by Emma Easter
*****
Audrey stood up and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. She usually left the station much later than this, but today, she was going to see the mayor . . . again. Her recent email to the mayor’s office had been ignored. Mayor Stanley had appointed someone else to fill the position that was meant to be hers. After her visit to the Town Hall, where she was informed that the mayor wasn’t in town, she had called several times without getting a solid answer. Finally, she had gotten through to the mayor, and he'd asked her to come and see him today.
She grabbed her bag from the floor, walked out of her office, and nodded at a few of the officers who greeted her. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone today. She quickly walked past the new chief’s office so he wouldn’t see her and then left the building. As she got into her police vehicle, her phone began to ring. She unzipped her bag and brought it out. Surprised when she saw it was Trisha calling, she answered.
“Hi, Trisha, what’s up?”
“Audrey, can I come over to the station now? I need to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” Audrey frowned. Trisha sounded like she had been crying.
“It’s Stan. I think he’s cheating on me.”
Audrey exhaled. This was why she wasn’t keen on getting married or even being in a relationship. Most people she knew who were married or were in committed relationships had serious, never-ending problems with their spouses.
“Trisha, I’m not available now. I’m going to see the mayor. After that, I’ll probably go to the Gibson’s’ house to see the new abuse victims they just took into their home. I’ll be home before eight o’clock, though. Can you come to the house then?”
“Umm, Stan will be returning from his business trip this evening. I want to be home when he does. I’ll come over to the house tomorrow evening.” She sighed heavily and asked, “Have you spoken to Sienna? I’ve been trying to reach her for days.”
Audrey pursed her lips. If Trisha’s husband didn’t so consume her time, she would have known their baby sister hadn’t been available for a couple of weeks. Now that she’d confirmed that her dear husband had been cheating on her, she finally remembered there were other family members apart from him.
“I think she’s fine. Give her time. She’ll call you.”
“I can . . .”
“Listen, Trish, I have to go,” Audrey interrupted her. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Audrey drove to the Town Hall, zooming past Hattie’s popular Bed & Breakfast, and New Day Fellowship, the interdenominational church she attended. She arrived in five minutes, parked her car beside the mayor’s black SUV and put on her police hat.
She looked up at the Town Hall, a brown and white brick building with a steeple, and began to climb the stairs. She entered the building with a firm determination to successfully state her case to the mayor. When she walked up to the receptionist, the young woman named Rita who had worked as a receptionist here for only about a year greeted her.
“I have an appointment with the mayor,” Audrey told her. Rita made a quick call and then smiled at her.
“He’ll see you now.”
Audrey thanked her and quickly made her way to the mayor’s office. She knocked and then entered. Mayor Stanley, a portly bald man of some fifty years of age, shook her hand and then asked her to sit. She sat in front of him and took a deep breath before she spoke.
“You’re a hard man to reach, Mayor, but I know you’ve received my emails and messages.” She paused for a few seconds, but when he said nothing, she continued speaking. “I’ve served in the Rosefield Police Force and risen to my present position through my own hard work. Every position I have risen to was all because I earned it.”
She began to tell him about her contributions to the force, her passion for her job, and how well she had handled the role of acting chief of police. “That’s why I was considerably disheartened when you ignored all that and appointed someone else the police chief.” She ended her speech.
The mayor threaded his fingers together and looked her in the eye. “Assistant Chief Gardner, I reviewed your petitions and complaints, and I’m sorry to tell you this, but my decision stands. I appreciate your years of service, and I hope you will continue to faithfully serve the people of Rosefield beside the new chief of police.”
“But I . . .”
“I am truly sorry,” Mayor Stanley said with finality.
Anger wrapped itself around her, and she felt like screaming. She, however, suppressed the desire and asked, “Can you tell me why you appointed someone else when I’ve been so dedicated to the force?”
“We wanted someone with more experience in criminal investigations.”
“But Rosefield is hardly that sort of place. We have very little crime here, and the few we’ve had have been quickly and efficiently handled by our officers.”
What he was telling her didn’t quite add up. She wanted to know the real reason why she’d been overlooked. He cleared his throat.
“As I said, we wanted a . . .”
“Is it because I’m a woman?”
“Of course not! Officer Gardner, I’m sorry, but I have already appointed Ken Baylor as Rosefield's chief of police, so it’s too late to do anything about it now.” He stood, clearly indicating that their meeting was over. He held out his hand, and she stared at it for a few seconds before she shook it. When she got out of the building and entered her car, she screamed.
Chapter Three
Trisha drove to Audrey’s house with tears blinding her eyes. She ran over and over in her mind the shocking message she had found on her husband’s phone two days ago. He’d just returned from a business conference in New York, and she thought he looked and sounded unusually chirpy. After kissing him, she’d teased him about it, asked if he had been given a happiness drug during the conference. He’d only given her a small smile and gone upstairs to their bedroom.
