Her face quickly turned from a smile to a serious look. “If only I had had the kind of relationship with my parents that you have with yours, maybe my life would have turned out better. Don’t you think?” She turned and faced Tim.
“I think you dwell too much on yesterday. I keep telling you to let the past stay in the past. Now if you want to reach out to Stiles and Pastor, that’s a whole different story. I know they would love to─”
Francesca covered his lips with her hand. “No, you already know that I’m not going to do that. I forgive them, and I love them, but I don’t want them in my inner circle. At least not right now. Maybe one day down the line, I can invite them back into my life, but there’s too much pain connected with them, Tim. And I’m tired of hurting.”
Tim gently removed her hand from his mouth and kissed it. “I know, and I understand. I won’t bring it up anymore. Now, what do you say we get everything ready for mom and dad, and little Miss Kyra. If we’re going to grill like you said we were going to do, then we need to go to the farmer’s market and get some fresh vegetables.”
“Sounds good. I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Okay, let’s do this.”
◊
Detria returned home after being gone for a week. After talking to her parents and her sister, she made the decision to give her marriage one last try. Skip was dead set against it, but she explained to him that she owed that much to her marriage. Finally, he relented, told her he understood but made it clear that if she needed a strong shoulder to cry on, that he would be there for her.
“I thought we’d go away for a few days. Just the two of us,” Stiles told Detria when he returned home from the university that evening.
Detria was planted in front of her laptop working on a new ministry she wanted to implement at Holy Rock. It was going to be an extension to the Marriage Ministry.
She stopped typing and looked at him. “Go where? And what about church?”
“Myrtle Beach. And as for church, even the pastor needs some time off every now and then. One thing we have at Holy Rock that I’m glad about is we have some good, faithful and anointed associate ministers. So church will go on. But right now, I want to spend every moment I can making up for all the hurt and pain I’ve caused you. I want you to trust me again, Detria.”
Detria was torn. She said she wanted her marriage to work, but yet she didn’t know if Stiles could make her happy anymore. The past year had revealed a lot of things about him that she wasn’t exactly pleased about. His violent tendencies were something that frightened her. Would there come a time when he would strike her? And the fact that he wanted a housewife, a full time mother to his children, well Detria didn’t know if she could ever be that woman.
Then there was Skip. She didn’t want to say that she was in love with him, but she did have strong feelings for him. And Skip was not one to give up easily. She liked the way he treated her. She liked the way he held her and showed concern toward her. She liked everything about Skip Madison. But was Skip just a fantasy that would fade away. Was the grass really that much greener on Skip’s side of the fence?
And what did she have with Stiles? They had a child together, a beautiful home, and she was the first lady. She loved the role and the attention she received from being the wife of Stiles Graham. She had a lot to think about.
“Stiles, I don’t know if our marriage can be saved. We’ve grown so far apart. I just don’t know if I’m the woman you really want. I can’t compete with your ex-wife. I’m not her. I will never be her. And I do not want to be her. I’m me, Detria─”
“Graham,” Stiles finished. “You’re Detria Graham, my lady, the first lady of Holy Rock Church, the mother of my precious daughter. You’re beautiful, and funny. You’re a great listener. You are so many wonderful things, Detria.”
“I don’t know what to say. I’m shocked by all of this.”
“I know you are, but I mean every word of it.” Stiles sat down next to her. “I know it’s going to take time for you to believe in me again, for you to believe that we can make this work, but I’m willing, Detria. God knows I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” he said with genuine sincerity.
“Let’s do it then. I’ve been wanting to go to Myrtle Beach for the longest time.”
“I know,” Stiles said. “Which is exactly why I chose it. I’ve looked into some great hotels, and I already talked to Mother Brown about taking care of Baby Audrey. We’ll only be gone a week so she said it was no problem.”
“Seems like you’ve already thought of everything,” Detria said and forced a smiled. “How did you know I would say yes?”
“I didn’t, but God knows I’ve been praying about it for a minute.” He laughed. “We’re going to have a great time making up.”
Detria joined him in laughter. “Ohhh, is that right?”
“Yes,” he answered before scooping her in his arms and kissing her passionately. “What do you say we start practicing on what we’re going to do when we get to Myrtle Beach,” he teased seductively.
He nibbled on her earlobes, then picked up her laptop and placed it on the other side of him. His hands played jazz with her body, and Detria didn’t deny him access. Maybe, just maybe they had a chance after all.
Seven Months Later
Family quarrels are bitter things. They don’t go according to any rules. They’re not like aches or wounds; they’re more like splits in the skin that won’t heal because there’s not enough material. F. S. Fitzgerald.
Rena and Robert bundled up the twins and put them in their car seats, while Isabelle and Robbie got in the van on their own. Isabelle got in her booster seat while Robbie climbed in his.
“Fasten your belts, Robbie and Isabelle,” Robert reminded them.
“Are we going to church?” Isabelle asked.
“No, Isabelle, we aren’t going to church.”
