by E. N. Joy
“What?” Carrie looked at a couple of the women, dumbfounded. Her eyes landed on Tabby. “Was this supposed to be a secret or something? Tabby, you’re the one who told me she had all them kids with different fathers,” Carrie said, as if she should be held innocent. “You said you Googled an article or something about an incident . . . jail or something.”
Tabby turned her head in embarrassment and began to scratch her scalp, which wasn’t itching.
“Tabby,” Mary said, shocked.
Everyone was staring at Tabby like she was the Antichrist.
After feeling a sense of uneasiness for a moment too long, Tabby finally spoke. “Oh, please. Don’t act like you all weren’t two- and three-waying each other on the phone to spread the news when I found out. All it took was me confiding in one person before the whole bunch of you found out.”
Lorain was speechless, a tornado of emotions running through her. How much information about her did these women have? Had they been smiling in her face yet pointing fingers and judging her behind her back? Exactly which articles about her and her family had they found on the Internet? Nobody’s business and information were safe anymore with today’s technology.
Lorain had told the wives that her oldest daughter had lost her three sons in a freak accident, but she’d never given the details and they’d never picked her for any. She definitely hadn’t told them about Unique giving birth to the twins and her adopting them.
Here all this time Lorain had thought these women were too busy with their own lives to concern themselves with hers, or at best, they were respecting her privacy, waiting for her to talk when she felt like opening up to them . . . which probably would have been never. She’d come to find out that these nosy broads had taken it upon themselves to go dig up all they could on her and then gossip to one another about it.
She had no words for these women, whom she’d called her like-minded friends. On second thought, she had words for them, but they were words she didn’t even think God would forgive her for spewing. So instead of even trying to speak, Lorain grabbed her short-strapped red designer handbag, which matched her crisscross-strapped red pumps, and headed for the door.
“Lorain, I’m so sorry,” Tabby said, following behind her. “I didn’t mean any harm. The ladies and I just—”
Lorain turned around sharply, stopping Tabby in her tracks. She shot Tabby the look of death, silently warning her that it was in her best interest not to say another word to her. When Tabby didn’t move and didn’t speak, Lorain knew she’d gotten the message. She turned back around and allowed her heels to click on the hardwood floor as she walked to the front door. She let herself out, slamming the door so hard that all the chandeliers played a soft melody.
Tabby gathered her composure and walked back into the dining room. The tension was so thick, it would be a challenge for a samurai’s sword to slice through it. She looked at each woman to see if anyone had anything to say, considering they’d all had a part in the Nancy Drew detective work gone wrong.
“Well, do any of you have anything to say for yourselves, considering you threw me under the bus and let it roll right on over me without lifting a finger to save me?”
The women looked from one to the other before Isabella grabbed a platter on the table and said, “Fried green tomatoes, anyone?”
When everyone simply shot her the evil eye, Isabella popped one in her mouth. She was careful to chew at least thirty-two times, like “they” said you should. Because she was almost certain one of these women was praying she’d choke on that little tomato.
Chapter 10
Unique was busy unpacking her suitcases. She was finally back in Malvonia, Ohio, for good. She really didn’t know how to feel about it, either. Since she hadn’t been 100 percent gung ho about packing up and going to West Virginia ten months ago, she had had no idea it would be this hard to leave the state behind. She loved her job at the nursing home there, as well as the people she worked with on the staff and, definitely, the patients. Then there was that unexpected person whom she had never dreamed she’d miss. As a matter of fact, the first time she met this person she wanted to do bodily harm to him.
“Lord, you surely work in mysterious ways,” Unique said as she hung in her bedroom closet the three church dresses she’d taken to West Virginia and alternated wearing whenever she could make it to a Sunday service there.
Now that she was back in her home, sweet home, she couldn’t wait to get back to her home church, New Day Temple of Faith. She’d missed the congregation, her pastor, and despite all its shenanigans, she had missed the singles’ ministry too.
“Singles’ ministry,” she said under her breath, pulling a pair of slacks out of the suitcase that lay on her bed. She flopped down on the bed, and the slacks landed on her lap. Did she even want to get back into the singles’ ministry? Who knew? In the past few years it had shut down, then started back up again, and it had changed leadership so much, it might not even be a functioning ministry anymore.
Sure, Unique knew that when Mother Doreen initially received the vision from God to form the ministry and reported that vision to Pastor Margie, who ultimately approved the ministry’s creation, its purpose was to support single members of the church. But most of the women who joined the ministry didn’t want support in being single. They wanted help in finding a man. Unique felt that it was pretty safe to say that she no longer needed help in finding a man.
She removed her hands from atop the slacks and began to fondle the diamond heart necklace she wore around her neck. A smile crept across her face as she thought back to the moment she received the gift. It had been in a little box, tucked down inside a vase of red roses that sat in the middle of the table at which they dined. Their table for two was on the patio of a nice little quaint restaurant they’d driven forty-five minutes to get to. It was their fifth official date.
