by B. M. Hardin
It was only about four or five houses up from ours, but on the other side of the street.
They appeared to be looking in our direction, but when they noticed my head hanging out the window, looking at them, they turned their head.
Eventually, Shelton came rushing back out of the house.
“Babe, do you see that black car right there?” I nodded in that direction.
“Yes…what about it?” Shelton asked and started to back out of the driveway.
“I think they're watching us,” I said.
Shelton stopped on brakes and looked at me. He shook his head and proceeded to drive.
“Go that way,” I ordered him.
“Why? The church is this way,” he said and pointed in the other direction.
If looks could kill, I’d just stabbed him like five times, no lie.
Shelton got the hint, and slowly drove pass the black car.
The driver, a man, turned his head just as we were passing by.
“What? Was he one of your two…plus one hundred men from your past?” Shelton chuckled.
I rolled my eyes at him, refusing to answer his question.
Whether Shelton saw it as strange or not; I would definitely be keeping my eyes open.
Church went by swiftly and smoothly.
Five people gave their lives over to the Lord and I did my part by taking down their names and numbers so that as the weeks went by, Shelton could give them a call to see how they were holding up and staying on track.
Once we were outside, and as I talked to one of the visitors, I spotted a tan Mercedes...and Shelia, passing by the church.
“I was wondering when you were going to show back up,” I mumble under my breath. Apparently, I was louder than I thought I was.
“Who?” Shelton asked behind me.
“Huh, oh, no one,” I said as I kept my eyes on the car until it was out of sight.
Shelton turned me around and looked at me.
I gave him a fake smile that he questioned with his eyes.
He released my arms and said nothing.
I turned back around to continue my conversation with the woman standing next to me, but I wasn't exactly listening to what she was saying.
I was going to have to do a little more investigating; there just had to be something that I could use to my advantage.
There just had to be a way to get to Shelia; up close and personal.
And this time I would be prepared.
I wouldn't be caught off guard...I would be ready.
It was time to show little Ms. Shelia just who she was messing with.
~***~
“Honey, I ran into a Shelia at the grocery store today, and she asked about you. I didn’t recognize her, is she from another church?” I lied.
I had become so obsessed with trying to find out everything I could about this Shelia Brown. I had half a mind to hop on a plane and go to the Washington address that showed as most current for her, but since Shelton would never go for that, I had to play dirty.
“Who?” Shelton asked, stepping out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.
“She said her name was Sheila---Shelia Brown,” I repeated, watching every move that he made.
He only appeared uncomfortable for a split second.
“Hmm, the name doesn’t ring a bell. I don’t think I know a Sheila Brown,” he said and headed over to the bed.
Lie number one.
I knew for a fact that he knew her.
I just didn’t know how he knew her.
“Well, she was pretty sure about who you were and she recognized both me and Mackenzie. Guess who she reminded me of?” I replied as we both got under the covers.
“Who?” Shelton asked timidly.
“Dianna. At first I thought I was seeing a ghost. She looked so much like her that they could have been twins. I mean, there were a few differences, but for the most part she favored her quite a bit,” I said, still keeping my eyes on Shelton.
There were a few minutes of dead, chilling silence.
“I can’t say that I remember a Shelia; especially not one that favors Dianna. Maybe she has me confused with another Pastor,” Shelton finally responded.
Lie number two.
“Maybe,” I responded and kissed him good night.
I was going to get to the bottom of it all, even if it kills me.
~**********~
~Be careful what you wish for...because sometimes, but not exactly in the way that you prefer...your wish just may come true~
Anonymous
Chapter Nine
What a nightmare…literally!
I woke up in a cold sweat and with my heart beating what felt like a hundred beats per minute.
I hadn’t had a nightmare like that for years; since after Mama died.
Desperately, I tried to remember every single detail...but it was gone.
But I did remember the basics.
Sheila was trying to kill me---again...maybe.
This woman was starting to get the best of me. My every thought was about her and who she was, and what she wanted, and if she wanted Shelton.
Though still, he wasn’t showing a single sign of worry or infidelity, I knew that something crazy was about to happen.
I could feel it.
