Reasonable Insanity

by Cynthia Freeman Gibbs

  Olivia ducked lower in her car to make sure no one could see her. She heard the roar of Dahlia’s engine when she started her blue Jaguar before driving away.

  What am I going to do? Should I run him over and drive my car through his smoothie shop? Or maybe I should chase her down and tell her about us?

  She decided to call him. After dialing his number, she peeked through her window toward Ross. The street light above him helped her see him pull his phone out. He nonchalantly glanced at the screen and slipped it back into his pocket before heading back into the smoothie shop.

  Olivia sat in her car in disbelief and anger taking in everything that happened. “What am I supposed to do?” she screamed and pounded the steering wheel with her fists.

  How dare he do this to me. I’m going in there to cuss him out. She grabbed the door handle and paused. No. She was not going to act a fool in public. The last thing she needed was for one of her patients to see her going off on Ross like an insane woman.

  Olivia turned the ignition and drove to the back of the parking lot. She backed into a dark space several spots from Ross’s car where she had a good view of the shop.

  She sat and waited. And waited. And waited. His betrayal left her isolated and alone.

  Finally. The employee exited the store, followed by Ross who locked the door. They chatted for a minute and walked separate ways to their cars.

  Olivia stared at Ross getting into the Corvette. When he drove out of his parking space, she waited for a second and followed him at a distance. He jumped on Highway 281 and headed north.

  Ross exited the highway. Her stomach lurched when she thought he spotted her in his rear-view mirror at one point. She slowed to put more distance in between them and hunched lower in her seat. She could barely see over the steering wheel.

  He turned right and drove through town until he reached a well-landscaped subdivision. She followed until he pulled into the driveway of a magnificent two-story brick home. Her stomach turned flips when she saw the blue Jaguar in the driveway.

  Queasiness filled Olivia’s stomach from seeing Ross pull into the garage. The door seemed to close in slow motion.

  She drove around the corner from his house and parked her car. Her nerves made her hands shake and her breathing became shallow. “I can’t believe this,” she shouted.

  Olivia called Ross’s number again. This time, a woman answered. “Hello? Hello?” she paused. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

  Olivia almost dropped the phone. She wasn’t expecting anyone to answer. Immediately, she recognized Dahlia’s voice. “Uh, hello? Who is this?”

  Dahlia laughed in a friendly way. “Well, I think you should tell me who you’re looking for since you called this number. Who is this?”

  “I’m l-looking for Ross,” Olivia stuttered.

  “Ross is in the shower. Who should I tell him is calling?” the woman asked.

  “I’m a friend of his. I didn’t realize he had company in town. Are you his sister?”

  “His sister? No, this is his wife. Wait, who did you say you are? Your name only says OM on his phone,” Dahlia questioned and began to sound suspicious.

  “I’m a friend. I’ll call him back. Sorry to disturb you. Bye.” Olivia ended the call.

  She slumped weakly in her seat and gazed at her phone. The conversation replayed in her head. How am I supposed to handle this madness? I’m about to lose my mind.

  CHAPTER 28

  Savvy picked up the remote and turned the TV to the BET channel to listen to the “Bobby Jones Gospel Show” before getting ready for church. She loved having her own praise and worship in the morning to get her mind right for the day.

  After putting on her cream-colored, two-inch sandals, she checked herself in the mirror to make sure she appeared suitable for church. The A-line, sleeveless, knee length, peach-colored dress, had a custom-made fit.

  She smiled at her reflection and unwrapped the silk scarf from around her head. She carefully fixed each section of her spiky pixie haircut with her fingers. Watch out Halle Berry, here I come. She ain’t the only one looking cute with this hairstyle.

  She grabbed her Bible, Coach purse, and keys, and headed out the door.

  The drive to the church was an easy ride north on Interstate 35 to Schertz. She turned into the church parking lot and noticed it appeared to be nearly full for Sunday School. Thankfully, they had spots reserved for first-time visitors. What a nice touch.

  She walked into the church where a greeter gave her a warm hug and held the door open. “Welcome to Redeemed Saints Baptist Church. We’re glad you came to worship with us today.”

