Love, Lies & Consequences

by Frazier, Natasha D.

  “I saw that already. Keep looking and let me know if you find anything,” Raegan instructed.

  “So back to this date, what were his conversational skills like?” Kensi closed her laptop; she was interested in hearing this story because Raegan never really went into much detail about anyone, so she figured that she must really like this guy.

  “He talked quite a bit about his family. He gets points because it appears that he really adores his mother. He actually takes care of her. I’m not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing though. He talked about his ambitions and how he isn’t interested in playing games because he’s looking for his wife.” Raegan wasn’t necessarily impressed by the “looking for his wife” statement. That is what most guys told her because they believed that she was “wife-material.” Guys figured that would be the only way to keep her attention at least for a little while.

  “He sounds like a good catch so far. Just remember to take your time and if in any way he doesn’t align with what you’re trying to do for yourself, then don’t hesitate to leave him alone,” Kensi cautioned Raegan.

  Kensi usually didn’t have to give this kind of advice to Raegan, but she could sense that something was different about the way she felt with this guy as opposed to others. Raegan was all giddy, which was a trait no one had used to describe her since she dated Caleb. Kensi figured there had to be something to this guy.

  “So what exactly have you been up to this weekend, Kensi? We’ve talked enough about me dear.”

  “Nothing much. I’ve just been sitting here watching some of the shows that I taped on my DVR.” As Kensi talked on the phone to Raegan, she was busy doing work as well. Kensi was a successful journalist. She really enjoyed her work, so she spent her time working even when she wasn’t at work. Whenever she was home, she was working or doing something that would enhance her career in some sort of way. She didn’t describe herself as a “workaholic”; she simply took pleasure in her work.

  “Okay. How are things in the Big Apple? When are you coming down south for a visit? You know I just bought a house, so you’re definitely due for a visit!”

  “Yes! I have a training scheduled there soon, so I will keep you posted,” Kensi informed Raegan.

  Kensi was satisfied that she didn’t find anything negative about Rico via her Google search; they finished their chat and said their good-byes. When the call ended, Raegan continued to reflect on her first date with Rico, trying to figure out what was it about him that made her giddy. She didn’t feel the same amount of excitement as she once felt with Caleb, but it was the most enthusiasm she had felt for a guy in quite a while.

  CHAPTER 5

  ∞

  Rico called Raegan on the way to work Wednesday morning, just a few days after their first date. He asked her out for lunch. Her schedule was very busy during the end of the calendar year, and lunch was just about the only time she had for anything else other than work during the weekdays, so she agreed. You have to eat anyway is how he convinced her to go out with him midday.

  They both worked downtown in the business district, which made it quite convenient for them to connect and have lunch. A variety of shops, businesses, and restaurants in the area could meet just about every need one could possibly have. They decided upon a Cajun cafeteria-style restaurant to eliminate wait time and allow them to get back to work in an hour.

  While waiting in line, Rico bragged about himself, all the while calling himself a humble person. This always made her chuckle to herself, because she believed that those who were humble in spirit didn’t have to say they were humble; it would surely show in the way they lived. They discussed what a typical day was like for them during and after work. Rico explained that he lived a pretty boring life. After work, he generally watched sports and reality television or spent time surfing the internet.

  “No hobbies?” she asked him with a sarcastic smile. Considering the things he told her before about having a passion for helping people, she thought he would be volunteering his time, especially since he got off work while it was still daylight. He didn’t really answer her question. He just stood there with a smirk on his face, hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels, talking about how he was a servant at heart.

  Raegan tossed her curls away from her face and began to look at the menu to decide what she would eat.

  “So what will it be for you, young lady?” the server asked.

  “I’ll take the chicken and sausage gumbo with extra rice,” she said with a bright smile. She often came there with her colleagues, especially on Thursdays and Fridays when they served the seafood gumbo. They all loved it and made special trips down almost every week to grab some for lunch.

  “What will it be for you, chief?” the server asked Rico.

  “I’ll have the baked chicken breast with cornbread and macaroni and cheese.”

  Raegan found them a table. It was usually difficult around lunchtime, but she managed to find one so that they wouldn’t have to stand and wait with the trays in their hands until a table became available. She waited for him before she began her meal. She bowed her head and silently asked God to bless her food but her prayer was interrupted when she felt Rico’s hands grab hers. She glanced up and he smiled at her. She was quite surprised by his actions and just followed his lead. He asked God to bless their food and thanked Him for bringing the two of them together. She was so pleased and taken aback by Rico’s act of boldness that she was now speechless. Raegan had dated quite a few guys and never had any of them done such a thing since Caleb.

  After such an audacious move, she was convinced that she had judged him too quickly and maybe he was a man after God’s own heart and quite possibly the man for her. A man who took initiative to pray for the two of us deserved a chance, she thought. Throughout lunch, her thoughts began to swirl and imagine what life would be like with him. Just as she was daydreaming about happily ever after, she was jolted back to reality by Rico singing her name. “Rayyyyyygan.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Repeat your question,” she said, slightly embarrassed because she had no idea what he was chiming on about.

