Raymond looked in the mirror and straightened out his tie. "I look like a million bucks" he thought to himself. The day before he stopped by the barbershop to get a fresh haircut, and got his best suit out of the cleaners. His best friend Freddy had told him about a christian mixer that was going down that night. "I'm telling you man, you should come check it out, there's going to be some good looking spiritually clean sistas up in there." he had said. "Spiritually clean that's what i'm afraid of" raymond joked. "She might be too clean feel me?" "Whatever man, i rather have a woman alive spiritually then dead." fred replied. Raymond rubbed his chin in deep thought. "I feel you, but i have no problem getting women, i'm just tired of messing with these chickenheads." "Exactly!" fred said with excitement. "You need somebody that's mature and about something, you may find what your looking for at this mixer."Okay i'll check it out, but if they start preaching i'm out of there." Fred smiled and playfully punched raymond in the shoulder. "Man, you need the lord in your life playa." That was twenty four hours ago, and many times raymond had thought about calling fred to tell him he wasn't going. "Man i could find much better things to do on a friday night" he thought. Then again another thought entered his mind. "The myth is that church girls are freaks." With a grin on his face he decided to take a chance. It was seven o'clock and the mixer was at seven thirty. "Seven thirty? that seems like under twenty one party hours." he thought. He grabbed his keys and hopped in his ride. He pulled out of his driveway and turned on the radio. In his cd player he had some LIL WAYNE. "Damn, maybe i should listen to KIRK FRANKLIN or some gospel to put me in the right state of mind." he thought. He just turned up the volume a little bit more, besides he had no gospel in his collection. Raymond pulled up outside the church. He saw people going in the side door. They looked real conservative. "Wow, what a dull crowd." he thought to himself. He turned off his car and got himself together to go through with it. "Last chance to change my mind." he said to himself. "Aw, what the hell" realizing his words of choice. He quietly looked up and said "my bad." Just then fred pressed his face against the window. "Man, back up so i can get out." raymon said as he opened his door. "So you are you ready? excited?" fred asked with a smile. Raymond looked over at the people going in and back at his friend. "Yeah, we're really gonna tear the club up." Fred just shook his head. "My friend we are not getting any younger, it's time to grow up, we are in are early thirties now." he said. "I don't know about you, but it's time to get serious, last time i was at a club it was so many kids in there i thought i was at chucky cheese or some shit." Raymond laughed. "I'm serious, it's time for a change, it's time for something different." Raymongd gave some thought on what fred was saying. "Yeah, i feel you, but there's nothing wrong with having some fun." Fred gave a pound to raymond. "My friend this will be fun because you will be spiritually enlightened." The two friends made their way into the church.