They had talked on the phone, had had lunch together, and had watched a couple movies together with some of the patients in the activity room at the nursing home. Had Unique’s suitor not had been several years older than her and had they attended high school together, they probably would have been voted the most unlikely couple. True, the moment they met, fireworks went off, but not in a good way. Having two hotheads in one room was bound to cause an explosion. But once they both put their guard down and managed to tame their sharp tongue, they began to connect like Legos, which was exactly what Unique called the two of them.
“I don’t want to be that far away from you,” Unique had said after telling her newfound love she’d be heading back to Malvonia for good. “We’re like Legos, you and I. We may snap, but we snap together. We were made to be together. As corny and as cliché as that sounds, it’s true. At least it feels that way to me.”
“I feel the same way.” His charming smile and his hand brushing against Unique’s cheek had made her melt. “Legos are meant to be together. After all, how much fun can you have with just one Lego?”
She smiled, grateful that he had the sensitivity and the understanding to grasp the comparison she was making. “Yeah, I mean at first, when we met, we snapped at each other. But then we started to build something beautiful, like one does with Legos. But . . .” Unique put her head down. “But when you’re playing with Legos and you build something so tall and beautiful, it eventually falls down, and it seems like that’s what is happening to us.”
“Malvonia is only three hours away, Unique. Some people live on opposite coasts and have relationships over the Internet. We can make this work.”
Unique sighed. “I’ve changed in recent years . . . a lot.”
And, boy, oh boy, was that the truth. Being in jail, losing the boys, giving up custody of her daughters—these were grown-up situations that had forced Unique to mature and act like she had good sense. This whole change that had taken place within her was ironic to Unique. Seemed like all that bad stuff would have made her angrier, bitter, and over the top, but instead it had calmed her, had m
ade her pay attention to and appreciate life. She figured that was what had made it so easy to give her love interest a chance. She’d changed. After all, over three years had passed between their first meeting and their second. She wasn’t that same feisty ball of fire she’d been back then, and she based her decision to give love a shot strictly on that fact. It was possible they both had changed. Besides, she felt it would be nice to do a little dating while in West Virginia, especially with no busybody church hens or two mothers there to have to spill the tea to.
That was the reason why Unique hadn’t mentioned her relationship to anyone back at home. She didn’t want input from anybody but God. In the past she had tried doing things her own way and had failed miserably each time. Yes, God had been there to catch her when she fell, but she had vowed that the next time He picked her up, she would allow Him to carry her wherever He wanted her to be. Taking her own route had led her only to a dead end, to this feeling that she had to start the journey of life all over again. Maybe she did. She would look at that as a good thing.
God had taken her to West Virginia. At first her flesh had been hesitant, but her soul had said yes. That chapter in her life had, in fact, turned out to be a good thing. Was God now asking her to let that good thing go? Was this romance supposed to be temporary bliss, since her stay in West Virginia hadn’t been permanent to begin with? When the nursing home contract was extended, Unique knew it was God’s way of keeping them together. Could they still have the same type of bond if they were three hours away from one another? Would distance make their hearts grow much fonder?
It had been a pleasant surprise, indeed, for Unique, finding love. The fact that the two of them, of all people, had formed a relationship was the biggest surprise of all. No one would believe it, which was another reason why Unique never mentioned it to anyone—that and the fact that she really didn’t know how serious things would ultimately get between the two of them.
But now, with all this distance between them, when all was said and done, would she even have a man, or would she become a lifetime member of the New Day Temple of Faith Singles’ Ministry?
“Thanks for coming over, Mommy, but I told you I didn’t need any help,” Unique said after closing the door behind Korica. “It’s not like I’m relocating from West Virginia to here. I lived in an extended-stay hotel there, and all I had was my clothes. I did not need three men and a truck to help me move a boatload of boxes to West Virginia, and therefore, I don’t need you to help me unpack any.”
“Sheesh. Well, shoot me and cook me up for Sunday supper,” Korica said with her fists on her hips. “Can’t a mother just want to come by and see her child who’s been living in another state for months?”
Unique put her hand on her head. “I’m sorry, Mommy,” she said, apologizing. “It’s been such a long day. Driving here, putting all my clothes away. Saying good-bye to Patsy and all my staff, saying good-bye to all the patients, and saying good-bye to—” Unique caught herself before she uttered that name. Now was definitely not the time to mention the relationship she’d been having in West Virginia.
“Oh, baby. I understand.” Korica walked Unique over to her black leather sofa in the modest two-bedroom, twelve-hundred-square-foot apartment. They sat down, and she put her arm around Unique. “I know it was much more than a job you were doing back at the nursing home. It was part of your calling. But what’s that you Christian folks are always saying about the world being big enough for stuff like that.”
“God making room for our gifts and talents?” Unique said.
“Yeah, that mess.” Korica waved her hand as if she was shooing a fly, which was basically what church talk was to her, anyway. Something that just bugged the crap out of her. She felt as if there was some book that people received immediately after joining a church that listed all the church sayings. In order to go to heaven people had to memorize at least half of them.
“It’s not a mess, Mommy. It’s scripture,” Unique said, exasperated. “But I know what you’re trying to say, and I believe God’s Word, so I’m sure He’ll find something just as fulfilling for me here in Malvonia.” Unique prayed that this was true in more ways than one.
