"Great." Nadine sat down. "Tiring. I missed you." That last bit came out without warning and she didn't know where to look after such a revealing statement.
Brandon was staring at her, transfixed. "I missed you too."
"Nadine!" Ariel squealed at the doorway to the room.
Nadine was spared from a reaction to Brandon's declaration as she turned her attention to Ariel, who looked adorable in her yellow dress with little white flowers at the neckline.
"She remembers me," Nadine marveled as Ariel headed over to her and gave her a hug.
Brandon smiled. "It seems the Blake family has a thing for you."
His statement warmed Nadine and she was still glowing long after they sat in church. Her arrival there had caused a minor stir when she followed Brandon to where his family was sitting.
His sister Latoya greeted her warmly and his mother gave her a friendly smile.
It seemed as if everything was set up for a lovely evening. It was going to be a nice way to ring in the New Year. They were going to have a candlelight service and a charge from the pastor for the New Year. She was looking forward to that. Brandon's church celebrated New Year differently from her church, and she was anticipating the experience. The music was exceptional, she was very happy to note. Because music was her business she had the tendency to be a little bit more sensitive when things were off key. This Vintage Road church had the music down pat. When Alisha sang, the entire Blake family took out their phones and cameras to record her.
And then there was a testimonies section and she stiffened in her seat when she saw Ashley walking up the aisle in a white dress. Her hair was caught up in a chignon and she looked almost ethereal and innocent.
"Brothers and sisters," Ashley said in the microphone, "I have come home. Like the old year, I have left my old life behind and I am back home where I belong, in the house of the Lord."
"No, she is not doing this," Latoya hissed. "No. Pinch me because I must be dreaming."
Nadine stiffened and so did Brandon. He was shell-shocked. His parents looked solemn too.
Ashley clutched the microphone to her, bowing her head in a meek pose. "Like the prodigal, I have realized that things can get really rough out there and it is better to be here with fellow believers."
"Amen," the people around murmured.
"A few years ago I gave my heart to the Lord and then I strayed. That happens," Ashley bowed her head, "and I know that like the brother at home in the story of the prodigal, some of you will not like that I am back."
"The hussy is looking at me," Latoya mumbled.
"But I am back and I would like to say that my husband and I are having problems and it seems as if he has moved on, but I can't because I love him. I love my family. I love my children and I want us to be together.
"I want us to grow them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I know that I am partly responsible for us being apart but surely the Lord doesn't want families to break up in this manner, and so I am pleading from the bottom of my heart, Brandon, please come back home to me. I have changed. The Lord said we should forgive seventy times seven. Surely you can give me, give us another chance."
She started to cry in earnest and a big-bodied church sister went to the front and led her off the platform, hugging her as they exited through the side door.
"Fake," Latoya hissed. "I am so not impressed."
Nadine was afraid to look at Brandon, afraid to see if he was considering what Ashley said. If she was begging to be forgiven, surely he would respond.
She had all but tied his hands. She had done a confession of a sorts in the front of the church. She had even alluded to the fact that Brandon had moved on, in the process implying that it was with her, and she had begged him for forgiveness and mentioned God's forgiveness.
She could hear the whisperings about her now and suddenly she wished that she hadn't come to witness the total breakdown of a wife who genuinely wanted her husband back and was even willing to sacrifice her pride to get him.
She was the other woman in this piece and there was no two ways about it. She stared stoically ahead but her tears were not far. She swallowed them down. Not now. Not now. She would not do this now.
*****
Brandon stepped outside of church after Ashley's stunning public confession. He did not know what to feel. Was he so jaded from years of hearing ‘I am sorry and please forgive me' that he didn't feel anything?
He was hoping to find Ashley outside to find out what she was playing at, but he couldn't find her. Her car wasn't there either.
"Ashley is playing you," Latoya said, creeping up behind him.
He spun around. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. She made a public confession; that's not her style."
"Her style is to do whatever it takes to get you to be her slave," Latoya groaned. "Brandon, I have that girl’s number. She is as fake as fake can be. She and her crocodile tears can’t fool me."
Brandon sighed.
"Let her loose." Latoya urged. "Cut her loose now; don't let her hurt you again."
Brandon rubbed his hand over his eyes when he saw his mother hurrying out of the side door and looking around. He groaned, "There is the good angel."
Latoya looked around and groaned too. "I don't care if I am the bad angel. I just want you happy. You know that stress can kill. I don't want to see you stressed out and dead. Mom is squarely on Ashley's side; don't let her turn you, Brandon."
"Latoya, Ashley is my wife. I know you dislike her but the deed is done; we are married already. Maybe she and I can have a fresh start."
"You two are always having a fresh start." Latoya frowned. "Marriage is not supposed to be a battlefield, and you are always at war. Don't forget how it was. Ashley cheated on you with a girl."
Brandon winced. It took Latoya's bluntness to remind him what Ashley had done. His mother drew near and clutched his hand.
