The Real Housewives of Adverse city 3

by Shelia E. Bell

  “Thank you. Will you bring them to my suite when you’re done? You can get my suite number from the front desk.”

  “Certainly, Mrs. Stenberg. And yes, your information is in our system.”

  Eva knelt down in front of the kennel and mouthed sweet words to her pooches before she stood upright and dashed toward the elevators.

  After entering her suite, Eva undressed and took another hot shower. When she was done with her shower, she made herself a stiff drink from the fully stocked bar. She rarely drank hard liquor, but considering what she had experienced the night before, she felt that only a shot or two or three of liquor could wash away some of her physical and emotional pain.

  She went outside and sat on the luxurious balcony of her hotel suite and stared out at the beach, drink in hand. The warm brown liquor and the beauty of the Adverse City skies and the ocean calmed her. A weird sense of peace overtook her. She would make it through this. She didn’t want to consider the alternate choice.

  Chapter 12

  “One day I’m gonna hurt you—I promise.” Unknown

  Eva remained at the Setai for three nights before returning to her home and to her defiled bed. Harper hadn’t called once while she was away, but knowing him with his vast array of connections, she guessed that he knew exactly where she was spending her nights. Not to mention that her stay at the Setai was on his dime, but Eva couldn’t care less. She welcomed the time away from home, but back to reality.

  When she returned home, she said as little as possible to Harper. He made that quite easy because like always, he was rarely at home. If he wasn’t at the hospital, he was at the television studio and other off-site locations filming The Heart of the Matter. If he wasn’t there, he was traveling around the country promoting his new book that bore the same title.

  It was a relief for Eva because when Harper was at home, he pretended to be a sweet, loving husband, acting as if nothing had ever happened. Eva knew differently because she had experienced the flip side of his personality.

  One evening, after being out of town for several days promoting his new book, Harper approached her with three dozen long stem roses. They were absolutely beautiful. She was curled up in the family room on the huge wraparound sofa with her dogs lying next to her watching a movie when he walked in with the massive vase of flowers. She sat amazed, and took a quick breath in utter astonishment.

  He walked up to her and placed the heavy vase of flowers on the table in front of the sofa where she sat. “For you,” he said, his voice tender, and his tone apologetic.

  Eva felt her heart melt the tiniest bit, but her tone didn’t reveal that. “Thanks, they’re lovely,” she said as she leaned over and inhaled their sweet fragrance. “What’s the occasion? Did I miss something?” she said dryly.

  “No, it’s no special occasion, but I do have some things I want to say. I hope you’ll hear me out.”

  “Go for it,” Eva replied, reaching for the remote and hitting the Mute button before crossing her arms and looking up at him.

  Harper kneeled down in front of her and went full fledge into his spiel. He begged and pleaded for her forgiveness, told her how ashamed he had been of himself and that he had broken down when out of the blue, his own son had called him demanding money for his drug habit. Eva was unaware that Seth was on drugs, and Harper said he only found out about his son’s addiction the night Seth called high and begging for money. Seth’s mother called moments later and told Harper about their son’s drug problem. Harper was devastated.

  Harper further explained that Seth continued calling but Harper said he remained steadfast. He was not going to send him a dime. He told Seth the only money he would give him would be to pay for him to go into Rehab. Seth laughed and then things turned ugly.

  Eva listened and stared wordlessly as she remained seated in front of him, her heart pounding.

  “That’s when Seth told me that he had slept with you,” Harper explained. “That night, after hearing that the woman I loved, the woman I adored, had cheated on me with my own son, I lost it, Eva. I went to a bar after leaving the hospital and drank until I was inebriated. By the time I arrived home, my anger and hurt had reached an all-time high and that’s when things took an ugly turn. And I can only tell you that I’m sorry, Eva. I’m sooo…so sorry for everything.”

  Eva told herself that it was still no justification for Harper to do her the way he did that night, but she could also understand how a person could go from zero to one hundred after learning that the people you loved had betrayed you.

  “I don’t know what to say. You hurt me, Harper. I’ve never known you to be such a cruel man. I don’t know how I can get pass this.”

  “I know you’re going to need time. I’ll give you all the time that you need. Just tell me that you’ll forgive me, baby. I’ve asked God to forgive me and now I need to know that you will at least try to understand how I was feeling.”

  She fought to control her swirling emotions. When he reached out and gingerly caressed the side of her face with the back of his hand, she lowered her gaze in confusion.

  He lifted her chin and their eyes connected. She was entranced by the silent sadness on his face. When he leaned in and kissed her, she didn’t object—his nearness made her senses spin as she gave in to the warmth and strength of his flesh.

  Eva immersed herself into culinary school. She often enjoyed watching Marissa prepare various divine dishes, but now she was learning more than she ever imagined. She was eager to awake each morning and go to school. It was a different life for her, one that helped her maintain her sanity.

  I want you to be a guest on the show,

  Harper texted one afternoon out of the blue.

  “Me? Why would he want me to be a guest on his show?” Eva asked herself as she set her pecan Birkin bag on the table in the family room. She had just entered the house after coming from ladies’ day out with the housewives.

