Try a Little Tenderness Page 8

  David’s Table was a Christ-centered, full-service restaurant that specialized in soul food and Creole dining. The restaurant’s owners attended her church and were very active in ministry. The décor was West African–themed with kente tablecloths with Ashanti and Christ-centered statues placed at each end of the napkin holders. Amirah could smell the turkey and dressing, cooked greens, baked macaroni and cheese, and other specialty dishes as she made her way to the group’s table.

  “Amirah, girl!” Sarai yelled like she was outside.

  Amirah looked at Sarai sideways. She knew Sarai knew better to address her like that. It was cool though. Truthfully, Amirah had forgotten that Sarai was a member of her book club as well. She was a young, first-year teacher who’d just graduated from Winston-Salem State University. Having graduated from North Carolina A & T, Amirah appreciated being around another HBCU alum. School rivalry jokes aside, Amirah found Sarai a pleasure to be around.

  “Amirah!” Various members of the group joined in. All fifteen of them either stood or walked up to her to give her a hug. That was one of the reasons she loved meeting with this book club; they always welcomed her with open arms.

  “Hey, ladies.” Amirah tried to greet them all.

  “Ooh, I love what you’ve done with your hair.” Aja touched a strand. Amirah’s micro braids had been twisted and curled, giving her a look similar to what the R&B singer Brandy had when she first came out. They highlighted her high cheekbones and emphasized her glowing, almond-colored skin.

  “Thank you, thank you.” Amirah accepted the compliment. “I try to change the style every now and then because just wearing my hair down can be plain sometimes.”

  “So what are you trying to say about my hair?” Marjorie jumped in and showed off her newly shaven head.

  “There’s nothing wrong with going natural,” Amirah confirmed. “In fact, under all of this weave, I’m still kinky the way God designed me to be.”

  “Well, let’s get the meeting started,” Marjorie said as she stood up at her spot at the table. “Ladies, how are we doing today?”

  “Fine” and “good” were the common responses from the group.

  “Good. Today we are going to discuss ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s classic novel, which I hear was filmed a while ago and is awaiting release.”

  The ladies clapped upon hearing the news. “We haven’t had a faith-based novel get turned into a movie or a television special since T. D. Jakes did Not Easily Broken,” Sarai pointed out.

  “I know,” Marjorie said, “which is why this is a big accomplishment for us. We need to support the movie regardless of the format it comes out in, because that’s how we let the decision-makers know that we want to see our stories on the screen.”

  The ladies nodded their heads in agreement.

  “Today, we are going to briefly discuss where we are in terms of the book, but we will hold off any major discussions until the next meeting. First, we are going to partake in a project based on a book we read last month. We are going to sign up individually and collectively as a group to a Christ-centered networking and online dating site.”

  “Oohs” and “ahhs” were heard throughout the table.

  “The site that won the votes two weeks ago is called His-Love.com, and I like the fact that the site already has a book club on it. For those of you who are married, we gave you plenty of time to go over your participation in this activity with your spouses. If you didn’t agree this was best for your household, then look on with another member. Now, before we register and talk about the positives and the negatives of online dating, how many of you have profiles on this site?” Marjorie asked.

  Only Aja and another lady raised their hands. “Cheaters,” Marjorie mumbled, which brought out a few chuckles from the members. “Okay, I’m just kidding. But I’m glad this will be a group experience for most of us who are single. If you are married and your husband is comfortable with you participating in this site for social media purposes, please put marital status on your profile when you register so that we don’t give these men the wrong impression. If you and your husband said no or you decided that spiritually this is not a site you can participate in, feel free to look on with another book club member.”

  Amirah took note of the disclaimer. She could see how, on the outside looking in, one of the women’s husband would take his wife participating on His-Love.com the wrong way. Even with its Christ-centered focus and direction, the last thing she wanted to see was someone’s relationship in trouble because they joined the site.

  “Did either of you find someone online?” Marjorie addressed the group. Amirah noticed that Aja half-heartedly raised her hand. “Would you care to share?” Marjorie continued.

  Aja slowly rose from her spot at the other end of the table. “First, I want to say that we should be proud of His-Love.com. It is founded by a young African American lady who wanted a dating service and networking site that not only reflected His values and would be Christ-centered, but would encourage men and women of God to mix and mingle in a safe environment without the temptations of taking on worldly values. I particularly like the daily scriptures and the links to a few popular daily devotionals that come into my inbox daily.”

  Aja pulled out her iPad and showed everyone the site with her profile on it. Then she minimized it to show the His-Love.com app. “Next feature is the app, which you can synchronize to your smart phones, your laptops, and PCs and other devices. This is cool, because once I make a connection, the app updates all of my devices, which makes it convenient.”

  “Have you met someone?” one of the ladies asked.

  “Actually, I have. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve reconnected with Alyssia’s father, and we’ve been talking for a few months now.”

  “How is that going?” another of the ladies asked.

