JT had left Diana’s about an hour ago and was heading back to the church, but when Alicia had called to say she’d come home from the hospital to shower and change, he’d stopped by to see her for a few minutes.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said, hugging and kissing his wife and then leaning against the armoire, watching her finish getting dressed. “It’s a shame when a person can look as good as you do even in jogging pants and a T-shirt.”

“Why, thank you, sir,” she said, smiling. “Actually, it’s a little too warm outside to be wearing this, but it won’t be once I get back to the hospital because they have it freezing in there. It’s the reason I’m taking my jacket with me, too.”

“Yeah, they do keep it pretty cold. They do it because of all the germs sick people tend to have.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure.”

“So, there’s still no change in Rita’s condition?”

“No. None at all.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that.”

“So am I, and I really feel bad for Carmen. Which is why I was thinking that if her mom doesn’t get better very soon, I would really like to invite her to come stay with us for a while.”

JT swallowed the massive lump lodged in his throat and tried keeping his composure. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

Alicia squinted her eyes, clearly upset about his response. “And why is that?”

“Because, baby, we’re still newlyweds, and I don’t think we should be sharing our household with any outsiders. I mean, I know Carmen is a childhood friend of yours, but it’s not like you’ve been around her on a regular basis for years.”

“But she doesn’t have anyone else. She’s an only child and the few relatives she has all live out of town. And I just don’t think it’s good for her to be alone.”

“I’m sorry, baby, but moving her in here won’t work for me. I just can’t agree to something like that.”

Alicia walked over to him and locked her hands inside of his. “Honey, I realize you don’t really know Carmen, but she’s a good person and she really needs me right now. So, can you at least just think about it?”

“We can discuss this later, but I may as well tell you now that there’s no chance of me changing my mind.”

Alicia sighed. “Baby, why are you being so selfish? Especially at a time like this?”

“I’m not. But I’ve also never been in the habit of opening up my home to just anyone.”

“Carmen isn’t just anyone, and I thought this was my home, too.”

“Of course it is, but I’m not going to allow someone to stay here when I don’t even know if they can be trusted.”

Alicia released his hands and walked away from him.

“Baby, come on. Please don’t be upset with me about this.”

“You’re wrong,” she said, sitting down on the side of the bed, slipping into her gym shoes, and tying them up. “I mean, where’s your compassion?”

“My decision has nothing to do with that. I empathize with both Carmen and her mother, but letting Carmen move in here like she’s some loyal family member, well, that’s just not something I can do.”

Alicia didn’t say another word, so JT followed her downstairs. When she walked out to the garage, he set the alarm system and closed the door behind him.

“So, I guess you’re not speaking to me, huh?” he asked, realizing this was officially their first major disagreement. They’d had a few discussions that weren’t the most cordial, specifically the day she’d wanted to know about those accusations Barb had made, even though she thought Barb was someone named Donna, and also last Saturday when he’d lied and told her he had to go see a sick church member-that day when he’d actually spent the entire evening with Veda, but this argument was much more severe.

She opened her car door. “There’s not a lot else for me to say.”

“Can we talk about this some more when we get home tonight?”

“If you want,” she said, putting on her sunglasses.

“I do. And I love you.”

Alicia got in her vehicle, started the ignition, backed out of the garage, and drove off. JT did the same, but as he left their subdivision, he knew it was time to get rid of Carmen. It was time to cut her off and also find a way to end her relationship with his wife.

When JT steered his car into the church parking lot, closed the convertible top, and stepped out onto the asphalt, he saw Minister Payne and Minister Weaver heading inside. He had asked both of them to come in for a short meeting so he could update them on the marketing agenda, and he was glad they were right on schedule.

“Have a seat,” JT said when the three of them walked into his office, and JT went around and sat behind his desk. “This won’t take very long but since I’ve decided to go a slightly different route with the marketing plan in comparison to what we discussed three weeks ago, I wanted to fill you in. That way you can share it with the other ministers and officers when you have your weekly meeting with them this evening. Actually, I may stop in for a few minutes just in case they have questions.”

“Sounds good,” Minister Payne said.

However, Minister Weaver was a lot more forthcoming. “So, what’s the change?”

“Well, for one thing, I’ve hired a firm to coordinate and schedule a full broadcasting blitz. We’ll have spots promoting the church and myself, as well as what we can offer the overall community.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Minister Payne said. “Are we doing both radio and TV?”

“Yes, we’re doing both, although I’ve asked the ad rep to gear more of the money toward radio, specifically during the morning and evening drive times.”

“Good.”

“How long will these ads run for?” Minister Weaver asked.

“For at least a month.”

“On how many stations?”

“All the top stations in Chicago. Gospel, R &B, pop, and talk radio.”

Minister Weaver raised his eyebrows. “That sounds awfully costly, so how are we going to pay for all of this?”

“Well, that’s the good news,” JT said, smiling. “I’ve located several private donors who really believe in what we do here.”

“Who?” Minister Weaver asked. He was starting to annoy JT.

“I wish I could say, but these contributors have asked that I keep their identities confidential. Every one of them has made it clear that, while they are very happy to help get out God’s Word, they don’t feel the need to make their names known.”

Minister Weaver glared at JT, his eyes practically screaming the word “liar,” but JT ignored him.

“So, are both of you okay with this?”

“I’m more than fine with it,” Minister Payne said. “We need some daily publicity, and I think it’s a blessing that you’ve found a few good people who are happy to pay for it.”

“So, what about the committee we talked about creating?” Minister Weaver asked.

“We’re going to do that, too. Just not right away. Maybe in about a month or so. When this media blitz has completed, we’ll focus a lot more on the other things we discussed.”

Minister Weaver seemed skeptical, but this wasn’t the first time he had silently disagreed with something JT had come up with. In the end, though, Minister Weaver would basically back down because one fact always remained: JT was the founder of NLCC, and he really didn’t owe anyone any explanations about anything. Keeping the two of them, along with the others, abreast of any new business was mainly just a courtesy, but it definitely wasn’t something JT was required to do.

They reviewed the rest of this week’s schedule as well as this coming Sunday’s, and then JT said, “Well, unless you have something else, Glenn, Steve needs to speak with me on a private matter.”

“Of course,” Minister Weaver said, and stood up. “Also, have you had time to take a look at the information we spoke about at our last meeting?”

JT knew he was referring to his and the other ministers’ possible salary increase but said, “No, not yet. And with everything I have going on, I probably won’t get to that for a long while.”