“Hey, Pastor,” she said right away. “How are you this morning?”
“Not good.”
“I hear you and Charlotte ran into a few problems last night.”
“You talked to her?”
“I did. She was in the lobby when Tracey and I came in from a late dinner, and then I went up to her room with her. She said she was going to call you as soon as I left, though.”
“Well, she never did. Not to mention, I’ve been calling her all night and she won’t answer.”
“I had no idea. I was so sure she was going to call you and that everything would be all right.”
“I really messed up this time, Lana.”
“You know I rarely get upset with you, but I have to say, I’m not happy about this whole Sharon madness. You never should have been talking to that woman, Pastor, and you certainly shouldn’t have been spending time with her. I know you were upset about Charlotte’s affairs and that you’d been planning to divorce her, but you’re still a married man.”
“I know, I know, I know, and if I could change what I did, I would. But I promise you, Lana, I absolutely did not sleep with that woman. Not once.”
“I believe you, but you also have to realize how bad this looks to Charlotte. You know the old saying, ‘If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…’ ”
“But I didn’t sleep with her.”
“Doesn’t matter—you still look guilty.”
Curtis paced back and forth. “Satan is busy.”
“True. But we all have choices, and this time you made the wrong one. This time, it’s your fault, and Satan has nothing to do with it.”
“You’re right.”
“So what you need to do is fix this.”
“I’m trying, but she won’t talk to me.”
“Let me try to call her, and if she still won’t answer, I’ll go to her room.”
“Thank you, Lana… for everything.”
There was loud pounding on someone’s door, and Charlotte wished the guest in the room next to her would answer it.
“Charlotte, are you in there?”
Charlotte forced her eyes open and tried lifting her head off the pillow, but since it was too heavy, she dropped it back down.
“Charlotte, open up. I wanna make sure you’re okay.”
Was that Lana?
There was more knocking, so Charlotte got up and dragged herself over to the door.
“Lord have mercy,” Lana said, but Charlotte went straight back to bed. “Honey, why are you doing this to yourself?”
“What?”
“Drinking like this.”
It sounded as if Lana had picked up one of the little bottles Charlotte had guzzled down last night, but she wasn’t sure. She also didn’t care.
“You can’t keep this up.”
“What?”
“This whole getting drunk business. If you keep it up, the next thing you know, you’ll be addicted to this stuff. I was once married to an alcoholic, and, honey, it’s just not worth it.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not, and what happened last night? I thought you were going to call your husband?”
“For what?”
“To talk. You need to sit down and let him explain things.”
“I’m really not in the mood.”
“But, honey, locking yourself away in a hotel room drinking isn’t the answer.”
Charlotte was tired of hearing all this hoopla and wished Lana would leave.
“So, why don’t you get in the shower and get dressed, and I’ll tell Curtis to come see you.”
“No.”
“Charlotte, please don’t throw your marriage away because of some lying tramp. You’ve spent months trying to save it, and now you finally have another chance to work things out.”
“All I want is to be left alone.”
“Well, I can’t do that. I care too much about you and Pastor to leave things the way they are.”
Charlotte was done tolerating this and sat up. “Lana, I know you mean well, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave now.”
“But—”
“Please go. Please leave my room, and tell Curtis I said to stop calling my cell phone and my room number.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“I do.”
As soon as the door closed, Charlotte went over to the minibar and pulled out a miniature bottle of vodka and then walked over and dialed the front desk.
“Good morning, Mrs. Black, how may I assist you?”
“Good morning. I’m calling because I’ve decided to stay an extra day, so is it possible for you to extend my reservation?”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, but let me double-check the system to make sure there’s availability.”
Charlotte waited and wondered what Curtina and Matthew were doing. She missed both of them terribly and was sorry she wouldn’t be going home today. But she just couldn’t face Curtis right now and wanted nothing to do with him. Not when he’d broken her heart all over again. Plus, chances were Matthew was going to spend the day with Racquel, and Curtina was always thrilled about staying with Aunt Emma, so she knew they would be fine.
“Okay, yes,” the desk clerk said. “I’ve made the change, and you’re all set.”
“I really appreciate it. Oh, and one more thing—can you have someone come restock my minibar?”
“Of course. Our staff members who handle that won’t be in until around nine, though, but if there’s a certain snack you’re interested in, I can ask someone from room service to bring you up something.”
Charlotte was so embarrassed. “Uh… no… there’s no rush at all.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, definitely. Thanks again.”
