Pastor’s cries filtered through the vents and along the corridors. Father and son were in agony. Brother Jones embraced each of them as he fought back tears of his own. Audrey Graham was dead. Pastor’s first lady was gone forever. It was a sad day; a sad day indeed.
Chapter Eighteen
“You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.”
~Sam Keen~
The day of Audrey’s death was extremely hard for Pastor, so Stiles made the decision to stay at Emerald Estates as long as needed to keep an eye on his father. Something as devastating as this could easily send Pastor’s health reeling, and Stiles wanted to do everything he could to make certain that Pastor was going to be all right.
Francesca’s display when he called and told her about what happened caused Stiles to build an invisible wall between him and his sister. He couldn’t believe Francesca said she wasn’t going to come to Memphis. All of the years that she’d done wrong to herself and to others; all of the scary nights and days Pastor and Audrey spent praying for her safety when they hadn’t heard from her; all of the trouble she’d caused in their family, and now she couldn’t or wouldn’t try to support the family in some small way.
Stiles’s grief turned ugly. He got up from where he was sitting in Pastor’s study, and with one fell swoop of his hand, he cleared Pastor’s desk of all that was on it. Everything found a new destination on the floor. Giant tears poured from his eyes. Stiles slammed his fist down on top of the oak office desk again and again, until the side of his hand turned beet red and was bruised from the pounding. Stiles’s cries echoed through the empty house. It was good that Brother Jones had taken Pastor to the church where Pastor said he wanted to go and pray before God.
Stiles’s body trembled. The woman who had given birth to him, loved him, and looked after him was no more. Stiles’s heart pounded like it was trying to escape from prison. He fell down on his knees and bowed his head. He placed his face in his hands, but it wasn’t enough to hold back the flood of tears that pressed through his fingers.
“Mother, oh God.” Stiles cried out. “Not my dear, sweet mother.”
Mrs. Jackson’s phone rang while she held it in her hand, still stunned at what she’d just heard. She pushed the talk button.
“Hello, Rena. I’m glad you called. I was just about to call you. I’m afraid I have some bad news,” Mrs. Jackson told her daughter.
“What is it, Momma? Is Daddy all right?” Rena was anxious, nervous, and frightened all rolled into one huge ball.
“No, everyone in the family is fine. But I just received a phone call from Stiles.”
“About what? I returned his call weeks ago.”
“Oh, you never told me you talked to him,” replied Mrs. Jackson.
“I’m sorry. I thought I did. It wasn’t about anything. He wanted to put on this sad story like he missed me so much, and that he was sorry about how things ended between us. But Momma, I’m not buying it. I can’t trust Stiles ever again.” Rena’s eyes narrowed. “Momma, I know that I did a lot of wrong. I’m not denying that, and neither am I trying to make an excuse for my past actions. But I will not be condemned over and over again. I believe God has forgiven me.”
“God has, Rena. But this time, he didn’t call about you.”
“What did he want then?” A cold edge of cynicism rang in Rena’s voice.
Mrs. Jackson spoke slowly. “It was about Audrey, honey.”
“What about Audrey?” Rena’s hand shook and an unexplainable feeling of alarm consumed her. “What has she managed to screw up now?”
“She was in the hospital. I don’t know the details; don’t know how long she was in there. But she died. She went into cardiac arrest.”
Rena gasped and placed her hand over her mouth. “When?”
“Earlier today,” Mrs. Jackson answered.
“That is so sad. I know Stiles is about to have a fit. And Pastor; I know he’s taking it hard.”
“I’m sure he is,” added Mrs. Jackson.
“What else did he say?” asked Rena.
“Nothing, just that he was notifying people.”
“Did he say when the funeral is going to be held?”
“No, but it’s probably going to be sometime next week, I suppose. He said he would call back and let us know. He sounded like he was crying.”
“He probably was, Momma. He was Audrey’s only son, and they were extremely close. And Francesca; did he say how she was doing?” Rena asked in a melancholy tone.
With a sound of ridicule ringing in her voice, Mrs. Jackson replied, “He didn’t say, but who knows what that child is up to anyway? May be one of the reasons poor Audrey died. From all the stress Francesca brought on her.”
“Momma, don’t say that. Francesca has her ways, that’s for sure. But she doesn’t deserve to be blamed for Audrey’s death. That’s a low blow.”
“I’m just saying, that’s all. And whether you want to admit it or not, it’s the truth. I’m not going to lie on her.”
“Momma, I don’t want to talk about Francesca or any of the Grahams anymore. I need to get back to work. I have a ton of paperwork to enter into the computer.” She ended the call and stifled her overwhelming desire to break down and cry.
Rena tried to use work to help conceal the sense of hurt she felt about the news of Audrey’s death. The woman was a tyrant at times, but it was only because she wanted the best for her children. She went to the nonfiction aisle and started shelving new and returned books. It would be more than enough to keep her busy for the remainder of the day. Usually the library assistant and some of the upper school kids kept the shelves stocked, but Rena needed the extra duties to keep at bay while she tried to soak in the reality of Audrey’s death.
