Taylor shakes her head violently. I didn’t know she was that opposed to the group.
“No thanks, Sister Pam. I don’t think it’s for me. Now back to the job. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but how much is it paying?”
“How does twelve fifty an hour with full benefits sound?”
“Perfect.”
“All I expect is that you come to work and do your best.”
She gives me a bright smile. I never noticed how beautiful a girl she is.
“Thank you so much. You won’t be disappointed.” I notice her expression change as if she’s just thought of something else. The girl looks like her mind is a thousand miles away.
“Taylor, is there something bothering you? You know that you can talk to me.”
She opens her mouth, then closes it. “Well . . . no, not really,” she says quickly. “I’ve just been stressed-out with this job search and all.”
I don’t believe her. It looked like she was about to say something else and then changed her mind. I’m not about to beg her to tell me her problems, though. I’ve certainly got enough of my own to deal with.
“All right, then, you can start tomorrow.” I give her my card with the address. “I’ll take you to Human Resources.”
I get up to leave, and Taylor goes to open the door. She looks like she’s in a hurry for me to leave. I don’t blame her. Sometimes I don’t want to be bothered with people either—especially church folk.
“Sister Pam, can I ask you a question before you leave?”
“Sure.”
“Well, see, I’m having this issue, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Okay . . .” I don’t know if I want to hear it.
“Well, I went downtown to apply for assistance, and they told me that I couldn’t get anything until I told them who Joshua’s daddy was.”
“You don’t have to worry about that now. You have a job.”
“I know, I know. But they’ve already sent paperwork to his house, demanding that he establish paternity.”
“I don’t see what you’ve done wrong. Joshua’s father should be helping you out anyway.”
Taylor sits down on the sofa, so I take her lead and do the same.
“Joshua’s father is . . . well . . . married.”
“And his wife doesn’t know?”
“No. Should I warn him that the court documents are coming? He may have already gotten them. I don’t know.” There is panic in her eyes and voice.
“You probably should let him know. His wife is going to take it badly either way, but it would be better coming from him.”
“That’s what I’ve been thinking, but I can’t bring myself to call him.”
I think about the woman who is his wife. I wonder if she knows her husband stepped out on her. “Do you know his wife?”
“Yes. Does that make this worse?”
I’m not going to ask the question that is nagging in my head. I want to ask if the couple goes to our church, but I really don’t want to hear the answer. If it’s yes, this will be the biggest scandal to hit New Faith House of Worship since Pastor Brown’s nephew came out of the closet.
“Not necessarily worse, but definitely more complicated. You aren’t friends, are you?”
“No. I would say we’re more like acquaintances.”
I start shifting in my seat. “Taylor, I honestly don’t know what to tell you. Part of me wants to say that this jerk owes you some child support, but another part of me feels sorry for that wife when she finds out.”
She nods, and it seems to clear her head. “You know what, Pam, thank you for listening to me. And thank you for the job. I guess this is something that I’m going to have to work out on my own.”
“You’re welcome, Taylor. Before I leave, why don’t we pray on this thing? It might sound like a mess right now, but I’m sure that God will fix it.”
Taylor looks genuinely surprised. “Okay.”
I grab both of Taylor’s hands and pray, “Lord, we humbly come to You, acknowledging Your mercy and Your grace. We first ask forgiveness for the sins that we’ve committed knowingly and those that we’ve committed unknowingly. I ask You, Lord, to put Your hand in Taylor’s situation. I ask that You move in her favor, Lord, and give her child’s father a kind heart. Lord, I ask that You continue to strengthen Taylor throughout her ordeal and give her the right words to speak to this man’s wife. I ask for Your continued blessings on Taylor and Joshua. In Jesus’ name I pray . . . amen.”
I’m standing up again, and I find myself hugging Taylor. My prayer was sincere, because I truly think that she needs the Lord to work a miracle on her behalf. As a married woman I have a feeling it’s going to get ugly, regardless of what action Taylor does or doesn’t take.