  Why me?

  she texted back.

  I want you to talk about foods and dishes good for the heart. Dishes from your native Bolivia that could be healthy. You are my wife, remember? Your family would be proud of you I’m sure.

  Eva understood what he was alluding to when he mentioned her family. She felt she had no choice but to tell him that she would do it.

  The night before her scheduled appearance, Harper had been exceptionally kind. He insisted on taking her out to dinner at one of her favorite eating spots. Afterwards, he took her for a midnight stroll along Pointe Beach. It may have sounded foolish if she had told the housewives about his abuse, but being with him felt right. She had all but dismissed what had happened weeks prior because Harper was almost like the old Harper. She still loved him in spite of what he had done. She made excuses for him, telling herself that he was drunk and hurt at discovering she had slept with Seth.

  When Harper reached for her hand as they walked along the beach, she welcomed it. The ocean waves kissed their bare feet and slowly she relaxed in his arms. This was the Harper she’d come to love. This was the Harper she couldn’t seem to shake.

  After they arrived home, the inevitable happened but this time it was sweet, tender, and passionate as Harper caressed her, kissed her hungrily, and told her over and over again how much he loved her.

  She melted into his arms. When thoughts of the night he assaulted her tried to come to the forefront of her mind, she quickly pushed them back as he took her to pleasurable heights. She was sick all right, sick for this Harper. This Harper who cried for days after she returned home from the hotel. This Harper who told her how sorry he was for what he had done.

  The day of the show, Eva rushed to the studio after she was done with culinary class. The housewives were going to be there for support and because they were eager to be a part of the studio audience.

  Eva had chosen three heart friendly meals that were quick and easy to prepare, even for the novice cook. She had to admit that there was a part of her that was quite excited about
appearing on Harper’s TV show.

  On the day of the filming everything went without a hitch. The dishes Eva prepared and showed how anyone could easily make at home, went off without a hitch. Harper doted on his wife and the housewives tried to clap louder than anyone else in the audience.

  Was she a fool for asking God to give her the strength and mindset to forgive Harper? Maybe she was. But she wasn’t perfect either. She entered the marriage knowing that she was not completely in love with him. She loved Harper as a person because he was good and kind. He helped save many lives when he came to Bolivia and performed heart surgery on the destitute—people who would not have a chance at living a full life had it not been for Doctors Without Borders.

  When he wined and dined her while he was there, he swept her off her feet, but it wasn’t enough to make her fall in love him completely. The man who had her heart at that time, the only man she had ever loved, was a poor Bolivian man named Juan Carlos. But Harper could offer her and her family what Juan never would be able to offer—a life of financial freedom, wealth, and a chance for their daughter, Eva, to prosper in America. She could not turn him down. She said goodbye to her family, ended things with Juan Carlos, leaving him brokenhearted and left with Harper to start a new life in America.

  It was like a fairy tale come true for Eva because Harper treated her like she was a queen. It was easy to fall in love with him, and soon she did, but she would never love him the way she loved Juan Carlos.

  Her family told her recently that Juan Carlos had been approved for a K-1 Visa and would be moving to the United States to marry a nice lady he too had met, and fallen in love with. Eva hoped he would be happy and have a chance to live a good life.

  That evening, after filming the TV segment, Eva and Harper enjoyed a relaxing dinner at home outside on their lanai. It was another enchanting night in Adverse City. They chatted lightly about the success of the show. Everything was beautiful until Harper’s cell phone rang—it was Seth.

  Seth and Harper argued back and forth until Harper abruptly ended the call. He looked over at Eva and went into a cursing rant toward her. He stormed over to their outside bar, took out a shot glass, and began to pour and drink, pour and drink, until he was drunk again.

  “Harper, don’t let him drive you to do this. You’re better than this,” Eva told him. “He’s the one with the problem, not you.”

  “Who are you to give me advice about my son? All you know about him is how to sleep with him!”

  “How many times do I have to say that I’m sorry, Harper? Let’s not go there again.”

  To Harper what she said was nothing more than empty words from a woman whom he had given his whole heart to only to have it crushed. He turned a deaf ear to her words that turned into pleas. What started out as a wonderful evening outside underneath the stars turned into an encore performance of what had occurred weeks prior.

  She has to pay, Harper thought. He thought of the passage of scripture about revenge. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. That’s exactly what Harper intended to do—just not in the way God intended.

  Chapter 13

  “The best revenge is just moving on and getting over it. Don’t give someone the satisfaction of watching you suffer.” Unknown

  Eva gathered her thoughts and tried to clear her mind of what had happened again between her and Harper a week ago this very day. She took the dogs for their morning stroll and relived everything that had gotten her here. She had been stupid to even believe in the first place that he was sorry for abusing her, but she so wanted to believe that it was a one-time thing. Part of her felt she was to blame because of sleeping with Seth. All of this is your fault. You brought this on yourself, repeated the voice inside her head.

  When she returned home, she showered, got dressed, and went into the kitchen to tell Marissa that she was leaving for school.

  “Senora, you fine?” Marissa asked, looking at Eva strangely.

  “Yes, Marissa. Why do you ask?”

