“Where are you going?” Dam asked as he grabbed hold of Amarrea’s arm trying to slow her down.

  “I’m going upstairs to get my bag. We need to get to the hospital.”

  “You are not climbing those stairs while you are in labor. Have a seat, I’ll get your bags. Good lord, woman, show a little patience for once in your life.”

  “Hurry up. I’m ready to go.”

  Dam laughed as he rushed up the stairs. Never in his life did he ever imagine any woman would welcome labor. But Amarrea had been through so much while carrying their baby that he understood. His wife was going to have a baby. Dam only prayed that their child would never live in a world like he’d just been dreaming about, where everyone lived in sin and blamed him for their sins.

  ~~~

  Dam was in fervent prayer for Amarrea as she endured labor like a soldier. He wanted God to ease her discomfort. But Amarrea told him that labor was supposed to be uncomfortable. “This is the time when a woman feels great pain and great joy within moments of each emotion.”

  “I know honey, but you’ve gone through so much to carry our baby. It hurts me to see you in so much pain. I wish I could do something to help you.”

  “You can.” She took a few deep breaths when I pain shot through her body, then said, “Your dream seemed pretty intense. Tell me about that.”

  He didn’t want to think about that dream, let alone talk about it. But if it would help take her mind off the awful pain that continued ripping through her body, then he would talk about it. “It was one of the most terrifying dreams I’ve had in a long time. I thought I was on a movie set at first...”

  When Dam finished telling her about that awful dream, Amarrea said, “God is trying to tell you something. Are you paying attention?”

  “I’m trying,” he answered honestly. “But there’s been a lot going on.”

  “You don’t have to tell me about all that’s been going on.” Amarrea pointed to her oversized belly and the IV she was hooked up to.

  Dam smiled. He wanted to laugh, but he didn’t have the strength. His stomach growled, he rubbed it, then asked, “Do you mind if I run down to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat. I promise I won’t be long. But I need something in my stomach.”

  “Take your time, it’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

  “Yeah, but I want to be here when the pain hits so you can try to break my hand again.”

  “Don’t be cute, because I just might do it,” she warned.

  He stood. “I wish I could bring you something back. I hate that they won’t let you eat until you deliver the baby.”

  “Don’t rub it in, husband. Just go get something to eat and get back here so I can hold that hand of yours.” She gave him a sinister glare, and he hid his hand and backed out of the room.

  Dam headed to the cafeteria thinking about the child that was about to be born, and praying that his wife’s suffering would soon be over. He’d never imagined the dangers that women deal with while carrying a child. After this, he wasn’t sure if Amarrea would want any more children, but whatever her decision, he would honor it.

  He had his head down as he was in deep thought, he didn’t notice the man in the dark trench coat with a big flopping wet hat approaching him. But when Dam looked up, his first thought was to wonder if it was raining outside. It hadn’t been raining when he brought Amarrea to the hospital, and he didn’t hear any rain beating down on the building.

  The man stopped in front of Dam. Dam was about to go around him in an attempt to avoid an unwanted confrontation. But something in the man’s eyes caught Dam off guard. Before he could move out of the way, the man put a hand on his arm and said, “Thus says the Lord, we have entered the last dimension of warfare. God has anointed you for such a time as this. Be bold and speak the truth to those who refuse to hear it. For the time is near.”

  The moment the man touched his arm, Dam felt hot all over, as if fire had shot through his body. The man released him and walked away. “Wait, what is this last dimension your talking about?”

  The man kept walking. Dam tried to catch up with him. But a door opened, and hospital personnel rushed out of it as if their shift had just ended and they wanted to get out of here before an emergency occurred and they would be forced to do another shift. Dam could understand their urgency, but they were in his way. He tried to move through the crowd, but it was no use. The man who had prophesied to him was gone.

  Turning back around, he headed once again for the cafeteria. Dam purchased a sandwich and his favorite coconut pecan cookies. He put the cookies in his pocket, ate the sandwich, then rushed back to Amarrea’s room. The whole while, he kept thinking about what the prophet said to him. Amarrea had asked him if he was paying attention. If he wasn’t before, he certainly was now.

  As he opened the door to Amarrea’s room, he was fully prepared to tell her about his encounter, but the fact that his wife’s legs were now in stir-ups, and the doctor was standing between her legs as she was screaming her head off, caused him to forget about retelling that incident.

  He rushed to Amarrea’s side feeling a bit guilty for chasing after that prophet, instead of going straight to the cafeteria and rushing back here. “We’re having the baby now?”

  “No joke,” Amarrea snarled at him as sweat beads danced around her forehead. “What took you so long?”

  “I’m sorry honey. I didn’t think you were ready to deliver.” He took a few napkins off the nightstand and wiped the sweat from Amarrea’s forehead. “I’m here now. And I’m ready to help in any way I can.”

  She screamed again. The doctor said. “The baby is coming. Take a few deep breaths then I need you to give a big push.”

  “I don’t want to push,” Amarrea complained. “It hurts!”

  “You can do this, babe. Breath.” Dam coached.

