Chapter 25
Not every now and then or even every few days, but every single day—that’s how often Curtis had been conversing with some woman on the phone. When Charlotte had arrived home from the mall yesterday, she’d immediately signed back onto Verizon’s website and pulled up their account again. She’d printed page after page, and to her surprise, she’d been able to access the last twelve statements. She’d seen a whole year’s worth of usage details, and it was clear that Curtis hadn’t missed a beat. He’d chitchatted with this woman like she was the most important person in his life and acted as though he had some great need to talk to her. Now Charlotte wondered even more who she was and what could possibly be so special about her. What did this particular woman have that Charlotte didn’t, and how on earth had she seized Curtis’s undivided attention? How had she slithered her way into his life, making him feel as though he couldn’t go a day without hearing her voice?
If Charlotte hadn’t cried herself to sleep last night and could assemble more tears, she would bawl like a baby. But since she couldn’t, she pulled herself together and began heading downstairs to breakfast. When she stepped out in the hallway, however, she heard Matthew’s TV playing and strolled toward his room. She knocked on his door, which was slightly ajar.
“Yes?” he said
“Sweetie, it’s me. Can I come in?”
“It’s open.”
Charlotte walked inside. “Can you turn that down a little? I wanna talk to you.”
Matthew picked up the remote, pressed the Volume button, and dropped it back onto his bed. Then he finished buttoning his starched white long-sleeved shirt and sat down.
“Matt, you know I love you, right?”
He slipped his foot into one of his snow-white gym shoes. “I guess.”
“No, I don’t want you to guess. I want you to be sure of that. I want you to understand that no matter what I’ve done, no matter how many mistakes I’ve made, I will always love you.”
Matthew slipped on his other shoe and tied it but never looked up.
Charlotte wasn’t sure what else she could say or do to get him to open up to her. To get him to forgive her. “Matt, are you always going to feel this way? Are you always going to hate me for what I did last year?”
He stood with his back to her and went over to his desk. “I don’t hate anybody, Mom, so I certainly don’t hate you. What I hate is how you keep doing and saying things to hurt people. Last year, you went out of your way to be mean to Curtina, then you hurt Dad, and last weekend you embarrassed me in front of everyone. You got sloppy drunk on my prom day, and I just don’t get that. I don’t understand you at all anymore.”
Charlotte tried finding the right words, but she didn’t know what she could possibly say. Matthew had said a mouthful, and there was no room to defend herself. She was guilty as charged. “You’re right, Matt. I did everything you said, and I’m sorry. I know I’ve messed up a lot, but you have to give me another chance.”
“You know, Mom, normally it’s the child who makes foolish mistakes and then the parent is the one who points them out and helps the child learn from them. But in this house, it seems like things are just the opposite. It seems like you can’t help the things you do and that you’re never going to stop.”
Charlotte moved closer to him. “That’s not true. I promise you, it isn’t. I promise you I will never hurt you again. I won’t ever speak to you or embarrass you the way I did on Saturday.”
Matthew grabbed his book bag and keys. “I have to go eat.”
“Can I at least have a hug?”
He hesitated but then reached out to her, and Charlotte squeezed him the way she used to when he was a toddler. “Sweetie, you and Curtina are my whole world, so please don’t ever forget that. I would die for you if I had to.”
Matthew released her and went downstairs, and as Charlotte walked out into the hallway, Curtina came out of her bedroom.
“Can Matt drive me to school today?”
“I suppose. Now, you’d better get downstairs to breakfast so he won’t leave you.”
“Okay, are you coming, too?”
“I’ll be along in a few minutes. You go ahead.”
Curtina went on her way, and Charlotte stood thinking about her son and the words he’d said. He’d had such a serious look on his face when he’d spoken to her, but she had also noticed a hint of sadness, and she wished she could somehow erase all her mistakes. She knew that wasn’t possible, but she yearned for that nonetheless.
After eating a piece of toast and saying good-bye to the children, Charlotte went back up to her bedroom. Interestingly enough, Curtis had made a tiny bit of small talk with her through his conversation with Agnes about his trip this weekend and how he couldn’t wait to get back home to relax for the holiday. Charlotte hadn’t said very much to him, though, because she was still riled about those phone calls. She was furious, and during breakfast, she’d begun debating whether she should call this woman up and confront her. But there was one thing that gave her pause. Curtis had built a relationship with this woman of his own free will, so what good would it do talking to her? Would it really make a difference, one way or the other?
Charlotte wondered what her mother would do, so she called her.
She answered on the first ring. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey, Mom. How are you?”
“Good, and you?”
“About the same. How’s Dad?”
“He’s fine. Just left for the golf course about an hour ago.”
“I guess it’s that time of year.”
“That’s for sure. So, what’s going on in the Black household? Are things better now?”
