“Yes.”
“Well, it basically means the same thing as that. But unfortunately, not everyone lives by that rule,” Curtis said, still ignoring Charlotte, but she knew he was referring to her.
“Oh,” Matthew said, not too enthused about his current Bible lesson. “Dad, I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Go. But don’t forget to wash your hands when you finish.”
“I won’t.”
“Why are you doing this?” Charlotte asked when Matthew left the table.
“Doing what?”
“Curtis, you know what I mean.”
“Okay, you’re right. I apologize.”
“Baby, how are we ever going to get past this?”
“I don’t know, you tell me.”
“I’ve told you over and over what happened, but you just won’t believe me. One minute you seem okay, and then the next thing I know, you’re not speaking to me. It’s been like this since Friday evening.”
“Charlotte, I’m trying to deal with this the best way I can, so you’re just going to have to be patient—” Curtis cut his sentence when he saw the waiter walking toward them, preparing to seat Aaron and some woman he was with.
“Hey, man,” Curtis said. “I didn’t know you were coming here for dinner.”
“I didn’t either at first, but I remembered you saying that you were bringing Charlotte and Matthew here, and I figured this would be a good time for you guys to meet Michelle. Michelle, this is my good friend, Curtis, and his lovely wife, Charlotte.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you,” Curtis said, shaking her hand.
“Good to meet you,” Charlotte managed to say.
“It’s a pleasure meeting you both,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Really?” Curtis said. “Well, if I were you, I wouldn’t believe any of it.”
They all laughed. Everyone but Charlotte.
“Well, unless you two want to be alone, you’re more than welcome to sit here with us,” Curtis offered.
“You want to?” Aaron asked Michelle.
“Sure,” she said, already sliding into the booth. Aaron sat next to his date. Charlotte couldn’t believe this was happening.
She couldn’t believe Aaron was flaunting this woman, a beautiful one at that, in front of her. She couldn’t believe the envy she was feeling. She wondered if Aaron was sleeping with her.
“So how long has this been going on?” Curtis asked.
“Just since Friday really,” Aaron said. “We’ve known each other for years, but when I saw her at the store on Friday, I asked her out to dinner. Then I asked her out again last night and now again this afternoon.”
“Well, that’s an awful lot of asking out if you ask me,” Curtis teased. “Because for as long as I’ve known you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this enthused about any woman. So, Michelle, you must be doing something right.”
“I hope so.”
Charlotte felt her blood pressure rising.
“Hi, Uncle Aaron,” Matthew said, returning to the table and sliding in next to his dad.
“Hey, Matt. This is my friend, Michelle.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Michelle.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Matthew. And I’ve heard all about you being the Game Boy champion.”
Matthew smiled. “Yep. I can beat both my dad and my uncle Aaron at all the games I have.”
“Well, good for you,” she said.
It took everything in Charlotte not to ask Aaron why he’d been discussing her son with another woman. A woman she had never seen before and didn’t know a thing about. But more than that, she still wanted to know if Aaron was sleeping with her. She knew she had no right, her being married and all, but she wanted to know. Just thinking about the possibility was starting to piss her off.
“That was a great sermon you preached today, Rev,” Aaron said.
“Thanks, man. I try.”
“Yes, it really was a wonderful sermon,” Michelle agreed.
“Oh, you were at our service this morning?” The words left Charlotte’s mouth before she realized it.
“Yes. But I had to leave before it was over because of a page I received. One of my patients has a bad case of pneumonia and wasn’t responding to any of the meds I prescribed for her a couple of days ago. So, by the time I finished speaking to the nurse, Aaron was already coming out of the church.”
“A doctor, huh?” Curtis said. “I’m impressed.”
“Well, thank you,” she said.
“What do you practice?”
“Internal medicine.”
“I’ll have to keep that in mind the next time one of our members is looking for a physician.”
“I would really appreciate that.”
“As a matter of fact, baby,” Curtis said to Charlotte, “we should probably ask Michelle to come speak at the health fair we’re planning for this fall.”
“Yes, that would be nice,” Charlotte said. But it would be over her dead body.
“I’d love to,” Michelle said. “Anything you need.”
The waiter returned and took everyone’s order. Charlotte still wanted to know the answer to her question. The question that was eating at her little by little, minute by minute.
“So, Charlotte, how’s everything going at the firm?” Aaron asked. “Curtis told me that you’ve been working a lot more hours than you used to.”
“Actually, I have because of this big case we’re working on.”
“Well, just be glad you aren’t one of the actual attorneys because then you’d really be working sunup to sundown,” he said and then rested his arm on the back of the booth behind Michelle.
“Michelle works a ton of hours, too, don’t you, baby?” he continued.
Baby. Charlotte didn’t know how much more of this she could take.
“Unfortunately, I do,” Michelle said.
