Redemption Lake

by Monique Miller

  Next he’d been a newspaper carrier until he got fired for delivering the papers to the wrong houses and because of the number of times he’d gotten up too late to deliver the papers in a timely manner. It seemed that some people actually wanted their papers to read while they were eating breakfast. Travis had never really been a morning person and couldn’t understand why anyone would want to get up so early to read a paper when the words on the page would be the same at noon as they were at eight.

  He had also worked as a taxi driver, meter reader, and as a security guard at a few businesses. And for one lame reason or another, he was let go.

  “Hey, Beryl, are you feeling okay?” Shelby asked.

  “Uh, yeah. I’m good. Why do you ask?” Beryl offered a disbelieving smile.

  “The way your eyebrows are furrowed, it just looks like something might be wrong,” Shelby said.

  “No, I was just thinking about something,” Beryl said.

  Travis felt eyes glancing over at him. He knew everyone had probably heard Beryl ranting earlier. He was embarrassed and wanted to crawl under the table. He still couldn’t understand why Beryl was the way she was. When they’d been dating, he hadn’t been working and she’d seemed to understand how hard it was for a black man to find a job. She’d even understood when he lost the first couple of jobs in the early part of their marriage.

  He had to admit that Beryl was different from the women in his family. Travis’s sisters had always understood how hard it was for him. They’d always been helpful to him whenever he found himself between jobs.

  Actually, he couldn’t remember a time when his sisters weren’t there for him. They’d stepped right in after their mother died, taking care of his every need. He never had to worry about where his meals were coming from, never had to worry about having clean clothes, or a place to live. His sisters made sure their brother hadn’t wanted for a thing.

  In the beginning, Beryl had been like his mother and sisters. She’d catered to his every need. Cooked for him and cleaned after him. But after their first child was born, the meals degraded from full courses to get it yourself. And she stopped picking up his clothing, telling him it was time to start pulling his own weight.

  Travis had tried to cook, but burned everything, even down to pots of boiling water. He’d tried to wash clothes, but washed the whites and colored clothes together and in the wrong temperature. Not only had the white clothes turned out pink, but the colored clothes had shrunk to an un-wearable size. Beryl fussed for weeks about the money she’d had to spend buying new clothes to replace the ruined ones.

  She’d finally taken over washing the clothes again, but Travis was lucky if she folded his clothes or put them away. She had totally flipped the script, and he hadn’t felt it was fair.

  Travis had tried speaking to a few of his friends about his ordeal, but they’d just said he had been spoiled since he was a child, and it was time for him to grow up. They sided with Beryl, saying he needed to help out more, especially with the kids. His friends said all this even though he kept stressing the fact that his wife had flipped the script. Their reply to them was that everybody flips some sort of script during marriage, and Travis just needed to go with the flow.

  Travis knew most of his friends were just jealous of the fact that his mother and sisters had been so loving and caring to him. And because he’d found a woman who was also attentive to his needs and they hadn’t.

  “Travis, what’s up?” Phillip asked.

  Coming out of his thoughts, Travis looked up from his plate. Everyone else had finished their food and had left the table. His plate had barely been touched.

  “Oh. I’m not really that hungry,” Travis said.

  “You can always wrap it up and eat it later. I’m sure there is some foil or plastic wrap in there somewhere.”

  Travis pushed his plate away slightly. “Thanks.”

  Phillip took a seat next to Travis. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

  “Nah. I’m good, man. There are just a few things I need to work out for myself.”

  “Well, I just want you to know I’m here if you need to talk. No matter what time.” Phillip firmly patted Travis’s back.

  Travis nodded his head.

  “Hey man, we’re about to gather in the living room for a couple of rounds of the Newlywed Game. We’ve changed it a little to better resemble the Oldiewed Game, since you’ve all been married for more than two years.” Phillip smiled.

  Travis looked to see if Beryl was anywhere around, but didn’t see her. He stood. “I might join you guys in a few minutes.”

