CHAPTER SIXTEEN
By Wednesday afternoon, I was more than ready to go home. I had just finished with a patient and was cleaning up when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and smiled when I saw Jokah's name.
Jokah: Go straight home when you get off.
Me: Okay.
Me: What am I wearing?
Jokah: Something nice.
Me: Heels?
Jokah: Yeah.
Me: Okay.
Jokah: Be ready.
Me: I will.
I smiled at the screen before slipping my phone back into my pocket.
"What are you smiling at?"
I looked over as Jasmine walked into the room.
"Nothing."
"Nothing got a name?"
"Mind your business."
She laughed. "What Jokah want?"
"Apparently, I have somewhere to be at six-thirty."
"Where y'all going?"
"I don't know."
"You didn't ask?"
"Nope."
Jasmine looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Girl, how you don't ask where a man taking you?"
"Because he ain't gonna tell me."
"And you just go?"
I shrugged.
"Every time."
"That's crazy."
I smiled.
"So far, it's been worth it."
"Must be nice."
"It is."
And I meant that.
I had learned quickly that asking Jokah where we were going was a waste of time. If he wanted me to know, he would tell me. If he didn't, I could ask the same question ten different ways and still wouldn't get an answer. So, I stopped asking.
When I got off, I went straight home like he told me.
I showered, did my hair and makeup, then stood inside the closet trying to figure out what Jokah considered nice.
That could mean damn near anything with him.
Since he'd approved heels, I settled on a fitted midi dress that hugged my body, paired it with heels and kept my jewelry simple.
By the time I finished, it was almost six-thirty.
I grabbed my purse and checked myself in the mirror one last time. I looked good. At exactly six-thirty, my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"I'm downstairs."
"Okay. I'm coming."
I ended the call and headed out.
Jokah was waiting when I made it downstairs. The first thing I noticed was how he was dressed. A fitted polo showed off his arms, paired with slacks, designer loafers, his Cuban link and watch. My man was still fine. Just different. His eyes moved over me as I approached.
"Come here."
I walked over.
"What?"
"You look good."
I smiled.
"Thank you. So do you."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me closer before kissing me.
"You smell good too."
"So do you."
He opened the passenger door for me.
"Get in."
"Yes, sir."
Jokah looked at me.
I laughed and climbed inside before he could say anything.
He closed the door and walked around to the driver's side.
I refused to ask where we were going. Instead, I relaxed against the seat while we talked about our day.
He asked about work. I asked if he'd eaten.
Regular conversation filled the ride while I watched Fort Lauderdale pass outside my window, as we entered Dania Beach.
Eventually, Jokah turned into a parking lot. I wasn't paying much attention until the car slowed.
Then I looked up. My eyes landed on the building in front of us. I stared at it for a few seconds before slowly turning toward him.
"Baby."
"What?"
I looked back at the building.
"What are we doing at a church?"
"Bible study."
My head turned right back toward him.
"Bible study?"
"Yeah."
"You go to Bible study?"
Jokah looked at me.
"Sometimes."
I pressed my lips together, fighting a smile.
“Gon’ say that slick shit that’s sitting on your tongue.”
"I'm not saying anything."
"You better now," he laughed, flashing his shiny golds.
Jokah got out, but I sat there for another second looking at the church. Jokah…at Bible study. Of all the places that man had taken me, this was the first one I never would've guessed.
My door opened.
"You coming?"
I looked up at him.
"Yes."
I took his hand and stepped out. Jokah closed the door and kept my hand in his as we headed toward the entrance. The church wasn't a mega church, but it was nice. There weren't nearly as many people as I imagined would be there on a Sunday, but enough people filled the room for Bible study.
Everybody seemed to know Jokah. People spoke as we walked past, and he greeted them back before leading me toward two empty seats.
"You come here often?"
"Sometimes."
I looked around.
"Your granddaddy go here?"
"Yeah."
That explained why we were here.
We sat down, and I placed my purse beside me. A few minutes later, conversations around the room started dying down. Then everybody stood. I followed because I wasn't about to be the only person sitting down.
"Good evening, Pastor Sinclair."
My head turned. Pastor Sinclair? An older man walked toward the front of the room, smiling and greeting everyone.
He was very handsome with his salt and pepper beard and goatee.
I looked at Jokah. He was standing beside me like nothing about what I'd just heard required an explanation.
Then Pastor Sinclair's eyes landed on him. His smile widened.
"Joaquin."
Jokah immediately straightened.
