Heaven Right Here Read online

  She rolled out of bed and walked into her bathroom. After splashing water on her face and brushing her teeth, she took one of the pain pills the hospital had prescribed. Then she walked down the stairs to get something to eat. All that sleeping had worked up an appetite.

  “Frieda!” she called out as she entered a still dark living room. She heard pans clanking in the kitchen and walked toward the sound.

  “I should have known you’d be with the food,” she said, rounding the corner.

  “I didn’t know you knew me that well,” Tony said, smiling at Stacy’s surprised expression. “Frieda had to work. I told her I’d take care of you. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Tony Johnson? What are you doing in my kitchen?”

  It was too late for Tony to hide his food-laden plate, so he grinned sheepishly. “I, uh, heard you needed help eating all this food?”

  Stacy leaned back against the door jamb. “Uh-huh.”

  “No, seriously, I called earlier, and Frieda answered. She said you were sleeping and that she would be leaving soon. I offered to come over so you wouldn’t be alone when you woke up.”

  “Oh, Tony, that was sweet. Thank you.”

  Tony and Stacy settled in the dining room with their plates. “Mmmm, this is good. Who made these dumplings, your mother?”

  “No,” Stacy said. “Darius’s wife.”

  Tony’s fork stopped in midair. “The dude?”

  “Bo Jenkins, Darius’s legal partner. I know you’re shocked. But a brothah can throw down. He learned from his Aunt Gladean.”

  “Wow, I never would have thought. So if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get involved with Darius if he’s gay?”

  “That’s a good question and a long story. Suffice it to say the end result was a blessing. I love my son more than anything in this world.”

  “Where is your son?”

  “At his father’s. Now what about you? I really don’t know that much about you outside of the sports world and church.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “About your ex-wife, for instance. The mother of your child.”

  Tony wiped his mouth and took a long swallow of soda before answering. “I have two kids,” he began finally. “Shea, my daughter, was born when I was still in college. She’s ten. My son, Justin, is four. I met his mother when I was at the height of my career. She’s a model. A friend of a friend introduced us, and we got married about a year later.”

  “Why did you two divorce?”

  Tony’s countenance changed, and for a minute, Stacy didn’t think he’d answer. But he did.

  “She cheated on me with a teammate.”

  “Ouch, Tony, I’m sorry.”

  “So am I. I really loved that girl, and in the end, she loved my money more than me. That’s why I can’t handle any more drama when it comes to my relationships. I’m looking for a Godly woman, someone with integrity and a conscience.”

  “And you think that’s me?”

  “Girl, nobody said nothing about you being who I’m looking for. You must still be under that anesthesia.”

  “Forget you, nuckah,” Stacy said, laughing. She was glad Frieda had answered her phone and that Tony had come over.

  48

  If It Don’t Fit …

  Darius waved his hand to stop the band. He turned to the choir. “I want to hear the words crisply. Over-enunciate so each syllable rings true in and of itself.” He separated the phrasing until the five syllables of the song’s first two words stood on their own. “That’s better. Now, once again, and keep going this time.”

  “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.

  Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.”

  “Okay, sopranos, sing ‘I’m an heir’ alone and then everybody else come in on ‘of salvation.’ Let’s hear it!”

  The choir ran like a well-oiled machine. Many of them had been singing together for at least five years. One or two times was all they needed to hear the instruction, and then it was off to the races.

  “This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long.”

  “Sing it like you mean it!”

  And they did.

  “Much better, guys. We want to make sure we don’t lose any of the parts on that chorus. Altos, tenors, make your voices heard. And second altos, don’t get lost in there. Your part is important. Act like you know.”

  Security man Greg walked up to Darius and whispered in his ear. Darius frowned and then turned toward the choir. “Okay, Randall, take over for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

  Darius left the choir area and followed Greg down the aisle into the large foyer. His frown deepened when he saw three serious-looking men in business suits standing near the church entrance.

  “Yes, what can I do for you?”

  “Are you Darius?”

  “Yes.”

  “Darius Crenshaw?”

  “That’s correct. What is this about?”

  “This is about the statutory rape of a minor. You are under arrest, Mr. Crenshaw. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.”

  “Wait, wait. There must be some mistake. I’m married. I haven’t had sex with anyone except my partner.”

  “We’d advise you to come willingly, Mr. Crenshaw. The security guard convinced us not to make a scene in the church, but there are armed officers waiting just outside. Now let’s go.”

  As the men led Darius out, they continued citing his Miranda rights. “You have a right to an attorney. If you do not have an attorney …”

  Darius’s mind was in a fog. He could not believe this was happening. It was a huge, grievous mistake. At the last minute, he yelled over his shoulder to a bewildered Greg still standing by the door of the church. “Call Bo! Let him know what’s going on!”

  Several hours later a bedraggled Darius, accompanied by an attorney and a guard, came out of the holding cell. Bo met him on the other side of the desk.

  “I brought a change of clothes, baby. I know you want to throw these away.”

  “You know me as well as I know myself. Let’s get out of here. I’ll change as soon as I can so I can be rid of any and everything that reminds me of that place.”