  “It would be good if you and Beryl could join us. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but just think if they’d taken breaks building that city? It might not have ever been completed,” Phillip encouraged.

  “Let me see what Beryl wants to do,” Travis said.

  “Okay, we’re going to start in about ten minutes. As soon as Shelby and I can finish getting the kitchen cleaned.”

  Again Travis nodded his head, wondering where his wife was. He picked up his plate from the table and headed for the kitchen. After wrapping up his food and placing it in the refrigerator, he headed toward their bedroom to see if Beryl was in there.

  Not seeing her, he left, casually looking around the cabin. But he still didn’t see her. Instead of asking anyone if they knew where she was, Travis decided to look outside. As soon as he stepped onto the porch of the cabin, he spotted her silhouette leaning against a tree only a few feet away.

  Gently he closed the door. At first he stood just outside of the door, staring at his wife’s back, not wanting to disturb her. Then gingerly he shuffled off the porch and made his way to the tree where she stood.

  “You okay?” he asked not wanting to startle her.

  She didn’t answer him at first. He didn’t know whether she’d heard him or not. But after a moment, she finally spoke.

  “As okay as I’m going to be, I guess.” Beryl spoke without looking in his direction.

  Travis listened as insects made their various screeches and as an owl hooted from somewhere nearby. “I’m surprised you came out here all by yourself. It’s pretty creepy out here.”

  Again Beryl paused before speaking. “I just needed some fresh air, that’s all. And besides, I’m not crazy enough to walk that far off. Plus I’ve got the keys to the car.” Beryl jingled the keys, showing him how she already had her thumb poised on the panic alarm button.

  He should have known. Beryl wasn’t the type to do just anything on a whim. She always thought things through—often over and over again—especially when it came to safety issues. She was one of the most safety conscious people he knew.

  Travis looked down at his glow in the dark watch. They’d be starting the Newlywed Game in about five minutes, and he didn’t want to go back into the cabin with a sour feeling on his stomach. Or have his wife sitting around with a sour look on her face.

  “Baby, about earlier,” he started, but Beryl cut him off.

  “Don’t, Travis. Don’t do this. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

  “Please, baby, just hear me out. I know you are tired of hearing me talk without anything to show for what I’ve been saying. But I pledge to you right here and now that I will do better and I will be a better person. You’ll see. I will be a changed man.”

  Beryl shook her head with hopelessness, not saying a word.

  “I know you think I’m just talking, but you’ll see. I’ll stop the talking and just start showing you. I want to show you that I can be the man you want me to be. I will prove that to you. I promise.” In his heart of hearts, Travis meant every word.

  When he got back home he was really going to look for a job. Not just circle a few ads in the paper and leave it on the table, making it look like he’d actually been job hunting. He’d do everything in his power to make sure he was following all the rules to prevent getting fired—starting with getting to work on time. He’d set two alarm clocks if
need be, to make sure he got up on time so that Beryl wouldn’t have to wake him up. He’d even take it upon himself to help with the kids in the morning.

  Additionally, he was only going to watch his recorded television shows after he’d helped with doing some of the household chores. And even though he didn’t want to, he’d refrain from renting any movies from the video store for a few weeks; until he could get into the swing of things with his new work schedule.

  Travis was excited about his new ideas and even more excited about the fact that very soon, Beryl would see that he wasn’t just talk.

  “You’ll see, Beryl. I am a changed man. All I ask is that you give me one more chance.” Beryl turned her head toward him and stared. “You know Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Travis said, borrowing the words Phillip had spoken to him. “But I promise I’ll keep on working at this until I prove it to you.”

  “Two words, Travis,” Beryl said.

  “What’s that?”

  She placed her forefinger on his lips indicating that she wanted him to stop talking.

  “Show me,” Beryl said.

  Without speaking, Travis nodded his head with enthusiasm. Beryl was giving him another chance, and this time, he wouldn’t do something stupid to mess it up.

