Claudia and Julia Wilson, both outfitted in smart print dresses and prim hats with netting, appeared in the doorway next, smiling and chatting like old friends.
“Doesn’t she look chic?” Claudia asked her sisters.
“She looks just grand,” Rebecca replied. “Julia, now you remember, if Claudia goes into business, you have to send her some customers.”
Rebecca directed the two women to climb into the front seat. She waited for Herbert to descend the front porch steps with Timothy’s suitcase, the ladies’ garment bags, and his own tote. He arranged the luggage perfectly in the trunk of the car.
“Herbert, dear,” Claudia called to him, “put Julia’s bag on top, since she’ll be getting out first. It’s the green one.”
“Yes, Ms. Claudia.” Herbert busily did his rearranging.
“My, Herbert, everything just fit. You’ve done a good job.”
“Thanks, Ms. Rebecca.”
Herbert climbed in the car and sat next to Timothy, on the side opposite Gracelyn.
Rebecca remounted the porch steps and closed and locked the front door.
“Is everybody comfortable?” she asked, reentering the car. “I know we’re a tight fit for a few miles.”
“I’m just fine,” Julia said.
“We’re fine back here,” Gracelyn responded.
“Herbert,” Claudia said, turning, “Mr. Timothy looks like he’s going to lean over on you any minute. I hope you won’t mind.”
“No, Ms. Claudia. I’ll just let him sleep.”
“Thanks, dear. You’ve been such a help.”
“Yes, indeed,” Rebecca restated the thought. “You’ve made all the difference this morning, Herbert, carrying all those bags.”
Herbert beamed proudly at the women, oblivious to the weight of Timothy’s head on his shoulder.
Arriving at the airport, the Cates women and Julia got out of the car. Inside the small airport lobby outside the gate entrance, they exchanged hugs. Julia thanked them tearfully for coming to her aid. Rebecca observed tacitly while Claudia patted her sympathetically on the back, and Gracelyn offered encouragement. She glanced the lone woman’s way one last time as she walked toward the security apparatus. A solitary but elegant figure, Julia turned to blow a last kiss to her friends.
After they deposited Julia, Rebecca noticed that the car passengers were uncharacteristically quiet, until Gracelyn spoke heavily.
“We’ve all been there, haven’t we?”
“Yes, indeed we have,” Rebecca responded. Claudia also understood, without asking, their sister’s meaning.
The three women could not continue this talk until they were alone together. Rebecca, enjoying a stretch of lush greens along the highway, did not regret the silence in the car. Though Timothy was heavily sedated, Claudia would not feel at ease talking in front of him about her future plans. Gracelyn might have, but she had already pulled out a book, and Herbert was too shy to initiate a conversation on his own.
Nearing the city, Rebecca spoke to Herbert.
“Now, Herbert, where we’re taking Mr. Timothy is not in Chicago but just north of it. So when we double back and check into our hotel, you’ll get to see those tall buildings and the lakeshore up close.”
“Yes, Miss Rebecca. Miss Claudia told me we would be doing a lot over the week.”
“Well, you just make sure you enjoy yourself.”
“Yes ma’am.” Herbert grinned.
After Claudia signed the papers the nurse handed her, the Cates women and Herbert left Timothy at Briney Memorial rather unceremoniously and set off for their Chicago adventure. Rebecca delivered Herbert and Claudia to Claudia’s favorite day spa for facials and body packs. Later, Claudia would take the young man on a relentless shopping spree downtown.
“We’ll go sight-seeing tomorrow, after I find you a new outfit,” Claudia told Herbert as he was being led away by a heavily tipped attendant. “You’ll be so handsome dressed up, I’ll want to show you off.”
“Claudia, you and Herbert meet Gracelyn and me for dinner at eight at the hotel,” Rebecca announced.
“That sounds good. That will give us time to change into our clothes. Bye, dears.”
“All that shopping should keep her mind off things,” Gracelyn commented.
“Certainly will,” Rebecca agreed. “She has her joy. She’ll be fine. Let’s get over to the beading exhibit you were talking about. I imagine the institute will be closing before long. Tomorrow morning, before I leave, I can take in one or two bookstores with you before I head back.”