  As soon as Bo and Darius had settled in the back of the limo, Bo raised the privacy glass and turned to his partner.

  “What happened?”

  “Melody Anderson is what happened. That girl is lying, saying I raped her. New Year’s Eve at Brandon’s party. Bo, I never touched that girl, I swear on my life, baby. When I walked out of that room, I left her looking the same as when I came in.”

  “I believe you, baby. But for them to arrest you, they must think they have something. Do you know what that could be?”

  “I’ve been racking my brain all day. Okay, Bo, there is something I have to tell you, and please don’t trip. I’ve been through enough.”

  “As long as you don’t tell me you fucked her. You tell me that, and I’m going smooth off.”

  “I didn’t.” Darius proceeded to give Bo the rundown about the night at the party when Melody had tried to seduce him. Throughout the story, he maintained his innocence and his word that he didn’t so much as touch the girl.

  “Why did you take your damn clothes off if you weren’t going to do anything? And don’t you know my writing by now? How are you going to let some note from a sixteen-year-old get you arrested?”

  “Baby, think back to that night. We’d been playing around, cuddling on the couch. You know it’s not unusual for us to try out the rooms of strange homes. It was so typical of something we’d do that I wasn’t looking for it to be a trap. I wanted you so badly that as soon as I stepped in the room, I started taking off my clothes. But come to think of it,” Darius continued, “I might have something that can be used as evidence. Have you taken clothes to the cleaners’ recently?”

  “Not in the last couple weeks, why?”

  “Because
that note Melody wrote, inviting whoever had sex with her into the room, should still be in those pants pockets.”

  “Well, baby, that might help whoever gets charged. That is, if you want to help them.”

  “Knowing how bearing false witness feels from this personal perspective? I’ll help anybody I can.”

  Bo reached over and hugged his lover. “I admit, this jail shit ain’t my territory. But we’re going to get through this, and we are going to put up one helluva fight. Johnnie Cochran ain’t here, God rest his soul, but we’re going to have to find somebody who will get people to understand: if the dick don’t fit, you must acquit!”

  49

  She Said You Did

  A week later, Darius sat in Pastor Derrick’s office. Melody’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, were also there. The tension was so thick it could have been cut with a knife.

  “First of all, I’d like to thank you all for coming to this meeting. I think we are all deeply shaken by what’s happened, and as the pastor of everyone involved, I feel a personal responsibility to this situation.”

  Mrs. Anderson shifted in her seat and stared at Darius. “Yes, well someone else didn’t act responsibly, and your sinful soul will now rot in a jail cell before it rots in hell, praise the Lord!”

  “Now, Mrs. Anderson, I understand we are all upset. But there’s no use having this discussion if one isn’t going to listen with an open mind and a Christ-like heart. Jesus said, ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged,’ and the law says a man is innocent until proven guilty. I’m not taking sides in this matter. I’m just trying to uphold the Christian doctrine of going to one’s neighbor if you have aught against them.”

  “With all due respect, Reverend, how are you going to hold up Christian principles with a homo leading your choir? God forgive me, but it’s the truth, and you know it.”

  Derrick took a silent, restraining breath. Maybe this meeting wasn’t such a good idea. Darius had been resistant from the beginning, but since the Andersons had been members in good standing since Derrick had taken this ministry a decade ago, he thought they could at least hear one another out. Maybe he was wrong.

  The usually docile and quiet Mr. Anderson spoke into the silence. “Pastor, we’re sorry. My wife and I here, well, as you can understand, we’re powerful upset. But we respect you as our man of God, and we will sit here like good Christians and hear what you have to say.”

  Mrs. Anderson cut her husband a sharp glance, and for only the second time in the past five years, Mr. Anderson met her stare with equal resolve. Finally Mrs. Anderson nodded curtly, and Pastor Derrick continued.

  “As I said, I feel personally connected to this unfortunate situation, not only because you’re my members, but also because the church will be linked to this as well. Darius is a public figure, and this story will be major news. I’m surprised it hasn’t run nationally already, but LA Gospel contacted the church for a statement, so believe me, it will be on all the wires before the month is out, if not sooner.

  “This is why I’ve called you all here, not to take sides or offer my opinions as to the allegations that have been made, but to call on all involved to practice restraint and to realize this affects not only you personally but the entire Kingdom Citizens family. I am also asking that what is stated in this room stays in this room. That we agree to keep this particular discussion private. Is it agreed?”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Now, before we go any further, let’s pray.”

  After Derrick finished praying, he asked who wanted to make the first statement. After a short silence, Darius spoke.

  “Pastor, I’d just like to say,” he stopped and turned to the Andersons. “Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, I’d just like you to know, and I say this before God, I did not touch your daughter.”

  “She said you did,” Mrs. Anderson answered quickly. “And I believe her.”

  Darius knew it would be of no use to recount the actual events from that evening, so he went another route. “Were you aware, Mrs. Anderson, that I had a conversation with your daughter on New Year’s Eve morning, telling her she could no longer run my fan club? I honestly believe that’s why she made up this story, to get back at me for releasing her.”

