Redeeming Waters

by Vanessa Davis Griggs

  Brianna shook her head. “I really don’t think that’s a wise idea.”

  “I know you’re not scared of me. And you know I’m not going to do anything to you. I’ve been a complete gentleman since you strolled through my doors, have I not?” King d.Avid said.

  “Okay. Okay. I just don’t want you getting the wrong idea about me,” Brianna said. “I’m married, happily married. And we’re merely going to your bedroom to get your cell phone so you can call my grandfather. That’s it. That, and maybe me getting to take a peek at yet another room in this palace.”

  “Absolutely. And for the record: I’m an almost-divorced man who has made enough mistakes not to keep repeating those same mistakes. All I want to do is get my cell phone, call your grandfather, then put the phone right back where I took it from,” King d.Avid said. “That’s it.”

  “And after that, you need to have me taken back to my house,” Brianna said.

  King d.Avid walked out of the area toward the staircase that looked more like an upscale, winding roller-coaster track with its fancy, intricate scrolls. Brianna followed him up the stairs. Walking up those steps made her feel differently . . . like royalty, even.

  He opened the door to his bedroom. She let out a loud gasp, then quickly clamped both hands over her mouth and held tight. She took her hands down. “Oh, my goodness! Look at this room!” She turned to King d.Avid. “Do you not have one spot around this entire place that doesn’t manage to somehow take my breath away? Wow. Wow. Wow, this is . . . this is . . . you know, I don’t even have words for what this is.”

  King d.Avid walked over to his nightstand and retrieved his cell phone. Brianna noticed him as he looked down at it and frowned.

  “A lot of missed calls, I take it?” she said.

  He looked up. “Yeah. And they will all have to wait, with the exception of maybe the one from Chad. He only calls when it’s important. But the rest will wait. And I’ll hit Chad back as soon as I finish speaking with Pearson. Okay, so what’s your grandfather’s number?” King d.Avid pressed the corresponding buttons as Brianna called out her grandfather’s home phone number. “It’s ringing,” King d.Avid said, his eyes looking up, then down, then back up again.

  Brianna walked over and quietly lowered herself onto the couch in front of the white stone fireplace. She could only imagine how beautiful this room was during the days when a fire was lit and flames danced around in it. “Oh, and don’t tell him I’m here,” Brianna said, glancing over at King d.Avid. “Or that I was the one who gave you his—”

  King d.Avid waved for her to be quiet. “Hi, Pearson? Hi. This is a blast from your past. It’s David R. Shepherd. How are you?” King d.Avid paused, then chuckled. “Okay, King d.Avid. I’m great. Better than great, if I have to tell the real truth right now. I’m blessed, man . . . I’m so blessed. But listen, I just wanted to call you and let you know how much you’ve meant in my life, and how much you still mean to me, even to this day. How much I appreciate you. Because had it not been for you . . .”

  King d.Avid listened, then wiped at a few tears that managed to escape from his eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much for that. No, really. I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like you in my life. Then for you to still be in my corner the way you are, still holding up the banner in spite of how things went down.... Well, all I can say is: God is good. And this means the world to me.” King d.Avid paused again. “Say what? How did I get this number? You’re asking because it’s brand-new, private, and unpublished.”

  King d.Avid glanced over at Brianna. “Oh, you know what they say: The Lord will make a way somehow.” King d.Avid laughed. “Yes, sir. I suppose I do have my own ways of helping the Lord out, at times. But we both know that without Him, we can do nothing. I know that much, if I don’t know anything else, I do know that. I can do nothing, and I am nothing without the Almighty God on my side. No doubt.”

  King d.Avid looked at Brianna again. She was trying to keep from smiling as she tightly hugged herself. She felt like doing the waltz, one of the ballroom dances she’d learned and not done much of since she was sixteen. When he looked again at her and their eyes locked, he winked.

  She quickly turned away, then bit down on her bottom lip, as she worked extremely hard to hold in a full-blown, teenage girl’s giggle that was only one more look her way away.

