The Choir Director Read Online Free Page B

voice.” The bishop gave me a huge smile of approval that made me proud.
    “Thank you. Coming from someone like yourself, that’s a real honor.”
    “How many people do you have in your choir?”
    “About twenty today, but it varies. Five of them aren’t worth a dime.”
    The bishop nodded his understanding. “What do you think you could do if you had fifty to a hundred members?”
    I sat there for a second, imagining the possibilities as a grin spread across my face. “Man, I’d blow the roof off the church.”
    He gave me a confident look. “I’m sure you would.”
    “Bishop, I appreciate your confidence, but I’ve already got a job. I’m the choir director at Mount Olive.”
    Pastor Jenkins tightened his grip on my shoulder. “That’s what I told him, Mackie.”
    “I know that, but don’t you think it’s time you moved up from the minor leagues to the majors?” Bishop Wilson turned to Reverend Jenkins. “No offense, Pastor.”
    The pastor gave him a sideways look but said nothing. I’m sure he was pissed off.
    “I think it would be quite an opportunity for you. Here you only have about twenty choir members. If you come to New York, you would have your pick of two or three hundred voices. A young man like you could become a big star in New York, Mackie. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had a national championship of your own next summer.”
    “I’m just a country boy from Emporia, Bishop. What would I know about being a star in the big city?”
    Of course, I was displaying false modesty. I’d always wanted to be a big star. I didn’t know a choir director who didn’t. I’d studied every choir I could. Heck, Kirk Franklin didn’t have nothing on me. To a huge extent, the bishop was right; I was stuck with a bunch of no-talent hicks, and look what I’d done with them. Man, if I had a real choir that I could handpick, there’d be no stopping me.
    “You probably didn’t know this, but I’m just a country boy, too—from Richmond. So I know what you mean, but some would say I had a gift: a gift that would never have reached its potential here in central Virginia. I believe you have a gift, Mackie. You have a gift to entertain and spread the Word through song. You should be spreading that gift on a bigger stage. I can help you do that.”
    Wow, this dude was deep, and he made a lot of sense. “Okay, let’s just say I was interested—and I’m not saying I am—but if I was, how much money are we talking about?”
    The bishop smiled as if he knew he was about to answer my prayers. “How much do you make now?”
    “About three hundred sixty a week, not including funerals and weddings when I play the piano.”
    “We’re willing to offer you fifty thousand dollars a year and the same deal. You keep all the wedding and funeral money.Plus, we’ll lease you any Cadillac you like. One of our members owns a dealership.”
    I sat up on the edge of the sofa. “Any Caddie? That includes the Escalade?”
    “It sure does, a 2011, any color you want. I’ve got one myself, although I’m a Mercedes man. We usually switch up every two years.” The bishop kept smiling, and so did I. He really did have the answers to my prayers. It sure would be nice to drive a new car instead of the beat-up 1999 hooptee I had parked outside.
    “So, what do you think?” he asked.
    I glanced over at Reverend Jenkins, whose arm was no longer around my shoulder. He was looking a little agitated, probably because he was afraid I was going to break my promise to Pastor Simmons and leave him high and dry. The thing is, though, if the roles were reversed and Reverend Jenkins were offered the opportunity to go preach for a megachurch, I wasn’t sure that he’d be sticking around to honor a promise to our dead mentor either.
    The chances of that kind of offer coming along were pretty slim, though. It wasn’t as if Reverend Jenkins gave the type of enlightening sermons that made everyone flock to a church. No, if our little