Silver Lining

by Wanda B. Campbell

  Marlissa cried again, this time grateful for friends like Leon and Starla. “Okay,” she answered before Leon could make the offer.

  Leon stayed on the phone with her until the headlights from her Lexus were visible from his living room window. He then went out to meet her.

  “I am glad you didn’t get out of the car this time of night dressed like that,” Leon said after she stepped from the car. She was still wearing the dress Kevin had bought her. In her haste to leave, she’d forgotten to change. Visions of the evening’s earlier events flashed, and Marlissa fell back against the car and broke down again.

  Leon carried her inside and placed her on the couch. Once Marlissa settled down, Starla handed her the cup of hot instant chai tea she’d made while Leon comforted Marlissa. Allowing Marlissa to take the lead, Leon and Starla remained silent.

  “I am so sorry for disturbing you guys, but I couldn’t help it,” Marlissa said after a few sips.

  “That’s what friends are for,” Starla replied. “Do you want to tell us what happened tonight?”

  “Not the gory details.” Marlissa took another sip. “Kevin and I aren’t reconciling. I’m not sure exactly when, but in a few days I’ll be a single woman.”

  The announcement stunned Starla. “I can’t believe it. Why?” Leon didn’t say anything.

  “Kevin doesn’t love me.” Marlissa sniffled.

  “Of course he does.” Starla refused to believe any different. “It’s written all over his face. Trust me, you hold that man’s heart.”

  “No. Kevin doesn’t love me,” Marlissa said sadly, shaking her head.

  Leon finally spoke. “Did he tell you that?”

  Marlissa wiped her face. “Not verbally, but his actions were crystal clear. Funny how your hindsight vision is twenty-twenty.”

  “What are you going to do?” Starla asked.

  Marlissa attempted to answer, but her emotions got the best of her again. Both Leon and Starla put their arms around her. “My life is a mess!”

  Leon shushed her. “We don’t have to figure it out tonight, we have tomorrow and the day after and the day after that.”

  Sunday morning, Marlissa awakened to the smell of bacon and eggs. Normally she found the scent tantalizing, but today it was nauseating. She held on as long as she could before the smell caused her to sprint to the bathroom.

  “Mommy, Auntie Marlissa is sick!” Montel yelled over the retching.

  Starla raced from the kitchen and found Marlissa on her knees with her face in the toilet bowl.

  “Is she going to die?” Jaylen asked, hearing her gasp for air.

  “No, Jaylen, she’s not going to die. She’s just not feeling well today.” Starla sent the boys to the kitchen for breakfast, then attended to Marlissa. Leon had already left the house.

  “Thank you,” Marlissa managed after she placed the cold towel from Starla over her face. “Sorry, I messed up your rug.”

  “That’s what the washing machine is for.”

  Starla’s words were meant to be calming, but that one sentence set Marlissa up for another wild ride on her emotional rollercoaster. After being with Kevin, the household appliance held a dual meaning for her. “My life is a mess,” she bawled.

  “It won’t always hurt this much. Trust me, I know.” Starla rubbed the back of Marlissa’s head.

  “You don’t understand,” Marlissa insisted. “My life really is a mess. I need a second job. I have to find another apartment. I don’t have a husband. And I’m pregnant!”

  Starla ceased rubbing. “You’re what?”

  “I’m a step away from being single and homeless. I’m going to have my baby all alone!” Marlissa wailed. “We’re going to have to live in a shelter or in my car!”

  Starla stood up. “Marlissa, you’re putting way too much on it. No matter what happens with your marriage, Kevin is not going to allow the mother of his child to go homeless. He’s not going allow his child to live in a shelter while he sleeps in a mini mansion.”

  “He doesn’t have a choice,” Marlissa said, slowly standing, using the toilet for support.

  “What do you mean, he doesn’t have a choice?” Starla questioned. “Does Kevin know you’re pregnant?”

  Instead of answering, Marlissa leaned over the sink and rinsed her mouth.