  “Actually, it’s going very well. It was kind of bumpy when we first met, because I was only seventeen and he was much older. I wasn’t the Christian lady back then that I am today, and he wasn’t Prince Charming either. But once we got past that, we have not only learned to co-parent our daughter together, but we have seen our relationship grow by leaps and bounds. His-Love.com gave us a chance to start over and to meet the way God intended.” Aja sat down amid applause from fellow book club members. She was still blushing.

  “So when are we gonna meet this fine, handsome man?” another lady asked.

  “When the time is right,” Aja promised. “If it’s God’s will, of course.”

  “Thank you for your testimony.” Marjorie shared a knowing wink. “I can’t guarantee you will find a match as it appears that Aja has; however, I do want our trip to His-Love.com to be one that we can take together among friends.

  “When we read Diamonds by Serita Evanovich,” she continued, “we learned about the benefits and the dangers of connecting with people we meet online.”

  “I love that book,” Aja interjected. “Serita did a good job at demonstrating how we present ourselves to the public and work hard to show our best sides, yet we often we forget that like diamonds, we are rough, imperfect creatures that have to be harvested and polished.”

  “I agree,” Chris jumped in.

  When Amirah heard her voice, she had to look around, because she had forgotten that Chris came to the meetings every now and then. “I look rough on the outside,” Chris admitted. “I like men, but I have a hard time connecting with them. And before y’all suggest it, I tried the long hair, makeup, and glam thing, and that didn’t work for me.”

  Amirah noticed a few smiles. She was happy to see that people weren’t judging Chris.

  “But seriously, I’m an introvert,” Chris admitted. “Unless it’s time to pop off and beat a chick down, I’m quiet as a mouse. When I’m behind the monitor and pounding the keys, that’s where I’m the most comfortable. I’m not really a people-person. I can reveal as much as I want without having to show people what I look like.”

  “And that’s th
e good thing about this site,” Marjorie pointed out. “You don’t have to show anyone what you look like right away. A lot of people choose pictures or other images for their profile picture.”

  “That’s good,” Chris said.

  “Yeah, but when are we going to get to meet her?” Aja asked. “And is her husband okay? Because the last time we talked to her, he had to go to the hospital.”

  “I haven’t talked to her lately,” Marjorie answered. “We are still on to set up that interview with her, because everyone’s been talking about Diamonds since it’s been out. But back to the profiles—who’d like to be our guinea pig and create one for the group to see?”

  No one raised her hand, and Amirah felt comfortable enough to give it a try, so she stood and volunteered to go first.

  “Thank you, Amirah. We are going to finish our light appetizers that the waiters are starting to head our way to serve, and after that, we will watch Amirah create her site while we each create our own.”

  The waiters placed various snacks of cheese and crackers, fruit, and mini turkey sausage links on the table. Amirah pulled out a dollar bill from her purse and tipped the waiter. After Marjorie led the group in grace, the members of the group ate and discussed some of the short stories that they were reading on their e-readers.

  Amirah sat at the computer and looked at the projector, which showed the form she had just filled out with her personal information. She chose the name AmirahIsLoyal because loyalty was what her name translated to in Arabic. She put in her leopard-print flash drive and selected one of the professional pictures she’d taken a while back as her profile picture. It took almost five minutes, due to the moderators verifying her information, but soon afterward, her picture was on the site, ready for the world to see.

  Amirah headed to the main screen and was about to select her location when she was interrupted. “Y’all see that there are ten thousand women registered for the site, but only four thousand men. I don’t like the odds of this already.”

  “Now, don’t look at it that way,” Aja spoke up. “Some of the ‘women’ on the site are groups and churches, and by default, the sex of a group is a woman. There are still more women on the site, but a few of the groups send postings and party invites. Some present business opportunities as well. Think of this as the Christ-centered versions of LinkedIn and BlackPeopleMeet.com rolled into one.”

  “Oh . . .” Some of the ladies felt put at ease.

  Amirah continued with her registration, and she placed Asheville, North Carolina as her city to view. She was amazed at the diverse group of men and women online. It was expected that Asheville would have the most members, because the lady who founded the site lived there. Amirah began to view some of the men online, and she had to admit that quite a few of them were appealing to the eye. Almost every man had a face shot, as the site didn’t allow body shots or private pictures. Those who didn’t show their faces had Christ-centered pictures or a shadow with a cross in the middle to indicate they hadn’t uploaded a picture.

  As the information session wound down, Amirah got her first piece of mail: a friend request from TaxTithress. Noticing that she was a woman, Amirah almost rejected the request, until she saw Aja’s profile picture when she hovered over the name. Amirah accepted that request and the one from Marjorie and other ladies in the group as they got the hang of the site. Amirah took a peek at Aja’s page and saw that she linked with M. E. D. T. H. O. D. Man, whom she presumed to be Alyssia’s father.

  Amirah would’ve explored someplace else, but one of the managers had come to the room to let them know that the next group who had reserved the room was ready to use it. The book club members quickly disconnected their laptops or shut down the computers they were using. They also agreed to discuss ReShonda’s book at the beginning of the next meeting and to track their progress on His-Love.com as well.

