Wages of Sin

by Yolonda Tonette Sanders

  Click.

  After several tries to reach him, she gave up.

  Moments later he was calling her again. “What happened?”

  “Give me my phone, Hannah,” she heard Brent say.

  “Are you sleeping with her?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Let’s hear what she has to say. Hello?” Her voice was a mixture of anger and pain. “Are you screwing my husband?”

  Corrine froze. She wanted to hang up, but she couldn’t. It pained her to hear Brent in the background dismissing her so easily. Why wasn’t he standing up for their relationship? If he’d take the kids and leave, she’d help him with them! “Give me the phone!”

  It sounded like Brent had reached for it but was unsuccessful. After several moments of tussling, the phone dropped.

  “How come her number is all over our phone bill?”

  “We work together.”

  Though distant, their voices could still be heard. It seemed like their argument went on forever. Tears burned Corrine’s cheeks as she listened to Brent continuously declare his love for Hannah and swear that Corrine meant nothing to him, even calling her a tramp.

  “You’re a liar!”

  “No, baby, I mean it.”

  “Just like you did with all the others, right?” Hannah broke down in tears. “You’ve cheated on me more times than I can count. I can’t take it anymore.”

  “I’m sorry, baby, please give me another chance. I—”

  Corrine couldn’t stand to hear another word. She hung up, feeling every knife that Brent’s words had put through her heart. She’d gone against her morals, her faith, and plain old common sense believing in a relationship that had been a lie. She felt like such a fool. How would she face him at work on Monday?

  Natalie had been right! Why didn’t she listen? She wanted to call her, but Corrine wasn’t ready to hear “I told you so.” Brent was calling back. Maybe it was Hannah. She didn’t answer. How’d she get in the middle of this? She couldn’t breathe. She had to get out of the apartment. The walls were starting to enclose her. Slipping on her Crocs, she went for a walk, leaving her ringing cell phone behind.

  CHAPTER 29: THE S WORD

  Troy regained consciousness by the ringing of his cell phone. It was Cheryl. “I’m sorry; did I wake you?”

  “Yeah. What’s up?” he said, searching for the remote control so he could turn his game console off. The last thing he remembered was lying on the couch to play Madden. After that everything was a blur.

  “I thought of something else I wanted to share.”

  It was after seven. “Let me call you back in a few. I need to check on something.” Troy soon learned that the house was empty. What happened to Natalie’s meeting? She didn’t answer when he called. After leaving a message, he dialed Cheryl. “My bad. I was supposed to watch my son while my wife went somewhere, but she’s gone. She must’ve found a sitter.”

  “Well, do you want to take me up on my earlier offer about getting coffee?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “I stay out west; what about you?”

  “Gahanna.”

  “Dang, why do you have to be on the other side of town. You want to meet at Starbucks on High? Not the one on campus, but further downtown?”

  “Yeah, that’s cool.” Troy left the house about ten minutes after they’d hung up. Cheryl was already seated when he arrived. “I see you still have a lead foot.”

  “Only when I’m anxious.” She had on a fiery-red, wide-strapped sundress that showed off the distinct, yet feminine lines accentuating her arm muscles.

  “So what did you want to tell me?”

  “I think the person you’re looking for feels rejected by these women for some reason. All of them were single—”

  “All of them, except the first one. She was married.”

  “Sometimes we find variations between the first victim and the others because the killer is getting started. I think there may be a personal vendetta against these women or rather these types of women. The killer might also be unattractive and could possibly feel shunned. The lack of any viable evidence at the scenes makes me think he’s a perfectionist.” Cheryl went on to share additional insight—someone divorced or widowed with no kids. “Find the common denominator with these women and you will find the killer.”

  What did she think he’d been trying to do all this time?

  “I hope you don’t mind me keeping up with the case. I’m in no way doubting your abilities or trying to step on your toes. I simply want to help an old friend out.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  After about an hour, Troy knew it was time to go when Cheryl started with her remember-the-time moments. “I will never forget that weekend you, Elvin, Nikki, and I went to Cedar Point and you spent seventy-five dollars to win that bear for me because Elvin had won one for Nicole.”

  “Testosterone gets in the way of common sense sometimes.”

  “I still have that. It sits in my spare bedroom right next to the first Cabbage Patch doll I ever got.”

  “You have issues.”

  When she laughed, that dimple in her chin called out for his attention. “Don’t we all? How are Elvin and Nicole anyway? They live in Chicago, right?”

  “Yep. I spoke with him the other day. They’re good. They have two boys.”

  “That’s great. The next time you talk to them, tell them I said hi. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what could have been with us. I know you’re married and I don’t mean any disrespect to your wife, I’m being honest.”

  “As I remember, you had a knack for keeping it real.”

  “There is something I never told you before. You were my first.”

  Troy nearly choked on his drink. “I don’t believe that. A girl doesn’t give up her virginity to a guy she met only hours earlier.”

  “She does if she had come to the party intending to get laid. I was twenty-five and tired of being so inexperienced. I’d been to third base several times, but no one had ever scored a home run.”

