by Emma Easter
She nodded. “It’s okay, sis, I can handle him.”
Audrey glared at Stan and then left.
“Please, I just need a minute,” Stan said as he entered the house. He wore on his face his usual woe-is-me expression; the one he had adopted since the divorce proceedings started. She wanted to tell him to get lost, but she shrugged. “Haven’t you said enough in court already? What else do you want to say? You’ve succeeded in delaying this divorce, and you’ve made it more painful than it needs to be.”
“I’m sorry, but I am just trying to do everything I can to save our marriage,” he pointed at her stomach, “for our sake and our unborn baby. I think counseling will help us. I know I have not been the best husband, but I have been faithful to you even before you filed for a divorce.”
“Congratulations, Stan! You deserve an award for being faithful to your wife for a couple of months.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I just . . .”
“What about me, Stan? What about the fact that I have stayed faithful for all the years we’ve been married?”
He looked down and then looked at her again, shame plainly written on his face. “It’s why we need this counseling. To repair the damage I have caused.”
She surveyed him, this man she had loved so much. She said, “I don’t even know why you are here. It’s not like I have a choice about the counseling since it’s a court order.”
“I’m here to ask you to please give it a chance, Trish. Please.”
She sighed. “I don’t know, Stan.”
He began to speak again, but she held up her hand and shook her head. “No, please don’t make me promise to do anything for you that I don’t want to.”
He sighed audibly. “Okay.” He looked defeated, and she started to feel sorry for him, but she quickly pushed aside the feeling.
“I’ll see you at the counselor’s office on Monday, then,” she said to him, hinting that it was time for him to leave.
He nodded. “Monday.” He walked out the door with his shoulders hunched.
She watched as he entered his car and drove away. Anger and resentment churned in her as she stood at the door, looking into the distance. How dare he try to make her the bad guy? He was the one who had ruined their marriage, yet he was making it appear like she was the cold-hearted one who didn’t want their marriage to work. She’d been the one trying to save their marriage by all means for years. Tired of doing that was what she was now.
Grim determination entered her heart. Enough. She would no longer entertain any form of guilt concerning what happened. It was time she started to think only about herself and her unborn child. The counseling session was a formality. Their marriage was over as far as she was concerned, and he had to get that into his head.
She shut the door and put him firmly out of her mind.
*****
Ken gripped his cell phone tightly as he looked at Audrey. He smiled as she told him about the antics of some of the Rosefield residents. Even though she was in her uniform without any form of makeup, she still looked very beautiful. He only wished he could actually hold her now and kiss her.
“Why are you grinning like that?” Audrey chuckled.
“Just thinking about holding and kissing you now,” he answered. Her bluntness had gradually rubbed off on him. It was great when he was in a conversation with her because it deepened their emotional connection. However, it had led to one or two awkward discussions with fellow officers. “You look beautiful by the way,” he added.
“Aww, thanks, baby,” she said and continued her story.
He placed his elbows on his desk as he tried to shut out the noise of the other police officers in the station. He put aside his longing for her so he could listen carefully to what she was saying now.
“That man actually thought the entire Rosefield Police Force was his personal bodyguard,” Audrey chuckled. “Imagine driving into the station and asking us to accompany him to the game because he thought he was being followed.”
Ken laughed.
Soon they changed the subject and talked about how much they were yearning to see each other soon. “How is your work schedule now, Audrey?” Ken asked.
“Still swamped, and you?”
He sighed. “Hectic as ever.”
She pursed her lips. “At this rate, we won’t get to be together until next year.”
“We will find a way to make it work soon,” he said.
She didn’t say anything. Her look of disappointment broke his heart. “Hey!” He tried to cheer her up. “Chin up. I love you!”
“I love you too, babe.” She looked back for a second and then smiled warmly. “Duty calls. I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you in the evening before I go to bed.”
After the call ended, he sat back on his seat letting his mind wander. Audrey looked so sad, and frankly, he felt just like she looked. This long-distance relationship thing was harder than he had thought it would be. He just wasn’t sure he was cut out for it.
He stood to clear his head and went out of his office. The station was busy as usual with cops everywhere—some booking suspects, others hauling them off to jail, perps with looks ranging from fear to defiance, while others just chatted.
He passed by an office belonging to his good friend, Lenny Stevens, and stuck his head in to say hi.
“What’s up, DC!” Stevens said, using the name he’d taken to calling Ken after he was promoted to deputy chief.
“I’m good,” Ken answered. A blond woman was sitting in front of Stevens with her back to the door, probably a domestic violence victim. Stevens handled such cases on the regular due to his specialist training. Ken was glad someone other than him was in charge of such cases. He probably would be charged with murder sooner than later if he was.
The woman turned around, and his eyes widened in astonishment. She looked exactly the same as when he last saw her, except for the scar on her left cheek. He gasped. “Lauren!”
