents and rhinestones. As much of a tomboy as she was, she still loved wearing rhinestones and other jewels. That made her mother happy and even gave her some hope. Mikala laughed to herself, "One of these days, I am going to have to start acting like a girl."

Michelle looked around for her daughter. She was nowhere to be found. Michelle uttered something unintelligible and then headed for the pants section of the juniors department. She knew that her daughter was going to be there.

Michelle reached the pants and saw her daughter looking at a pair of jeans that had rhinestones on them. Michelle smiled. Her daughter did have some feminine traits. The girl loved rhinestones. She put rhinestones on everything. Michelle thought to herself, "There is still hope for her. Maybe she will not be a tomboy forever."

Mikala could sense her mother's presence. She turned around and looked at her mother, "Sorry, Mom. I thought you were going to be a minute talking to that lady."

Michelle took the pair of jeans from her daughter, and then looked at them, "You and your rhinestones. Do you want these?"

Mikala smiled, "Yes. Can I get them?"

"Yes, if you promise to pick out a cute dress to wear on Sunday," Michelle bargained.

Mikala laughed. Her mother always had an angle. She wanted the jeans, so she obliged, "Ok. Cool. If you help me pick it out." Mikala knew that would make her mother feel good.

Michelle smiled, "Okay. Let's go find a dress."

Mikala took the jeans from her mother and draped them over her right arm. She walked close to her mother's right side and looped her left arm into her mother's arm and they walked back over to the dress section, happy with their compromise.

Boyd and Brock walked off the escalator onto the 3rd floor. This was the men's floor. Everything that a man could want was found on the third floor, from clothes to hunting equipment. They walked until they reached RayRay's Men's Store. This was the store to get men's dress suits. RayRay's had all the latest men's suit. They had all the colors in the rainbow, even if you wanted a pink suit, you could find it at RayRay's. The pink shoes to match your pink suit could be found at the store as well.

RayRay's was the first store that Brock and Boyd found out about when they got to the city. One of the deacons in the closing interview meeting said, "Man, if you like to buy clothes, you have got to go to RayRay's. There are two of them in the city, one at the Orchard Park Mall. The other is in a shop in the Plainview Hills Mall. That's the store. Mr. Ray goes to our church. He may give you a discount, since you are the pastor." Brock silently laughed at the younger deacon. He seemed to take pleasure in being the one to tell the new pastor about the store. Brock knew that Boyd would love the store.

Mr. Ray was standing at the cash register waiting on a customer. The customer was in an exquisite suit. He had diamond rings on three of his fingers. On his ring finger, he had a ring with a big purple jewel on it. From that, Brock surmised that the man must have been a Bishop. Brock waved at Mr. Ray and started to walk towards the suits.

Mr. Ray called his name, "Pastor Van Duren, come here for a second." Pastor Van Duren compiled to the store owner's request and walked over to the counter.

Mr. Ray extended his hand, "Bless you, pastor. Good to see you today."

Pastor Van Duren took the man's hand and shook it, "Good to see you, too, Bro. Ray."

"I want you to meet Bishop Bryant Terraholt. He is the pastor of the Greater Emmanuel House of Restoration and Deliverance Through the Power of God," Mr. Ray relayed.

Pastor Van Duren looked at the Bishop and then extended his hand, "Pleasure to meet you Bishop Terraholt."

Bishop Terraholt reluctantly extended his hand, "Hello. And you are who?"

Pastor Van Duren did not appreciate the tone of the bishop's voice, "I am Pastor Brock Van Duren. I am the new pastor of New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church."

Bishop Terraholt turned his nose up at Pastor Van Duren, "Uhh huh. That's good." The bishop looked at Mr. Ray, "I have to go. I have some important things to take care of." The pretentious bishop walked off after shaking Mr. Ray's hand. The ostentatious man made no effort to acknowledge Pastor Van Duren's presence as he left. Pastor Van Duren made a face at the bishop's back. He regained control of himself. He did not want to act up in front of Mr. Ray.

Brock hated it when other preachers acted as if they were better than another preacher just because they had a "bigger" title. Titles did not really matter because they all did the same job, preached the gospel and won souls to Christ. Brock shook himself, "Let it go man. It ain't worth it."

Mr. Ray could tell that Pastor Van Duren had been offended by Bishop Terraholt's actions. The store keeper was not sure what to do, should he try to comfort the young man or should he just leave it alone? Mr. Ray decided to wait to see how the pastor responded and then he would take the appropriate action.

Pastor Van Duren looked at Mr. Ray, "Have you been busy today?"

Mr. Ray smiled. He did not have to do anything. He shook his head up and down, "It has been non-stop up in through here. I have not even had a chance to go get lunch. I think my son should be coming in after he gets off from work and help me out for awhile. Hopefully, he will get off early."

Pastor Van Duren looked around the store. There did not seem to be much left in the store. Mr. Ray turned his attention to a customer who had walked into the store. Brock walked towards Boyd, who was in the shoes section.

Boyd was looking at a pair of brown shoes. Brown was Boyd's favorite color. He had more brown things than the law allowed.

