Divine Encounters

Chapters 51-60

Northerners. Easter Sunday, Amaya and Nika sat together and enjoyed an incredible service and sermon. Byron had to work, so Nika was flying solo. Church dismissed and while gathering her things, Nika glanced over to where Chalk and Mark were sitting. The two of them were surrounded by women. What's up with that? she wondered, while waiting on Amaya to finish signing a book for a fan.

Then, Nika watched her boss wilt, as she turned to see Chalk talking to his fans.

"I won't be staying for the second service today," she said, dangling her keys in her hand.

"What are you doing for lunch?" Nika asked, while fishing in her purse for her shades.

"I was supposed to meet Cameron and Ti for brunch, but I'm gonna text them when I get in the car and cancel. I'm not really hungry. I know it's a holiday, but I just wanna go home and relax, maybe have some leftovers, or I'll run out and get something later. Hopefully, I can catch The Ten Commandments, but honestly, a good nap is what I need right now."

"Understood," Nika said, "I'll call you later."

Amaya went home and lay down, just as she said she would. Her head hurt and all she wanted was to spend some quality time with those celestial twins: peace and quiet. She closed her eyes and tried to get the picture of Chalk talking to all those women after service, out of her mind. BCT was a large fellowship and was filled with attractive, single women. It was only a matter of time before word got out that he was a wealthy, unmarried surgeon. But once it did, they had descended like vultures on carrion. She didn't hang around long enough to gauge his response to all that female adoration but could only imagine it was something he was used to.

They had not talked to or seen each other since he'd checked on her after she choked, which was a week ago. One or two very casual texts was all that had transpired. But she knew he was in California last week tending to one of his celebrity clients, and prior to that was the window of time she'd decided to step back from him for a minute after the Tabitha debacle.

The local news had used his arrival in the City of Angels as a teaser: 'Why has The Divine Doctor been seen walking the halls of Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles?' Amaya smiled at that recollection; she'd almost dropped her coffee when the announcer had said those words. The media, ever intrusive, was trying to guess the identity of his patient. But even without extras like that, it was easy enough to keep up with him because so many of his clients were famous for one reason or another, and someone was always using social media to discuss their issue and thank the good doctor. Chalk was a real celebrity. He actually knew some very notable people and had an awesome career. Cameron would say he was 'way up north.' When something went wrong, people were in the habit of saying it went south. So, when something was good and by all accounts could only get better, her brother turned it around and said it went north. Chalk Divine was definitely a northerner.

Amaya was somewhat of a celebrity herself, but on a much smaller scale. I'm heading north by the grace of God, she thought, and smiled pleasantly. Mine is the slow, winding road... But all of that may be about to change. She would be flying out to Los Angeles in a couple of weeks to hopefully finalize the contract to turn I Am into a mini-series on a major cable station. The network executives thought they could be much more productive if they met in person. Hard as she'd tried to play it off, getting this far was mind-blowing to the author. Amaya wrote for the pure enjoyment of being able to put her thoughts, ideas, and feelings into words that someone else could enjoy. Writing was therapeutic for her. She could sit for hours and write, edit, and write some more without ever losing her momentum. But never had she dreamed of her career blowing up like this.

The sound of her phone chiming, signaling a text, brought her back to the here and now. The name of the sender made her heart soar. She did her best not to cheese, but it was useless. Dr. Divine was apologizing for missing her at church and said he was going up north but needed to talk to her in person when he returned tomorrow evening. Phone in her hand, she closed her eyes and whispered prayers of thanksgiving that he had not forgotten about her. Amaya sat for a moment longer and digested his message before responding. She would not even dare try to act like she was not thrilled to hear from him, but even though she couldn't put her finger on it, something was gnawing at her. Oh, stop it, Amaya! Just reply to the text and be done with it. She wished him a safe trip and agreed to see him when he got back.