No Extra Faces

© 2012 Tameka L. Harvey-Cooper. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 6/5/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-6346-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-6345-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-6344-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012904886

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Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter One

Jade

Sylvia

Trinity

Carmen

Karen

Chapter Two

Jade

Sylvia

Trinity

Carmen

Karen

Chapter Three

Jade

Sylvia

Trinity

Carmen

Karen

Chapter Four

Jade

Sylvia

Carmen

Trinity

Karen

Chapter Five

Jade

Sylvia

Carmen

Karen

Chapter Six

Karen

Jade

Riley

Sylvia

Carmen

Chapter Seven

Karen

Jade

Riley

Sylvia

Carmen

Chapter Eight

Karen

Jade

Riley

Sylvia

Carmen

Chapter Nine

Karen

Jade

Riley

Sylvia

Carmen

Chapter Ten

Karen

Jade

Riley

Sylvia

Carmen

Chapter Eleven

Karen

Jade

Riley

Sylvia

Carmen

Chapter Twelve

Riley

Carmen

Jade

Sylvia

Karen

From The Author

Dedication

I give thanks to The Almighty God for everything He has done, and is doing in my life. This book is dedicated to everyone who has encouraged, and pushed me to be the person God has intended me to be. I love you all!

Introduction

One word that is used to describe this book is extreme! We all have our perception of who church people are, and how the church should be; however, many may debate that the perfect church does not exist. No Extra Faces is a novel about the obstacles and the drive of people who are spiritually tied to God, but not religiously connected to the church, nonetheless fighting for the equality of the under-dog in the church today. It also exposes the issues of taboo, which causes people to hide behind their many faces. Beware, this book will send you on a wide range of emotions, and may change your life forever!

Chapter One

Jade

The alarm rang. It probably went off for five minutes before I made it to the clock. I should have known my lazy, good-for-nothing husband wasn’t going to get it. That dude makes me sick. I must have had temporary insanity when I married him. Before I get into that, let me introduce myself. My name is Jade. I am twenty-seven years old and have a daughter named Natalia, who is nine years old. I have a master’s degree in nursing.

I am the director of nursing at Sure Waters Nursing Home. I have such a busy schedule. I barely have time to breathe. Even though I have a hectic schedule, I have to make time for God First Worship Center. That place is the only reason I am still saved. I haven’t been saved all my life. I’ve been through some things, and I do what I can do to maintain. I was getting ready for a prayer breakfast with my fellow sanctified honeys. My daughter was going to her grandmother’s house. What was lazy balls going to do? Who cares? I know it wouldn’t entail household chores.

Now, let’s see how I met him. I met him at a gospel concert. I guess those were his holy days. He put up a front, letting us meet his facade Randy Parsh. He was classified as a pretty boy, with a milk chocolate complexion, and a cute little goatee. He was an organist for a nearby church. Dude had me fooled. Randy wined and dined me and told me how beautiful I was all the time. Randy always had gifts for me. Back then I was really gullible. I think it was the thrill of him being interested in me. The girls were truly after him, but he chose me. I should have been grateful, huh? Not.

I felt so rushed. I had an hour to get to church, and I still had to drop Natalia off. I decided to just ask Randy to take her to his mom’s. The door squeaked as I opened it. He jumped up.

What’s up? He said, like a burglar had entered the room.

How in the world do you jump up at the sound of a door and lay there when the alarm goes off? I asked.

Its like Tootsie Pops. The world may never know. He answered.

Look, babe, I’m running late. Can you drop Talia off to your mom’s for me?

Uh, no!

No? What do you mean no?

Jade, you have a master’s degree, and I know you know what no means.

Why are you tripping?

I’m not, but every time I turn around you’re doing something with those chicks. First of all, there is nothing sanctified about your friends; you are just too gullible to notice.

Oh, I’m gullible now. Yeah, you’re right, for mixing up with you. Ooh, I swear to the Almighty.

You swear what?

Just drop her off; I’m gone.

I left the house fuming. He always knows how to put a damper on my day, ole heathen. He never used to be this annoying. Dang, I forgot I had to pick up the bagels. I guess that’s more time added to me being tardy.

