Chapter Two

The ringing of Alex-Andre’s cell phone jolted him from his recollection. It was Marcus his childhood friend who was also a PK. Marcus Willis was also a senior and was majoring in Public Relations and Marketing at Morehouse College so they didn’t see each other much but checked in on each other often.

“Dre, what’s popping? What time should I pick you up later?”

“Hey, I’m well. What’s happening later?”

“Please don’t tell me you have forgotten that we made plans to attend ‘Choirs in Praise’ at Victory Tabernacle?” Marcus questioned.

“I totally forgot dude. Let’s see, pick me up around 3 p.m. I should be all ready by then,” announced Alex-Andre.

“Alrighty then, see you at 3 p.m. sharp,” replied Marcus.

“See you then.”

Alex-Andre was home for a few weeks and he decided that he would make the best of it. The Choirs in Praise was an annual event at Victory Tabernacle Church; choirs from all over the country came to perform to raise money for charity. Victory Tabernacle was Calvary’s sister church and both churches enjoyed good fellowship dating as far back as in the 80’s.

After hanging up Alex-Andre went in search of his mother. Out of respect he wanted to inform her of his plans for the rest of the day. He knew where she would be – in her garden tending to her flowers. Even though they had a gardener she insisted on doing some of the gardening herself.

“Mom, why do you insist on doing this when Miller is here to do the gardening and landscaping of the grounds?”

“I like getting my hands dirty plus attending to my plants helps me to relax,” she offered.

“Ok just don’t overdo it. Where is dad by the way?” He asked.

“He went down by the church to host a meeting with the board of deacons.” “Did you need him for something?” She probed.

“I just wanted to inform you both that I will be attending the ‘Choirs in Praise’ singspiration in Athens with Marcus this afternoon.”

“This must be the same event I overheard some young people at church talking about. Well ok but please be careful and remember not to do anything that will bring reproach on us or the church.” She admonished him.

Alex-Andre just shook his head and said, “I know mom I wouldn’t want to be a disappointment to you or the Bishop!”

“Dre I’m being serious. Please remember who you are and what you are about.”

“Aye, Aye Captain” Alex-Andre mused, walking over to give his mother a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “I will be on my best behavior, I promise.”

Marcus was on time as usual – 3 p.m. on the dot, he was always a punctual person. Marcus and Alex-Andre met a camp meeting about fifteen years ago. At the time both boys were the youngest attendees (being only nine years of age), however, the required age group for the other attendees was 13 to 16; they stood out like a sore thumb. Looking back Alex-Andre thought that he was probably at every church event, even those not meant for him. Marcus was family. My parents treated him as if he was their child, Bishop Moore often said to Alex-Andre ‘Why can’t you be more like Marcus, he is such an upstanding young man.’ To this Alex-Andre always thought ‘if you only knew the real Marcus then you would prohibit him from coming to this house!’

Both boys would confine in each other over the years, the many ‘ungodly’ activities they partook in were not worth mentioning. If word got out both the Moore’s and Willis’ families would be mortified, not to mention the impact on the ‘church’.

As if on cue the doorbell rang. Helena, the housekeeper answered and announced who it was.

“Alex-Andre, its Marcus,” announced Helena.

Marcus regarded Helena as a member of the Moore’s family, since he and Alex-Andre were left under her supervision more times than he could remember and so after giving her a warm hug he proceeded to Alex-Andre’s room all the while shouting “Dre let’s go!”

Not bothering to knock be entering as the sign read on Alex-Andre’s room door, Marcus barged in “Dre, you decent?”

“Yea,” replied Alex-Andre.

“Dre, dude it’s now 3:10 p.m., why are you not ready?”

“I can’t decide which shirt to wear.”

“Seriously, Dre!” “Just pick something from your closet and let’s go already.”

Alex-Andre believed in looking his best on every occasion so he really had a hard time deciding what to wear to certain events. Seeing Marcus’ impatience Alex-Andre chose his favourite pair of loafers to go with the blazer, denim, and dress shirt he finally settled on (all from his favourite designer – Ralph Lauren), dabbed on some of his L'eau D'issey (Issey Miyake) Cologne and he was all set.

