Keepin' The Faith

by Beth Rinyu

  I started to follow her out.

  “I know where it is, and I can go all by myself.” Her smile never left her face as she walked off.

  I pushed my hair behind my ear and directed my attention to Gabe. “I’m so sorry she put you on the spot like that. If you want, I can just tell her you had an emergency or something.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “I just thought you’d have better things to do with your Saturday night.”

  “No. Not really.” He was very matter-of-fact.

  “Okay. Is seven good for you?”

  “Seven is perfect.”

  ***

  I spent a good part of the afternoon tidying up as best as I could. I had started the packing process and had boxes lined up everywhere. If it weren’t for Joey, I wouldn’t even be bothering with a tree this year. My mother paid a quick visit to drop off my present. She went on and on about how my father was acting like he was dying with the flu, and we made plans to get together for breakfast in the morning. I almost got her out of my place before Joey slipped about Gabe coming over to help trim the tree. Typical to Joey form, she made sure to tell my mother everything about him, including the fact he was Jewish. Then I had to hear my mother go on and on. If you had kids with him, how would you raise them? You would have to give up Christmas. You went to Catholic school for thirteen years. How on earth could you turn your back on your faith? My head was spinning by the time she left. My mother was the queen of embellishment, and this was a prime example. My boss was coming over at my daughter’s request to decorate the tree and somehow in my mother’s mind that equated to marriage, kids, and changing religions.

  Joey had been working diligently for hours, coloring, cutting, and pasting on what she deemed a top secret project. It kept her occupied and allowed me to get stuff done before Gabe arrived. I ignored my phone when I saw it was Cole calling. I was in a good mood and I didn’t want it getting spoiled by him. Plus, it was my birthday, so I should be allowed to choose who I wanted to talk to, and he was definitely not on that list. When I saw him calling again, I finally relented.

  “What?” I answered as I heaved a box onto the closet shelf.

  “I’m coming to get Joey in a bit.”

  “Umm…no, you are not. It’s not your weekend, and we’ve got plans.”

  “Oh, so this is how it’s gonna be now? My weekend and your weekend?”

  “Yes, it is. Now, if there’s nothing else you have to say, I really have to go.”

  “Deenie, come on. Brit’s parents are in town and they really want to meet Joey.”

  “Okay, first of all, my name is Faith. Do not call me Deenie anymore.” Hearing him use the nickname I used to find endearing now got under my skin big time. “And I really don’t care what Brit’s parents want. My daughter is spending the night with me...her mother. Not with two self-absorbed people who are so wrapped up in their own wants that they’ll allow her to puke her guts up in the middle of a crowded mall and then yell at her for doing so.”

  “Oh, okay, so go ahead and believe everything Joey tells you. You know better than anyone she tends to exaggerate things.”

  “I’m done with this conversation. Find another way to brownnose your girlfriend’s parents because I will not allow you to use my daughter.”

  “Our daughter!” he shouted. “I’m not paying all that money a month in child support to have you tell me when I can and can’t see my daughter.”

  “I’m not telling you anything. The court is. You may want to pull out that agreement and refresh yourself with it. It clearly states this weekend is mine.” I kept a cool and calm demeanor, which was only adding to his frustration. “And if you were so concerned with seeing your daughter, you would have made an effort to be at her Christmas pageant on Wednesday night.”

  “Stop being a bitch. You know I had class! Do you realize how much pressure I’m under right now?”

  “Not my problem. But here’s a little tip: learn how to keep that thing in your pants and maybe you can alleviate some of that stress. Now, I really have to go.” I ended the call before he could get anything else out. Every time I spoke to him, I disliked him more and more, and I was angry at myself for it. This wasn’t the type of relationship I wanted to have with my child’s father, but Cole had morphed into an unlikable prick almost overnight.

  The knock on my door saved me from wasting my time with any more ill thoughts of Cole. Joey had already answered by the time I had made it out of my bedroom.

