Redemption Lake

by Monique Miller

  Xavier shook his head. “Do you expect me to believe you were in some man’s house for three days and he didn’t try anything?” Xavier took a deep breath. “Am I supposed to believe you two didn’t do anything?”

  “You have some nerve. First of all, I don’t have the proclivity you have with talking to and sleeping with other people,” Charlotte said. “And let’s not forget, you are the one who drove me to go to that other man’s house in the first place.”

  Xavier recoiled as if Charlotte had slapped him in the face.

  Several moments passed without either saying a word. Finally, Xavier broke the silence. “Okay, you are right, and I guess I deserved your last comment.”

  “You’re doggone right you deserve it. You’ve done all this dirt and you sit here trying to turn the tide on me? Then you want me to believe you are a changed man and you’ll never do this to me again? You did it to your first wife and now to me. When will it ever stop?”

  “Baby, I am sorry. Sorry for accusing you of doing anything with Shawn. I was wrong. It’s just that I’ve always had it in my mind that that guy likes you.”

  “He does like me, but only as a friend. So can we please stop wasting time and get off the subject of Shawn? Because if it weren’t for Shawn, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

  “Okay, you’re right. I don’t want to waste anymore time either. Bottom line is I love you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to earn your love and trust back.”

  Charlotte shook her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her husband, she had always loved him. She was extremely hurt by what he had done and didn’t know if she’d ever be able to trust him again.

  Xavier continued. “I know you have all that evidence, but if you look at the dates closely, you won’t find anything damaging, on my part, since I found out about having gonorrhea.”

  Charlotte reached for the accordion file again.

  “Stop. I don’t have to look at those papers to know that. I haven’t contacted any of those women since before the day you confronted me in the dining room. It is true that Yasmine continued to call me for a while after I broke it off with her, but I told her time and time again to stop calling me. So you go ahead and look at all that so called evidence and check the time stamps and dates. I haven’t called anyone I wasn’t supposed to,” Xavier said.

  From what she could remember about the timeline of the phone calls and the calls Xavier had made to all three women, what he was saying was true. And the recording devices she’d put in their home and in his car hadn’t even remotely suggested that he’d wanted contact with another woman.

  “Is there anything else you need to come clean about?” Charlotte asked.

  “No, and if you do have something else you’ve been waiting to spring on me, I can honestly say that I have no idea what it could be. As far as I can recollect, you’ve done some really good detective work.”

  Charlotte listened to what her husband was saying, hearing the sincerity in his voice. His tone and body language didn’t suggest he was lying, and if she hadn’t been pretty much monitoring his every move, she might still have doubts. But deep in her heart she believed her husband was telling the truth. She didn’t know if it was because she wanted to believe him or because she needed to believe him. But deep in her heart she did.

  “You’ve got to believe me, Charlotte,” Xavier said.

  With a sigh, Charlotte said, “I do believe you.”

  “I promise you, baby, I’ll never hurt you like that again. You’ve got to believe that too.”

  “I believe what you say. But, honey, I think you have an unnatural problem with your appetite for women. You are going to need to seek professional help for this. I really don’t think it is something you can control on your own.”

  “I can. I just had a brief moment of weakness. But I know I can do this by myself.”

  “Look, I still love you. I never stopped loving you, but it will take some time for me to work through all of this. And after all you’ve put me through, I don’t think I’m asking too much for you to seek some professional help.”

  “I really don’t think I need any help, but if you want me to, I’ll see someone. I am willing to do anything it takes to get us back to the way we used to be.”

  “I hope you have patience because the road to the way we used to be will be pretty long,” Charlotte said.

  “Well, I’ll pray to God that the road will not be too long,” Xavier said.

  “Good, because the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are really the only hope you have.” She meant this.

  Chapter 33

  Charlotte Knight

  Friday: 7:07 P.M.

  “So, Shelby, when do we get to find out what the secrets for all of these great meals you’ve been preparing us?” Charlotte asked. She was going to miss the wonderful meals they’d eaten at the cabin once she returned home.

  “Do you want me to put you all out of your misery?” Shelby asked.

  The couples had just finished eating a dinner of shrimp scampi with linguini and red peppers. Now they found themselves migrating from the dining room into the living room to get ready for the movie Phillip had promised they were going to see.

  “I know the secret,” Travis said with an unbelievably smug look on his face.

  “Oh, really?” Shelby asked.

  “Yep,” Travis said.

  There was something about Travis that Charlotte just didn’t like. She wondered, not for the first time, how Beryl could put up with him on a daily basis. But she figured that everyone had a soul mate and Travis must have been Beryl’s.

  “So what’s my secret?” Shelby asked.

  “You’ve been using those frozen meals and snacks from Beans,” Travis said as if his cow had won first prize at the state fair.

  “Ah, very good. You must have some really good taste buds,” Shelby said.

  “Yeah, my taste buds are pretty good,” Travis said.

  “Don’t listen to him. He saw some of the boxes in the deep freezer the other night when he was looking for the ice cream. If not for that, he wouldn’t have known,” Beryl said.