  “Thank you. I’m glad to be here.”

  She scanned around the foyer for Olivia and didn’t see her.

  Savvy pulled her cell phone from her purse to call Olivia right before spotting her hurrying along the sidewalk. She waved to make sure she could see her when she entered the church.

  Olivia appeared disheveled although she dressed impeccably in a sleeveless, fitted, navy blue, St. John’s dress with pearl earrings, a matching necklace, and three-inch heeled pumps. She carried a Prada clutch under her arm and removed her sunglasses once she spotted Savvy.

  “I’m glad you made it,” Olivia exclaimed and embraced her.

  “Me, too. I’m looking forward to the service today,” Savvy replied and focused on Olivia. “Hey. Are you okay? Fix the front of your hair. A few strands are out of place.”

  Olivia nonchalantly ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. “Girl, no. I’m not okay. It’s a long story. I don’t want to interfere with my blessing here in church thinking about it right now. I’ll spare you the details until we go to brunch where we can have mimosas and probably something stronger.” Olivia shook her head. “Come on, let’s go get a seat in Sunday School before it gets too packed. The Deacon who teaches this class is passionate about the Bible, so it fills up fast.”

  “Yes, sounds like we must discuss this later. Let’s go get a Word from the Lord.”

  Savvy enjoyed Sunday School and the church service to the extent she decided to become a member immediately. Their focus on being a Bible teaching ministry along with the mission to build God’s kingdom reassured her to look no further.

  After meeting with the Pastor, they headed to the parking lot.

  “Why don’t we leave your car here, and you can ride with me to the restaurant?” Olivia suggested.

  “Sounds good to me,” Savvy agreed.

  Olivia lowered the convertible top and put on Jill Scott’s song, “Golden.”

  “This is my jam,” Savvy exclaimed and began singing along.

  “Girl, mine too. Anything Jill Scott puts out is good music. This whole CD is the bomb.”

  Olivia handed Savvy a bright red scarf to tie on her head to hold her hair in place. She brought out a pink leopard print one to tie on hers.

  “How cute,” Savvy squealed.

  They laughed and Olivia sped off to head south on Interstate 35 toward downtown.

  After valet parking in front of La Castle Hotel, they walked into the restaurant. The amazing spread of food on the buffet delighted Savvy. Her stomach growled with joy from the smell of bacon and freshly baked bread.

  The maître d recognized Olivia immediately, and they greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek.

  “Hello, Dr. Maxwell. Welcome back to La Castle.” He held her hand and smiled.

  “Thank you, Javier. This is my dear friend, Savvy, and this is her first visit to the brunch.”

  “Wonderful, and welcome Miss Savvy. I am sure this will not be your last time dining with us.” Javier kissed her cheek. “Shall I escort the two of you to your preferred table?”

  “Yes, that would be wonderful,” Olivia agreed.

  Javier seated them on the patio overlooking the Riverwalk. The morning temperature wasn’t too hot for the time being, considering it would be a scorcher by early afternoon. Thankfully, the clouds along with a table umbrella kept them coole
r in the San Antonio sun.

  “Wow. This place is beautiful. We have the best spot in the restaurant. I love it,” Savvy exclaimed.

  “Wait until you taste the food. It will melt in your mouth,” Olivia said with a smile.

  When the waiter served them their first round of mimosas, Olivia asked, “Would you please leave the bottle of bubbly here at the table?”

  The waiter laughed. “No problem Dr. Maxwell. Let me get an ice bucket for you. You can wave at me whenever you need a refill.”

  “Thank you and believe me, you will be pouring a lot,” Olivia said. Savvy giggled and took a sip of the cold mimosa made with freshly squeezed orange juice.

  “Let’s hit the buffet. Once we get our food, you have got to tell me what’s been going on.” Savvy stood from the table.

  “I hope you’re ready to get an earful,” Olivia said and led the way to the buffet stations.

  They didn’t waste any time loading their plates with bacon, sausage, grits, fruit, and made-to-order omelets and waffles, before heading back to the table to bless the food.

