Chapter 14
When I got to Beaumont, I went straight to Antioch Baptist Church. I got a late start, so instead of meeting her at her grandmother’s place and possibly missing her, I just came straight here. My agent had kept me on the phone forever. While I was irritated about that, I had to make sure that things were going like they should. She was getting my take on stage plays and Broadway. I told her I was all for whatever was going to make me money and help me to gain exposure. Not only those things but also show my versatility as an actor.
She was happy about that, because I’d pretty much given her free reign over the projects I did. I had to be sure that I made myself as open as possible. I was a celebrity already, but I wanted to be at Denzel Washington status. I would be able to pick and choose what I wanted to do.
I parked and got out of my car to see that they were exiting the family car. There weren’t a lot of people here, and I could imagine that was because it was on a Monday. People would go to a funeral if it was on the weekend. They would only take off work for the death of someone extremely close to them.
As I made my way to them, I noticed Jamia. She winked at me as she walked next to Denishia. She was the one who had given me Denishia’s grandmother’s address. I’d gotten her number from her at the party, when Denishia had locked herself in the bathroom. She was so excited that I was coming to be ‘with her girl’ and offer comfort.
I could tell that Denishia’s employees were truly genuine friends. They cared so much about her, and I was grateful she had that, especially at a time like this. She needed them tremendously. I knew she had her moments where she felt weak, like she did with me. If I wasn’t available, it comforted me to know that they were.
I was still somewhat shocked that she’d given in to me the way she did. I definitely felt like her vulnerability played a huge role in that, but I was willing to take it for what it was and for what she said it was going to be… me and her .
To know I had this brilliant woman to be a part of my life gave me joy that I didn’t even understand. I was beyond happy that she was willing to give a relationship with me a shot, although she didn’t really know me. We’d skipped right over the ‘get to know you’ phase and gone straight for the gusto. I supposed I would have to combine the phases into one… get to know you, dating, and fucking.
When they got to the door, Denishia and her grandmother just stood there. I could imagine that they didn’t want this moment to be real. Going inside would make it real. My heart went out to them, because I couldn’t imagine having to go on without my mama, especially with as close as I perceived them to be.
She seemed to be perfectly fine the day I met her. It was so hard to believe that she’d died the same day. However, none of us knew our appointed time, so it was important to live each day like it was our last. Finally, the funeral director opened the door, and I watched everyone walk through it. I went to the other entrance, because it seemed that was where the family procession would be.
When I entered, Denishia’s eyes landed on mine, and hers widened slightly. I gave her a sympathetic smile, and she beckoned me over to them. I glanced around and saw the wide eyes and heard the hushed voices. I assumed people were starting to recognize me. Once I got to her, she smiled slightly. I pulled her into my arms and said, “Hey, baby.”
She pulled away and said, “Thank you so much for being here. I thought you had to go out of town.”
I shook my head as her grandmother grabbed my hand. After hugging her, I was about to walk away, but Denishia grabbed my hand. “Please stay with me, Ezekiel.”
I nodded and wrapped my arm around her shoulders as the funeral procession began. The church was mostly empty, maybe about twenty to thirty people in attendance. Being that the church was large, probably boasting a maximum capacity of a thousand or two, it really made it look empty.
As I held her, I glanced around and noticed her ex was in attendance. Hopefully, there would be no drama about that. He obviously knew her mother, although Ms. Patsy didn’t seem to care for him. His ass had better not be here to try to console Denishia though. She no longer needed him in that capacity. That was my role.
The closer we got to the casket, the tighter Denishia’s grip became. She’d circled her arms around my waist and was somehow walking while resting her head against the front part of my shoulder. Lowering my head slightly, I kissed her forehead, then began rubbing her back in a circular motion, trying my best to comfort her.
I knew there was nothing I could do besides be here to make things better. She was experiencing one of the most devastating times of her life. When her grandmother wailed, I could feel Denishia’s body quake. She remained silent though. For whatever reason, she seemed to be trying to hold in her emotions.
Her grandmother bent over and laid her head on Ms. Patsy’s body, causing Denishia to bury her face into my chest. That visual was a lot, even for me. I held her close until her grandmother was able to compose herself enough to go to her seat. Jamia and Jerzey helped her, along with a couple of other ladies I assumed were family members or funeral home employees.
“Come on, baby,” I said softly near Denishia’s ear.
She lifted her head and walked to the casket to view her mother’s body. When she got closer, she stopped and just stared at her mother. I expected something similar to what her grandmother had done, but that didn’t happen. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a second or two, then walked to her seat.
I followed her and sat next to her, immediately putting my arm around her, wishing I could bear the hurt for her. As soon as she was ready to leave the repast, I would take her home and do my best to do just that.
The funeral service was a beautiful celebration of Ms. Patsy’s life. It seemed I got to really know her through the pictures and a couple of funny stories the preacher shared. He did really well lifting everyone’s spirits, helping them to focus on the good times they shared with her, and encouraging them to hold those memories close. She would always be with them.
I could imagine that wasn’t as soothing when you were in the moment, but hopefully, Denishia would look back on this day down the road and remember those words, allowing them to comfort her when grief seemed unbearable.