Chapter 11
“I can’t believe you’re making me go to this party alone,” Nicholas said as he looked at himself in the mirror while straightening his bow tie.
“And I can’t believe you’re going at all,” Lorain retorted, pouting and crossing her arms as she sat on the edge of the bed and watched Nicholas get dressed.
“But it’s a black-tie affair. You love those,” Nicholas said, trying to reason with her.
“Yeah, but if I’m within two feet of Tabby, it might turn into a black-eye affair.”
“Listen . . .” Nicholas sounded exasperated. “Lance and Tabby invited us to this event long before you and Tabby had your little falling-out.”
“Little falling-out.” Lorain stood up in a huff. “That woman is spreading lies about your family, and you think it’s nothing. You wanna go over there and break bread with her?”
“What lies? If she got information from the Internet, then it must be the truth. You and I both know everything on the Internet is true.” Nicholas cracked a smile at Lorain through the mirror.
“Nicholas Leon Wright, I’m being serious. This is no time for jokes. Your family’s reputation is at stake here.”
“Look, honey.” Nicholas walked over to Lorain and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m a man, and I don’t get in the middle of what goes on with you wives. Lance agrees. I’m sorry. Men aren’t built that way.”
“Peter is,” Lorain huffed. “Peter says he doesn’t care why his wife doesn’t like somebody. If she don’t like them, then he doesn’t, either. Now, that’s what I call a man supporting his wife.”
“And that’s what I call a man who just wants to get some from his wife.” Nicholas laughed at his comment.
“And he laughs, still thinking this is a joke.” Lorain raised her arms and then allowed them to flop back down at her sides. She sat back down on the bed.
“Honey, lighten up, would you? Come on. What you are saying sounds like the antics of a high school clique of teenage girls.” Nicholas sat down next to his wife. “Who is this Peter, anyway?”
“He’s Cynthia’s husband.”
Nicholas was puzzled. “Cynthia?” He thought for a moment, saying the name over and over in his head, trying to recall where they knew a Cynthia from.
“Yeah, from Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
Nicholas stared at Lorain momentarily to see if she was being serious. Her stone face indicated that she was dead serious. Nicholas shook it off, then stood. “Us doctors are an elite circle here. Women are women, and we can’t—we won’t—let what goes on with you guys interfere with the support and bonds we have with one another. It’s not that we are betraying our wives or siding with the enemy. I wish you could understand.” Nicholas walked back over to the mirror to give himself a final once-over before he headed out to the party.
One of the doctors at the medical group that Lance and Tom had partnered with had received recognition from the Ohio Medical Board for outstanding service to the medical community. Lance was throwing tonight’s shindig in celebration of this accomplishment. Nicholas was right; Lorain loved a black-tie affair, as well as any other opportunity to be the trophy on Nicholas’s arm. But she had vowed not to step foot on Tabby’s plantation ever again.
“I wish you could understand what it means to put me first and support me.”
Lorain’s words made Nicholas stop what he was doing momentarily. Then he straightened his tie one last time and turned to walk out of the room. “Sweetheart, you have no idea how I’ve put you first, how I’ve supported you in everything you’ve wanted to do. Just like when it came to our wedding.” He shot her a knowing look.
Lorain was taken aback. Nicholas seemed to turn icy for a few seconds, and then, suddenly, the chill was gone and he was his usual warm self again.<
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He walked over and kissed her on the forehead, then headed for the bedroom door. “I’ll tell Tabby and Lance that you said hello and that you are sorry you couldn’t make it.” Nicholas exited the room, closing the door behind him.
Lorain sat on the bed, feeling uneasy. What had just happened with her and Nicholas? Why had he suddenly turned so cold, then gone back to his usual self, like nothing had happened? And why had he mentioned their wedding? It was as if he had some underlying disdain for her.
Lorain stood and began to pace. She had a funny feeling, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Every time Nicholas mentioned anything about their wedding, he always seemed to freeze up, like if he didn’t freeze his thoughts, they would boil over and burn her. Lorain couldn’t understand why. After all, he was the one who had agreed to elope, skipping the big wedding their parents wanted them to have in a church and opting for a chapel in Las Vegas. She hadn’t forced him to. Sure, she’d been pretty aggressive in convincing him that a big church wedding didn’t make sense, that marriage was something they should do sooner rather than later, but she hadn’t twisted his arm.
The question of whether or not Nicholas resented her for robbing him of the holy matrimony he had envisioned for himself was now gnawing at Lorain. To make matters even worse, Lorain had promised Nicholas that they would have a huge reception after they married, something that she’d allow their mothers to plan, but that, too, had never happened. Lorain had got too caught up in taking care of the twins. Then Nicholas had started his own practice. The time had never seemed right.
Could it really be that Nicholas had been holding this against Lorain for all these years? Maybe so, but something deep within Lorain told her that there was much more to it. But what else could there be?
Lorain went and checked on the girls. She peeked into the white and pink room they shared, each girl with her own full-size bed decorated Hello Kitty style. She made sure they were tucked nicely in bed and sleeping soundly. She then returned to her own bedroom. She lay down on the bed and tried to sleep, but thoughts of Nicholas and the whole wedding business kept her up thinking.