CHAPTER SEVEN

Good Neighbors Don't Care

 

Rhema and David arrived home from the church the same time as Mr. and Mrs. Kelly. She saw Elsea’s worn-down car parked on the side of the street, and Rhema wished that she was a fly on the wall in that house when the Kellys confronted Elsea for walking out of her own wedding. She could see the anger on their faces all the way from their drive. She didn’t care what kind of state Elsea was in, but she did feel accomplished.

The church was decorated so nicely, too. What a waste, she thought. It was obvious that they had invested a lot of time and money into the event, but it served the Kellys right. Rhema knew that they were just putting on a show. It was obvious that they didn’t care for Elsea. She was a mistake in their eyes. Rhema became even more intrigued when she saw that Peter wasn’t with them.

What an asshole. He didn’t even have the nerve to show up and fight for her. He didn’t love her at all, which made Rhema wonder why he even wanted to marry her in the first place. She sighed in relief. She had done a great thing, saved a fellow woman from an asshole and was still able to entertain herself at the same time.

The sound of her heels hitting the concrete as she got out of the car echoed down the street. She was distracted when she heard a garage door open. She turned to her right, and there was Emily, walking down the driveway to their van. She wore sweats, and she looked like she hadn’t showered in days. It was no wonder that Kyle was cheating on her. She was letting herself go. She felt tickled inside while watching her pulling the groceries out of the car.

While she was unloading, Kyle walked from the garage and came up behind her, resting his hand on her hip, but she swatted it away in anger, then looked around to see if anyone had seen. Rhema quickly averted her eyes. Mission accomplished, she thought, and a small smile cracked across her face.

“I wonder what happened to Elsea,” David asked, reaching for Rhema’s hand as they walked into the garage.

Rhema looked up at him. “He cheated on her.”

David turned around and looked at Rhema in shock. “What? How do you know?”

“She told me before she walked out. That’s how I know.”

“If she knew that, why did she wait all the way up until the wedding day to break things off?” he asked, opening the door for Rhema. “People can be so stupid.”

Rhema agreed, but for some odd reason she found it necessary to come to her defense.

“David, the poor girl only found out last night.” She tried to sound as sympathetic as she could.

“What?” His jaw dropped, waiting for Rhema to confirm.

“Yes. She went to his place to pick up her wedding shoes because she had left them there, and he was in there banging some bimbo.”

David stared at Rhema for a moment before speaking. “I have never heard you care that much about someone else’s troubles. Are you finally making friends?”

She looked at him and questioned herself. Why had she become so invested?

“Whatever,” she said. “I just feel sorry for the girl. Being cheated on the day before your wedding sounds like a nightmare.” She didn’t feel that bad for Elsea about the cheating; she should have known better. All she had to do was take one look at Peter and see that he was a controlling, narcissistic fraud, and the only reason she could think of for him being interested was that Elsea was controllable. Maybe that was what drew her to Elsea as well.

Rhema slid out of her heels and let her hot feet absorb the coolness of the tile floor. “Have you ever cheated on me, David?”

He looked at her, perplexed. “Where did that come from?”

“Answer the question. Have you ever cheated on me?” she demanded.

“God, no, Rhema. I’m just not that type of guy. At the end of the day, I love what’s mine. And you are mine. I am completely satisfied with our marriage, with our life.”

A smile stretched across Rhema’s face, and she leaned in to kiss him. “You better be.”

David began to walk up the stairs.

Rhema reached into her purse and grabbed her pack of cigarettes and started to walk toward the patio. “And, David, just so you know, if you ever cheat on me, I will kill you.”

David laughed, and Rhema smiled up at him. “Yes, Rhema, I know. It will be the end of me,” he said as he continued up the stairs.

But Rhema meant what she said. If he ever did cheat, it really would be the end of him.

 

***

Rhema stood outside fidgeting in the cold, flicking the ash from her cigarette. She could hear the arguing coming from the Kelly house, and it was worth standing in the cold for.

“You are such an embarrassment. All of the money we spent on you. This was one less headache I needed to have …” Mr. Kelly said.

“Elsea, just answer me this. Are you retarded? George, I told you that we should have had her looked at years ago, but you wouldn’t have any of it.”

“Do I have a voice here?” Elsea yelled.

Rhema looked up at Elsea’s bedroom window and was shocked to hear her assert herself as she took another drag of her cigarette.

“He was cheating on me! He was controlling me! Fuck Peter!”

“Don’t you use that kind of language in this house. Don’t you ever use that language in this house again, you—” Mr. Kelly said, catching himself before he let the word slip out.

“Why was I cursed with such a stupid child? What have I ever done to deserve this? I think I’m going to pass out. George, I can’t take this anymore,” Mrs. Kelly added.

Rhema had had enough. No wonder Elsea was the way that she was. Her parents were psychos. But she understood that all too well and was thankful that her own parents were dead.

She flicked her unfinished cigarette to a melting snow pile on the ground, and for the first time in a long time, she actually felt sorry, truly sorry, for someone else, but the moment was brief. She was right in doing what she did, so she went back inside and started dinner.