  “Well, I won’t keep you waiting any longer. Ross is married,” Olivia said flatly and nonchalantly blew on the steaming piece of omelet on her fork.

  “No. What? Please say you’re kidding Olivia,” Savvy exclaimed. “How did you find out?”

  Olivia chewed slowly and spoke in between swallows, which appeared to be hard to take. “It’s crazy how I found out. I met his wife, Dahlia, at the gym in a cycling class. She’s cool and we even exchanged numbers. She’s absolutely striking and had a baby recently. She said they have a home in Port Aransas, and she comes here every other week with her kids to visit her husband. I had no idea her husband would be Ross. I saw them with my own two eyes, at the smoothie shop together with their children. He kissed her,” Olivia said sadly.

  “Unh-unh. That son of a…that explains why he disappears. This fool is living a double life.” Savvy did her best to keep from cursing.

  “Yup. And, my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me at that restaurant on the Riverwalk. The guy I saw turned out to be Ross, Dahlia, and their kids after all.”

  “Wow. I can’t believe he did this to you and his wife.”

  “I know. It doesn’t seem real. I realize it all makes sense now. Me not being able to go to his house. He lied about traveling to train other bodybuilders and going to competitions. Those were times when he probably visited them in Port Aransas, or they were here in San Antonio,” Olivia put her fork on her plate and peered at Savvy with her eyes filling to the brim with tears.

  “Oh, Olivia. Please don’t cry. I know it hurts bad right now. You’re going to be okay.” Savvy grabbed her napkin and reached to dab tears from Olivia’s cheeks.

  “I’ve been trying to figure out what to do. Should I cuss him out or stomp him in the street? I followed him to his house last night and finally found out where he lives. Dahlia’s car sat in front of the house. I even called his cell phone. She answered.” Olivia’s voice cracked, and the tears began streaking black mascara on her trembling cheeks.

  “Hey now, we don’t have to discuss it any more right now. This is terrible,” Savvy said and reached in her purse for a packet of tissues to hand to Olivia. “Let’s get more champagne. Mimosa’s ain’t gonna cut it at this moment.” She motioned for the waiter to come to their table and fill their glasses.

  “I’m sorry I’m sitting here blubbering about myself. We’re supposed to be enjoying a nice brunch,” Olivia said, wiping her face and blowing her nose.

  “Girl, don’t even apologize. After everything you experienced, I’m mad you didn’t call me last night. I would’ve come by right away. You wouldn’t have had to deal with this by yourself.”

  “I know, I know. I needed some time to myself to get my head together. I almost didn’t make it to church. I’m glad I did since Pastor preached the sermon I needed to hear today.”

  “Me, too. Well, what are you going to do about Ross now?”

  “I don’t know. I’m thinking I’ll wait and see when he actually calls me. When he does, I’ll know that his wife has left town. This will allow me to figure out his pattern. I’m trying to figure out a strategy to slam him with the fact I know what he’s doing. Also, I have his wife’s phone number. She gave it to me at the gym. I think she deserves a phone call,” Olivia said and took a big swig of her champagne.

  “You would call her?” Savvy questioned and considered this idea. “You know, sometimes, we women need to stop hiding the truth from each other. Letting her know may be a good idea. She deserves to be made aware of Ross’s games. She will at least have the information needed to make her own decisions about what to do with her cheating husband.”

  “Right. I should call them on three-way and bust him out with her on the line,” Olivia exclaimed and clapped her hands.

  “Cheers to messing with his game.” They raised their glasses in the air, clinked them together, and took another sip.

  “Well, enough about this craziness. I’m starving and my omelet is cold. I’m going back to the chef to get another one. Let’s eat up,” Olivia said and headed back to the buffet line.

  “Sounds good to me.” Savvy joined her.

  They finished their brunch and decided to walk on the Riverwalk to digest their food. They hung out until time for the matinee show at the Carver.

  After the awesome performance, Olivia dropped Savvy off at her car in the church parking lot. They hugged tightly before letting go. Savvy stared her in the eyes with her hands gripping both of Olivia’s shoulders.

