"Caprice"
Caprice adjusted the straps to her size 24 dress in the mirror of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. She didn't have any proper attire for church. This morning as she searched for something to wear she realized she didn't have anything to wear period, a new wardrobe was desperately needed. Her pink spaghetti floor length dress would have to do for today. When Tracey invited her to her church last week she was a little hesitant, her past church experiences had not been all that great. On top of that she worked 40 hours a week to take care of three kids so the thought of giving up her sleep on a Sunday morning did not sit well with her but she agreed anyway.
Even though her dress was long it still showed quite a bit of her triple D cleavage. She was in the middle of adjusting the girls when a group of ladies walked in. Their chatter ended when they saw her.
"Good morning", Caprice said brightly. I guess they didn't hear her because no one spoke back. Caprice took that as her cue to leave. This was one reason she decided to stay clear of churches and church folk. Their colorful and pretty clothes and hats could not hide their cold hearts.
She remembered how as a young girl ladies of the church shunned her mom. Back then she didn't know why but as she grew older she realized that with her mom being a vibrant and young single mom, she didn't quite fit into "holier than thou" crowd. She remembered days when the first lady of the church would come and adjust her moms clothes right in front of everyone or drape one of those sheets over her lap if her hem didn't pass her knees. They never had to say it to her face but every action showed that they didn't approve of the way her mom dressed. Her mom was plus size like she'd grown to be with full breast, hips, and an a** to match. She always held her head high and stood with confidence. Caprice admired her mom for that. She always taught her to be proud of her curves.
"There is nothing wrong with a woman with curves." She could hear her mom say. "You are beautifully and wonderfully made." She remembered her mom saying. And this was something she would never forget.
She took a deep breath as she walked into the church main doors. The usher greeted her kindly and escorted her to a comfortable row in the middle. She was grateful for that. She didn't want to be too close to the front, nor did she want a seat in the back with the teenagers she'd passed.
The praise team was just about to begin another selection as she was seated. The man on the mic had a few people up on their feet with the last selection but he handed the mic over to Letoya. Caprice smiled and a few people yelled out, "sang Toya!" Everyone their knew that Letoya could kill any song. She always sang from her heart.
As she started singing "I surrender all" the church grew quiet. Caprice's mind drifted. She'd heard this song before but never really listened to the words. She found herself tearing up. She blinked a couple of times so her tears wouldn't flow and mess up her mascara. She was not really an emotional person but it was something about the words of this song that touched her. She felt a comfort. The song said, "all to Jesus I surrender" those words replayed in her mind. How could she surrender her burdens to a faceless person? She thought about all of things that was going on in her life.
She was a single mom raising three kids all alone. All of her kids had different daddy's. Her oldest son Keith father she hadn't heard from in years and her middle child Rachel, she sighed, she wasn't even sure who her daddy was. Her youngest child Reshaud, named after his father, she shook her head, she was still head over heels in love with that man but he cheated on her so they ended things. He was the only father still involved in his child's life and truth be told he was great with her other kids as well. She wished she would have worked it out with him when she had the chance but he'd moved on now.
It was hopeless. Thinking about all of this, Caprice didn't even realize that the song had ended and her tears had began to flow. A gloved hand woke her out of her daze. The nice usher that escorted her to her seat held a tissue for her. She quickly took it and dabbed at her face. The usher patted her gingerly on her shoulders and walked back to her post.
After the praise team ended their final selection the preacher got up to give his sermon. Caprice tried to follow and stay focus but again she drifted into her own thoughts. This time a long arm a few seats down touching her on her arm brought her back to the church. She quickly turned to see the face and body attached to the arm it belonged to a handsome young gentleman. She hadn't realized that the usher had seated him a few seats down from her. So now he sat at one end of the short row while she sat at the other. He leaned over and whispered, "pay attention" while pointing towards the preacher. She might have taken that comment the wrong way but his smile enchanted her and she was speechless but she returned the smile.
The rest of the service went by in a blur. Not because of her thoughts but because she couldn't help herself from glancing in his direction every couple of seconds. He sure was handsome. The way his legs extended under the row in front of them she could tell that he had to stand at least 6 feet. He was brown skin with a grown man ceasers cut. He had a very nice smile with almost perfect teeth. She could tell he worked out easily the way his muscles bulged through his white dress shirt. He didn't have on anything fancy. Black slacks with a white dress shirt tucked in. His tie complimented his outfit very nice. She realized that not many men she encountered dressed up, even for church so he stood out immediately from everyone else.
She heard the pastor ask everyone to stand and she was eager to do so to get a chance to better inspect this fine young gentleman that God had led to her row. "Lord you are an awesome God" she thought to herself as she stole another glance his way. She heard herself chuckle and again he turned her way and smiled. She quickly straightened up and turned her attention back to the pastor now asking if anyone wanted to come down to the alter for salvation or prayer. She was surprised to see the cutie rush down to the front. His glide was sure and confident, and when he reached the alter he instinctively raised his hands towards heaven and bowed his head. Not having to be coached like the others that followed him. She'd noticed that he'd listened very intently through service and at one point she was sure she'd seen him quickly wipe away a tear.
A group of men surrounded him and prayed with him. Everyone else in the audience either bowed their heads in prayer or like her watched like it was a movie. This was another thing she realized she didn't see much from men and that was their ability to openly be emotional. She was in love.
The alter call ran on for quite some time as more and more people found themselves at the alter for prayer or salvation. Many people anxious to get to their Sunday dinner or the afternoon game had left but the saved and sanctified remained to see how many souls had come to Christ.
Caprice's reasons for waiting were entirely different. First of all she wasn't budging until she had the chance to get whatever information she could from Letoya about her new little cute friend and secondly she did want to at least stay and speak with her friends before she left. She'd spotted Tracey earlier sitting about three rows from the front. They waved and exchanged a best friend smile. Tracey had turned and silently mouthed a "GURL" so she already knew that she had something juicy to tell her. Caprice wasn't moving until she got the juicy gossip. She didn't know who or what it was about but she knew it would be good.
After what seemed like an hour later the crowd at the alter had started to disperse. Some people were escorted by ushers back to their seats still crying and praising God while others were stable enough to do so on their own. The few that remained must have received salvation because they waited in an unorganized line for the pastor to come and greet them personally. One by one with the mic in his hand and a cloth in the other he asked the person their name and what the Lord had done for them today. Caprice wasn't surprised to see her row buddy in line anxiously waiting his turn. At least she would know his name after this she thought. When it was his turned she perked up a little more. The pastor asked him the same question and then shouted that, "this is Bro. Chris and he said that the Lord saved his soul today." The remaining audience burst in applause and praises to God as they had did for others before him.
Caprice clapped the loudest in her section and actually yelled out a "thank you Jesus!" She was excited, but her excitement was for other reasons. After the remaining few gave their testimonies they were escorted to the back so that further information could be received by the church. Caprice was a little disappointed by this but she knew she would get her chance. After the announcements were read the pastor opened the doors of the church which simply meant that at that time if anyone wanted to join they could do so by coming down and introducing themselves the pastor.
Caprice was a little shocked to find her self moving from out of the row into the isles. The members that noticed her heading towards the alter all applauded and the pastor and first lady of the church welcomed her with open arms. She could also see the shocked look of both Letoya and Tracie but she just simply smiled and enjoyed her moment in the spotlight. She wasn't doing this for the cutie, she tried to convince herself, church was a good thing anyway. But if she happened to bump into Bro. Chris it would be all the more reason to come. For the first time in a long time Caprice felt really good and like she was headed in the right direction, God's direction.
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