Shelton was still peacefully asleep beside me, so I tip-toed quietly out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me.
After getting a glass of water, I headed to check on Mackenzie.
She was sound asleep as well, in the same exact position as the grown man sleeping in the other room.
She was getting so big, so fast.
It seemed just like yesterday that we were bobbing and weaving through traffic, trying to get to the hospital, hoping that I didn’t deliver her in the back seat.
Dianna was there, holding my hand, telling me that everything was going to be okay.
I’d waited all my life to be a mother and though contractions were of the Devil; I wouldn’t trade those few hours for anything else in the world.
For years I’d thought that I simply couldn’t have children.
As many penis’s that had taken my vagina for a ride, not once, not even my ex-husband, had I ever been pregnant. I guess Shelton and I were just meant to be and meant to make someone as beautiful and as smart as Mackenzie; together.
Closing the door behind me, I headed to the living room to take a seat, but decided that a seat on the porch would be so much better.
The cool night air was sure to relax me and calm my spirit.
I opened the front door with one hand and flicked the porch light on with the other.
My heart almost fell out of my chest as a person in all black, wearing a mask, stopped dead in their tracks at the bottom of the steps at the sight of me.
I started to scream Shelton’s name and the rather large figure turned around and surprisingly, ran as fast as a speeding bullet.
And guess what they ran to?
The same, damn black luxury car that I’d seen parked, watching our house a few Sunday’s ago.
Shelton was now at my side, as I pointed to the car as it sped down the street and turned left.
“What happened?” Shelton held me in his arms, and started to pray before I could even answer his question.
“I couldn’t sleep and came outside for some fresh air. Luckily I came out when I did; someone, in a mask, was headed up the steps,” I said, still struggling to catch my breath.
Shelton was still praying but prayer isn’t what I wanted.
I wanted answers!
“Shelton, please tell me what’s going on. All of a sudden strange, dangerous, things keep happening to us. It has to be for a reason and I feel like you know why,” I begged him as he now secured the front door.
He looked outside once more and then turned to face me.
His eyes told me that he was trying to figure out if he could trust me with his deepest, darkest secrets, but at this point in time, he simp
ly didn’t have a choice.
“Sit down,” he said softly.
I did as I was told and he sat across from me.
He was still for a few moments.
My guess was that he had to figure out how to say whatever it was that needed to be said.
“There are a lot of things, about me, that I’ve never told you...or anyone. I hadn’t always been saved Maxi,” he said.
Well duh, I didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that.
“I used to be into a lot of bad things with a lot of bad people, and I’m more than positive that they want me dead,” Shelton said.
Okay…what?
“What? Shelton what are you saying?” I asked, now even more frightened.
“I’m saying that I’m not who you think I am. At least not entirely,” he looked at me once more and then got up and walked toward the window.
He looked out once, but never turned back to face me.
“Sheila Brown, is my wife...well she was,” he confirmed.
So the bitch was telling the truth?
Well I’ll be damned!
“So you were married…before me?” I asked in a harsh tone, though technically, we were both guilty of the same lie.
Shelton was hesitant.
“I’m married to both of you...technically,” Shelton commented still refusing to turn around.
What the hell did he mean he was married to both of us?
Isn't that illegal or something?
And besides that, how could he lie about something like this?
And all of this time!
Before I could stop myself, I picked up the glass that earlier was filled with water, and threw it, aiming for the back of Shelton’s head.
Lucky for him...I missed.
“So, she was right…you are Levi Tate?” I asked him, now standing to my feet.
Shelton spun around so fast that just watching him almost made me dizzy.
“What did you just say?” he asked walking toward me.
“Yes, your wife, number two, or should I say number one, popped up at our old house one day with a marriage license saying that you were her husband but I didn’t believe her! Obviously I should have!” I shouted at him and turned around and headed down the hall.
“When? Why in the hell didn’t you tell me Maxine? Shelton yelled.
“No, the question is, why in the hell didn’t you tell me?” I said to him, swinging my fists in his direction.
Shelton moved out of the way just in time to avoid the blow headed for the right side of his face.
“What else did she say Maxi? What else did she say?” Shelton demanded to know.