Brock tapped his friend on the shoulder, "Man, not another pair of brown shoes. You got enough brown shoes anyway."

Boyd paid no attention to his friend.

Brock laughed and then looked at a pair of blue shoes that would go great with the outfit he had on. He looked around for an attendant. A guy who looked younger than Brock walked over to them, "Can I help you?" Pastor Van Duren smiled and used his preacher voice, "Can you bring me this shoe in a size 12?" The attendant took the shoe from Pastor Van Duren and walked to the storeroom.

Boyd looked at his friend, "Why are you looking at some blue shoes?"

Brock continued to look around, "Cause I do not like these shoes I have on now. I do not have any that I wanted to wear with the outfit, so I may buy some now."

Boyd laughed, "You buy some shoes and wear them out of the store. Whatever. What brought that on?"

"I heard a lady downstairs say, 'He could have found some better shoes to wear,' so I decided to do just that. Cannot have folk talking about my shoes. I am trying to make an impression," Brock shared.

"I have been telling you to get some better shoes. You cannot walk around in some loafers. You are a pastor. People expect their pastor to be flossing, whether folk will admit it or not, that's how they think. It's about time you realize that," Boyd reproved.

Brock shook his head and ignored his fussing friend. Boyd always made a big deal about how people looked. Brock did not care as much as Boyd did. As long as you were ironed and did not have holes, you looked fine to Brock. He knew that he had to better in the clothing department. As much as Brock did not want to admit it, Boyd was right. Brock had been saving up some money to buy more suitable pastor clothing.

Brock had a thought, "Perhaps that was why the Bishop Terraholt looked down his nose at me. I was not dressed properly." Brock shook his head as the attendant walked up to him with two boxes in his hands. Brock sat down on a chair that was in the shoe section so that he could try on the shoes.

The attendant knelt down on the floor next to Pastor Van Duren and took a pair of shoes out of one of the boxes. He took the paper that was stuffed in the shoe out of the box and then help Pastor Van Duren put the shoe on his foot. Pastor Van Duren put the other shoe on and then stood up and walked around for a few seconds. He walked over to the mirror and looked at his foot in the shoes. They looked good on his foot and with his outfit.

Boyd walked over to Brock and lifted his pant leg up, "They look good. I like them."

Brock shook his leg, "Are you my daddy now?"

Boyd laughed, "I am just trying to help you out. You know you ain't got no style anyway." Brock made a face and then went back over to the chair where the attendant was.

The attendant said, "I brought these shoes, too. They look a little better than the ones you have on. You can try them on if you want to." The attendant took the shoes from the box and handed them to the young pastor.

Pastor Van Duren took the shoes from the attendant and looked at them. He looked at the shoes that were on his feet. The shoes in his hands did look better than the ones on his feet. The only problem with the shoes in his hands was that they had a string on them. He hated dress shoes that tied; he could never keep them tied. He did like the look of the square toed shoes, so he decided to try them on.

While Brock was trying to take the shoes on his feet off, Boyd walked over to where he was. He grabbed the square toed shoes from Brock's lap.

Boyd looked the shoes over, "Man, I like these. You are not thinking about getting these are you? You hate tie up shoes. Let me get these."

Brock tried to take the shoes from Boyd hands. He almost fell off the chair. Boyd laughed, "Man, just give me the shoes and there will not be any trouble."

Brock made a face, "Boy, give me them shoes and go find some of your own. You got enough shoes. Let somebody else own a pair of shoes beside you."

Boyd walked away from Brock with the shoes. Brock made a face.

The attendant was having fun watching the two friends fight over the shoes. He hoped that they both would buy the shoes; it meant more money for him.

Brock looked at the attendant. He was half laughing. Brock felt kind of bad because he looked foolish in front of the young man. How could he have forgotten who he was and acted silly? Brock became stoic.

Boyd saw the expression on Brock's face change. He knew that Brock felt bad for acting goofy in public. Boyd hated when Brock acted like that. They were just having fun. They had not done anything wrong. It did not make any difference to Brock though, he always felt bad when he thought he had acted foolish in public.

Boyd handed the square-toed shoes to Brock, "Here are the shoes. You can get them if you want to. I was just messing with you."

Brock took the shoes. He really wanted to leave, but he wanted to try on the square toed shoes. He tried them on with the help of the store attendant. He repeated the routine he had done before when he was wearing the other shoes. He liked the look of the square-toed shoes. He decided to get them instead of the other shoes. He walked back over to the chair.

The attendant was talking to Boyd, "How long have you all been boys?"

Boyd laughed, "Forever man. We are more like brothers than friends."

The attendant admired the relationship that they had. The attendant was not close to his two brothers. He did not have many friends either. He usually just hung by himself.

Boyd could tell that the attendant was not paying attention to him. He wondered what the young guy could be thinking about. After a few seconds, Boyd said, "Do you have any brothers?"

The attendant was startled, but he responded, "Yea. I have two."

Boyd responded, "That's cool. How long have you been working here?"

Before the shoe salesman could answer Brock walked back over to where he was. Brock said, "I like these. I will take these."

The attendant looked up, "Okay. I will take them up to the front for you. Do you want to look around some more?"