Charlotte sat on the edge of the tan chaise. “They’re worse.”
“How?”
“I found out Curtis has been communicating with another woman for a whole year now.”
“What? Who is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you ask him?”
“He won’t tell me her name.”
“How did you find out about her?”
“I caught him on the phone the other night, and finally yesterday, I pulled the phone records.”
“Maybe all he’s been doing is talking.”
“Yeah, that’s what he says, but, Mom, he’s been talking to her every day. And sometimes they were on for two or more hours.”
“And you don’t have any idea who she is?”
“None.”
“This is going too far. It was one thing for Curtis to talk about divorcing you, but now that some woman has entered the picture, that changes everything.”
Charlotte could only imagine the expression her mother wore, because she spoke fast and her voice was high-pitched.
“You’re going to have to squash this whole other-woman thing immediately.”
“But, Mom, I don’t know who she is.”
“Do you think he’s been sleeping with her?”
“He says he hasn’t. He says all he’s done is talk to her on the phone.”
“I just don’t believe this. Curtis has always loved you, and I never thought it would come to this.”
“Well, it has, and if I hadn’t pulled those phone records and called the number, he never would have told me.”
“You spoke to her?”
“No, when she answered, I just held the phone.”
“Well, what you need to do now is call that heifer back and tell her to find her own man and leave your husband alone. You need to get her straight and let her know you mean business.”
“I don’t know, Mom. I thought about that, but I’m not sure that’s the right thing to do.”
“Excuse me? You never had any problem confronting Tabitha, so why is this so different?”
“It’s not I guess, but it’s Curtis I’m married to, and it’s him who should put a stop to this.”
“I disagree.”
“Why?”
“Because nowadays, thes
e women out here are lonely, desperate, and treacherous. And it doesn’t matter if they’re single or tied down in a miserable marriage; they have no problem going after another woman’s husband.”
“I still don’t know what a phone call will do to change that.”
“It can do a lot if you say the right things. You have to let her know that you’re not going to tolerate her talking to your husband or trying to see him and that if she continues, she’ll be sorry.”
Charlotte sighed. She heard what her mother was saying, but she just didn’t feel like calling another woman to argue about her own husband. Or maybe she didn’t want to take the chance of hearing more than she could bear.
“You should hang up and call her now,” Noreen said.
Charlotte’s phone beeped, so she looked at her screen. It was Janine, and Charlotte wanted to talk to her. “Mom, I have another call.”
“Fine, but you call me back as soon as you contact that woman.”
“I will,” she said, not knowing if she actually would call her mother back or not.
She pressed the Receive button and answered Janine’s call.
“Hey, J.”
“Hey, how are you?”
“Not good, girl. I was going to call you as soon as I got off with Mom.”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“Long story short, I pulled Curtis’s cell phone records and found out he’s been talking to some woman every day for months. He’s been doing it for at least a whole year.”
“No, girl.”
“Yes. I also called the number, and that’s how I know it belongs to a woman. Plus, he admitted it last night when I showed him the printouts, but he wouldn’t tell me her name.”
“Is he having an affair with her?”
“He says he’s not, but even if he hasn’t slept with her, that’s still what he’s been doing.”
Janine was quiet.
“I know you don’t wanna make me feel bad, but you know I’m right, J. I mean, how would you feel if Carl had been having phone conversations with a woman more often than he did with you?”
“I guess you have a point. But maybe he just needed someone to talk to because of what you and he have been going through.”
“Then he should have confided in one of his guy friends or another minister. Not some woman.”
“I’m sorry this is happening.”
“So am I, and I’m really worried, J, because if Curtis has been talking to this woman every day, they must really have a connection. There has to be some very strong chemistry involved.”
“Did he say he would stop talking to her?”
“Yes, but who’s to say he will?”
“Maybe he’ll stop because you know about it.”
“Who knows? My mom says I should call her and tell her to stop talking to Curtis, but I’m not sure I wanna do that.”
“Chances are that’ll only make bad matters worse.”
“It might, but I also feel like she deserves to hear from me.”
“I think you should sit down and discuss this a little more with Curtis.”
“For what? I mean, as far as I know, he’s still divorcing me, anyway, so why would he feel the need to stop calling her? For all I know, she’s the woman he’s planning to marry.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Why?”
“I just don’t. I know Curtis says your marriage is over, but he does still love you.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“Well, I am. No matter what he said to me on Sunday when I called him, I could tell he was still in love with you. He’s just hurt.”
Charlotte listened to Janine for a few more minutes, but soon her mind wandered back to this unidentified woman and whether she should contact her or not. Her mom was all for it, Janine was totally against it, and Charlotte fell somewhere in between. Either way, she knew she had to make a decision very soon, and she would before the day was over.