“Thank you for that, Pam. It really helps.”
“Anytime. You have my phone number, right? You can call me whenever.”
I walk out to my car, feeling like I should’ve said something else to Taylor. But honestly, I don’t know if I sympathize with her. In fact, I don’t feel the least bit sympathetic. More than likely, that’s because I’m married and Taylor just admitted to being a home wrecker. She reminded me that there are women who will sleep with a man whether or not he’s wearing a wedding band.
Of course, I don’t know what transpired between Taylor and her partner in crime. I’m sure he was feeding her all the lines that she wanted to hear. He was probably saying anything to get Taylor into bed, no matter what the consequences were.
Strangely, I felt uncomfortable, as if it was my husband that Taylor was cheating with. I thought if I stayed in her apartment for one more minute, I’d end up telling her off. I wanted to tell her to be a woman and apologize to her lover’s wife and beg her forgiveness. That’s not very wise counsel, though. There’s no telling how a wife will react to her husband’s mistress. I know I’d act a fool.
I want to be home. I just want to hold my little girls and gaze at Troy’s stupid grin. Who knows? Maybe I’ll give him a little treat tonight—a little something extra.
My man and my marriage may not be perfect, but they are mine. I think I’ll stake my claim again, just on general principle.
Chapter 11
Yvonne
I’ve walked around for a week with this summons in my pocket. It has my husband’s name on the front, as clear as day. Anyway, it seems that some woman named Taylor Johnson is accusing Luke Hastings of fathering her child.
Now, do I find it a huge coincidence that there is a Taylor Johnson in our church who just happens to have a child and no one knows who the father is? I may be a lot of things, but stupid is not one of them. I can’t pass judgment until I’ve heard Luke’s explanation. It might help if I asked him about the whole thing.
The truth is, I’m scared. Not scared that he cheated, or that he even might be that little boy’s father. I’m afraid that he’s going to say that he doesn’t love me and that he’s leaving. I can handle the rest, as long as he stays. Lord, please don’t let him leave me.
Luke’s been in good spirits of late. If there is trouble brewing, I sure can’t tell. He hasn’t been going on his long weekends, and he’s been a lot more loving. It seems like soon as the Lord answers my prayers for peace in my marriage, here comes the devil, stirring up a mess. He is not going to have the victory, though. Not in my life.
I have to say something, though, but only because this here letter says that it’s mandatory for Luke to show up for testing. If he doesn’t, the court can rule that the child is his, even if it isn’t. They can start taking money from him for child support. It doesn’t seem fair, but somebody made up those rules.
I’m trying to conjure up an image of Taylor’s little boy in my mind. Does he even look like Luke? I don’t know. At his age they can look like anybody. Mama’s baby, daddy’s maybe. I’ve never seen Luke pay any attention to him. If Joshua is Luke’s son, then he must not know. I can’t imagine my husband not owning up to his responsibilities.
Now, as for the cheating, I don’t put that past Luke. I don’t put that past any man. It’s in their sinful natures to cheat. Just like dogs in heat. Most of them have enough sense to cover their tracks, but even the best of them slip up from time to time.
I’m watching Luke gobble down his dinner. He loves my cooking, and tonight I made his favorite, smothered chicken and rice. Luke’s always quiet when he eats, and I don’t mind. I’m not one for dinner conversation. Tonight is going to be different, though.
Although Luke seems to be enjoying his meal, I’m barely touching my food. I look around the dining room at my Christmas decorations. I always put them out the first week of December. This year I went a little bit overboard. There’s a nativity scene on the china cabinet and a wreath on every wall. In the doorway is a huge sprig of mistletoe, although I don’t plan on giving Luke any extra affection. My hunter-green carpet always looks good with the Christmas theme. I even walked through the entire house tossing glitter around, trying to transform the place into a winter wonderland. I’m going to have a time cleaning it up.
