Brown Sugar

Chapter Three.

Beyoncé sat with her family in the fifth pew that Sunday, their usual spot. Mathew and Benjamin were on either side of her. All three of them were fanning themselves to cool off from the heat. Their tiny church had no air conditioning system, and it got hot quickly with all the dancing and singing. She watched her animated pastor pace in front of the podium.

"I think y'all are sleeping," Pastor Jenkins yelled hoarsely. "I said, can the church give me an amen," he cried again while wiping the sweat from his forehead. On cue, the church clapped and shouted amen. Beyoncé was interested in this sermon. He didn't deviate off course to discuss oppression or injustices like usual. She understood his anger but didn't agree with everything he said. She didn't believe that all white people were racist. She knew for a fact that it wasn't true.

Most of the servers at Rue's diner were like family to Beyoncé. Her father's employer was a generous and loving man who gave Mathew all the paid time off he needed when her mother, Tina, died. Then there was Kyle... She had just met him yesterday, but his simple gesture of returning her book proved to her that you couldn't just paint white people with a broad, racist brush.

"Now, brothers and sisters, are we not the anointed ones?" Pastor Jenkins continued. A round of applause followed his statement. Beyoncé couldn't understand why they were clapping. He says the same thing every Sunday. "Was it not Moses who led the chosen people of the mighty God out of Egypt," he said.

"Amen, yes it was!" An older lady shouts.

"And so I ask; was Moses a white man?" He questioned. The congregation all said no in unison. "So, my colored brothers and sisters, why do we continue to let the white man oppress us? He couldn't keep us down in Egypt." He slammed his hand on the podium.

"C'mon and PREACH," a deacon yelled.

"—and he ain't going to keep us down now! Can I get an amen?" The crowd says amen again. "Choir, come on up and join me!" The pastor exhaled. Beyoncé sighed, glad that his tangent was short this time. She felt much comfort in the Church. It was where she could forget her problems and be close to God, the only constant factor in her life. But when Pastor Jenkins pushes his agenda, it irritates her. This is God's house, not a lecture hall. She didn't allow her irritation to overcome her and instead stood and clapped along to the choir.

Sunday was the only day Beyoncé had off to enjoy herself, and what was she doing? Sleeping. Benjamin came into her room without knocking first and sat on her bed. He gently shook his younger sister's shoulder to wake her up. "Bey, wake up!" he stated.

"Benjamin, I'm tired. What is it?" Beyoncé opened her heavy eyes.

"There's some guy here to see you," he informed her. She sat up slowly; she never had any visitors.

"Who is it?" she questioned.

"I don't know... He's some buff Mexican guy. He said he worked with you," he told her. Beyoncé knew precisely who he was talking about.

"His name is Lorenzo," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"Look at little Bey with a Mexican boyfriend," Benjamin teased.

"He was born in Chile, and he's not my boyfriend," she huffed.

"Well, he came here asking Pops if he could take you out for the day," he revealed. Beyoncé froze.

"What?" She squinted her eyes at her brother, trying to tell whether he was lying. "You're a liar, Benjamin Knowles. He did not," she laughed.

"Sure did. He's in the kitchen," he stood. "Oh, and he IS your boyfriend!" he smiled.

"Stop being so childish," Beyoncé scoffed. She then realized that Lorenzo was alone with her father if Benjamin was with her. God only knew what Mathew was saying to him. She rushed out of her room, determined to "save" Lorenzo from the wrath of Mathew Knowles. As she approached the kitchen, she surprisingly heard laughter. When she revealed herself to the men, they rested their backs on the counter, looking like they were old friends. "What's going on here," she asked, crossing her arms.