  “I was asking how things are going for you with your new project in preparation for your next promotion.”

  “It’s going well. There are a lot of working parts but I’m up to the challenge,” she chatted on about her new project. “As a matter of fact, I really need to get back to work to complete a presentation that I have later this week. I appreciate lunch,” Raegan said as she checked the time on her watch and gathered her purse.

  “Would you like to take a brownie to go?” asked Rico.

  “No, but I will definitely take a piece of German chocolate cake!” Raegan said as she grabbed the goodie.

  Before she could say good-bye and walk away, Rico pulled her into a quick embrace. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her forehead.

  “You’ll be seeing a lot more of me, woman,” Rico said after hugging her.

  “I think I may be looking forward to it,” she smiled as she stepped out of his arms and turned to walk back to her building.

  CHAPTER 6

  ∞

  The sage linen curtains in Raegan’s room hardly kept the sunlight from shining through her windows in the mornings. Most of the time, if her alarm clock didn’t frustrate her enough to get her out of bed, the beautiful rays of sunshine did the trick, as was the case this morning. Raegan rolled out of bed to get her day started. She read her devotional lesson for the morning, which led her to Scriptures on patience. She really needed that particular guidance because patience was one of the many things she struggled with.

  As she sat propped up in her bed studying, her phone sang, “You’ve Got Mail!” She leaned over to put her phone on silent mode so that she could fully focus on what God was trying to say to her before she started her day. She continued to study and pray, asking God for patience. She knew she needed to be careful about what she asked for because God would certainly grant her requ
est by allowing her to go through situations that would help her become more patient. She wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for that but, she was all about becoming a better person.

  After finishing her devotional and morning routine of getting ready for work, she took a look at her phone to see who sent her a message so early in the morning. The e-mail was from Rico, so she decided to wait until she arrived at work to read it. A few weeks had passed since their movie outing, and communication between the two of them was starting to pick up.

  As she walked out of the elevator bank through the double glass doors of her company’s office space, she saw two of her colleagues going to get coffee before their weekly staff meeting at 9:30 a.m. She was happy to be inside, away from Houston’s unforgiving humidity. As she continued to walk to her office, she admired the office décor, although most people would probably consider it a little old-fashioned and outdated. The walls were plain but the wall art was inspirational. A statue by the front entrance intrigued her, but she had no idea what it actually was. It was close to bronze in color and the bottom of it was shaped like a baby’s bottom, while the top of it was some unknown shape. Regardless of that, she has always admired the figure.

  Once inside of her office, she immediately remembered the unread e-mail from Rico so she checked her personal e-mail account to read the message on her cell phone. As she read it, her face lit up. She thought to herself, “This guy doesn’t let up easy. He is working really hard.” The e-mail read:

  Good morning,

  This letter comes to share my thoughts concerning you and our future together. In recent months, I have been through many associations with women who never had my attention or interest from day one; they were merely someone to cure my boredom.

  The qualities and traits that I looked for in a woman, I did not see in them and I honestly began to think I had set my standards too high, and the woman created for me did not exist. I left the dating arena and started to do a self-reflection to ensure that I brought to the table all the traits necessary for a great relationship, and I re-tooled and dropped some un-needed baggage and I present myself as you see me today.

  Upon taking one look at you as you walked through the door at Tammy's, as you made your way to the kitchen I was in awe. I took a back seat and watched your actions, how you sat, spoke, interacted, and said to myself, “I know she's off the market.” I checked your finger for a sign of marriage, watched your eyes to see if I could read anything. Finally I had the opportunity to speak to you and was absolutely mesmerized!!! I had every intention on asking for your number to communicate with you, but that was not the route that GOD had for us. The true value of a treasure is not found in the treasure itself, but the effort put forth in finding it. I am happy my hard work produced such a beautiful harvest. I wish you could have seen the look on my face when I found you! I know it's corny, but it has not been many moments in my life when I felt such emotion. How could a woman that I barely know anything about, have such an effect on me? And then we finally made contact and I knew at that point you were a keeper! Just know that now that I have you, I have no plans on letting go. Ever!!!

  While reading Rico’s e-mail, she began to remember the events over the last few weeks. Ever since the first time she agreed to go out with him, he continuously sent her sweet text messages, Facebook messages, and the like. Some of them she even saved to her phone just to read when she thought of him or to share with her friends when describing the type of guy he seemed to be. Most of the messages spoke of her beauty. Others told how he was after her heart and then her hand in marriage. Quite naturally, Raegan was flattered by his words. He said things to her that she had only dreamed of hearing and only heard in romantic films.

  Her phone vibrated in her hands, interrupting her thoughts. She received a text from Rico.

  “Hey baby, I miss you. Did you get my e-mail?” he asked.

  “Yes, I just finished reading it. You’ll be receiving a response soon. Let me catch up on some work and I’ll reply to you later,” she responded to his text.