  Amarrea panted as another sharp pain hit her.

  “Push!” The doctor ordered.

  Dam gave Amarrea his hand. “Go ahead, hon. Take my hand. Squeeze it as you push.”

  The heart monitor started beeping. “The baby is in distress. We need to get going,” the doctor admonished.

  “You can do this,” Dam once again offered his hand to his wife.

  She grabbed hold of it. Squeezed and pushed... pushed and squeezed.

  “The head is out. Now let’s give it one more big push,” the doctor said.

  “You’re doing it, Amarrea. Our baby is almost out. Just one more push honey.”

  Amarrea released Dam’s hand as her eyes fluttered. “I need a nap,” she said.

  He wanted to laugh. But looking at her, Dam could tell that his wife didn’t have much strength left. If he could push this baby out for her, he would... well, maybe not. But he did hate that she was suffering like this. Dam bent down and whispered in her eye. “God’s got you, babe. You’re going to get that nap, but first, we need one more push.”

  She nodded, then lifted her upper body off the bed. She took a deep breath as Dam wipe sweat from her face and then hunched down and pushed. Amarrea then laid back down and asked, “Can I take my nap now?”

  The cry that Dam heard at that moment, took his eyes off his wife and centered them on the beautiful baby the doctor held in his hand.

  “You’ve got a girl,” he told Dam.

  “Yes, I do.” Dam had the biggest smile on his face as he glanced back at his wife. She was sleep.

  13

  Lady Jade woke up with a made up mind. She was not going to take Bishop Daniel Thomas’ mess anymore. She took two empty boxes out of the garage and walked back up to her bedroom. One by one, she opened the dresser drawers, taking ties, underwear and dress shirts out of them and throwing them in the boxes.

  She then started on their walk-in closet. The good bishop had more clothes than she did. Always talking ‘bout he had to look good and couldn’t keep wearing the same suits because of the position he was in. Like wearing a clean suit would save a soul. He should try having a clean heart.

  “What are you doing?” Bishop’s voice was like a loud thunderous boom in the confines of the walk-in closet.

  Jade jumped and dropped the suites that she had just taken down. “Why would you come in here yelling like that. You scared me.”

  “You in here boxing up my clothes and want to know why I’m yelling. Woman, you must be smoking, and I don’t mean them cigarettes that you sneak out back to puff on.” He picked his suits off the floor and attempted to hang them back up.

  “Least I’m not sneaking around having sex with anyone who wants it. I have upheld my marriage vows.” She pulled another suit off the hanger and threw it at him.

  “Don’t think you’re so perfect just because you haven’t cheated on me. Because you sure laid down with me when I was married to my first wife. And then you even had the nerve to slither in my house, like the snake you are and take care of my ailing wife.”

  An outstretched finger pointed directly at his forehead, as she declared, “You don’t get to hold that over my head not one more day. God has forgiven me for what I did. And you best believe that being married to you and taking your mess for all these years is my atonement for my sins.”

  “Paaa-lease,” the bishop scoffed. “You’ve had it good as my first lady. Don’t you think for a minute that another woman wouldn’t love to take your place.”

  “She can have everything you ever gave me. I don’t want it. I’d rather have peace of mind and you as far away from me as you can get.”

  “Well if you don’t want anything from me, why aren’t you packing? Why are you packing my clothes?”

  “This house belongs to the both of us. My name is on the deed just like yours. And you have got to go.” Jade walked out of the closet as she said, “Matter-of-fact, you can pack your stuff yourself. And if you don’t want to do it, you can hire a professional moving company.”

  “So, you’re just going to leave my clothes on the floor like that?” Bishop followed Lady Jade into the bedroom with a look of bewilderment on his face.

  “Yes, sir. I’m done taking care of you. Get one of your girlfriends to come to pack you up. I just don’t care anymore.” She shrugged. “Do whatever makes you happy.”

  “Being here with you makes me happy.” He stretched out his arms, approaching the bed as if trying to hug her.

  Jade shook her head. “You need to find your happy place somewhere else because I’m done.”

  Anger flared in Bishop’s eyes, as he exploded. “You can’t put me out of my own house!”

  Jade folded her arms across her chess and sneered, “I have you right where I want you, Mr. so-called Bishop. Just remember, I know how much of the church money we used when we bought this house. I know how you purchased that Lamborghini. And I know about all the other women you have used and abused at the church.”

  “Wh...wh,” he sputtered but couldn’t quite get words to form.

  “I can have you arrested and get you thrown out of that church you think you own. So, don’t mess with me.”

  Finding his words again, Bishop said, “How is it going to look if you throw me out like this?”

  “I’ll let you work that out. But if you leave this house, I won’t divorce you right away. You can tell the church folk whatever you want about me. Maybe, I’ve lost my mind, maybe I’m going through a mid-life crisis and just don’t want to be married anymore. Tell them that we’re in counseling. You can act as if you’ve tried everything in this world to save our marriage and then when I divorce you in the next three to four years, you should be fine.”

  “I don’t want a divorce. A man of God should never even entertain such a thought. Maybe we really should go to counseling. Maybe, if you give us some time, we can work through this.”

  “Pack your clothes, Bishop.” Jade strolled out of the bedroom without so much as a backward glance.