Charlotte hated feeling like this and hated humiliating herself this way. Here it was not even seven a.m., and she was already trying to replenish her liquor supply. Then, adding insult to injury, the front desk woman had automatically assumed she needed more chips, cookies, or candy and hadn’t even considered the little liquor bottles because of how early in the morning it was. Charlotte was sure that alcohol had been the last thing on the woman’s mind. And the thing was, Charlotte wanted it to be the last thing on hers as well; however, lately she couldn’t seem to help herself. She wasn’t an alcoholic, but it was just that liquor really seemed to relax her. It eased her pain, lessened the impact of bad news, and stopped her heart from aching so terribly. So to her, drinking sort of served as her rescuer and made her feel much better almost instantly. She didn’t necessarily like the hangover effects that overwhelmed her the next morning, but slowly but surely, she was getting used to that part of it. Not to mention, she didn’t drink every day nor did she feel she needed to drink. She wasn’t even sure she liked it, but again, it helped her, and that’s why she wanted it sometimes.
It was the reason she opened the tiny bottle of vodka she’d pulled out of the minibar a few minutes ago and turned it up.
Chapter 33
She’s been at it again,” Lana said.
Curtis repositioned the earpiece to his phone and placed the last item in his garment bag. “I’m not surprised.”
“She wasn’t happy to see me, and after I tried talking to her, she asked me to leave.”
“You didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry I involved you in this.”
“It’s no problem at all. I want to help you guys in any way I can, but I’ve never seen Charlotte like this. She’s so bitter and withdrawn. Says she just wants to be left alone.”
“I know she’s hurting, but this drinking thing is more than I can handle. My father used to drink, so I’m not very tolerant of people who abuse alcohol. I love Charlotte, and I’d made up my mind to stay with her, but I won’t be able to deal with her under these kinds of conditions.”
“Does her family have a history of alcoholism?”
“Not that I know of. She got drunk last year over at a jazz club in her old n
eighborhood, but as far as I know, she hadn’t gotten drunk again until just recently.”
“It’s hard to believe that if she’s an alcoholic she’d be able to turn it off like that for such a long period of time.”
“Yeah, but many alcoholics start out drinking socially and then over a period of time, it gets worse and they can’t stop.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Try to talk to her again, I guess.”
“Are you still leaving on your ten o’clock flight?”
“That’s the plan, but I also don’t want to leave Charlotte behind.”
“Maybe you should go down to her room to see if she’ll let you in.”
“I think I will. What room is it? For privacy reasons, the front desk wouldn’t tell me.”
“Five-eighteen.”
“Thanks, Lana.”
“You’re welcome. Oh, and even though Tracey and I are going to run over to the mall around eleven, we won’t be heading to the airport until around three-thirty. So please keep me posted.”
“I will.”
Curtis slipped on his shoes and left for Charlotte’s room. On the way to the elevator, he approached a group of five women.
“We really enjoyed you last night, Pastor Black,” one of them commented.
“You ladies are very kind, and I’m so glad you enjoyed yourselves.”
“Have a safe trip home,” one of them said.
“You, too.”
When the elevator chimed, he stepped inside and pressed 5. He had no idea how Charlotte was going to react when she saw him, but he hoped their conversation wouldn’t evolve into some huge blowup. As it was, over the last couple of weeks, all they’d done was argue and say hurtful things to each other, and he didn’t want to do that anymore. What he longed for was a new beginning and a house filled with peace.
Curtis stepped off the elevator, walked a few feet down the hallway, and knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
“Me.”
There was no response; needless to say, he’d anticipated this.
“Look, you may as well open the door because I’m not leaving until I talk to you.”
There was more silence.
“I’m waiting,” he said, but prayed Charlotte would open the door before this new group of women made it down to where he was standing. The last thing he wanted was to have them hear him begging his own wife to let him into a hotel room. Thankfully, she came to the door and unlocked it.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked.
“Doing what?”
Curtis went over to the curtains and drew them open. “Hiding out in a dark hotel room, drinking.”
“What is with everybody? First Lana comes up here trying to tell me what to do, and now you barge in here like some prison guard.”
“We’re going home, so get dressed.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be home tomorrow.”
“The car will be here in forty-five minutes for the airport.”
“For you maybe.”
“No, for both of us.”
Charlotte got back into bed. “Like I said, I’ll be home tomorrow.”
“You do realize tomorrow is Memorial Day?”
She paused for too long, and Curtis knew it hadn’t so much as crossed her mind.
“Of course I do.”
“So, you know it’s a holiday, and you’re still going to disappoint Matt and Curtina?”
She turned her back to him and curled up in a ball. Curtis could tell she was crying.
He sat down on the bed. “Baby, look. I’m sorry. I know you’re hurting, and I know Sharon sounded very convincing, but look at me.”
“Just leave me alone, Curtis.”
“No, I want you to sit up and look straight into my eyes.”
“Why?”
“Just do it, and then if you still want me to go, I will.”
Charlotte sniffled and slowly sat up.
Curtis held her chin with his hand. “I never slept with that woman. I never even kissed her. I did go to her home once last year and then again last Sunday, but God knows that was it.”
Charlotte broke into tears again. “I wanna believe you, but I’m so confused.”