  Chapter Eleven

  Power Moves/Struggles

  Mateo stared out of the skylight in the business room of Heaven’s Inn. The motel used to be owned by a wealthy businessman. When the owner realized he had no heirs who shared his vision, he helped Hammer move his business to the motel and financed the transfer of the motel to him as well. The man stayed on as a consultant for a year, during which Hammer got the vision from God to use the property as the basis for his business and ministry. The motel served as a hub for Hammer’s more popular and well-known business, The Christian Cab Company.

  As Mateo walked up to the window to take a peek outside, he saw that a small fleet of Lincoln Navigators, Continentals, and Cougars graced the parking spaces before him. Mateo almost got lost in Joshua Rogers singing “Rain On Us” in the background.

  Mateo was supposed to be looking for another job. One of the conditions of being able to stay at Heaven’s Inn was that he would seek outside employment at the end of his first year. Hammer wanted to see everyone become self-sufficient and begin to show that they could manage on their own. Hammer hoped that the long-term employment with one of his firms would entice other employers to give the individuals he helped another chance. Plus, Hammer and the church helped those employed seek housing elsewhere and often were able to get the employees discounts through the ministry.

  After filling out the long and tedious online applications for department stores and convenient discount chains, Mateo wanted to fix his hazy eyes on a new sight. In the back of his mind, he thought about asking Hammer to let him drive one of the cabs to tide him over, but that would mean he would have to give up his employment with the motel and rely on tips for most of his income. On one hand, Mateo knew he could be a charmer and found the idea of making money via tips a challenge. On the other hand, he was still working on paying off the restitution due for his DUI charge, and he couldn’t afford to go without the guaranteed income his hourly rate at Heaven’s Inn afforded him.

  Mateo’s conviction on check fraud, identity theft, and larceny further limited his choices. Every major fast food chain had already rejected him, in part because he’d stolen from two of those employers when he was a teen. Word about Mateo’s klepto ways had traveled fast, especially since some of his former coworkers moved on to other fast food joints. Ingles, the grocery store with a dominance in the Asheville area, also rejected him for employment. Some of the mom and pop stores and janitorial services weren’t willing to cut him slack, even though they needed someone who could speak Spanish fluently.

  Traces of lavender and vanilla competed fiercely for dominance from hidden oil jars near the back of the room. The cream-colored walls were lined with trophies and awards the motel had won since being under Hammer’s ownership. Recognizing the profile from a major publication chronicling Hammer’s success after getting out of jail left Mateo inspired and gave him the thought that maybe one day, he could own a string of businesses too.

  Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, the Biblical verse he saw framed against the wall reminded him. Mateo thought it difficult when he didn’t have a job aside from being a motel attendant, but just as quickly as the thoughts of failure and frustration crossed his mind, Mateo thanked God for Jesus, a place to stay, some food to eat, a sane and clear mind, and a desire to right his wrongs.

  Mateo sat in the plush office chair and started to play Spider Solitaire on the computer, but closed the program after only a few minutes. Mateo decided to check his Gmail account to see if he’d received a response from the previous applications he’d turned in. The new messages were the typical, standard form rejection e-mails he’d received every day since he started the e-mail account.

  Mateo was beginning to dislike the computer and the technology that came with it. He smiled when saw the messages from His-Love.com; one letting him know that he been added as a friend and another letting him know there was a message in his inbox.

  As Mateo got further into his search on the Web site, he shook his head when he looked at some of the profiles on His-Love.com. Some of the women had directed him t
o links to adult sites and chats. Fortunately for him, Hammer had that kind of material blocked on the computers Mateo had access to. Good thing, too, because Mateo couldn’t say at that moment that he wouldn’t have given into the flesh and acted on some of those impulses. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jesus; Mateo didn’t want to put himself in a position to be tempted.

  A couple of the women were genuinely interested in praying for him, inviting him to noonday prayers, Bible studies, special church events, and of course the dozens of invites that flooded his box to attend someone’s Missionary Pentecostal Baptist AME Zion Church of God in Christ.

  “You better be filling out job applications and not trying to look at some adult video site!” Hammer yelled from the doorway.

  “No, old man. I’m on His-Love.com.”

  Hammer stepped into the room. Mateo moved his chair to the side so that he could show Hammer that he was, in fact, on the Web site that he said he was on. Hammer pulled up a chair and sat in front of the computer and scrolled up and down the inbox. He, too, shook his head at the subjects of some of the notes that were left for Mateo.

  “What you got that makes these women act like they are on the Desperate Housewives of Atlanta or something?” Hammer asked as he clicked on the HOME icon and then to the MY PROFILE icon. “Man, look at your pictures. You look like the thug you try to pretend to be.”

  “Old man, I’m more of a thug than you think I am,” Mateo responded cockily. “I might be saved and still trying to learn God’s way, but I’m not a stranger to the streets.”

  “Boy, when check fraud and identity theft count as hardcore crimes, then you can talk to me about the streets.” Hammer blew him off.