  ~~~

  “The revival must go on. God revealed that to me, and I understand what I am supposed to do now,” Dam told Isaac as they stood in front of the hospital window viewing his baby girl.

  “Right, but remember, this is not just a revival anymore. We are on a crusade to bring souls back to Christ. That was clearly revealed to me. God even showed me that I am to preach a message on forgiveness because the peoples’ hearts have grown cold because of unforgiveness,” Isaac said.

  “God has been working on both of us. So, now all we have to figure out is what we’re going to do about Bishop.” Dam’s stomach turned at the thought of doing this crusade with a man like his boss.

  “Let’s just admit that Bishop has us between a rock and a hard place right now,” Isaac said. “But we serve a God who is well able to remove any and everything that is in our way. We will just move forward and trust God to handle the good bishop.”

  Dam nodded. “I’ve got more important things to think about anyway... like what to name this beautiful princess.”

  “You and Amarrea haven’t picked a name yet?”

  Dam smiled. “I haven’t been able to convince Amarrea to go with the name that I want yet.”

  “What name did you come up with?”

  “I want her to be named Esther.”

  “I get it, bro. Like the Queen who delivered her people from their enemy.” Isaac said.

  “See, you feel me, right?”

  “Yeah, I feel you.” Isaac put a fisted hand to his mouth and laughed. “But ain’t no way you getting no modern day sistha to name her baby Esther. Good luck with that.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ve already been told to give up my dreams.” Dam stared through the window at his daughter again. Honestly, he wasn’t upset that Amarrea didn’t like the name Esther for their daughter. He was just relieved to be able to look at his daughter and that his wife was doing well.

