Dawn shook Francine’s hand off her arm. “Don’t butt into something that’s not your business, Francie. Things are not always what they seem.”
“What I know is what I saw. Are you saying you weren’t kissing that man?”
Dawn sighed, folded her arms across her chest. “I’m saying it’s not your business. I’m saying what’s between me and Sly is between me and Sly. Now I’m going to bed.” She turned her back to Francine and marched toward the stairs.
Dawn’s callous attitude about something that Francine considered deadly serious caused her temper to snap. “How can you do this to Sly, Dawn? You’re as selfish as you’ve always been. I don’t know why I’m surprised. You’ve never been satisfied with what you had. You always wanted what somebody else had.”
Dawn turned on her. “What does that mean?”
“It means you wanted Sly when I had him, and now that you have him, you want somebody else. Same old Dawn.”
Dawn staggered under Francine’s condemnation and sat back down on the couch. “You knew about my feelings for Sly?”
Francine rolled her eyes. “Please, Dawn. I’ve known you all your life. You only wanted Sylvester because I had him, the same way you only wanted whatever toy I had because I had it. If nothing else, you’re consistent.” She stared down at her sister, condemning her with her eyes. “I thought things were different with Sly. I thought you two had found something special. I thought you loved him. I know he loves you. How can you hurt him this way, Dawn?”
Dawn didn’t answer. She just stared at Francine as if she could sear a hole through her with her stare. Francine felt uneasy under Dawn’s hot perusal. “What?” she asked, when she couldn’t take any more. “Don’t you have anything to say?”
Dawn shook her head. “What can I say? You’ve got it all figured out. You’ve judged me and convicted me. I’m not the only one who hasn’t changed, Francie. You’re as judgmental now as you were before you left town. Was all that stuff you said in church that Sunday just words?”
“Oh no you don’t,” Francine said. “I’m not going to let you turn this on me. You’re the one committing adultery.”
Dawn threw her head back and laughed. When she stopped laughing, she said, “No, Francine, I’m not. Sly had the affair.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I can see that,” Dawn said, her watchful eyes holding Francine in place. “But I wonder why you don’t believe me. Is this the way you were with Toni? Were you so sure she was lying that you didn’t even bother to listen to her?”
Dawn’s words made Francine’s knees grow weak and she had to hold on to the back of a nearby chair to keep from falling.
“The truth hurts, doesn’t it?” Dawn taunted.
When Francine said nothing but continued to stare at Dawn with dead eyes, Dawn rushed to her side. “I’m sorry, Francie,” she said, pulling her sister’s tense body into her arms. “I shouldn’t have said that. I was trying to hurt you.”
When Dawn ended the embrace, Francine walked around and sat in the chair. “If you were trying to hurt me, you found the most effective way to do it.”
“I’m sorry,” Dawn said again. “But you really don’t know how things are between me and Sylvester. I’ve asked you before to leave it alone and now I’m asking you again.”
Dawn’s harsh words still echoed in Francine’s head. Why had she been so quick to believe the worst of Dawn? Was she being judgmental or was she merely reacting rationally to what she’d seen? “I love you, Dawn,” she said. “I only want to help.”
Dawn gave a wry smile. “I know you do, but you can’t fix this for us. We have to fix it ourselves.”
“Sly was wrong to sleep with another woman, very wrong, and I want to wring his neck for doing it, but I don’t see how your kissing another man is going to fix the problem in your marriage.”
“Neither do I,” Dawn admitted. “I know what I did wasn’t right, and it won’t happen again. You have to believe that I haven’t cheated on Sly.”
“But he cheated on you?”
Dawn sighed. “You’re not going to give up on this, are you?”
“I don’t see how I can. You do love Sly, don’t you?”
Dawn nodded.
“Then who is this other guy and why were you kissing him?”
Dawn expelled a long breath. “Since you’re so determined to know the details, I’ll tell you. The man you saw me kissing was Walter Andrews, Mother Harris’s nephew, the husband of the woman Sly had the affair with. Walter and I are not having an affair.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Trying to make it through the pain together. He’s the only one who understands how I feel, and I understand him.”
