Chapter 48

             Shawanda hurried to her apartment door to see who was knocking so urgently.  As she opened it, she was surprised to see George dressed in a T-shirt and jeans and tennis shoes.

            "Hey, muscles, what are you doing here?"  She asked

            "I came to get you," he replied.

            "Me?" she questioned.  "For what?"  She queried further.

            "It's a surprise," he said as he glanced down to see that she was barefoot and dressed only in a pink night gown that was short enough to reveal the muscular form of her thighs.

            "Get dressed," he ordered.  "Casual," he added. 

            "Well...uh...come on in," she said as she scampered to her bedroom to change.

            George looked around her living room as she dressed.  He noticed pictures of Dr. Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, and other obviously famous black people whom George didn't recognize.

            "Can't you give me a hint of where we're going?"  She called out.

            "No!"  He replied.  "Not even a clue!"

            In a few minutes she reappeared and the two were out the door and climbing into George's car.  "Hey, where's Mrs. M?" Shawanda asked.

            "At home sleeping in," George answered nonchalantly.

            "Does she know you're with me?" Shawanda asked, hoping she wasn't being used in some mischevious way.

            "My wife and I are very open with each other."  George replied.  "She knows.  Don't worry; she knows."

            A few moments later they were out of town and on the highway.  Shawanda continued requesting to know their destination but George continued to refuse the information.

            Before long they were on a country road and driving through the woods.  George brought the car to a stop at the top of a hill overlooking a beautiful lake surrounded by leafy green foliage.

            Taking Shawanda by the hand, the two half walked, half slid down the steep hill.  At the edge of the lake, George uncovered a rowboat.  The two were soon out on the water with George paddling from one side of the boat to the other.

            "Wow, Muscles, you sure know how to impress a lady, don't you?"  Shawanda said.  "I still wish you were black and single, though!"

            "My dear Shawanda, didn't you make the statement that Jesus died for all people and that color, and features and hair texture should not separate people?"  George reminded her.

            Surprised, Shawanda threw her head back and laughed out loud.

            "Now, Muscles, you know that is not fair, I was under the anointing when I said those things."

            "If you were under the anointing, then it must be true."  He countered.  "Don't you agree we should live out God's truth?"

            "Uh...yes," she said hesitantly.  "Where are you headed with this?"

            The boat was out near the middle of the lake.  George gave it two more strong pushes of the paddle and then gently pulled Shawanda over to himself.  She sat between his legs with her back against his chest.  He wrapped his strong arms around her as the boat slowly floated across the lake.

            There came a pause as the two listened to the sounds around the lake.  A cricket somewhere in the brush along the edges of the lake.  The occasional fish that broke the surface of the water and the sound of a bird call in the distance.

            "Shawanda," he whispered in her ear.  "I love you and I want you to marry me."

            Shawanda was quiet but she squeezed his arms that were wrapped around her.  After a long while she responded.

            "George, you are one whale of a man.  Any girl could easily fall in love with you.  But I can't marry you.  You have a wife.  And as understanding as she might be, I want my Prince charming to be all my own, and nobody else's."

            "Maybe," she went on.  "Maybe I'm a fool to pass up an opportunity like this, but I can't marry you now.  Maybe someday, maybe."

            George was quiet, and heart sick.  He had planned everything so perfectly.  He hadn't counted on being turned down.  He paddled back to the edge of the water, put the boat away and then headed back toward her apartment.  He hadn't realized how much in love with her he was.

            Shawanda was concerned that she'd hurt her friend.  He was a man she cared for greatly, but she didn't want to jump into something and make a mistake.

            George never told her about his proposal to Judy and her answer, there seemed to be no need.  This would later turn out to be a mistake, but he wasn’t thinking clearly now.

            A week later, George and Judy spoke their vows in front of Juanita, Tabitha, Aaron, his wife, Cheryl and Charles.

            That night, their honeymoon night, Juanita took the kids and Tabitha to a motel and left the newlyweds in the house alone.  Judy was pleased to have a husband, a man in her life to love her and help take care of the kids.

            George was still thinking of Shawanda.  He was convinced God wanted her to be his as well.  If she was worth having, she was worth pursuing, he thought.  He determined he would not give up.

 THE END
(Part III)