“Then why are all dressed up?” she asked.
“Honey,” Robert explained. “Didn’t we tell you and Robbie that today is a very special day? Today, you’re going to officially have Rena as your mother.”
“Oh, yeah, I know that. But I thought she was already our mother,” Isabelle continued to question.
“She is, but we have to have a judge tell us too. Remember what we told you the first time we talked to the judge?”
“Um hum,” Isabelle replied. “I remember now.”
Rena and Robert looked at each other, shook their heads and smiled.
“Let me help you with the twins,” Rena told Robert who was trying to secure the latch on their car seats. “These things can be hard to fasten sometimes.”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Robert said.
“There you go Rachel and Riana, all fastened,” she said to the precious identical twin girls.
The family of four arrived at the courthouse for the official adoption papers to be signed.
Rena was on cloud nine. She had given birth to two healthy, beautiful babies, she had a husband who loved her, and now within a matter of hours, she would be declared the legal mother of Isabelle and Robbie. It felt good to have her life back on track and moving in such a positive manner. She hadn’t heard anything more from Stiles since his last email months ago telling her he wouldn’t be bothering her again. And he hadn’t.
She enjoyed each day she spent taking care of the twins along with Isabelle and Robbie.
They left the courthouse and headed to Robert’s sister’s house to celebrate the official adoption among family and friends.
“I love you, Robert Becton,” she said as they drove along the highway.
“I love you more, Mrs. Becton, the fabulous, beautiful mother of my children,” he answered before he leaned over and kissed her.
◊
Detria stood in front of the floor to ceiling mirror and surveyed herself. She had questions for the reflection staring back at her. “How long can I keep doing this? She asked herself. “Can this marriage really be saved?”
She smiled at the reflection. “Yes, yes it can,” she answered herself. “You can do this, girl,” she told the woman in the mirror. “You can do it. You just have to try, keep praying and do not fall weak to Skip Madison,” she fussed at her reflection.
The past several months had proven to be tough for her and Stiles. At first, she was ready to call it quits, but something within told her to hold on. She had even talked to Brooke and told her about the problems she and Stiles had been having. She purposely left off the part about her affair with Skip.
Brooke advised her not to give up on her marriage because marriage was sacred and required a life time of commitment to one another.
It wasn’t exactly the advice Detria wanted to hear, but she nevertheless, took her sister to heart. Brooke knew what she was talking about in Detria’s eyes, because she and her husband had two boys and had been married for twelve years.
As for her weakness: Skip Madison - Detria had given in to him twice since her recommitment to her marriage. She still missed him but she was trying to be strong. There was no way she could just dismiss him totally out of her life because of their connection to Holy Rock. So they talked mostly at church, and occasionally on the phone or via text. But sleeping with him, she finally promised God and herself that she wouldn’t go down that road again. She didn’t want to end up like her mother-in-law with dark, deep secrets left behind to be exposed to her family.
“You can do this,” she said to the woman in the mirror. “You can make this work. You are making this work.”
She turned and went to check on Baby Audrey who was growing up fast, and had started walking a week prior. The little girl was getting into everything. Detria had finally begun to enjoy motherhood. Brooke had told her that as Baby Audrey began to get older, things would get better, and they had.
Detria chose to remain the church administrator at Holy Rock rather than return to her former job as a nutritionist. Her hours at the church were self-made, and afforded Detria the freedom she enjoyed and the career she craved.
The more time she spent at the church, the more time she wanted to spend at the church. Her marriage was getting better, and like a daily mantra she constantly told herself that being married to Stiles wasn’t so bad.
◊
Stiles made the decision to resign from his position at the University so he could devote more time with his family. He desperately wanted his marriage to work and to last. He’d also started talking to a trusted preacher friend several months prior about his anger issues. Much to his pleasant surprise, he had begun to display his anger in a healthier way rather than through violent outbursts. It made for a stronger relationship between him and Detria.
He had long since stopped making contact with Rena. He had finally come to terms with the fact that his past needed to be left behind, and Rena was part of his past. She had moved on with her life and so had he. It was time to devote himself fully to his relationship with Detria, his daughter, and Holy Rock.
Stiles desired to have more children one day, and he hoped that not too far down the road that Detria would agree. He still wasn’t wholeheartedly satisfied with her mothering skills, but he believed that she loved Baby Audrey. He saw her trying to be a better mother to their daughter, and that in and of itself encouraged him to give his marriage a chance. Now that he was around more, he was able to spend more time with Baby Audrey, and that made it less stressful on his wife.
He sought God’s forgiveness and asked that God make him a better man. He had his faults, plenty of them, he admitted to his preacher friend and to God. He realized that he had issues with forgiveness. He always preached about it, but he seemed to fall short from following his own teaching. And then there were the problems with Audrey and Francesca. Why did he all but close his eyes to his sister’s ill treatment by their mother? He continued to toy with the answers to his own questions. There were still too many loopholes for him to be able to decipher what was what.