“But at least they pay you the big bucks for doing it,” Aaron boasted. Or at least that’s how Charlotte took it. She knew he was trying to belittle her in front of both Michelle and Curtis, mentioning that she wasn’t an actual attorney. He was doing a good job of it, too, but she would never let him know it. She would never give him that kind of satisfaction.
“So, what are you guys planning to do for the rest of the evening?” Curtis asked Aaron.
“Michelle has to stop by the hospital as soon as we leave here, so I guess I’ll be sitting home for a couple of hours by my lonesome,” Aaron said, smiling at Michelle.
“But a couple of hours is all it will be. I promise,” she said.
“Then I’ll probably stop by your place to discuss a little church business, if you don’t mind,” Curtis told Aaron.
“Don’t mind at all. I’ll be there.”
Charlotte didn’t believe for one second this thing about church business and wondered what Curtis really wanted to speak to Aaron about. All she could do was hope that Aaron wouldn’t say anything against her. Of course, he would never tell Curtis anything derogatory, because it would also mean telling on himself.
After leaving the restaurant, Curtis drove them home, changed into something more casual, and left to go visit Aaron. Charlotte closed her bedroom door and dialed Aaron immediately.
“Hello?” he answered.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“What was what all about?”
“You bringing that chick to the restaurant.”
“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear, Charlotte, but I told you on Friday that I wouldn’t wait on you forever. And I meant it.”
“What do you expect me to do?”
“I’ve already told you. I expect you to leave that fool you’re married to.”
“Are you sleeping with her?”
“If I am, I would be totally within my rights. Now, wouldn’t I?”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this. First you say you don’t ever want to be without me, then you give me this crazy ultimatum,
and now you show up with some chick, acting like you’re in love with her?”
“But it doesn’t have to be this way. You could have me all to yourself if you wanted.”
“You know my hands are tied.”
“Well, then expect to see a lot more of Michelle, because I’m not about to keep playing these cancellation games with you.”
“Aaron, what was I supposed to do? Tell Curtis that I couldn’t go to dinner with him? That I couldn’t go to a hotel with him? Knowing that he is my husband?”
“That’s exactly what you should have done.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Maybe to you, but I’m very real to Michelle. So real that she can’t get enough of me.”
“Why are you being so cruel?”
“I’m not. I’m just taking care of me for a change and not concerning myself with you.”
“Okay, so what if I did decide to leave Curtis?”
“Then Michelle is history.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. And you won’t ever have to worry about me being with her again.”
“Aaron, you really, really hurt me this afternoon.”
“And you really hurt me on Friday when you canceled our evening together.”
“But my situation is different. I have obligations to Curtis because of our marriage. But you don’t have any responsibilities with Michelle.”
“Look, Charlotte, just stop it, okay? Because the deal is this: as long as you are with Curtis, expect to see me with Michelle and any other woman I feel like being with. Like it or not, that’s the way it’s going to be.”
“Fine, Aaron, you do what you have to.”
“I already am,” he said and slammed down the phone.
Charlotte felt like bawling. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she just leave Aaron alone and concentrate on Curtis? Why couldn’t she just be happy with Curtis and the life he was trying to give her? Maybe she could as time went on. If only she could get Aaron out of her system. Which she could easily do if the sex between them wasn’t so incredible.
Curtis walked into Aaron’s condo, and they both sat down in the living room.
“Man, I like your girl, Michelle. A doctor and beautiful. It doesn’t get any better than that. You’d better keep her.”
“Yeah, I know. She’s been after me for a while, but you know me.”
“Yeah, I do know you, and that’s what I’m afraid of.”
Aaron chuckled. “No, she’s a good woman, and I like her. Actually, I like her a lot.”
“This is good, and I’m happy for you, man. Every man needs a good woman in his life,” Curtis said. “And until lately, I thought I had one myself.”
“What does that mean?”
“Actually, I debated whether I was even going to tell you this, but I have to tell somebody.”
“Man, what’s up?”
“Do you know what I saw when I was making love to Charlotte Friday evening?”
“No. What?”
“A purple bruise, hickey, or whatever you want to call it.”
“Man, get outta here. You must have been seeing things.”
“I’m telling you, I know what I saw.”
“Did you ask her about it?”
“Yeah, but of course she lied about it.”
“What did she say?”
“That the seat on the bicycle she was riding at the health club was loose and it rubbed her the wrong way.”
Aaron laughed. “Well, maybe it did.”
“Yeah, right. Even you know that’s a bunch of crap.”
“Man, no. I’m only laughing because of the way you said it. But if Charlotte says that she got the bruise from working out, then I believe her.”
“That’s because you’re not married to her.”
“No, I’m not, but I still don’t think she would do anything like that. She loves you far too much.”