  “You are going tell him, aren’t you?” Marlissa still didn’t answer. “Girl, stop playin’!”

  Marlissa gargled, then finally answered. “No, Kevin doesn’t know I’m pregnant. I just found out two days ago.”

  “When are you going to tell him?”

  Marlissa wanted to tell her friend she wasn’t going to tell Kevin about the baby, but Starla wouldn’t understand, not with her daddy issues. Marlissa wasn’t sure that’s what she really wanted anyway. She understood firsthand the effects of not having a father. In her heart she didn’t want her child to experience that, but Kevin had hurt her. “I don’t know. Right now, I can’t stand the sight of him.”

  Starla placed her hand on Marlissa’s shoulder. “Don’t wait too long. That’s not something you should keep from a man, especially one who wants to be a father.”

  “You’re right. Tyson said he would contact me tomorrow, I’ll decide after that.” Starla left Marlissa to check on the boys. Marlissa was relieved when Starla didn’t press her. The last thing she needed in her life right now was for her only female friend to take sides with her estranged husband.

  Marlissa surprised Starla when she glided into the kitchen and announced she was going to church.

  “Are you sure? Kevin might be there, he is a member now.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Marlissa had forgotten that minor detail. “So what, I’m not going to allow that jerk to steal my praise.” She prayed that her voice sounded stronger than she felt.

  Chapter 28

  The doorbell chimed four times before Kevin comprehended that the sound was live and not a figment of his imagination. The realization wasn’t enough for Kevin to move from his location on the couch in the den. There was only one person he wanted to see and that person had a key. Whoever was on the other side of the oak door was irrelevant and insignificant to him.

  “Kevin, I know you’re in there. Open the door,” a voice stated from the other side of the door.

  “You can’t hide forever,” a second voice added.

  It was Tyson and Leon.

  Kevin moaned in resignation, then reluctantly rolled off the couch and moped to the front door. He didn’t acknowledge his visitors; just slightly opened the door, dragged himself back to the couch, and reclaimed his position, staring at the ceiling with his hands folded behind his head.

  Leon stood over him, demanding answers. “I asked you plain and simple what your plans for Marlissa were. Why did you lie to me?”

  “Leon, he didn’t lie to you,” Tyson answered for Kevin. “He just didn’t tell Marlissa the truth like I advised him to.”

  “Why is she on my couch crying about her life being over?” Leon wanted to know.

  Kevin blinked. At least now he knew where Marlissa was. After calling her cell phone all night without an answer, he’d feared the worst.

  Leon had the perfect solution. “You need to get over there and fix this, now!”

  “Change your clothes first,” Tyson said. Kevin was still dressed in his dress shirt and slacks from the night before. “Have you been out here all night?”

  Kevin remained unresponsive. If not for intermittent blinking and sporadic chest inflations, Kevin seemed lifeless.

  Leon retired the tough guy attitude and lowered his tone. “Look, man, tell me the truth, do you love Marlissa or not?”

  “Can’t you tell?” Tyson had all the answers. “She hasn’t been gone twenty-four hours and look at him. He can’t brush his teeth, his eyes look like he poured in red dye.” Tyson gestured toward Kevin’s face. “I’ve seen dead people with more color than this.”

  Leon didn’t understand. “If you love her so much, then why isn’t she he
re?”

  “Because he’s a certified dummy, that’s why,” Tyson answered again. “You should have seen the good doctor in action last night.”

  “You’re right, Tyson,” Leon said after getting the disaster highlights. “That was dumb. But as dumb as he is, Marlissa still loves him.”

  “Not anymore. She hates me.” Leon and Tyson looked at Kevin as if he had rudely interrupted a private conversation.

  “I ain’t too crazy about you right now either, but my girl really does love you,” Leon tried to assure him, but it didn’t work.

  Kevin finally sat up. “You didn’t hear the words. You didn’t see the hurt.” He leaned his head against the wall and exhaled. “I don’t know what came over me last night. That sister thing was real stupid. I should have corrected him. I didn’t even acknowledge her in my acceptance speech.”

