Jane

Jane trudged out to her car in the grocery store parking lot, her body temperature still elevated from the gym, loving the way the cool air felt on her face. She put her groceries in the backseat, and as she glanced up, she noticed Graham’s car parked at the café. She loaded the groceries into the back of the van and walked across the street, but as she approached, she spotted her husband through the window—and he wasn’t alone.

Jane gasped when she realized Lori stood beside his table with a wide, flirty smile on her face. In spite of the cold, Lori’s shirt dipped down to reveal ample cleavage, and her jeans were tighter than shrink-wrap.

“Jane, I thought that was you.” Campbell’s cheerful voice pulled Jane’s attention, but her stomach turned. What was Graham doing talking to that woman?

Campbell frowned. “Are you okay? You look pale as a ghost.”

Jane shook her head. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Campbell peeked into the café window, then moved back out of sight. “Who is she?”

“My worst nightmare. She used to make fun of me when I was a kid. She’s the one who told me my butt was as big as the Empire State Building.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“I didn’t say she was smart.” She looked away. “But she is skinny. And pretty.”

“Don’t be too generous. There’s a difference between the two.”

“What do you mean?” Jane met her eyes.

“Just because someone’s skinny doesn’t mean she’s pretty. Especially when she’s ugly on the inside. If this woman is flirting with Graham, then she’s ugly.”

Jane sighed. “I appreciate the sentiment.” She remembered the way Lori had looked at Graham back at the church service. She’d probably been waiting for her chance to pounce on him ever since. In Lori’s mind, someone like Jane didn’t deserve someone like Graham.

And maybe she was right.

“Come with me,” Campbell said, linking her arm through Jane’s.

“Where?”

“Are you going to just stand out here, hiding around the corner? This isn’t high school, Jane. You’re the wife.”

Jane hadn’t thought of it that way. She rushed around the back with Campbell and they went into the café by way of the kitchen. Everyone waved hello to them as they passed through as if it were perfectly normal for them to be there.

“Why’d we come in this way?” Jane asked as they reached the door to the restaurant.

“Don’t you want to know what she’s saying?”

Jane’s heart kicked up. Maybe not. Worse, she didn’t know if she wanted to hear what Graham was saying. Her husband was the epitome of loyal, but he was still a man. And if a woman practically offered herself to him, how would he refuse? How would any man?

They peeked through the windows at the top of the swinging doors that separated the main floor from the kitchen. “I don’t know about this,” Jane said.

Campbell stared out the window. “What nerve.”

Jane glanced back just as Lori reached down and touched Graham’s shoulder. She waited for a split second as he said something to her. Before Lori could respond, Jane pushed open the door and marched toward the table where she stood between them, forcing Lori to take a few steps away.

“Lori, I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work.”

The woman tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jane.”

Jane narrowed her eyes and forced her voice to steady, reminding herself people could see her. “I’m talking about your thinking you can waltz in here in your tight jeans and your tiny shirt and flaunt yourself in front of my husband. I know what you are, Lori, a miserable woman who makes herself feel better by taking things from other people.”

Lori gasped.

Jane stayed calm. “And you do it in such a way that you can deny it later. It’s time to grow up and get a life of your own.”

Lori set her jaw and squared her shoulders. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Just stay away from my husband. In our world, marriage means something.”

It was harsh, and she’d have to repent for it, but it was a confrontation that was years in the making, and it had come out of a strong need to protect her marriage—she couldn’t apologize for being passionate about that. She’d almost lost Graham after Alex died. She swore she’d never put her marriage in jeopardy again.

Lori turned and stormed off, apparently dumbfounded, and Jane sat down across from her husband, suddenly embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Graham raised an eyebrow. “Bet that felt good.”

She leaned forward. “Better than it should’ve. I am a pastor’s wife.”

“So that means you can’t speak your mind?”

Another reason she loved him. He never put labels or stereotypes on her. “It wasn’t the most Christian thing to say.”

“Especially since she was talking to me about the coffee here.” He took a drink.

“Today it’s the coffee, tomorrow it’ll be how beautiful your eyes are and what strong hands you have.”

He smiled. “My eyes are beautiful?”

Jane laughed. “Everyone loves your eyes, Graham.”

“Yeah, well, my eyes love you, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Jane studied him.

“What is it?”

Jane could feel her cheeks heat. “I’m not as thin or as beautiful as Lori. I can’t help but think that if someone like that wants to be with you, then why on earth do you stay with me?” She stared at her folded hands.

When she looked up, she saw Graham staring at her with a knowing look and the hint of a smile on his lips. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Jane. If you think I would ever be interested in someone like Lori, you don’t know me as well as I thought you did.”

“But she’s so skinny. Her hair is all long and flowing.”

Graham laughed. “I didn’t even notice.”

She eyed him.

“I saw someone who was insecure and looking for validation from a married man. Before you burst in here, I was about to tell her that I was just leaving because I had to find my beautiful wife who I hadn’t seen yet this morning.” He took her hands. “Because I missed her and I’m still crazy in love with her after all these years.”

Jane swallowed the lump in her throat. “You were not.”

“I might’ve made it sound more manly than that, but yeah, I was.” He squeezed her hand. “You know I’ve learned all the ways to handle women like her.”

“Women who flirt.”

“Yes. And who are lonely and want the stability that you have. She’s jealous of you, hon.”

Jane scoffed. “Well, that’s a first.” She’d spent her whole life wishing she had the things Lori had.

“Jane, I promise you, I’ll never do anything to hurt you. I don’t care who else comes along. You’re the one I want.”

Jane met her husband’s eyes and saw no judgment there—only unconditional love—no matter how much she weighed or what her hair looked like.

“So, I’m not a disappointment to you?”

“You’re my best friend.” Graham stood. “Why don’t you let me take you home?”

She glanced up at him and knew exactly what ran through his mind. He was a man, after all. The kids were all gone at a church event for the day and they had the house to themselves. Her husband wanted to show her how much he loved her.

And she was inclined to let him.