Love, Honor, and Betray

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

  “But if you tell him yourself, he’ll receive the news a lot better than if some stranger does it.”

  “Maybe, but I just can’t face him. I can’t look Curtis in his eyes and tell him that I’ve cheated on him and that the reason I did it was because he wouldn’t get rid of his little girl.”

  “So that’s why you did this? Because of Curtina?”

  Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes. “Yes. And I’m so sorry for that, J. I’m so sorry for the way I treated that child and for being so selfish. None of this was her fault, and I finally realize that now.”

  “Wow, girl, this is bad.”

  “I know.”

  “I still say, though, that you have to tell him. Not days from now either. You have to tell him today.”

  “Janine, please don’t hate me.”

  “Of course I don’t. What you did is wrong, but you know you’re my girl and nothing will ever change that.”

  “I really needed to hear that because, suddenly, I’m feeling so, so alone,” Charlotte said, thinking about Matthew. She just couldn’t bring herself to tell Janine about what was going on with him and why he was so angry with her. She couldn’t tell her about any of this Tom madness and how he was blackmailing her.

  “Don’t think that for a minute,” Janine said. “I’m always here for you.”

  “I hope you mean that because I have a feeling I’m going to need you more than I ever have.”

  “So are you going to talk to Curtis when he gets home?”

  Charlotte sighed. “Yes. I don’t know how I’ll find the courage, but I will.”

  “I know it’s going to be hard, but it really is the best thing for you to do.”

  “I just hate this. I hate what I did, but there’s nothing I can do to take it back now.”

  “No, but at least you can tell Curtis the truth and then hope he’ll agree to work things out with you.”

  “I wish I could believe that was possible. Maybe if I hadn’t already cheated on him in the past. But you and I both know I did. And then I had a baby.”

  “You’ve both done things to hurt each other, and I’m sure Curtis will consider that.”

  “Maybe. But who knows. I guess time will tell soon enough, though.”

  “I’ll be home all evening, so I want you to call me if you need me.”

  “I will. And thanks, J. Thanks for listening and for all your advice.”

  “You’re welcome, and I’ll be praying.”

  “Thank you for doing that.”

  “Talk to you later, and I love you, girl.”

  “I love you back.”

  Charlotte hung up and debated calling Curtis right now, so she could tell him she needed to talk to him about something. But maybe she would just wait until he got home. She wasn’t sure how she should handle this, however, and before she could think more about it, she saw the word Private on her phone screen again. “Why do you keep calling me?” she yelled. “Why won’t you just leave me alone?”

  When the ringing stopped, thankfully, Tom didn’t call back. But it looked like he’d left a message at some point. The Alert symbol was displaying too soon for him to have left one right now, so he must have done so when he’d called one of the other times.

  She signed into the system, keyed in her password, and waited for the message to play.

  “Hey, I’m not sure why you’re ignoring me, but I wanna see you tonight. I know I told you we’d get together again on Saturday, but I’ve changed my mind. So you’d better answer your phone the next time I call you.”

  “Please press seven to delete or nine to save,” the lady from the automated menu stated.

  This was going too far, Charlotte thought, and now she knew she would eventually have to tell Curtis about Tom, too. But not today. No, today she had to focus on Michael, so she could come up with the best story she could. She would tell Curtis the truth—somewhat—but what she had to work on now was coming up with the right kind of words to say. She had to make him sympathize with her and even feel guilty about the part he’d played in causing this to happen. After all, he’d slept with Tabitha for years and had brought home an illegitimate baby just like she had, so maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as she’d been thinking. Curtis wouldn’t be happy, but he was a very resilient man, the kind who loved his wife, and that meant there really was hope for them. She’d plead her case and then promise to be the best wife on the planet from this day forth. She would do whatever he asked or wanted until he forgot about this. Either forgot or no longer held it against her.

  Chapter 41

  Curtis glanced over at the clock on the wall and decided he’d work maybe another couple of hours and then head home. He’d gotten a lot of work done today and was thinking he might even take the morning off tomorrow and not arrive until the afternoon. Although, if he did that, he’d slowly start slipping behind again, and he didn’t want that. But then again, if he did take off, he’d be able to spend some time with Charlotte, which he was so excited about these days. He would never say it out loud, but he almost felt like some schoolboy who had fallen in love for the first time and literally couldn’t think straight. It was strange, but Charlotte definitely had that effect on him. Now more than she had in the past, and he was thankful for it. Thankful for her, their marriage, and the beautiful family they shared.

  After reviewing the church calendar for the next three weeks, Curtis went down the list of sick and shut-in members. He normally tried to visit some of his longtime members, but lately he hadn’t been able to do that. Partly because his schedule had been very full and partly because of the problems he and Charlotte had been experiencing. His associate ministers had continued making their rounds, so it wasn’t like no one was stopping by to check on them, but he still liked going himself sometimes. He would get back to it as early as next month.

  Curtis leaned back in his chair and rested his eyes. He’d been looking at multiple documents and gazing into the computer for hours, and he needed a quick break. He relaxed until his phone rang.

