“Ok, you can sit sideways on the stool and look toward the camera”, instructed Courtney praying inwardly that she could do this and remain calm. Ramon obeyed and when he raised his eyes to look at Courtney, he held nothing back. All she saw was passion and desire radiating from his eyes as he looked at her.
“Ramon I don’t think I can do this,” said Courtney, closing her eyes and chewing on her bottom lip and willing her hands to stop trembling. She thought she was ready to open up to Ramon but this was taking things way over the top for her.
“Courtney, look at me,” said Ramon with a low voice, “Look at me,” he coaxed again.
Slowly, Courtney opened her eyes and looked at Ramon. Once again she saw his sincerity and saw how much he loved her and she felt some strength return to her hands. She began to take the shots and Ramon continued to communicate with her with his eyes.
With every pose his eyes said you are the only one for me, I need you in my life, and I want to make love to you right now...
Courtney felt her legs begin to tremble and she felt her body become aroused as she took the pictures. Each pose demonstrated how powerful he was but yet how much he loved her. It was so overwhelming that by the thirteenth shot Courtney was crying. Not because she was sad but because this experience was just too overwhelming for her. She already had her winning shot from the first take and nothing further needed to be said. It was forcing her to push away every negative thought, every doubt she had about him and about whether or not they could build a real lasting marriage. Courtney felt almost weak with love for Ramon; literally she had no strength left. She simply sank to the floor and sat down and Ramon got up from the set, walked over to her and after scooping her up in his arms led her back over to the rug with him. She did not know it was possible to feel limp and totally alive all at the same time. Instead of kissing her as she expected, immediately he got back up and set the camera on auto shoot. As he sat back down and took Courtney in his arms, he looked into her eyes and said to her as the flash went off,
“I love you and Happy Anniversary!”
He kissed her lips softly and they held each other there for some time after not wanting the magical moment to ever end.
Chapter 3
Ramon finally left the studio around 12:30 in response to a call that he had received from the office reminding him of an appointment he had in the afternoon. He apologized and indicated that he had to attend to some business and promised to see her at home later by 6:00 p.m. After helping her to clean up the hundreds of rose petals, he put back on his shirt and let himself out. As Ramon left the studio, he felt as though he could fly and laughed at the absurdity of his thoughts. As he walked along the street to the parking area behind the complex where the studio was located he noticed a young couple walking and holding hands. The man leaned over and whispered something into the lady’s ear and she laughed in response, playfully punching his arm. He then wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close as they continued walking oblivious to everything else around them.
“I can’t believe that I nearly threw that all away,” said Ramon to himself as he pressed in the security code on his SUV to unlock the door. As he got in he sat for a while in the seat, thinking about his plans and thinking about the incredible woman he was married to. Courtney just had a way of making him feel so alive, so creative, and extremely male. He wanted to take care of her, to protect her, to make sure she had all she needed. Every time he thought about how close he came to throwing his marriage away he felt like kicking himself repeatedly.
“God, I love her”, said Ramon raggedly as he leaned forward placing his forearms against the steering wheel. “If only she knew just how much.”
Ramon now more determined than ever to carry out his plans to the hilt, stared out into the distance as he envisioned all that he had already set into motion.
“Tonight, Courtney you will know for sure, who I am and my commitment to you,” promised Ramon as he spoke to himself.
Putting on his sunglasses, he started the SUV and pulled out of the parking lot and into the midday traffic. He had some last minute details to take care of and nothing was going to get in his way, not today.
Inside the studio, Courtney slowly dismantled the set to prepare for her afternoon shoot. Ramon had been really sweet to bring along a roast beef sandwich for her lunch but somehow she felt full and satisfied as though she had already eaten. They did not have sex but sat together in each other’s arms just talking and sharing their hopes for the future. Still in a daze over what had just happened between her and Ramon, she still felt a little disoriented when the phone suddenly rang. Her first thought was to let it go to voicemail but then she reconsidered and hurried across the wide room to where her desk was situated. She really did not feel like talking to anyone just then but was concerned that it might be her next client calling.
“Hello. Good afternoon, Belham Studios, this is Courtney speaking.”
“Mrs. Belham, you don’t know me, but I need to meet with you today. It is very important!” pleaded a female voice laced with urgency.
“Who is this?
“My name is Alicia Sorellio and I am your husband’s mistress.”
Courtney laughed out loud, and felt a rush of pity for the person who would dare to call her and tell such an abominable lie on her wedding anniversary.
“What?”Are you out of your mind? That is impossible, why would you say that?” asked Courtney, her face wrinkled with disgust.
“Listen, this is serious. It is far from being a lie and I have the proof. He has been lying to both of us. He never told me that he was married and now we are going to have a baby together. He refuses to take my calls and I need to know where our relationship stands.”
