Sunday service had already started as Regina Lunkins took a sip of water while the choir prepared to sing. She was the main soloist at Saint Matthews Baptist Church for more than twenty years. At sixty-five she lead the choir with poise and the congregation always compared her voice to the legend, Whitney Houston. She appreciated the compliment but she never thought that she could compare to the songstress that was Whitney.

She watched the choir director stand and motion for the choir to follow. Regina walked up to the microphone and waited for her cue to start. She watched the men and women behind her rock back and forth as the song started. The first selection of the service was her favorite and found that most of the congregation always wanted to hear it once a month.

She loved the look on the faces of the pastor and the congregation when she opened her mouth and the silky sounds of her voice filtered through the hundred year old church. She always lost herself in the words of the songs and today she didn’t feel any different. People rocked and shouted their praise as she started the second verse of the song.

Then it stopped. Regina heard the music; heard the choir behind her, but didn’t hear the lyrics that she was supposed to sing. Seconds ticked by slowly as she tried to form the words that went with the song. She couldn’t remember. There was nothing there. She didn’t know what part she was on, where to start, or what word came next. She could see the look of confusion on the faces of the church but she didn’t know what to do. The choir direction gave a motion, asking if she wanted to start over and she shook her head no. She knew that even if she started over, she wouldn’t be able to get past this part.

The choir started the next verse with hope that she would start again. Regina fought back tears as she felt the words move past her lips and was able to finish the song. The congregation applauded and cheered as if the faux pas never happened, but to her there was no recovery. She had never missed a song or a note in the twenty years she’d been in the choir. The wave of disappointment was heavy and only felt better as she took her seat with the choir.

Church moved smoothly after her mishap. She seemed to remember the words to the last song on the program and everything seemed to be normal. She had taken off her robe and was headed down the aisle saying her goodbyes. When she turned to leave, she could hear the ladies behind her talking about how she had forgotten the words. Whispers continued as she walked down the steps and made it to her car.

Regina looked at the people of the church as they all talked and walked to their own cars. She prided herself in performing for the church and when she forgot the words, she knew that she would be the talk of the church until another problem happened next week. She turned on her car and cranked up the air to beat the summer heat. Once she was comfortable, she pulled out of the parking lot, ready to head home and get her Sunday dinner ready.

It took Regina thirty minutes to make it home instead of her normal fifteen. She drove and made a wrong turn and it took her forever to figure out her way through the neighborhood to make it to her modest home. Once dinner was done, she made the decision to talk with her doctor. There were too many things going on and she had to make sure that it wasn’t some side effect of her new medicine. She wake up early and make an appointment to see her doctor.