  When Dam finally pulled his eyes away from his daughter, he said, “We have a month until our crusade begins and here I am with a baby.”

  “Take some time to be with your wife and your baby, my friend. I can handle the upcoming meetings.”

  “If you can give me a week or two to help Amarrea and make sure that she is alright, I should be good to go after that.” No way was Dam going to go on as if it was business as usual after the ordeal Amarrea had gone through in order to birth their child.

  “I got you,” Isaac patted Dam on the shoulder as the two men walked back to Amarrea’s room.

  When they opened the door, Amarrea and Marissa were hysterically laughing. Amarrea was holding her stomach as if the laughter was causing her pain, but she just couldn’t stop. “What’s so funny,” Dam asked.

  Amarrea turned to her husband. “I just told Marissa how I fell asleep as soon as I pushed the baby out and didn’t even see her until an hour later.”

  “It’s true,” Dam confirmed. “She was lights out. I’d never seen anyone fall asleep so fast.”

  “I’m going to try that same trick when we get home and see if I can get you to handle a few feedings.”

  Amarrea was in good spirits, and he loved it. “I was just telling Isaac that I plan to take a week or two off from work so I can take care of my girls. I think I can handle a few feedings.”

  “Wait a minute,” Amarrea shook her head. “You have the revival coming up. You can’t just take off as if you have nothing to do.”

  “Correction, it’s called a Crusade now. And I plan to work on my speech while I’m off work, and Isaac is going to handle the meetings until I can catch up with him. We’ve got this covered, woman. So, let your man take care of you.”

  Amarrea glanced at Marissa. Her friend smiled at her. She turned back to her husband. “How can I refuse that. I guess I’m going to sleep for two weeks.”

  14

  The first night of the crusade was a bit rocky. Since they were doing five nights straight, Bishop decided that he should preach the first and the third night because his sermons would get the crowd excited and bring in so much viewership that the networks would carry us each night of the crusade... according to the bishop.

  Dam and Isaac kept praying as the evening of the first night rolled in, and the people began arriving. Another problem occurred when they discovered that Bishop had instructed his team to make the first fifty seats on the field VIP seats. However, only the front row had been blocked off for Dam, Isaac and Bishop’s family members.

  That’s when the trouble started because Dam and Isaac had informed attendees that in God’s eye everyone was a VIP. So, when the pastors and bishops showed up with their VIP cards in hand and discovered that the common folks were sitting in their seats, they got the ushers involved. The ushers were going to each person, asking if they had a VIP card. If the person didn’t have it, they were asked to move.

  But the crowd wasn’t having it. As Dam was helping Amarrea and his sweet baby girl, Jewel to their seats, he heard one lady hollering at the usher. “I got here early enough to claim this seat. If them 3-piece suit wearing jokers wanted this seat, then they should have gotten here early like I did.”

  Others could then be heard murmuring and complaining about changing seats. The ushers didn’t know what to do. Service was about to start within the next five minutes, but it looked more like a fight was about to break out.

  Dam made his way to the stage and grabbed hold of the microphone. “Good evening, I want to thank you all so much for coming out tonight. We will be getting started in a few minutes, so we need everyone to take their seats.”

  “We’re trying,” One of the bishops yelled at him. “But these people won’t get out of our seats.”

  The bishop said the word ‘people’ as if the word was dirty and he might need a bath after using it. Dam couldn’t understand how preachers could have so much disdain for the very people God called them to serve in the first place. But he’d seen preachers mistreat God’s people. Did they think the scripture, ‘touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm’ was only talking about preachers?

  “Bishop Thomas promised us VIP seats. Y’all need to run a tighter ship around here. I don’t let people come into my church and just take over.” The preacher looked as if he was standing in a crowd of homeless people who hadn’t bathed in weeks.