Stuart had no doubt that Francine’s solution would be to end the relationship. “I won’t tell her because it’s not her decision to make, and anyway, if she knew, she’d be hurt.”
“You’re not listening to me, Stuart. With politics at this level, all decisions are interrelated. If this young lady is going to be in your life and you maintain an interest in the seat, then she has to know what she’s letting herself in for. You don’t have a choice in letting her know what to expect.” On those words, Judge Mac stood. “Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice.” He extended his hand. “I’m sorry the news wasn’t more positive. Why don’t you try talking to George? This thing might die down if he doesn’t fan the flames.”
Stuart shook the older man’s hand. “I’d already planned to talk to George,” he said. He opened the office door for Judge Mac.
“Good,” the older man said. “You let me know what happens with him.” He eyed Stuart. “And with your lady friend.”
Stuart nodded. When he closed the door, he knew he had some praying to do. Then he’d call George.
Chapter 23
We did it,” Dawn said, lifting her naked arms in the cool Fort Lauderdale night air. She was glad she and Sylvester had decided to spend the night at a hotel on the beach after their Friday afternoon meeting with Mr. Ezekiel “E-Z” Vines at Vines Funeral Home. Tomorrow or the day after, they’d drive to Tampa to visit his grandparents. Being out here tonight, with the ocean and the sky spread before her and colliding with each other, she felt free, powerful. This was the best high she’d had in a long, long time. “We really did it. We sold Mr. E-Z on the collective.”
Responding to his wife’s playful mood, Sylvester snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. “We make a good team, Mrs. Amen-Ray.”
Dawn looked at him, their closeness, the brightness of his eyes. She knew he wanted to kiss her and she wanted his kiss. “I have to agree with you, Mr. Ray.” Because she wanted to, she leaned up on her toes and pressed a soft kiss against his lips, the first such kiss she’d initiated since she found out about his affair.
His arms tightened around her. “Dawn, my sweet, sweet Dawn,” he murmured against her lips, before deepening the kiss.
She gave herself over to her husband and his kiss, and in so doing she felt hope, real hope, for their future together. When he lifted his head, she remained in his arms. “I love you,” he said.
She ran her fingers across his lips. “I know.”
He lowered his head again and kissed her deeply. She read the question in his touch and she saw it in his eyes when he lifted his head. She cupped his jaw in her palm. “I love you too, Sly,” she said, “but I’m not ready to make love with you. Not yet.”
His arms tightened around her again. “Why not?” he asked. “You can’t deny that you want to be with me. I can feel it in your kiss.” He brushed her hair back from her forehead. “I know your body as well as I know my own, and I know you want me. Don’t hold back, sweetheart. Take a leap of faith.”
Lowering her eyes, she stepped out of his embrace and turned to face the ocean. “No pressure, you said,” she reminded him.
He rested his hands on her shoulders. “I meant it.”
“I’m not playing games with you, Sly.”
“I know you aren’t.”
Dawn thought about Pastor Thomas’s advice that she share her feelings with Sly so he’d not have to guess. Though she had dreaded counseling, she had to admit that their first session had been helpful. If nothing else, it helped her to get rid of some of the shame she felt at what had happened between Sly and Freddie. “I’m afraid to make love with you again,” she whispered.
He turned her to face him. “Why are you afraid? I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Not physically.” She didn’t doubt physical pain would be easier to endure.
“Not in any way.” When she didn’t respond, he said, “You’re thinking about Freddie.”
Her last conversation with Walter filled her mind. Four in a bed. Knowing that she had to be honest with Sly if their marriage were to ever be restored, Dawn pushed past her need to protect herself and let him see her vulnerability. “How can I not? She was the last woman you were with. I can’t help but wonder if you’re going to compare us and where I’ll come out in the comparison. What if you find that you enjoy being with her more than you enjoy being with me?”
He sighed deeply. “That won’t happen.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because what I want from you is more than a sharing of bodies.” He pressed his palm against her cheek. “I want a mingling of spirits, a sharing of hope, love, and respect. I can only get that from you. You’re my wife, the good thing in my life that’s talked about in Proverbs.”
Dawn knew the next logical comment was that he had gotten something out of his relationship with Freddie or he wouldn’t have kept it going, but what good would it do? What could he say that could make her understand and believe him? Nothing. Sly was right. Her decision to make love with him again would have to be an act of pure faith. Was she ready to make it? “I want those things too, Sly, but not tonight.”
He pressed a kiss against her forehead. “I can wait.” He took her hand and led her to a log near the edge of the water. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“This sounds serious,” she said, a bit anxiously.
He squeezed her hand. “It is. I’ve decided to step down from my position as church trustee.”
“Why?”
He lifted a brow. “Because of the affair. It’s the right thing to do. I realize that what I did wasn’t just a slipup or a mistake. It was a sin against you, the church, God, even against Freddie and Walter. I need to do something to show that I understand the gravity of what I did.”
“Did Pastor tell you he wanted you to resign?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t discussed this with him. This is about me and you.”
“Me?”