2


As the two friends entered the basement of the church, raymond was surprised at the crowd that was down there. He had expected people older, but everybody looked around the same age he was. Everybody was mingling and getting refreshments which consisted of sandwiches, cakes, punch, and things of that nature. Raymond had a chance to scope the ladies in the room. Noone stuck out, they were nice looking and all, but none of them really caught his eye. "Most of these broads are probably stuck up." he thought. "Ray, there is somebody i would like for you to meet." said fred. They walked over to a young brother who was conversing with two women in the corner. "Pastor williams this is the friend i was telling you about." said fred gesturing to raymond. "Pastor? pastor?" ray thoght. He couldn't beleive his ears. This kid was the pastor of the church? He looked younger then him and fred combined! "Raymond this is pastor williams." introduced fred. Pastor williams was a young clean cut brother who looked like he was about fifteen. "Brother raymond it's finally nice to meet you,i have heard some good things about you, are you enjoying the mixer so far?" "Nice crowd you have here rev.. i mean pastor, but tell me where is the dj?" raymond answered. Fred gave him a sharp look as pastor williams chuckled. "Ray isn't familiar to this type of thing, it's something new for him." Raymond looked embarassed. Did he actually ask the pastor where the dj was? "That is quite all right." pastor williams said. "Brother raymond xhange is good and necessary. I had to change my life when god called on me. I am the son of a preacher, so when i hit my teenage years i ran wild brotha, i mean i was sinning all over the place to the point when i hit my twenties, god called on me and told me it was my time, yes change is good." pastor williams said almost in sermon mode. Raymond looked closely at pastor williams. He looked like he was pimping them in his day, seeing how he was talking so intimately to the young ladies, he probably still was. "Well my friends it's about time we started, raymond i hope that we will see you here more often for you are always welcome here at our church." pastor williams said. "Yeah right." raymond thought to himself. He was feeling real uncomfortable. The sooner tjhis thing was over the better. As pastor williams made his way to the podium, everybody proceeded to sit down. Pastor started off with asking everybody to bow their heads as he said a prayer. After the prayer, he thanked everybody for coming and briefly went through the itinerary for the evening which included a song by the member of the choir, a quick sermon about relationships, a roundtable discussion on the topic, and the last forty five minutes was for mingling. Pastor williams sermon on relationships was brilliant focusing on the disrespect of women, and the disintegration of the black family. When the pastor was focusing on these men that called women out their name and disrespected them, for some reason to raymond it seemed like he was looking right at him. The sweat started to pour down like rain, and he didn't want to look to either side of him for fear that someone would notice. "Do i have the devil in me?" he thought as he continued to perspire. He continued to sweat when he caught a whiff of peaches from behind his right shoulder. A beautiful hand extended a handkerchief. "I thought you might need this." said an angelic voice. He quickly took the handkerchief and said "thank you" without looking back. He wasn't trying to be rude, but he he was embarassed that somebody had noticed him sweating like a brother at a white woman's funeral. Raymond sat thru the rest of what pastor williams had to say. Fred noticed his friends uneasiness. "Take it easy, he's almost thru." he whispered. "Thank god." ray replied. Pastor williams finished things up by encouraging everybody to stay around for some food and refreshments. "Get to know your fellow christians in your community." he ended with. Almost on key, someone started playing some moderen gospel music. Everyone got up and went to get a plate or started introducing themselves to each other. Raymond pretty much had enough. Not only did he sweat all of his cologne off, he didn't see any sisters worth trying to get to know. "C,mon let's get some of this food and meet some of these people." freddie urged. "Man you go ahead, i'm about to bounce, it's been a long day." Ray answered looking at his watch. Freddie looked dissapointed. "Okay man i realize this isn't your thing." he said. "Hold on a minute, let me grab a plate and i'll walk you out." As freddie walked over to the food, raymond did one last scan of the room to see if he had missed any ladies he might want to talk too. "Nah, most of these chicks look uppity" he thought. Just then someone caught his attention out the corner of his eye. She was hot, he could feel the heat coming off of her. Her face was that of an angel, there was a glow to it. Even though she was dressed conservative, he could still see her figure was tight. "Whoa! she's a stallion" he thought to himself. That stallion was making her way across the room toward him. "So you finally dried out" she said with a smile on her face. "Dried out?" ray looked dumbfounded. He then realized that she was the one who handed him the handkerchief. He could smell that peachy scent again. "Oh! ok you're the one who gave me the handkerchief, thank you i was drenched." "No problem, it must have been a long time since you stepped in a church" she replied. "Why you say that?" he asked. "You were sweating all your sins out!" Raymond felt more relaxed when she made light of it. This woman had a warm personality to her. Raymond extended his hand. "Hi, i'm raymond." "Hi, i'm cherish" "Cherish. if she was mine, i damn sure would cherish her" he thought. "So have you been to this church before?" Cherish looked around the room. "No, a girlfriend of mine told me about it. Lately i've felt the need to cleanse my soul." "Yeah, i feel you" ray answered. He couldn't help to stare into her eyes. They were green and they brought out the rest of her facial features. Cherish noticed him staring in her eyes. "Yes the're mine, no contacts" she said. "Yours, or fake i think they and you are beautiful." Cherish's cheeks started to blush. "Thank you." Freddie was walking back with two plates when he saw raymond with cherish. "Whoa! can't leave that brotha alone for a minute!" he thought to himself. "Hey ray, what's up?" he said trying to get his friend's attention. Raymond was so into cherish, he wouldn't have noticed the church burning down around him. It was cherish that noticed freddie. "Hello" she said shyly. "Hello, nice to meet you. I'm freddie watson." When cherish acknowledged freddie's presence, raymond snapped out of the trance he was in. "Oh, i'm sorry cherish this is my best friend freddie, fred this lovely lady is cherish." "Yeah, you're kind of late with the introductions" fred said with a smirk. All of them laughed and for a minute there was awkward silence. Fred started to feel like a third wheel so he spoke up. "Well, i have to talk to pastor williams about something so cherish it was nice to meet you." "You to freddie" she replied. "Well ray i'll talk to you later man" freddie said. As he walked away he shot raymond a look as if to say "my nigga!". "Alright fred, take care bro" raymond repied bringing his attention back to cherish. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He was clearly wrong about coming here tonight. "Best choice i made in a long time" he thought. Raymond had an idea. "So cherish." "Yes" she answered like she had a mouth full of honey. "Would you like to go get a cup of coffee?" he asked hopefully. "I would love to" she answered. Raymond escorted her out the door of the church. They walked over to his car, where he opened the door for her. they went to a local coffe shop that he knew of, where they conversed over cappachino's and slices of apple pie. The atmosphere was intimate as cherish told raymond about her life. She became a mother at a young age and ran a little wild. Now she felt that at her age now she had to make up for loss time. She started community college to try to get her life on track, but she said it wasn't easy working, going to school, and being a single mother at the same time. Raymond expressed to her how hard he knew it was, and praised her for staying resilient and focused. Cherish flashed her beautiful smile. "Thank you raymond." "So tell me" she said playing with her cup. "Are you seeing somebody exclusively?" Raymond chuckled. She looked cute with her shy looking eyes. "Now if i was i wouldn't be sitting here with you" he said reaching out for her hand. She smiled and put her hand in his.