“Rebecca, I wish you could stay longer. It’s fun having you to run around with.”
“Oh, you’ll have fun without me. Next trip, there’ll be more time. Anyway, I’ll be more relaxed after that trustee meeting is over.”
“Does that have you worried?” Gracelyn asked immediately, not accustomed to hear Rebecca voice misgivings of any sort.
“I’m not sure what I’m feeling. I don’t think there’ll be a problem with removing Pastor Wilson. But it amazes me sometimes how much we all suffer in this life.”
“You feel loss, Rebecca.”
“Is that it?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Rebecca looked at her pretty younger sister’s face earnestly.
“Your fight is over, and now there’ll be something missing in your life. Whenever something ends, it’s like there’s a big hole inside until something else fills it.”
“Little girl, I think you’re onto something. How did you get to be so wise?”
“You’re wise, Rebecca. I try to be like you. You keep moving forward, you never get stuck.”
“I don’t know about never. But I do try to listen to myself. You know, that little voice that comes from somewhere. There’s always some kind of choice that feels right.”
“You’re like our general, Rebecca. You see the big picture and you’re focused. And you have a big heart. You make Claudia and me feel like we can do anything and that even if we fail, we can start over.”
“That’s the main thing, I think, starting over.”
“You do too much for us.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because it’s true. You put our happiness first, before your own.”
“Well now, the two of you make me proud to lead you. So whatever I’ve done, I’m honored and happy to have done it. A leader’s only as good as her followers.”
The two walked close together down Michigan Avenue toward the Art Institute, Rebecca, utilitarian in khaki pants and tucked Oxford shirt, a single strand of pearls around her neck and her definite waistline suggesting an offhand femininity; Gracelyn’s curves accentuated by a soft linen gold-colored skirt and a button-down turquoise blouse. Passersby thought them incongruously paired but close friends.
• • •
At noon on Wednesday, Rebecca arrived at the Cates mansion. Pulling halfway up the drive, she carried her small suitcase inside the front hallway. Reappearing on the front porch, she retrieved the last two days’ mail. Her heartbeat quickened as she picked up a letter addressed to her, airmail from France. She knew at once it was Leighton’s handwriting.
“I have just arrived here, and am ready to hold you to your promise to join me. I must see you, Rebecca. It would be wrong of you to deprive me of your warmth in this magical city. Let me know how soon you can leave. I will make all arrangements.”
Rebecca, smiling at the passion in Leighton’s communiqué, looked forward to savoring the intimacy of reading it over and over. She knew her trip abroad would have to wait until she had committed Jake to Sacred Lamb, and having just taken Timothy to Briney Memorial, she felt decorum dictated that she and her sisters wait at least a month before embarking on this last spousal duty. She was glad Leighton longed to see her, but she also suspected he was testing her. Typical, she thought, for a man to see if she would drop everything and run to him. Rebecca, arriving at this thought, tilted her head, astonished. Drop everything an
d run to him is exactly what she wanted to do.
Questions thronged Rebecca’s mind. Did Leighton not know how she planned everything, thought through every detail, reviewed tactics repeatedly, and never revealed strategy, very much like the general Gracelyn had termed her? She had met Leighton while in fight mode. Did he long to see her always as she was after their lovemaking, defenses down, tender toward him? Or, had he espied both the warrior and the lover? Rebecca knew she had reached him without pretense. Their passion was not something she was looking for, not something she had chosen. It came at a moment when her mind was totally involved in another matter. But now, in her mind and heart, she knew being with him was more important to her than anything else, the thing she was supposed to do now.
As if on cue, she heard Jake ranting as Lucy Sims came down the front stairs.
“Hello, Sister Rebecca. I sure prayed everything went well with Mr. Timothy.”
“Everything went fine, Lucy. Why is Jake hollering?”
“He’s gotten worse, Sister Rebecca. He wants somebody with him all the time. It’s like leaving a baby.”
“Oh, I see. Lucy, did I tell you I needed to be at the trustee meeting this evening?”