Absolutely offended by the implication of the woman’s words, Courtney could hear the earnest expression in the other woman’s voice but could not link what she was saying to anything that could possibly have anything to do with her. As a matter of fact, she was just here with Ramon and he made it clear to her that she was the only woman in his life and that she was the only one that he loved. It was impossible for someone to lie that convincingly. She trusted Ramon, she had to. No one could be capable of such insane deceit; no man could have that degree of evil in his heart. She would not make the mistake of judging him based on hearsay again.
Without another word Courtney hung up the phone but in seconds, it rang again. Courtney let the phone ring off three times before answering it again feeling sure that the awful woman who called had gotten the message that her call was unwelcome.
“Hello, Belham Studios, this is Courtney speaking.”
“Mrs. Belham, this is Alicia, you need to listen to what I have to say” blurted the woman on the line.
Removing the phone from her ear again and without saying another word Courtney hung it up again, this time with more force. Determined to put some distance between herself and the desperate prank caller Courtney decided to continue setting up the set for the next photo shoot. As she walked over to the equipment her mind was racing as she replayed the words the other woman spoke over and over again. Ramon had a mistress that was pregnant? It just did not seem plausible. Ramon would have to be the devil himself to be working on their marriage pretentiously while still seeing another woman. Despite her disbelief she could sense that her old insecurities were being troubled and as she pushed them out of her thoughts the phone rang again. By the fourth ring Courtney could not take the harassment anymore and snatched up the receiver answering angrily,
“You don’t get the hint do you, Alicia or whoever you are, leave me and my husband alone, you filthy liar!” shouted Courtney. As she was about to hang up she heard a familiar voice that caused her to stop in her tracks.
“Courtney, this is Constance Parker, are you ok, and who on earth is Alicia?”
Now flaming with embarrassment, Courtney recognized the concerned voice of Constance Parker her 2:00 appointment and good friend. She was bringing he
r twin granddaughters into the studios for a photo shoot to celebrate their 1 birthdays and also to take headshots for their visa applications. They were going to be soon taking a trip to the United States with their parents for a two week vacation in Orlando, Florida.
“Oh Constance, I am so sorry that I answered the phone like that but I had a really awful caller just now”, explained Courtney.
Courtney often met Constance at a downtown cafe on Wednesday afternoon’s to talk about life and to just get good and godly advice from a woman of wisdom. She liked and respected the fact that Constance was married to the same man for the last thirty one years and was still happy. Not only that, but she was a mother and a well travelled business woman who had a strong relationship with God. Constance always attributed her successes to the latter with much humility citing that without God she would not be where she was in life. She encountered many trials and circumstances but none had soured her or changed her positive outlook, her beauty or her health. Instead they provided her with a stronger faith and many interesting stories with important lessons which she took great delight in sharing with Courtney. In fact it was Constance who had given her the great advice that helped to save her marriage two years ago.
“Is it a bad time? Do you want me to reschedule the appointment for Danae and Demaria?” asked Constance.
“No, let them come still, it will be a good distraction for me,” sighed Courtney still puzzled over the audacity of that woman in calling her and making her shameful accusations.
“Ok, I will bring along their babysitter so that she can take them back home afterwards. That will give us a chance to sit and talk.”
“You don’t have to, I’ll be fine. I know you are a busy woman.”
“Courtney, you should know by now that I am never too busy for you when you need me. I will be there in an hour.” said Constance firmly.
Courtney smiled at the no nonsense yet motherly attitude that she had grown to love about Constance Parker. She knew from the tone of her reply that Constance would not be dissuaded easily. Courtney’s own mother had moved away overseas and left her in the care of her grandmother since she was fourteen years old. They were not in contact at all and Courtney had not spoken to her mother in years. Courtney had tried several times over the years to reconnect with her mother but she never ever responded. The biggest insult her mother had dealt her though was not responding to the invitation she sent her to attend her wedding seven years ago.
Throughout her teenage years she was raised by her grandmother Eunie. Her name was really Eunice but she and her sister’s thought it was old fashioned and chose Eunie as a more affectionate and appropriate name for her. Courtney and her two sisters Paula and Maria knew how much Eunie had sacrificed for and loved them when their mother left and they had always been grateful to her. Her grandmother passed away three years ago and she still missed her a lot. Sadly again, her mother had not even attended her own mother’s funeral and no one knew how to contact her at the time. She had often wondered if maybe that is why she really enjoyed her talks with Constance so much. She was really like a mother to her in many ways.
She was still smiling at the thought when she heard a knock at the door. As she walked to the door and looked out past the short curtain which covered the lookout glass she saw that a courier from UPS stood outside wearing the typical brown uniform. Turning the handle on the door she opened it and saw standing before her a sandy- haired man in his late twenties with sallow yellow skin. He was about five foot ten inches tall and had a thin wiry frame. He was well groomed though and Courtney thought nothing about opening the door to receive him.
“Hello”, she said.
“Yes hello, I have a delivery here for Courtney Belham”, he said hurriedly, holding out a clipboard to her.