He couldn’t quite figure out in his mind why Audrey kept those newspaper articles and lied about being raped, when she knew that Francesca was her lover’s baby…and not some rapist. Unless, unless she had actually been raped like she said. Stiles couldn’t figure it out.
There was no doubt in his mind that she’d had an affair like Pastor said, but still Stiles wrestled with what was fact and what was fiction when it came to his dear mother, God rest her soul. Now it was too late to ever know the real truth. There was no way to ever be certain what Audrey was thinking back then, but he came to the conclusion that it was time to let it all die along with her, even though what she said in the letter and what Pastor divulged was hard to digest.
Stiles loved Audrey, and why wouldn’t he? She was his mother after all, but he understood and now truly believed that Audrey Graham had some serious issues that she struggled with when she was here on this earth. She was gone now, but her secrets, her past deeds had still managed to destroy their family even from the grave. It was going to take time, a long time before their family could completely heal or even mend.
The wedge it placed in his relationship with Francesca was huge and Stiles didn’t know if Francesca would ever come to terms with it. He could only pray that one day she would forgive him, their mother and Pastor.
Stiles contemplated his ways too. He wasn’t exactly a model guy. He had his faults and his secrets too. If the church family ever knew that he had an anger management problem they would see him in a far different light. Maybe he did have ways like Audrey. Longtime members of Holy Rock often told him he reminded them of First Lady Audrey Graham, and that he had a lot of her ways. He didn’t know if he should take that as a compliment or not. Maybe he saw in his mother only what he wanted to see. And when it came to his relationship with his sister, he finally owned up to the truth, that he had not exactly been a star brother while they were growing up. In his own way, he mistreated Francesca too. No wonder she rebelled against all of them. She’d had no one to turn to. No one whom she could trust.
And Pastor, well Stiles thought that he should have let sleeping dogs lie . Why did he have to tell him and Francesca about Audrey’s affair? Love can make a person do foolish things, and the hurt Pastor had harbored all the years of their marriage came to a head under the mounting pressure he felt. It was probably good that Pastor finally got his true feelings about his darling wife off his chest. Now he hopefully could move on with his life as well.
Anyway, Stiles soon reasoned that just like the word of God stated, ‘All things work together for good…’
“Honey, are you ready?” he asked as he walked up on Detria and rubbed his lips against her neck.
“Yes, I’m ready.” She took hold of Baby Audrey’s hand and led her toward the kitchen.
“Come on, pretty lady,” she said to her daughter. “It’s time to go see your granddaddy get married.”
Stiles laughed.
“Can you believe it? Pastor is getting married. I’m glad for him. Sister Josie is a good catch,” he remarked.
“I think so too. She loves that man.”
“Yes, she does, and I believe he loves her. I’m glad he’s found someone who he can be happy with again,” Stiles commented.
“I wish Francesca and Tim had come down.”
“She’s changed her phone number, so I couldn’t call her. Pastor said that he mailed her an invitation but he never heard back from her.”
“I just hope she’s doing okay,” Detria remarked.
“Me too,” Stiles replied.
◊
Francesca had been feeling better with each day that passed. She was still sticking to her diet and lifestyle changes.
She had recently received an invitation from Pastor about his impending marriage but decided that her life was going better without interference from Pastor and Stiles.
“Tim,” she called from the kitchen. “Do you want some lemonade? I just made it,” she told him.
Tim was in his office working on a d
esign project. He was glad to see his wife doing better, feeling better and sounding better. Their marriage was more than he could have ever expected and that he was truly grateful to God for.
“Yes, I’d love a glass,” he replied.
“Okay, I’ll bring it to you in just a sec,” she answered.
Maybe she had made many mistakes, costly mistakes in her life, but now Francesca was ready to move forward, to enjoy the life, the second chance that she’d been given. She was far from being perfect, and she understood that one day she would have to reach out to her family, if for no other reason but to let them know that she had forgiven them.
After all, she’d been given a new slate on life so who was she not to do the same for others, especially her family.
Words From The Author
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” This quotation by Sir Walter Scott rings true. Deceit is nothing but a tangled web. It leads to trouble, heartache and heartbreak. Did you know that a spider’s web is so strong that it is said to be the equivalent of steel! That’s amazing to me. When I see a spider web, at first glance it looks delicate, like it can be easily torn apart. But if you’ve ever seen an insect fly into a spider’s web, you’ll notice that it is virtually impossible for it to break loose. It is trapped and unless the spider decides to eat it right away, it is subject to suffering for a long period of time, and eventually dying.
That’s how deep and dangerous deception can be. Deceit can kill your spirit, wound the heart, tear apart families like it did in the Graham family. The grip of deceit is stronger than steel!
Who can we say is the one who was actually deceitful in the My Son’s series? Is it First Lady Audrey? Maybe it is Stiles. Then again, could it be Pastor or Detria? Who do you place the blame on?
My Sister My Momma My Wife Page 19