I nodded and followed my dad down to the choir room. “I thought you said this was your first time here. You seem to know where you’re going.”
“I told you, I went here as a kid. Things haven’t changed much in this building since then. That other building, that’s all new.”
It was hard to imagine my father as a church boy. He seemed so normal now, but I bet that he got into his share of trouble as a kid. Maybe he'd gone to church so much as a child that he never wanted to go now. He must have been a serious church boy at one point though, because he practically marched us right to the choir room, without hesitation. It was right where my father said it would be.
It was packed with people in various states of undress, and robes were everywhere. The whole church must sing in the choir because there was barely standing room. I stood with my back to the wall while he went to find Wanda. Three hundred different church lady perfume scents attacked my nose all at the same time. Good thing it wasn’t too warm. If it were summer, I’d be gagging all over the place. Dad owed me big time for this one.
I stood there, staring into space, when all of a sudden, my eyes focused by themselves. Mr. Fine was no more than a few feet away from me, talking to a group of kids. My breath caught in my throat. It oughta be a crime to look that good. My mother always says God is good, and you know she ain’t never lied this time. God was so good he did it twice. I took a quick look around for Mr. G.Q’s double but he was nowhere to be seen. I hadn’t really seen a guy in a suit that looked this good for a long time. Every time my mother tried to get me to go to church lately, I found an excuse not to go, and the guys at school day wore gear that was fresh, but nothing that looked like this. In another situation, I might say that the suits were corny, but these boys looked hot.
I stood taller and sucked in my stomach. Since I wasn’t falling down any steps, I felt more confident and prepared this time. I wet my lips and stared in his direction. If you stare, people could feel you staring, and I wanted him to feel me, for sure.
He looked up right on cue. Butterflies did back flips in my stomach. Our eyes locked, and I knew right then it was meant to be. If my life were a cartoon, there would be two characters, running toward each other in slow motion to corny music. There was a reason I’d come today and I’d just found it. I smiled, and he came over.
“I didn’t hurt you earlier, did I?” The boy smiled and exposed dimples as deep as the Grand Canyon.
I shook my head. “My lawyer will be contacting you.”
“You got jokes.” He paused. “That’s good. “You tell him to call Jeffrey Barnes.”
The name echoed inside my head. Jeffrey. “And how will he reach you?” If I could have patted myself on the back for that one, I would have. Like I said, I’d had some time to think, and I was ready.
Jeffrey grinned and told me his number. I took out my cell phone and punched it into my phone and saved it, then gave him mine. “I’m Dana Banks.”
“First time here?”
“Of course it’s her first time, you ain’t never seent her before,” some girl said, approaching us. “I know you can read that name tag because you claim to be on the honor roll.”
She pointed to the big blue visitor sticker on my shoulder that they’d given us when we came in. It screamed “visitor” big as day.
The grating voiced-girl walked from behind him. She stood just a little too close, hovering over Jeffrey like a security guard. She practically raked her eyes over me as she flipped her long weave over her shoulder. It started at black at her roots and then faded to some blonde-beige combination at the ends. She was pretty, but she wore a ton of makeup, more than my parents would ever allow, and she had bad skin, covered with the remains of pimples. And then, not to mention, how she’d strung her words together, she could barely speak the English language. It took everything I had not to tell her that there was no such word as seent.
“I came with my father.” I hadn’t been in the building three minutes and someone was already tripping. I was surprised to hear the venom in her voice, but I wasn’t about to let her see me shook. How could you possibly dislike someone so much and you haven’t even met them? It was my turn to rake my eyes over her. Her hair was the best thing she had going for her because from the looks of things, she loved to eat.
“This is my friend, Michelle.” Jeffrey blushed.
Michelle practically pushed him out of the way to get closer. “Yes, I’m his girlfriend. We glad you could visit. Do you think you’ll be back?” She spat her words at me.
Jeffrey fidgeted like he was embarrassed. Our eyes met over her shoulder. I hadn’t planned on coming back, but it looked like I had a reason to come back now. She was challenging me, and one thing I was not, was afraid. I wouldn’t be my father’s daughter if I passed up a challenge.
“You know, I think I will.” A wide smiled spread across my face. “Your choir is off the chain.”
Michelle’s eyes opened wide and if I didn’t know better, I would say that Jeffrey was trying not to laugh. It was obviously on. And I couldn’t wait to make good on my promise.
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