The Retreat (19 page)

“Can I holler at you a minute?” D-Loc pointed toward outside.

“Sure.” Will walked out and closed the screen door behind him.

They lived on the second floor and there was a black metal guardrail in place to keep anyone from falling over. Will followed D-Loc downstairs, where four members of the Untouchables waited for him.

J-Rock was the same size as Will. His boy, Nonsense, had the same high-yellow complexion as the baseball bat that rested on his shoulders. Then there were the twins, Deshawn and Damian. They both were over six feet tall, and 200-plus pounds. It did not take a genius to know that these guys were not here just to talk.

“So what's up, man, are you still with the whole God thing or what?” D-Loc asked.

“Yeah, man, I'm on a new path and I ain't turning back for nothing,” Will said with conviction.

“So you're just going to turn your back on your family like that?”

“Look, D-Loc, I appreciate everything that you tried to do for me and my family, but I'm out the game.”

“We tried to give you some time to get your mind right, but you not being here is messing with our money.” D-loc extended his fist. “We can't just let you up and leave. You made a pledge to the set.”

At the time, it had not seemed like a strong pledge when Will pledged his life to the Untouchables. His life was not worth anything to him then, and either way he did not see himself living long, so why not make a lifelong pledge? This whole time he had been feeding off of the devil's pie, going for seconds. He had given up his birthright for the sake of being able to say that he belonged to something.

“Man, I made a new pledge. I'm turning my life around, and if you can't get down with that, then I don't know what to tell you,” Will stated firmly.

Will had only one play to make and that was to threaten to go to his father. But at this moment not even his father could save him. Only God could deliver him from what was about to happen. Will would hold his ground on the scripture promise that God had not given him the spirit of fear and timidity.

“Well then, we got a problem, because the only way out of this is through death.” D-Loc opened up the left side of his brown leather coat and flashed his chrome glock. This was the same gun he used to rule the Untouchables with an Iron Fist. The stories associated with that gun made Will even more pensive.

Was this the end? Was Will allowed only a few months of peace before he was killed in broad daylight in front of his family? Oh well, at least Will would get a chance to be with his Lord, and if he was going to die for something, then it might as well be for his beliefs and convictions.

“If I wasn't scared to die when I was out in this world playing tag with Satan, then what makes you think I'm scared now?” With those words, Will got into combat mode. With his fists balled and his body ready to absorb any impact of a bullet, Will waited.

D-Loc pulled out his gun and pulled back the handle. Will froze, and knew he'd missed the opportunity to snatch the gun away. D-Loc had been a god to him, and to challenge his former god was irrational. The sound of a honk spooked everyone involved, including D-Loc. Will looked over D-Loc's shoulder to find a familiar Range Rover. God was still in the miracle business.

Quincy hopped out of the Range Rover, wearing the same polo shirt and slacks he'd had on earlier at his condo. Jamal hopped out of the passenger seat and proceeded to open the door behind him, where he pulled out a scared, timid Chauncey, who did not want to get out of the car. The three men made their way toward Will, with Chauncey keeping a safe distance.

“What up, Will? Just thought you might need help moving,” Quincy said.

“Good looking.” Of course, Will was referring to more than just the help with moving.

“Still up to the same thing, Devin?” Jamal asked D-Loc.

Will had never known D-Loc's real name, nor had he even bothered to ask. He never thought that Jamal would know who D-Loc was, which was even more shocking.

“You know, I got to do what I got to do,” D-Loc replied.

“You and I both grew up in the same neighborhood and watched how gangs and drugs tore our community down. Now you're here perpetuating it?”

Will had never seen D-Loc intimidated before. If he did not know any better, he would even go as far as to suggest that he was scared of Jamal.

“Look, Devin, I don't know what the deal is with you and Will, but what I do know is that Will is trying to get his life together and I need you to let him do that.”

It was like Jamal slayed the tension in the air. Will thought he might make it out without any bloodshed.

“This ain't over.” D-Loc signaled for his boys to come along with him and he left.

“J, I'm trying to figure out what just happened,” Will said.

“Man, I used to go to school with that dude back when his older brother was running things. We got into a fight once, and I mopped him up. He knows that I'm not scared of his gun and that I could knock him out long before he pulls the trigger. The last thing he wants is to get beat down in front of his crew again.”

D-Loc's final words echoed throughout Will's ears. Yes, he had been set free by God's grace. Yes, he had just dodged a bullet, but D-Loc was not the type to forget. He would try to get payback and it was up to Will to figure out how.