  “I hear things. I see things,” she said. “You must not anger Senor Stenberg. Por favor. I do not want you hurt.”

  They exchanged dialogue in their native tongue. Eva never imagined that Marissa had heard what happened between her and Harper. The house was huge and Marissa resided in the west wing of the house, far away from her and Harper’s bedroom.

  “What are you talking about, Marissa?”

  “I see him…Senor Stenberg. He was very angry and said many not so nice things to you. You should not have done that.”

  “Done what?” asked Eva.

  “With his son. That was wrong, senora. Very wrong.”

  Eva quickly turned her gaze away from Marissa out of embarrassment. She did not want Marissa to think bad of her or to know her business, but it seemed a little too late for that. “What else did you hear…and see?”

  “That is enough to see,” Marissa said, and began placing vegetables in a pot. “No need to see more.” She added other ingredients and spices to the mixture.

  “I’m sorry you heard what you heard, and yes, I am sorry for what I did. Please, do not say anything to anyone,” Eva pleaded.

  “Never, senora.” Marissa shook her head vigorously from side to side. “Never do that,” she further emphasized. She walked up to Eva, embraced her, and then like a mother would do, she pulled back, pointed her finger at Eva and said, “No more, but do not take more from him if he is too mean to you. You made a mistake and it is over,” she said in Spanish, and kissed Eva on the cheek.

  “Gracias,” Eva said and kissed Marissa back on her cheek. “I should be home by three. I’m going to learn to cook as good as you.” Eva grinned then reached down and patted each one of her barking dogs on the head as they gathered around her ankles.

  “Quiet,” she told the dogs. “Mommy has to go to school,” she said, talking to the dogs like they were little humans instead of Yorkies.

  “Si,” Marissa said and smiled. “You will do fine with the cooking.”

  “I hope so, Marissa. I have to make it in this school.” If I don’t, Harper can throw me out on the street and I will have nothing. She made the thirty minute drive to the school and drove around the lot until she happened upon an available parking space.

  Before exiting the car, she looked in her rearview mirror to study herself. She wanted to make sure she looked presentable. “Should I put my purse in the trunk?” she asked herself, then answered her own question by picking up the purse from off the seat beside her and getting out of the car, taking it with her.

  Parking was not the best because this was a high-end area with some of the best of the best boutiques and restaurants. She and the girls had dined at a couple of them on their ladies’ day out adventures.

  As she walked toward the front door of the school, which was several doors down from where she parked, she began to feel a growing excitement at the new adventures she was about to face.

  The loud bark of a dog from behind frightened her and Eva turned around. She’d seen that dog or one like it some time ago in the park not far from her community.

  When she saw the face at the other end of the dog leash, she thought she recognized him as well.

  The dog barked louder and louder and strained against the man’s leash like he was trying to attack her.

  “Keep that dog away!” Eva warned and quickened her pace.

  “Don’t worry, he won’t bite. He likes you. He’s not barking in anger.”

  “I have dogs. I know when they’re barking in anger and when they’re ready to attack. You keep him away!” Eva practically ran until she arrived at the entrance to the school. She loved dogs but only the small ones like her three little fur babies. Dogs this big were just not her forte.

  She looked back and saw the man laughing. Someone exiting the building held the door open for her as she gave the man one last nasty stare before she paraded inside.

  The day passed swiftly. The ot
her six students were quite nice and the instructors were equally as nice and knowledgeable.

  Eva and the group of aspiring chefs spent the day being introduced to the program and the requirements. After giving it much thought, and in light of her home situation, Eva had made the decision to study Restaurant and Culinary Management in addition to the Culinary Arts program. If she was going to be the best she had to learn everything she could about restaurant management and becoming a chef.

  At the end of class, she walked out with two of the students. She noticed the sign at the end of the block across from where she had parked.

  Scooby Doo’s Pet Accessories and Animal Rescue Shelter. Um, an odd location for a rescue shelter. She had never seen it before. It had to be a new establishment.

  That must be where that monstrosity of a dog came from. Reading the sign again she swiftly crossed the street and stopped in front of the store. She peaked inside, thinking about the poor animals. She loved her dogs and she couldn’t fathom anyone abusing or mistreating them or any other animals. The store looked more like one of the fashion boutiques she and the housewives frequented. It had lavish furnishings and from what she could tell, unique looking gifts inside.

  As she curiously peered through the picture window she saw a Pomeranian dog relaxing on a chaise lounge, a Siamese cat strolling casually across the hardwood floor of the store, and the Scooby Doo dog sprawled along the floor on a large plush rug. High class for sure, she thought. The person who she assumed was the owner or an employee, was chattering away with a striking brunette who seemed to be giggling a little too much at whatever the man was saying.

  Eva continued to look inside but did not think she was staring, when it dawned on her where she had seen the tall, handsome, stranger before. It was at Central Park. The same park she’d seen the lookalike dog. It was the same man and dog that she’d seen that day. That was so long ago, almost a year ago in fact, but the longer she stared inside at the stranger, the more she was sure it was him. She wanted to turn and leave, go get in her car, and go home, but something willed her to stay. Eva continued watching the exchange between him and the girl.