Brock looked down at his feet. He did not want to take the shoes off, "I want to keep these on. I can go pay for them now and then keep looking around the store."

The attendant smiled, "Cool, man. I will just put your shoes in the box for you. You can take the box up front and pay for them. Just tell Mr. Ray what you are doing. He will take care of you."

Brock smiled, "Cool. Thanks."

The attendant did everything that he had said that he was going to do and then handed the box to Brock before taking the box of shoes that Brock did not want back into the store room.

Brock walked up to the cash register. Mr. Ray was talking to a young man who had entered the store. Brock looked at the young man. He was tall enough to be a basketball player. The more Brock looked at the young man, the more the young man looked like one of the players from the Jouette Doggs. He did not know which player it was, thought.

Mr. Ray looked at Pastor Van Duren. He paused for a moment, and then he introduced the two men.

"Pastor Van Duren, this is Marquis Moore. He plays for the Jouette Doggs. Marquis, this is Pastor Brock Van Duren. He is the pastor of New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church."

The two men shook hands. Pastor Van Duren smiled at the basketball player, "Nice to meet you. I did not know Mr. Ray had famous customers."

Marquis giggled nervously, "Yea, I heard about Mr. Ray from one of the other player son the team. He takes good care of us."

Mr. Ray smiled, "Pastor, I am trying to get him to come to church on Sunday, but he is being stubborn."

Marquis giggled nervously again, "Mr. Ray, why you gonna put me on blast like that?"

Mr. Ray grabbed the young man's arm, "I am just trying to get you to church, that's all."

Pastor Van Duren joined the conversation, "Marquis, we would be happy to have you visit us. We have a very relaxed atmosphere, so you will be comfortable at the church."

Marquis looked off. He was not sure what to do at this moment. He did not see a way out of making a commitment to the two men. He giggled nervously for a third time, "I will try and come by the church. I cannot promise that I will make it, but I will try to make it."

Mr. Ray wanted a promise to come, but Pastor Van Duren interrupted the older man before he could speak, "Marquis, that's all we can ask for. Prayerfully, the Lord will work everything out so that you can make it to the church. Mr. Ray will save you a seat."

Marquis smiled. The young minister had helped him out. He had an excuse to leave, "Thanks Pastor Van Duren. I need to go. It was cool meeting you."

The two men shook hands and then Marquis left the store.

Mr. Ray was a bit irate at Pastor Van Duren. He wanted an explanation as to why he did not make Marquis promise to come to church.

"Pastor, why did you let him get out of coming to church like that," the old man shrieked.

Pastor Van Duren was a bit shocked at the man's voice level, "Mr. Ray, I could tell that he did not want to make a promise. It would have been more detrimental to make him promise. By giving him a choice, he will more likely come to church."

The store owner was not happy with the young pastor's response, "I have been trying to get that boy to church forever. It was a blessing to have you here when he was here. I at least figured you would get him to come to church."

The newly appointed pastor could not understand Mr. Ray's attitude, "I believe he will be at church on Sunday. I did not make him feel like he had to come to church or else, but I made him feel like it was his choice to come to church."

The store owner began to believe the young preacher. Maybe he was right. If Marquis did not come to church on Sunday, Mr. Ray was going to be upset.

Marquis Moore was happy to get away from the pesky old man who was always trying to get him to come to church. The store owner seemed to hate taking no for an answer. Every time that Marquis walked into the store, Mr. Ray was on his case. Marquis was beginning to think that he should have never told Mr. Ray that his father was a pastor. After Marquis told the old man that, the man began bugging him like crazy.

Marquis was a rookie on the Jouette Doggs basketball team. He had been having a good season. He was coming off the bench. Everyone said that he was a good candidate to win the Six Man of the Year Award in the league. Marquis was hoping that he would win the award, too. Then he would be able to prove to his father that he had made the right decision about being a professional athlete instead of becoming a preacher. Marquis had no interest in following his father's footsteps and becoming a preacher.

Marquis had seen too much as a pastor's kid to want to be a preacher. There was not anything wrong with being a pastor, but their family got treated like dirt most of the time. Marquis' father missed a lot of his basketball games because he was doing "church" business. Marquis had not been to church in awhile. He knew that he needed to go. He had promised his mother that he would find a church when he got to Jouette, but he had never taken the time to do so. Maybe going to New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church would be a good idea.

Marquis had been impressed by the pastor of the church. He seemed cool. It was even cool that the pastor had not tried to force him to promise that he would come to the church. Marquis liked that. Preachers were even pushier than old men who bugged you about coming to church. Marquis was going to go to the church on Sunday. He did not have a game, so he knew that he could go. Maybe he would even try to get a couple of the other rookies on the team to come with him. It was not going to do any good to try to get the veterans to come with him, they never listened to him anyway, and after all, he was a snot nosed rookie, as they called him. Marquis smiled. He felt good about going to church on Sunday. He felt real good because he was going to be able to tell his mother that he was going to church when she called to check on him.

David Victor Lyons, III walked past four teenage girls who were eating salads. They might have been in their twenties, but they were very young. They giggled as he walked by. He wondered what they had been talking about. He nodded his head at the young ladies and continued on his way. He did not have time to get caught up with any jail bait.

