Church Folk - Michele Andrea Bowen [38]
"Sister Lane, you are looking like a million dollars this afternoon."
Lee Allie smiled and said, "Why thank you, Theophilus. You know Miss Essie made this suit for me last year as a Christmas present."
Theophilus was impressed. He said, "Essie, you are full of surprises," as his eyes, containing a blend of pride and admiration, swept over her from head to toe. "And I must say that you are looking quite exquisite yourself. Your dress is very beautiful. Reminds me of a warm sunset. Did you make it?"
Essie smiled at Theophilus, a soft blush highlighting her cheeks. "Yes, I made it and the pattern for it and the pattern for Mama's outfit, too. I make a lot of our clothes."
"Then that explains why you always look so good when I see you."
Just then he heard a cough. He hadn't noticed Eddie coming up alongside him, trying to find a way to meet this Essie Lane. Theophilus gave him a "what are you doing here" look, pretending to be exasperated, but went ahead and did the honors: "Essie, Mrs. Lane, let me introduce you to my good friend, Rev. Eddie Tate. He pastors Mount Zion Gospel United Church in Chicago and came down to Memphis to help me with some of this conference business. We go way back—were roommates when we were at Blackwell College together."
Eddie took Essie's hand and said, "It is such a pleasure to meet you." Then he turned to Lee Allie and took hers saying, "Mrs. Lane, I am pleased to meet you, too."
As soon as Eddie let go of Essie's hand, he felt happy all over. She was a good woman! He had spent time with every kind of Negro woman one could imagine and always told Theophilus that he could smell a good woman fifty miles away. And like Theophilus, he believed that it wasn't holy airs but her sense of self, her fine character, and her love of God that made a woman good. Was she kind? Did she have a sense of humor? Was she fair? Was she shrewd and smart? Could she handle money right? And was she honest and straightforward? These were the qualities found in one of his favorite scriptures in the Bible, Proverbs 31. And they were the ones Eddie always looked for in a woman claiming to be a good one.
Essie smiled demurely at this big, tall yellow man with coarse brown hair and teasing eyes staring out of a boyish face. She looked carefully at his very expensive and superbly cut beige silk suit, knowing he must have searched hard to find the tailor who made it and his ivory clerical shirt, which was of the finest jacquard silk. This man, who was almost two inches taller than Theophilus, was sharp—from his carefully trimmed hair all the way down to the pale silk socks that matched his suit, and those beige alligator shoes he was wearing.
Theophilus began to look annoyed, and Essie realized that she had stared too long at Rev. Tate. Turning away from Eddie, she smiled at Theophilus. He was looking awfully handsome himself, in that charcoal suit, pearl gray shirt, and silk tie and matching handkerchief, with thin amethyst, pearl gray, and charcoal stripes.
Eddie just watched the current of communication flow back and forth between Essie and Theophilus, silently thanking God for bringing what he fervently believed was a good woman into his best friend's life.
Chapter Seven
ESSIE, LEE ALLIE, AND, FINALLY, CORAL AND D.S. Thomas took their seats just as the choir and ministers had taken their places at the back of the church. Theophilus and Eddie were sitting with other guest ministers in a section marked off near the front of the sanctuary. Rev. James and Marcel Brown, who had been asked to represent his father, would