I left the main sanctuary and followed Shonda. Down a long winding hall we walked. For what seemed like a mile we walked. She was silent; I was still on a high. Finally we arrived at the pastor’s study.

Shonda knocked twice quickly, then three times slowly, then once, pause, and then once more, pause, then twice more very quickly. After several seconds the door slowly swung open. Shonda stepped aside, motioned her arm for me to enter.

“Aren’t you coming inside?” I asked.

“Oh no. Nobody ever enters the pastor’s study after evening service. You must be very special.” She smiled, turned, and then quickly walked down the hall.

She was acting a little strange but it didn’t matter. I was still drunk in the spirit, still high from what had added up to a little over six and a half hours of non-stop preaching, praising, and purification. Yes, I was special and Curtis was the man. He was God’s man. And I was God’s man’s first lady. I had just taken the liberty of personally upgrading Curtis from business to first class.

I paused before entering the study. For a moment, I made believe that the doorsill was a threshold, and after stepping into the study I would appear in a long, flowing, winter-white lace gown and Curtis would be dressed in a three-quarter-length black tuxedo with his signature powder blue bowtie. First, we would pray together. Next, we would make passionate love together. Spiritual love. The kind of lovemaking that no ordinary man could provide. The kind of lovemaking that would last through this lifetime and the next. The kind of lovemaking that would make the earth move. Suddenly Curtis looked better than Denzel. His body more chiseled than 50 Cent’s.

I stepped carefully into the room, and there he was, just as I had expected. Looking heavenly. Illuminated, almost as if a light outlined his body. This was heavy. This was holy.

“Sister Montana. I’m so glad you could make it. You being here caused quite a stir in the congregation. Whether you know it or not, I’ve been looking for a first lady for quite some time now, and though I have a church full of single women, God spoke to me and told me that my wife wouldn’t come from inside the church. Not even from inside the state. God told me to get my house in order. For my bride would come without warning, without notice. She would appear like a thief in the night. My heart she would steal, the empty spaces in my life she would fill.”