He was hoping to see Mr. Bill Logan's wife. He knew that she would make him feel better than he was feeling. She always made him feel like he was the most precious person in the whole wide world. Sometimes, he wanted to call her Mama badly. That's how he saw her, as a mother. David did not see Mr. Logan like that because he was always fussing at the young man. David wondered why she had not been around yet today. She made it a point to find David and give him a big hug. He felt weird not getting a hug today. He did not get many hugs, being alone in Jouette. He could always count on his grandmother to give him a hug when he was back in the old city that he had left.

David saw Mr. Logan and walked up to him, "Has Mrs. Logan been by today?"

Mr. Logan made a face, "Boy, you know she has not. She would have found you if she had. I do not know where she is."

David wanted to see his mother figure, "Have you called her?"

Mr. Logan laughed, "No. When she gets here, she will get here. I am sure something came up. If she had wanted me to know what was going on, she would have called me. Do not you need to be somewhere?"

David made a face before he walked off to go back to patrolling the food court. He wanted to see Mrs. Ray. He thought about calling her, but he knew that Mr. Logan would get upset at him, even though Mr. Logan had not told him not to call Mrs. Logan. David knew Mr. Logan well enough to know that when he had said, 'If she had wanted me to know what was going on, she would have called me,' that meant that he was not going to bother his wife and if David knew what was best for him, he would not either. David decided to not call Mrs. Logan. He silently prayed that she would come by the mall today. He really needed one of her hugs.

11/10/2007

Amanda Jean shook her head. She could not believe that her sister was so hyped about God. How could anyone still be hyped about a God who let them suffer like her sister Ramona had suffered? Amanda Jean pushed her sister. Ramona was in a wheel chair because she was too weak to walk. Ramona had been diagnosed with cancer over 6 months ago. Amanda Jean did not believe how happy Ramona had been about the whole situation. Amanda Jean just could not do it. She could not be happy about her big sister getting cancer. The world did not seem right. Ramona had lived her whole life as a good person. She always went to church. She had always told the truth. Ramona should not have been sick. Amanda Jean on the other hand had been a rascal. She stopped going to church once she graduated from high school. She did not care about anyone other than herself. She had even done her share of bad things. If anyone should have been sick, Amanda Jean thought it should have been her.

Amanda Jean had grown tired of hearing her sister drone on and on about how wonderful God was. It was more than Amanda Jean could take. It made no sense to her. She did admire her sister for staying happy while going through the enormous ordeal. Amanda Jean had watched her sister go from being a 180-pound woman to nothing more than flesh and bones. She had watched her sister lose all her magnificent hair. Amanda Jean had watched her sister loose her friends and even some of their family had given up hope on Ramona. There were family members going around saying that Ramona had done something evil; that's why God was punishing her. Amanda Jean knew that was the furthest thing from the truth. There was no way that God was punishing Ramona. She hadn't done a thing to warrant the suffering that she had received.

Amanda Jean had agreed to go to Easter service with Ramona. She could not believe that she had let her sister talk her into doing that. Ramona had been so excited about going to the church that Amanda Jean had agreed to go to church with. Ramona had been talking about the church, the new pastor, and the new things that were going on at New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church so much that Amanda Jean had to see what all the excitement was about. As Ramona continued to talk about God, Amanda Jean was starting to regret agreeing to go to church with her sister.

***

Alexia and Precious had been driving around in the Orchard Park Mall parking lot for the longest time. Precious was getting tired of going around in circles. Alexia was doing her usual thing, driving around, and praying for a close parking space. Precious did not really believe that it worked, but she did not have a problem with a close parking space. With her high heels on, she did not relish having to walk a mile in the high heels she was wearing.

Alexia prayed again silently, "Lord, I need a parking space up close. I do not want to walk too far in these high heels. I know Precious is tired of me driving around in circles. Lord, I need You now."

They circled around the parking lot one more time and at the beginning of the next time they were going to circle around, a close parking space opened. It was about 35 meters from the door of the mall, but it was close enough. Precious blew a long hard breath, "Thank goodness. We finally got a parking space." Alexia corrected her niece, "Thank God, baby. Thank God." Precious made a face, "Do not start that religious stuff today. I am not in the mood for it right now." Alexia smiled, "Whatever, let's go."

They got out of the car and made the walk to the mall. Precious could not wait to get into the mall to see what trouble she could get into. Alexia looked at her niece, from the look in Precious' eyes; Alexia could tell that she had trouble on her mind.

Brock and Boyd parked the car. Boyd was the first person to exit the car, "Dawg, it is packed up in here. Where all these folks come from?" Brock lifted his head up after exiting the car, "Yea, I guess everyone is trying to buy an outfit or something. It is amazing how commercialized religious holidays have become. This world has gone crazy. What did Jesus die for?" Boyd laughed, "Man, do not preach a sermon out here. Let's just get up in here and then get out of here. I do not want no problems today." Brock laughed at his friend, "I cannot help it if I like my job." Boyd started walking towards the mall, "Man, you are going to be busy doing your job for the rest of the weekend, so take a day off, please." Brock laughed as he jogged to catch up with his friend.

