Redemption Lake

by Monique Miller

  “You know, before coming here, I really didn’t know people could have so many problems. Those couples we met our first time here really had some problems. And I don’t mean to diminish the problems we had, but we were actually pretty well off compared to them,” Phillip said.

  “Yeah, you never really know what goes on behind closed doors with people.”

  Phillip figured she was alluding to the fact that even though they had only been there two days, two of the couples had already discussed their mounting frustrations out in the open. He was glad the couples were finally starting to warm up and share. A lot of their concerns were being manifested through not only their words, but with their body language as well.

  “Speaking of arguments,” Shelby said, “what about Xavier and Charlotte?”

  Phillip nodded his head. “It’s a start. At least they are talking.”

  “I know they’re talking, but I meant about all that stuff Charlotte had on him. I didn’t know what she was going to pull out of that file next. I was scared she might have a video or something,” Shelby said.

  This time Phillip shook his head. “Baby, I’m so glad my days of running around were over by the time I met you.”

  Shelby stopped dead in her tracks, causing Phillip to jerk back slightly. “Come again? Your running days were over when you met me?”

  “You know what I mean. Once I realized how serious we were, I quickly let the other couple of girls I was talking to go. I hate to think what could have happened if I’d brought the same kind of mess I was doing from college into our marriage. I could have ended up like Xavier.” Phillip shuddered at the thought.

  “You know, that’s right. But I don’t think I could have sat around acting like nothing was wrong with me while I collected evidence for months on end.” Shelby started walking again. “I would have freaked the first time I saw you making more than twenty calls to the same number in a month, much less over a hundred.”

  “I know what you mean. But you never know what you’d really do unless you’re in a person’s shoes. We all have different reasons for doing what we do,” Phillip said.

  “I hear you, but I’d be doggone if I’d keep collecting copies of your little chats on the Internet. For real. I’d be all over you like white on rice after I saw the first message.”

  “Violence, honey? That’s not like you at all.”

  Shelby positioned the flash light under her face to illuminate a smile she was displaying. “Like you said, baby, you never know what a person might do, given the circumstances.”

  “You didn’t go off on me when you heard about Jeana,” Phillip said.

  “That’s because I was all banged up in a hospital. With all those wires and IVs hanging from me, I couldn’t reach you. Besides, I was so confused about what she’d told me and what I’d seen, I thought you were up to no good for sure,” Shelby said.

  There was once a time when Phillip’s ex-girlfriend Jeana’s name couldn’t be mentioned in their house. And soon after, Phillip had to tread lightly when mentioning anything about Jeana and her son Taren—who had also turned out to be Phillip’s illegitimate son. But now, after a couple of years and numerous counseling sessions, they’d gotten past those problems and moved on.

  “And for the most part, it was all a misunderstanding,” Phillip said.

  “No, not for the most part. But yes, some parts were very pivotal,” Shelby said.

  “Okay, when you take some truth and add a few lies, and then you add a sprinkling of misunderstanding, then what you have is an ungodly mess,” Phillip said.

  “Which is what we had,” Shelby said.

  “Which is what Xavier and Charlotte seem to have right now.”

  “We got through it,” Shelby said.

  “And with the help of God, I hope they can get through it also.”

  “Prayerfully,” Shelby said. Then she shook her head. “But I don’t know. Charlotte had some pretty damaging evidence.”

  “Baby, how many times have you watched Matlock and seen where the person being accused has a mound of evidence against them, but in the end, Matlock always finds out the truth, clearing the person of the supposable wrong doing?” Phillip said.

  Shelby laughed. “Now you sound like Travis.”

  “Ah, you got jokes now? I’m serious. Sometimes things look worse than what they are. Even when all the evidence seems to point in a certain direction, there’s always hope and sometimes, even a legitimate loophole.”

  “You must have the faith of a mustard seed to believe that. She’s got cell phone details with date and time stamps, copies of online chats, and full voice mail messages,” Shelby said.

  “And with all that, she still doesn’t have this man red handed on tape, nor does she have a personal witness to any of the alleged activities,” Phillip said, trying to convince his wife that anything was possible.

  Shelby stopped walking again, causing Phillip to jerk backward for the second time.

  “Baby, I might need my arm for writing tomorrow. If you keep stopping, sooner or later you’ll dislocate my shoulder.”

  Now Shelby was the one with the serious look on her face. “My dear husband. Let me let you in on a little something. I know I’ve only known Charlotte for a couple of days, but she looks like a very smart woman to me. And if she is the smart woman I think she is, then she wouldn’t have pulled out everything she had on her husband.

  “She might have a video somewhere or credit card receipts for hotels. She’s not going to let him know everything she’s got, for two reasons. Number one, she might need the other information if she has to go to court for divorce. And number two, she may really want her husband to fess up to anything else he might be hiding from her, to once again give him a chance to redeem himself.”

  What Shelby said made sense to Phillip, but he still asked, “Do you really think she has something else on the guy?”

  “I’m willing to bet she does.”

  Phillip shook his head. “You women are something else.”