He smiled. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that every decision I make is about you and me. That’s what marriage is about.”
She liked hearing him speak of their marriage in such terms. “So what will you tell people?” She had visions of him making a statement in church the way Francine had. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that.
“I won’t tell them anything,” he assured her. “I’m not doing this to embarrass you, Dawn. You’re the innocent in all of this.”
“Not so innocent,” she murmured.
“What did you say?”
She debated telling him about kissing Walter. “I’ve taunted you a lot with other men, Sly,” she said. “But I never really wanted anyone else. I only wanted to hurt you the way you’d hurt me.”
“I understand,” he said. “And it worked. You did hurt me.”
“I’m sorry.”
He pressed another kiss against her forehead. “I forgive you. That’s the past. Let’s look to the future.”
“Walter kissed me,” she said after a few moments of silence. “And I kissed him back.”
He pulled away to look down at her. She saw the hurt on his face, saw him wipe it away quickly. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does,” she said. “It matters because that kiss made me realize what I was doing, what Walter and I were doing. Walter never wanted me, Sly, and I never wanted him. We both wanted to hurt you and Freddie. Everything between us was about you and Freddie. We were two hurt people trying unsuccessfully to ease our pain.”
He pulled her to him. “I’m so glad I didn’t lose you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I was so scared.”
“I was scared too.”
He tightened his hold on her. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but I feel badly for Freddie and Walter. I know I betrayed Walter, but I feel I betrayed Freddie too.”
Freddie’s name on Sly’s lips combined with the concern for her in his voice grated on Dawn. “I
’m not ready to hear you talk about Freddie, Sly. Maybe one day, but not now.”
“All right,” he said, easily dropping the subject. “I’ve been thinking that since I’m not going to be on the trustee board, we could start participating in the couples’ ministry again. We used to do that when we first got married, and then we stopped. I’d like for us to start doing more church things like that together. What do you think?”
“I think it’s a good idea,” she said. “We had some good times there.” She smiled up at him. “You could always join the gospel choir.”
Sly nipped her bare shoulder with his teeth. “You know I can’t see a tune, much less hold one.”
She grinned and snuggled deeper in his embrace.
“Cold?” he asked. “You want to go inside?”
“No,” she said. “Let’s just sit here and be thankful for the second chance we’ve been given.”
He pressed a soft kiss against her lips. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
~ ~ ~
Having decided against Stuart’s suggestion that she attend Nate and CeCe’s party alone, Francine spent a quiet Saturday night at home. Dawn and Sly were still away on their working vacation in Florida, which she hoped boded good things for their marriage. She surfed the Internet for a couple of hours, looking for jobs in Alabama, Florida, and North and South Carolina—she didn’t want to stray too far from home. Weary with that task, she went in search of Aisha Ford’s book, Flippin’ the Script. A good story would take her away from her own problems, if only for a short while. The phone rang as she headed out of the family room to get the book from her bedroom. “Hello,” she said.
“Francine, it’s me, Stuart.”
She leaned against the wall, her mind scrambling for a reason he would accept for her not attending the party. “Hi, Stuart.”
“Look,” he said. “I’m on my way out the door. Dolores just called. Monika has sneaked off to Savannah with some older guy that Dolores doesn’t know.”
Francine slid down into the chair next to the phone table. “What?”
“I know how you’re feeling. It surprised me too. The good news is that I was able to make a few phone calls and the state patrol spotted the guy’s car. They’re bringing her back home now. She should be here in about three hours.”
“Thank God for that.”
“I have,” he said. “Anyway, I’m calling because I think Dolores could use a friend right now. I’m on my way over there, but I know she’d appreciate your presence as well. I called Mother Harris but she’s not home.”
“I’m on my way over now, Stuart,” she said. “Thanks for calling me.
“No problem. Dolores needs her friends around her. She’s pretty broken up over this, blaming herself.”
“I can imagine,” Francine said. “Let me hang up so I can get over there.”
“Right,” he said. “I’ll see you there.”
Twenty minutes later Francine was knocking on Dolores’s door. “Stuart called me,” she said when Dolores opened the door.
Dolores pulled her through the marble foyer. “I’m glad he did,” she said. “I can’t believe Monika did this. It’s not like her.”
“What exactly happened?”
Dolores dropped down onto the sofa in the living room. “She told me she was spending the weekend with a girlfriend. Of course, I talked to the girl’s mother to confirm everything was okay. But then, apparently, Monika called the mother at the last minute and said she couldn’t come after all. I ran into the mother at the market after work and found out about the last-minute cancellation. She talked to her daughter and we finally got the truth out of the girl. Monika planned to spend the weekend in Savannah with some boy. Apparently, they were going to some weekend music festival. She’s never lied to me before, Francine. Not like this.”
Francine rubbed her friend’s shoulders. “Stuart told me the authorities tracked her down.”
“Thank God for Stuart,” Dolores said. “He called one of his police friends and they set everything in motion. They found them in about thirty minutes. I’m going to kill that girl when she gets home.”