3


Over the next month raymond and cherish spent alot of time together. They started to attend church on a regular basis, as well as going out on dates. They were growing together spiritually and raymond really felt himself changing in a positive way. "I couldn't imagine i would feel like this" he thought. "She makes me feel good, i could make her my wife." Things were going so well that one day raymond asked freddie to meet him for lunch. Freddie sat down and joined his friend at the table. "What's up stranger?" he said. "Man, what you in love i never see you unless if we're at church." Raymond grinned and gave his friend a hug. He grabbed something out of his pocket. "Well, to answer your, yes i am in love." He pulled out the engagement ring. Freddie looked at the ring, looked at raymond, then back at the ring. Raymond looked impatient waiting for some type of approval. "Well, aren't you going to congratulate me?" Freddie looked down at his menu. "I don't know ray, cherish is a nice girl and good looking, but don't you think you're moving kind of fast?" Raymond closed the box to the ring and stuffed it back in his pocket. "Listen i know it hasn't been that long, but this girl is different. she's open my mind to things i never thought possible, i mean i'm going to church! i'm growing spiritually and i love it!" he said. "Man, i can see me spending the rest of my life with her." Freddie took a long breath. "Man you know i'm gonna support you in whatever you decide, i just feel like there's no need to rush." "I feel where your coming from, but i know in my heart she is the one for me." Freddie looked raymond in the eye and realized this is the most focused he had ever seen him. "Okay, ray you know i'm with ya bra." Raymond smiled. Freddie was truly a good friend. "Thank you fred." "So... when are you going to pop the question?" freddie asked. "This sunday after church." raymond answered rubbing his hands in satisfaction. The week went slow for raymond as he was trying not to be anxious, but he couldn't help it. He didn't talk to cherish much during the week because they both were busy. On thursday he finally did catch her on the phone. "What's going on baby?" he asked. "Haven't talked to you all week." "I'm sorry, i've been running around doing this and that, by the time i get in and put the baby to sleep i'm exhausted" she answered. "I understand that. listen, can we get together friday, or saturday?" he asked. "I'll take you out to catch a movie, grab a bite to eat." Raymond just heard nothing but the static on the phone. Finally cherish replied. "No, i have to work this weekend. a double shift, can i take a raincheck?" Raymond was a little dissapointed. Cherish always worked on weekends and usually busy during the week. The only time he got to spend time with her was on sundays. "Ok, then well, i guess i 'll see you in church, hey i will have a surprise for you." Cherish seemed not to be pleased with this information. "Whoah! raymond i don't really like surprises." Raymond felt a cold vibe coming from her. "Well, your going to love this one, i'll see you sunday?" Again there seemed to be a pause. "Okay i'll see you" she finally replied. "Cool, hey cherish i really li.." before he could finish she had already hung up the phone. Raymond tried not to be discouraged. "She's probably having a rough week" he convinced himself. Raymond got up earlier then usual sunday morning. He was so excited he could hardly sleep that night. He ate some breakfast, hopped in the shower, then got dressed in his sunday best. As he looked in the mirror, he thought to himself, "by the end of this day my life could change forever." He took one last look before putting it in his pocket. He grabbed his car keys and was out the door. When raymond reached the church, cherish had not gotten there yet. He waited out front, greeting some of his new church family. Each car that pulled into the parking lot he hoped was her, but it was not the case. Freddie came up to meet him on the steps. "Hey ray, wassup man service will be starting soon." Raymond looked at his watch. "I was trying to wait for cherish. she's running late." Freddie could see that raymond was nervous. "Come on in, she will be here. you know how women are, they can be in front of the mirror for hours, don't worry." Raymond let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, you're right." They made it in as the ushers were closing the doors. Raymond tried to sit patiently thru the service, but as time went on, there was no sign of cherish. A couple of times he went to the bathroom just to try to reach her on her cellphone. No answer. Things were about to wrap up and raymond was sitting there looking sick. He couldn't beleive it. Was he wrong? What happened? He just did not understand. "And now i want everybody to bow there heads for prayer" said thee pastor. As freddie bowed his head, he said a prayer for his friend. "Lord, ease raymond's mind, and if cherish is the one for him, deliver her." He was confident of his blessings. When the pastor said "amen", he turned around to tell his friend about it, but raymond wasn't there. When everyone had bowed there heads, raymond slipped out the door.