“Dre, it’s a singspiration why do you always place so much emphasis on your attire?” Marcus joked.

“I’m the Bishop’s son,” simpered Alex-Andre.

The drive to Athens was a smooth one as there was not much traffic, this gave both friends the opportunity to catch up on what was happening in each other’s life.

“Marcus, how are things with you and Carla?”

“Well we’ve had some rough patches but we are giving ‘us’ another chance,” stated Marcus.

“Those rough patches are your doings, right?” Alex-Andre probed all the while having a playful tone in his voice.

The look on Marcus’ face said it all and laughter erupted in the car.

“Dre, you know me, settling down at such a young age is not my style.”

“You are such a bad influence on me,” joked Alex-Andre.

“But Dre on a serious note, I can’t believe you and Stacy broke up.”

Alex-Andre and Stacy were childhood friends and just a year ago they decided to take their friendship to another level. Their relationship lasted just under three months but the two still remain friends.

“I think Stacy and I were just meant to be friends and nothing more.”

The soulful melody of Mary Mary’s “A Little More Jesus” filled the car cruised along the highway.

It has been ages since Alex-Andre visited Victory Tabernacle. He had made many friends there over the years; especially at young events. Many in his age group were married with babies and others were now divorced. A crowd with tickets in hand, was congregating at the entrance to the church; everyone wanted the best seats so that they wouldn’t miss what would be happening on the stage.

Alex-Andre and Marcus purchased tickets and upon reaching inside and before they could decide where to sit, they were beckoned by Stacy to seats upfront.

“Hey, Dre! Hey Marcus!” Stacy shouted over the instrumental music playing in the background.

“Sup Stace,” stated Marcus.

“Hey Stace, how comes you didn’t call me back? Alex-Andre questioned after enveloping Stacy in a tight hug.

“You know I totally forgot that I had promised to check the thing out for you!” Stacy replied.

Stacy had promised to find out which Nursing Home Mother Hamilton was staying. Mother Hamilton was ninety-three years old and was like a grandmother to Alex-Andre. He had read somewhere that young people should befriend the elderly and learn from their wisdom. Alex-Andre visited Mother Hamilton every time he came home plus he would spend hours on the telephone with her when he was away. Having heard of her deteriorated health, he had wanted to go and pay her a visit.

“That’s ok just give me a call later and we’ll talk,” added Alex-Andre.

“Ladies and gentlemen let us all settle down as the evening’s proceedings will now begin,” the moderator announced.

The three friends settled down and took their seats; with Stacy sitting in between the two boys.

The choirs that performed really out-did themselves. The best item from Alex-Andre’s viewpoint was an item done by a group of six persons that called themselves - `Chosen`. It was the best rendition of Karen Clark Sheard’s - Secret Place he have ever heard (this was one of Alex-Andre’s favourite songs). There was just something about the lead singer that caught Alex-Andre’s attention. He will make it his mission to find out who she was.

“Wow, I am glad I came,” echoed Alex-Andre.

“This year’s event was the best I’ve ever attended,” agreed Marcus.

“It was money well spent, these people can really sing,” responded awed struck Stacy. “This was fun, the three of us hanging out together; we need to do this more often,” continued Stacy.

“We sure need to.” Marcus said, “We could attend the Laser Show at Stone Mountain Park on Saturday.”

“Dre, what do you think?” Stacy asked.

To this he replied, “Yes we could.”

After making the necessary arrangements Stacy went to joined some of her friends from college while the boys went to mix and mingle with old high school friends.

Since it was getting rather late Marcus and Alex-Andre decided that it was time to head back to Stone Mountain. The ride back was of a quiet nature, the music from the car stereo filled the air as both friends were loss in thought.

“Marcus, do you think we’ll ever get married?” Alex-Andre asked.

“Where is that question coming from, Dre?”

“I’m just here thinking that at some point the way we are living will get old, you know?” Andre-Alex tried to explain. “You know with all the girls and partying, don’t you ever get tired and just want to settled down”

To this Marcus replied “I’ve never really thought about it much but at some point I would love to get married and start a family.”

“Can you imagine us being parents?” Alex-Andre joked.

“Me being somebody’s daddy, hmmm”.