A Good Thing

By Stacey Evans Morgan

Love is patient…Love is kind…
When Love finds you, it's...A GOOD THING

Pilar Davenport has it all: beauty, brains and a boss career. Oh yeah, and the man of her dreams. Life is right on schedule until her wedding plans are abruptly put on hold. While Pilar thinks her perfectly planned life is spiraling out of control, it's actually about to fall right into place.

From California to Canada, D.C. to Paris, Pilar is on a search for her soul mate. Of course, the journey won't be all rosy, but it won't take long for Pilar to discover anything worth having, is going to take a little work and a whole lot of patience. Just when Pilar settles on being single....she discovers the good thing she's been missing!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brown Girls Publishing
• Release date: May 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781944359546

Stacey Evans Morgan

Stacey Evans Morgan is a television writer and producer with credits on scripted series such as LOVE THAT GIRL, THE PARKERS, ONE ON ONE, JAMIE FOXX SHOW and live programs The NAACP Image Awards and The Gracie Awards. She is also a published poet, essayist, motivational speaker and President/CEO of SEM PRO Inc., a production company creating content for TV, film and new media platforms. Stacey resides in Los Angeles, California with her husband and daughter where she continues to #writethevision and as an author, she is proud to present A GOOD THING, her debut novel. Follow her on Twitter@SEMorgan and Facebook.com/staceyevansmorgan

Book preview

A GOOD THING © 2017 by Stacey Evans Morgan

Brown Girls Publishing, LLC

Brown Girls Faith

www.BrownGirlsBooks.com

ISBN:

978-1-944359-54-6 (Digital)

978-1-944359-55-3 (Print)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical or photocopying or stored in a retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages to be included in a review.

First Brown Girls Publishing LLC trade printing Manufactured and Printed in the United States of America

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It is reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

Cover photography be www.ososeoboh.com

Acknowledgments

Writing my debut novel has been an amazing, humbling experience and a creative goal of mine for some time now. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of my faith and because I can do ALL things through Him, I will continue to #WriteTheVision.

Thank you, Victoria Christopher Murray, ReShonda Tate Billingsley and the dynamic Brown Girls Books team. I am grateful for your vision and guidance throughout this process.

To my mom Barbara Evans, your unwavering faith in me, unconditional love, constant supply of encouragement and inspiration keep me going even when you find yourself asking, What is my daughter up to now? you always know it’s something good and I am grateful to share my journey with you. To my father, Benzell Evans, you have been there every stage of my life and your ambition is what motivates me to turn my dreams into reality. Your love and words of affirmation are a blessing to my soul. Dr. Karla Scott, thank you for being my creative confidante from 3,000 miles away. Girl, you have been there from the beginning of this project and your constructive feedback means more to me than you’ll ever know.

Thank you Bechir Sylvain, Dinora Walcott Alexander, Yvonne Orji, Kameshia Duncan, Thomas Lazare, Ben Cain, Steven Turner and Destiny Lightsy for gathering around my dining room table and in the studio years ago to read through the original version of this story and giving life to my characters.

Your tremendous talent is a blessing and may your gifts continue make room for you. Family is everything to me and the Evans family rolls deep with love and support. In addition to Mom and Dad, thank you Bentley, Valicia, Kylee, Bentley Jr., Lamonte, Ola, Lauren, Chloe (Tarikh, Cairo, TJ, Tru), Lamonte Jr., Ronald, Dr. Ronnie, Adrian & Sanai, Ontreal & Herb, Nile & Julia (welcome to the family Julia a/k/a/ Mrs. Evans, Nile Jr., Gia and Eden) Benzell (Terry) & Anita, Dominic, James (Elias) Melanie and Tre’ Davis (Sophia, Olivia and Victoria) Steven & Andrea Bullock, Symone, Sydney, LaNelle Sauceda (Riley), Margo & Randall Smith (Zaria, Zachary, Sheldon). Thank you to the other branches of my family tree: The Kilgores, Grahams, Groves, Crawley/Crowley, Johnsons, Sims, Doyles and my family-in-love, The Morgans, Shepherds and Telesfords. Love to my extended family: Deneen Hadley-Carter, Shaun Earl, Terza West-Dantzler, Jack & Sheryl Lightsy, Dr. Beverly BAM Crawford and the O.G. WU-Crew: Sherri, Chrystal, Camille, Kim G.W., Kim S, Wendy, Chizz and Buffy. If your name is missing from this list, please know that you are not missing from my heart!

Speaking of heart…To my Hubbyboyfriend Dwight, thank you for your love, protection, support, and for embracing my creative process. Your words of exhortation and admiration of my creativity is a blessing and the wind beneath my wings. Maia and Myles, I love you, I am proud of you and here for you always. To my darling Amali Christine, from the time you were born, you have given my life new purpose, teach me a whole new definition of love and you will always be my latest, greatest inspiration. I love you with my life!

To all my supporters, mentors, mentees and prayer warriors… thank YOU and God bless you always in ALL ways.

-SEM

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Autumn...

CHAPTER ONE

I loved the crisp, cool and evident change of season the east coast offers. It was my absolute favorite time of the year, fashion-wise, and I was reminded of that intoxicatingly gorgeous fall day in the nation’s capital where I was finally feeling like an east coast girl. Not that my west coast upbringing was anything to be ashamed of. I was proud to be a Los Angeles native living and loving life in Washington, D.C. I couldn’t wait to rock my new suede, chocolate brown Stuart Weitzman boots that paired perfectly with the camel, brown and mauve tweed skirt and sweater ensemble I bought from Ann Taylor. It was just cool enough to finish my fall look with my favorite faux vintage swing coat that hugged my waist like it had a crush on me. Lord & Taylor always had a good coat sale and that cashmere coat was a good investment. If there was ever a time when I woke up feeling fierce, this was one of those days.

