"I'm well." She nodded and then with her hand, motioned toward me. “But I’m not the only one standing here.”

The woman — Sharonne — turned back to me. "Hi."

I frowned, wondering where all the hate was coming from. "Hello."

The woman moved to the other side of First Lady Blake, leaned over, getting her face closer to the mirror, checked her reflection, then fluffed her stylish bob before she spun and sashayed toward the door. "You have a great day, First Lady,” she said over her shoulder.

We were silent until the door closed behind her. Then First Lady Blake said, “And that right there — that’s what I was just talking about. She’s one of those wolves who wants what you have."

I pressed my hand against my chest. “What I have?”

“Yes. You have Jeremy and that’s who she wants. So you better stake your claim and then get ready because these women out here, when it comes to pastors....”

She left her words there but she didn’t have to say much more. I knew what she was talking about. I’d lived the struggle, I knew the story.

But I guess I hadn’t really been paying attention to the women who had shown interest in Jeremy. I mean, yeah, I’d noticed lots of them always taking long looks at him, but that wasn’t any kind of surprise. Jeremy Williams was everything that a young woman would want in a man — he was fine and he had a future.

"Don't worry," First Lady Blake said as if she were reading my mind. "Jeremy has no interest in anyone else, especially not someone like Sharonne, who thinks it’s attractive to show all her goodies. A man like Jeremy will choose his forever companion carefully and while Sharonne would be good for a roll in bed, she’d never be the woman who’d stand next to him at the altar. But women like Sharonne don't go away peacefully. So you have to stake your claim." She tapped my shoulder. "Jeremy has the talent to go far. But there is more to this journey than just having talent. And you have what it takes to help Jeremy rise to the next level. You hear me?"

I nodded. “I do.” I’d heard her for sure, loud and clear.

“Good.” She patted my hand. “I’ll be praying for you and Jeremy. “You just take care of your business.”

Again, I nodded, then stayed in place as First Lady Blake checked her reflection before she did her own runway strut out of the bathroom. When the door closed, I turned toward the mirror, rested my hands on the counter and let out a long breath.

That little encounter with Sharonne had reminded me of the vow I’d made just six years ago. Was I sure about this? Did I want to move forward to see where this would lead with Jeremy when there were so many wolves preying on pastors out there?

But then, I looked up at the mirror and I thought about Jeremy and how I loved being with him. I loved sitting with him and talking and laughing. I loved studying with him and how he always knew the right answer when I was stuck on a problem with statistics. I loved reading the Bible with him and our discussions of the living God in our lives.