Lady Elect by Nikita Lynnette Nichols Page A

was home. I called the church to tell Mother Gussie that I was at the Cartwrights’. That’s when she told me that I was two hours too late. Then I pulled the piece of paper out of my purse that I had jotted the address and time on. I saw that I had written down one o’clock and went back and forth with Mother Gussie about the time she’d given me and she had the gall to hang up on me.
    â€œBecause of her, I missed out on a two-million-dollar sale, I never got to comfort the Cartwrights, and I returned to my office to find the entire staff congratulating the agent who inherited my listing.”
    â€œSo, because Mother Gussie is still pissed at you for marrying me, she became pissed with me also. And you get pissed with me when she pisses on me. And while all of this pissing is going on, I’m pissed with you because you’re not pissed at the right person.”
    Arykah stood up from the table, threw her linen napkin on her plate, and stormed out of the kitchen.
    A half hour later after Lance had cleaned the dinner dishes, he walked into the master bath and found Arykah soaking by candlelight in the oversized jetted tub. Fred Hammond’s “Give Me A Clean Heart” was playing on her iPod that lay on the ledge of the tub close to her ear.
    Lance sat on the ledge of the tub. He dipped his entire left hand in the hot water and created a rippled effect by moving his hand toward Arykah’s upper torso. “A penny for your thoughts,” he said to her.
    Arykah looked up at her husband. “Oh, honey, you don’t wanna know what I’m thinking. Trust me on that, Bishop.”
    Lance looked at the bubbles dancing in the water. “Is there room for two?”
    It was Arykah’s expression that answered Lance. He saw tears on the verge of falling from her eyes.
    â€œWhy the tears?”
    â€œYou wouldn’t understand, Lance.”
    â€œTry me.”
    A single tear fell from her right eye onto her cheek. “I did.”
    â€œI’m over the Cartwright situation.”
    â€œWell, I’m not over it!” Arykah snapped. “I know what time Mother Gussie told me to be there. I’m not stupid, Lance.”
    Lance reached forward and wiped her tear away. “No one said you were. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.”
    Arykah’s neck began to dance. “Well, excuse the heck out of me for trying to get you to see my side of the story. I’ll tell you what; I’ll just shut my darn mouth. How about that?”
    â€œYour behavior is not called for,” Lance said as he stood and left Arykah to her bath.
    She could have easily said something that would’ve given Lance just cause to set all of her belongings outside and have the county sheriff serve her with divorce papers.
    Who the heck was Lance to tell her that her attitude was uncalled for? Perhaps taking one of his golf clubs and going upside his head, then driving across town to Mother Gussie’s house and going upside her head may be uncalled for, but Arykah would’ve felt justified.
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    Before bed, Arykah was in her closet on her knees. “Father, I let You down today. I don’t know if I’m cut out for this first-lady role. I just don’t think that I can do it. I tried real hard not to cuss today, Lord. I bit down on the inside of my mouth so hard that my tongue is raw. But I almost let that broad get the best of me. And, Lord, sometimes men can be dumb as heck. I mean, why did You make them so dumb, Lord? I pray that You deposit some common sense into Lance real soon because I’m almost at my breaking point.”
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    Lance turned over and found himself in bed alone. The digital clock on his nightstand read 2:38 A.M. He got out of bed and searched the master bath for Arykah.
    When he didn’t find her there, Lance walked up the spiral staircase and found her asleep in one of their guest bedrooms. He tapped her lightly