  “I’m sorry, Mommy, but I knew it was Mr. Gabe,” she explained, knowing she was never to answer the door on her own, but for tonight I’d let it slide.

  I tried my hardest to ignore how absolutely delicious he looked as he stood in my doorway, but the more I tried to dismiss it, the more I kept thinking about how we had spent last Saturday night—with our hands moving freely over each other’s body. Does it count when one of the parties involved doesn’t remember it happening? Snap out of it! There’s a child standing just a few inches away from you.

  “Hey, come on in!” I motioned, waving my hand for him to take the few steps into my living room. Joey closed the door behind him and was bouncing up and down with excitement. “This is our poor, pathetic excuse for a tree,” I whispered to Gabe. I didn’t want Joey to hear. She viewed the four-foot, nylon needled, thirty-plus-year-old tree that was once my parents’ as nothing less than beautiful.

  Gabe laughed, looking down at Joey as she tugged on the hem of his shirt.

  “Mr. Gabe, I made this for you.” Joey was beaming. “It’s an angel, and it’s even got a string so you can hang it.”

  The string on the end of that angel looked awfully familiar. My mouth gaped as I moved in for a closer look at the top secret project she’d been working on so diligently—an angel whose body was a tampon covered in glitter with paper wings glued to it. A freakin’ tampon! How did I not see her doing this? I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh or cry. My daughter just gave my boss a tampon angel. Maybe he wouldn’t know what it was. Oh, who was I kidding? Of course he would know what it was!

  “Joey…umm,” I sputtered, my face burning with embarrassment.

  “This is really nice, Joey. Thank you.” Gabe remained composed, looking at me as he bit back a full-fledged grin.

  “Make sure you hang it where everyone can see it!” She was so proud of her creation.

  “O-okay,” Gabe faltered.

  I was unable to contain my laughter and had to look away. I had to give it to her. She was creative in her way of thinking, even if it did involve my feminine products and leave me slightly embarrassed.

  “Mr. Gabe, we have really good cookies that Nona baked and hot chocolate. Want some?” Joey pleaded.

  “Oh, um, thanks, but not right now,” Gabe responded.

  “Okay, I’m just gonna go get Agnes. She asked me to wake her up when you got here. She’s dying to meet you.” Joey ran off to her bedroom.

  “Agnes is a stuffed bear,” I clarified. “Sorry about the angel.”

  We both looked down at Joey’s creation and laughed.

  “She’s got some imagination, that’s for sure.”

  “That she does.” I sighed. “So I think you should display this in your office,” I teased, causing us both to howl with laughter once again.

  It was an awesome night. The smile never left Joey’s face the entire time. I got her into bed when she finally crashed after coming down from a sugar high, leaving me alone in the conversation with Gabe.

  I took a seat next to him on the couch. “Thank you so much for coming over. It meant a lot to her.” And me.

  “It was fun. It’s been a long time since I decorated a Christmas tree.”

  I cleared my throat, unsure if I should ask what I was thinking. “How long ago did your mom pass away?” The words spewed past my lips before I could even stop them.

  He looked away, and I instantly regretted vocalizing my thoughts. “I was fifteen.”

  “I’m
...I’m so sorry.”

  “Yeah, it was a long time ago, but I still miss her a lot.”

  I nodded. “Was she sick?” Honestly, Faith, since when did you become such a busybody?

  “Umm...” He ran his hand through his hair. “No. She was in a car accident.”

  I felt my eyes welling up with tears when he began to choke up. “I’m really sorry. That was none of my business.”

  “Nah, it’s fine.”

  Sighing, I tried to switch topics to lighten the mood. “So that is the world’s prettiest ugliest Christmas tree.” I giggled, happy to see a smile appear on his face. “Next year, it will be a real one. I can’t wait, and I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “You would’ve been fine. You just have to be more assertive. That sleazeball realtor was trying to take you over. Once he saw you weren’t playing his game, he backed down.”

  “Actually, it was you who wasn’t playing his game. Remember? If I were left to do it on my own, I would have probably ended up with a shittier place than the one I’m in now. I suck at negotiations.”