Rena managed to giggle softly when she felt welcoming arms encircling her from behind. She looked over her shoulder and smiled affectionately at Robert.
“Robert, stop it,” she whispered, and then giggled again. “We don’t want the kids to see Dr. Becton making out with the librarian now, do we?” She looked at him and noticed the intensity of his gaze.
“I can’t help it when the librarian is so cute,” he joked and continued by turning her body toward his and kissing her tenderly on the tip of her nose.
Rena pushed him back slightly. “You are so bad,” she said. “How many times do I have to tell you that we’re friends?”
“You can stop feeding yourself that line because you and I both know that what we have is far deeper than friendship. I’m crazy about you. All you have to do is admit that you’re crazy about me too.” He affectionately nuzzled her on the neck before he walked away and out into the open.
Rena followed Robert, leaving the cart of books behind. “Robert,” she called. A flood of grief rushed over her body.
Robert stopped, turned around and saw the color leave from her gorgeous face. “Baby, what is it?”
She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. Her mouth felt dry and her tear ducts went into overload.
“Rena, tell me. What’s wrong?” Robert’s mounting concern for her wellbeing intensified.
“My mother called me today. A little earlier as a matter of fact. She . . . she told me that my ex-mother-in-law passed away. She went into cardiac arrest, and they were unable to revive her.” Rena burst into tears. Robert quickly scanned the large library.
He tenderly grabbed Rena by the elbow and led her to one of the private meeting rooms to keep students from seeing her cry. He closed the door behind them, and then pulled her into his arms lovingly. Robert rubbed her hair and Rena lay against his chest.
Rena couldn’t fight the overwhelming need to be close to him. He gave her a sense of security, more than a shoulder to lean on. For the first time, she felt that she could easily fall in love with Robert. He was so genuine and so kind. But now was not the time to get all mushy. She allowed Robert to ease her troubled thoughts with his caress.
&
nbsp; “Rena, I’m sorry to hear about your ex-mother-in-law. You never told me that the two of you were so close.”
Rena looked at Robert. He still held her by her shoulders. She could feel his passion and see the fire of desire that appeared in his chestnut eyes. She refused to be captured by them or Robert himself.
“We weren’t close. Well, let me take that back. We used to be very close, but things changed. I don’t want to go into the details with you right now, Robert.”
“I’m not asking you to. I just want you to know that I’m here for you—all the way, Rena. Do you know when they’re going to have her funeral?”
His gaze was like a gentle caress as she talked to Robert. “No, but Momma said Stiles was going to call her back and let her know.”
“Whenever it is, I’m going with you,” he told her.
“You’re going to do what?” Her eyes bucked.
“I said, I’m going to Memphis with you. And I’m not going to accept no for an answer. I know Mr. and Mrs. Jackson are going, but I want to be there to support you. There’s no way I can let you face your ex-husband alone. Not after the way you two split up. It was nasty, and I don’t want anyone, especially him, disrespecting you. I care about you too much to allow that.” He hugged her again and Rena relaxed inside of his arms without putting up a fuss. She didn’t have the strength even if she wanted to.
“Look, let me think about it, Robert. Anyway, what would you do about the children?” Rena massaged her forehead with her hand.
“Let me worry about that,” was Robert’s reply.“I don’t want the kids to go through any unnecessary trauma by attending a funeral, especially for someone they don’t know. So we’ll see how things work out. I might check with my sister. Maybe she can watch them for a couple of days. But like I said, you let me be the one to figure that out.”
“Thanks.” Rena smoothed down her hair and rubbed the tears from her face. She opened the door and stepped back into the openness of the library. She had to pull herself together if she planned on making it through the last few hours of her workday.
Chapter Nineteen
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”
~Richard Bach~
“Momma, I don’t know if I’m going to Mrs. Graham’s funeral. It might drudge up too much of the past for me,” Rena told her mother over the phone.
“Honey, that’s a personal decision you have to make. But your father and I are going. The Grahams were good to us when we lived in Memphis, and you know as well as I do, that the Grahams deserve our respect and our sympathy. I know how you felt about Audrey, but we both know that God wants us to forgive one another. The woman is dead now, Rena; time to let bygones be bygones.”
“I know,” Rena said sluggishly, “but it’s still going to be hard to do. I’ll have to see Stiles, Francesca, Pastor, and all of those people from Holy Rock. I don’t think I can deal with it. I just don’t.” Rena’s voice broke.
“You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. How many times have I told you that, child?”
Rena listened at her mother’s words. She bit her bottom lip before she responded. “You’re right, Momma. This isn’t about me anyway. I guess I’ll go. Robert said if I decided to attend the funeral that he wanted to be there with me. He thinks it’ll do me good to have a friend by my side.”
“Now, that’s my girl. And Robert is a sweetheart. If you ask me, and you haven’t,” she said and waved and shook her head simultaneously, “I’d say the man is in love with you. But you didn’t ask me,” she reiterated and smiled. “Your father and I are checking on flights, so we’ll include you and Robert. I’ll let you know what we come up with.”
“That’s fine. And I’ll pull up some flights online too; we can compare what we find.”
“Good,” her mother answered. “You have a good night, dear.”