  He picked it up and slightly frowned when he saw Raven’s name. “Hello?”

  “Pastor Black, can I talk to you?” she said, sounding pretty cordial, so maybe she’d gotten over being fired.

  “What about?”

  “My job, and if you could maybe find it in your heart to hire me back.”

  “No, that’s not going to be possible.”

  “But why? I did an excellent job for you and the church. I worked my behind off.”

  “I don’t deny that. But given the circumstances and the way things turned out, I think it’s best you move on to greener pastures.”

  “But you know how unpredictable the economy is right now, so where am I going to find another CFO job so quickly?”

  “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do for you, Raven.”

  “I have bills, Pastor Black, and no savings.”

  Curtis was a little surprised about that. Mitchell’s cost of living wasn’t very high, and the church had been paying her a little more than eighty thousand a year. She earned a great salary, so Curtis wondered what she’d been doing with her money.

  “I don’t know what to tell you,” he said.

  “I know I was wrong, but Pastor Black, you didn’t have to terminate me. You didn’t have to take my job away from me the way you did.”

  “Raven, look. I’m very sorry things didn’t work out for you here, but as I said, there’s nothing I can do.”

  “But Pastor, if I don’t get another job very soon, my life might be in danger.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I owe this loan shark thirty thousand dollars.”

  “For what?”

  Raven sniffled. “Gambling.”

  “Wait a minute,” Curtis said, quickly leaning forward onto his desk. “Have you stolen money from the church?”

  “No, no, no. But I’ll be honest, I was very tempted and it wasn’t going to be long before I figured out a way to do it. I didn’t
have a choice because just a week ago, these guys came to my house, threatening me. They said if I don’t have the money by the end of this month, they’re going to hurt me.”

  Curtis was amazed that she would even admit something like this, and regardless of how he felt about her, he respected that. She’d lied about her car being on the fritz, but he sensed she was telling the truth about this gambling addiction of hers.

  “Why did they let you keep borrowing if you weren’t paying it back?”

  “Because the loan shark knew I had a good job, and he was fine as long as I paid back at least two thousand dollars a month. But then I missed six payments, and now he’s calling in the whole thing.”

  “Why did you stop paying?”

  “Because I wasn’t winning anymore.”

  “People never win at gambling, Raven.”

  Raven didn’t say anything, and Curtis knew this meant she didn’t agree with him. She was an addict who believed she was simply experiencing a dry period but would be back on top any day now.

  “What I suggest you do is find another job, so you can pay off your debts. Take two jobs if you have to.”

  “But if I don’t earn enough, it won’t matter.”

  “Maybe you should explain your situation and ask for more time.”

  “I already did, and D.C. doesn’t want to hear that. He wants his money.”

  Curtis knew the D.C. she was referring to had to be the same D.C. who was close friends with Levi, the drug dealer Alicia had messed around with some time ago. Although, it wasn’t like D.C. to threaten women with bodily harm, so there must have been more to the story. Nonetheless, Curtis didn’t want to get involved. It was true that D.C. was one of the most well-known loan sharks in the area and didn’t tend to play when it came to his business, but like Levi, he had given very generously to Deliverance Outreach. Of course, Curtis had stopped accepting money from both Levi and D.C. right after turning his life around, but he still had no issues with them. They’d understood his reasoning and respected it.

  “I can’t help you,” Curtis told her.

  “Can you at least loan me enough to make a couple of payments?”

  Curtis was tiring of this. “Raven, your last check went out this morning, but that’s it as far as the church is concerned.”

  Curtis waited for her response but there was empty silence.

  “Did you hear me, Raven?”

  She boo-hooed again, but then said, “I’ll be dead in no time,” and hung up.

  Curtis now rethought his decision of not contacting D.C. Maybe there was something he could say, because as a man of God, he had an obligation to help people. He wasn’t happy with Raven at all, but he also didn’t want to see anyone die over money.

  He thought about it a little more, and then pulled a leather booklet from his drawer. This was where he’d kept his contact listing before new technology had taken over. He searched through it until he saw “D. C. Robinson” and then dialed the number next to it.

  “D.C.,” the baritone voice said.

  “D.C., Pastor Black here. So, how’s it going?”

  “Pastor, man, what’s up? I’m good. And you?”

  “Can’t complain.”

  “No, I guess not because I saw the new church goin’ up. Good for you.”

  “God is good.”

  “That He is and all the time,” he said, and Curtis smiled because D.C. and Levi were two of the nicest criminals a person ever wanted to meet. “So, don’t tell me that trick Raven had you call me. With her little sneaky, connivin’ behind. Because I know she used to work for you.”

  “Well, actually, she is the reason I’m calling, but she doesn’t know about it. I never even told her I knew you, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “No problem.”

  “She mentioned your name and said you were threatening to hurt her if she didn’t pay back the thirty thousand dollars she owes you.”

  “That would be correct.”

  “Now, D.C., you know I’ve never tried to get in your business, but maybe you could go a little easy on her. Especially since she’s now unemployed.”

  “Doesn’t matter. She was behind before she lost her job, so I’m not hearin’ that noise from her.”

