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Eve cringed with each cautious step she planted upon the stairs. The smallest creak in the woodwork made her skin tingle. She held her breath and waited. Had anyone heard? It had been an hour since everyone went to bed, but that didn’t mean they were asleep.
In the dim light in the hallway, Eve paused in front of the mirror. Her figure was more developed than Mee-Kyong’s, but her face was too angular, her features a little too harsh. She smoothed down her hair, tucked one strand behind her left ear, studied the effect, and then set it back how it was. She ran her hands over Kennedy’s blouse. Good thing the little American princess was too far away to care if some of her clothes went missing tonight.
Eve was almost to the front door when she turned into the small secondary hallway. She padded silently down a set of two stairs and brushed the door with her fingertips. “Are you awake?” She pressed her cheek against the wooden frame and tapped it twice with one finger. “It’s me.”
Then he was there.
Benjamin still had on his work pants from the day but had taken his shirt off. As he opened the door, he pulled a sleeveless undershirt over his torso. He placed one arm on his doorframe and leaned against it. “What do you want?”
Eve positioned her body at a slight angle to his, willing him to notice her hair, her blouse, her skirt — which Eve knew for a fact Mr. Stern had forbidden his daughter to wear out of the house when she was still in high school. “I was having a hard time sleeping. Just thought I’d come down for a visit.’”
Benjamin continued to block the door with his bulky frame. “You know we can’t do that anymore.” She saw the way the lump in his throat worked when he swallowed. “It’s different now.”
Eve lifted one shoulder. “It doesn’t have to be.”
Benjamin grunted, but he didn’t make any move to shut the door. His eyes wandered slowly, shyly. “We can’t.” He snapped his head back up. “I can’t.”
His flushed face gave Eve the courage to put one arm against his chest. Her palm was on the cloth of his undershirt, and her fingertips brushed the hard smoothness of his skin. “The Sterns never found out before,” she purred. “They don’t need to now.”
Benjamin glanced quickly down the hall. “I’m trying to change.”
“For what? Good-conduct badges in heaven?” Eve deliberately let her volume rise more than necessary. With another shush, Benjamin grabbed her by the arm and pulled her inside. He kept the door open and whispered in her ear, “You need to stop this. It’s not right.”
Eve let the corners of her lips curl up as she wrapped both arms around Benjamin’s neck. One swift motion from her foot shut the door behind them. “I’ve got a whole lifetime to earn back my reward points from God.”
***
Juliette couldn’t even think of lying down yet. She paced from one bedpost to another, gesturing with her hands every now and then and almost panting from walking so fast. “I can’t believe how quickly she’s changed.” She glanced at Roger every now and then to make sure he was still listening. “I’ve been so worried about her leaving, about going through another round of good-byes, you know. All that stuff.” Roger nodded, so Juliette continued. “And then it just came together. I mean, you encouraged me to have the conversation and get it out of the way, and it was like she had just been waiting for that very moment, for that exact question. She wasn’t flippant, but there wasn’t any second guessing, either.”
“Almost sounds like it was too easy.”
At Roger’s murmur, Juliette froze halfway between the mahogany bedposts. “What was that?”
She had already resumed her pacing before Roger replied, “I still don’t know how to read that girl. That’s all. She was so tough when she came here. She’s got an iron will, that one, so it’s hard for me to see her accepting the truth that readily.”
Juliette was too excited, and her spirits were too high for her husband’s words to discourage her. He wasn’t there in that den. He didn’t know. He wasn’t the one who had studied with Mee-Kyong for weeks on end. He saw her as a hardened young woman from the brothel, but Juliette had seen glimpses into Mee-Kyong’s heart, and it was beautiful. “I was thinking we could plan the baptism for Sunday afternoon.”
“Fine with me.”
Juliette placed her hands on her hips. “Maybe you could at least pretend to be enthusiastic.”
Roger sighed. “I’m just tired, Baby Cakes.” Juliette glanced at the clock. It had already been an hour since they got ready for bed. “In the morning, I’ll have more energy to be ecstatic with you, all right? For now, I just want to rest.”
Juliette threw on her slippers. “Well, there’s no way I’m getting any sleep yet. I’m going downstairs to email Kennedy.”