"Evening, Granddaddy."
My eyes widened. Granddaddy?! I looked from Jokah to the man standing at the front of the room, then back at him.
Pastor Sinclair smiled at me. "You must be Kaior."
I glanced at Jokah before looking back at his granddaddy. "Yes, sir."
"It's nice to finally meet you."
"You too."
I smiled as we shook hands, but inside, I was grinning even harder. Oh, he been talking to his granddaddy about me. I know that's right. I looked at Jokah again, but he avoided eye contact with me. That made it even funnier.
Pastor Sinclair said something to him before returning to the front of the room, and I sat back down beside Jokah. I waited until everybody started sitting before leaning toward him.
"You never told me your granddaddy was the pastor."
Jokah shrugged.
"You ain't ask."
I stared at him.
"And Joaquin?"
"What about it?"
I looked him up and down.
"That's your name?"
"Yeah."
A smile pulled at my lips before I could stop it.
"Joaquin."
"What?"
"Nothing. I just wasn't expecting that."
"What were you expecting?"
"Not Joaquin."
He looked at me.
"You got jokes."
I laughed under my breath.
"I'm sorry. It's cute."
His face immediately changed.
"Cute?"
"Yes. Joaquin is cute."
"Ain't shit cute about me. Babies are cute. I'm handsome."
I covered my mouth to keep from laughing too loud. "You're not supposed to curse in church."
"I curse in my prayers sometimes."
I turned and looked at him.
"Jokah."
"What? God the big homie. He knows my heart, and He know me."
I shook my head, smiling.
"That's what every sinner says."
Jokah smirked.
"Yeah, you would know."
I nudged him with my elbow.
"Shut up."
"You just cursed."
"No, I didn't."
"You told me to shut up in church. Same difference."
I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever. And for the record, you are handsome, Joaquin."
"That I am."
"Cocky I see."
"Confident."
I smiled. "I like Joaquin."
"You and him are the only ones that can call me that."
That made my smile soften.
"So, you talk about me?"
"We might've had a conversation or two about you."
My eyebrows lifted.
"Oh, really?"
"Don't do too much."
"I'm not doing anything."
I absolutely was. His granddaddy knew about me.
"What did you tell him?"
"Enough."
"Enough for what?"
Jokah looked toward the front.
"Pay attention."
I smiled and turned toward the front too.
"Yes, Joaquin."
"Keep playing."
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. I liked this.
Not just finding out his real name or getting another reason to mess with him.
He'd talked to his granddaddy about me. He'd brought me somewhere that clearly meant something to him and was letting me see a part of himself I hadn't seen before.
So, I stopped messing with him and actually paid attention.
Once Bible study started, I actually listened.
I was still amused that Jokah had brought me here of all places, but the more I sat there, the more I realized this wasn't another surprise date.
This meant something different. I'd seen the man everybody else knew.
The one who walked into a room and people moved differently.
I'd seen the businessman, the man who spoiled me and the man who could be so damn rude I sometimes wondered how I'd gotten this softer version of him.
But I hadn't seen this.
Joaquin sitting with a Bible open in front of him, actually listening. I glanced at him once before looking back toward Pastor Sinclair. For once, I didn't have a joke. He was showing me another part of himself. And I liked that he trusted me enough to let me see it.
Pastor Sinclair stood at the front of the room with his Bible open. "Tonight, we're talking about forgiveness."
I glanced at Jokah. Of course we were. Then I turned back toward the front.
"For some reason," Pastor Sinclair continued, "people think forgiveness means pretending something never happened. It doesn't. You can forgive somebody and still decide they no longer have access to you."
That caught my attention.
"Forgiveness is about what you choose to stop carrying. Sometimes the person you're forgiving won't apologize. Sometimes they don't even believe they did anything wrong. So, what do you do then?"
A few people answered.
Pastor Sinclair listened before looking around the room. "Joaquin."
I immediately looked beside me, as Jokah looked up from his Bible.
"What do you think?"
He leaned back in his chair.
"I think forgiveness and trust two different things."
Pastor Sinclair nodded.
"Explain."
"You can forgive somebody and still know better than to trust them again. Forgiving them don't mean you gotta give them another opportunity to do the same shit."
A few people laughed.
Pastor Sinclair gave him a look.
"Language, Joaquin."
"My bad."
I covered my mouth. When Jokah glanced at me, I looked straight ahead.
"Continue," his granddaddy said.
Jokah shrugged.
"That's it. You let whatever happened go because holding onto it ain't doing nothing but fucking with you."