Chapter 26
It hadn’t been more than five minutes since Curtis had spoken to Lana and the rest of the administrative staff, then moseyed into his office and closed the door behind him. Now he lifted the church phone from its base and couldn’t dial Sharon fast enough. He hadn’t thought about anything else all night long or even this morning, and he was ready to make his last call to her.
“Hey, baby,” she said.
“Do you have a minute?”
“All the time in the world when it comes to you.”
“Look, my wife pulled my phone records, so after today I can’t talk to you anymore.”
“So I guess that’s who called me yesterday and held the phone. She did it twice.”
“I’m sorry to have to end our friendship this way, but I was wrong for talking to you in the first place, and I certainly never should have come to your home.”
“There’s nothing to feel sorry about. Not when I know for a fact we’re supposed to be together. So, all we have to do now is be more careful until you get your divorce.”
Maybe she hadn’t heard him correctly, so he said, “What I’m saying is that you and I can no longer communicate in any way, and we can never see each other again.”
“You’re just afraid she’ll use our relationship against you in court and then the judge will rule in her favor, but it’s like I said, all we have to do is be more careful. I’ll add a second line onto my wireless account, and you can use that phone instead. That way, she’ll never know about our conversations.”
He wasn’t getting through to Sharon, and he wasn’t sure what he needed to say.
“The bottom line is this: I’m a married man. I won’t be calling you anymore, and I won’t be answering any calls from you.”
“You’re just upset about her finding out. You’re worried about what this will mean for your court case, and I don’t blame you. But, baby, this is all going to be okay. You’ll see.”
Curtis realized being nice wasn’t working. “This has nothing to do with my divorce. This has everything to do with you and how I don’t want you contacting me again. What I want is for you to go on with your life and completely forget about me.”
“I can’t do that,” she said before he’d barely finished his sentence.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to go against God’s will.”
Curtis lowered his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
“Baby, before I moved here, God spoke to me loudly and clearly. He told me that I was going to be your next wife. Remember when I first introduced myself to you, and I told you how I’d seen you on television a few times and how I packed up everything and transferred my job to Mitchell? Remember when I said I’d done it because I wanted to be close to you? Well, what I didn’t tell you was that the real reason I never hesitated was because I didn’t want to disobey God. He wants us together, Curtis. He wants us to be married.”
“Are you crazy?”
“No, I couldn’t be more serious if I tried. God planned our meeting and our destiny years and years ago, and now it’s finally time for us to be together. I know you’re in a tough situation and that Charlotte obviously doesn’t want to let go of you, but you have to fight and keep pushing forward. You have to end things with her the way you planned.”
Her tone was calm, and Curtis wondered if she believed what she was saying.
“I think you’re a little confused, Sharon, and while I know you’ve been hoping we would eventually get together, I’m sorry to say it’s never going to happen. Right now I have to focus on my children and on doing what’s right for them.”
“You’re just a little overwhelmed with all that’s going on, and you weren’t expecting Charlotte to find out about us this way. But things’ll get better as time goes on.”
Trying to reason with her was a lost cause, so he said, “I have to go now, but you take care of yourself.”
“Why are you acting this way?” she hurried to say. “Don’t you want me?”
&nb
sp; “No.”
“You don’t mean that?”
“I do mean it. I mean every word I’ve said to you over the last few minutes.”
“Baby, just tell me what I need to do. I’ve tried to make changes so that when the time comes I’ll be the perfect first lady. I’ve changed my hairstyle, the way I dress, but if there’s something you don’t like, just tell me. Tell me what you want me to do, and I will.”
Curtis had dealt with some pretty interesting people over the years, namely Adrienne, his former mistress who had become the ultimate fatal attraction, and he had a feeling Sharon might be falling into the same category. But there was no way this was happening again, not when he hadn’t even slept with the woman. Not when all he’d done was talk to her.
Curtis decided trying a different approach. “Sharon, you’re a really nice woman, so I know you’ll meet the right person very soon. He’s out there, but you’re never going to find him if you don’t start looking.”
“I found the right man when I connected with you.”
Curtis was done with this. “I have to go now.”
“You take care, and like I said, try not to worry. Everything will work itself out in no time.”
“Good-bye, Sharon.”
Curtis hung up the phone and exhaled. This woman had issues, and all he could hope was that she would eventually forget about him and that this would be the end of it. Still, he couldn’t fathom anyone acting this obsessively over something that was nothing more than a friendship, but maybe he’d spent too much time on the phone with her. Maybe he’d given her false hope without even realizing it, and she had somehow taken his words the wrong way. He’d said it before but he couldn’t help thinking how he never, ever should have gone to her house on Sunday evening and allowed things to escalate between them. They hadn’t had sex, but they’d come extremely close, and maybe that had been far too much for her. Maybe this was the reason she was acting as though she’d lost her mind and couldn’t imagine her life without him.
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