Roger muttered his consent.
***
As soon as his door slammed shut, Benjamin threw on his sweatshirt and wrapped his arms over his chest. The spot above his heart burned where Eve’s fingers had brushed his skin. The heat seeped all the way down into his lungs. He wiped his chest as if he could erase his body’s memory of that touch.
The base of his spine tingled with an icy chill, and small drops of sweat beaded on the back of his neck. He rubbed his clammy hands on his cheeks, while his body shivered once in protest against his morals. Maybe he shouldn’t have sent her away. After all, it had been so long ...
What right did she think she had, coming to him in the middle of the night? How many months had she regaled him with that cold, indifferent stare? How long had she spent ignoring him, only to throw herself at him now? What had changed? Benjamin slumped onto his bed but jumped back up just a minute later. He knew exactly what changed.
Mee-Kyong had arrived.
***
“What are you doing up?” Juliette put both hands on Eve’s shoulders after nearly running into her on the dimly lit staircase.
Eve wiped her cheek where mascara dribbled down her face like an oil spill. “Nothing. I was just thirsty.”
Juliette squinted. Something was wrong besides the smeared makeup. “Aren’t those Kennedy’s clothes?”
Eve shoved Juliette’s hands away. Shouldering past, she vaulted up the steps. Juliette spun around and just barely caught her wrist. “I’m not angry, sweetie. I just want to know what’s going on.”
Eve yanked her hand free and mumbled something. The only word Juliette could make out was alone. Her experience raising one moody teenage daughter kept her from following Eve up the stairs. “It’s always something,” she muttered to herself. Brushing her hair with her hand, Juliette straightened her back and reminded herself of the good news she had to tell Kennedy. She would worry about Eve in the morning.
She made herself some hot chocolate while she waited for her computer to start up, wondering how to tell her daughter about Mee-Kyong’s conversion. She’d have to be careful, just in case the Chinese government decided to sneak a peek into her outbox one day, but there were ways to get around the potential censoring. With a mug of steaming chocolate perched on the desk next to her, Juliette told her daughter about a new “friend” who had decided to join the family. In fact, she’ll be going for a little swim this coming Sunday! The line reminded her Mee-Kyong would need something to wear at the baptism. I hope you don’t mind if she borrows one of your bathing suits.
After getting the news out of the way, she turned her attention toward Kennedy. Are you getting enough sleep? How many dates have you been asked on so far? Juliette sighed. Sometimes living so far away from Kennedy felt like someone shoved a vacuum tube right in the center of her gut and turned it on. I miss you. I hope we get to see you soon. I know you’ll have a great time at your aunt’s at Christmas. She’s looking forward to spoiling you. Wish I could, too.
Juliette thought about Kennedy thousands of miles away, across oceans and continents. It had been over a week since she had last heard her daughter’s laugh. Sometimes she shut her eyes and forced herself to recall Kennedy’s voice in her mind, just so she wouldn’t one day forget it completely.
Send me some pictures of you and your friends when you get the chance.
Love, Mom
Juliette rested her chin on her hand. Was it really last year when Kennedy sent in her applications and got accepted into Harvard? Was it just last spring Juliette had dressed Kennedy up in her gown and watched her throw her cap in the air with the other graduates from the All Girls American School?
She took a sip of cocoa and reminded herself raising Kennedy wasn’t always easy. The older her daughter grew, the more stubborn she became. She didn’t want her mom breathing down her back about homework or curfews or chaperones. She took offense whenever her dad raised questions about her outfits or her boyfriends. They had a huge fight when Kennedy tried to wear that miniskirt to the school dance. Juliette shook her head and turned off the computer, nostalgic for the days when her family’s only troubles were how far a hemline fell above the knee.
She pouted to herself, trying to remember. Was that the same skirt Eve had been wearing on the stairs? What had that girl been up to? Juliette got up and stretched, the stiffness in her joints and heaviness in her head reminding her it was way past bedtime. Tomorrow she would talk with Eve. Tonight she would at least try to relax.
