Church Folk - Michele Andrea Bowen [32]
His congregation could tell that something had changed in their pastor. Sometimes, when they passed by his study, they heard him whistling what sounded like B.B. King's "Sweet Sixteen." And then there were those days when he came to work looking tired and anxious, as if he had been wrestling with himself (or God) all night over some big, life-changing decision. Then, there were those times when he gazed off into space right in the middle of a conversation, so you had to call his name over and over again to get his attention.
Coral Thomas knew in her gut that a woman was behind all the humming and whistling and starry-eyed looks off into space. When Susie James had first confided the young pastor's troubles, asking Coral to take him under her wing, she had vowed that she would do whatever it took to protect him from Glodean Benson. She knew from Sister Clayton, Glodean's aunt, that she was helping out in the family funeral home in Atlanta and was relieved that she hadn't come back home to Memphis—and Greater Hope—during Reverend Simmons's first year. But there had been times when Theophilus was so heavyhearted that he looked like he was lugging all the bricks and mortar in the church on his shoulders. "Help him, Lord," Coral had prayed. "This young man is in travail. He lonely and his loins on fire. Clear the path, Lord. Make a way out of no way and lead that boy to his wife. Just turn his life around, Lord. Bless him, Lord."
When she prayed she had felt a burning in her heart that told her that the Lord was listening. And now it seemed that, all this time, he had been mapping out the answer to her prayers. She called Susie James to confirm her suspicions and was gratified to learn that Theophilus had been phoning Charleston every Saturday night to get inspiration for his sermons from one Miss Essie Lee Lane. And it tickled her no end to hear that during at least one of those phone calls, Miss Essie was overheard giving Theophilus a deep sexy laugh.
Coral Thomas now decided that it was her Christian duty to give God a helping hand and bring these two lovebirds together. Since their church district's Annual Conference was to be held that year in Memphis, she urged Theophilus to invite Murcheson and Susie, along with a few "special" church members to attend. Plotting with Susie, she made sure that the "special" delegation included Lee Allie and Essie Lane.
Bishop Jennings assigned Theophilus an important role in the Annual Conference—the responsibility to find accommodations for the out-of-town ministers and their families. With so few hotels and boarding houses open to Negroes, Theophilus planned to ask members of Memphis Gospel United churches to open their homes. Then inspiration struck him—he would require guests to pay their hosts a modest room-and-board fee, which would both compensate the hosts for their trouble and let the guests feel like less of an imposition. The plan won tremendous popular support but logistically it was a nightmare. He was so tired by the time the conference finally started that he prayed he wouldn't fall fast asleep on the floor of the parsonage and miss the whole thing.
Uncle Booker, Essie, Lee Allie, and Mrs. Neese arrived in Memphis on a Friday morning. Coral Thomas had personally offered to host them and had cooked for days to prepare for their visit. As they climbed the porch steps, they were hit with the smell of ham simmering in redeye gravy. Then Coral opened the door, and after welcoming the rest of her guests, grabbed Essie up in a great big hug.
"Ooohh, baby girl," she said. "I sure am glad