"Can't be longer than mine." Ashley threw caution to the winds. She was feeling reckless. The shell of shame and secrecy that she had cocooned herself in all these years to keep up appearances was somehow weaker this morning and she found that she didn't care right now who knew about her past mistakes.
She looked at Josiah, his cleanly shaven face, his open and ready smile, and decided that she would shock him.
"Five years ago my husband caught me in bed with another woman, I cheated on him before that with two other men and passed the children off as his. I got married to Ruel six weeks after meeting him, mainly because he was so understanding and sympathetic to my whole sordid story. Maybe I wanted someone just like that who could release me from blaming myself over the mess I made of my life. Who knows? Anyway, I moved here with him and that's why I am here."
Josiah's mouth was hanging open by the time she finished speaking.
"Your turn," Ashley said. "Just do it fast. It comes out easier then."
Josiah closed his mouth and then swallowed. "Well, you, er, had quite a time of it, didn't you?"
"You could say that." Ashley shrugged. "I am not blameless and I just realized this morning that that is okay. The important thing is that I am no longer like the Ashley of old. The thing is, instead of growing to be confident with the assurance that I am forgiven by God and Brandon, I have grown pathetic since then. I thought that I should just curl up in a ball and hide myself because I did wrong. Like I am the only person to have sinned. Yes, I have been pathetic."
Josiah nodded. "Everybody has something..."
"That's what Regina said." Ashley sighed. "She even said my stuff was not even the worst secret up here."
Josiah looked at her sharply. "What?"
"Your story." Ashley pointed at him. "You are not getting out of it that easily. I told you mine, you tell me yours."
"Fair enough," Josiah grimaced. "I worked at Prism Financials, a medium-sized accounting firm. I got the job because the interviewer thought I was cute."
Ashley chuckled.
Josiah pushed his hand in his pockets and then shrugged. "I guess mine is the anti-Joseph story. You know, when Potiphar's wife tried to entice him to sleep with her and he fled, preferring prison over sinning against God.
"Well, the interviewer was my immediate boss and to be fair, I did get the sensation that she was coming on to me from the day of the interview but I was so desperate to not come back to Primrose Hill and farming with my dad that I shrugged it off.
“Once I started working there, she hounded me for sex. I know it sounds ridiculous because it's usually the other way around, right?"
"I know there are women like that," Ashley murmured. "Trust me, I know."
Joseph coughed. "Oh yes, that, you dated women. Can we talk some more about your story? You know, I wouldn't have expected you to..."
"Your story," Ashley pointed at him. "And I didn't date women."
"Okay, okay, my story," Josiah sighed. "She bought me gifts, she made sure that I worked late with her and found opportunities to touch me. Honestly, it wasn't hard not to give in to her. I wasn't attracted to her, really. For one, she was married, and two, she was way older—I mean way older, like thirty years older, and I don't have mommy fantasies, and three, she was trying too hard.
"But one day, she announced to us at staff meeting that she would be laying off some persons from the department and she looked at me meaningfully across the table. I knew what that meant, play nice or else you are gone."
Josiah sighed. "I gave in. I became the boss' pet. For two whole years at her beck and call. I got several pay raises; she even bought me a car. You know, one of those high end ones.
"And I convinced myself it was okay to do it. I was a man; it wasn't the same as a woman, you know. I stopped going to church because let’s face it, every sermon felt like a rebuke and I thought that people were judging me. And then, one night I was listening to the radio, something that I rarely do. I was half asleep, you know, drifting in and out of consciousness and I heard the announcer on the program say as clear as day, Josiah Coke, get out of that relationship."
"Are you serious?" Ashley widened her eyes.
"Yup," Josiah said, "I jumped up out of bed and started pacing. I listened keenly to the announcer again but he was not talking about anything to do with Josiah or Coke or relationships. They were discussing horse racing. It was then that I realized that it was God that spoke to me, so I got down on my knees and begged his forgiveness. Next day I broke off the relationship and she accused me of sexually harassing her and then fired me.
"There would be no recommendation from that company so I came home. It didn't make sense that I stayed in Kingston jobless when my dad needed the help here in Primrose Hill."
Ashley nodded and they walked together in companionable silence.
"Is that why Regina is up here?" Josiah finally asked. "Because of you?"
"Unfortunately." Ashley shrugged. "She is relentless."
"Does Ruel know about her?"
"Oh yes, I told him everything before we got married," Ashley said. "Have any suggestions on how to get her to leave?"
Josiah shook his head. "Point her to Jesus? Maybe she is up here for a reason; maybe it is her time to be saved."
"She's a cynic," Ashley murmured. "She doesn't believe in Jesus or God or any deity."
"She loves Bible study, though. Maybe she is losing some of that cynicism," Josiah said. "Maybe she has changed."
"She loves trouble and that is why she comes to the Bible studies," Ashley sneered. "I wouldn't put it past her to be planning something sinister right now as we speak."
*****
Regina woke up late again. She had slept fitfully the night before and when she had finally dozed off in the early hours of the morning she missed hearing the alarm clock or the fact that Lyn had let herself into the house and was now humming as she cleaned.
