Divine Encounters

Chapters 61-70

Jackpot. Byron lay on his back, hands behind his head, looking at the ceiling fan go around and around. I could trade places with it and never miss a beat. That thought depressed him. I did not bust my ass going to college to manage a damn restaurant. He sucked his teeth and sighed loudly; feelings of frustration with his current station in life were weighing him down.

The house was deadly quiet. No TV or music, just the soft hum of the ceiling fan. The monotonous drone song of the motor was just another reminder of his humdrum, miserable existence. He grunted when his phone chimed, signaling a text. I don't feel like being bothered with nobody. It was Nika, just saying 'I love you.' He sent the same message back and dropped the phone on the bed. As far as she knew, he was out with a realtor looking at potential properties for his restaurant. Byron laughed out loud. I actually should be, but he cancelled. "I'm so glad she couldn't get off today," he mumbled and turned on his side. Nika was extra. She always tried to sync their off days so they could do stuff together when all he really wanted was to be alone.

True enough, he went after her, not the other way around, but that didn't change the fact that she got on his nerves at times. About a year and a half ago, give or take, a local chapter of a national book club reserved the best room in the house at his restaurant for their annual luncheon. They had just finished reading one of Amaya's books and she was the guest speaker. Of course, Nika accompanied her and in doing so, had gotten in his sights. But not for the reasons she supposed. It was easy enough because for the most part, Nika was a nice girl. And she was pretty, but in Byron's opinion she was a "type," and you had to like that type to be attracted to her. Tall, slim, long hair, wore lots of makeup. Guys that worked at the restaurant told him he'd hit the jackpot by rolling up on her. In their opinion she was fine, a real hammer. Byron thought she looked alright, definitely nothing to sneeze at. But truth be told, if it was just pared down to looks, Amaya was actually much more to his liking. Nonetheless, his relationship with Nika far transcended her physical appearance.

There were other things about his girlfriend he found much more alluring. Yes indeed, she figured into his future quite nicely and was taking very good care of him in the interim. Byron snickered.

When you look at it that way, I guess I did hit the jackpot after all.

Chapter 62

Prep. Amaya typed away on her laptop, a burst of creativity egging her on. The sound of her phone vibrating annoyed her. She looked at the screen in amazement. Why in the world is Saffron Divine calling me?

"Hello, Amaya. How are you?"

"I'm good, Saffron. How are you?"

"I'm alright, tired as always, but you know how it is. Gotta stay on my grind."

"Absolutely."

"Have there been any new incidents?"

"No. No new incidents." Amaya had informed Saffron of the anonymous emails her pastors had received regarding her late night Thanksgiving dinner with Chalk, but since then, things had been quiet. Thank God.

"OK. Well, then we're good on your end. But I need you to do me a huge favor." Without waiting for Amaya to reply, Saffron forged ahead. "In the near future, if you would have some kind of pow-wow at your house and invite everyone that was there when you first had Chalk over last summer, that would be great."

"Alright," Amaya said, without even thinking about it. She wondered if something else had happened with Chalk, and he chose not to mention it to her. They had not spoken since she accosted him the other day. Lord, have mercy.