The First Lady's Choice

Chapter Seventeen

William and I have been dealing with one another since I finally reached a consenting age. Crushing on him was always easy because he was such a handsome man. He was nothing like the old fogy preachers of the past; he possessed that new age swagger. Just a pinch of street added to the pastor.

When he'd brought home the oversized debutante, every woman in the church grumbled. All of the older women would whisper unholy things behind her back because they just knew William was meant for their daughter or granddaughter. Some even claimed he had stated as much before going away to this revival in Galveston.

It was as clear as day the reason he married her now and he'd finally confirmed to me why he chose her after we started to date. Megan was gullible; her mother assured William she raised her to be an upstanding wife that would stand by her husband no matter what. She claimed because of her own experiences, she'd trained Megan to be seen and not heard. How much of that was true, who knows.

Considering that her mother confided in William about the no good deeds of her father, it was no wonder she was in the dark. Once she befriended Tre I knew, 'the apple couldn't have fell too far from the tree.' For the life of me I couldn't understand the connection between the two. Megan is an army brat turned preacher's wife and Tre was a steroidal freak. Of course, he claims he doesn't shoot up but who else has muscles like that the natural way.

Either way their paths only crossed through church and because of Megan's association with Ruby. Why did the sweet old woman take the homely girl in, I have yet to figure it out? Then she started to show up to every family function, intruding on private time. That was always a complaint of mine, who does that?

Although at one point, I figured why not push Tre and Megan together, then a feeling of awkwardness came to mind. Especially after overhearing a conversation between Granny and Tre, she was telling him how cute he and Megan's kids would be. If only life wouldn't have thrusted that backsliding preacher into that young girls life, fates would have opened up for them sooner.

Hearing her speak so ill of the man I loved was the nail in the coffin. How dare they speak ill of the leader of our church? William has been nothing but nice to this family. Always sending prayers, well wishes, and not to mention helps me financially from time to time. He has been there for me since my mom died a sudden death from cancer.

From one doctors visit she was diagnosed with stage four-lung cancer and two months later, she was dead. Feeling distraught tremendously, I struggled with my faith. William recognized the signs during the planning process as well as after we got the news. He would offer to pray with me and said that I could call him whenever, even just to talk. Having had a crush on him growing up in the church anyway, just having him there for me in my time of need helped me a lot.

During one of my down moments, I was contemplating some dangerous things and I called him for guidance. He didn't waste a moment in coming to my aid. My undying gratitude for him was overwhelming with need to express how much I cared and appreciated his carelessness. Being drunk and high out of my mind, I pounced on him like a dog in heat. Thankfully, for my fragile state of mind, he didn't resist.

Afterwards, I felt like I had committed the ultimate sin against the church and knew for sure that I was going to hell. William explained to me his dilemma, Megan was creeping with my cousin, and he was afraid his marriage was over. Since this was his first time confiding in me some of his fears, I knew we were meant to be. Here this man was the pillar of our church community and needing a shoulder to cry on.

Gladly I accepted the challenge, feeling bad for laying my baggage on his doorstep when he needed to vent as well. Our meetings increased over time, he expressed his need to be discreet, not wanting to upset the congregation. He admitted that they would never understand what was going on. Some church folk were so hypocritical, he would say. As long as I got to have him period was good enough for me, well until now that is.