  Chapter 22

  And he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

  —2 Samuel 11:4 (c)

  Brianna awakened to a sun-filled room. It was a beautiful day. She could tell, just from the way the sun was already causing her to feel. But as she struggled to open her eyes completely, then began to look around, everything came rushing back to her. She bolted straight up in the bed.

  “Oh, my Lord! What did I do?” Brianna said. A man’s groan caused her to quickly close her eyes back.

  “What is it?” the man said groggily as he began to stir. “What’s the matter?”

  Brianna opened her eyes. “Wake up.” She shook him vigorously. “Wake up!”

  He sat up and began to rub the sleep from his eyes, then rubbed his face with both his hands. When he turned and looked her way, he instantly broke into a huge smile and leaned over. “Morning, Bathsheba. Did you sleep well?”

  Brianna pulled the covers up around the top half of herself better and clutched the bedspread comforter tightly. With her other hand, she tried to cover her face. “Please tell me this is just a dream. Please tell me we didn’t do what I think we did?”

  King d.Avid pushed himself to a straighter position, pressing his back against the bed’s headboard. “Ah,” he said, then shook his head with adoration. “Brianna.”

  “We did, didn’t we?” Brianna took a quick peek under the covers. “We did! God, forgive me. We did. And I can’t even blame this on alcohol, because I didn’t have anything stronger than a cola to drink.”

  “Brianna, I’m sorry.” King d.Avid closed his eyes for a few seconds as though he was either going back to sleep or praying.

  Brianna looked upward. “God, please forgive me. Oh, God, please forgive me.”

  “Lord, I ask that you forgive me as well,” King d.Avid said before turning back to Brianna. “Listen—”

  “Why did you call me Bathsheba?” Brianna said.

  “What?”

  “When you were first waking up. You said, ‘Morning, Bath-sheba. ’ I want to know why you said that.”

  King d.Avid shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe because the last thing on my mind before I fell asleep was the name Bathsheba. So when I awakened, a bit disoriented I might add, I spoke what was last on my mind.”

  “Do you know anyone named Bathsheba?” Brianna asked.

  King d.Avid chuckled. “Just you. Don’t you remember? We were waltzing around the ballroom floor, you told me your middle name was Bathsheba. I told you the R in my name was for Rondell. I said it was interesting that your folks named you Bathsheba, albeit your middle name, and that my folks named me David—both biblical names.”

  “Well, it’s neither interesting nor cute, right now. Not to me. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness!” Brianna let her head fall back against the headboard. She gazed up at the ceiling and incessantly shook her head.

  “Brianna, please calm down. It’s going to be all right. I’m sorry that you’re upset. But I must say that I absolutely had a beautiful time with you the entire time we spent together. Where did you learn how to do all of those ballroom dances? The waltz, the tango, the quickstep, cha cha, rumba, and what was that other thing you showed me?”

  “Viennese waltz,” Brianna said, blowing a sigh of disgust with her own self.

  “Look, I’m sorry you’re upset. But I’m not sorry about the lovely time we had together. I’m not. And I’m not going to lie to you or God and say differently. I won’t.”

  “Well, I am sorry. And I do regret it.” Brianna got up out of the bed, dragging the comforter as she cleverly wrapped it
around herself to cover her body. “I can’t believe I did this. What in Heaven’s name was I thinking?” She began to cry, then looked toward the ceiling again. “God, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I guess this proves: I wasn’t thinking!”

  “Listen, Brianna . . . Brianna, I need you to calm down. It’s not as bad as it seems. No one knows you were here.”

  “Except for Chad, the guard at the front gate, the rent-a-chef”—she ticked off the names with her fingers—“and oh, now let’s see who else? Oh, yeah, that’s right—God!” She dabbed her eyes with a corner of the comforter. “God knows, David. God knows!”

  “Well, Chad’s not going to say anything. The rent-a-chef, as you call him, doesn’t know who you are and I sent him packing after we finished our meal. And God—”

  “Yeah. And God,” Brianna said. “What do you have to say about God? You know, God who neither slumbers nor sleeps. God who promised to never leave us. God.”