At first, shame clouded her features, and then she stood and hurled herself at him. “Ken! Oh, Ken!” She hugged him tightly. “I heard you had been transferred to somewhere in Idaho,” she pulled back to look at him and then fell into his arms again. “I’m glad you are here.”
He stood rigid in disbelief, and then he held her tight. He rubbed her back to comfort her as she cried, while memories flooded his mind; memories of her in his arms like this, years ago. He held her away to inspect her face and sucked in his breath at how deep the scar on her cheek was. “What, what happened to you?” he asked.
Stevens answered for her, “She was severely beaten by her husband yesterday, and this is not the first time.”
Ken gritted his teeth as rage took over him. “Your husband . . . has been abusing you?”
She put her head down, slightly embarrassed, and said, “He gets angry over the smallest things, and then he starts yelling and hitting.”
Stevens said, “Jack and I are going over to the house to arrest him now. Do you want to come?”
Lauren shook her head before Ken could say he did. “Please stay here with me, Ken. Let the others go and arrest Richie.” She looked into his eyes, and he saw her pain and her fear. His anger turned to distress, and he wrapped his arms around her, feeling an intense feeling of protectiveness for her. “I’ll stay with you, Lauren. Don’t worry.”
Stevens left to make his arrest while she followed Ken to his office, clinging to him. He sat her down on the sofa beside his desk and looked at her.
She clutched his hand, trembling with fear. “What are they going to do to Richie?”
“Hopefully, they will be able to put him away for a long time, so he’ll never lay his filthy hands on you again.”
She began to cry. “It’s been so hard. My marriage has been filled with fear and abuse. For the first two years, Richie never hit me. He only screamed and threatened to when he got angry. And that was a lot of times. He was always livid whenever I spoke to any guy remotely good looking. At first, I co
nvinced myself that Richie was being a little bit jealous all the time because he loved me so much. But when he started hitting me, I knew instantly that it wasn’t love, rather it was his ego . . .”
She cried harder, and he held her again. He spoke words of comfort to her while his emotions raged. Where was the confident, fun-loving girl he’d known years ago? Apart from her beauty, those were the traits that had attracted him to her and caused him to fall in love and consequently ask her to marry him. He had been devastated when she’d broken off their engagement.
As if she could read his mind, she looked up at him with tears streaking down her face and said, “I’m so sorry, Ken, for breaking your heart all those years ago. I was young and foolish. I thought you were too nice and not exciting enough. I wanted a bad boy.” She sniffed. “Turns out bad boys don’t make good husbands.”
Ken smiled sadly. He could recall clearly the days after they broke up. He had wandered around his house in his pajamas, feeling lost and confused. Work had been his salvation.
She put her head on his shoulder. “If only I had married you instead of Richie. I know now that you would have made a great husband.” She raised her head and looked pointedly at his ring finger. When she put her hand on his cheek, he felt slightly uncomfortable. However, he brushed his discomfort aside. Lauren was going through a lot right now. He needed to be there for her. Nothing could happen between them.
He smiled at her.
She must have taken his smile as encouragement because she leaned close and brushed her lips against his.
He gasped and gently drew back from her. “No, Lauren. We can’t. I have a girlfriend I love very much.” He had let go of all the resentment he felt toward her a year after they broke up. But he had also let go of his feelings. Now, he only felt really sorry for her.
She nodded and her eyes brimmed with tears. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what I was thinking. Please forgive me. I think it’s just from all the stress and then seeing an old friend. It won’t happen again, I promise.”
He nodded. “It’s nothing. I understand.”
I sure hope it doesn’t happen again.
Chapter Thirteen
For an unemployed girl, Sienna was exhilaratingly joyful. Finally, she was free from her contract with her agency. Free to do whatever she wanted to. She flopped down on her sofa, holding the letter that had led to her freedom. The agency had given in after they read Dr. Samir’s letter. She’d signed release papers after that, and then they’d let her go. Now, she was legally free from her modeling contract.
She shut her eyes, lifted up a prayer of thanksgiving, and then she whooped in excitement. “Finally, freedom!” She got up to make herself a peanut butter sandwich and then carried her plate out to the porch to enjoy the feel of the summer sun on her skin.
She put her sun hat on as she reclined on the couch. She ate her sandwich and hummed a tune to herself. And then sadness tore at her, and she pressed her lips together to hold back a sob.
Bryan.
She’d been super busy for a while now. Busy enough that she could mostly relegate her feelings for him to the back of her mind. But now, it all came back. She wanted to see him again. She ached to see him. If only he were here to experience this freedom with her. It was because of him that she now had this peace in Christ.
She looked up and murmured, “Lord, I miss him so much.”
She sighed. His face was on her mind, his bright blue eyes gazing at her. Instead of trying to push it away as she had formerly done, she embraced it and held his image close.
When will I get to see you again, Bryan? Her love for him suddenly felt both comforting and distressing.
After a long moment, she put aside her distress to focus on planning for her life going forward. She had no job and would soon run out of money. Her apartment was pretty expensive. The rent would be due soon, and although she had saved up enough money to pay for this month, she would not have next month’s. Plus, she was used to working. Staying idle for an extended period of time would frustrate her; it was not something she could do.