  Tyson and Leon kept quiet now that Kevin was on a roll.

  “And the things she said, she accused me of using her and said I lacked integrity.” Kevin purposely paused, hoping the guys would jump in and defend his character, but they remained quiet. “She has this crazy idea that I don’t love her anymore.”

  “Why does she think that?” Leon asked with a tone of sarcasm.

  “Ah, man!” Tyson said in response to Kevin’s silence. “Kev, please tell me that you have said the words to her at least once since she’s been back. At least once since y’all been cohabitating.” When Kevin dropped his head, Tyson threw his hands down. “Man, you must have graduated valedictorian from the Dummy Institute of Thoughtlessness with a PhD in Stupidity!”

  Leon slapped his hands against his knees and sat down. “See, that’s why I didn’t want to attend traditional college, too much book knowledge saps your common sense.”

  Both Tyson and Kevin stared at Leon, but neither corrected his warped analogy.

  Kevin had grown tired of the insults. He knew he’d messed up big time, but they made him sound like a moron. “She knows I love her. How can Marlissa not know how much I love her? Since she’s been back I can’t sleep in this house without her. Okay, maybe I haven’t told her that, but she should know how much I’ve come to depend on her presence.” Kevin tried to turn the tables to sound like the victim. “I take very good care of her. I make sure she has more than enough money, reliable transportation; she never has to worry about food or clothing or anything. I even gave her my time. I came home to her every night. Doesn’t that prove how much I love her?”

  “No, you would do the same things for a mistress,” Tyson started.

  “Or whore, but that wouldn’t mean you love her. Just that you like what she’s giving you and want her to look good while giving it,” Leon finished.

  With the wind gone from his sails again, Kevin fell backward as the possibility that he had in fact taken advantage of Marlissa became a reality.

  “What you gave her were things. She wanted you. She needed to know that you loved her enough to forgive her,” Leon explained. “One of the major concerns on the road to recovery for an alcoholic is whether or not our families and the ones we love will be able to forgive us and afford us another chance. Marlissa had given up on your marriage, thinking the damage was beyond repair. She didn’t have any hope until you pursued her. People in recovery work extra hard trying to be the perfect this or that, to earn the love and trust again. If you weren’t willing to give her that, you should have left her alone, especially after she shared her past with you.”

  Tyson didn’t know what Leon was referring to, but his grave tone expressed the seriousness.

  The tension in the room had escalated; the playfulness had evaporated.

  Leon continued. “Look, Kevin, everybody makes mistakes, but Marlissa doesn’t deserve to be taken advantage of. She loves you, but if you can’t fully love her back then leave her alone.”

  The moment she took her usual seat, Marlissa second-guessed her decision to attend service. It was then that she realized how long it had been since she’d been to church without Kevin by her side. Praise and worship was barely underway when the tears and the emptiness returned with a vengeance. Marlissa didn’t mind this emotional breakdown as much. That was one of the benefits of corporate worship. A person could cry all through service. People would assume they were feeling the Spirit and leave them alone. There were a few saints that would read right through the façade, though. Mother Scott was one.

  In no time, Mother Scott had joined Marlissa in the row, and while holding her whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry, baby, Mother will take care of it. When I get through with the good doctor, the only thing he gon’ be good for is the altar.”

  The declaration made Marlissa chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, Mother, I’ll be all right.”

  “Me and Drake are gonna make sure. We gon’ pray the devil out of him.” Mother patted her shoulder, then went back to her seat, but not before giving First Lady Drake the warfare signal: forearms across her chest with fists balled.

  “Thank you, Jesus. You always know what I need,” Marlissa whispered as Pastor Drake preached a sermon about not allowing your circumstances to ruin your destiny. Marlissa listened intently as Pastor Drake broke down Philippians 1:6 to terms she could understand. His words encouraged and motivated her to move forward with her life and the life of her unborn child.

