PRESENT DAY
“Hell of a queue, E. Did you consider the Sunday lunch crowd before you suggested this place for a meetup?”
The bustling crowd at the Gobblin’ Green vegan bistro was a normal part of every Sunday to everyone but the homebody that was Erasmus. A fact that quickly became apparent to his old friend Festus.
“Bro, you already know from our days in undergrad that I don’t go anywhere. You’re the one who wanted a vegan place in Bergstown, the mecca of clean living. What did you expect? I just hope they don’t take eight years to bring our food cos we both basically ordered salad bowls.”
“Ay, away from that. Seriously, man, what’s good with you? Roman asked me to check on you cos he was worried about your job situation.”
Erasmus weighed his thoughts carefully before he spoke. “That explains your call from out of the blue. I wish you had better timing, but this is you we’re talking about.”
Festus shook his head as Erasmus continued. “Honestly, it’s not been easy. The market out here is super choked, so much so that it looks like you have to know someone to get in. But hey, God is faithful. It’s just a game of time.”
“Why don’t you send Roman your CV? You know his pops owns a power systems outfit, so he can plug you in if you need him to. He told me to tell you that, by the way.”
Erasmus got irritated at that statement. “Don’t mind that guy. Do you know how many different versions of my resume I’ve sent him? To the point where he even asked me to send it to some guy who was hiring for a new project. If it is today that guy will find that email, we’re still waiting. Roman just be talking to talk. Boy ain’t got no say in the family business. Look, don’t even bring him up anymore.”
“Easy, brother. Easy. My bad. I was just passing along a message. I didn’t know it had gotten that deep with you two. To be fair though, the whole crew’s worried. It doesn’t help that you don’t be reaching out to any of us either. You know we’re here for you, right? You know we have your back and always have?”
“I hear you. I’m just in the middle of a lot, and I need to try to get things in order. So forgive me if I don’t get to talk to you guys often.”
“I hear you but E, you have a history of trying to figure out your life on your own. It makes things take longer than they should for you, man. You have a whole crew that is with you. Let us in and let us help you.”
The waiter brought their food, which was a saving grace because Erasmus had a bloodthirsty look in his eyes. Whatever was about to come out of his mouth next would possibly have been a friendship-altering tirade. Instead, he said thank you to the waiter and began to eat.
Festus didn’t clock the look, but he realized that the conversation might not continue along those lines.
“Last thing, E, I promise. I know you’re probably on a deadline to leave campus housing. If you haven’t already found a situation, I know a website where they link you to people who have rooms for rent. These people deal with foreign students on a regular, so they try to match you with people who can closely relate to your culture. I’ll text it to you so you can check it out, but it could be good for the short term. Just let me know.”
With that, Festus began to eat his own food as well.
******
FOUR YEARS AGO
Erica woke up to pee and noticed her husband was absent from their bed. She went to the restroom, then went to the guest room and didn’t find him there. She made her way to his study, but something caught her eye as she walked past the kitchen.
Beyond the little archway that separated the kitchen and the hall, she saw Kusi’s hand hanging in the air as he lay in the sofa in the hall. She walked over to him. “Still recovering from the shock?”
Kusi looked at her in surprise.
“I heard you and papa talking earlier. I was bringing the food when I heard his announcement, so I put the food down and stood behind the door and listened.”
“I don’t think I’m as shocked as I am angry. This ruins so many things. I can’t begin to tell you how much this messes with my moves. It goes against everything in me as a bishop, as a pastor, as a man. Papa absolutely has this one wrong, but who’s going to tell him?”
Erica sat down in the chair next to his. “Baby, why is this so hard for you to swallow? It’s the same thing as having Rupert there, no? We ingratiate ourselves with him, we bring him into the fold, we give him the validation he so desperately needs, and then we pull the strings like we always have.”
“Erica, you don’t understand. With everyone else, we’ve known them from before. They are all our people. We either recommended them directly or had a hand in their promotion. Wilson McQueen is a complete unknown and from what I hear, he fears no one. They say he was the guy among the guys who was perfectly alright going against Papa, and he was usually right. How many of the pastors in our network do you know to be like that? And he’s married to your sister? Who can touch him?”
“Baby, please come to sleep. You’re overthinking this issue. I would understand it if it was the Jerry City branch, or the New York branch, or the Los Angeles branch. Somewhere that has enough membership to command power, somewhere that we would need to be in control of to have power we need. But the Chatswick branch? Please. Even my father’s getting to the place where he could seriously consider shutting it down. With all their scandals and the money laundering and the bishops and pastors going to jail, that branch is severely weakened. Not even Papa’s love for it can keep it alive, much less some unknown entity taking over as branch pastor. Please, I need your warmth to help me sleep. Come to bed.”
She got up and extended her hand to him. He still looked displeased, but he took her hand and walked with her. Once they got into bed, he cuddled with her and heard her soft breathing as she fell asleep.
Meanwhile, he thought of all the deals he’d made with other people about the Chatswick branch. Deals he was now going to have to dishonor. Deals no one knew about.
He could only whisper into the darkness, “Father, have mercy on me.”
Well, well, well, what deals are those? And we’ve seen a little of Erasmus; looks like he’s still in a bit of a struggle…