"Forgive Ashley; she made her mistakes. It's time you forgive her and start the New Year right. You have the girls. You may not know this, but living apart has affected both of them. You have always been a loving and upstanding son; you are a good Christian man, Brandon. Please find it in your heart to forgive her."
When he saw his father and Richard coming through the door, Brandon groaned. "So everyone left Nadine sitting alone?"
"She is fine. She is young and gorgeous and famous," his mother said earnestly. "She'll be fine. Maybe it was a bad idea to befriend her now. It doesn't look good either, Brandon…dating another woman when you are still married, cultivating a relationship that you know can go nowhere. The Lord gave you your own little flock to tend. You have two children, a broken home is not the legacy that you want."
His father and Richard stood nearby.
"What a way to start the New Year, huh?" Leonard chuckled dryly. "I have never in all of my life had such a dramatic start—my daughter-in-law accusing my son of moving on when she was the person at fault."
"What do you think I should do, Dad?" Brandon asked.
"Cut her loose," his father said. "I don't trust Ashley. Never did, never will. Well, unless the Lord himself impresses it upon my heart. Right now my heart is unimpressed."
"Dad is officially my favorite parent," Latoya declared, drifting closer to her father.
Beatrice sighed. "You two. I don't know what to say...we preach one thing in church and then when it comes to living, we practice something else."
Latoya made a face and then shrugged. "At the risk of sounding unchristian, I say kick the girl to the curb."
Richard moved closer to the tableau. "I think you should do a trial reconciliation. That would be a nice compromise. You have to make a serious attempt at trying to rebuild the relationship and building back the trust."
"Waste of time," Latoya murmured. "Does a leopard change its spots?"
Leonard shrugged. "That's not a bad idea, Brandon. Maybe you can see...for the kids. It never hurts to try for them, but if she goes back to treating you lik
e a doormat, get the hell out of there—sorry for swearing," he said sheepishly, "—and don't look back."
Chapter Thirteen
For the kids...Brandon dropped a solemn-looking Nadine at his apartment; her car was there. They hadn't talked since he had left the girls at his parents’ house. She was holding herself stiffly, as if she would shatter if he touched her. When he parked the car they looked over on the twinkling lights of the town that was spread before them and then Brandon turned to her. "Nadine..."
"No." Nadine shook her head. "There is no need to explain. There is no need for a speech. She is your wife. I always knew that." She looked at him and forced a smile. "I always knew that there was a possibility for reconciliation between you two."
Brandon sighed. "I have to give us one more chance."
"And that is more than okay." Nadine sighed. "That's what I like about you." Her voice cracked. She had been trying so hard to hold it together, and she didn't want to show how much his decision was hurting. "That and the fact that you are a dad who loves his children. My parents did it, you know. They stayed together for me and Tara."
"Until they couldn't do it anymore," Brandon sighed. "And then Tara became a brat."
"Maybe Tara always had that rebellious nature, who knows," Nadine mused. "Divorce affects children differently. Maybe Alisha and Ariel will be fine if you two part."
"Maybe, maybe not," Brandon mused. "I guess I owe it to them to do one more round with their mom."
"Sound happier about it," Nadine urged him, putting a note of jocularity in her voice. "I'd hate to think you are unhappy."
Brandon looked at her thoroughly, as if committing her face to memory. "You are a really lovely person. I'll never forget you."
"Thanks," Nadine croaked. She cleared her throat and got out of the vehicle quickly.
"I'll drop off the keys for the apartment tomorrow," Brandon said, a feeling of depression gripping him.
"No problem," Nadine said. "I... er... won't be there. I am spending New Year’s Day with Gramps. Just leave the keys under the mat at the front."
What she really meant was that she was going to Gramps to have a good cry and she couldn't face him tomorrow.
She started the car, blinking rapidly so tears wouldn’t fall. She could see Brandon leaning forlornly on the side of his car with his hands on his head. He looked so sad. Her heart broke in a million pieces.
"I love you," she whispered on a sob, driving out of the complex too fast because she didn't want him to see her tears.
*****
Brandon watched as she drove out of the complex. He could swear that he saw tears on her cheeks. It twisted something inside him. He felt bereft, as if he had lost something precious. He felt a terrible sense of loss as he watched until he couldn't see her car’s taillights anymore.
Being with her these past weeks had shown him that not every male-female relationship had to be a battle. It reminded him that he could still feel again, that life didn't have to be so hard and that the best relationships were based on friendships.
Nadine had been a good friend, someone he could laugh with, confide in and just be comfortable with. They had great chemistry together. That was what he didn’t have with Ashley.
He slumped on the car for ages and looked off into the darkness, but he had to let her go. He was not the type of person to maintain two relationships or to even be caught up in it.
In time he was sure that his feelings for Nadine would fade. In time, when he got caught up in his life with his family again, he would just remember her when he heard her on the radio again and maybe smile fondly.
He probably would feel a pang of jealousy whenever she got involved in a relationship or got married or had children, because he was sure that the media would carry all the highlights of her life. Gradually the jealousy would fade and life would go on. He had made a choice for his family.