“So you kissed each other so you’d feel better?”
Dawn cut a wary glance at her sister. “I can do without the sarcasm, Francine. I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
The accusation in Dawn’s voice cut Francine deeply, but she refused to allow it to make her lose focus. “I bet Sly won’t understand either.”
“You’re not going to tell him.” It was a command, not a question.
Francine shook her head. “No, I’m not going to tell him, but someone else might. You were out in the open, Dawn. Anybody could have seen you. What will this do to Sly if he finds out? What will it do to your marriage?”
“Sly’s not going to find out,” Dawn insisted. “I know it was wrong and it won’t happen again. Walter knows it too. Trust me. It won’t happen again.”
Chapter 21
Sly rubbed his hand down the back of his neck as he made his way down the upstairs hallway to the bedroom that was his alone. He glanced across the hallway at the closed door of Dawn’s bedroom and felt a sense of relief that he wouldn’t have to talk to her tonight. He suspected she would not be enthusiastic about a command counseling session with Rev. Thomas.
He stopped suddenly when he entered his bedroom, then blinked twice. No, he wasn’t seeing things. Dawn lay asleep in the middle of his bed, her gown twisted about her thighs. He looked at her and wanted her, but he was afraid to hope that her presence in his bed meant she wanted him as well. He thought about leaving her there and sleeping across the hall, but before he could decide, her lashes fluttered open and she saw him.
“Sly. It’s you.” She quickly sat up, pulling her gown down in the process. No, she hadn’t come because she wanted him.
“Who else would it be?” he asked, disappointment making his voice gruff. “It is my room.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m here because I wanted to talk to you.”
He turned to the dresser and pulled off his watch and ring. “It couldn’t wait until morning?”
“No,” she said. “I don’t think it could. I saw Walter tonight.”
He turned to face her, trying to read in her expression whether he still had a marriage. Seeing nothing there, he offered, “You’re seeing an awful lot of him, but I’ve told you that already.”
“Yeah,” she said, “you have.”
“Yet you continue to see him. Why, Dawn? Are you trying to push me away?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not.” When he smirked, she said, “I’m really not. I won’t be seeing him again.”
He eyed her suspiciously. “What brought this on?”
“Does it matter? Isn’t it enough to know that I won’t be seeing him again?”
“No, it’s not enough. Why aren’t you going to see him again?”
She met his gaze, her eyes clear. “Because I want our marriage to work. Because I love you.”
Sylvester wanted to believe her. “Did you sleep with him, Dawn?” he asked, voicing the question he wasn’t sure he wanted answered.
“No, I didn’t.”
He studied her, needing to believe her but needing more to know that she was telling him the truth.
“I didn’t sleep with him, Sly. Do you believe me?”
He nodded because he did. He hoped he
wasn’t being a fool to trust her.
“Well, that’s something,” she said. “How do we do it, Sly? How do we put it back together?”
He sat down on the bed next to her. Though he wanted to pull her into his arms, he held himself back. “I don’t know,” he said, “but I think both of us wanting to put it back together is a good start.”
“Maybe we should do that counseling you mentioned,” she said. “It’s still hard for me to deal with the feelings I have about what happened, and I seem to get angry every time we talk about it. That can’t help.”
Sly took a risk and covered her hand with his. “I spoke to Pastor today. He wants us to come for counseling with him.”
Her eyes widened. “You told him about us?” There was no accusation in her voice, only surprise, and Sly took that as a good sign.
He shook his head. “Somebody told him what almost happened between me and Walter at Mother Harris’s picnic, and he put two and two together. So, what do you say?”
Dawn bit down on her lower lip. “I hate that people will know. It makes me feel so humiliated.”
Sylvester’s heart wrenched in his chest, knowing he was the cause of her pain. “It’s my humiliation, Dawn. I’m the one who sinned.”
“But it’s still humiliating for me.” She lowered her eyes. “Why did you go to her, Sly? Was something missing in our relationship? I thought you were satisfied with all parts of our life together. What did you have with her that you didn’t have with me?”