I would often use Massachusetts Avenue as my personal catwalk, taking power walks or enjoying the cityscape on the way to lunch. Even now I chuckle, thinking back on times when I would catch a glimpse of myself in a storefront window and imagine Ru Paul affirming my strut with a series of finger snaps and his signature, You, betta, werrrrk!

That particular day for lunch, I decided to venture over to Union Station, where my favorite gourmet sandwich shop was located at the food court along with many boutiques perfect for window and or impromptu shopping sprees. There’s an old saying: When you look good, you feel good and with my hair and makeup just right, I felt great.

As I got closer to the train station, a woman with great looking hair and makeup offered a friendly nod of admiration, just as the impeccably dressed man exiting a nearby business office nodded with approval as he watched me strut. Now, whether it was the fact that I looked good or because I was high-stepping to the sounds of Jill Scott blaring through my earbuds as I unashamedly sang out loud causing folks within close proximity to look in my direction, didn’t matter because as I proudly proclaimed along with Miss Jill, I was in fact living my life like it was golden.

Entering Union Station was always an aesthetically pleasing experience. The classic architectural lines and pristine white granite always caused me to stop for a moment of appreciation. It was as if I walked into a moment in history and I would imagine how many famous individuals had stood in my same spot, headed to destinations up and down the eastern seaboard. My craving for a sandwich from Au Bon Pain was calling my name and as I stepped onto the steep escalator headed down to the food court, my inner model/alter ego decided to strike several poses, giving upward bound riders a quick fashion show working that bad ass coat.

During one of my silly poses leaning against the rail, I noticed a handsome gentleman drinking coffee while reading the Washington Post. Brother looked good, minding his own business when suddenly without warning, he glanced up and caught me staring at him. Busted! I tried to play it off by shifting my focus away from him and onto the nearest random object... a coffee cup, sitting on a table in front of Starbucks. Could this escalator move any faster? I thought to myself as people were blocking the only pathway that could’ve given me any shot of making a mad dash. As my boots hit the landing, I dashed in the opposite direction of the man, intentionally going the long way to Au Bon Pain. I don’t know why it is embarrassing when you catch people staring at you. People do it all the time, but for some reason, when someone suddenly locks eyes with you locking eyes with them, it’s just weird.

Anyway, I was safely out of eyeshot of the guy and headed to satisfy my hunger with the most delectable sandwich, the Newport Turkey: A grilled sandwich, on toasted sourdough, with cheddar cheese, avocado and zesty honey mustard... Yummy! A while later, I was nestled into a booth with my food, a bottle of water and my tablet where I was engrossed in a great book while destroying my sandwich, when I noticed the guy from earlier walking in my direction.

I know he is not coming over here. I shook off the thought and continued to eat. Before I could wipe the honey mustard from the corner of my mouth, I looked up to see the man now standing in front of my table. Awkward! He gave a cool, confident, direct, Good afternoon.

Hello, I offered back as I grabbed a napkin and tried to discreetly dab my mouth.

He flashed a smile, reminiscent of the one I witnessed as he caught me staring at him. I saw you earlier, and you looked so beautiful coming down that escalator, I had to at least come and introduce myself. I’m Kendall.

And I’m flattered and embarrassed, I responded. Embarrassed, why? You were striking poses and working that invisible camera like you were America’s past, present and next top model, he continued with a slight snicker.

I couldn’t help but giggle back. The invisible camera? Yeah, I am officially embarrassed. I’m Pilar.

Kendall laughed, but reassured me that I should not be embarrassed. He extended his hand, and I shook it as he continued explaining that he missed his train to New York just to see if I was still on the premises and he was happy that I was.

You missed your train intentionally? I asked.

He told me there was another one coming soon and repeated his reason for missing it.

I couldn’t help blurting out, That is really... Crazy? he said completing my question. Yes, and sweet, I assured him.

Relieved, Kendall took the liberty of letting me know that he was in D.C. pretty often on business and wanted to know if he could call me next time to perhaps have lunch. That was kind of you to miss your train just to meet me, but I’m going to have to decline the offer because, I’m...

Married? he chimed in. Engaged to be, I informed him.

He glanced down to notice the nearly flawless three-karat diamond Tiffany engagement ring sparkling back at him. Thus that nice rock on your finger. Well, it was definitely worth a shot and for what it’s worth, your man is a very lucky brother. He is a brother, right?

I couldn’t help but laugh as I answered with a simple, Yes.

An announcement rang over the P.A. system: TRAIN TO PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK CITY, NOW APPROACHING AT GATE C, TRACK 29.

That was his train, and he expressed his pleasure meeting me, calling me beautiful Pilar and wished all the best and so much more for me, and my man.

My man... Jonathan Bradshaw, Esq. The man I loved and would marry within weeks, never crossed my mind during this entire exchange with Kendall. I guess it was just refreshing to have a nice conversation with a brother who knew how to step correctly to a woman. In my experience, east coast men were a little more direct approaching women as opposed to some, not all men on the west coast who used a more laid back, wait for women to step to them approach.

I thanked Kendall for his well-wishes, we said goodbye and I watched him briefly as he walked away, then I remembered the remains of my sandwich waiting for me and diverted my attention back to my plate and enjoyed the last few delectable bites before heading back to work.

CHAPTER TWO

Exactly one week later, I went for my final bridal gown fitting at Winnie Couture in Beverly Hills, California. I decided to schedule the fitting around the festive bachelorette weekend my best friends Sunny and Karma had planned for me.

Sunny Garrett, my