But he didn’t answer.
“Sweetheart, I’m home.”
Phillip finally walked into the kitchen, holding a document in his hand. “Alicia, what in the world is this?”
“What are you talking about?”
“This. This Visa statement and all these charges you made last month.”
“Oh, not tonight. Pleeease, not tonight.”
“Why do you insist on trying to ruin everything for us?”
“I’m not doing this with you right now. I’m not, Phillip.”
“Just tell me why. Why do you keep buying all this unnecessary stuff?”
“I needed everything I bought, but don’t you worry. I’ll take care of it first thing tomorrow.”
“How?”
“I’ll pay it by phone through my checking account. It’s only eight hundred dollars.”
“Only?”
Alicia turned away from him, but then it dawned on her that she’d already spent the last five thousand dollars she had to her name on those stupid earrings.
“How many other credit cards have you been making charges on? That’s what I wanna know.”
“I told you I’m not doing this with you. I don’t wanna argue with you, Phillip,” she said matter-of-factly and then grabbed her purse and headed upstairs.
But Phillip followed behind her and tossed another statement onto their dresser. “And what about this?”
Alicia saw that it was from Victoria’s Secret and was furious. “Why are you opening my mail? That’s my account and my account alone.”
“It’s not like I wanted to but after I saw the Visa bill, I couldn’t help myself. And I’m glad I did because you charged over five hundred dollars just in the last month and the balance is over fifteen hundred.”
“You had no right opening anything of mine. My business is my business, and it has nothing to do with you.”
“No, it has everything to do with me. We’re married, remember? When you mess up, it affects me and vice versa.”
“That’s beside the point, and I’m telling you now, you’d better stop trying to control me.”
“I’m not trying to control you. I’m just trying to get you to see what you’re doing.”
“You are trying to control me, and I think it’s time you stop and realize that I’m your wife and not your child.”
“I know you’re my wife, and that’s why I’m so concerned about this. Alicia, we can’t afford your excessive spending habits and it’s going to have to stop. Period.”
Alicia raised her eyebrows at him and then dropped down on the bed and turned on the television.
“Oh, so now you’re just going to ignore me?”
Alicia flipped through the channels.
“Why can’t you see how damaging all of this is eventually going to be for us? I’m doing everything I know how when it comes to being a good husband to you, but you act as if you don’t care about me or our marriage. You act as though you couldn’t care less.”
Alicia never even looked at him.
Finally, he walked out of the bedroom and back downstairs to his study, she guessed. To be honest, she didn’t care where he was and was just glad he was no longer harassing her. He was really starting to get on her nerves, and he’d certainly gone way too far when he’d opened her mail. Mail that wasn’t even addressed to him. And how dare he confront her like he was her boss or like he owned her.
Alicia reached for her purse and pulled out her wallet. Then, she removed the MasterCard that she’d just received in the mail a couple of weeks ago, the one that she’d signed Phillip’s and her name to right after the preapproved letter had come last month. She hadn’t planned on using it unless there was some dire emergency, but now Phillip hadn’t left her any choice. Now, she’d have to take it to the bank tomorrow and get a cash advance so she could pay off the Visa he was whining about. She’d also have to visit the post office first thing tomorrow morning so she could rent a P.O. box and then notify her bank and each of her credit card companies that she had a new mailing address.
She slipped the MasterCard that had a five-thousand-dollar line back into her wallet and then went back downstairs. She picked up the Visa statement and then tossed the actual card onto the island.
“I’ll be paying off your precious little Visa by noon tomorrow and just so you know, I won’t be using it again. Oh, and I’ve decided to take my father up on his offer to come work for the church so from here on out, I won’t be asking you for another dime.”
“Baby, you’re taking this too far and all I’m asking is that you stick to buying only things that you really need and things that are priced within reason.”
“No. You keep your money and your Visa. You can have your American Express card back, too, because I don’t want anything that has your name on it.”
“But I’m not asking you to stop using our credit cards completely. Those cards belong to both of us, so keep the American Express card in your wallet and take back the Visa, too.”
Alicia gave him a dirty look and then went back upstairs again.
But this time, she went into her office and shut the door. She was steaming, and she couldn’t stand the way she was feeling. So she turned on her computer and then called her dad.
“Hey, baby girl. How are you? I haven’t talked to you in a couple of days, have I?”
“No, and I’m fine, but I’ve decided that I do want to come work at the church.”
“Good. You know that makes me happy, and I’ll run it by the elder board for final confirmation. They already know that I’ve been trying to convince you to take the position, but I just need to have them approve your salary. There won’t be any benefits offered, so I’m sure they’ll approve at least two thousand dollars per month.”
Alicia quickly did the math in her head and realized that this wasn’t bad at all because what it meant was that she’d be averaging about five hundred dollars a week and only working about twenty hours. The more she thought about it, it was great, considering this was her first real job since graduating.