Lela Rhineholt arrived at the mall. She was looking cute. She did not know who might be at the mall today. She was hoping to see Pastor Van Duren there. She knew it was a long shot, but she made sure to look extra lovely just in case. The Lord did work in mysterious ways.

She got a little upset because she had to walk so far to get into the mall. It was crazy out there. There were cars everywhere. Who were all these people and why weren't they at work today? Lela shook her head and made the trek to the mall entrance.

She walked into the enormous mall. It looked different every time that she walked into it. She looked around as if this was the first time she had ever walked into the mall. She was started walking towards the escalator. She was going to go to the fourth floor and see Deacon Logan. He was one of the deacons from her church. He worked at the mall. People from the church were always going by to see him. If Deacon Logan found out that you had been in the mall and hadn't stopped by to see him, he was offended. It did not make much sense to Lela. She did not want anyone coming to her job and looking for her, but that was how she felt.

When Lela stepped off the escalator, she saw Deacon Logan. He was talking to someone. Deacon Logan's body had the person he was talking to blocked, so Lela could not see who the person was. Lela walked towards Deacon Logan. As she got closer to the deacon, she began to see the person he was talking to. It was Pastor Van Duren. Lela stopped walking. She could not believe her eyes. She began smiling and rubbed her hair. She ran her hand down the front of her pants and then down the back of her pants to smooth them out. She sucked her teeth to make sure that she did not have anything in them. She did not see a mirror anywhere around so that she could check herself out. She prayed that she did not have anything stuck in her teeth.

Brock looked up. There was a female figure walking towards him. As she got closer, he could see that the woman was one of the members of his church. He figured that she was coming to see Deacon Logan. Brock tried to finish his conversation with the deacon so that the lady could have talk to the deacon by herself.

"Yes, deacon, I believe that God is going to move mightily this weekend. I appreciate all the support you and the deacon's staff have given me. Your support has been priceless. You all have made my job here easy," the young pastor declared.

Deacon Logan smiled, "Pastor, God put you here. I have to support you and your vision. You have some good ideas. I have liked what you have done so far. God is doing something at New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church."

Brock smiled. He felt good. Everything hadn't gone well at the church but having Deacon Logan's support had helped him a lot. Brock admired the wise man and he was thankful that the deacon was at his church.

Lela walked up to the two men. She did not get too close because she did not want them to think that she was eavesdropping on their conversation. She looked the gorgeous man up and down. He looked good in his outfit. He had on a pink button-down shirt with a pair of blue slacks. His blue blazer went nicely with his slacks and shirt. The outfit would have looked better with some blue dress shoes instead of the black loafers the pastor had on, but he still looked good. "He always looks good," Lela thought to herself.

Lela stared at Brock's eyes as he looked intently at the man he was talking with. Lela liked that about the pastor. He always looked you in the eyes when you talked to him. He focused only on you. He made you feel special, as if you were the only person in the room. It always made Lela feel special when she was able to spend a few seconds with the pastor and that was all she could ever get.

Brock could feel a pair of eyes staring at him. He did not want to look away from the deacon. Brock had been taught by his uncle that if you were talking to someone to always looks at the person in their eyes. Brock could feel the pair of eyes checking him out. Brock was a little flatter, but he was becoming uncomfortable with the length of time the woman seemed to be staring at him. Brock was glad that the deacon had finished talking.

Brock looked past Deacon Logan and looked at the woman. It was Sis. Rhineholt one of his members. He smiled at her and extended his hand, "Hello, Sis. Rhineholt. Nice to see you." He noticed how nice she was looking and wanted to tell her, but he felt that it would be inappropriate to do so. He did not want her to get the wrong idea, either.

Lela extended her hands after Brock had extended his. His hands were warm and comforting. She did not want to let his hand go. She could tell by the look on the pastor's eye that she had held his hand too long. She reluctantly let his hand go and said, "Hello, Pastor. Nice to see you, too. Are you here doing some shopping?" Brock smiled, "Something like that. What are you doing here?" Lela almost lost her breath. She could not believe that she was talking to the pastor. She gasped and the said, "Trying to find something to wear on Sunday. I am probably too late to find anything nice. All the good stuff is probably gone, but I still wanted to look."

Brock smiled. Lela had some pretty brown eyes. He had never looked at her eyes before. Most of the time, he just shook hands and went on his way. So many people were trying to talk to him after the service that it was a blur to him. He realized that Boyd hadn't come back from going to the restroom yet. Brock shook the thoughts of his friend off and focused his attention on the pretty brown eyed woman in front of him. He smiled at her, "I hope you can find something." Lela felt a sensation in a place that she hadn't felt any sensation in for a long time when Brock smiled at her. She tried to make herself stopped staring at Pastor Van Duren's lips. For a moment, she was hoping that he would kiss her.

"Sis. Rhineholt, are you okay?" Pastor Van Duren interrupted Lela's fantasy.

Lela blinked her eyes and tried to regain her composure, "I am fine pastor. I drifted off into Daydream Land for a moment."