4


Freddie rang raymond's doorbell for the third time. Weeks had gone by and he had not seen or heard from his friend. He was not answering freddie's phone calls, even though freddie had left about fifty messages. Freddie had not seen raymond since he had snuck out of church. "I know that he is in there, his car is out front" freddie thought. "I'm not leaving until i get a hold of him." "Raymond! open the door!" fredddie pounded on the door. "I'm not leaving so you better open the door!" he shouted. "Your neighbors are going to think i'm your gay stalker!" he continued to pound on the door. Finally he heard the door unlock. When the door opened freddie was shocked at what he saw. There was raymond, but not the confident, clean cut brotha he had grown to love. In his stead was a needing a shave, depressed, funky smelling, shell of the raymond he knew. "Damn bra" freddie said. "Where you been?" i've been trying to hit you up for like two weeks now." Raymond just left the door open and turned around and fell on the couch. In the ten years freddie had known raymond he had never seen him like that before. It looked and smelled like he hadn't washed for days. He was lying around in a beat up robe, and his apartment was a wreck. "You alright man?" freddie asked with concern. Raymond picked up a bottle of Jack Daniels that was on the table. "Does it look like i'm alright? you know i haven't spoken to cherish in about two weeks, i was really feeling that chick and she played me for a fool." Freddie sat on the arm of the couch. "Well that liquor your drinking isn't going to help." "Damn sure won't hurt" raymond said taking another swig. "Listen ray, brother you have to get a hold of yourself, you look a mess!" Raymond just shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever man, i'm doing me." "You need to do yourself a favorand come to church with me tomor.." Raymond cut freddie off before he could finish. "Don't start with that religion talk, that's what got me in this mess in the first place." he said. "You and pastor williams can get up early tomorrow, me i'm going to the strip club tonight and sleeping in tomorrow morning." Freddie didn't say anything for a minute. Finally he said "okay ray, you are a grown man and i know you will figure it out." Raymond finished off the bottle with one last gulp. "Damn skippy." "I just want to say i love you like a brother and i'm sorry that it didn't work out with cherish" freddie continued. "But if you put it in the lord's hands he will see you thru this and any other heartache or roadblock that life will throw at you." Freddie got up and went out the door. Raymond got up and went into the bathroom. He looked in the mirror. "Shit, i'm gonna be alright. i'm gonna go to the strip club tonight and make it rain" he said out loud to himself. He got into the shower and gave himself a shave. Raymond pulled up in the parking lot. It was saturday night around twelve o'clock, the witching hour. A couple of his co-workers had told him about this new spot on the other side of town. "Yeah, go hit that spot up. Them chicks in there are some dime pieces, bodies tight like coke bottles." Raymond decided to check it out. He was feeling real good from the Jack Daniels earlier, plus he had put a blunt in the air so he was "balanced out." He paid the ten dollar door fee to get in the spot. He went straight to the bar, ordered a rum and coke and took took a seat near the stage. The spot was hot with beautiful women with sexy bodies. Men left and right were stuffing money in thongs with no care, breasts and booty all in their face. Every man in there seemed to be enjoying themselves except one. "For some reason i'm not feeling this" raymond thought. Different women came up to his seat offering lap dances or thrusting their bodies up against him, but raymond wasn't feeling them. Everytime he looked up at one of these women, the only thing he thought about was cherish. "This isn't even me anymore, i guess this is a sign." Raymond was about to get up and leave when the deejay announced the featured stripper. She went by the stage name of "honey", and she was about to perform next. "Well first let me finish off this rum and coke" raymond thought sitting back down. The deejay started to play "honey love" by R.KELLY, as raymond sat sipping on his drink. He closed his eyes and listened to the song remembering the first time he saw cherish and the times they shared. "Man, i got it bad, let me get out of here and take my ass home" he thought. As he opened his eyes up, he realized the men in the club were the most excited they had been all night. "This chick must be the baddest one out of them all" he thought as he got up to take a look. When he did get a glimpse, he saw a familiar sight. Those pretty green eyes that he was hypnotized by a couple weeks earlier, were staring right back at him. Up on the stage with nothing on but a thong filled with dollar bills was cherish. She was looking dead into raymond's eyes. Her eyes were filled with hurt, embarassment, anger, a mixture of emotions. Raymond stood there shellshocked for a moment, notmoving until a brother in the back of him said, "Nigga, sit your ass down i can't see that bitch fat ass!" Cherish reacting to what the man said, started moving her hips slow to the music, but raymond could see the hurt in her eyes. "Nigga! sit down i wanna get my turn!" the man behind raymond said. This drew the attention of the security who were slowly edging there way over. Everything came to a head at that point for raymond. He looked at the woman he loved shaking her ass on stage, looked at the empty glass in his hand, then turned around to the man talking shit. He quickly threw the glass at the man's face. The man was stunned momentarily, which gave raymond enough time to jump over the table to slam the man's head into the floor. Raymond was on top of him about to beat him down, when he heard that angelic voice say, "raymond no!" He turned around to see cherish who had jumped off the stage, looking concerned, tears running down her face. The sight of cherish hurt over his actions snapped him out of his rage. He was about tio say something to her, but then the club's bouncers bumrushed him and threw him out of the club face first.