But Will knew without a doubt, as long as he put his trust in God, that everything was going to be okay. He would not have to spend his days looking over his shoulder, because God had his back.

Pastor Dawkins waited for Grace as she emerged from the Relaxation Spa looking more radiant than ever. Grace started to show up to church after the Men's Retreat, and Pastor Dawkins decided to give her a chance to see if there was something more between them than just a spark. This marked their fourth date they had been on since the Retreat. He'd debated whether a trip to the spa was too much of a gift to give to someone he'd just started dating. Regardless, he just loved to see her smile, and wanted to do his part to keep one on her face.

“I got a Kahlúa pedicure and my feet smell like coffee,” Grace said.

The Kahlúa pedicure was to cap off a hydro-bath with rose petals, and a one-hour pebble massage. Pastor Dawkins would always preach to the men that if they wanted their wives to love them like no other, then they had to be willing to keep the romance in their marriage and not be cheap. Since he'd never had a wife, Pastor Dawkins wondered how his relationship advice went with the guys. It was easy to give advice when he was not even in a relationship.

“Thank you so much.” Grace gave Pastor Dawkins a big hug.

“The restaurant is in walking distance; I figured it's a nice day for a stroll.”

Grace did not even wait for Pastor Dawkins to finish. She just started walking. He followed alongside her. He remembered that a gentleman walked along the outside of the curb to protect the woman he was with.

“The men still seem to be on fire in the church. I'm sure that you're happy to see so much growth among men,” Grace commented.

“I realized that the strength of Greater Anointing lies in us getting the men together. If we can encourage men and make them feel good about being men, then they will become better fathers and husbands.”

Pastor Dawkins took a moment to admire the Pike. Despite all of the expansions of new businesses and shops, he could still see the place where he spent the summers of his youth, running along the pier and riding the Ferris wheel and other carnival rides. The Pike was evidence that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

“I'm curious. All this time you spend thinking about everyone else, when do you find the time to do you?” Grace asked.

Pastor Dawkins laughed, because if he had a dollar for every time he was asked that question, he could buy the Staples Center and hold church. They both stopped at a light and waited for the crosswalk to give them permission to walk.

“I really don't, but God has been so good to me that I can't complain about my lot in life.”

They finally crossed the street and entered a cozy little Thai restaurant. Pastor Dawkins was pulling out all of the stops. He felt the desire to give her anything, like a parent gives to a spoiled child; except Pastor Dawkins did not believe that this gift from God would spoil. He knew that Grace would accept every gift with humility.

They sat next to the window and ordered their food. To pass the time, they played a game where they tried to guess what was going on in the lives of the strangers who passed by the restaurant. It was not long before their food arrived.

“You know, I remember one Bible Study when my former pastor talked about the purpose of a wife. He said that a wife was there to help God complete the work in her husband,” Grace said.

“I'm sure that roused up some of the independent women at your church,” Pastor Dawkins said.

Grace laughed as she wiped the food from her lips. “You know it did. Then he went on to say that it wasn't about giving up who you are, but using the gifts to help your man be all that God desires him to be. In essence, a man cannot fulfill God's will without a woman.” Grace concluded her statement with a snap of her fingers, as if she had just heard some good spoken word poetry.

“So are you saying I'm outside of God's will?”

“I believe so, because God has a blessing staring you right in the face and I believe it's time that you accept it.”

Pastor Dawkins was leveled by her beauty and her strength. She flirted between the lines of confidence and conceit. At this moment he would give her everything that she desired and pray to God for more. How could a pastor date a woman? How could he fall in love?

“You don't have to be afraid around me. I'm not out to get you, and I'm not interested in the title of first lady. I just want to know the man behind the sermons, and if that's too much, then I don't know what we're doing here.” Grace returned to eating her food.

Pastor Dawkins knew what he was doing. He was falling in love, but he could not help but wonder if he was worthy of a woman like Grace.

“Why are you so scared to give yourself a chance to find someone? It's not like you are priest,” Grace said.

“Watch out now, I'm not scared. I just don't want to put myself in a compromising situation. Part of the success of our ministry lies in the fact that there hasn't been any scandal regarding me and some sister at the church. I couldn't live with the shame of letting my God down.”

“I'm not looking to put you in a compromising situation.” Grace took another bite of her food.

There were a lot of things that made Pastor Dawkins enamored with Grace. One of those things was her directness. Grace knew how to be unabashed without being abrasive. She challenged him, and for that he felt inclined to be just as straightforward.