When she went up, he was showering in the bathroom. She sat on the bed just as his phone vibrated. Picking it up, she looked at it to know who it was. In her mind, they had always been the kind of couple who never hid stuff from each other, so she thought nothing of checking his messages. If only she had known.
She could hear him singing happily in the shower as she read the short message.
*****
Hi Stan,
I had a great time last night. When will you come to New York again? I can’t wait to be in your arms once more.
Love you,
Carla
*****
She had reread the message a couple of times, refusing to believe what she was seeing. The text couldn’t be for Stan, she thought. Maybe it was meant for someone else; some other guy named Stan. But what were the odds? She sat on the bed, her stomach queasy and her heart pounding. Was that why he was so happy? Had he been with another woman?
She felt an intense rage boiling in her stomach as she heard him whistling and singing loudly. How could he do this to me? She took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. There had to be an explanation for the message.
She glanced around their luxuriously furnished bedroom, with its ornate wood furniture, big poster bed, and expensive paintings. Stan had given her a more lavish lifestyle than most people in Rosefield, but she had never cared about that. In fact, she resented his many business trips that took away from the time they could spend together. But never had she imagined that those frequent trips included another woman.
She sat waiting patiently for him to come out of the bathroom. When he did five minutes later, she exhaled and handed him his phone.
“You have a new message,” she said to him.
“From whom?” He frowned.
“Carla,” she answered in a smooth voice. “She said she had a great time last night and wants to know when you will be in New York so she can be in your arms again.”
Stan’s eyes had widened with shock, and then
he sat beside her.
“Listen, Trish, it’s not what you think.”
“Did you or did you not sleep with that woman, Stan?”
“I . . . did, but it meant nothing. She was just some girl I met at the hotel where . . .”
“Stop it!” Trisha had yelled at him. “So, I’m sharing you with some girl you met at a hotel?”
“I’m so sorry, what can I do to make it up to you?” He shook his head.
“Are you serious?” She glowered at him.
“Trisha, please forgive me. It will never happen again. I promise.”
She was unable to resist as he drew her close and kissed her.
As she lay in his arms an hour later, her stomach boiled with anger. She wasn’t mad at him, but at herself. Her ranting and raving had been for nothing. All Stan had done was take her in his arms and kiss her, and she had melted. She’d already forgiven him.
She turned around and studied his handsome face. He was sleeping soundly beside her, looking completely innocent and free from every care, while her heart ached because of his betrayal.
She watched him sleep for ten minutes more, even as tears fell down her cheeks. There was nothing she could do but forgive him. It wasn’t as if she was going to leave him. He was a part of her, and she loved him dearly.
She came out of her reverie as she arrived at Audrey’s and parked beside her sister’s police car. As she walked up the stairs of the two-bedroom bungalow that had been her childhood home, memories of her parents sitting together on the stairs, laughing and chatting, flooded her mind. They had loved each other so much. It was about seven years since they had passed away, but she still felt a sharp ache in her heart every time she thought of them.
She was eighteen and about to start college when they died. She had been dating Stan, who was her high-school sweetheart, for three years. Before they died, she remembered sitting beside her mother on the stairs and telling her that she couldn’t wait to marry Stan.
Mom had said, “I don’t know about Stan, honey. I don’t think you should marry him, but that’s just my personal opinion.”
When her parents died shortly after that, she had married him later that year. Having him always with her had assuaged the pain of their death. She had always dreamt of a marriage like her parents’. Even though Stan had been somewhat distant for months, she’d thought she had a marriage like theirs.
But she was wrong.
She knocked on the door, and when Audrey opened it, she fell into her sister’s arms and wept. Audrey pulled her in and shut the door.
“Trish, is it about Stan?”
Trish nodded as Audrey led her to the sofa. “I can’t believe he would cheat on me after all we’ve been through together.”
“I told you before you married Stan that he had it in him, Trish, but you didn’t listen.”
Trisha looked up at her sister. She should have known. Audrey was not exactly the nurturing type. She had no filter and spoke her mind always without caring how it made anyone feel. Trisha sighed. “He’s never given me any cause to doubt his faithfulness until now.”
“He’s given you plenty, Trish; you just chose to ignore them all. Because of mom and dad, you’ve always had this dream of a perfect marriage. Even when the truth about yours had been staring you in the face for years, you’ve refused to see it because you didn’t want anything to ruin your dream of a picture-perfect marriage.”
“It’s not true!” Trisha huffed.
Audrey went on as if she’d not heard her. “Remember that wedding we went to about five years ago—Kelly’s wedding? He disappeared for almost thirty minutes, and that scantily dressed girl at our table was also missing for about that long. When he reappeared with that silly grin on his face and that girl came back five minutes later, I told you Stan had been with her. You vehemently protested, and we had that little fight.”
“A little sympathy from you at this time would help, Audrey.”
“You know me. I don’t do sympathy that well; at least not at the expense of truth. If you come to me, I’ll truthfully tell you what the reality of the situation is.”
Trish groaned. So, Audrey had been right then. And she was right now. Stan had probably been cheating on her for some time without her knowledge. Her heart twisted.