The cause of Lela's daydream smiled again, "What were you daydreaming about?"

"If I told you, you might have to pray for me right here and now. I better get out of here," Lela winked at the pastor and walked off quickly before she got herself into some serious trouble.

Brock was startled. He hadn't expected Sis. Rhineholt to wink at him. He was trying to figure out why she had winked at him. Had she been daydreaming about him? Lord, have mercy. That was all he needed, one of his members chasing after him. He did not want anything to do with her, but he did watch her walk off. It was a magnificent site to watch, too.

Boyd walked up as Brock was watching Sis. Rhineholt walk away.

"Dawg, ain't it against the pastor's creed to look at a woman that hard. That is a nice site though," Boyd laughed.

Brock turned purple, "Man, why you gotta mess with folk?"

Boyd hit Brock on the shoulder, "You the one staring like you wanted a piece of that."

"It ain't like that and you know it," Brock defended.

Boyd laughed loudly, "If you say so man. Who was that anyway?"

Brock started walking, "Sis. Rhineholt from the church."

"Ole girl that speaks to you every Sunday?" Boyd inquired.

Brock scratched his head, "Yea man. Can we go? And

Boyd snorted, "Why you getting all nervous? Were you flirting with ole girl?"

"Naw man, I think she was flirting with me. We were talking, and she drifted off. I asked her if she was okay. She said she was daydreaming. I asked her what she was daydreaming about. She said that I might have to pray for her if I told her. Then she winked at me before she walked off," Brock elucidated.

Boyd howled, "Dawg, you wouldn't even know what to do with that! You betta leave these women alone. You gonna get yourself into trouble."

Brock laughed, too, "Hey, she started it. I ain't interested in her anyway."

Boyd laughed at his friend. He was always turning down some woman. Boyd began to believe that Brock was going to be a bachelor forever.

11/09/2007

Lela Rhineholt was driving to the Orchard Park Mall. She was planning on finding the perfect outfit to wear to church on Sunday. She was determined to catch the eye of the new pastor of her church, New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church. Pastor Brock Van Duren had paid her no attention. He shook Lela's hand and said, "God bless you, sister." He had said nothing more and nothing less. She was getting tired of him pushing her to the side. She was even more tired of being single. She was 32 years old. She needed a husband. There was nothing wrong with her. She was pretty. She had no children. She had a good job and a descent apartment. She had a little debt, but it was not so much that she could not get it down with a little tightening of her belt.

She was listening to Haley Singleton's Love Songs for the New Millennium CD. Lela had her favorite song on repeat, Conversation with A Wise Woman. Lela loved the song because in it, the older woman told the young lady, "Baby, love will find you no matter where you are. If you keep your head about you, Love will come your way." That was Lela's constant prayer, "Lord let love find me, no matter where I am."

Lela had been instantly attracted to Pastor Van Duren. He was talk, dark, and handsome. He was everything that she wanted and a preacher. Once while at a revival, the guest evangelist prophesied to Lela and told her that she was going to marry a preacher. Lela made sure that she went to all kinds of services where preachers were going to be. She was always attending a musical, a revival, or a convention, in the hope that her preacher would find her. She did not go looking or hunting for a man, but she did not see anything wrong with placing yourself in the right place at the right time. Her preacher had not found her yet. She kept on hoping and praying.

When Pastor Brock Van Duren walked into the New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church, Lela thought her prayers had been answered. He was young, but from his sermons and teaching, he was wise beyond his years. Lela liked the fact that Pastor Van Duren was wise beyond his years. He was always respectful to the older men and women in the church. He was continually courteous to the men and women his own age. He was even good with the youth and children of the church. He was a great people person and he had a great preacher's voice to boot.

On more than one occasion, Lela had reprimanded herself for thinking about the pastor so much when she should have been listening to him. She was hoping that Pastor Van Duren was her preacher. She had been doing everything that she could to get his attention without being too forward. The new young pastor did not seem to care or he was playing like he was hard to get. Lela did not know what was going on, but she had to find an outfit that would knock his robe off on Sunday. Lela chided herself for having such impure thoughts about a man of God.

***

Mikala Neu was sitting in her mother's car. They were on their way to the Orchard Park Mall. Mikala's mother insisted on buying the teenage girl an Easter outfit. Mikala did not want one. She had no need for a new outfit. It would only serve to be more clothes that she had to keep up with and keep clean. Mikala's mother was always trying to dress her in frilly girl clothing. Mikala was a tomboy. She liked wearing jeans and t-shirts. It was not that big of a deal that she hated wearing dresses and skirts. Her mother, Michelle Neu was once a fashion model and she was very girlie. Michelle liked dressing up and looking pretty, but that trait had not filtered down to her daughter.

Mikala squirmed in the passenger seat of her mother's Brandywine Mica Lexus RX350. She did not want to go to the mall. No one seemed to understand Mikala, either. They made fun of her because she did not look like a "typical" sixteen year old young lady. She cared about how she looked, but she did not have to be prissy 24 hours out of the day to feel good about herself. She did not wear make-up. She did not wear high-heeled shoes. She did not wear tight pants or shirts. She usually wore simple clothing that expressed how she felt. No one got her before the new pastor came to New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church.