  “You men are something else. The difference is, we women pay close attention to detail, and we have memories like an elephant. Often, not because we are looking for anything, but when we think something is off kilter, we pay even closer attention until we find out where the problem truly lies.”

  “Are you serious? I think I pay pretty good attention to detail,” Phillip said.

  “And don’t discount our women’s intuition,” Shelby added.

  “So pretty much what you’re saying is, when women pay attention to detail, remember things, use women’s intuition, and all these modern resources available today, y’all can be lethal?” Phillip asked.

  “Bingo,” Shelby said.

  “Whew. Remind me never to make you mad at me again,” Phillip said.

  “All I know is that when you finally called for a break in that session, Charlotte didn’t look like she was losing any steam. And she probably did have a couple of other things she might have to pull out in their bedroom,” Shelby said.

  Phillip pulled at Shelby’s arm again so they could continue walking. “I hope not. You know I’m being impartial because I have to be. I do have to admit that all that stuff Charlotte has on him does look pretty damaging.”

  Shelby nodded her head in agreement.

  “There it is.” Phillip pointed his flashlight in the direction a little ahead of them. “Our log.”

  They walked up to the log they had so many fond memories of.

  “Somehow it doesn’t seem as big as I remember it,” Shelby said.

  Phillip examined the bark closely with his flashlight, looking for dirt and bugs. They both took a seat after seeing that it was safe to do so. The so-called log was actually the trunk of a tree which had fallen along the path of the trail.

  “Ah, it’s just right,” Shelby said. “I wish we could take a chunk of this tree home and have it carved into a bench or something. I’d sit it in the backyard and we could pretend like we’re out here in th
e woods.”

  “Yeah, right. How are we going to tune out the sounds of traffic and the smell of smog?”

  Shelby smacked Phillip playfully on his arm. “We could still listen to the crickets and swat mosquitoes.”

  They sat for a few moments, enjoying the silence and the smell of pine.

  “Okay, enough about poor Charlotte and Xavier. What about Beryl and Travis? What are your thoughts there?” Phillip asked.

  “I see the love in Beryl’s eyes as well as the frustration. Travis seems to be a fast talker, when he isn’t zoning out in one of his daydreams.”

  “You’ve noticed that too?”

  “Yeah, but with his fast talking, he’s actually trying to cover up the fact that half the time, he doesn’t really know what is going on,” Shelby said.

  “I wonder if all the guy does all day is watch TV, because that’s all he talks about.”

  “Deep down I really feel like Beryl wants to try to make things work out between them, and Travis only wants to do enough to get by, whether it be getting a job and keeping it just long enough to collect an unemployment check, or only helping around the house when Beryl asks him to.”

  “Wow. You gathered all that?” Phillip asked.

  “That and more,” Shelby said. “Beryl and I had a chance to talk this morning before anyone else came into the kitchen. She confided some things in me. I think she’s been itching to talk to someone about her situation, but was too ashamed. Many of her friends and family don’t know she’s the one who’s been carrying their family financially, and she hates the fact that she has to basically beg her husband to do stuff around the house. She feels like she is dealing with an adult sized child to go along with her two young children.”

  “That’s got to be frustrating. Maybe Travis has a side to the story, and it isn’t as bad as Beryl is making it out to be,” Phillip said, still trying to remain neutral.

  “I think his job turnover indicates that something isn’t right, and playing the race card, saying the establishment is trying to keep a brotha down is just a cop out.” Shelby rolled her eyes.

  “Bottom line is that a man knows when he isn’t working, he isn’t contributing to the financial health of his home. Just like he knows that every time a light switch is turned on, the phone rings, and the toilet flushes, that means that somebody pays for it, and that somebody isn’t him.”

  Shelby held up her finger and started rotating her head. “Instead of making excuses, Travis should be making arrangements to find and keep a job. With all the time he spends making excuses and probably watching the television trying to catch the next segment in a commercial saga, he could be earning something to help his wife put food in his kids’ mouths.”

  Phillip placed his hands on Shelby’s shoulders and massaged them. “Whoa, baby; calm down.”

  “I will. I promise I’ll be calm by the time we make it back to the cabin, but that stuff he allegedly is doing is a pure mess.” Shelby rolled her eyes again. “And I tell you one thing, I would not put up with that kind of mess. You can say what you want about being in someone else’s shoes, but taking care of a grown, able-bodied man is something this sister just wouldn’t be doing.”

  Phillip shook his head, knowing what Shelby was saying was true.

  “If he wants to watch TV so bad, then he can go to Best Buy. They’ve got a whole wall full of TV’s, all shapes and sizes, that he can look at while he’s working,” Shelby said.

  “Well, all right,” Phillip said. He would be as neutral as he needed to be. But Phillip knew his wife had a point about taking care of a grown man.

  “That was more feedback than I expected. What are your thoughts about Nina and George?” Phillip asked.

  “Truthfully, I can’t believe G.I. Jones is here and seeking advice from us. I read his book, I Do, I Don’t, and it was wonderful. Much of the book went over some of the same things we’re doing here at the retreat.”