  He would have never knowingly been a girl’s first—too much emotional baggage involved. He was a player back then, but a smart one. Her reaction the night they broke up nearly twenty years ago now made more sense. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

  “Don’t be sorry.” She laughed. “I know it was dumb of me to plan to sleep with someone that night, but I don’t regret it. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t been with other men since. I wasn’t a slut or anything like that. Do you have any memories of me—our time together?”

  “Nope.” He refused to disclose those details suddenly brought back to his memory. It had only been sex—nothing like making love to his wife. Troy was extremely uncomfortable and stared at the brown table top, trying to think of a way to end this.

  “That’s too bad. Though I’ve been with other men, none have come close to matching your ability. As I recall, you had one heck of a weapon. I’m sure like fine wine, it has gotten much better with age. Your wife is one lucky woman.” She touched his hand and he jumped.

  “Um, I need to get going. Thanks again for helping with the case. You have a good night.” He rushed out of there before Cheryl could object, unable to understand why, once again, he had butterflies.

  • • •

  “Natalie and Aneetra, I’d like to thank both of you for coming,” said Lisa. “The purpose of Wise Wives is to uplift, support, and encourage each other in our marriages. While this is a safe place to vent about any marital issues you want to share, we don’t tear down our husbands. They are all flawed, as we are, but we are to celebrate what God is doing in them and our marriages. You may see different faces from time to time as women come and go, but my goal is truly to provide a safe-haven for women to share and encourage each other with our testimonies. What’s said in Wise Wives is expected to stay here. The group is about a year and a half old and we haven’t had any issues with confidentiality so far, but should any woman violate
our trust, she won’t be allowed to join us again.”

  “We’ll still pray for her and her marriage,” another lady chimed in, “but we won’t tell her our business.”

  The women laughed and Lisa said, “Since you all are new, we’ll start by introducing ourselves and telling how long we’ve been married. I’m sure everyone knows my name, but I’ll say it any way. I’m Lisa. Saying how long RJ and I have been married is a little more complicated than it should be. I never know if I should go by the date of our first marriage, what seems like centuries ago, or our remarriage within the last two years.”

  “She likes to make things more complicated than they need to be,” teased Angela, a short heavyset lady, who went next, followed by the other ladies and ending with Natalie and Aneetra, who shared the basics very matter-of-factly. Prior to the meeting, Aneetra had shared with Natalie her mixed emotions about wanting to remain married. After the meeting Natalie was dropping Aneetra off at her house so she and Marcus could talk. Natalie suspected that he’d be making his big confession tonight.

  Natalie wasn’t sure if coming tonight was a good idea. Her enthusiasm about the ministry faded after her argument with Troy this morning. His actions after that added fuel to the fire. She was too upset to celebrate him as Lisa had instructed. He knew she wanted to come to the meeting tonight and had agreed to keep the kids, but he did not come up from the basement all day. She refused to beg him to watch his son so she left Lisa a message saying that she and Aneetra wouldn’t be able to come because they didn’t have a sitter. Lisa called back and stated that Robert would watch the kids.

  “No, that’s okay,” Natalie had replied. “Neither Aneetra nor I want to impose. We’ll plan better next month.”

  “Girl, you won’t be imposing. Sometimes RJ takes Chandler out during the meetings, but they aren’t going anywhere tonight. Your friend’s girls and Nate are both welcome to hang in the basement with them. It will give Chandler and Nate a chance to play together before his party tomorrow. How old are your friend’s daughters?”

  “Twelve and eight.”

  “I’ll rent some movies for them so they won’t be bored because I know they won’t want to play with Chandler’s stuff.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Oh, c’mon, Natalie. I promise it’s not a problem. I would really like you to come.”

  “Let me talk to Aneetra and see what she thinks. If she agrees, we’ll be there.” Aneetra wasn’t sold on the idea of having her daughters hang in the basement with a woman’s husband whom she had never laid eyes on. She’d said she would call Lynn and see if they could go over there, but thankfully Natalie had been able to convince her that Robert and his wife were good people. Thus, all five of them piled up in Natalie’s tweener and headed to the two-story suburban home of the Hamptons.

  The living room was spacious. Natalie and Aneetra were the only two women seated on the cream, plush sofa. It was so soft, definitely good for napping. After the long day she’d had, she could use one of those right now.

  “Today, we’ll begin our discussion on submission. Let’s start by reading Ephesians 5:22-24. ‘Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.’ ”

  “I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” one of the women said. “The scripture makes it sound so easy, but it’s hard, especially in my case because I disagree with my husband’s leadership. We’ll be here forever if you think you can convince me otherwise.”

  “I knew this would be deep and that’s why we’ll be talking about this for several months. Don’t worry, Monica, I’m sure you’re not the only one who has a problem with the ‘S’ word. Some men like to abuse it and some women think that submitting to their husbands means that they must become doormats.”