“What am I going to do now, Audrey?”
“I don’t know why you’re asking me.” Audrey shrugged. “You know my advice for you would be to kick him to the curb, but I already know what you’re gonna do. You’ll stay with him no matter what I say or what he does.”
Trish hung her head. Audrey knew her well. Having already forgiven Stan, she had just come here to vent and not really to seek advice. In spite of herself, she smiled at her older sister. Audrey was very perceptive. She was like their mom in that way. Trish shut her eyes.
“Mom told me not to marry him.”
She opened her eyes as Audrey chuckled. “I didn’t bother because I knew it would be a waste of time to tell you anything.”
“But I’ve put so many years into my marriage, and I still want a child . . . Stan’s child.” She exhaled. Audrey was looking at her as if she were insane, but she couldn’t leave Stan at this time. He’d apologized once more this morning and promised he would never cheat again. And she had no choice but to believe him. She wanted to remain married and have the children she’d always wanted.
She remembered the pain she’d felt when she’d miscarried their child in the first year of their marriage. When it happened again, the second year, she’d been totally devastated. They stopped trying for some time and then started again.
If I can just have another child, maybe he’ll be faithful. Surely, a man with a newborn wouldn’t have time to cheat on his . . .
“Earth to Trish,” Audrey touched her shoulder. “Listen. To take your mind off this, why don’t we go and visit Sienna? God knows I need the distraction, too, after my meeting with the mayor yesterday.”
“Sienna . . . you know where she is?”
“Yes, she’s at that Bible college between Rosefield and Green Valley.”
“A Bible college? What about her modeling and her expensive apartment in New York?”
“She quit and has probably given the house up.”
“What?” Trisha sat up. “She resigned? Why?”
“You’ll have to ask her yourself when we get there. I don’t understand it myself.”
*****
“Sienna, I’m going to get something to eat. Do you want to come?”
Sienna shook her head and said to her roommate, Veronica, “I’m fasting.”
Veronica, a curvy brunette, regarded her with a confused expression on her face.
“You’re always fasting and praying. I know this is a Bible college, so that’s a given, but you never take a break. I don’t know how you do it, fasting continuously. That cannot be healthy. You’re already so skinny. If you go on like this, you might disappear.”
Sienna forced a smile. If only Veronica would just go away and leave me alone. She shrugged. “I’ll get something to eat later.”
Veronica shook her head and left the room.
Sienna sat on her small bed. She had been fasting for the last few days, praying that God would cleanse her heart. She’d also been praying that her troubling attraction to Bryan, the chaplain, would disappear before it was time for the street evangelism.
Lord, it’s in just a few days. Please help me, she prayed again. This was now her constant prayer. She said it at least a hundred times a day, but it didn’t seem to be working. Bryan’s face remained in her mind almost every minute of every day.
A knock sounded at her door, and she frowned. Who could it be? It couldn’t be Veronica because she wouldn’t knock. Sienna pursed her lips and stood. Whoever it was couldn’t be visiting her either. She had no friends here who visited her as she kept mostly to herself. Maybe it was one of Veronica’s friends. But then again, they never knocked. They just barged in.
She walked t
o the door and opened it.
“Audrey, Trisha!” she exclaimed and hugged both of them in excitement. “You guys are here!”
“Yes, we are!” they chorused.
She sat on her bed and patted the spaces beside her. “How did you guys find my room?” she asked when they sat. She couldn’t stop smiling, thrilled that her sisters were here. Apart from the fact that she had not seen or spoken to them in a while, and she really missed them, their presence here gave her a much-needed break from her worries.
Audrey answered. “We asked around. It’s not such a big place, and you’re not exactly the kind of girl that can be hidden.”
Sienna’s heart pattered faintly. She knew what Audrey was saying. Months ago, she would have smiled with pleasure at the compliment, but now, she felt guilty. She didn’t want to attract any attention because of her looks. She quickly changed the subject.
“So, what have you guys been up to?”
Trisha shook her head.
“Sienna, I came here to find out what’s really going on with you. Why did you quit your job and move away from New York?” Her eyes bored into Sienna’s. “Does it have something to do with why you left Derrick at the altar?”
“I don’t really know how to explain it.” Sienna sighed wearily. “I already tried explaining it to Audrey, our resident know-it-all, and she didn’t get it.”
“Just tell me, Sienna,” Trisha said. “You know Audrey isn’t very patient with ideas she thinks are strange. I’ll try to understand.”
Audrey rolled her eyes.
“Okay, it started some months ago.” Sienna’s heart rate increased. “I had a strange dream that I was in hell . . .”
“Hell, literally in hell?”
“Yes. I dreamed that I was surrounded by these scary looking demons and that I was burning up. I couldn’t get out no matter how hard I tried. When I finally woke up, I was covered in sweat. I began to pray about it, and I felt God was saying it was because of my lifestyle . . . you know . . . my job as a fashion model. I lived for myself and the vain things of this world.”