  “We both just told Him we’re sorry. We’ve asked Him to forgive us. That’s all we can do, Brianna. We can’t press the reverse button on the clock and make like it never happened.”

  “Yeah . . . well . . . but we can definitely make sure we’re never in a position for this to ever happen again. We can do that! Something told me to leave. Right after dessert, I should have gotten my purse and left. For sure after that comedic, romantic, love story rolled its credits. At the very latest: when you hung up from talking with my grandfather. I should have insisted that you take me home then, Chad or no Chad. Before the dancing; before the late-night talking, whispering, laughing, and sharing. I don’t care how late it was. I don’t care who might have seen the car pull into my driveway at one or two o’clock in the morning. I should have stuck to my first mind and had you take me home.”

  “I’m sorry,” King d.Avid said, adjusting the top sheet better around him. “How many times do you want me to say it? I’m sorry. I just didn’t see a good reason for you to go home so late. We danced, we talked, we shared our hearts. And honestly, it was nice having someone around me where I didn’t feel a need to have my guard up. I was free for a change. Free, Brianna, all thanks to you. And there was no reason for you to go home when I have six unoccupied bedrooms in this monstrosity of a house, as you call it.”

  “Yeah, well, I can’t blame this all on you,” Brianna said, retrieving various pieces of her clothing from around the room. “And I’m not. You did insist that I stay, then that I stay the night. But you said you had extra bedrooms that I was welcome to use. I should have gone to one of those bedrooms and locked the door behind me—”

  “Whoa! Hold up. Lock the door behind you?” King d.Avid said, recoiling and registering a puzzled look on his face. “I wouldn’t have tried anything while you were in another bedroom,” King d.Avid said. “I don’t do things like that.”

  “I wasn’t talking about locking it so you couldn’t come in. I was talking about locking it to keep me from coming out. It’s obvious that I wanted you just as much as you wanted me.” Brianna sat back down on the bed with the comforter still wrapped around her. “I suppose you weren’t the only one who felt free yesterday. It’s like the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden all over again. You can eat from that tree, that tree, that tree, or that tree.” She pointed around the room as she spoke. “But don’t dare touch that tree over there.” She pointed at King d.Avid. “And what do I go and do? I just have to taste the fruit from that tree. Yeah, God. You know, that tree. The one You specifically pointed out not to touch. I had to see for myself if the fruit from the tree I knew not to touch was any better or tasted any different from what I could freely partake of.”

  “Brianna, please don’t do this to yourself.” King d.Avid reached over to touch her arm.

  She recoiled and jumped to her feet. “Please don’t do that. Because I’m going to tell you, David. As upset as I am about what we did here, there is something about you that’s so tender and so special, you make it hard to do what’s right. You made me feel so wonderful the whole time I was with you. Maybe that’s how it is. When people want something, they make the extra effort to get it. Then after they get it, that’s when they slack off. I’m not blaming Unzell for what I did, because he’s a truly good and hardworking man whom I believe loves me dearly. And no matter how lonely I feel or have felt, and no matter what kind of attention I craved, Unzell has done nothing to justify what I just did to our marriage.”

  “I’m going to ask one thing of you. I know you might take it the wrong way, but I have to put it out there,” King d.Avid said. “Can we please keep what happened between us between you and me? Don’t go running and confessing it to your husband. Don’t feel a need to share what happened with your best friend or anyone else for that matter.”

  She let out a short, almost crazy laugh and flopped back down. “Of course not. We wouldn’t want this plastered all over the tabloids or on any evening entertainment shows. And don’t forget about all the Christians who would be devastated to learn you, the anointed psalmist of the Lord . . . a man after God’s own heart . . . has fallen by the wayside just like the others who claim to uphold the banner of the Lord. Cue the music—another one bites the dust.”

