Keeper of My Soul. Keshia Dawn

of Keithe to pull such a stunt. Even with the tight grip she always claimed to have on Keithe, Michelle could see him pulling away from her. Never having to be on the other side, the side that Keithe stayed on, Michelle could hardly take not knowing what was going on in her husband’s head.

      She made it back into their bedroom and dialed the town car’s phone. Michelle was even more in shock when the driver let her know that Keithe wasn’t with him.

      “Did you drop him somewhere?” she asked.

      “No, ma’am. He cancelled Sunday service today and said that he was driving himself into Dallas.” he gave her all the details that had been given to him.

      Without even a thanks flown in the driver’s direction, Michelle disconnected the call and sat on the side of the bed.

      Like a ton of bricks falling from a decaying building, Michelle felt her world, once again, falling down around her. It was just like times before: same game, different man.

      CHAPTER 4

      Keithe

      Once more, Keithe gave his praises to God for his traveling mercies. Pulling into the parking lot of Bethel Baptist, the calm and respectful gentleman glanced at his image in his rearview mirror. Doing so, without hesitation his thoughts went right back to Michelle. He was always asking why she grabbed for the rearview mirror when the driver’s side visor was made for glances, and there he was doing the same thing. With a slight chuckle, his heart warmed as he thought of how he loved her so.

      It was as if he could predict her next moves, and he wished she’d switch up her game at least some. A predictable man could just about always be disappointing. Running a cool hand over his bald head, Keithe knew by the days passing that he would have to either accept Michelle for who she was and take it as that, or leave her on a permanent basis, not just for a trip to Dallas as he had now done.

      Getting out of the car, Keithe opened the back door of his Range Rover and retrieved his suit jacket. He had made it into Dallas around eight in the morning and gotten a room. No doubt his frat brother would coerce him into staying with him, but for at least an hour or so he had been in need of a place to rest his eyes. After he slept extra hard on the Marriott pillows, Keithe gathered his luggage and headed toward the church he always visited while in Dallas.

      Right on time, he fell in line with the other parishioners gliding toward the doors of Bethel Baptist. Though he couldn’t call out any names, faces he had known from prior years’ visits recognized him as well and they said their hellos.

      “Good morning, welcome to Bethel Baptist. Do you need a program, envelope, visitor’s card?” a male usher offered Keithe as he walked through the threshold.

      “Morning. Program and envelope, please. I’ll pass on the visitor’s card.” Keithe nodded and accepted the colorful items the seasoned usher gave him. “Thanks.”

      Never one to need attention or be the center of it, Keithe slid his tall and lean body into the pew that housed fewer people. Standing from his quick sit, Keithe halfway raised his chocolate and pin-striped sapphire suit jacket from his seat. With a quick nod to his left, Keithe let out a “Morning,” toward a woman who was more than giving him the eye.

      With the bow of his head, Keithe took a moment before getting involved in the church activities, and whispered a prayer.

      “Lord, once again thank you for traveling mercies. I pray that you remove self and dwell in my heart so that I may hear what thus says The Lord. Amen.”

      Peering around the church, Keithe didn’t bother when he didn’t immediately land his eyes on his frat brother, Mike. Knowing his friend was the lead choir director, Mike’s place was, always had been, and always would be behind the organ.

      “Good morning, Bethel.” a busty woman who looked to be one of the mothers of the church assumed her duty of bringing attention to the front of the medium-sized room, while standing behind a podium that couldn’t start to hide her rounded hips. “I said, good morning, church,” she said again, wanting to get a better response, while her canary-colored hat bounced on her head.

      “Good morning,” Keithe said along with the members and other visitors who had all made their way into Sunday morning’s service.

      “We are now going to ask the praise team to come to the front and lead us in this morning’s worship service. Let us give them a hand praise as they make their way up. Amen?” the buxom woman forced from the crowd.

      “Amen,” Keithe returned with raised eyebrows as he finally laid down the program that had been cramped in his hand.

      “Good morning, church! if the Lord has blessed you, woke you up this morning, and has given you another chance to right the wrongs you’ve made, stand on your feet and help us praise him!” a young lady Keithe had never seen at the church before yelled into the microphone. “I know I might be young, but I want to take it back old school this morning, saints. If you know it, sing it with me.” She prepared the congregation before she sang, “Have you tried Jesus? he’s all right.” She gave the question and answered in song.

      With the blessed sound of the young lady’s voice filling the sanctuary, Keithe, like others around him, stood and embraced the entrance of the holy spirit in his heart. Tapping the linoleum floor with his feet (which were covered in $500-plus shoes), Keithe swayed back and forth between the sounds of the spirited jubilee.

      “He’s all right,” Keithe sang back, enjoying himself in the Lord. For the moment, Keithe enriched himself in a place where no harm could be done to his heart, his feelings wouldn’t be mangled, and his life was secure. when he went a step further and closed his eyes and raised his hands, Keithe made up his mind to praise his way through his circumstances.

      In the midst of another four songs sung by the praise team, the fullness of the Lord came in and swept throughout the church. Before the word had even gotten a chance to be taught in the morning service, people were already renewed in their souls.

      One testimony was asked to be given, and, like race-horses, a man, and a woman with a ferocious feathered hot pink hat, battled to be first pick.

      The lady won the spot. “Goodness and mercy have guided my way this morning. If it had not been”—she swayed her hands in front of her body, pausing for the effect—“for the Lord on my side, saints, where would I be?

      “I give honor to the pastor and the first lady and all to whom honor is due. You all know I travel quite a ways to come to the church on a regular basis. Over highways and byways. Well, this morning an eighteen wheeler almost took the lives of me and my daughter. Being that there were only two lanes, I was in the left-hand lane, making my way around the truck. I know all about blind spots and how to drive around big trucks, being that my daddy is a big rig driver. I make it my purpose in getting away from being on the side of the truck.” She threw out the explanation.

      “But right as I got middle ways, the truck started to come over on my side. Remember I said I was on the left-hand side of a two-lane highway?” she looked around the church. “Well, most of that time, there was a guardrail there.” She stopped for a short praise of “Hallelujah!” after four hard stomps to the church’s carpeted aisle, she continued.

      “Well, he came over on my side of the road, and all I had time enough to do was call on the name of Jesus. Just as I swerved off of the road, the guardrail was gone, and I was able to land in the grassy median. Hallelujah.” She stopped to think of what could have been, might have been, if it had not been for being covered by the blood.

      “I just want to thank the Lord for seeing me and my baby through, because you all could have gotten a bad report on this morning, but I know who Jesus is!” Mike finally made his way to the organ and gave the keys a hard hold. “He is a way maker.” The deep tune penetrated. “A bad report shaker.” Mike’s fingers danced across the keyboard, bringing others to their feet, clapping along with the tune.

      After the lady was able to dance in the spirit for a minute or two, she finally settled with a serene composure.