My husband always hates on my church sisters. I guess he expects people to be perfect like him. Did I say perfect? That he is not. I remember our wedding day. I should have known it was going to be a struggle. He was an hour late. He pitched a fit cause’ my ex-boyfriend was at the wedding. First of all, he should have had his chest poked out because he was buying the cow, and for a steal at that. I sometimes wonder what life would have been like if I would have married Isaiah.

Man, look at the time. Let me get those bagels. I entered the Delightful Bakery. The aroma was definitely on point. I could smell the mouth-watering muffins from my car. The apple- berry tart made apple lovers, fall head over hills. The owner Mr. Crow; knew me from coming in every morning before work. He called me Beautiful.

Good morning, Mr. Crow, I said with a gigantic smile on my face.

Hey, Beautiful, what can I get for you this morning? He asked.

Well, I need about two dozen bagels.

What you got going on?

Oh, this ladies’ function at my church.

Ladies only, huh?

Yes sir, ladies only!

Can I go?

Mr. Crow, trust me, you do not want to go there. I’ll see you on Monday.

Okay, sweetie, take care.

I grabbed the bagels and left. Oh shoot, I had five minutes to make it to church, and I knew I had to be at least ten minutes away. I decided to put the pedal to the medal and haul tail. That was not okay. I looked in my mirror, and the blue lights were flashing. I pulled over thinking, Aw not today, and I slowly came to realize that getting pulled over wasn’t so bad after all. You would not believe who the officer was.

Isaiah! I said, a little too excited.

Uh, Jade, he said with this stunned look on his face.

He then got this stern daddy look on his face and said, ma’am get out of the car.

I was in shock; however, I got out of the car and he said,

Now give me a hug, then started laughing.

I gave him that hug. He smelled and looked good in that uniform. I almost forgot I was married. I don’t know how ‘cause my husband drives me insane.

So what’s new with you, miss lady? He asked.

Not much. Working, you know.

No, you know what I am talking about. Are you still married?

Why wouldn’t I be?

Are you happy? Don’t answer, I know you’re not.

Why would you say that?

Jade, baby, we were together for four years. You couldn’t wait for me. I wasn’t ready to have sex, and you broke up with me knowing we were soul mates. Jade, I never got closure. Can I take you to lunch, dinner, something?

Uh, well!

Well, if you don’t, I’ll be glad to write out this speeding ticket.

Fine, I really got to go.

You can, after you give me your number.

I was kind of flattered, but at the same time, I felt guilty. I was married. It’s no big deal; he just wants to talk, I thought. I proceeded to get to church.

I finally made it to church. I was thirty minutes late. I didn’t get my foot in the door good before Sylvia Grey opened up her hungry mouth.

Well, ’bout time. We were about to start praying for manna, she said.

"Today is not the day to let Satan use you, Sylvia.

Seems like he using you for the both of us, she said as she stuck her nose up in the air.

Now Sylvia was a mess. No, let me rephrase that—a hot mess! If it was some business to know, that thang had it on tight. I couldn’t say I hated her, ’cause God don’t like ugly, but if there were another word to use, that would be it. Sylvia was always in the mix. She was the first person to swear she was holy and acceptable unto God. She was five-feet-eleven, divorced twice, and had twin boys. I believe she worked as a telephone operator. Why didn’t that surprise me?

The next honey in the group was Trinity. I called her Tee-Tee. She was one of the sweetest ones in the group. If there was a need, she was there. She was so supportive of everyone. She was beautiful inside and out. She was a soft brown color, and her complexion was flawless. Her makeup was always perfect. Tee-Tee stood about five-feet-eight inches tall. She stayed in the best of the best. She had never been married, had no children, and to be honest, I’d never heard her mention kids.

Carmen was this little petite thing. She was about five-feet-four. She was a Hispanic woman, and she was skinny. She looked like she weighed about 120 pounds. She had been married for nine years to this real estate broker. They had five kids, nine, six, four, two, and nine months, I think. I didn’t know how she did it. Not to mention, she always went back to her normal shape. She told us one time that she just loved to be pregnant. I looked at her thinking, better you than me. She had a daycare center, and it was really successful, which is probably a good thing, ’cause childcare is expensive. There were about thirty others, however. I would be all day introducing and explaining if I tried to get to them all. The breakfast spread was on time.