  “I just don’t understand why she borrowed so much money from you.”

  “Borrowed?”

  “Yeah. She told me she borrowed the money for gambling.”

  D.C. bellowed with laughter. “That trick never quits. She’s such a liar. The reason she owes me thirty Gs is because she stole it from me. I hired her to handle my finances, and that whore started funnelin’ money to herself. I had a feeling somethin’ wat’n right, and when I called in this other accountant, he confirmed it.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know all of that,” Curtis said, now wondering if maybe Raven had stolen money from Deliverance Outreach.

  “That’s because she never tells the truth, and she’s always playin’ the victim. I mean, she probably does have a gambling problem, but I didn’t loan her anything.”

  “Well, I’m out of it,” Curtis said, and then he and D.C. laughed and chatted like old friends. They talked about the past and the future, and Curtis even encouraged him to give up the kind of life he was living.

  That’s when D.C. said, “Okay, now you’re startin’ to make me feel guilty, so we should probably end this conversation.”

  They both laughed.

  “Maybe one day, though,” D.C. said. “Maybe one day I’ll give up the life just like Levi claims he has.”

  “So how is he?”

  “He’s good. Hanging in there, and he should be out fairly soon. He swears, though, he’s done dealin’ drugs and has completely turned his life over to Christ.”

  “Glad to hear it. And when you talk to him again, tell him I’m very proud of him.”

  “I will.”

  “Well, it was good talking to you, D.C.”

  “Same here. I mean, I haven’t laughed like this in months, and I enjoyed it. As a matter of fact, you’ve brightened my day so much, I’m gonna give that trick, Raven, three or four months to find a job. I don’t normally soften up like this, you know, but you got me feelin’ all sympathetic and compassionate. So, she better thank her lucky stars you called me.”

  “She was wrong for stealing from you, but I’m glad you’re willing to give her a pass this time. A temporary one anyway.”

  “It’s all good. Also, if you don’t mind my asking, why’d you let her go?”

  “She kept trying to come on to me.”

  “Really? That’s interesting.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because when she suddenly got the hots for me and started claimin’ she had all these feelin’s, that’s when I got suspicious. That’s when my money came up missin’.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yeah, man, so if I were you I’d call in a few CPAs.”

  “D.C., I’m already ahead of you.”

  * * *

  When Charlotte’s phone rang, she jumped. It was Curtis calling, and since she’d already spoken to him twice today, she knew he could only be dialing her back for one reason. Sybil had blabbed to him. She heard two more rings and finally pressed the Send button.

  “Hey,” she said, waiting with bated breath.

  “Okay, you’ll never believe this, but the Raven saga continues.”

  Charlotte’s body cooled down almost instantly, and her muscles seemed less tense. “Now what?”

  “She stole money from D.C., but she called me this afternoon, saying she’d borrowed it from him.”

  “D.C., Levi’s friend?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “Wow, how did she get caught up with him?”

  “She claims it’s because of gambling, but who knows? Anyway, I’m not taking any chances, so I’ve asked Elder Jamison to hire a couple of auditors to go over our books.”

  “That’s a good idea, but I sure hope she didn’t take anything
.”

  “Well, if she did, you know I don’t take kindly to thieves or to people who betray me.”

  Charlotte’s muscles tensed up again. How am I ever going to tell him what I did?

  “This is too much,” she said.

  “Yeah, but we’ll see how it turns out and go from there. Oh, and before I forget, Matthew called me earlier to say he was going over to Elijah’s after school.”

  “Did he say how long he’d be there?”

  “No, but you know it will be a while. So, maybe I’ll start heading home in about an hour and will pick up Curtina a little later. I think Aunt Emma was taking her over to Anise’s for dinner, anyway.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you soon.”

  Gosh, things had really changed. Normally, Matthew always called her when he was planning to visit his friends or go elsewhere after school—but not anymore, she guessed. She couldn’t think about that now, though, because she had to calm her nerves, practice her words, and create the saddest possible facial expression. She needed to make Curtis feel sorry for her and like he could never live without her. She had to become a wounded duck, so to speak, so he would pardon her without punishment. She had to hone her acting skills before he got there.

  Chapter 42

  It had been two hours since Curtis had called Charlotte about that lunatic Raven, and she couldn’t wait for him to get there. She’d been a nervous wreck all day but was finally ready to confess about Michael Porter. She was still slightly apprehensive, but in the end she knew Janine had been right and that Curtis had to be told about this. Charlotte had to tell him first, before that miserable Sybil did it for her. It was always better to own up to terrible deeds, anyway, rather than to be caught undercover, so she was glad this was almost over.

  Finally, she heard the garage door opening and waited by the island. Thankfully, Matthew still wasn’t home yet, because this way she could talk to Curtis calmly and privately. Things would be pretty tough right after she disclosed her secret, but she was confident they could and would get past it. She had to believe Curtis’s love for her outweighed the colossal mistake she’d made.

  Curtis walked in, looking as though he was ready to kill someone and slammed his keys onto the counter. Charlotte stepped backward.