  He looked down at his watch. “They’re about to start playing the Newlywed Game in a few minutes. You want to play?”

  While Travis loved television and movies, Beryl’s thing was board games. She loved them and was very competitive. So Travis figured the game would bring out Beryl’s competitive side and hopefully help her forget the events of the last few hours.

  “It might be fun,” Travis added.

  “You know I don’t play for fun. I play to win.”

  “Now that’s the Beryl I know,” Travis said as he led Beryl back into the cabin.

  Upon entering, they saw the women gathered in the living room. The men were nowhere in sight.

  “Oh, you guys are just in time,” Shelby said. “Travis, the men are in my bedroom answering some questions. Why don’t you join them while we women answer our questions out here.”

  Travis and Beryl did a Barack and Michelle Obama fist dap—touching fist-to-fist—wishing each other good luck.

  Once Travis found the men, they filled him in on the rules of the game and gave him pieces of eight by ten-inch cardboard paper to answer his questions on. After they were finished, Phillip left the room to consult with his wife, ensuring the women were finished with their questions and answers so they could all continue the game.

  Once they were all assembled back in the living room, Beryl, Nina, and Charlotte sat in a row in front of the fireplace, ready to begin the game.

  “Okay, men, are you ready?” Shelby asked.

  The men all answered yes.

  Shelby continued. “Gentlemen, I asked your wives three questions, and they’ve written down the answers they thought you might say. Each question has a point value and the couple with the most points at the end of the game will win. Phillip and I will keep score.

  “In the event of a tie, there will be a bonus question asked as the tie breaker. Any questions?” Shelby asked. Hearing none, she continued. “Travis you first. This first question is worth five points. What sport or sports did you play in high school?”

  “I played football,” Travis answered with ease.

  Beryl flipped her card over which read: FOOTBALL.

  Travis and Beryl both clapped their hands.

  “All right, good going,” Shelby said. “George?”

  “I didn’t play any sports in high school. I was all into the books,” George said.

  Nina flipped her card over and it read: NONE. And with an air of boredom she placed it back down.

  “Good for you both also.” Shelby jotted the points down. “Okay, Xavier. What about you?”

  “Oh, let’s see. I played football, basketball, and baseball.” Xavier said this as though it were a matter of fact everyone should know. “I helped my high school football team go to State all four years I was there.”

  Travis wanted to gag. He was surprised the Pretty Boy had played any kind of sports. Surely he had to have been scared someone might scratch his pretty face with a foul or a fly ball.

  Shelby smiled, looking to Charlotte for her answer, “Charlotte?”

  Charlotte flipped her card over and it read: BASKETBALL, FOOTBALL AND BASEBALL.

  “Yeah, boy,” Xavier said, acting like his team was going to State again on his account.

  “Looks like everyone’s tied. Maybe these questions are a little to easy for you all.” Shelby shook her head. “Next question. Men, we asked your wives how old you were when you got your first kiss.”

  In the same order in which they had gone before, the men gave their answers. By the end of question number two, only Beryl and Travis had scored. And by the end of question three, only Charlotte and Xavier had scored.

  “We’re now at the end of round two. Beryl and Travis, you have fifteen points. Charlotte and Xavier, you have twenty points, and Nina and George, you have five points,” Shelby said.

  Travis saw the fight in Beryl’s eyes. She wasn’t happy about the fact that they were losing, and Travis knew they’d have to get all the answers right in the next round. He didn’t even want to think about how tense things would be back in their room that night with an angry Beryl on his hands if they lost.

  The women moved out of the way, trading seats with their husbands. Likewise, Phillip switched places with Shelby.

  “Okay, ladies, we asked your husbands three questions,” Phillip said. “First question. Where did the two of you meet?”

  Travis and Xavier got their answers right, but George did not. George said that he and Nina met at a church conference in Greenville, but Nina was adamant about the fact that they’d first met at a church conference in Atlanta.