I’m proud of my home. It’s a four-bedroom colonial. The two things that made me fall in love with this house were the enormous modern kitchen and the two-story foyer. Luke and I bought it after he became a certified public accountant. Of course, his goal is full-time ministry, but in the interim he decided to have a well-paying career.
I feel the stiff envelope rubbing against my thigh. One of the corners is poking me, reminding me that it’s there. Like I could actually forget. I don’t think I’ll ever forget receiving this letter.
“Vonne, this is good. Is there any more rice?”
“Yes. I’ll get it for you.”
I almost feel like some sort of zombie when I get up from the table. It would seem like a dream if it weren’t for Luke’s smacking in the background. I come back into the dining room with a bowl of rice. I place the bowl and the letter in front of Luke. I’m praying to myself, because if he puts his hands on me, there is going to be trouble.
Luke picks up the letter and flips it over in his hands. He can see that it’s been opened, and he can also see his name on the front. He looks up at me.
“What’s this?” he asks while wiping his face with a green paper napkin.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you open it and find out.”
“Looks like it’s already open, so you must know what it is.”
Luke opens the summons and slowly scans the page. His mouth drops open after a few seconds. I want to tell him to close it before something flies in. I restrain myself, though, because this is just not the time for jokes.
“That conniving heifer.”
Those were not the words that I expected to come from his mouth. He was supposed to say, “It wasn’t me.” What he said was an admission of guilt. I can feel the heat start to rise around my neck, and my fists ball up all by themselves.
“Who do you mean, Luke?”
“I mean Taylor Johnson, that’s who.”
“So what are you saying? Is it true?”
Luke folds the letter neatly and places it back in the envelope. He sets the envelope back down on the table and continues to eat his meal. He chews slowly and deliberately, not taking his eyes off me for an instant.
“Well, Luke, don’t you have anything to say?”
“You know, you really could have given me this after dinner. I don’t like to argue while I’m eating. It ruins my digestion.”
“Answer my question, Luke. I’m being really patient here, so don’t try me.”
“Well, you really haven’t asked anything. If you’re asking did I sleep with Taylor, well, yes, I did. A few times. It was nothing serious, and it ended almost as soon as it started. If you’re asking if I’m the father of her child, then my answer is absolutely not. I can’t believe she’s trying to pin her little bastard on me.”
“How do you know he’s not yours if you slept with her?”
“Because, believe me, I was not the only one she was with. The brothers have been passing Taylor around for months. She’s nothing but a worthless whore.”
For some reason, I think that Luke is lying about the duration of their affair. He’s too calm. It’s like he’d already planned and practiced his responses. He sounds like a rehearsed witness on one of those court television shows.
“Well, even if there were others, there is still the possibility that you’re the father. Right?”
“I suppose that there is a remote possibility. More than likely, she thinks that I’m just going to accept this and give her money to shut up. She’s after my pockets, just because we have a little something. There is no way that I’m going to give my hard-earned money to that little tramp.”
I feel a well of questions bubble up—questions I had kept to myself over the years. “So those weekends when you disappeared, you were with her?”
“Yvonne. Don’t do this.”
“I mean, I just want to know. You said you were only with her a few times. But you’ve taken your little trips once, sometimes twice, a month. Now, I’m no math genius, but that adds up to way more than a few times.”
“Vonne, I was not with her all those times.”
“Oh? You weren’t?” I feel my anger rise. “Well, then, who were you with? Because you sure ain’t about to sit up here and tell me that you were alone.”
“Woman, I don’t have to explain anything to you. And you ain’t about to sit up here questioning me like I’m some criminal.”
Luke wipes his mouth and hands meticulously, as if he’s daring me to do something. I want to leap across the table and slap his smug-looking face. Of course, I don’t do nothing but sit here.
“Luke, whether you think so or not, you owe me an explanation.”
“For what?”