  By the benediction Marlissa felt renewed. Her heart was still heavy, but she had the strength to face her future without Kevin and without alcohol. Being a single parent wasn’t something she’d signed up for, but it wasn’t the end of the world. Starla was right; Kevin would do right by his child. Their baby would probably enjoy a better life than she had. Despite her broken heart, Marlissa didn’t regret carrying his seed. For her, their baby had been conceived out of love, and, to be honest, she enjoyed making a baby with Kevin.

  “You’re looking better,” Starla commented after the customary dismissal hug.

  “I am feeling better,” Marlissa replied.

  “Are you ready to talk to Kevin?”

  “No, but I am ready to get off your couch.” Starla looked disappointed. “Don’t worry Starla, I will tell him soon.”

  “Promise?”

  “In the house of the Lord on a stack of Bibles with blessed oil dripping down my face. Thank you, Starla,” Marlissa said, once they stopped laughing.

  “For what?”

  “For allowing Leon to be my friend. A lot of women would have a hard time with their husband having female friends. Not to mention having one as a roommate. How many women do you know who would allow a female to beckon her man in the wee hours of the morning?”

  “Not too many,” Starla admitted. “But you are special to Leon, to both of us, actually.”

  “How so?”

  “Leon told me about all the times you kept him from falling off the deep end and how you encouraged him to keep pursuing me and the boys after every rejection. At first I did have a problem with the living arrangements, but then I realized that although he shared a living space with you, his heart always belonged to me. I was just too scared to trust him again. Plus, the first day I met you, I knew you and Kevin were still in love. It was written all over your faces.”

  Marlissa held up the “timeout” sign. “You were doing good until you mentioned that name.”

  “Okay, I’ll leave it alone,” Starla conceded. “But, seriously, thank you for helping my baby get himself together.”

  “And thank you for befriending me. You know, it’s your fault I’m pregnant anyway.” Marlissa rolled her eyes at Starla. “It was your crazy advice that almost made me lose my mind. You really should write a book.”

  Starla chuckled. “You mean Mother Scott should write a book.”

  Marlissa giggled all the way back to her Lexus. “Laughter truly is good for the soul,” she said as she exited the parking lot.

  Chapter 29

  Lewis stared at the paper in his hand with disbelief. Leon was quitting his job today and thus ending Lewis’s connection to Starla. W
hat was more shocking than Leon no longer needing his job was the reason for his departure.

  “Leon, how did you come up with enough money to restart your own construction company so soon?” Lewis knew for certain he couldn’t have done that on what he paid him. “What about your contractor’s license?’

  “That’s already been taken care of.” Leon smiled proudly, then handed Lewis a Star Construction business card complete with his logo and contractor’s license number.

  Lewis was almost speechless. What was he supposed to do now that Leon was on the right track? Lewis gave Starla her space and time, but only because he was waiting for Leon to mess up again. When he did, Lewis planned to be right there waiting to comfort Starla. Lewis pasted on a fake smile and extended his hand. “Congratulations and welcome to the world of entrepreneurship.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Mason,” Leon said while shaking Lewis’s hand vigorously.

  Too much joy flowed from Leon. Lewis had to say something to burst his bubble. “Leon, you know, starting a small business requires a lot of hard work and money. You have a wife and two kids to support. Are you sure you don’t want to keep your job here until you build up a steady flow of customers?” Leon stopped smiling; Lewis had struck a chord. “I’m sure you don’t want to drop the financial burden of sustaining the household on your wife.”

  “Mr. Mason, you’re forgetting, this is not my first time running a business. I know all about hard work and how much money it takes. I was successful before and I will be even more successful this time because I now have God in my life.”

  “Of course, eventually you’re going to succeed,” Lewis said, nodding. “But in the meantime, your wife and children need to eat. I understand completely how a man should go after his dreams, but it’s not fair to do that at the expense of your wife and children.”

  Leon glared at him, and Lewis wondered if he’d made a mistake referencing Starla and the boys.

  “Mr. Mason, I know what’s best for my family; that’s exactly why I’m leaving this place.”