  “I don’t know, seeing the sweet deal you landed today, I’d say you’re pretty good at it.”

  I threw my head back on the couch, laughing. “I hardly think batting my eyelashes and sticking out my boobs to old men who are probably pumped up on Viagra qualifies me as a negotiator.”

  “So is that what you did?” he teased.

  “Yeah, well, since Chad’s flirtatious efforts were getting us nowhere, I needed to think of something.”

  He shook his head and double dimpled me, causing my stomach to flip ever so slightly. “Well, whatever you did, thank you.”

  “I told you before, I’m happy to help.” My heart was racing as we silently stared at each other.

  “Faith?”

  “Yeah,” I replied in a whisper.

  “Last weekend when we got…drunk. Did anything happen?”

  Oh no, his memory was coming back to him. Like one of those cheesy Lifetime movies where the conniving vixen almost gets away with seducing the man she’s infatuated with. “Oh...umm…no. Why?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I just—oh, never mind.”

  I sighed in relief, hoping we were done with this topic of conversation. He dropped his gaze to his watch, and I knew what was coming next.

  “Well, I should get going.”

  “Oh, okay.” I tried to sound upbeat, but the truth was I really wanted him to stay and hang out for a little while longer. I didn’t know why. It wasn’t like we were going to pick up where we’d left off last week or anything. But a girl can dream, right?

  “Thanks for giving up your Saturday and your birthday to help me out,” Gabe said when we reached the door.

  “And thank you for making Joey’s night. You have a new fan.” I giggled, looking down at the angel in his hand.

  He echoed my sentiment, chuckling back. It was as if everything was in slow motion as he turned the door handle. “Hey, Faith?”

  “Yeah?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Are you going to Chad’s wedding?” Chad’s wedding was in two weeks. Right after the craziness of the holidays, but smack-dab in the middle of my move. Since I knew Chad would be hurt if I didn’t attend, and since I’d already RSVP’d with a yes weeks ago, I knew I had to go.

  “Yes, I am.” I held my breath, preparing my response to his next question.

  If you say yes, what would your co-workers say?

  You could tell everyone you were going as friends.

  Remember your job and who employs you in that job. No more impure thoughts, Faith! Seeing him in a tux will only cause those thoughts to run amuck.

  Wouldn’t it be nice to go with a “date” instead of being a third wheel to Natalia and Darius?

  Yes. My answer will definitely be yes.

  “Cool.” He nodded.

  I exhaled slowly and pinched my eyebrows in confusion. Cool? And just like that, he silenced the two crazy bitches in my head, and any hopes of being Gabe Samuels’s wedding date dissipated.

  Chapter 25

  Faith

  Christmas and New Year had come and gone, and I was officially moved into my new place. I still had boxes everywhere and was doing my best to get them unpacked in between working and being the only parent to my child since her father up and left for California to start his new life without even a goodbye.

  He was angry over the way Joey was behaving because she didn’t want to be around Brittany, so instead of being the adult and spending one-on-one time with his daughter before he left, he chose to punish her by leaving without even seeing her. I hated him. I tried my hardest to keep things as normal as possible for Joey, allowing her to go out to dinner once a week with Cole’s parents, who were just as broken up over his behavior as Joey was. I was even fine with her spending what should have been Cole’s weekends at their house. They loved her and vice-versa, and I didn’t want to punish them for their son’s actions.

  Sylvia had been a big help with the move as well, forgoing her weekend bingos to help me get things in order. She had also aided in keeping Joey’s mind off her father.

  Tonight I had put all my unpacking aside and focused on looking my best for Chad’s wedding. I was so glad my little black go-to dress I had purchased years ago still fit like a glove, allowing me to forgo the purchase of a new one. All the gods were in my favor. My hair was behaving and my makeup was flawless, camouflaging the tiny zit that had appeared on my left cheek when I’d woken up this morning. The only thing missing was a date. Even though Nat was happy to share Darius with me, I was still wishing I were entering that ballroom with Gabe instead.