***
Roger squeezed his eyes shut, his groggy mind trying to wish away the tapping sounds. “Who is it?” he muttered, surprised to find that Juliette’s side of the bed was still empty. The knocking persisted.
He rolled over and swung his feet to the floor. “Coming.” He cleared his throat in an attempt to make his voice sound less irritated and then opened the door. “Benjamin?”
Roger squinted in the light from the hall. Benjamin stood fidgeting with his fingers and tossing glances in nearly every direction. Roger held the door open and hoped his mind would clear soon. How long had it been since Juliette went downstairs? Roger hadn’t even looked at the clock. “Do you want to come in?” He flipped on the switch, and Benjamin ducked his head when the lights came on. Roger gestured to a chair by the bureau.
Benjamin planted himself down, his bulk threatening to demolish the dainty cushion Juliette perched on to preen every morning. “I’ve come to make confession.”
Roger raised his eyebrow. “You know it’s the middle of the night, don’t you?” He studied the way Benjamin’s hands rubbed the tops of his thighs. “But if it’s going to help you sleep better, then go ahead.” He forced himself to keep his eyes open.
Benjamin gazed into his lap. “I slept with Eve.”
Roger scratched at his bald spot with one hand and ran the other across his stubbly cheek. Slept with Eve? Roger’s Korean was pretty good by now, but he still ran over the words in his mind just to make sure he had gotten them right. He cleared his throat, aware that he wasn’t as awake as he should be for a conversation of this magnitude, especially one in a foreign language. “Slept with Eve? Just now?”
Benjamin’s shook his head, reminding Roger of a massive horse swishing his tail from side to side. “Long time ago.”
“So why are you telling me?” Roger knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the question left his mouth, but he couldn’t take it back. What did Benjamin expect this late?
The security guard curled his shoulders even closer to his chest. “She came again. Tonight.” Roger heard the catch in Benjamin’s throat and wished to cough for him.
“So you were together in the past, and she thought it might be fun to spend some time together again. And you ...”
“Forced her out.” Benjamin stopped rubbing his pants legs and started tapping his knee which bounced rhythmically.
Roger thought about his housekeeper. Beneath a sharp and somewhat angular exterior lay an obvious feminine allure, easy to catch the eye of a young man like Benjamin. “That must not have been easy.”
Benjamin shook his head once more. His brow was sweaty. “I didn’t want her to go.”
“You didn’t want her to go, but you knew she couldn’t stay, so you did the right thing and sent her out.”
Benjamin held his large palms open. “I hurt her.”
Roger leaned forward. “Hurt her feelings, you mean?”
“No. I pushed her. Made her fall.”
“Where is she now, then?”
Benjamin shrugged. “Her room, I guess. Didn’t see her after that.”
“Well, then, she’s probably not injured too bad. Physically at least.” Roger stared at Benjamin’s reflection in the dresser mirror and noticed his back trembling.
“I’m awfully sorry,” Benjamin remarked.
“Sorry for what?”
“For that. It was before I was baptized.”
Roger shook his head once to get a little more oxygen flowing to his brain. “You weren’t even saved. It makes sense you would have acted that way. I can see how that might make living and working in the same house together somewhat awkward, but you have nothing to apologize to me for. Now, if you caused our housekeeper to fall and break her ankle so she can’t cook us Saturday brunch tomorrow, then I might be a little upset.” Benjamin made no response to Roger’s attempt at humor. Roger sighed. “Tell you what. It’s late now. I’m not thinking clearly. We could talk about this all night long, but I probably wouldn’t make very much sense. This sounds like something you need to deal with between yourself and God. Why don’t you go back to your room, spend some time in the Word, and tomorrow after brunch, we can talk about it more.”
Benjamin scrunched his face up. “I guess.”
Roger thought back to when he was saved right out of college, the temptations that assaulted him as soon as he confessed his beliefs, the late nights alone in his room with only his memories, his thoughts, his fleshly desires. He put his hand on Benjamin’s shoulder once more. “Here’s another option. If you don’t want to go back to your room just yet, head to the den. You can pray and study there, hopefully without as many distractions.”
Benjamin nodded, his eyes almost rising to meet Roger’s for the first time that night.
Roger held the door open. “Good luck, Brother.”