I rode in the family car with her, Jamia, Jerzey, her grandmother, and another lady, who was introduced to me as Ms. Patsy’s favorite cousin. The ride was pretty quiet to and from the cemetery, just soft talking between Jamia and Jerzey. We were on our way back to the church for the repast. Since there weren’t a lot of people at the funeral, I had to assume there would be even less at the repast. That meant there would be a minimal amount of people Denishia had to force conversation with.
Once the car parked, the driver got out and opened the door for us, then offered his condolences and left us there. Jamia informed me that the cousin had only ridden to the cemetery with them, so she had a car in the parking lot here at the church. I would be taking them to Denishia’s grandmother’s house once all was said and done.
I grabbed Denishia’s hand, and she gave me a slight smile. “Are you sure you weren’t supposed to be in New York? I feel like you were supposed to leave this morning. Please tell me you didn’t cancel your trip.”
“I didn’t cancel my trip. My agent called before my mother’s party to say they moved the audition up. I would have had to fly out Tuesday last week. I turned it down because I didn’t want to risk being stuck in New York and miss my mama’s party. The weather wasn’t looking too great out there last week.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Something else will come along. I wanted to surprise you by being here today.”
She smiled and continued to the church’s entrance. I opened the door for everyone, allowing them all to walk ahead of me. Once I stepped in, Denishia grabbed my hand again, leading me to where the repast would be served. We took a left down a hallway, and the minute we did, we saw her ex-boyfriend standing there.
As long as he wasn’t disrespectful, I would keep my cool. He glanced down at our joined hands, and a slight frown appeared on his face. Once we were closer to him, he said, “Hi, Denishia. You have my condolences. Hey, Grandma. I’m sorry about Miss Patsy.”
“Thank you,” Denishia said as her grandmother hugged him.
I didn’t take offense to that. I noticed she hugged everyone she came in contact with. Before we could enter the dining hall, he asked, “Denishia, can I talk to you for a minute?”
She frowned. “No. We have nothing to talk about.”
I turned my attention to him. I refused to look away from him until he nodded and walked off. It wasn’t a nod of acceptance. It seemed to be one of those nods that said, Yeah, okay. We gon’ see. I just hoped I was around whenever he came back, because I knew she hadn’t seen the last of him. Niggas always did the most when a woman they mistreated moved on… like he was the victim.
Denishia glanced up at me. “I’m sorry. I had to call the police on him yesterday. They arrested him. Obviously, they either let him go or he bonded out this morning.”
“What happened?” I asked, feeling the heat flood my face.
“He was at the flower shop when we got back from Houston. I refused to allow him inside the building. I don’t even know how he knew I would be there, being that it was a Sunday. I’m rarely at the shop on Sundays. That’s my day to rest and prepare for my work week.”
I nodded and followed her inside the dining hall to see the servers standing around talking, waiting for us to arrive. There were about fifteen people seated, waiting for us to arrive as well. I was surprised they hadn’t been served.
“I like that they didn’t serve anyone until Denishia and Miss Julia got here. No one should eat before them,” Jerzey said.
I nodded in agreement as her phone rang. She glanced at me and said, “Sorry. That’s my sister, Keonshay. I’ll be right back.”
I nodded and Jamia said, “Tell her I need to talk to her later.”
Jerzey nodded as she answered her phone and walked to an empty corner of the room. Once we sat, the severs immediately placed to-go boxes of food in front of us. I wondered if we were supposed to leave with our food. I glanced around to see no one was moving like they were about to leave, so maybe that was just something they put the food in, in case you wanted to take it home. I opened the lid and removed the slice of cake in the plastic bag then the foil to see the typical repast food: baked chicken, green beans, potato salad, a roll, and a green salad.
I wanted to chuckle. Churches were predictable when it came to that. I supposed it was the easiest thing to prepare for families. They didn’t have to prepare anything. Denishia and Ms. Julia could have been sent on their way to find their own meal. I could imagine it was a huge cost to them if they did this after every funeral.
I glanced over at Denishia to see she was talking to Jamia and had hugged a man offering his condolences. She’d never opened her box of food. When Jerzey sat back down, she said, “My sister is having a birthday party for her daughter and needs help.” After rolling her eyes, she continued. “Mekayla has all the help she needs, but Keonshay said that we needed to be there more for her instead of always letting her in-laws handle everything.”
“Well, you don’t think she’s right?” Denishia asked.
“I guess. Mekayla and I aren’t all that close. You know that.”
“Yep, and you need to change that. She’s a different person now, and she’s apologized for everything. She was a kid too. Go get counseling if you need it, but let that go and go love on your sister like she’s trying to love on you,” Denishia said.
She turned to me as Jerzey nodded. She gave me a closed-lipped smile. “Hopefully, they will eat a little faster so we can get out of here. I’m ready to go home.”
I smiled and wrapped my arm around her, pulling her a little closer to me. I kissed her forehead, then took a deep breath. This was still too good to be true. She was my woman. I had to be the most blessed man alive.
“How long will you be in town?” she asked.
“At least a week unless my agent calls. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely.”
She puckered her lips, and I kissed her tenderly. Pillow tops. I smiled at her and said, “I know you probably don’t have much of an appetite, but you still need to eat something, baby.”
I opened her box and began feeding her green beans as she stared at me. Yeah, she was going to be it. The next time we were at the altar at a church, I would be making her my wife.