“I understand that, but I’m telling you the truth. I have no idea how she figured out what room I was in or when she got here, but I never invited her. She’s called me every day this week, but I haven’t spoken to her since last Tuesday. I’ve ignored every phone call.”
“But why would she go to all this trouble if you told her you couldn’t talk to her anymore?”
“I don’t know, but since she hasn’t called this morning, I’m hoping she’s finally finished with this silly charade of hers.”
“We were having such a good time yesterday, Curtis, and then this woman came here and ruined everything.”
“I know, but let’s just try to move on. I know it won’t be easy, but let’s not let a lie come between us like this.” Charlotte wrapped her arms around his neck, and he rested his around her waist. “There is one other thing, though,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“Your drinking. This really does have to stop. It’s not good for you, and it’s certainly not good for our family.”
“I know. I’m really sorry I started doing that, and it won’t happen again.”
Curtis prayed she was telling the truth and that this wouldn’t be an ongoing problem. “I’m glad.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes, but then Curtis glanced at his watch. “At this point, I don’t think we’re going to make it to the airport in time. You still need to get dressed.”
“Maybe we can take a later flight.”
“I’m sure we can,” he said, and then went over and dialed the bell stand.
“Hello?” a man said.
“Yes, this is Pastor Black. Can you let our driver know we’re going to be staying until later this afternoon and that I’ll call the car company to schedule a new pickup time?”
“Of course. No problem.”
“I appreciate it,” Curtis said, and laid the phone back on its base.
Charlotte smiled at him. “So now what?”
Curtis pulled his shirt over his head. “Well, for one thing we still have some unfinished business.”
“From last night you mean?”
“Yep, and I say we take care of it.”
“I say we take care of it, too…. as soon as possible.”
Chapter 34
God was good all the time, and all the time God was good. Charlotte loved that saying, and oh how she finally recognized how true it was. She and Curtis had flown home late Sunday afternoon from Detroit and spent time at home with Curtina and Matthew, and then they’d all had the best Memorial Day at Aunt Emma’s. Her parents had driven down as well, and Charlotte could still see the huge grin on her mother’s face when she told her everything was going to be fine with her and Curtis. She’d hugged her like never before and did the same thing to Curtis, and she’d played in the yard with Curtina like she was a preschooler herself. But the best news of all was that after more than a year, Curtis had finally moved back into the master suite. He’d slept there right away on Sunday evening, but last night, he’d moved a few pieces of his clothing back into their walk-in closet, and Charlotte was comforted. She was also thankful Curtis hadn’t given up on trying to talk to her while they’d been in Detroit and that he hadn’t flown back home without her. If he had, there was a chance things might have turned out differently for them.
Curtis opened his eyes and stretched his arms. “Good morning.”
Charlotte leaned over and pecked him on the lips. “Good morning, yourself.”
“I can’t believe it’s Tuesday already.”
“I know. Probably because we had a pretty eventful weekend.”
“Isn’t that the truth? But the holiday yesterday was a nice way to end it.”
“It really was a great time, and as usu
al, Aunt Emma made way too much food, and I ate way too much of it.”
They both laughed. “I think everyone did,” he said.
“So do you have a lot to do at the church today?”
“Sort of. I have a quick meeting with our associate ministers and then a premarital counseling session with one of our new couples. After that, I need to work on tomorrow night’s Bible study lesson.”
“Are you continuing where you stopped last week?”
“I am.”
There was a knock at the door, and Charlotte and Curtis shook their heads, smiling. There was no question who it was, and it was a good thing Charlotte had already slipped on a silk pajama set when she’d gone to the bathroom not long ago, and Curtis had on a pair of pajama bottoms.
“Yes, Curtina?” Charlotte sang.
“Can I come in?”
“You may.”
Curtina pushed the door open, strolled over to the bed, and climbed on top of it. She sat with her back to the door, facing her parents. “Good morning, Mommy. Good morning, Daddy.”
Curtis clasped his hands behind his head. “Good morning, pumpkin.”
“So what are you doing up so early?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m always up at this time.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“You know what, though?”
“What?” Charlotte said.
“I’m so glad you and Daddy have the same bedroom again, because now I only have to go to one place to see both of you.”
Charlotte and Curtis looked at each other, and then he said, “Well, we’re glad, too, sweetie.”
Curtina turned around when she heard her brother walking in and humming to a song. “Matt’s listening to his iTouch again. He always listens to that thing.”
“Just like you always watch DVDs,” Curtis reminded her, and Matthew sat on the bed next to his sister.
“When am I gonna get an iTouch?” she said.
Curtis reached forward and tickled the bottom of her foot. “When you’re older, young lady.”
Curtina squealed with laughter. “Stop it, Daddy.” Then she squealed even louder when Matthew tickled her with no mercy. She laughed so hard she was out of breath.
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