They had bagels, muffins, eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, fruit, grits, coffee, tea, and juice. It was truly a meal fit for queens. Sister Karen was the first lady of the church. She appeared to be one of the most real people I had ever met. She was genuine in all she did, and I considered her to be very rare. I truly believed that the church was built on love, and that is why it has five hundred members. I took my seat at a nearby table.

Karen stood up and said, Good morning, ladies. This is the day that the Lord has made. Why not rejoice and be glad in it? Today’s topic is reopening wounds for God to seal! I know it makes you nervous. Some of us have put things away that have happened in our lives, never to remember that they ever happened. She raised her hand as to say, I’ve been there. Then she went on to say, How many of you have been through some things? I know how God operates, and in order for you to walk in the full fruition of God, He must dig out your heart, clean it, and put it back. Keep in mind that when He places it back, it will be like new, and that is when God seals your chest and puts His stamp of approval on you. This is going to be a series, and I am forewarning you that it is going to change the women of this church’s lives. If you do not want change, I give you permission to leave now, because what God is about to do, is going to shake up some things in your lives.

Man, she was very confident; I could only wish God would use me like that. No one moved, that must have meant, everyone wanted to be dealt with. God knows these women needed it. Karen began with a song and a prayer. The prayer went like this:

Dear Heavenly Father, Daddy, we come before you humble and open to receive your way. We come before you thanking and praising you for your goodness and your mercy, thanking you for your ever-merciful love, thanking you for your power and kindness. Knowing, oh God, that we are nothing without you. Knowing, God, that we cannot make it without you. Lord, I ask that you open up the ears and hearts of your people to receive what I know is a word from you. I decrease that you may increase. I depend on solely you, oh God. Guide my lips and saturate my tongue with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. If you don’t do it, God, it won’t be done. Somebody needs you right now, oh God. Somebody is secretly crying out for deliverance. I thank you in advance for healing, delivering, and making ways out of no way. You’re worthy, God. You’re wonderful Father. I ask these things in Jesus’ name, and I will be careful to take no credit for your work, amen.

After the prayer, I felt as if I was good enough to go home; however, she brought forth the word. When I say she was in everybody’s backyard, ooh. She started telling women that they could start getting closer to God when they began to keep it real with themselves.

She said, One lie covers the next lie, and that thing that’s been haunting us since childhood did happen. The tears we cry, even to this day are real.

She asked how could we expect God to use our testimony, when we hadn’t accepted it. When it was all said and done, women were lying in the floor, crying and repenting for not embracing their stories.

I have to admit, I even had tears rolling down my high cheekbones. I felt some of my burdens lift off of me, when I started to keep it real about my mother molesting me. I, to this day don’t talk to, nor deal with my mother. She does not know I have a daughter, and if she does, I didn’t tell her. I have cried myself to sleep about it, and I fear that I may do something crazy like that to Talia, although, it is not in my character. It’s those generational curses. My dad found out what was happening to me, and he took me away and left her. That was after he darn near killed her. She didn’t go to the police on him, and he didn’t go to the law on her. I had been molested, night after night, until I was ten years old. I’ve heard of fathers molesting their daughters, but not mothers. I hadn’t shared that with anyone. My husband knew I woke up in cold sweats, but he doesn’t know why. He actually thinks my mother is dead. Little does he know, she is about five miles away from our home in a psychiatric hospital; my husband was too dog gone immature to handle it anyway.

Once I pulled myself together, I drove to my husband’s mom’s house to pick up Talia. Of course, Talia didn’t want to come home, so she begged me to stay. I gave in, although, I had issues re-surfacing in my life. I gave her a hug and a kiss. I told her how much I loved her. I also promised to protect her for as long as I lived. I left the house a little teary eyed. I didn’t get my key in the ignition well enough, before my cell phone rang.

Where are you? I thought that little meeting was supposed to be for a few hours, not years, said Randy.

Randy, what did you call me for, ’cause I don’t have this to do? I asked.

