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keep telling us, Z,” Eli said, trying to shut her up.
    “Yeah, chill, twin. You playing and praying all at the same time is messing up my concentration,” Zachary admonished.
    “You know, twin, if I were you, I’d get rid of that wicker furniture in your sunroom. Wicker is too close to wicked for me. You don’t want anything evil in your house, now, do you?” Zakia asked sincerely.
    “Now she’s calling my furniture evil. Girl, I’m really beginning to worry about you,” Zachary said.
    “I thought you study to get smart. You done got dumb, Z. You need to leave that Bible alone. It’s making you crazy, baby,” Eli said.
    Zakia just ignored their insults and continued to pray for them.
    Months passed, and to her family, Zakia was getting worse instead of better. She was alienating everybody who loved her in the name of getting them saved. She called out their sins and told them that their adultery, fornication, smoking, drinking, cursing, and gambling were going to land them in hell. Everyone avoided her except her sons. Zeke and JJ understood what she was saying. She took them to the eight o’clock service, leaving Jay behind. Eventually, she stopped going to Fig Tree Baptist altogether, not making it back from Faith in the Word in time, so Jay went alone.

Chapter Ten
    Z akia joined the Faith in the Word mass choir. Her desire to be a part of the creation of such a wonderful atmosphere overwhelmed her. Rehearsal was only one day a week, which gave her time to take a Bible class or two. She was also considering joining the soul-winning ministry. Zakia was aware that her methods of leading folks to Christ had been less than effective, and she deeply desired to sharpen her skills. Fitting these new activities into her schedule, along with the boys’ activities, became a real juggling act.
    Because her zest for advertising had all but disappeared, she was missing a lot of time from work. She had been analyzing her family’s portfolio and was seriously entertaining the thought of being a stay-at-home mom. Convincing Jay was the tricky part.
    “Honey, I’ve been thinking. There is a lot going on. Our portfolio is stronger than ever. Our assets alone are generating enough income to cover our expenses, and the boys’ college fund is working for us. I really feel this is a good time to be a stay-at-home mom.”
    “What about early retirement?” Jay asked.
    “Have you looked at our investments lately? You should work for Wall Street, baby.”
    Knowing they had been very fortunate that his risk-taking had yielded high returns, he had no argument. “Are you sure you’ll be fulfilled without your work?”
    “Oh, I’m positive.”
    “I hope this does it for you, Zakia. I’ve been tolerant and patient with you. You have me going to church alone, and that’s just not right. Maybe without so much on your mind you’ll see clearly and come to your senses.”
    “Oh, thank you, baby,” she said, hugging and kissing him.
Maybe I’ll learn how to convince him that he’s the one who needs to come to his senses about church,
she thought.
    As much as Zakia planned to be home by not having to report to an office, all her extra time was spent at church. Jay was not pleased. While she was working, he had overlooked something he was used to having. His mother, having been a housewife all his life, was always there for her family, so he knew what to expect from a stay-at-home wife. He complained to Zakia that things were not working out as he expected. Zakia still wasn’t home, her housekeeping didn’t meet his expectations, and they still didn’t talk to each other like they used to. They were speaking two different languages. He flat out refused to go back to Faith in the Word to learn this new language she was speaking, truly believing that everything was perfect before she found her new church.
    It wasn’t long before the Fig Tree Baptist women noticed Jay attending church alone and began to speculate. His family