Lucy’s head jerked up.
“Oh, yes, Rebecca. I planned to stay until you got back. I just came down to get some dinner started, so don’t worry about that.”
Lucy gave a quick wave and headed for the kitchen. Immediately, Rebecca walked to the library and dialed Dr. Meyers’s office.
“Dr. Meyers, this is Rebecca Cates. Yes, Timothy’s all settled. We’ll be going up to visit him in a week or two. But I’m afraid Jake has taken a turn; he’s quite overexcited. Can you prescribe a sedative for him? Nothing too strong, just to calm him down a bit so he’s not liable to wander around and hurt himself. Thank you. I’m here alone for a few days, so please arrange for a delivery. Of course. I’ll call if anything else develops, but I think we’ll be fine.”
Climbing the stairs to go check on Jake personally, Rebecca knew that nothing would prevent her from going to meet her lover. She determined to be ready as soon as Claudia and Gracelyn returned from Chicago. Tonight, after the trustee meeting, she would contact Leighton and tell him she could leave Sunday evening. Tomorrow, she would be on the phone with Sacred Lamb, rescheduling Jake’s commitment for this coming weekend. She hoped to see her sisters before leaving town so suddenly, but that wasn’t going to stop her either.
“Jake, Lucy tells me you’re upset. I want you to lie down and try to relax. It’s not good for your blood pressure to get so wound up.”
“Yes, Rebecca,” Jake replied obediently.
“Good. Now, we’ll have some dinner ready later, but if you get hungry, you call or come downstairs and I’ll fix you some peanut butter and crackers.”
“Not hungry now, Rebecca. Just sleepy. A little sleepy.” Jake smiled sweetly as he drifted off.
“All right, then. I’ll check on you in a little while.” Rebecca smiled at him, again realizing she bore him no ill will for their life together.
That evening, Rebecca bathed and dressed for the trustee meeting, wearing a tailored pale gray summer-weight suit. Her only accessory was a blue-and-pink paisley scarf around her neck, the ends meeting pertly in a cross-tie. Reading Leighton’s letter earlier, she had had such a pleasurable feeling she wasn’t sure she could do battle. But understanding that tonight was the opportunity to clinch her strategy, she regained focus. Looking at herself in the mirror, she knew that being with Leighton was all she needed to bring back her softness. She reminded herself to travel in this suit, recalling that Claudia had once pointed out that it perfectly matched her eyes. Claudia also advised her to keep her accessories minimal, but to complete the subdued outfit with bright pink lipstick.
Rebecca thought for a moment. Impulsively she rummaged in her dresser drawer and drew out a cosmetics bag. An unopened Guerlain lipstick read ROUGE AZALÉE. Rebecca opened the gold filigree case and gave her lips a quick swipe. Looking at her face again, she thought it just enough color to keep her thinking about her Paris destination without distracting the trustees from the seriousness of her mission.
She realized things could get ugly between her and Wilson. Her words during their exchange the previous Sunday during service were strained and, she was sure, noticeable. She wanted to present her information to the trustees with total composure. But something fierce was brewing inside her. In her mind, she saw Julia walking bravely toward her new life, and she remembered the pain of her tell-all confession at the Cates kitchen table. Rebecca rarely displayed anger in an uncontrolled way and she wasn’t vengeful. But in this moment, she knew what she was feeling was rage, and she was tempted to respond in true warrior fashion, aiming for the total destruction of her enemy. She realized this would not do. It would not serve her purposes. Julia had come through, no longer helpless, and looking toward the future. The years she and her sisters had lost in their abusive marriages had yielded to ones of promise. They had all been blessed with courage and hope, and with each other. Rebecca determined to honor those blessings.
“Lord, the Devil is busy,” Rebecca reminded herself. She went downstairs, left the house, and headed for the church.
“Sister Cates.”
Deacon Smitherson stood and pulled out the chair next to his from the conference table in the church’s downstairs meeting room. The five other trustees, including Deacon Johnson, were already seated on either side of the table. The head chair was empty.
“I reckon we’re all a bit early, except for the pastor. We were pretty concerned, hearing your announcement. You speak in church so seldom, and it sounded serious.”