He didn't trust Ashley, and he wasn't sure that he loved her anymore, nor was he sure that her confession at church was genuine, but he owed it to Alisha and Ariel to give his marriage a chance.
If he didn't have the children around, Ashley would be history. He would be driving down after Nadine now and begging her to wait for him while he sorted out his life.
Chapter Fourteen
"You are back!" Ashley couldn't believe that her confession at church had worked. She was genuinely surprised to see Brandon standing in the middle of the kitchen on New Year’s Day with a mug in his hand, his suitcases near his feet. He was looking through the window contemplatively.
She had won. For one glowing second she considered calling Nadine Langley and gloating. Did you think because you are a famous singer from a famous family that you could come and take my husband from me?
She smiled wider as she thought about gloating. Nadine had looked stricken last night, with her mouth slightly opened when she had confessed. Ashley hoped that today she would be very unhappy indeed. The audacity of the girl to think that she could just move in on her family.
Brandon looked at Ashley for a long while before responding.
"Ash, it can't be like before. I am thinking of going to Canada, and I want you and the girls to come with me. It will be a fresh start."
"Canada!" Ashley grimaced. "I don't want to move."
She watched as Brandon twisted his lips and she adjusted her stance hurriedly. She didn’t want to start a fight on his first day back. She was really serious about making their relationship work.
She softened her tone. "At least not till summer. I would have a million and one things to do here before I can come. You and the girls can go without me until June."
Brandon shook his head. "Well, if you are going to be here the girls can stay in school until the summer holidays."
"OK." Ashley wasn't pleased with being saddled with the children for three whole months but she would not complain. Brandon was back. She sidled up to him and leaned on him seductively. He stiffened.
"Ash, I think we should ease back into intimacy." He stepped away from her. "I am not really over the whole Regina thing. It is something I'll be working on, okay?"
"Okay." Ashley pouted.
"And we are going back to the counselor," he warned, "or find a new one in Canada."
"Okay." Ashley nodded vigorously. "Fine, whatever you say, Brandon. I am just happy that you are home. We can go to my new counselor. She's been helping me a lot to work through my stuff."
He nodded. "Let me go unpack." He headed up the stairs. "I'll use the guest bedroom for now."
Ashley made a face. "Want us to do something for the day?"
Brandon paused on the stairs and then sighed. "I am having a slight headache; didn't sleep much last night. I think I am going to take a nap."
*****
He was not happy, Ashley mused two weeks later; it was as if he was there but not really there.
He was moping around the place as if he lost his favorite puppy. His routine in the day since he started working on private contracts was to drop the kids at school, go to whatever job he had, and then come home, looking less than happy and droopy and lost.
She had won but this didn't feel like a victory. She had him back home but this was not the Brandon that she wanted. This Brandon was downtrodden and depressed.
She looked at him now across the coffee table in the waiting room of the counselor's office, and she felt real fear. This Brandon was unreadable. He wasn't trying anymore. In the past, even at the height of all of their problems, he had been the one who was always making an effort.
She had been reassured that he would be there and that she didn't have to really pull her weight with anything, but these days she wasn't so confident that they could go back to how it was. She had this feeling of foreboding that Brandon would walk out if she put even one foot wrong. She was living on a tightrope and she wasn't used to the feeling.
She wasn't used to being so cautious around him. She wasn't used to being the pacifier. She found herself adjusting to an
ything he suggested, even at the expense of her precious business, because she didn't want to spook Brandon into leaving her.
She had been the one to set up the couples’ counseling sessions on Tuesdays, but she had noted that he had not seemed too excited about it even though he had insisted that they needed counseling.
"Dr. Jill Hillman will see you now," the secretary said to them. Ashley got up but Brandon remained seated with his head in a magazine, looking as if he was enthralled in reading it.
"Brandon!" she hissed. "It's our turn."
"Oh." Brandon put down the magazine reluctantly and got up.
She glanced at it. It was an entertainment magazine featuring singers who sang meaningful lyrics. Nadine Langley was on the front page, along with a few other artistes.
"Lead the way." He gave her one of his functional smiles that didn't quite reach his eyes, and the thought crossed her mind that it was now, when their marriage was on the edge, that she found him even more attractive.
He was dressed in a long-sleeved green shirt with two buttons loosened at the top. The dark green color looked good on him. His neatly trimmed mustache and goatee combo made him appear even sexier than usual and his eyes—were they always such a rich chocolate brown and limpid looking, or was she just sex starved?
When they entered the office she realized that she wasn't the only one who thought that Brandon looked exceptional. The counselor actually paused when he came through the door and licked her lips slightly.
For the love of all that was holy. Ashley sat down abruptly. Her fifty-something counselor also liked her man. This was already not shaping up to be a good session.
"Ashley and Brandon." Jill shook their hands. "It's nice to meet you, Brandon," Jill smiled.
I'd say, Ashley thought snidely. You haven't stopped staring at him since he got in here.
"So, Brandon, I've been seeing Ashley for some time. I am happy that you can be here. Why do you think you need to be here with Ashley?"
On the Rebound Page 13