  “Now, Travis, it sounds like you did a little cheating to find out,” Phillip said.

  Travis hunched his shoulders. “Yeah, I was going to say so, but Beryl beat me to it.”

  If Charlotte was a betting person, she’d say Travis would have never come clean on his own.

  “Beans, what is Beans?” Nina asked.

  “Have you ever seen the refrigerated trucks driving around Greenville with the cute little animated beans dancing on the side?” Shelby asked.

  “No, I don’t think I have.”

  “Well, they have catalogs and you can order a variety of foods, many of them already prepared and frozen. When I found out we’d be coming up here for this retreat, and I knew I’d probably be the one doing most of the cooking, I immediately thought of Beans. There was no way I was going to spend my whole week in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove,” Shelby said.

  “Amen to that, my sister,” Beryl said.

  “I used to buy things from Beans a few years back, but I stopped for some reason. I forgot about the company.

  I’ll have to look them up when I get back home,” Charlotte said.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got the catalogue here, and I can give you the toll free number before we leave,” Shelby offered.

  “Oh, I know the number. They have commercials that come on late at night,” Travis said, still looking like he had a prize winning cow.

  Charlotte looked over at Beryl who was rolling her eyes, and then at Xavier who rolled his also.

  “Okay thanks, Travis. I don’t have anything to write with right now, but I’ll get the number a little later.” Charlotte took a seat on the couch right next to Xavier. While everyone else found comfortable seats in preparation for the movie, Charlotte whispered to Xavier, “Can you believe that guy?”

  “No, not really,” Xavier replied.

  �
�Poor Beryl, she’s got to put up with him all the time. I don’t see how she does it,” Charlotte said.

  “I don’t know either. He’s a snoop who can remember almost anything from television, but can’t remember to look for a job or how to keep one.” Xavier shook his head.

  “He puts more work into not trying to work than he does in trying to find a job.”

  “Yeah, and he also puts a lot of work into trying to impress everybody,” Xavier said.

  “Everybody but Beryl.”

  “True, very true.”

  Once everyone was settled in their respective places, Phillip stood in front of the television before starting the movie.

  “Okay, you all know the teacher in me can’t just push play on the DVD player and sit down. Before I do, is there anyone who would like to share with the group how the conversation with your spouse went?”

  Charlotte felt okay with how she and Xavier’s conversation went. It had definitely gone better than she’d anticipated. But she didn’t feel good enough about it to talk to the entire group. She and Xavier would still have a long way to go. And she really wasn’t joking about needing the Trinity to help not only Xavier with his problem, but also to help them get through the next rough patches she was sure they had ahead of them. She could only pray that the Lord would provide miraculous intervention as far as their marriage was concerned.

  “I’d like to say something,” George said. “That is if no one else wants to go first.”

  Charlotte looked around. Xavier must have felt the same way she did because he hadn’t volunteered to say anything. Surprisingly, Travis had kept his mouth shut, and for the first time, Beryl looked completely relieved.

  George addressed Phillip. “First of all, I’d like to thank Phillip for stepping in to help marriages in need of spiritual advice. You stepped up to the plate, my brother, and God will reward you for doing so. He has great plans for you, you just wait and see.”

  Phillip and Shelby shared a knowing look between one another, then Phillip replied to George. “Thanks, George. I’m just stepping in and doing the little bit that I can do to continue to help build God’s kingdom.” Phillip chuckled. “And the last time someone told me God had special plans for me, I was unsaved and scrambling to get my wife back. I wasn’t the man you see before you today. And I wasn’t the type of man to say I’d help plan a retreat, much less be a teacher and moderator.”

  “God is good,” George said.

  “Yes, He is,” Phillip agreed.

  George nodded. “What I wanted to say to the rest of you is to be encouraged. We all need encouragement. I know I needed it before coming to this retreat. And I am so glad I didn’t let my pride and ego get the best of me and not come. I didn’t want anyone to know I had problems in my marriage. Heck, I counsel hundreds of couples on a yearly basis. How was it going to look for me to be having problems?” George shook his head.

  Nina stroked his arm as he continued. “Nina and I have been truly blessed during this retreat. I know you all noticed my wife’s behavior in the beginning of the week. And I am sure you probably thought my wife was very clumsy and a little on the irritable side. Some of you might even say she was acting like a diva to the utmost.”

  George smiled at Nina. “My wife is a diva, but in a good way. And she isn’t usually clumsy and as irritable as you saw her this week. Because of this retreat, my wife was able to come clean about a prescription drug she’s been taking—a drug which she’d gotten addicted to.”

  Charlotte looked at Nina who had tears welling in her eyes. George patted Nina’s hand. “I’m sharing this with you because Nina and I discussed it, and agreed for me to do so.

  Nina nodded her head.

  “The drug she was addicted to had her acting completely out of character. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew something wasn’t right with my wife. She’d been taking the drug to squelch some anxiety problems she was having. Nina knew she was addicted to the drug, but didn’t know what to do, and she was scared to tell me about it.

