Divine Encounters

Chapters 11-20

Divine. Cameron and Tiara, or Ti, as her family called her, stayed and helped Amaya clean up the kitchen. There wasn't much to do, but she appreciated their assistance just the same.

"I would say your little dinner party was a hit," Ti said, as she cleaned off the island. "And you have to tell me how you fixed that salmon – it was amazing!"

"I'll text it to you, girl. You won't believe how simple it is. Better yet, I'll just do a group text because everybody asked for it."

"Mmhmm," Cameron said, playfully, "so, will the doctor be included in that group text?"

"If you're asking me if I have his number, the answer is no."

"All that time you guys were alone in the kitchen and you didn't exchange numbers?" her sister-in-law asked, incredulously.

Amaya shook her head no. "We just ate ice cream."

"Do you like him?" Ti quizzed, with a grin.

Amaya shrugged and smiled. "He seems nice. I mean, I don't really know Dr. Divine."

"Well, needless to say, we googled him as soon as he went outside," her brother said and laughed. "He's a very prominent, respected physician. I mean, celebrities, politicians, and all kinds of important people wanna be seen by him if they have heart problems. According to the internet, he's a renowned cardiologist, so how did you meet him?"

Amaya thought before she spoke. "First, I saw him at church," she said, trying to sound matter of fact. "He's been visiting BCT for a few weeks. Then we had this chance meeting at his brother's downtown studio when Nika and I went there to look at some of his drawings for my book cover." But Amaya's super crush on Chalk was not a new thing. However, actually meeting him and having him as a guest in my home is nothing short of fantastical. Yet he is here in the flesh, she thought, still awestruck that she not only knew but also entertained the great doctor.

Amaya had adored him from afar since about three or four years ago, when a foreign dignitary, who was visiting Houston, suffered a severe myocardial infarction. They had all but eulogized the poor man when Dr. Divine was called upon. He pulled through, and Chalk was all over the news discussing different procedures and expressing his gratitude for being able to help. His meek, humble disposition was an aphrodisiac. Amaya had watched, spellbound, as the blackest knight in shining armor she'd ever seen, told the local news that his faith in God was his shield and prayer was the thing he relied on to get him through every surgery. That unusual declaration proved to be the fodder needed by the media to have a field day with his name; they started calling him 'The Divine Doctor' and it stuck. Amaya never forgot him and had seen him on various news and talk shows since then. So, when he showed up at her church four Sundays ago, she couldn't help but stare. It was almost a dream come true.

"Then, a few weeks back, Mark invited me to go eat with them, but I had to decline because I was going to New York. This luncheon was my way of making up for that."

"I see," Cameron said, eyeballing his sister. "So, you were just doing a good deed, huh?" Amaya smiled, but ignored his question and continued to load the dishwasher.

"Honestly, I heard he was in a long-term relationship with a woman named Tabitha a few years back," she fibbed, turning the knob to start the dishwasher, "but I guess that must have fizzled out." The truth was, in the past she had seen them pictured together online at a couple of different events but didn't want Cameron and Ti to know she followed Chalk that closely.

"Really?" Cameron asked, a puzzled look on his face. "Well, if he's visited your church three or four Sundays in a row and she wasn't with him, not even once..." he stopped speaking and eyeballed his sister questioningly. She nodded to let him know he was correct. "Then I think it's safe to say that's a done deal," he said, concluding the matter.