You don’t ever have this to do. You don’t have me to do either. I have to beg to get some from my own wife.

As long as you keep coming at me wrong, you better get used to it.

I hung the phone up on him. He called back, and I didn’t answer. The phone rang again, and I became annoyed, and answered, What?

It was a male voice, and he said, Wow, that’s how you answer the phone.

Oh, Isaiah, I thought you were …

Let me guess, your husband, he said, cutting me off.

I said, Maybe, what is it to you? I asked.

It could be everything to me, he answered.

You don’t say! I blurted out.

So when can I get my closure?

I’m off. Let’s get together in about an hour.

The old spot, he said and hung up.

The old spot was outside this old fancy hotel. We would sit on their park bench and talk about how one day we would be guests there. I went in the trunk of my car, and pulled out my just in case outfit. I wiped myself down with baby wipes, and then sprayed my favorite fragrance on. I stopped at the store and bought some mints and thought I am ready.

Sylvia

Little Miss Jade gets on my nerves. She thinks the sun rises and sets on her behind. I truly do not think so. I am the one, people come to when they are hurting or have a need. I am the one, who keeps an open door policy. How dare she fix her face to put Satan, and me in the same sentence? I did not come here for that, and I know who I am in God, thank you, Jesus. First lady Karen is really letting the Lord use her today. She is a powerful woman of God. I just hope she is turning down her plate on my behalf, ’cause when it comes to a word for me, self cannot be in the way. I haven’t experienced her being in the flesh; however, I’m just saying. The prayer was nice; I see she has been on her knees more. I sat back and cleared my mind to receive the word, and as she was speaking, I heard the Lord say, Important. I didn’t understand, but that was all I kept hearing. Sister Karen continued speaking, and I kept hearing important, and I was like, Lord, what?

Near the end of the message, Karen called me up and said, Lift your hands.

I did, and the tears began to fall. She doused holy oil in her hands, and then, she smacked my hands one by one saying, I hear the Lord say love. She then hugged me, and while putting the microphone down, she said, You need to take back your love. You are a woman of God. You are important. I don’t know what has happened in your childhood, but God has given you approval, and that is what matters. She looked me in the eyes and said, You take the power back and love.

At that moment, I broke down. I just began to praise God. The Lord began to bring back to my remembrance, that I never felt important. I had three siblings, and I was the outcast of them all. I was the least attractive of the bunch. I kept to myself. I didn’t think that I mattered to my parents. I always got picked on. As I got older, I realized that there wasn’t much to people. I decided to make people respect me. I was going to make myself important. All I could do was ask for forgiveness because I hadn’t loved according to the word. I hadn’t shown love toward anyone, not even myself. After the breakfast, it was probably the first time that I had left the church without really speaking to anyone. I just felt the need to keep my mouth shut. I had that urge to be alone. Since the boys were with their dad, I decided to stay at my favorite hotel. I definitely could use a massage and a little bit of me time.

Once I arrived home, I made reservations for that night. I then packed a few things to make sure I would be comfortable. I called and checked on my sons Elijah and Elisha. I love my boys, with all my heart. They are four years old, and a product of my second marriage. For some reason, I kept getting mixed up with the same men. They both were selfish, controlling, and simply unrealistic about what a husband and wife should be. I believe I was a perfect wife. I cooked and cleaned; I kept the kids clean and fed. Maybe the problem is, that my definition of the word love is not realistic. To tell you the truth, I never received love growing up; comparing love, for me, was an impossible task. It makes me wonder how my parents compare love.

God, I really need a break. I really need to regroup. I really need to seek your face. I arrived to the hotel, and it was as beautiful as I remembered. I used to come here with my ex-husband. Once we began to have problems in our marriage, I would come here just to breathe a little. It took this very hotel to help me get through my moments of un-clarity. I checked in, and the bellhop took my bags to my room. I purchased a suite, just for me. The room was breathtaking; they had the pretend candles lit everywhere, and rose petals all over the place. I tell you, if I had a significant other, it would be on. I shouldn’t talk this way. I don’t think marriage works. I am only thirty-seven years old, and have been divorced twice. Marriage for