I finally said, “That’s not going to happen, Dru.”

She shrugged. “You never know. Someone may step up. So what are you and Jeremy going to get into?”

I turned my glance back to him and sighed. “I don’t know. I’ll hang out with him for a little while at least. He misses Reverend Robinson so much.”

“Yeah, well.” Then, she leaned closer to me and whispered, “Baby! He had a baby,” but before she noticed the shocked look on my face, she scooted up the aisle laughing all the way to the door. I couldn’t imagine what she would do if she were to ever find out that she’d been right, but she needed to make baby plural.

Turning back to Jeremy, I yearned to be by his side just in case he needed me. But he was in full-fledge campaign mode and standing beside him wouldn’t have been appropriate. I was not his wife. So I turned, maneuvered to the left, then, dipped into the ladies' room.

Moving to the lounge part of the area, I pulled out my cosmetic bag, rested it on the counter and just as I began to powder my face, First Lady Eunice Blake pushed open the door and sauntered in.

I’d always said that if she hadn’t been a First Lady, she would’ve been a heck of a full-figured model because not only did she have the features, she had the style...and then, she had that strut.

“Ginger.” She also had a Boston accent that I loved. “It is so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too, First Lady Blake.”

I’d shared several meals with her at the Robinson’s home, especially after her husband, Reverend Evander Blake passed away about a year and a half ago. He’d been the pastor of First United Missionary Baptist, our sister church. But First Lady Blake had left the church that her husband had pastored for over twenty years after their board elevated Reverend Blake’s arch rival (one of the deacons who’d been trying to bring the Blakes down) into the role of Senior Pastor. She’d been an unofficial member of Pilgrim’s Rest ever since.

“I’m glad we’re going to have a few moments here.” She glanced around the lounge. “Are we here alone?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, I think so.”

She moved to the space outside of the lounge that held three stalls, checked it out, then returned to where I was standing. “It’s just us.”

As she leaned toward me, my heart began to pound. Suppose she wanted to talk to me about the Robinsons? Suppose she knew about Shaniqua? No! I didn’t want to talk about anything or anyone.

Even though she knew we were alone, First Lady Blake still lowered her voice. “What’s the deal with you and Jeremy?”

Her question made me blink, made me lean back a little. “Oh!” I paused and tried to rewind my thoughts. “Well...uh... I’m not sure what you mean. We’re really good friends.”