  Good thing they were communicating through text so that he couldn’t see the stunned look on her face. She didn’t know how she would respond to such a bold e-mail confession, especially since he was expressing such strong feelings so early in their relationship, or whatever they had going on.

  Is this real, she silently questioned. She paused for a moment to think about Rico’s e-mail. He certainly had a way with words and definitely seemed to really like her. However, she had an uneasy feeling that she attributed to her comparing Rico to Caleb. She compared everyone to him, which is probably why those relationships didn’t last.

  You’ve got to let Caleb go if you want to give this thing with Rico a real chance. That relationship has been over for nearly a decade. It is time to let go, she told herself. No matter how she tried to convince herself, she couldn’t move on from Caleb until she got closure.

  CHAPTER 7

  ∞

  Right around the time Raegan planned to take her morning coffee break, Michelle walked into her office with a troubled look on her face. Raegan didn’t know whether to run over and give her a hug, squeezing her tightly until the tears that she knew were about to come started flowing or to just sit there and wait for the words to come pouring out of her mouth.

  “Hey, do you want to walk across the street to Starbucks,” Michelle asked. A sad smile was plastered across her face that matched the tone of her voice.

  Michelle went to grad school with Raegan. They were in many of the same classes and study groups and spent so much time together that their relationship quickly developed into friendship outside of business school. Michelle often depended on Raegan as a sounding board and spiritual counselor, especially since Michelle’s relationship with her fiancé wasn’t going very well. She had been engaged for almost four months and there was a fight between them every other day. Michelle wasn’t sure if she wanted to spend the rest of her life like that. She understood that couples had their ups and downs but to be at each other’s throats constantly was a different issue.

  Michelle and Jason had several issues that they identified after a couple of premarital counseling sessions, including the marital pressures they put on their relationship by living together. Their relationship had progressed very quickly. The courtship stage was almost nonexistent. After dating for about two weeks, they moved in together and moved full speed ahead. They were in love and took no caution as to how to build a relationship on a solid foundation.

  Raegan saw the pained look on Michelle’s face and decided it was definitely time for a coffee break. As they walked out of the double glass doors of the office and into the elevator bank, Michelle could no longer contain herself. She lost her composure and her eyes began to well with tears. For a moment, Raegan just stood there waiting for her to speak. As the tone alerting them to the arrival of the elevator resonated in their ears, Raegan grabbed her hand and they entered the empty cabin.

  “What’s wrong? What happened?” Raegan asked as she squeezed Michelle tightly, giving her a reassuring hug. Before Michelle spoke, Raegan already knew the issue. It was Jason. She was pretty sure that this mess somehow involved him and that the two of them had broken up again.

  “I know you’re probably tired of me bringing this to you, but I really don’t have anyone else to talk to,” Michelle said as the tears she tried so hard to hold back were beginning to slowly escape from her brown almond-shaped eyes.

  “It’s no problem dear. I really don’t mind listening to you. What happened?” Raegan asked in a soft, reassuring tone, encouraging Michelle to open up.

  “Well we broke up again, and this time just may be the final time. We decided to ride our bikes on the trail near our apartment to give us some time to talk. Too many unsettled emotions are building and I am just not sure how to deal with them just yet,” Michelle confided in Raegan.

  Michelle explained the conversation to Raegan. Michelle had expressed to Jason that she d
idn’t really want to be around him at that moment. She didn’t want to end up in another senseless argument with him. She couldn’t hold it any longer; the tears started flowing and they had to stop riding and took a seat on the bench to air out their feelings. She didn’t want to cry in front of him because she didn’t want to appear irrational, but she just couldn’t hold back her frustration anymore. “I know that there will be tough times in marriage, but is it really this hard?” Michelle asked Raegan.

  “I’ve never been married so I don’t know,” Raegan said truthfully. She thought about her almost marriage to Damian and knew that she had to be careful about giving advice in this department.

  “You know my history about leaving Damian at the altar. Some people may think that I was wrong for doing that to him and maybe I was wrong for waiting until the last minute to call things off, but I don’t regret it. I felt like I was making the wrong decision. For you, you have to search inside your heart and think about why you wanted to marry Jason in the first place. Read what the Scriptures have to say about love and the roles of husbands and wives. Are you willing to be submissive to him and love him in all things? Till death do you part? You don’t have to answer this now, but take some time and think about it. This is the rest of your life we’re talking about here, so it’s best to make a pretty informed decision,” Raegan said as they entered the revolving doors of the coffee shop.

  Michelle dabbed her eyes as they entered Starbucks. She didn’t want to mess up her flawless makeup. It was around 9:45 a.m. so the crowd had dissipated and there was no line and only one customer at the counter. Raegan treated Michelle to a caramel frappuccino the way she herself liked to drink it, a “tall caramel frappuccino with extra caramel and no whip.” That drink was sure to brighten anyone’s day at least for a little while, especially if one didn’t think about the enormous number of calories.