Playing Hard To Get
6. He wants to sleep with you: This is when a man might not even know he’s lying. The smaller head thinks for the bigger one and anything is liable to come out.
5. He’s already lied before: Sometimes he needs to cover the little lie with a medium lie and then the medium lie with a large and ridiculous lie—which is usually when he gets caught.
4. He doesn’t want you to cry: Crying is a man’s kryptonite. It makes these natural protectors soften. If he loves you, he’ll say anything to avoid seeing you cry.
3. He’s been caught: Some lies are told to stay out of trouble. Other lies are told to get out of trouble. If he knows that you know he’s lied, a lie might be created to avoid punishment. Opening line: “I lied before, but now I’m telling the truth.”
2. He loves you: Love is a gift and a curse. If he loves you, he’ll lie to keep you.
1. He’s a liar: Over time, lying can become a reflex. If he thinks the truth might cause conflict, he’ll lie…just because he can.
?
After a lengthy prayer where Troy happened to open her eyes and see that she and Myrtle were the only women whose eyes had been closed—everyone else was looking directly at Troy (one woman even gave her a thumbs-up)—things went as usual at the Virtuous meeting. The bake sale was planned. They voted not to accept any contributions that included alcohol—on account of a rumor that one of the Sunday school children purposely purchased and ate an entire rum raisin pound cake to see if he could get drunk. Also, they would move ahead with plans to cosponsor a block party with the women of the Rosary Society at the Catholic church on the corner—as long as they agreed to ban alcohol and gambling (in the form of playing bingo) on site. Last year, the mixture of BYOB and seemingly Catholic-only winning at the bingo game had led to a brawl on the church steps.
“Now that we have old business out of the way,” Myrtle said, shifting some unimportant papers around and handing a few to a tense Troy, “let’s go ahead with any new business. Do we have anything from the floor?”
What was supposed to be a ten-second pause for additions amounted to two seconds, and without fully scanning the room, Myrtle went on to what she’d wanted to add to the new business.
“Well,” she continued, “if there aren’t any other—”
“Wait a minute now, girl,” a gruff and defiant voice interrupted from the far end of the table. It was Eloise Perkins, a church mother whose age alone gave her the right to be feisty.
“Yes, Mother Perkins, I apologize,” Myrtle said, rolling her eyes a bit. “What is it? Do you have new business? You know we’ve already planned the bake sale?”
“Girl, I’m old, not deaf. I’ve been sitting in this room just as long as you.”
> There were some laughs and even Myrtle dealt a courteous smile.
“Now, I think someone in here has something to say,” Mother Perkins went on. “Something that we all need to hear.”
Troy literally felt what little courage she’d had leave her. Quickly she’d transformed from a fierce feline pumped up on her Queen Bee mission to the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz. It was as if a microphone had been jabbed in her hand and cameras were rolling, awaiting some wise word she hadn’t written yet.
“Someone? Who?” Myrtle snickered. “New business? Is there anyone?”
From her place on the other side of the table, Kiona looked at Troy and wrestled with Troy’s lack of confidence with bugged-out eyes. Troy was saying, “No,” and Kiona was saying, “You’d better.”
Troy kept thinking she couldn’t lead them. She couldn’t lead all of these women. She knew half of what they knew. They needed someone else, someone like Myrtle who was saved and knew the Word. Someone who wouldn’t lead them the wrong way like she’d done to Kyle, inviting the incubus and succubus into their bedroom. What was she thinking? She had no right to step in and take over. She couldn’t. That was just some angry talk she’d had with her friends at a bar she probably shouldn’t have visited—she’d have to remind herself to pray about that.
Finally, Kiona broke her stare.
“Well, since no one has anything, I’ll just go ahead with my—I mean our—new business,” Myrtle said and the groan in the room was audible, yet she ignored it. She’d been waiting for weeks to bring this suggestion to the women. “Now, I’m so excited about this new venture for us, sisters. For years, the Virtuous Women have stood for leadership, self-love, and a commitment to Christ. What we are, sisters, are strong black Christian women who humbly worship a living God.”
“That’s right!” Mother Wildren agreed jovially.
“Amen,” someone else said and others clapped.
“Now, as we celebrate that, we must also consider how visible our image is in the church,” Myrtle said as Troy and the others tried to figure out what she was adding up. “Now, I know that image might not be as important to some of you, but we must understand that if we are not known, others won’t know our way. Won’t be aware of just how committed we are to our worship, to our ministry. Before I get to my point, I’d like to point out that right now, more than 60 percent of our church is women. Fifteen women serve in leadership positions. And while all of this is true, no women sit at the altar on Sunday morning. Does that make any sense?”
There was silence as the women thought of who they saw sitting on either side of Kyle every Sunday. From the deacons to the assistant pastor and the head of the men’s ministry, Myrtle was correct; they were all men. Even Saptosa, the secretary, who was in the room, was always instructed to sit in the first pew.
“But that’s just how it is,” said Elizabeth, the church treasurer and Myrtle’s confidante who’d preplanned her seemingly even statement, “how it’s always been. I’ve been here for ten years and I don’t recall any woman ever sitting up there. Maybe you’re right…maybe it is time for a change.”
“Oh please, those are the rules of the house. They always have been. Why change them now?” Mother Perkins asked.
“Well, I think that’s a good question,” Myrtle said. “I have given it lots of thought and I think we need to change because it’s time. Women don’t simply sit in the pews anymore. We work, we lead, we teach. We should be recognized for that.”
“Well, what are you proposing?” Kiona asked and she was probably the only person who’d figured out what exactly Myrtle was about to pull out of her metaphorical bag.