  “Please, I beg you, don’t do anything crazy, Olivia. If you are thinking about revenge, I need you to promise to call me. I will talk you out of doing anything you may regret later. Promise?”

  Olivia innocently blinked her eyes several times. “I promise. Don’t worry. I won’t jump off any ledges. I’m not the same person I used to be in college. I’ve grown up since then. I love you, Savvy. Thank you for listening to me and being with me today. We’ll talk later.” Olivia hugged her tightly again, and they parted ways.

  CHAPTER 29

  Olivia’s phone rang on Sunday night at 10:39 pm. The ringing broke her out of her thoughts of plotting revenge against Ross. She snatched it from the table. When she saw his name, she took a deep breath to prepare mentally for his lies.

  “Yes,” Olivia said without any expression in her voice.

  “Hey, baby. I got back to town sooner than I thought. I missed you. I can’t wait to get my lips on yours,” Ross purred into the phone.

  “Why didn’t you return my calls?” Olivia asked angrily.

  “What? Oh, I dropped my phone and it malfunctioned all weekend. Also, I got busy with the competition. I had no idea it wasn’t working right until a minute before I called you. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I’m sorry, baby,” Ross explained desperately.

  “Are you serious? For three days? You expect me to believe that story?” Olivia cringed.

  “Why wouldn’t you believe me? You know, you’ve been trippin’ lately. Well, tell you what, let me make it up to you. I’m thinking I can come by tonight to see you.”

  “Just like that? You think you can disappear all weekend long? Do you really expect me to let you come over? You must think I’m stupid or something,” Olivia exclaimed. “Ross, be honest with me. Why didn’t you call me this weekend?” She didn’t expect him to tell the truth, but a part of her desperately hoped he would.

  “I told you what happened to my phone,” Ross answered, sounding agitated. “What? You don’t believe me? This is no way to treat your man after being apart from each other. Come on, let me see you and I promise, you’ll feel better when we’re together.”

  An idea snapped into Olivia’s mind. “You know what? I actually have a surprise for you. Let me call you back in about thirty minutes. Okay, baby?” Olivia slathered on a romantic voice for Ross.

  “Now, that’s what I’m talking about. My girl. Don’t make me wait.” Ross sound
ed excited like a kid on Christmas morning.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t make you wait at all. Keep your phone on you,” Olivia said in the sexiest voice she could muster and hung up.

  Olivia ran from the living room to the kitchen pantry to pull out a garbage bag. She stomped to her bedroom closet and yanked out Ross’s favorite San Antonio Spurs jersey, autographed by Tim Duncan. He paid top dollar for it in an auction. She found his expensive, never worn, Jimmy Choo Belgravi leather high top sneakers, and Ferragamo dress shoes and threw them all into the bag. Two of his Tag Heuer watches, along with a bottle of Tom Ford cologne, and his Oakley sunglasses were tossed in. He always took great pride in how he dressed and had expensive taste in everything he put on.

  After changing into a black warm-up suit, baseball cap, leather gloves, and tennis shoes, she loaded everything into the trunk of her Mercedes. She found an old wood baseball bat in the garage, which she put into a gym bag and placed it on the back seat. She slid behind the steering wheel, took a deep breath and headed to his house.

  Ross just didn’t know. He had messed with the wrong woman.

  Olivia called Ross once she made the thirty-minute drive into his neighborhood and parked around the corner from his house. She had a view of his driveway even in the dark. “Hey, baby,” she cooed into the phone.

  “Hey, my love. I’m wondering how much longer you’re going to make me wait,” Ross said back to her.

  “Well, you don’t have to wait any longer. I’m ready for you except, I need for you to stop at the wine store to get a bottle of Chandon for us to toast with. You know the Brut Classic I love? Get that one and hurry to my place for your surprise.”

  “I’ll stop at the store on my way. I can’t wait to see you. Girl, I have plans for you,” Ross said excitedly.

  “Okay, see you soon.” Olivia closed her flip phone.

  She scooted lower in her Mercedes to spy on Ross’s house. She held her breath when he backed his Corvette from the driveway and sped out of the neighborhood. He didn’t notice her car parked on the corner.