Mikala liked Pastor Brock Van Duren. He was cool. He did not seem to care if she did not have on a cute dress with high heels on. He would smile at her and ask her about the Jouette Tiger's basketball game and score. He would listen intently as she told him the highlights of the game. He did not even get mad if she demonstrated a move that one of the players had made on the court. He was cool like that. She knew that Pastor Van Duren had played some ball. She could tell because he understood the basketball terminology that she used. She wanted to play him one day to see how good he was.

Mikala lamented, "Mom, do I really have to get a new dress?" Michelle made a face at the driver on her right side, "Yes. Do not you want to look pretty on Sunday?" The perplexed teenager sighed, "I am pretty whether I wear something already in m closet or if I wear a new dress, so what difference does it make if I am wearing a new dress?" Michelle looked quickly at her daughter and then turned her face back to the road, "Girl, you are going to give me a headache. I just want you to look like a girl for once. Cannot you just wear the doggone dress for me? Good grief! I am not asking you to cut off one of your legs, just to wear a dress!" Michelle became extremely quiet after that.

Mikala knew that she had upset her mother; anytime that her mother raised her voice, she was upset. Mikala hated upsetting her mother. Mikala sighed and decided to wear whatever dress that her mother picked out for her. It would only be worn once, after Sunday, the dress would go in the pile in the back of her closet with the rest of her girlie clothes.

***

The Orchard Park Mall was the biggest mall in the state of Maddocha. It boasted a collection of over 250 stores. Every store that you could think of had a store in the mall. It was an upscale mall, where the elite of the city shopped. The mall was a haven for patrons ages 20 and up. If there were children in the mall, they were with their parents. The Orchard Park Mall had a strict policy of not allowing children to roam around the mall freely. The security staff of the mall made sure of that. Boasting the best and well-equipped security staff that would rival the security staff of the mayor's office kept the mall safe for its visitors.

The mall was a place where people meet for business meetings. The mall housed four conference rooms; one hosting 12 people, one hosting 20 people, and the two others hosting over 100 people. The mall had four levels. The dome of the shopping center was made of glass and was taller than the average skyscraper in the city of Jouette. The mall had been the envy of many malls in the state as well as the surrounding states.

Deacon Bill Logan was walking around the Orchard Park Mall. He had been working security at the mall since it had opened in 1970. He had been made one of the floor managers. He managed the fourth floor of the mall. This was where the food court was housed. He was noted for saying, "I do not know why they put me here. If I keep getting samples from this place, I will not be able to catch any criminals." He was a well-liked security officer, but he would correct anyone that needed correction with any hesitation.

He laughed as he watched the shoppers run from store to store, looking for the best deals or the best clothes. This was a heavy Spring weekend for the mall. People were coming and going in hordes. Deacon Logan had already seen a lot of the members of his church, New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church. Everyone at the church knew that he worked at the mall, so they made it a point to come by and say hello to him.

Deacon Logan walked around the full food court. He watched the young child begging for a Happy Meal from McDonalds. The little boy's mother did not seem to want to oblige him. Deacon Logan knew the outcome of this fight; he had seen it so many times before. After some whining and demanding, the mother gave into her son. Deacon Logan laughed. That fight always went to the beseeching child.

Deacon Logan paused for a moment as he saw a couple kissing at one of the tables. He got close enough so that they could hear him clear his throat. When he cleared his throat, the couple jumped, startled, and stopped kissing. They smiled at the security officer as he nodded at them. They knew to take their show somewhere more private, like home. The seasoned patrolman thought to himself, "What is it about Spring that makes everyone want to be so loving?" he laughed at himself as he thought about how he had acted when he was much younger. He knew he would have had to clear his throat at himself.

Deacon Logan continued walking the full length of the fourth floor. He was going to have to get an office job where he could sit down. it would be easier for him because he was getting too old to walk the length of the floor. He did not want to be closed up in an office, not being able to see the patrons of the mall, but he did not like going home aching from the pains of having walked the fourth floor all day. He wife wanted him to get an office job, but she knew that he liked meeting and greeting the people of the Orchard Park Mall. She rarely fussed at him when he came home tired and in pain. She would smile at him and run him a steamy hot tub of water filled with pain relieving bath salts. He would soak and then kiss his wife before falling asleep on the couch.

Deacon Logan smiled as he thought of his wife covering him up with a blanket. He missed her. she hadn't been to the mall today. She always came by the mall to eat lunch with him. When she hadn't come by today, he was kind of worried, but he figured something else must have come up. He knew that she would call him eventually to let him know what was going on. He ate lunch in the food court with one of the younger security officers. Deacon Logan saw some potential in the young man and he was glad that he had the opportunity to witness to the young man. The young man always listened. The wise counselor was excited that the young man had accepted the invitation to come to the Resurrection Sunday services that New Tabernacle of Praise was hosting. Deacon Logan believed that the young man would give his life to Christ.