  “I don’t understand why Paul says we have to be subject to our husbands in everything. Marriage is a partnership,” Angela said. “How can we be partners if one person is in charge? If he says jump, am I supposed to be like ‘one leg or two’?”

  “I think it’s important to differentiate between control and leadership. What you’re describing is control. Leadership is providing guidance and direction. Verse twenty-one actually says that we should submit to one another out of respect for Christ, so you’re right that marriage is a partnership. Husbands and wives are accountable to each other and to God. Even with mutual accountability, our husbands are the heads of our households, or at least they should be. If we would read verse twenty-five, we learn that our husbands are required to love us to the point that they would be willing to die for us. How many of you have some type of leadership role, be it at your church, on your job, or wherever?” Nearly every woman’s hand went up. “Without considering your leadership role with your kids or anyone else in your family, how many of you would be willing to die for those that you lead?” All hands went down. “We think we got the short end of the stick because of the word submission, but leadership actually carries a lot of weight. Whenever we fail to submit, there will always be conflict. But, if our husbands aren’t doing what they are supposed to do and things go awry in our homes, God holds them accountable.”

  Much of what was said during the meeting went into one of Natalie’s ears and out of the other. There’s no way she was supposed to submit to Troy’s desire and have a baby when she was the one making all the sacrifices for Nate. She got Nate up for school every morning; she picked him up on time; she made dinner, she did everything while he filled in whenever he was available. She rarely got to go to her poetry writing classes anymore since having Nate. Nate took over her free time. She loved him to death and couldn’t imagine life without him, but she didn’t want to do this all over again. How selfish of Troy not to take any of that into consideration.

  “Does anyone have anything to add before we close?” Lisa looked around the room, noticing that no one said anything. “Okay, well Natalie and Aneetra, we thank you both again for coming. We hope to see you again. Let’s pray: Father God, I thank You for being in the midst of our meeting. I ask that You bless every woman present tonight, their spouses, and their children. Lord, marriage is not always a walk in the park, but if we walk with You, we know we are headed in the right direction. Help us to swallow our pride and submit to our husbands. Help them to lead according to Your word. Please give everyone here a desire to fight for her marriage. Do not let the enemy destroy these unions You have created. If anyone here is on the brink of divorce, I ask for a spirit of reconciliation. You did it for RJ and me. Help us to share our testimony so we may be a witness to others about Your goodness. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.”

  When the meeting was over, Aneetra volunteered to go get the kids from the basement. Natalie knew it was to avoid mingling with everyone. If Aneetra hadn’t jumped at the chance, she would have herself. Did these ladies not realize that she had shared everything she wanted to when she said, “I’m Natalie Evans. My husband and I are one month shy of our fourth anniversary.” Now there were questions like, “What do you do? What does your husband do? How many kids do you have?” She was courteous though they were really working her nerves. Lisa was a life-saver.

  “Ladies, chill! Leave Natalie something to talk about next month if she decides to join us.”

  Soon, everyone left and Natalie and Lisa waited for Aneetra and the kids.

  “Thanks for inviting me, us. It was good.”

  “Really? You didn’t seem like you were into it much.”

  “I’m sorry. My mind is a bit preoccupied, but it was nice. Everything was cool, except the interrogation.”

  “Girl, I’m sorry about that. We’re such an intimate group that sometimes the ladies don’t realize they’re being invasive, but they didn’t mean any harm.”

  “It’s okay. I think it’s more me and my reclusivenes
s than anything else.”

  “You don’t have to share anything you’re uncomfortable with. Do you think Aneetra enjoyed it?”

  “It’s hard to say. She’s going through a lot right now.”

  “I can tell. I’ll be praying for her.” As she finished speaking, everyone was coming up the stairs.

  “Mommy, him comin’ to my birday party.”

  “I know. Tell Mr. Robert thank you for letting you hang out with them and tell Chandler that you will see him tomorrow.”

  “Do you have everything all set?” asked Lisa.

  “No. I’m starting to think it would have been easier to have the party somewhere else than at the house.”

  “Lisa and I could come early and help out.”

  “Oh, no! I wouldn’t dare ask that of you guys. Between Troy, my daughter, and me, we should have it all covered.”

  “Plus, I’ll be there,” said Aneetra.

  “You didn’t ask, we volunteered. Besides, RJ and I don’t have anything else going on tomorrow.”

  “Y’all are welcome to come early, but I’m not putting you guys to work. That’s tacky.”

  Lisa playfully rolled her eyes. “Whatever, girl. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Natalie felt a twinge of jealousy at how freely Robert made himself available for his family. She hoped she could still count on Troy or Corrine since both were upset with her. She never did find out what Corrine had called for earlier. Everyone exchanged good-byes and Natalie and crew took off.

  “You girls are going home with Aunt Natalie. Daddy and I are going to talk about some things. I’ll be over there later,” Aneetra said when Natalie was pulling into her driveway. “Thanks, Nat. Don’t wait up for me. I have a feeling this may take a while.”

  Natalie waited until she was safely inside before pulling away. God, please be with her!