Pastor Sinclair cleared his throat.
Jokah caught himself.
"Messing with you."
More laughter moved around the room.
"Better."
"But that don't mean you forget what they showed you. You just stop letting what they did control what you do next."
My smile slowly disappeared. I looked at him and he wasn't joking anymore.
Pastor Sinclair nodded. "Exactly."
Then he continued the discussion. I tried to focus on him, but my mind stayed on what Jokah had said.
I hadn't expected that answer. Then again, I was starting to realize there was a lot about him I hadn't expected.
He knew his Bible. He followed along. He answered questions.
He even leaned over once and quietly pointed me toward a verse when I couldn't find it fast enough.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"Mhm."
I smiled.
Look at Joaquin helping me find Scripture. I kept that thought to myself because I was actually trying to behave.
By the time Bible study ended, almost an hour had passed. People started standing and talking while Jokah closed his Bible.
I looked at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You been looking at me all night."
"I learned some things tonight."
"Like?"
"Your name is Joaquin."
He shook his head.
"Here you go."
"Your granddaddy is a pastor."
"You knew that already."
"I absolutely did not."
"Well,” he shrugged. “You know now."
"And you actually know the Bible."
He looked at me.
"Why wouldn't I?"
I shrugged.
"You don't exactly give Bible-study vibes."
"What kinda vibes I give?"
I smiled.
"Let's not discuss that in the Lord's house."
Jokah laughed.
"Come on."
We stood, but before we made it far, somebody called his name.
"Joaquin."
I grinned.
He looked at me.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You ain't gotta."
An older man walked over and shook Jokah's hand. They started talking, and Pastor Sinclair came over to me.
"You enjoy yourself?"
"I did."
"Good."
I smiled.
"I wasn't expecting him to bring me to Bible study."
"That sounds like Joaquin." His granddaddy chuckled.
"He doesn't tell me where we're going."
"I know."
I looked at him.
"You know?"
"He gets that from me."
I laughed.
"That explains a lot."
His eyes moved toward Jokah before coming back to me.
"He likes you."
My smile came before I could stop it. "He told you that?"
"Didn't have to."
I glanced over at Jokah. He was still talking, completely unaware that his granddaddy was over here telling his business.
"We might've had a conversation about the both of you," Pastor Sinclair added.
"That's what he said."
"He told you?"
"After I interrogated him."
Pastor Sinclair laughed. "It sounds like you might be good for him."
"He has been really good to me."
"I can see that."
Something about the way he said it made me look at him.
Pastor Sinclair smiled. "Joaquin has always been private. Even with me. He'll tell you what he wants you to know when he's ready for you to know it."
"That sounds exactly like him."
"It can be frustrating."
"Very."
"But if he brought you here, he's letting you into a part of his life that matters to him."
I looked over at Jokah again. That comment landed differently. "I figured it meant something."
"It does."
I nodded.
"Thank you for telling me."
"Don't tell him I did."
I smiled.
"Your secret is safe with me."
"I doubt that."
I laughed.
"Okay, you definitely his granddaddy."
Jokah walked back over just in time to hear me.
"What y'all talking about?"
"You."
His eyes immediately went to his granddaddy.
"That's what I was afraid of."
Pastor Sinclair held his hands up in surrender and smiled. "Nothing bad."
"That's what people say when they been talking shit."
I looked at him.
"Joaquin."
"What?"
"Church."
He looked around.
"We leaving."
"You're still inside."
His granddaddy laughed. "I like her."
Jokah looked at me. "See what you started?"
I smiled.
"Your granddaddy likes me."
"Good for you."
Pastor Sinclair hugged me. "It was good meeting you, Kaior."
"You too. Thank you for having me."
"You're welcome anytime."
Then he hugged Jokah.
"Good seeing you, grandson."
"You too, Granddaddy."
"Don't make yourself a stranger."
"I won't."
"And bring her back."
Jokah glanced at me.
"We'll see."
I frowned.
"We'll see?"
He grabbed my hand.
"Come on."
"See how he treats me?"
Pastor Sinclair laughed as Jokah pulled me toward the door. "Goodnight, y'all."
"Goodnight."
I followed Jokah outside, smiling.
I'd spent the beginning of the night amused that this man's name was Joaquin and that his granddaddy was a pastor.
By the end of it, I understood why he'd brought me.
This wasn't about impressing me. He'd simply brought me into a part of his life that mattered to him. And to me, that felt just as special.