“I really appreciate this, Daddy. I was worried about taking it because I still want to have time to write, but now I know I can do both.”
“Of course, you can. Easily. Now, the elder board won’t meet again until next week, but you should be able to start right away. Probably next Wednesday if you want.”
“That’ll be fine.”
“We’ll have you spend time with the PR firm that does contract work for us now, and then you, Charlotte, Phillip, and I and a couple of the elder board members can all sit down to see exactly what direction we want to take our PR and marketing efforts in.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“So, you’re doing okay?”
God, how she wanted to lie in her father’s arms, cry her eyes out, and tell him what had happened to her earlier this evening. She wanted to tell him because she needed him to console her the way he’d done since the day she was born. But she couldn’t.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m glad. I was talking to Phillip yesterday and no matter how many weeks and months pass, the one thing I can tell you is that you’ve been blessed with a great husband. He’s a good man, baby girl, and a good, decent man is what every father hopes his daughter will end up with. And with Phillip, I definitely got my wish.”
“He is a good man” was all Alicia could muster, because in all honesty she couldn’t stand her “good husband” at the moment. She didn’t even want to look at him.
“Have you spoken to your mom this week?”
“I talked to her yesterday morning, but I’m hoping to go visit her next week sometime. They’re headed out of town for the weekend, and then Phillip’s parents are coming here to stay with us on Saturday and Sunday.”
“Phillip mentioned that to me when we were leaving the church this evening, and I’m glad both of you will get to spend some time with them.”
“I am, too. Well, Daddy, I’d better get
going. But I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Oh, and tell Charlotte I said hello.”
“I will. Love you, baby girl.”
“I love you, too, Daddy.”
Alicia hung up and burst into tears again. She sat there for a few minutes trying to calm herself, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the gun that had been pointed into her back. She’d tried to block her memory of it, but now she could practically feel the gun touching her body. She cried because it hadn’t really dawned on her until now that the gunman could have killed her in cold blood. He could have taken her life and all because he wanted to steal her jewelry. And it was only the jewelry that he must have wanted because he hadn’t asked for anything else. Not her cash, credit cards, or even the comforter set, towels, and other accessories that were also packed inside the trunk.
Alicia wiped her face with both hands and then wiped her hands on the sides of her jeans. She knew she’d gotten makeup on them, but that was the least of her worries because right now, all she wanted to do was feel better. She needed a pick-me-up, so she went onto AOL and pulled up the Neiman Marcus website. She browsed from one category to the next but stopped when she saw those elegant-looking Manolo Blahnik four-inch classic black pumps that she’d been trying her best not to purchase for some time. But now, since she had a job, she’d have more than enough to pay her Neiman’s bill when it arrived next month. Not to mention, she needed these pumps to go with some of her business suits, because she wanted to look classic and professional whenever she had business meetings to attend. Then, after adding the shoes to her shopping cart, she clicked on the accessories link and saw the Cole Haan black leather satchel she’d been eyeing for a while. It was only three hundred seventy-five dollars, so she added that to her basket as well.
She was glad she’d treated herself to some of the things she’d been wanting because she felt 100 percent better than she had a half hour ago. Shopping was good for the soul, and she deserved to have nice things. Everyone did, whether they realized it or not.
After processing her Neiman’s order and receiving confirmation, she pulled up the Saks website to see what suits were on sale. She’d had her Saks and Neiman’s cards forever, and it wasn’t like she had huge balances on either one of them because while she’d been in college and up until the last three months, her father and Charlotte had paid them off like clockwork. They’d paid them every single billing cycle, and once they’d stopped, Alicia had been able to pay them herself with the cash she’d had left over from her wedding budget. As of today, though, that money was gone, but she’d still be fine because she’d soon be working at the church, and maybe in a few months, she would finish and sell her novel.
She would do whatever she had to do in order to be happy, and Phillip had no choice but to accept that. She loved him and wanted to stay married to him, but she wouldn’t change who she was as a person. She wouldn’t limit herself in any way, not for him or anyone else.
She would do what she wanted to do, and there was no room for discussion.
Chapter 9
She actually went out and bought a brand-new, ridiculously priced comforter set, simply because my parents were coming for an overnight visit, Phillip thought, and that was all he’d been able to focus on for two days straight. And though he was standing in the pulpit preparing to give his sermon, he couldn’t stop replaying that same thought, over and over again.
The whole idea of it was senseless and the reason he knew exactly how much Alicia had spent was that he’d eventually gotten her to tell him where she’d purchased everything from. Then, he’d called up Nordstrom’s 800 number and checked all recent charges. He’d even listened to the amounts more than one time before finally hanging up and was just sick over it. Because it wasn’t as if she’d be able to pay off the entire balance when the statement came. He would have to do it, and he was getting tired of all the debt she kept accumulating.