Sly felt as though sharp knives pierced his chest. “It wasn’t about you, Dawn. I know that’s hard for you to believe, but it really wasn’t about you. It was all about me. I saw something that was available for the taking and I took it, disregarding the cost. It wasn’t worth it. You have to believe that. Not one minute of it was worth it. If I could undo it, I would.”
“Is that because you got caught? Would it still be going on if Walter and I hadn’t found out?”
Sly squeezed her fingers. “I don’t know, Dawn,” he answered honestly. “I’d like to think I would have come to my senses, but I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
She lifted her tear-filled eyes to his. “That hurts, you know. It hurts a lot.”
He wiped her tears with his fingertips. “I know it does and I’m sorry, but I’m trying to be honest.”
“If given the opportunity, would you do it again?”
Sly shook his head. “Never. I don’t ever want to see these tears in your eyes again and know that I caused them.”
“I want to believe you,” she said. “I need to believe you.”
“It’s going to take some time and I’m willing to give you all the time you need. I just need to know that you’re willing to work at forgiving me. Do you think you’ll ever be able to forgive me?”
“I think so,” she said, “but I don’t know if I’ll ever forget.”
He accepted the truth of her words. “That’s all right. Maybe neither one of us needs to forget.”
“But it hurts so much to remember. I can’t live with this kind of pain forever.”
“Let’s pray that what we remember will be how we made it through, how we had a chance to see how valuable, how precious, what we have together is.”
“That God will work this awful situation for our good?” When he nodded, she said, “I’ll try, Sly, and I’ll meet with Rev. Thomas for counseling.”
“Thank you,” he said, “for giving me another chance. You won’t regret it.”
“I hope not. I can’t go through this again.”
“You won’t have to,” he promised. Holding her hand again, he said, “It’s been a while since we’ve prayed together. How about we seal our new beginning with a prayer?” When she bowed her head, he did the same. “Father God,” he said. “Thank You for giving me this wonderful woman to wife. Thank You for the light she’s been in my life and in my heart. I thank You, Father, that You’ve opened her heart to me again after I hurt her so badly. I know the damage I’ve done to our relationship with each other and our relationship with You. I ask Your forgiveness and Your mercy. I pray especially for my dear sweet Dawn, that You would heal the hurt I’ve caused in her heart, that You might allow love to grow afresh out of the deep wells of pain, that You might fill her heart and mind with hope for the future You have in place for us as a couple. Thank You for bringing us together and for keeping us together. In Jesus’s name.”
“Father,” Dawn said softly, tears in her voice. “I know the right thing to do, but I don’t know how to do it. Please show me and help me. Give me confidence in Sly again. Let me see him as the man of God You’ve called him to be, a man I can trust with my life and my future. Forgive me for my unwillingness to forgive before. Show me what true forgiveness is. Be true to Your word and work all this for our good. In Jesus’s name.”
Sly squeezed her fingers again as they said together, “Amen.” Still holding her hand, Sly said, “I want to hug you, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Is it okay?”
Dawn nodded and he pulled her into his arms and held her. Her hot tears burned his shoulder as he held her tightly against his chest. In his heart, he promised to never hurt her this way again. When she pulled away a few minutes later, he said, “I’ve been thinking.” She looked up at him. “Why don’t we take a trip, a short vacation, just the two of us?”
“I don’t know, Sly. I’m not ready—”
He pressed a finger against her lips. “I’m not asking for more than you’re ready to give. I just want some time alone with you. We’re about finished with the proposal for the collective. A couple of weeks tops and we’ll have a decent draft. Why don’t we take a short trip to Florida? We can try out the proposal on Mr. E-Z at Vines Funeral Home, stop in to see my grandparents, and spend a day or two at the beach.”
“No pressure?”
“None at all,” Sly said. “I won’t deny that I want to be with you again, but I can wait until you’re ready to be with me.”
She studied his face as if assuring herself that she could trust him. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll go.”