“What you have to understand is that I can't afford to have my integrity questioned. If one of the brothers or sisters of the church walked by and saw us laughing and having a meal together, things would get so twisted that folks would think that I lost my salvation.”

“Didn't you just preach a sermon where you said not to care about what others think? Be more concerned with what God thinks?” Grace concluded her question with a wink and a smile.

Pastor Dawkins responded with a chuckle. “Do as God says and not as I do.”

Grace pointed her fork at Pastor Dawkins as if to shame him.

“Look, the church is under attack right now with all of these pastors going through a divorce or getting caught up in scandals. I believe that it is not my season to explore new relationships.”

“If that were true, then you wouldn't be here. I know that you carry with you a strong anointing, and you would not be on a date with a woman God had not preordained you to meet.”

Pastor Dawkins felt it was wrong to carry such a strong emotion for a woman who was not his wife. He felt that those emotions would one day lead to his downfall, and he could not risk being yet another case of a pastor who could not live up to the standards he preached.

“Look, I'm not trying to put any pressure on you. All I'm saying is don't cut something off for no reason. If you're happy and you didn't have to compromise to achieve it, then go with the flow.” Grace touched Pastor Dawkins's hand.

Her hands were soft and warm. He was tempted to kiss them, but that would have been inappropriate. Instead, Pastor Dawkins inhaled the chocolate scent from her fresh nail polish. He had resigned a long time ago to being single, but now in order for him to truly be happy, he would have to let go of his preconceived notions.

 

“Who's next?” Eric, the barber, said as he shook off the hair from the previous client. Platinum Cuts gave Will a job sweeping up hair, with the promise of a new job upon Will's graduation from Smith's Barber College. For the first time in his life, Will was gainfully employed. He was going to school to get his license. Quincy allowed him to stay in his condo, and he was making decent money to send to his brother.

Will had not given up on trying to get his brother away from his mother. Will's mom was inflexible.

“Hey, boy!” his father said with a big smile on his face.

Will had heard that his father was getting early parole. He'd stopped treating the news as a special occasion, because from Will's standpoint, it was only a matter of time before he went back to prison.

“Hey, Pops!” Will gave him a big hug. He loved his father, Will was just tired of being disappointed.

“I heard you moved out?” Odell asked.

“I had to; I would've ended up shot or in prison like you. I want more for my life.”

“More? More? What, you got a new hustle?” Odell said with his eyes bulging.

“I guess you can say that. I decided to get my life straight with the Lord. A friend from church got me a place out in Long Beach and I'm going to school to become a barber.”

Will was sure that his father would laugh at his son's plan to become a barber. Instead, Will's conversion caused his father to put his head down in shame.

“So that's it? You're just going to walk out on your family? I thought I raised you better than that.”

“Listen, I'm not judging you, and I know that what you did was for me and the family. I just wanted to find my own way.”

“Now, look here, I'm supposed to be teaching you and you're over here teaching me.” He patted Will on the shoulder. “I'm proud of you, son. Now, stick with it, because I don't want to see you going down the same road I went down. I'm tired of going back and forth to that cage. I'm too old for that.”

“I know.”

“I'm sorry that I missed out on so much of your life, and, like I said, I just wanted to provide for you guys.”

“You don't have to apologize to me, I know. But you still got Joshua and Elisha and they need their father. Josh needs you to show him how to move through life and not get caught up.”

“I think Josh already has a good teacher to show him how.” Odell wiped his eyes.

If God never did another thing for him, Will was thankful that God at least gave him a break from his past.

“Dad, I want us to do things the right way. If God can do a work in me, then I know He can do a work in you.”

Odell started to shake his head and more tears started to appear. “No, it's too late for me. I'm glad you got out when you did, but I, on the other hand, ain't got nothing left.”

“Your best days are ahead of you and you don't even know it. And you ain't too old, either. That's why God still got air in your lungs, so you can turn and change. It's not too late.”

Will had never spoken so sternly to his father before. Will always saw himself as the good son who followed orders without questions. He never questioned his father's wisdom, but now he could see his father for what he truly was: scared.

He was scared to start over. He was scared to be alone and, overall, he was scared that he would die having failed at being a man. Will knew the reason he was doing all of these things in his life was because of the people in his life, people who wanted to see him do more than just become a statistic. He wanted to give his father the same gift. Will could not give him time back, but he could help his father look forward to the time he had left.