Free His First Lady by Kym Davis Boyles

ceramic cup and handed it to Evan.
    Evan tried not to watch her too hard but Lady Rimes was flawless. From the makeup on her face to her immaculately tailored green suit; she was as impeccable as a mannequin in Niemen Marcus. The puke green might have looked awkward even gross on someone else but Nina Rimes wore it like God himself had made it just for her.
    Evan remembered that her mom was always well put together but Mrs. Rimes was on a whole new level of a pastor’s wife. She was what was considered the perfect pastor’s wife; exactly who Leon wanted her to be like and exactly who she wasn’t.
    Nina sat across from Evan and sipped her tea before looking up at Evan with a smile.
    “So, how long have you and Pastor Ladson been married?” Nina asked.
    “Um,” Evan answered before feeling a wet tingle on her foot. She looked down at the little Yorkie smelling her foot. She inadvertently tried to move her feet to divert the Yorkie’s attention to no avail. Nina seemed to notice.
    “Peaches, go sit down somewhere,” Nina said scolding the dog. She then looked back up at Evan. “You were saying.”
    “Eight years.” Evan picked up her cup and attempting to hold her cup just as Nina did with her perfect polished pinkie sticking up and out just a little. In trying so hard, the cup tipped slightly causing Evan to make a quick recovery preventing it from spilling all over herself.
    “That’s wonderful. But you’ve been at JMC for such a short period of time and your congregation has grown unbelievably and it just keeps growing. How did you two do it?”
    Evan shrugged in embarrassment. “Leon’s like that. He sees a vision and nothing stops him from achieving it.”
    Nina looked bewildered. “Leon? Just like a good First lady.” Nina smiled. “It’s hard for us to take any credit isn’t it?”
    Evan took another sip.
    “I find it amazing that such a young pastor has this huge church and doing such big things. God has no limits.”
    Evan nodded. “We’re certainly a long way from our storefront in Sacramento.”
    “I’ll say. How did you two meet?”
    “My dad was a pastor and Leon was the youth pastor at his church for years.” Evan sipped her tea feeling like she was on jeopardy. Seeming to sense her uneasiness, Nina scooted toward the side table, grabbed silver tongs and placed a shrimp cake on the saucer plate in front of Evan.
    “Please try these, I tried something new and of course be honest and tell me what you think.”
    Evan did as she was told. Evan paused after she placed the cake in her mouth. This woman was even an expert chef; what wasn’t she good at?
    “They are so delicious,” Evan said embarrassingly as if forgetting where she was as she ate the shrimp cake immediately wanting another.
    “Thank you,” Nina said as she sat back and crossed her legs smiling at Evan. “I admire you.”
    Evan coughed about to choke on the cake.
    “Young First ladies are so different from what we were. Gone are the big hats and dark hose; young and free. You don’t care what people think.”
    Evan didn’t know whether to smile or say, ‘thank you’. “I care what people think even when I shouldn’t.”
    Nina smiled. “Is your dad still a pastor?” Nina asked allowing Evan to escape the compliment.
    Evan shook her head. “No, he retired years ago.”
    “Why didn’t your husband take over that church?”
    Evan wasn’t ready for Nina’s questions and they all seemed so personal. She also didn’t want to tell Nina that her dad didn’t trust Leon and when he considered retirement told the church that Leon wasn’t the right one to take it over. But that wasn’t all and Evan remembered the encounter with her father as if it were yesterday.
    Sitting in her dad’s study nervous with watery eyes; she had never wanted to disappoint him and she had never disobeyed him but she loved Leon. Her father looked at her with his piercing brown eyes as serious as she had ever seen him only when he