~ ~ ~
Sister Betty brought the house down with her Friday night performance at the Comedy Club. As she left the stage with her trademark Sister Betty Bounce done to “Reach Up,” her theme song, the crowed roared with laughter. Clapping enthusiastically at Sister Betty’s outlandish antics, Francine cast a happy smile at Stuart. “She’s wonderful,” she told him. “I’m so glad you invited me to come with you.”
“I’m glad you came,” he said as the applause died down. “It’s a good thing we did the early show. I have a feeling the late show is going to be even more packed.”
George Roberts got Francine’s attention when he took to the stage after Sister Betty. Dressed in a black tuxedo that seemed to be especially made to fit his muscular body but that made him distinctly out of place in the middle of the more casually dressed audience, George removed the microphone from its stand. Just as he was about to speak, a male voice in the crowd yelled out, “What’s up with the tux, man? You and LaDonna get married tonight?”
George gave a broad smile as the crowd broke up with laughter. “I wish,” he said good-naturedly, with a wave of his hand to the heckler. “But since you brought it up, I am feeling a bit lonely up here.” He extended his left hand to LaDonna, who was seated at a table to his far left. “Come on up here, baby.”
As LaDonna made her way through the crowd to join him, George thanked everyone for attending the event and for supporting the ministry at Genesis House. When LaDonna reached his side, dressed in a floor-length, strapless black gown with a white pearl necklace and matching earrings, George pulled her close and said in a teasing voice, “Look, but don’t touch.”
The crowd, including Francine and Stuart, broke up with laughter. When the laughter died down, George said, “We’re overdressed because we had a reception at the Governor’s Mansion tonight. But governor or not, we couldn’t miss this event, because we l
ove and support the ministry of Sister Betty and because we love and support the ministry of Genesis House. It’s a real blessing for the two ministries to come together tonight for one purpose: to lift the name of Jesus, not just in word, but in deed. Both Genesis House and Sister Betty have touched hearts and changed lives. It is our prayer that your hearts have been touched tonight. Because we know Sister Betty, we know they have been.” With one arm still around LaDonna, he waved his other arm toward Sister Betty. “Come on up here, Sister Betty. You’ve ministered to us. Now it’s our time to minister to you.”
As Sister Betty came up from the right side of the room, a young man came up from the left and handed what looked to be a large gold key to LaDonna. When Sister Betty reached his side, George dropped his arm from LaDonna and pulled Sister Betty into an embrace. “We love you, Sister Betty, and we thank God for your ministry.” He turned to LaDonna and she handed him the key. “On behalf of Genesis House and the city of Atlanta, I present you this key to the city. Since you already have the key to our hearts, this was the best we could do.”
Francine watched with tears in her eyes. This warm, funny, loving man was the George Roberts she knew, the George Roberts she hadn’t seen since Toni’s death. It did her heart good to see him here tonight. She prayed she’d see him again.
“You all right?” Stuart whispered as George, LaDonna, and Sister Betty made their way back to their tables.
“I’m fine,” Francine said. She looked around the already crowded dining room while giving her emotions some time to settle. “Sister Betty really brings a crowd, doesn’t she? Though I like the dinner-theater atmosphere here, I have a feeling that her next visit is going to be someplace like the Fox Theatre.”
“You’re probably right, but I like this venue better too,” he said. “Hungry?” At her nod, he said, “Good, our meal should be here pretty soon. They’re really good here about timing meals to coincide with the end of the show. That’s another thing I like about this place. A brother gets to laugh and then he gets to eat.”
She chuckled. “So does a sister.”
As if he’d heard their conversation, the waiter brought their dinner salads and a basket of rolls to the table. He was soon followed by another who topped off their drinks. Francine tasted her Caesar salad and was about to tell Stuart how good it was when a voice interrupted their meal. “I didn’t know you were friends with Francine, Stuart,” George Roberts said, staring down at her. Not the cheerful and loving George Roberts of a few minutes ago, but the hateful George Roberts who’d surfaced after Toni’s death.
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