The doorbell rang. “I’ll get that,” Francine said. “It’s probably Stuart.” She opened the door to him.
“How is she?” he asked.
“She’s holding up pretty well.” Noticing the tiredness in his eyes, she asked, “How are you?”
“Shaky, but good. When I think about the danger Monika put herself in, it scares me. I could kill her.”
Francine chuckled. “Dolores just said the same thing. Come on in. She’ll be glad to see you.”
Stuart followed her into the living room. “Who’s going to kill her first, Dolores, you or me?”
Dolores smiled. “Kids,” she said with a shake of her head. “I think I get first turn at her, since I gave birth to her.”
“Just be sure to leave some for me.”
“I will,” Dolores said. Then she dropped her head and began to cry. Francine glanced at Stuart. “This is all my fault,” Dolores said. “She’s been defiant over this thing about her father. I know she’s acting out because of it.”
Francine rubbed the distraught woman’s shoulders.
“You can’t beat yourself up about this, Dolores,” Stuart told her. “Monika’s safe and she’ll be home in a few hours.”
“That’s not going to solve the problem. I’ve got to talk to her father again, make him see how much she needs to know about him.”
Francine glanced again at Stuart.
“You don’t have to do this alone, Dolores,” he told her. “We can go with you the next time you talk to him.”
Dolores looked between the two of them. “I don’t know—”
“That’s the biblical way to do it,” he explained. “You’ve already tried to get him to do the right thing. Now it’s time to bring in witnesses.”
“He won’t like it.”
“That’s the whole idea,” he explained. “Maybe we can make him see the error of his ways. This is about him as much as it’s about Monika. You told us he was a pastor. Well, he needs to come clean before you and Monika, but most importantly, before God. Maybe we can get him to see that.”
Francine saw the skepticism on Dolores’s face and feared the woman wouldn’t have the courage to do what she knew was right. “Stuart’s right, Dolores. You’re not in this by yourself. You have all the support and love you need.”
Dolores pulled a Kleenex from the box on the end table next to the sofa and blotted at her tears. “His name is Teddy Campbell. He’s the pastor of Pilgrim Community.”
“Theodore Campbell?” Stuart asked.
“That’s him,” Dolores said. “Do you know him?”
Stuart nodded. “Though not that well.”
“You believe me that he’s Monika’s father, don’t you, Stuart? You don’t think I’m lying, do you?”
Stuart pressed his hand against Dolores’s shoulder. “Of course I believe you. I haven’t changed my position. We need to talk to him. I’ll talk to Pastor and he and I will go with you to talk to him.”
“You will?” Dolores asked.
“Of course we will.” He looked at Francine. “I’m going to give Pastor a call right now and let him know about this.” He looked back at Dolores before Francine could tell him that she wanted to be in on the confrontation with the so-called pastor too. “Is it okay if I use your phone?” he asked Dolores.
“Of course,” she said, a bit dazed. Francine knew she had to be thinking about how fast things were moving.
“It’s going to be all right, Dolores,” Francine said.
“I certainly hope so,” she said. “I can’t help but wonder what good it does Monika if he only wants to meet her because we force him into it.”
Dolores had a point but there were other perspectives to consider. “Just think about the number of times you’ve had to be forced to do the right thing. It’s still the right thing regardless of why you do it.”
; “I hope you’re right, Francine,” Dolores said. “My daughter’s life depends on it.”
Stuart came back into the room. “I spoke to Pastor. He suggested that the three of us try to talk to Rev. Campbell tonight. If he doesn’t come around, then Pastor will take it to the next level.”
“Tonight?” Dolores said in a high voice. Francine knew things were moving much too fast for the woman.
“Do you think you can get him to come over here?” Stuart asked.
Dolores twisted the Kleenex between her fingers. “I don’t know.”
“Can you give him a call and see?” Stuart asked again. “I’d suggest another place but we need to be here when Monika gets home.”
“He’s not going to come,” Dolores said.
“Try calling him,” Stuart urged.
“What should I say?” Dolores asked.
“Tell him you need to talk to him about Monika and it can’t wait.”
Dolores eased up from the sofa. “I’ll try, but I don’t think he’s going to come.”
After Dolores left he room, Francine asked Stuart, “Do you think he’ll come?”
“He’ll come.”
Wondering at his confidence, Francine asked, “How can you be so sure?”
“This is a God thing now. He has no choice.”
Dolores returned to the room. “He’ll be here in twenty minutes.”
Stuart looked at the two women. “Let’s pray.”
Chapter 24
“This is difficult for her,” Francine said to Stuart. They stood in Dolores’s kitchen, with its pristine white cabinets, black countertops, and black-and-white checkered ceramic tile flooring, both holding cups of recently brewed coffee. Dolores had asked for a few minutes to herself while they waited for Rev. Campbell.
“She’s strong,” he said. “She’s going to have to be.”
Francine nodded. “What do you think is going to happen?”
Stuart rolled his shoulders in a tense shrug. “He’s either going to admit he’s Monika’s father or he’s going to deny it.”
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