“Thank you, Deacon Smitherson.”
Rebecca took the seat offered her, then nodded her head in a general greeting to the others present.
“I hope the trustees will take the matter seriously. I’m sorry to say, it’s pretty unpleasant business.”
Rebecca paused briefly before continuing.
“Shall I go into it, or wait for the pastor’s arrival?”
“That would be up to you. Deacon Johnson can chair our meeting until Pastor arrives, and we can repeat your information so you won’t have to be here the whole time. We’re a pretty dull bunch.”
Rebecca smiled, grateful for Deacon Smitherson’s humor and thoughtfulness.
“Well then, I see no point in delay.”
Rebecca unzipped her small handbag and removed Julia Wilson’s letter.
“I am so sorry to have to report a crisis in our midst. Julia Wilson was at my home two days ago and entrusted me with this letter for the church leadership. I did not open it, but she made me aware of its contents. She described some rather unseemly situations in her household and has apparently left her marriage. I believe she felt more comfortable expressing these things to a woman. You understand?”
“Of course,” Deacon Johnson responded quickly, then made brief eye contact with the other trustees, whose concern had registered vividly on their faces.
“I’ll try and be brief. I will leave the letter in your possession, as you are the most trusted members of our congregation, and I would prefer not to go into detail.”
“Do not do anything that will make you uncomfortable,” Deacon Johnson soothed.
“Aside from the marriage breaking up, which is really to my mind a personal matter, and what is more important for our purposes, Julia has indicated several instances of misappropriation of church monies by Pastor Wilson. I ask that you give serious attention to this, and get back to me as soon as you can. I have done my own preliminary review of the church budget and have identified some discrepancies. I would be happy to have these explained following your own review. You know, my family has always been honored to give whatever financial support we could to the church, and we have no plans to abandon that tradition. But if there is a rotten apple somewhere, we truly will not be comfortable until it is rooted out.”
Rebecca finished speaking, and fo
r several minutes the room was silent.
“Well, I’ll be,” Deacon Smitherson said, slowly shaking his head.
“You know, you hear things and just let them go right by you. People are always ready to gossip. But this sounds like more than a notion,” Deacon Johnson commented.
As Rebecca stood to leave, the roomful of men stood up. Touched by the respect they showed her, she felt satisfied they would follow up, particularly with regard to any funds embezzled. She left the meeting happy that they had accepted what she brought before them without resistance, and that Wilson hadn’t been there. She knew she had Julia’s courage to thank for this smooth sailing.
XIII
THOUGH EXHAUSTED FROM her drive back from Chicago and the gravity of her meeting with the trustees, Rebecca stayed up a few hours after Lucy left. She was anxious to contact Leighton so they could complete her travel arrangements for Sunday evening. She was eager as well to hear his voice.
When she did awaken Thursday morning at her usual time, she felt relieved, as if a weight had been lifted from her, as indeed it had. She showered and dressed so she could begin preparation for Jake’s breakfast. It was strange thinking the two were alone in the house together. Though she was still legally his wife, Rebecca’s feelings toward Jake were like those one has toward a distant, ailing relative needing assistance, for whom she felt a degree of compassion. Rebecca felt rested and happily thought of being with Leighton in less than a week. She was puzzled at having the same dream she had had a few days ago, but it did not invade her sense of well-being.
For the next half hour, Rebecca cooed over her orchids. Back inside the kitchen, she boiled water for Jake’s oatmeal, started her coffee, and downed a glass of juice. Her feeling of loss had diminished, and her thoughts shifted to the new beginning she would make with Leighton next week. She was sure of him, of his devotion. The way he had kissed her and made love to her the last time was just as feral as it had always been, but also tender, and she felt anchored in the plans he spoke of about blending their lives. She knew he wanted to marry, but she also knew he would wait until she felt she wanted to be a wife. The important thing was that their bonding was so intense, and that she trusted him. He seemed to understand and accept her closeness with her sisters, though his own family connections appeared less central in his life. Rebecca was joyful, thinking what they could give each other over time.
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