Knowing the tight schedule that these companies kept, Courtney identified herself and took the clipboard and signed off on the packet that he held in his hand. Strangely, there were no charges to be paid, so whatever was in the envelope wasn’t something that she had bought for herself. Courtney began to sense her stomach turning over in giant flip flops that made her feel lightheaded, because her mail was never delivered here at her office. This was indeed strange, but remembering the surprise her husband had already delivered to her earlier that day she thought that perhaps it was something else from him. She would normally pick up her mail at her post office box in the city and, she knew that she had not placed an order for anything recently that could be delivered through UPS.
The sandy-haired man handed her a thick envelope and turned and walked briskly away. Who could possibly have sent her mail here? Was it Ramon? What did he have up his sleeve this time, she wondered as a slow smile began to radiate from her face. She let the door close and waited for the sound of the lock to click in place behind her before she looked at the receipt and saw that the package was sent to her from an Alicia Sorellio.
Recognizing the name from her previous caller she dropped the package as though it had suddenly caught fire or had begun to secrete corrosive acid. Her heart pounded rapidly as she considered what this could mean. An envelope of that size could only contain one thing; photographs or documents of some kind. Leaving the envelope on the floor she turned around quickly and yanked open the door hoping to catch the courier before he drove off, but he was nowhere in sight. In fact, now that she thought about it she never did see a UPS van.
Courtney now consumed with curiosity closed the door and picked up the envelope. Checking her watch quickly and seeing that it was a quarter to two o’clock, she grabbed a letter opener from her desk and opened the envelope quickly intending to survey the contents before Constance arrived. She looked inside first and then reached in to take out the stack of papers and photographs that were neatly stacked inside. When she looked at the photo on the top, she saw a picture of her husband Ramon sitting at a table in a restaurant with a beautiful woman dressed in red that was laughing and reaching across the table to touch his hand. The next photo showed more of the same, with the same woman in red touching Ramon, standing close to him and finally in the last one she was kissing him fully on the lips, fully encircled in his arms.
Anger began to surge through Courtney as she viewed the photos and her hands began to tremble violently. The papers below the photographs were transcripts of text messages sent from his phone to an Alicia. The conversations were far from innocent, ranging from plans to meet each other and dirty talk about what they would do to each other when they hooked up.
Courtney began to feel as if the room was spinning and she felt faint, sweaty and her mind was racing. She checked through the photographs again and saw that there were dates on them. As she looked at the date she realized that this event happened just two months ago during a week Ramon left town on business for a week to plan the official welcome dinner for the Prime Minister of Barbados who had just been recently elected to office.
“No, this cannot be true”, stammered Courtney as she looked through the photos again not believing her eyes.
Over and over she examined the photos and she began to pace the room like a caged tiger and with each lap she squeezed the photos tighter and tighter in her hands. Finally she flung the photos to the ground in disbelief. Disbelief that she was looking at those poisonous photos on her wedding anniversary! Disbelief that she had let herself get comfortable and begin to think that she could trust a man with her heart. Disbelief that Ramon would put her in this position again! Two years ago, when his secretary began to show interest in him, he noticed it and he did absolutely nothing but in fact allowed it to continue and even encouraged it. At that time things had become pretty sour in their marriage and Ramon was always working late. She could see that he was under some kind of strain but he never shared it with her and he simply stopped communicating with her in any meaningful way. Seeing his detached attitude she too had begun retreating from him in order to preserve her own feelings. They had stopped sharing meals together and sex was pretty infrequent a
nd when it did happen it felt mechanical and pretentious. It was as if she did not know who she was married to anymore. When she found out through a concerned friend that Ramon had taken his secretary to lunch at The Rizzo, a new Italian-Asian fusion restaurant at the Belgrade Resort, she lost it. She was told that they had an intimate table for two on a balcony that overlooked the ocean and they spent about two hours there eating lunch together. It was no ordinary working lunch because they looked as if they were in a relationship. A business lunch would have been a quick bite or even take away. But instead they sat there for over two hours, going way past the time for the lunch hour talking and enjoying each other’s company. She was told that Ramon had even leaned over at one point and had taken something out of his secretary’s hair before bringing his hand down to cover hers on the table. When they left, they were hooked arm in arm and left in the same car.
She would never forget Lela Samuels as long as she lived. That woman had no morals, no remorse and no respect for marriage. But the blame could not be laid squarely at her feet alone because Ramon should have known better. When she confronted him later that night she was filled with hurt and a fury she did not know she could possess. He came home late as usual and had barely, entered the house before she spat out the words,
“You lying cheating bastard! I always knew that I was right in never trusting you.”
Ramon clearly blindsided by the accusation looked shocked and completely bewildered at her words. Courtney remembered how she let him have a real piece of her mind that night. She told him that she knew all about his secret affair and that he would have to choose who he wanted, because she would not let him humiliate her in that way. Ramon had stood and actually challenged her to reveal what she knew. He did not admit that he was doing anything and that stance infuriated Courtney even more. Finally she spat out the details that her friend has shared with her and at that point, he did confess to having the lunch date.
Not So Easily Broken Page 3