  “That’s not why I’m asking you this,” King d.Avid said. “I’m asking this because if your husband finds out, and you love him the way you say that you do, it will most likely tear his heart and your relationship apart. And I don’t think he deserves to have that done to him. You and I did this. We’re responsible. It’s between me and you. It wouldn’t be fair to bring him into it. And honestly, if you want to make things right between you two, I don’t want our night of indiscretion—bad judgment, whatever you want to call it, but definitely something you obviously hate happened—to affect what you desire in life.”

  Brianna stood back up. “Well, you don’t have to worry about anything.” She sniffled a few times. “This secret is safe with me. I’m not going to say anything to anybody. Not even Alana . . . especially not Alana. She thinks I’m the good, smart one.”

  “Okay. Then it’s settled. As far as you’re concerned, this was a mistake that will never repeat itself. And as soon as you’re dressed, I’ll personally take you home,” King d.Avid said. “This way, even Chad won’t have to know you stayed the night.”

  “He’s head of your security. Somehow, I’m sure Chad probably already knows.”

  “I will tell him that I drove you home myself, which will be true. If he mentions that you spent the night, I’ll not let on what transpired between us. And as far as all this goes, you slept in a guest bedroom, should your being here overnight ever come up.”

  “I’m not going to lie,” Brianna said, vigorously shaking her head. “I already have one sin charged to me because of this; I’m not going to add lying on top of it. I’m not.”

  “And I’m not asking you to lie. All I’m asking is that you not volunteer any information,” King d.Avid said. “But no one is going to bring it up, I assure you.”

  “Well, as soon as I get my clothes on, I’ll be ready for you to take me home.” She let her head drop, then lifted it back up again. “Listen, I do appreciate your lovely hospitality. Everything was so magnificent. So please don’t think I’m ungrateful or anything like that. There was just a point we shouldn’t have ever crossed, but we did. We went too far.”

  King d.Avid smiled. “Well, I’m glad our paths crossed again. I’ve always thought you were special, since that very first time I set eyes upon you. And I believe you’re still going to do those great things you spoke about when you were ten years old. But you’re a woman now: a beautiful, intelligent, and a Godly woman, in spite of what’s transpired.”

  “May I use your bathroom?” Brianna asked.

  “Sure. And Brianna, I just want you to know: whatever I have, regardless of how things go between us from here on out, if you need it, just ask, and it’s as good as yours.”

  “Thank you. But there is nothing between us. And all I need right now is some soap
and water. I wish I had some redeeming waters, if something like that were available.” She stood up, still holding on to the comforter wrapped around her, as she took the clothes she clutched in her other hand into the master bathroom with her.

  Brianna stepped into the shower and let its soothing waters run down. If only there was a way to just as easily wash away the sin I’ve committed against God and against my husband. If only it was this easy....

  Chapter 23

  Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

  —Proverbs 9:17

  “It’s a simple question,” Alana said over the phone. “I called your cell phone all yesterday and into the night. Of course, I called your home number as well. You didn’t answer either one. I finally get you this morning, and you can’t tell me where you were?”

  “Alana, just let it go, okay,” Brianna said, her voice weary from crying.

  “I’m just confused. I’m the closest thing you have to family here in Atlanta, and you weren’t anywhere to be found. Is that why you were in such a hurry to leave the beach and get home? You had another engagement, and you didn’t want me to know about it?”

  “You certainly know how to blow something completely out of proportion. Look, Alana, I turned my cell off. Besides, you know I’m not a cell phone girl . . . not like you.”

  “Yeah, but you always answer your landline,” Alana said. “And I called it every single time I called your cell. In all of my time knowing you, I don’t think I’ve ever not known where you were. You either tell me before you go or after you get back.”

  “Well, maybe that ought to tell you something,” Brianna said with a little more attitude and snap than she intended.

  “Excuse me?” Alana said, having picked up on Brianna’s snarky tone.

  “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. But when you ask somebody something and they don’t give you the answer you’re looking for, then you need to back off so they’re not forced to tell you something that you might not want to hear or that just might hurt your feelings.”