She hauled herself out of bed, washed her face and looked blearily into the mirror. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot. Her cheeks and chin were rough and red where a long red rash snaked its way up from her neck. Her whole body was itching.
She ran for her bag and her Benadryl. She was allergic to something. Maybe it was something that she ate last night. She had gotten up in the middle of the night and gotten a pack of biscuits from Lyn's stash. Maybe it had in peanuts in there. She was severely allergic to peanuts and she had skillfully avoided contact with the nut through most of her life. Most packaged goods put a warning on their label about processing nuts. The biscuit she had had must have come in contact with nuts.
She staggered out to the living room and flung herself onto the settee. "Argh, I hate this."
Lyn stopped mopping the floor and looked up. "Wow, you look awful."
"It'll soon pass. It is not a bad bout, obviously, since I am still standing here. I took my Benadryl. It may be my peanut allergy."
"Mmm," Lyn murmured. "My daughter had a fish allergy. I mean it couldn't even touch her skin, but we prayed about it and God healed her."
Regina scratched her arms frantically. "Really now?"
"Yes," Lyn nodded. "If you are interested in healing you could ask them at the church to pray for you tonight."
"No thanks." She leaned her head back on the settee, wriggling her back to scratch against the settee’s material. "I don't think God will answer any prayers with Norma Kincaid in their midst."
Lyn chuckled and went back to her mopping. "Maybe you are right."
Regina groaned. "Tell me something."
Lyn looked up. "Yes."
"How did the Kincaids make their money?"
Lyn paused. "Owen Kincaid's father owned quite a bit of the land around here and he had a dairy farm but it burnt down…they went into citrus farming after that."
Lyn stopped mopping altogether and leaned on the mop. "And then they sold some of the lands around this section of the hill because the old man needed the money. They used to live beside my famil
y, you know," Lyn said contemplatively. "We didn't think they were rich then, really, they just had land. And then Owen married Norma. They had one of those back yard receptions, where they killed a goat and everybody came by for the meal. They weren't as fancy and had all of the airs they have now.
"I tell you, that Norma, even though I can’t stand her, she is a hard worker. She used to have a stall in May Pen near the market. She’d buy and sell goods from Panama."
"Uh huh." Regina nodded.
"They couldn't afford a car to and from the market so they used to push a cart—you know, those long wooden things with four wheels and a steering. "
"Oh yes," Regina said.
"They had to leave out before four o’clock each morning to reach May Pen by six-thirty. And I used to help out with babysitting—the eldest girl, Blossom, and then the second one, Sheryl. I babysat them with my own kids, free of cost too, because we were all hustling to survive and I understood.
"It’s a pity they can't understand that I needed to sell those oranges that I took the other day because my youngest daughter Renee needs to pay her school fee. They even took away the job that I needed to survive. Wicked people. I guess they have forgotten what it's like to hustle."
"Hmmm." Regina murmured. "So how is it that they got so rich now?"
"After a couple of years Norma made it big with her buying and selling. She was very popular and then she opened a store and then they expanded. And then they started their employment agency business and it took off. They find jobs for people even in the States. I would have asked them to find one for me but of course I worked for them. I couldn't admit to them that I absolutely hated the pay and needed more, could I?"
"Impressive." Regina watched as Lyn resumed her mopping.
"Yes, impressive," Lyn said softly. "Some people have all the luck. Maybe if I had done some of that I wouldn't be where I am now—fifty-two, broke and still working as domestic help."
"You call it luck, I call it a good story. All I can say is that Owen and Norma Kincaid have a good cover for how they really got rich."
"Huh?" Lyn looked up at her sharply. "I always suspected them. What do you know about them?"
"I know everything, dear Lynette," Regina started scratching her hair, "and I am seriously thinking that I am going to expose those two, but all in good time. You'll love it when I do."
Chapter Nine
"Have you ever lied to me?" Ashley ran into the yard after her jog with Josiah, who was a million times fitter than she ever would be.
He had pushed her running up Mango Hill and when she had reached the top he had not even broken a sweat nor was he panting. He had turned off to go to his home and she had continued walking alone, remembering her conversation with Jorja about Ruel, and she was steaming by the time she reached home and saw him on the veranda, robe on and cup in hand.
He was looking at her now as if she had lost her mind, but she was not having any of that.
"Answer me," Ashley insisted.
Ruel put the mug on the wall and leaned back in his chair. "So you saw Regina again this morning and she cooked up some story to tell you."
"No," Ashley panted, "I did not see Regina this morning."
Ruel narrowed his eyes and looked at her. "Then why this ridiculous question?"
"Answer it." Ashley took off her sneakers one after the other and slapped them on the walkway. "Now."
"Is there something specific that I have done?" Ruel asked again.
"Yes. You told me that you had this perfect fairytale marriage before this and it was all a lie. Jorja told me this morning that you and your first wife didn't even get along."
Ruel sighed loudly. "Ashley, come on, I didn't want to mope around about the past."
"No, you didn't. Instead you wanted to fabricate it." Ashley huffed. "I don't know you, do I?"