  “Shelby was able to see the symptoms and recognize what was going on. Now that everything is out in the open, Nina feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off of her, and we were able to talk openly and honestly about the problem. It has done us a world of good.

  “So I encourage you all, if you have not done so already, to be open and honest with your spouse. It is the first step in getting your marriages back on track,” George stressed.

  Charlotte felt tears welling up into her own eyes. She felt pretty sure she and Xavier had taken that first step. She hoped and prayed this was the case. Now all she could do was wait and see what God had in store for their marriage.

  Shelby handed Nina a couple of tissues to wipe her face. When she handed Charlotte the box of tissues, it was then that she realized her tears were falling. She cried not only for George and Nina, but for her and Xavier also.

  “Thank you again, George and Nina, for sharing.” Phillip looked around at everyone in the group. “Would anyone else like to share?”

  No one else volunteered.

  “Okay, as promised, we’ll watch Why Did I Get Married.” He turned to activate the DVD player. “Hopefully this movie will also give you some inspiration and show you that there are three sides to every story. His side, her side, and the truth.

  Charlotte didn’t have any doubt about why she got married, but she did have doubts about why she should stay married. She wondered if the movie would give her any insight about that.

  Part III

  The Truth

  Chapter 34

  Phillip Tomlinson

  Saturday: 3:14 P.M.

  “Does Beans sell ribs and chicken like this?” Xavier asked.

  “Nah,” Phillip said as he set the pan of raw beef ribs on the side of the grill. “Shelby purchased most of what we’ve eaten this week from Beans, but not everything. Those omelets, waffles, and pancakes were the real thing, believe me. And I was the one to purchase the meat for the cookout today.”

  Phillip checked the charcoals to see if they were hot enough yet. He hoped to get the meat on the grill before the women returned from their paddle boat ride on the lake. Deciding the coals needed a little longer, he pulled a bottled water out of the cooler and took a seat in one of the lawn chairs next to the other guys sitting lakeside.

  “Man, I wish I’d brought my fishing pole,” George said.

  “You like to fish?” Travis asked.

  “I sure do. I am a fisher of fish and of men.” George laughed at his own joke.

  “A fisher of men, like Jesus, huh?” Phillip asked.

  “That’s the way I like to think of it,” George said.

  “You know you remind me a lot of my pastor back at home. He was the one who told me that God had special plans for me and great works for me to do,” Phillip said.

  “What did you think about that when he said it?” George asked.

  “To tell you all the truth, I was clueless. Like I said, I was unsaved at the time, and my wife had left me. I was confused as I don’t know what. I wanted answers that could help me get my wife back, not a prophecy from a preacher man.” Phillip shook his head and laughed to himself.

  “If you don’t mind me asking,” Xavier said, “how did you go from that man to the man you are today?”

  “Yeah, I was wondering the same thing,” Travis said.

  “Nah, I don’t mind. It’s part of my testimony,” Phillip told the men.

  All three men turned their full attention to Phillip.

  “Shelby and I had some problems in our marriage. Problems I caused. My deceit caused my wife to be banged up so bad that she had to be put in a hospital, during the time she was pregnant. For a little while, we didn’t know if our unborn baby was going to be okay. She blamed me for it and rightly so. She kicked me out of the house, and I had to really re-evaluate my life.

  “I found that the great job I had, beautiful home, and the vintage automobile meant nothing witho
ut my wife and daughter. Something else was missing in my life, and it took almost losing my family to realize it.

  “A very good friend of mine, Will, often tried to tell me about the goodness of the Lord. He tried to get me to understand that there was more to life than just material things. But all the while, I didn’t want to listen. I knew I was the king of my own destiny. Little did I know, I wasn’t.

  “Thankfully, Will was my friend. When my wife kicked me out, my very good friend took me in and gently guided me in understanding about the love of Christ,” Phillip said.

  “Did your friend lead you to Christ?” George asked.

  “No, I was actually led to Christ—” Phillip broke off his own sentence and looked around them. “I was led to Christ right here at this cabin.” He pointed to an area just beyond them next to the water’s edge. “Right over there.”

  “When you say you were led to Christ, what exactly does that mean?” Xavier asked.

  “It means that I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. When I professed that Christ was my Lord and Savior and stated that I believe He died on the cross for my sins, I became saved,” Phillip said.

  “Is that all there is to becoming saved? That’s all I would have to do?” Xavier asked. “Don’t you have to be in a church and have a ceremony to become saved?”

  “No, sir,” Phillip said. “I used to think that way also. I used to think that being in the church and being a part of the church meant there were all these stringent rules you had to follow, and to be a Christian, you had to be just downright perfect. But with the help of my friend, I learned better.

  “One morning, out here by this very lake, the minister who was running the retreat led me in what they call the sinner’s prayer. You can say the sinner’s prayer anywhere, by a lake, in a church, or even sitting in your car in a parking lot. It doesn’t matter where you say the prayer. What matters is that you say it in earnest, with all sincerity, believing without a shadow of doubt that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior,” Phillip said.