“Umm, so, Lord, I have quit my job . . . just like I believed you wanted me to do. What now? What am I going to do for a living?”
She listened closely but heard nothing. She looked into the distance and thought, if the Lord doesn’t show me anything soon, I might have to find a random modeling job.
But not lingerie or swimsuit. Never again. Maybe commercial modeling, like the kind she’d done before she quit and went to the Bible College, she thought.
Her heart suddenly jumped. The Bible College! What if I go back there?
But her heart sank again. Just like Bryan had said, it wasn’t God who had led her there the first time. Fear had. And He wasn’t the one leading her now.
But what then was leading her toward the school? She knew immediately.
Love was. Specifically, her love for Bryan.
But Bryan didn’t think having a relationship with her was a good idea. He’d insisted that it would affect her recovery and growth. But she would love to see him again; however, if he thought that having a relationship with her wasn’t for the best at this time, then she would keep her distance because he knew what was best.
But as she retired to her room at night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She kept thinking about the Bible College and Bryan. By the time she woke up she had such a deep longing to see him and to go back to her studies at the school, she actually felt it might be God telling her to go back there. But she knew how thoughts like this could be deceiving. She began to pray about it, asking the Lord to show her what to do.
By the evening of that day, the only direction she’d gotten was a strong feeling that she needed to leave New York to go back to the Bible College. It was like the Bible school had been engraved in her heart. She still wasn’t sure it was the Lord, but she knew she couldn’t stay in New York anymore. Besides, everyone she loved was in Rosefield, or close to it—Audrey, Trish, and Bryan.
She slept with the same thoughts going through her mind. When she woke up in the morning, her longing for Bryan had multiplied so much that she knew she would give up everything to see him.
She prayed again, “Lord, I want to go back.”
Gradually she felt complete peace in her heart that it was the Lord’s will for her to return to Beulah. She also knew she would not return to New York anymore. She had to put some things in order first, including selling her car. It was super flashy. She wouldn’t need it for Bible school.
Before the end of this month, she would be ready to leave for the Bible College. She would get to be close to her sisters. Most of all, she would once again see the boy she loved with all her heart.
*****
Trish parked in front of the ‘Love and Marriage Renewal Center,’ and exited her car. The center was a simple one-story building surrounded by groves of juniper trees. It looked more like a family home than a government-approved counseling facility. Stan’s car was parked beside the red Ford Fusion next to hers.
She sighed wearily and shielded her eyes from the sun as she walked toward the building. She passed this place to her bookstore every day. Once or twice, she had considered asking Stan to come here with her just to strengthen their marriage. She’d not known that their union needed more than strengthening and, certainly, she never imagined that she would end up coming here during the last days of her marriage. And there were just days left before the marriage was dissolved, as far as she was concerned. Stan was wasting his time thinking he could change her mind this time around.
His sudden zeal to keep their marriage together at all costs both surprised and angered her. Where was this passion a year, three years ago? If he had not messed up so many times until there was no going back for her, they would not be where they were now—about to get a divorce. Without a doubt, before the end of this year, she would be single again.
As she entered the building, she found Stan sitting on a chair right next to the door.
He smiled brightly at her and stood as she sat next to him. She was surprised when he handed her a bouquet of red and pink roses.
“Your favorite, Trish,” he said.
Scowling, she took it from him. “Thanks, but where am I supposed to put this now? On such a hot day, they’re going to wither before I get home.”
He looked at her with a clueless expression, and she knew he hadn’t thought about that. It was just like him. He never thought things through, and certainly not about the consequences of his actions.
She looked up just as the receptionist, a middle-aged woman in thick glasses called out their name. “Dr. Peterson will see you now,” she said. She gave them directions to the counselor’s office, and then turned to another couple who had just come in.
They both went in the direction the receptionist had pointed out. There were several doors in the narrow hallway. They found the one that had the name Dr. Lori Peterson engraved on it in gold letters, and Stan knocked.
A female voice called out for them to come in.
They entered, and the counselor, a forty-something-year-old brunette with flawless skin and a broad smile greeted them warmly. “So,” she looked into a file and looked up at them, “you are the Colemans, and you are going through a divorce right now, am I correct?”
“Yes,” Stan answered.
“So, tell me, what exactly do you hope to take away from these sessions?” she asked.
Stan replied, “We want to try to mend the relationship and see . . .”
“No!” Trisha interrupted him. “I want to end the marriage. I’m only here because he contested the divorce and the court ordered us to go for marriage counseling.”
The counselor looked from her to Stan and then back to her. “I would like to see you both separately if you don’t mind.” She smiled at Trisha and then said to Stan, “Can I speak to your wife first?”
Stan nodded and then left the office.
The woman smiled at Trisha. “Can you tell me, from your own point of view, what led to the breakdown of your marriage?”