“Maybe she did once upon a time, but for the last few months, she’s been acting very strangely. She’s been distant and she hardly ever wants to make love to me anymore. And to be honest with you, I don’t understand what brought on this sudden change of attitude. First she started working late, then she started being too exhausted, and now I find this spot on her thigh,” Curtis said, leaning his head back on the sofa. For the first time in his life, he knew what it was like to be hurt by a woman. Satan had tried to make him see that earlier, and now he saw it as clear as day. The old Curtis wouldn’t have cared one way or the other and would have simply moved on to the next prospect. This was definitely a different state of affairs. He was stumbling around in unfamiliar territory and didn’t like it.
“Man, I think you’re making too much of this,” Aaron said, walking into the kitchen. “You want something to drink?”
“No, I’m good.”
“Maybe you’re just thinking the worst because she’s been distant.”
“Maybe. But my gut tells me that she slept with someone.”
Aaron dropped back down in the oversized chair and popped open a soda. “What you need to do is talk to her. Because if you do, I’m sure you’ll realize that this was all a big misunderstanding.”
“We’ll see. But as much as I hate to say it, I am not a man who can live without affection. I do love Charlotte, but I won’t allow her to sleep around on me and get away with it. It’s the one thing that will be the death of our marriage if she does it again.”
“I’m sure everything will be fine before you know it.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I am going to forgive her, but she’s going to have to start being a much better wife than she has been. She’s going to have to start spending a lot more time with me, and I’m talking intimately.”
“Like I said, man, I’m sure everything will be fine.”
“I hope you’re right. For her sake and mine.”
“Hello?” Charlotte said, answering the phone.
“Your preacher husband just left,” Aaron said.
“And?”
“And I wanted to let you know.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought you might like to strip naked and be ready for him when he gets home.”
Charlotte didn’t respond.
“Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here, but I’m not about to comment on your nonsense, Aaron.”
“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry. As a matter of fact, I’m sorry for everything. For the way I spoke to you on Friday and for bringing Michelle around you today. But I told you before, you make me crazy. You make me do childish things that I’m not very proud of. And no other woman has ever had that much control over me. Probably because I’ve never loved a woman the way I love you.”
“So, what did Curtis say that made you have this sudden change of heart?”
“That he only married you because you’re Matthew’s mother.”
“Why are you lying, Aaron?”
“I’m not. And why would I lie about that anyway? Because you and I both know that Curtis probably wouldn’t have ever called you again if he hadn’t wanted to see his son. You’ve even said that yourself on more than one occasion.”
“I still don’t believe he told you that.”
“Well, he did. He said it more than once.”
“So what if he did?”
“And you still want to stay with him? Good it’s you.”
“Hey, Matthew is calling me. I have to go.”
“Can I see you tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
“I have to go, Aaron.”
“I’m not hanging up until you say yes.”
“Look, I’ll see you tomorrow evening. Now good-bye.”
Charlotte hung up, traveling from room to room, erasing Aaron’s number from the caller ID screen on every phone in the house.
Chapter 10
TODAY WOULD MARK THE FOURTH TIME IN TWO WEEKS THAT CURTIS had dr
iven to the Chicago area. First, he, Charlotte, and Matthew had traveled there on Memorial Day to visit his in-laws; then he’d come back a few days later to preach at a Bible conference; then he’d picked up a guest minister from O’Hare; and now he was here again to pick up his daughter. It was the middle of June, school was finally out, and Alicia was coming to spend a week with him in Mitchell. Curtis had tried to convince her to stay for at least a month, but she was already registered for cheerleading camp and a few other summer activities. Only a couple of years ago, she’d wanted to spend all of her time with him, but now that she was sixteen, she had other interests and lots of friends to hang out with. She was growing up fast. Worse, she already had a driver’s license and looked more like a twenty-year-old.
Curtis stepped out of his SUV and walked up to the front door. His ex-wife opened it and smiled.
“Hey, Curtis, how are you?” Tanya said.
“Can’t complain.”
“And how’re Charlotte and Matthew?” she said, closing the door.
“They’re fine. Matthew wanted to come with me, but he’s already started summer day camp. He can’t wait for his big sister to get there, though.”
“I’m sure they’ll have a great time. Alicia loves having a little brother.”
“So how is James?” he asked.
“He’s doing well. I took the afternoon off, but he’s working.”
“Well, isn’t that special. You taking off an entire afternoon just to see me?”
“Right, Curtis,” she said, laughing. “The truth is, I wanted to make sure Alicia packed everything she would need.”
“If you say so,” he teased.
“You haven’t changed a bit.”
After all these years, all the pain, all the arguing, all the terrible things he’d done to Tanya, there was still a certain chemistry between them. She was, without a doubt, his first love; he was hers, too, and nothing would ever change that. He was glad that they were now pleasantly cordial with each other and not the enemies they once were.
“Hi, Daddy,” Alicia said, coming down the stairway with a garment and duffel bag.
“Hi, baby girl,” he said, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek.
“Where’s Matthew?” she asked.
“He’s at day camp, but he’ll be home by the time we get there.”
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