  Silly, stupid girl!

  The past two weeks had been business as usual with him. It was easy to do when he was hardly in the office. He had taken a few days off to go skiing with his dad and was in London on business for a week, allowing me to cool down with my impure thoughts of him.

  I was floored when I received my year-end bonus in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars. I was so shocked I had actually brought it to his attention, assuming they had put a few too many zeros in that check by accident. He laughed it off and assured me the amount was correct. I felt funny accepting this huge amount, but he explained to me it was nothing in comparison to the amount of money I’d landed him with Mr. Clemente, so my guilt subsided ever so slightly. After the initial surprise wore off, happiness set in. This would be a huge chunk of my down payment for my mortgage. Everything was falling into place. I just needed to keep any inappropriate thoughts about my boss out of my head, and I’d be golden.

  I scanned the elegantly decorated ballroom as we entered, spotting some of my co-workers, but not the one I was really looking for. The ceremony was going to begin in a few moments and since he was the best man, I was assuming it was only a matter of time before I could begin salivating over him.

  “Faith!” a man’s voice shouted from behind me.

  Oh, jeez, how could I have forgotten about Chad’s obnoxious friend Max? He was the last person I felt like having a conversation with, but I put on my best smile as he approached me. “Are you trying to outdo the bride? Because I do believe you are the most beautiful woman in this place tonight.”

  Seriously? Can’t you come up with some better lines than that? “Thank you.” I smiled through clenched teeth.

  “Are you here with a date?”

  “Mmm...hmm.” I nodded, looking around for Darius, who I was hoping would play along—if I could find him, that is.

  “Oh.” He slouched in defeat.

  I caught Natalia coming toward me out of the corner of my eye. Desperate times called for desperate measures. She glared at me questionably when I grabbed her arm as she got closer. “I’m here with my girlfriend, Natalia.”

  His eyes widened, and I wasn’t sure if having him think I was into girls was a good thing or bad when his smile broadened.

  “We’re in a very monogamous relationship,” I clarified.
r />   “What are you doing?” Natalia whispered, her eyes burning into me.

  “Babe, let’s go grab a seat.” Damn, Darius had to foil my plan.

  I covered my mouth in shock, still trying to play the game. “Darius, how many times does she have to tell you she’s with me now?”

  I was hoping he’d get the message I was conveying with my eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Faith, but it’s over. It’s Darius who I want to be with now. I’ve been trying to break it to you for weeks now.” Natalia tried her best to stifle her laughter, leaving Max dumbfounded as he stared at the two of us, trying to figure out what was going on. Natalia giggled, taking Darius’s hand and walking off. Some girlfriend she turned out to be!

  “So, it looks like you’re back on the market.” Max raised an eyebrow, not believing a word of my made-up relationship with Natalia.

  I shrugged, still not willing to admit I was single.

  “It’s okay, Faith. Lots of chicks come to weddings without dates. You don’t have to feel ashamed and make up a story about who you came with. After all, that’s not important…it’s who you leave with that is.” He looked me over like a ravenous lion going in for the kill.

  “Hey, Faith!”

  A small smile adorned my face at the sound of Gabe’s voice. Just like in all the princess movies I watched with Joey, my hero had come to rescue me from the clutches of the vile beast. I turned around and caught my breath at the sight of him, dressed to perfection in a black tux, with his perfectly tousled hair and a hint of a five o’clock shadow. Yes, he was the handsomest of princes throughout the whole land. How was it possible for him to look even sexier than he already did? It was unfair to any other man that a gorgeous specimen like himself even existed.

  “Hey!” I exclaimed, pulling in my lower lip, trying to not be obvious with my blatant assessment of him. “Wow! You look like you should be on a cologne ad or something.” Did I really just say that? Those adorable dimples flashed across his cheeks then quickly faded when he cast his gaze upon Max.

  “You better go find a seat. The ceremony is going to start in a few.”