  “You don’t understand why George is here? Matthew 13:57 explains it pretty clearly. It says, . . . But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.”

  “So he can teach thousands, but can’t teach his own wife?”

  “Bingo,” Phillip said with a smile.

  “They really haven’t said very much about their problems,” Shelby said.

  “They’re probably used to being guarded about their private lives. Unlike some people who can run their mouths all day, I just think George is the opposite. He’s probably feeling everyone out. James 1:19 says, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. I think we both know that G.I. Jones, the soldier for the Lord, is a very wise man,” Phillip said.

  “I don’t quite know how to read Nina. It sort of seems like she is bipolar, but the symptoms don’t exactly match. Sometimes she seems like she’s dragging and tired, and other times, she talks a mile a minute.”

  “My grandmother would just plain call it being wishywashy,” Phillip said.

  “Maybe so, but it seems a little clinical to me,” Shelby said just before she dropped her flashlight and slapped the backside of her hand. “Ouch.”

  “What was that?” Phillip asked. “A mosquito?”

  “No, it’s too cool out for a mosquito,” Shelby said.

  Phillip took his flashlight to shine it on the spot she’d just hit. On her skin was a dead ant.

  “That really stung.”

  Phillip shined his flashlight back down on the bark of the tree where he saw a stream of ants coming from underneath. “There are more of them. Let’s go ahead and get back to the cabin.”

  Shelby hopped up off the log, vigorously patting and wiping her jacket and jogging pants. “What time is it?”

  Phillip looked at his watch. “It’s almost eleven o’clock.”

  “It’s that late already? Time really does fly when you’re having fun.” Shelby scratched at the spot on her hand. “It’s still stinging.”

  “Must have been a fire ant. Those little jokers don’t play. I’m glad a swarm of them didn’t bite you,” Phillip said. He put his arm around Shelby’s shoulder as they returned to the trail.

  “I just wish each couple at the cabin could just squash their problems like I just did that ant. Then we could all relax and enjoy the rest of the week like second honeymoons.”

  “The week is still young,” Phillip said.

  “It’s not that young. In a little over an hour it will officially be hump day.”

  Shelby was right. Two full days had passed and it didn’t look like the miracle he’d been waiting for was going to happen any time soon.

  Chapter 19

  George Jones

  Wednesday: 5:30 A.M.

  George Jones opened his eyes. He’d been trying for an hour to go back to sleep, but figured it wasn’t going to happen. Looking over at the alarm clock, he saw it was already five thirty. He’d be getting up in thirty minutes anyway.

  He’d slept fitfully with concern about his wife. She’d been changing and seemed to be deteriorating on a daily basis. She had been acting strange lately. It all started a couple of months prior, just after he’d uncovered some of Nina’s secrets.

  There was a time when Nina had secrets she didn’t think George knew about. But instead of confronting his wife in a room full of strangers, he’d done so in the comforts of their bedroom at home, with the door closed so the maid and cook wouldn’t hear them. George hadn’t done the investigating himself. He’d hired a private investigator to do so.

  When his wife first started acting strange, George started paying more attention to her, watching her as closely as possible. There were inconsistencies in things she was saying about her whereabouts and time lapses which she couldn’t give him straight answers on. Often she got short tempered with him whenever he asked her simple questions about the household or how her day had gone.

  Then there were times when she acted as if she didn’t want to talk to
him or be touched by him. George figured some of her actions were because he had been spending a great deal of time focusing on his ministry and a new book he’d been writing. Many days he and Nina didn’t have any quality time. So he decided to take a break so they could take a vacation. But Nina had come up with excuses as to why it wasn’t a good time for her.

  George hadn’t fought the subject, but wondered what could be keeping his wife so preoccupied. She had a part-time job working at the church as one of the administrative assistants, she didn’t have many friends, and she didn’t have any real hobbies to speak of. There were times when she volunteered in the church daycare, but he had no idea what his wife did in her spare time.

  Then his mind started working overtime. He put all the pieces together. She was acting strange, didn’t want to be touched by him, and was barely speaking to him. George came up with the only conclusion that made any sense. And though George didn’t want to believe it, he figured his wife must have been stepping out on him.

  He had to find out what was going on. He hired a private investigator to watch the house and follow his wife. After two months of monitoring, the investigator found out exactly what his wife had been up to. Nina hadn’t been stepping out with another man, but she had been stepping out to play Bingo.

  Upon first hearing the news, George laughed, relived to hear she wasn’t with another man. But as the investigator completed his report, the number of Bingo halls she’d been to and the amount of money she’d been spending there weren’t adding up. It wasn’t a laughing matter after all.

  Within the two-month investigation, Nina had played Bingo ten times. Once, she’d driven down to South Carolina, and another time, she’d even gone to Jacksonville, NC and played Bingo all night. Upon reviewing his calendar, George realized he’d been away speaking at church conferences during that time.

  The investigator also reported that in the two months Nina had been gambling, she’d spent over $3,000 and had only won back $250. George wondered how many other trips his wife had taken and how much more money she had spent. The investigator also reported that Nina had visited several check cashing places, opening a new proverbial can of worms.