  Question two asked what the womens’ favorite movies were. Travis and George got the answer wrong, and Xavier got it right. For the final question Phillip asked where the couples went on their first dates. Travis was the only one who answered correctly, saying he’d taken Beryl to the Olive Garden for dinner.

  “It looks like we have a tie between Travis and Xavier. So we’ll have to go with the bonus question,” Phillip said.

  Shelby stood back up. “Gentlemen, we asked your wives who your favorite superhero was as a child.”

  Travis answered the Super Friends and Xavier said he didn’t really have a favorite superhero, but if he had to choose one, it would be Superman since he was so much like him.

  Beryl turned her card over with a smile and Charlotte frowned when she turned hers over. Beryl’s card said: THE SUPER FRIENDS and Charlotte’s said: UNDERDOG.

  Travis jumped up shouting, “Yes, yes, yes,” then stepped over to Beryl, giving her a victory hug.

  “Underdog, Charlotte?” Xavier asked.

  “Don’t act like you don’t know why I wrote it, Xavier,” Charlotte said.

  “I mean, come on. You could have written something a little better than that.” Xavier looked around at the others in the room as he spoke. His ego had taken a major hit.

  Travis smiled inwardly. He guessed like, Superman, Pretty Boy must have had his own type of Kryptonite.

  Chapter 11

  Xavier Knight

  Tuesday: 6:17 A.M.

  Xavier strained as he counted. “Four hundred ninety-eight, Four hundred ninety-nine, five hundred.” Reaching five hundred, he finally allowed his body to relax from all the crunches he’d done. He’d been up since five o’clock that morning doing as much of the daily workout he normally did in his home gym.

  As he lay catching his breath, Charlotte rolled out of her bed, and without saying a word, she stepped over him. After picking up her toiletry bag, she headed into the bathroom.

  Xavier shook his head. He wondered how long it was going to take his wife to cool off enough to talk to him. He sat up and pulled his BlackBerry off of the dresser. Turning it on he s
aw there still wasn’t a signal. He desperately needed to check his e-mails and wanted to see how sales were going at the dealership.

  In one way, he was actually glad there wasn’t a signal. That way he wouldn’t have to worry about what had happened. A few miles before they had reached the cabin, one of his former clients had called. A female client named Yasmine. The same Yasmine who had been the main reason he and Charlotte were at the retreat. He hadn’t spoken to Yasmine in almost a month, and though he wondered why she was calling, in his gut he knew. The woman only wanted to cause him more trouble.

  But he hadn’t had a chance to find out what she wanted because as soon as he’d said hello and spoke Yasmine’s name, he’d lost the signal. Simultaneously, Charlotte turned her head with neck breaking speed, looking at him with questioning eyes.

  Seeing the signal had been lost, Xavier flipped the phone shut only to have Charlotte cross her arms and roll her head in a why-is-Yasmine-calling-you motion. He tried to explain that he didn’t know why the woman was calling and told her the signal was dropped before he could find out.

  Charlotte rolled her eyes. She didn’t believe him. Xavier couldn’t blame her for her distrust. But he was telling the truth.

  The problems first started when the dealership began running a new series of commercials that starred him and featured women often wearing little of nothing. The commercials were already starting to draw people in droves. Charlotte started developing insecurities one day during one of the commercial shoots after seeing some women groping on him like he was an R&B star.

  The women—actresses—had been wearing bikinis while he wore his swim trunks. He played the part of a lifeguard and they were damsels in distress, drowning from the high car prices of the competitors. At the end of the commercial, the women gathered around Xavier, thanking him with hugs for his rescue abilities. Xavier hadn’t touched any of them as he held a lifesaving device.

  Charlotte was so livid about the display from the commercial shoot that it had taken him two weeks to finally get her to calm down about it. Two weeks of assuring her there was nothing going on with any of the women and that all they were doing was acting. Also during that time, she’d become paranoid about his every move. So to appease her, he’d started updating her on his whereabouts, and that seemed to diminish her paranoia.