  “I saw the blood; my daughter was raped. And the doctor confirmed that she’d had—that she’d been violated. My daughter was pure, saving herself for marriage. I’ve drilled that into her head since she was five years old. There is no way she would have willingly laid down with any man!”

  “As far as you know,” Derrick interjected. He held up his hand to stop the attack that was about to spew from Mrs. Anderson’s mouth. “I’m not calling your daughter a liar. Again, I’m neutral here, I don’t know what happened. But in the spirit of being objective, and I’m speaking from personal experience here, we parents don’t always know our teenagers as well as we think we do.”

  “Melody was a virgin before this here sinner violated her. And he’s going to pay. That he lies down with men is already an abomination, but that he would then plant his filthy self into my baby … and then to sing in church, actually lead our choir … ? It’s blasphemy, I tell you. And a shame before the living God.”

  Mrs. Anderson put her head in her hands and began sobbing loudly. Mr. Anderson placed his arms around his wife, trying to console her. She only cried louder.

  “Pastor, I’m sorry, but maybe this wasn’t the best idea. My wife has been inconsolable since this happened. It’s all too much. Excuse me, but we’re leaving.”

  With that, he half pulled, half pushed his still sobbing wife out of the chair and headed toward the door.

  “Mrs. Anderson, I did not rape your daughter,” Darius said again as she passed him.

  Mrs. Anderson stopped crying and stopped right in front of him. “You and your scandalous behavior are sure signs that we are living in the last days. You saw what God did to Sodom and Gomorrah, and worse is going to happen to you. If I weren’t a Christian woman, I wouldn’t wait for Jesus to assign you to hell. I’d choke the life out of you and send you there myself!”

  Before anybody knew what was happening or had time to react, Mrs. Anderson took the hand that had been raised toward heaven and slapped Darius hard across the face. Darius, shocked, reeled back in his chair as Derrick and Mr. Anderson quickly ushered a tongue-talking Mrs. Anderson out of the office.

  After a few moments, Derrick returned to his office. “I’m sorry, man,” he said as soon as he walked in. “I knew Mrs. Anderson was upset, but I never thought she would have gone off like that.”

  “Don’t sweat it, Pastor,” Darius said, still rubbing his cheek. “Mrs. Anderson is probably angrier with her daughter than with me, though she’ll probably never admit it.”

  “I don’t know, Darius. It seems that while Mrs. Anderson can see everyone else’s faults, she’s blind when it comes to her daughter. She was in her forties when Melody was conceived, way past the time either of them thought they’d have children. She’s spoiled that girl from the beginning, and unless someone can get through to them, I’m afraid their daughter is in for a difficult life. Everyone isn’t going to put up with Melody’s bratty ways.”

  “This goes way beyond bratty,” Darius said. “This could affect my career and my life. Pastor, as God is my witness, I did not have sex with that girl. One time, in this very office, Cy joked with me that sixteen could get me twenty. Well, according to my lawyer, it can get even more than that. But I’m not going down for something I didn’t do. And I didn’t do it!”

  Derrick sighed. “I believe you, Darius. But someone did. Because I also believe what Mrs. Anderson said about the doctor’s report. And there’s more.”

  Darius’s head shot up. “More? What more can there be?”

  “I didn’t get a chance to tell the Andersons this, but according to the reporter at LA Gospel, there’s a tape.”

  “A tape—you mean videotape?”

  Derrick nodded.

  Darius smiled for the first time since
the meeting had begun. “Well, that’s good news, man! One look at the tape and anybody will be able to see it’s not me on it.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I haven’t seen it—understand. But the reporter who has seen it says the quality is grainy, and, because the only light in the room was coming from the lights by the pool outside, it’s hard to get a definitive look at the man. But she said the person in the tape resembles you, at least enough to where it could be you.”

  Darius stood. He’d heard enough. And after hearing there was a tape floating around, he decided not to even share the little piece of evidence he had—the note from Melody that Bo had indeed found in the pile of dirty clothes.

  “Look, Pastor, I appreciate your having my back. But if you’re through, I’ve got to go. I need to get my hands on a copy of that tape and pass it on to my attorney.”

  “Wait, Darius. There is one more thing. This was a difficult decision, but one that I feel is necessary. While I sympathize with you, my concern has to be for the entire congregation. It’s unfortunate, but I have to try to shield the family from any potential scandal connected to Melody’s allegations. Until this situation has been resolved, I’m going to have to ask you to step down as minister of music and to cease directing, playing keyboards, and all other activities relating directly to the Kingdom Citizens ministry.”

  50

  Believe That

  Hope sat on the couch looking at her stomach. “I can’t believe there’s a baby in here. And I’m getting big so fast!”

  “I never thought I’d see the day where my cuz was actually excited about gaining weight!” Hope gave her an exasperated look. “But I admit, you better slow down on those Oreos, or you’ll still be carrying baby weight when the child goes to college!”

  “Oh, hell to the no,” Hope countered. “Cy’s already agreed to give me a personal trainer as a baby-mama present. I’ve got to get back into my size sixes when this is over.”

  “You will, girl. I’m just jerking your chain. You know I’m happy for you.”

  Hope noticed a hint of sadness under Frieda’s carefree attitude. “What about you? Are you happy?”