***

David Victor Lyons, III walked his beat at the Orchard Park Mall. He had been back on patrol for only 30 minutes. he had come back from lunch where he had lunch with Mr. Bill Logan, a fellow security officer at the mall. David liked talking to the old man. The old man was wise and cool. he never seemed to be telling you what to do, but he was just conversating with you about life and things like that. He always had something to say.

David had been trying to get his life together. He had just gotten away from his cousin, who was leading David down a dreadful path of violence, drugs, and death. His cousin was dealing drugs. David had been running around with the drug dealer. David hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't sold any drugs. He hadn't even held any drugs, but he was living dangerously. The last straw was when David almost got shot when another drug dealer was shooting at his cousin. David barely escaped with his life. A bullet hit David in his arm. The doctor who worked on David told him that if the bullet would have been 1 inch lower, he would have probably lost his arm, if not his life. David's life had been spared. That's when he knew that he had to make a change. He left the city that he was living in and moved to Jouette. The move to the new city had been a positive occurrence in David's life. He had turned his life around and things were working out for him.

David had been feeling like something was missing in his life lately. He did not know what it was, but he knew that something was missing. He was glad that he had Mr. Logan to help him out. Mr. Logan told David that he was missing God in his life. David had never gone to church before. His grandmother, who raised him, had gone to church, but she never made him and his cousin go to church. He did not particularly see the need for God in his life either. After David told Mr. Logan about the shooting incident, the astute aged gentleman enlightened David about the incident.

"Son that was God telling you that you needed to get your life together. If you tried to figure it out from now until eternity, you could not figure out how that bullet did not hit you in your artery. You know that you should have been killed that night. God spared your life. You may think that you do not need God in your life, but He belongs in your life. He has been in your life all along. I am sure that your grandmother has been praying for you all your life, so God has been there protecting you. I promise you, everybody needs God in their life, whether they think they do or not. God loves you boy. You know that He does. That is why He let you live when you should have died. He loves you man. And you need Him."

David could feel God moving on his heart as the old man dropped the knowledge on him. David became hard hearted and rudely told Mr. Logan that he was full of it. David still felt bad about what happened that day. It did not help that Mr. Logan acted as if what David had said did not offend him. He acted as if David had accepted Jesus right then and there. Mr. Logan would always say, "Son, God loves you and one of these days, you are going realize that you need God, too." David had shrugged the expressions of the fanatical old man off, but lately, Mr. Logan's word had haunted the young man day and night. Finally, David had agreed to go to church with Mr. Logan. David did not know what to expect, but he felt good about accepting the invitation to church.

***

Ramona Hauley felt good being out of the house. She had been sick for so long. She had been in the house for so long. She was glad that she had been given permission by her doctor to get out of the hospital. She wanted to go to the Resurrection services at her church on Sunday. She hadn't been to New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church in over 6 months. They had probably forgotten what she looked like. She was not even able to attend the first service that the new pastor had preached. She had been hearing good things about the young man. She was finally going to get to hear him preach.

Ramona knew that it was not the doctor who had given her permission, but it had been God. She had been praying for the past three weeks that the doctor would release her to go to the services. She had her pray partners praying for her as well. Her prayers had been answered. She was out at the mall, riding around in a wheelchair, looking for a new outfit to wear to church. She wished she could have been walking, but her doctor told her to take it easy. She believed in adhering to what the doctor told her, after all, she was paying him for his services, so she needed to do what he told her.

Ramona's sister had accompanied her to the mall. Her sister, Amanda Jean had been talking the whole time. Ramona had no idea what her sister had been talking about. She was not paying any attention to the chatterbox. Ramona was thanking the good Lord for letting her be able to feel the sun rays shining down on her body. The sun felt good. Its heat was refreshing. Ramona had looked up in the sky to look at the sun, but it had blinded her and she had to look away after a second. The brief second that she had looking at the sun brought tears to her eyes. Amanda Jean had asked her if she needed her sunglasses. Ramona smiled at the unaware woman and told her no.

Ramona was excited about the weekend. She loved the Resurrection celebration. It blessed her heart to know that Jesus had given His life for her. She was not worthy of the act that Jesus had done, but He did it anyway. How could God be so unselfish and send His son to die for people who act as if He doesn't exist. Ramona was glad that God chose to give us the awesome that He had because she was able to live in peace even though she was slowly dying every day. She rejoiced in the fact that one day soon, she would be able to see the magnificent Man who had given His life for her. she knew that God had a purpose for her suffering. She still did not know what it was, but she was glad that God loved her, loved her enough to send His son to give His life for her.

She had tears coming from her eyes again. Amanda Jean looked at her sister, "Ramona, are you alright." Ramona laughed at her sister's lisp. Amanda Jean became annoyed, "Quit laughing at me." Ramona smiled, "I am okay. I am just happy to be out of the hospital. God is so good. Baby sis, this is an awesome day for me. You do not know how awesome it is for me. God is too awesome to a wretch like me. I do not deserve His love, but He gives it to me everyday."

Amanda Jean Roberson tuned her sister out. She knew that her sister was about to go into a sermon, one that she Amanda Jean had heard too many times. She did not want to hear it right now. How could her sister be so happy about a God who let her suffer like she had and for so long? Amanda Jean had no interest in hearing about Ramona's God.