5


The next morning raymond woke up with his whole face feeling like it was on fire. "Ouch" he said as he gently touched his face. He got up and looked in the mirror to see the damage. Not as bad as he thought, but the right side of his face was swollen. Raymond sat down on the toilet and reflected on the previous night. "It was one of the worst nights of my life" he thought to himself. "Not only do some muscle bound cats throw me out of the club, but the woman i love is stripping for complete strangers!" He put his hands to his face. "Oh god! i'm in love with a stripper!" He started to cry, wondering why these things happened to him. "Why me god, why put me through this?" Suddenly, it came to him. He had asked god why him, but he realized the answer. Thru it all, yes he had met a beautiful woman, he thought he had found true love, but something else happened in the last month or so. Raymond had realized he had established a relationship with god. Even though it was in the beginning stages, he enjoyed the church, the prayer, he enjoyed the fact that his spiritual side was evolving. "That's why i didn't feel that strip club" he thought. He now knew once he took a couple of steps toward god, god would meet him halfway. "Okay father i understand now" he said out loud. Raymond got up, wiped his tears away and proceeded to get ready for church. It was a rainy sunday morning, but raymond's smile was brighter then a hundred suns. He had found a radio station which played modern gospel. He felt good the best he had felt in a long time. "Everything's going to be alright, as long as i put it in god's hands" he thought. As he pulled up in the parking lot, the rain was coming down pretty hard. He looked down at his watch, he was only five minutes late. He jumped out of the car with his umbrella and hastily ran to the church's entrance. When he walked into the church's foyer, there was cherish 's green eyes looking back at him. She looked like she didn't sleep a wink all night. Her eyes were puffy and red, but she still looked like an angel to raymond. "Raymond..I ..." she tried to say, but couldn't get it out. Raymond smiled, took her hand in his, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You ready to go praise the father together?" he asked. "After that, maybe we can go get some pie, some coffe, and talk." Cherish smiled when he said this. "Yes, i would love that." She squeezed his hand hard as the usher led them down the church aisle, hand in hand.


THE END

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 05.10.2009

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