"Come on, Ash. This is like the pot calling the kettle black. You lied to your first husband for years because of bad things you did. I just made my past seem a little more palatable than it was. Cut me some slack here."
"See, this is ridiculous." Ashley inhaled and then exhaled in a whoosh. "That was a different situation, and if there is one thing that I know, it is that once a liar it is hard to change. I lived a lie for years and I started this marriage thinking that I was actually in an honest relationship. I laid it all out for you, I told you everything about me and instead of being honest too, you gave me some cotton candy and fairytale story. You have just lost my blind trust, mister."
"Ashley come on," Ruel pleaded, "don't you think you are blowing this out of proportion?"
"No," Ashley pointed her finger at him, "because now I am going to wonder what else have you lied to me about and what you aren't telling me."
"You are being paranoid."
"Am I?" Ashley looked at him hard. "Am I really? Have you spoken to Regina yet?"
"No." Ruel sighed, "I am working on that."
"What kind of secrets does she have on you?" Ashley asked, realizing that she had dismissed what Regina had said before about Ruel having secrets. At the time she had thought it ridiculous; now she wasn't so sure.
"I can't imagine what." Ruel shrugged, unconcerned.
Ashley grunted and headed inside. Unfortunately, she didn't believe him. The first cracks were appearing in her marriage that she had thought was rock solid.
*****
Three days after his confrontation with Ashley, Ruel turned into the church’s parking lot. Today was vestry day, where the members of the church could find him in his office. This was when they usually carried their documents for him to sign or came to request prayers or counseling.
He had promised to meet Nolan at the church office at nine so that they could run through the itinerary for the coming month but he was feeling a small fissure of fear for his marriage. Things were uneasy between him and Ashley.
The feeling had started when Ashley had come from her run a few mornings ago and announced that Regina had secrets on everybody, including him. The feeling hadn't completely left him since then and he felt as if he was on a chopping block and any minute now the guillotine would fall on his neck.
Coming clean to Ashley was not an option; coming clean to the church was a definite no-no. He would lose his job. A job which he still loved very much.
When he had said to Ashley that it was better if you didn't do something wrong in the first place so you wouldn't have anything to worry about, he was talking about himself.
In the past he had gone about things all wrong. Ashley had interpreted what he said differently, of course. He had long realized the danger of having Ashley put him on a pedestal but it had been a nice position to be in for a change. It had been nice to have a submissive wife who loved him; he had reveled in it. But now he realized that it was all going to end.
From the moment his mother called him and told him that he needed to come and get Jorja, he had known that reality was about to intrude.
And it had. He couldn't even blame Jorja. If he had told her to keep her mouth shut about their past, she would have found it odd.
He had banked on her resentment for Ashley to at least offer him some buffer against that, but Jorja was by nature a friendly girl. And since yesterday she was over the moon happy about her new job and meeting new friends.
He parked beside Nolan's car and took a deep breath. There were several ways that this mess he had found himself in could play out. There was no need to panic just yet.
He picked up his briefcase from the back of the car. He had quite a few counseling sessions today after his meetings with Nolan.
And he had to find out from Regina Tharwick exactly what it was she thought she knew about him.
Nolan was sitting in the office when he got there. A Bible was opened on the desk.
"Hello Pastor." He looked up and beamed. "I was going to..."
"Hi Nolan," Ruel interrupted him and put down his briefcase and sat at his desk. "I have a packed day, so let’s get to it."
<
br /> Nolan looked at him and frowned. "Everything okay?"
"Fine." Ruel smiled slightly and then went back to his schedule book. "You got the okay to marry people yet?"
"Yes." Nolan nodded, "I was planning to officiate for one of my college friends’ wedding in September so I applied for it from last year."
"Good." Ruel grumbled, running through the schedule, "I have a couple of requests here for Sunday. I can't be at two places at the same time so you can relieve me of one of those appointments."
"Okay," Nolan said hesitantly. "Can I ask why you are looking so glum?"
Ruel looked up from the book and then shook his head. "No. I am fine."
"Pastor Ruel, I may be young but I might be able to help."
"I doubt you can in this instance." Ruel drummed his hand on the table and then looked down in his book. "Some things I just have to sort out for myself without help."
Nolan cleared his throat. "I was going to tell you earlier that Sister Lynette Skinner called me early this morning. She wants me to pray for her boss. She's a visitor—Regina Tharwick, I believe her name is."
Ruel's head snapped up so fast he wasn't sure that he hadn't broken something.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked eagerly. Too eagerly, because Nolan frowned and was looking at him with a confused expression in his eyes.
"She has a food allergy. She is obviously allergic to peanut and milk but something else is irritating her for days now. Sister Lynette said her daughter went through something similar and was helped by prayer."
"Oh." Ruel's hopes deflated. He was wishing that it was something more than that. Something to get her out of the district. He had hopes of getting his marriage back to a semblance of what it used to be when Regina wasn't around.
"Do you want to come along?" Nolan asked. "It's my first home visit in this district."
No, he didn't want to visit the one woman who might be able to expose him. Before he could answer, Norma Kincaid pushed her head through the doorway.
On the Rebound 2 Page 9