My mind was racing and my heart was breaking.
How in the hell was he married to both of us?
And he changed his name?
This was all just too much for me to handle.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
I felt like I was going to be sick.
Shelton sat beside me and touched my hand.
“Get your lying ass hands off of me!” I screamed.
Here I was thinking I was married to a Pastor... when all along I had been married to a damn Devil!
“Maxi, listen, let me explain. I married Shelia, right out of high school. I wasn’t lying about being an orphan, or bouncing around from family to family. That’s all true. Shelia was my high school sweetheart. She loved me when no one else did. She had always been there for me. I felt that it was only right to make her my wife; so I did. Though I had dated her for years, it wasn’t until after I married her that I found out the truth about her family. I didn't know that she was the daughter of the biggest, most wanted, drug dealer in California, better yet, the whole West Coast. Her father took me in like I was his own son, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was a part of a family. Of course I didn’t have enough money to take care of his daughter to his standards so, he put me on. He taught me his whole operation. I knew everything and everybody that he knew. I was the man, behind the man. I was his son,” Shelton took a breath.
So, I was married to a damn drug dealer?
Man, not again…
Lord take me now!
“I wasn’t necessarily out there hustlin'; I was more like the hustlers' supervisor. I kept tabs on them, handled the money, you know, sh---stuff like that. In a way, I think Sheila's Pops knew that I didn't have the heart to actually be out there on the streets. Deep down, I knew that I was better than that lifestyle, but what I wanted didn't matter. It was all about what was best for Shelia,” he said.
Ugh, if he said her name one more damn time---I was going to throw up!
“Shelia’s father wanted to expand his operation, so he knew somebody, that knew somebody else in Texas, and he sent me and Shelia to be his eyes and his ears, and to get things off the ground,” Shelton continued with his eyes to the floor.
Texas?
I couldn’t believe my ears.
That explained why Shelia had a Texas address on her background check.
And to think that Shelton lived in the same city as I did, for a few years, and never had we crossed paths.
Hell, I was surprised that I hadn't screwed him to be honest...as I said, in my younger years, I got around.
Speechless, I said nothing and waited for Shelton to finish his story.
“Everything was going fine and then sh--- things started happening. Long story short, Shelia’s father and his connect in Texas, were trying to set me up to take the fall for the entire dirty, drug operation. I respected that man. I looked up to him. But he couldn't be trusted. It was every man for themselves; so, I cooperated with the police. The bad part was that Shelia's loyalty to her father was unwavering. She would have never taken my side over his. So, I knew I would have to leave her behind. We'd planned it for weeks; the Feds and I. I’d told Shelia that I was traveling for a few days, to follow a lead on someone that was talking about making some real money. I knew Shelia would mention it to her father and I also knew that Shelia’s father trusted my judgment; and if it was about making money, he wouldn’t question me on it. But the truth was that the FBI was getting ready to make me disappear. I was going into witness protection. I had given up all the information that I could on men that they had been after for almost a decade and they were about to make their move on everyone involved, including Shelia’s father. Snitching was looked down on in the streets; and with all the big dogs in the game that I had turned over if I didn't get missing, I was going to be dead before most of them was even booked in the county jail. Never had I been the type of man to run to the police; but they left me no choice. I would have never betrayed her father. I would have given my life for him; but he had only been a sit down away from hanging me out to dry. Hell, I just beat him to the punch,” Shelton stopped talking abruptly. It was as if he was giving me room to ask questions, but I had no idea where to begin.
He took it as a sign to keep talking.
“I loved Shelia so much and I didn’t want to leave her behind. The cops knew that she would make a few moves here and there, but they agreed to let her have her freedom because I talked. They'd even tried to convince me to get her on board and take her with me. She didn't have to know every detail. She didn't have to know that it was me who ratted out the entire operation; maybe I could get her to come with me. I had only been gone for a few minutes and I turned around to head back to the house to talk Shelia into taking this so called trip with me. I was going to convince her that this would be a fresh start for us but on my way back I saw her driving; going in the other direction. I followed her that day to a hotel. I watched her go into the room, and then I saw him pull up…her father's connect…Ricky,” Shelton said.
