When All Hell Breaks Loose Read Free Page B

closed the shop and we rented movies.”
    “Did she stay the night?”
    “Shreese, does it matter?”
    “Greg, I’m just asking, you don’t have to be so irritated with me. I guess the devil must have been welcoming you to the floor when you stepped out of bed.”
    “There was no devil in my room this morning, okay? Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I asked Adrian to marry me and she said yes.”
    Shreese gets loud. “What?! Marriage! Oh Lord Jesus help.”
    “Yeah. Quit tripping.”
    “Did you pray about this decision?”
    “Time told me she was the one,” I reply smartly. “I’ve known her long enough to realize I want to marry her.”
    “Three years ain’t diddly-squat, Gregory.” Shreese looks out the window. “Lord have mercy on us all.” Her fingers tap lightly on the Bible that is lying on her lap. “The Bible says that fornication is an impurity and a work of the flesh. How do you think you got a good woman from this kind of behavior?”
    “Shreese, it’s no secret to you that I’m not a virgin. And it’s no secret to you that my fiancée is not a virgin, but that don’t make us impure or less loving.”
    “You haven’t read your Bible lately, have you, big brother? Because if you had you wouldn’t be saying such devilment.”
    I switched on the radio to interrupt our conversation as I whip onto Camp Wisdom Road, less than a mile from the restaurant.
    Shreese begins humming along with the gospel tune that’s playing. I can feel her staring at me again, so I look back at her.
    “Now what?”
    “Have you told Daddy?”
    “Not yet. I was planning on stopping by the house this afternoon to tell him.”
    “You should have told us you were at least thinking about gettingmarried,” she mumbled. “You didn’t even consider your own family for something this serious.”
    “Shreese, it was a last-minute thing. I bought the ring just two weeks ago.”
    “We should have known you were buying it,” she snapped. “Two weeks is hardly last-minute, Greg.”
    “What’s with you? Why do you seem to be having such a hard time with me marrying Adrian?”
    “Because, Greg, you two have been fornicating and Lord only knows what kind of living Adrian does. She’s too worldly.” Shreese pushes a loose strand of hair back up into the neat bun on her head.
    I’m annoyed at my sister’s badgering and accusations. “What is that supposed to mean?”
    “She’s a hairdresser, for crying out loud. Pastor Dixon says the salons are full of wild, worldly women. You need to make sure you’re not fooling yourself.”
    “So when you go get your hair done, you aren’t being worldly either?” I challenge.
    Shreese looks at me as if I have insulted her. “No, I am not a worldly woman. I don’t sit in there and gossip. I talk about the goodness of Jesus and I try to share with those women the true walk of a virtuous woman. As soon as my stylist is finished, I pay her and walk out of the fires of damnation untouched, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! Thank you Jesus!” Shreese throws her hands up and closes her eyes like it hurts to think about getting her hair done.
    “Shreese, Pastor Dixon is not in a position to tell you what worldly is, because it seems he hasn’t looked in the mirror lately. While he runs around keeping his congregation from having nice things, like a church with proper air-conditioning, you-all dig deep every Sunday and have managed to put him in a big church, fancy clothes, and a Mercedes. Sounds like he’s worldly to me. A worldly fool at that.”
    “Watch how you talk about a man of God, Gregory!” Shreese slams her hand on her Bible as if that alone will protect Dixon. “And let me tell you something. Loving a woman of the world is damnationon your soul. Blessed not is the man who walks in the company of sinners.”
    I pull my car into the parking lot at Chili’s. It screeches to a halt. Shreese is still looking at me. I have to set her straight. “Look, I love