“You too, Momma. G’night.”
Rena thought about Stiles and Francesca. What must they be going through? Rena surmised that Stiles was totally devastated and in despair, while Francesca—well who could tell how Francesca reacted to her mother’s death? Rena settled back in her favorite position. She stared at the phone. Should she call Stiles? Without much further thought, and before she could change her mind, she picked up her phone, scrolled through her contacts until she found his number, and hit the call button.
Rena exhaled with relief when Stiles’s phone went directly to his voice mail. She waited a second or two to decide if she should leave a message, and then proceeded to do so.
“Hello, Stiles. This is Rena. Momma told me the news about Audrey’s death. I wanted to call and let you know that you and your family have my sympathy. I know how close you and Audrey were. I’ll be praying for y’all. Buh-bye.” Rena paused, and then pressed the red END button on her phone.
Detria insisted on accompanying Stiles and Pastor to the funeral home to finalize the arrangements. There were still a few details like who would style Audrey’s hair, what outfit Pastor wanted her to wear, and a list of minor things that neither Stiles nor Pastor wanted to do.
By the time they left the funeral home, the three of them were exhausted, probably just as much emotionally as they were physically.
“Pastor, let’s stop somewhere and get a bite to eat,” suggested Stiles.
Without much energy, Pastor answered, “Sure, son. Whatever you or Detria want will be fine with me.”
Stiles looked over his shoulder at Detria. “Sister Detria, do you have a preference about where we can get a quick bite to eat?”
“There’s Interstate Barbeque on Third Street. That’s about the closest place I can think of. We can dine in or they have a drive-thru. It depends on what you all want to do.”
“Barbeque sounds good,” Pastor said. “I haven’t had their rib tips in a long time. But I’m drained, so if y’all don’t mind I’d rather we get it to go.
“Okay, next stop, Interstate Barbeque,” said Stiles. He made the proper turns and arrived at the popular restaurant located at the intersection of Third Street and Mallory Avenue. Stiles drove around to the side of the restaurant and pulled up at the drive-thru window. After he ordered and they received their bag of food, he headed home. Stiles didn’t want to keep Pastor out much longer, knowing his father was drained. Tomorrow was going to be another full day, with more relatives and guests stopping by.
Stiles tilted his head and peered back at Detria. “Detria, if you don’t mind, I’m going to drop Pastor off first. We have some relatives there who can look out for him until I take you home.”
“That’s fine,” answered Detria. Twenty minutes after leaving the restaurant, Stiles pulled into the driveway of Emerald Estates.
“You sure you don’t want to come inside?” added Pastor in a groggy voice as he opened the heavy passenger door to get out of the car.
“No, but thank you, Pastor Graham. Stiles, take your time and get your father settled in. I’ll wait,” she told him.
“Thanks, Sister Detria. I won’t be long.” Stiles picked up the bag of food from the floor and walked alongside Pastor. He stopped and turned to look at Detria. “Sister Detria, you can move to the front seat. I don’t want anyone thinking I’ve been hired as your chauffeur,” he said and then laughed.
Something in Stiles’s manner of speech soothed Detria. He was such an honorable man and Detria was drawn to his gentlemanly ways. She opened the back door of his car and did as he suggested; moved to the front passenger’s seat. True to his words, Stiles returned only a few minutes after leading Pastor inside.
“Did you get him settled?” Detria asked Stiles.
“Yeah, he’s in the family room eating his food. Some of our relatives are in there to help him, so he’ll be fine until I get back. They’ll make sure of that. He’s having a hard time, and I can’t say I blame him. He and my mother have been together since I was four years old. Now, he’s without his helpmeet. He looks lost and confused.”
Stiles turned on the car and backed out of the driveway.
Detria listened and whenever his eyes locked on hers, it sent her heart into flips. Detria had never admitted that she was attracted to Pastor Stiles. Initially, she offered her help innocently. But a handsome man like Pastor Stiles, who had such buoyancy about himself, drew her closer to him.
“Pastor Stiles, the kind of marriage your mother and father had is becoming a rarity these days. So many people don’t give their marriage a chance to survive. It takes good and bad in a relationship for it to grow strong.”
Stiles cleared his throat. “I agree. Without discussing the break-up of my marriage, I will have to say that I should have been more willing to fight for our relationship and for our love. I should have been the one to do whatever I needed to do to make my marriage work, but I didn’t, and so I failed at any chance of reconciliation.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Her eyebrows flickered a little. “I wasn’t saying anything about you or your marriage. I was talking about marriages in general.”
“I didn’t take it personally. But the truth is the truth. I still could have done more to save my marriage. I didn’t. Now I have to move on. As for Pastor, it’s different. They were literally together until death. And that’s the way a marriage should be. Nothing but death should be able to separate a husband and wife. I long for that kind of love, and I thought I was going to have it when I fell in love with Rena.”
Stiles turned on Detria’s street and rode past several houses until he arrived at her parents’ home. He turned off the ignition and sighed. “I want to express how much I appreciate everything you’ve done to help my family, Sister...”
My Son's Ex-Wife: The Aftermath Page 16