Ricky?
I know he wasn’t talking about my dead ex-husband Ricky!
“The police and the FBI were calling me left and right. They couldn’t make their move until I was safe in their custody. But I sat there waiting, watching the hotel room. Ricky was amongst
the men that I had given up to the FBI. He was also a part of setting me up to take the fall, along with Shelia's father, but sleeping with my wife was a whole different ball game. I loved Shelia. Never had I been unfaithful to her and I never expected that she would do something as scandalous as sleep with a man that was in my face every single day. He had taken away the only thing that I had left. I didn’t know whether to kick down the hotel door and shoot them both, or walk away, knowing that I'd dodge a bullet. But my manhood, my ego...was bruised. I called Ricky. I asked him to meet me at one of our spots. And when he did, I shot him. I killed him, and drove away as though I hadn’t done a thing. By the time I made it to my safe location to meet the FBI, they’d already been by my house and told me that they had taken Shelia; but I knew that that was impossible. I was sure that she was still back at the hotel, waiting on a dead man to return. They said that they had tried to confirm if she was on board but when I didn't answer their calls; they played it safe and went by the house to get her, just in case. They brought her in and I saw that they had actually taken Shelby....Shelia’s younger sister, who was on college break and visiting us for the summer. Because they looked so much alike, they'd thought that she was my wife, forced her to go with them, just before setting our house on fire. But they had taken the wrong woman. Shelby was who you knew as....Dianna,” Shelton said looking at me for the first time.
Huh?
What?
Let me get this straight.
First, Shelton had just confessed to killing my ex-husband Ricky.
Though he had been a blessing in disguise at the time, he was still...a murderer!
Oh, and if that wasn't enough...Dianna…was really Shelby...who was also Shelia's, his other wife...sister.
So, Dianna really was like Shelton’s sister...more or less, she actually was.
What!
Just what in the hell was going on here?
Shelton was dropping bomb after bomb and I was about to explode!
Shelton opened his mouth to speak, again, and I felt as though I was going to have a heart attack.
How much more was there?
How many more secrets did Shelton have?
“We tried to tell them that they had taken the wrong woman; but it was too late. They had already released the fake story to the press that a husband and wife had died in a terrible house fire. The news, media, the police, fire fighters were all on board with making sure that the FBI had all of their tracks covered; with making sure that the world thought that we were dead. That same hour, the Feds made over fifty arrests...including the girls' father. They couldn’t leave a trail, so the FBI set out to find Shelia, and pitched her a bogus story about Shelby being stuck in the house, and that I must have forgotten something, returned home and tried to save her. But they explained that we both perished in the flames. They had even placed my car back at the scene and corpses inside the house and everything. Next they told Shelia that they had been investigating the both of us for a while, and that if I hadn't died, I would have been going to prison. To get her on board with disappearing, they told her that I had been a part of a drug deal gone bad, and that some very bad people were after us, and were looking for us, so for her safety she needed to head back to California and never return to Texas. They told her that it was best that no one but family knew the truth about who she really was and for her safety, they would simply continue to allow the press to think that it was her who had actually died in the fire...and not her sister. Fearing for her life, Shelia agreed and did as she was told. They put her on the next plane back to California. Just like that, we were all dead in the whole world's eyes and Shelby, or Dianna as you call her, and I were shipped off to South Carolina. They changed our names, gave us brand new identities. They told us that we could never go back or contact anyone from our past. No friends, no relatives; no one for our own safety. Shelby at first was resistant, but she didn’t exactly like being in the shadows of Shelia all the time or always being treated like a child. So, when the Feds agreed to make her a grown woman with her own everything...she hastily agreed. They wiped away all history of us. Birth certificates, credit history, marriages, traffic tickets, everything you could think of. It was like we were never born. They gave me the credentials of a college graduate and a license in ministering and stuck us in a church, telling us that this is now who and what we were. I was now Pastor Shelton Cartwright and Shelby was now Dianna Forney. They gave us more than enough money to live and then they went about their merry little way. Dianna never really knew all of the details as to what I had done...and she never even asked,” Shelton walked out of the bedroom, after he'd finished his last statement.