It Won't Prosper: Parable On Infidelity In Marriage
Page 19
It was on one of those nights, years later, that Frankie approached her at the bar in Huey’s Restaurant on Madison. She had been sitting there for three hours ordering drink after drink. It had only taken Frankie asking once for her to agree to a hookup. Karen had needed to free herself from the guilt. She went, and when Frankie sat down at the table, he readied lines of cocaine. He passed her the rolled up dollar, she took it and snorted the blow.
Karen wiped the tears from her face. Others on the beach were starting to stare at her crying. The lyrics to her song, which was on auto-repeat, rang true to her core. It was because of the Lord’s mercy that she was not consumed.
Mario’s death was enough for the high-ranking officers of The CREW to let her go. When she was released from the hospital, she scurried back to Memphis with the money from her joint bank account with Mario. It was enough for her to rent a one-bedroom apartment—paying eighteen months in advance, buy furniture, and food.
Karen began to work as a waitress at a strip club and eventually became an exotic dancer. She stayed clear of any drugs and alcohol, using her money to pay for tuition at the community college she attended. She started off doing only lap dances, which ended on the first year anniversary of Mario’s death. That night she got drunk and went home with a stranger, experimented with ecstasy, and had sex until the early morning. The next day she re-grouped and lived her life as if nothing happened; she continued to do the same thing every year after.
Karen kept her dark secret. She could not break the habit no matter how her life changed for the better. She met Camille James when she was hired as an intern at I.T.S. and was elated to find out Ms. James was the owner. Camille was impressive, with beauty, brains, and a good heart. The two of them developed a friendship immediately, and she could not have asked for a better boss or friend. Karen was hired full time as Camille’s Executive Assistant upon obtaining her Associates Degree in Business. I.T.S had an awesome benefits package, with health insurance, vacation, sick days, and tuition reimbursement. Camille encouraged her to go back for her Bachelor’s Degree. Then she met Paige Richards, a totally hotheaded diva, who made Karen want to call on her street days and beat some sense into her. She could not do that because Paige came with Camille’s package. However, over the years the three of them had become sisters and had one another’s back.
Despite all the good things in her life, it was finding out that she was pregnant that stopped D-Day from recurring. Karen would never regret Nikki. She had saved her. Now she had Frankie, and although she abhorred the precarious behavior she chose to numb her guilt and pain, she knew she was blessed. She knew it could have turned out tragically. But God! What was the likelihood that she would have a chance reunion with Frankie? When Camille was in the hospital, recovering from being hit by a drunken driver, she and Nikki had needed a ride home. Paige and Kevin agreed to take her; only Kevin needed to stop by his office. They walked into the Assistant District Attorney’s lobby, and the mail courier was engaged in a conversation with members of Kevin’s staff.
“Hey, Frankie. I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Paige.” Frankie smiled as he directed his attention to Paige and Kevin.
“Hi, Paige, it’s good to meet you.” He shook hands with her and then Kevin.
When Kevin turned to introduce Karen and Nikki, they were both frozen in a daze of disbelief. Frankie looked from her to Nikki, and he knew immediately. Paige and Kevin looked at Frankie and Karen and back to each other.
“I guess you’ve met Karen?” Kevin asked.
The question broke the spell that Frankie and Karen had been under. After briefly explaining to Kevin and Paige how they had met, they all quietly understood who Frankie was to Nikki. She resembled him, having his eye color, chin, and even her little, crooked smile matched his. Nikki held out her hand to shake his.
“Hi, I am Nikki Locke. What’s your name?” Frankie, with tears in his eyes, gave her a handshake and grabbed her up in a hug. Once his emotions were under control, they exchanged contact information, and he reluctantly continued his delivery route.
Frankie came to her apartment that same night, and they talked for hours and had been together since. Now they were married. If someone had told her a year ago that Frankie would find them and marry her, no less, she wouldn’t have believed them.
She had a lingering thought in the back of her mind that God allowed Mario’s promise to her to come true; everything was ok. Karen smiled again feeling the impact of the lyrics streaming through her earbuds. She entered into the luxury condo where her family was sleeping with a heart full of gratitude. She was singing, “I can never repay You Lord for what You done for me. How You loosed my shackles and you set me free. How You made a way out of no way, turned my darkness into day.”
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Table of Contents
A GDWOODSBOOKS PUBLICATIONIt Won’t Prosper
default label
Dedication
Episode OneJanine
Episode TwoSeth
Episode ThreeSeth
Episode FourSeth
Episode FiveMonicaCar Note: $650.00Car Insurance $145.00Xfinity $105
Episode SixMonica
Episode SevenJanine
Episode EightJanine
Episode NineJanine
Episode TenJanine
Episode ElevenSeth
Episode TwelveJanine
Episode ThirteenSeth
Episode FourteenMonica
Episode FifteenSeth
Episode SixteenSeth
Episode SeventeenMonica
Episode EighteenJanine
Episode NineteenSeth
Bonus EpisodeJanine
A note from Genevieve
SPECIAL BONUS MATERIAL
SPECIAL BONUS MATERIAL
A GDWOODSBOOKS PUBLICATIONAll I’ll Ever Ask
About the Author
Chapter 1: Hit-and-Run
Chapter 2: Destiny or Rebound
Chapter 3: Introductions & ReunionsDowntown Trauma Center
Chapter 4: Confessions, Obsessions, and Progressions
Chapter 5: ExchangesLiberty Fellowship Church
Chapter 6: Love, Honor, and Respect
Chapter 7: Baggage Sunday
An excerpt from Book TwoAfter Church: Chapter 1Reflections