“For you going over there with Taylor, doing what you should only be doing in our bedroom! In our bed!”
“What can I say, Vonne? A man needs some variety every now and then. It don’t mean that I don’t love you.”
“What does it mean, then?” I ask, feeling tears come to my eyes.
“Nothing. Like I said.”
Luke gets up from the table and goes into the living room. I hear Monday Night Football come on. I guess he’s finished talking about this. I’m not, but I’m not going to try and force anything else out of Luke.
Try as I might, I can’t get up from the table. It feels like I’m spinning or something. I’ve never been drunk, but I imagine that this is how it would feel. Shouldn’t he be the one reeling right now? He’s the one who just had a bomb dropped on him. But maybe something is not much of a bomb if you know it’s coming.
I was hoping that Luke’d deny everything and that we could go back to what we call normal. Now what?
What is everyone at church going to think? What about Pastor Brown? Luke is a minister, for crying out loud. Even though I’m the victim, I probably won’t even be able to show my face once everyone finds out. And for some reason, I think that Ms. Taylor Johnson has no intentions of keeping this thing a secret. And to think, I actually tried to do something nice for her and that baby.
Maybe I’ll tell my close friends so that I can have someone on my side. You know, rallying behind me. Taylor’s got the whole singles’ committee. They’re nothing but a pack of fornicators anyway who are sure to back the little husband stealer.
It’s almost Christmas, and I don’t feel one ounce of goodwill. I wonder if she’s going to let Luke spend time with Joshua. I know the games these women play. There’s no way my husband is going over to her house without me on his arm, so she can forget about opening the door in her negligee, or cooking Luke some romantic meal, when he’s supposed to be visiting his son.
With angry tears streaming down my cheeks, I pray out loud. “Lord, this isn’t fair! Help me to understand why I have to go through this trial. I’ve been a good wife to Luke. How could he do this to me after all these years? Lord, give me strength, because I don’t know
if I can make it through this. And give me wisdom, because I don’t know where to go from here. Lord, I don’t want to be a bitter, unforgiving woman, but how can I forgive this? Teach me Your ways, Jesus.”
Wait a minute. I’m getting ahead of myself. We don’t know if this is even Luke’s son. If he’s not the father, maybe this whole thing will just go away. Vanish into thin air, like warm breath blown into a winter’s day.
Chapter 12
Taylor
My son is going to be an architect when he grows up. My Joshua loves to build things. He is amazing with these little Lego building blocks. He giggles with pride as he displays his creations. Then he dismantles them as quickly as he put them together.
I love watching him play. With this new job, I’m getting to do that more. Pam is an excellent boss. She’s not demanding, and she lets me go home early three or four days out of the week. I don’t think she’s ever had an assistant before, because she still does plenty of things herself that I could do for her. When I catch her doing that, I just remind her that I’m there. Sometimes she catches the hint, sometimes she doesn’t.
When I don’t have anything else to do, I ask Pam’s boss, Glenda Evans, if she needs any assistance. There is no way I’m going to sit around twiddling my thumbs. I have to make sure that I keep this job. Anyway, the more executives that know my name, the better. Today I helped Glenda proofread a presentation that she is giving to the board of directors. I offered a few suggestions, and I was surprised when she actually took them. Maybe I’m on my way up.
The bad news is that Luke has been leaving threatening messages in my voice mail. I’m not really worried about him, but it’s still irritating. Apparently, his wife got to the mail before he did, and now he’s angry. You know what? I don’t even give a care. He can be angry all he wants.
I’m shocked that Sister Yvonne hasn’t confronted me herself. I half expected to receive a call from her. I wonder what Luke told her. He probably fed her some of his smooth lines. I can almost hear him saying “It was nothing . . . It was only a few times . . .” Blah, blah, blah. Let her come and ask me anything. I’m going to give her the real. I’m almost certain that she doesn’t want to hear that, or she would’ve already called me.
What a Sista Should Do Page 6