They’d been arguing on and off ever since he’d confronted her about those Visa and Victoria’s Secret statements, but the Nordstrom purchases had made things worse. They’d been at it all evening on Friday, which was the day he’d come home and seen everything, and the only reason they hadn’t argued the rest of yesterday or any today was that his parents were in town. Phillip was beyond angry with his wife, and what bothered him the most was that she didn’t seem to care about his feelings in the least. All she cared about were her own, and it was as if she didn’t see one problem with that. Then, the other thing he didn’t like was the way he was now standing before the congregation, trying to keep a smile on his face and trying to pretend that life just couldn’t be better for him. He didn’t like doing this, and he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to continue, which was why he hoped and prayed that he and Alicia would find some sort of common ground and end these issues they were having.
“You know, church, not every day is a good day.”
“No, it’s not, Pastor,” one lady responded.
“Some days are wonderful, but there are some days when you wish you could crawl back into bed, pull the covers over your head, and never get back up again.”
“He’s definitely telling the truth,” an older gentleman told another man sitting next to him.
“But then, we all know that life wasn’t meant to be perfect. Life wouldn’t be normal if we didn’t experience a few problems from time to time. It wouldn’t be real if we didn’t hit a few bumps in the road every now and then.”
The majority of the members nodded in agreement.
“It wouldn’t be real and the truth of the matter is, if we didn’t have problems, some of us would never, not once, get down on our knees and pray.”
“Boy, you know you’re speakin’ today,” another elderly gentleman offered.
“He’s so right about that,” Lena added. She was Curtis’s assistant.
Phillip locked eyes with Alicia. “Some of us think we deserve to have everything we want, when we want it, and never even bother to give thanks or consider how selfish we’re being. Some of us care only about ourselves and we don’t care at all about who we step on in the process.”
Phillip could tell how annoyed Alicia was, just by the look on her face, but he didn’t care because he knew he was telling the truth. He was telling the kind of truth she very much needed to hear.
“Then, there’s the institution of marriage. Now, this particular subject has very little to do with the topic of the sermon I’ll be delivering today, but I really feel like I need to share a few marital observations for all the married people who are here today.”
He looked across the congregation and smiled when he saw the Kings because even though he hadn’t made much progress with Mrs. King when they’d met for the second time on Friday—mainly because her husband and niece’s baby had been born the day before—he was glad to see that she’d at least come to church and was sitting with her husband.
But then Phillip looked at Alicia again.
“Just last week, I was reading an article about the number of divorces that take place in this country every year, and I was truly saddened by it. There are way too many of them, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that people don’t take the time to find out enough about the person they’re marrying, they don’t communicate the way they ought to, and they have no idea that marriage involves a huge amount of give-and-take. Marriage is about two people who have become one in the eyes of God, and it’s up to both parties to act accordingly—meaning each party should always consider how their individual actions will affect his or her spouse. Always.”
Phillip looked at his parents, who seemed as proud as any parents could be, and he smiled at both of them. This time he didn’t bother looking at his wife again because he didn’t want to see the dirty looks she kept giving him.
“None of us is without fault, and we all make mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes are small, and sometimes they’re so huge they may seem unforgivable. But if God forgives us, then we have a responsibility as Christians to forgiv
e our fellow man or woman exactly the same way.”
Phillip glanced at Mr. and Mrs. King but only for a short second.
“Forgiveness, especially when we’ve been hurt, isn’t always the easiest thing to offer, but it is possible and it is the right thing for us to do. Sometimes, forgiving the people who have wronged us, the people who have betrayed us, well, sometimes it seems like we just shouldn’t have to forgive them for anything. Sometimes all we want is for something bad to happen to them so we can feel like justice has been served. But I’m here to tell you that revenge is not of God. Revenge is wrong and something we should work hard to separate ourselves from.”
“Amen,” a woman toward the back agreed.
Phillip knew all that he’d said would help at least someone, but sadly his words weren’t helping him one bit. He was still furious with Alicia, and he was having a very difficult time forgiving her.
“So, married people, if you’re happy and truly enjoying each other, then I say God bless you, but if you’re married and having one problem after another, then please think about what I said. Refer to your Bibles because there are some wonderful scriptures in there on marriage that will truly help you. Then, sit down and just talk to each other. Pay attention to what your spouse has to say, and do what you have to in order to work things out. Realize that your relationship is not just about you but about both of you.”
“Amen,” members of the congregation said in unison.
“Now, before I move on to begin my message, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge my parents who are here visiting with us from Chicago. So, Mom, Dad, please stand up.”
Phillip’s parents stood, turned toward the audience and waved, and everyone applauded. Phillip smiled when he thought about how well they looked and how they could easily pass for ten years younger than their actual ages.
“Needless to say, I’m very happy to have them here with me today, and I thank all of you for giving them such a wonderful welcome as always. Then, if I could ask Ms. Brittany,” he said, turning toward the youth choir and searching for his favorite fifteen-year-old soloist, “if I could ask you to sing ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow,’ you would really make my day.”
The Best of Everything Page 7