Chapter 25

“You don’t destroy people you love.” Unknown

 

Eva ran inside the house. Her hot tears poured down her face as she rushed up the steps. Blinded by hurt and tears, she didn’t see Seth bolting down the stairs. The two collided. Had it not been for his steady hand grabbing hold of her petite waist she would have fallen down the stairs. Instead, she fell on the landing with him practically on top of her.

“Whoa,” he said. “You almost became a statistic,” he chuckled as their bodies touched.

The tears didn’t stop. Just the opposite happened. She sobbed uncontrollably.

Seth eased off of her, took hold of her hand, and with much ease he helped her to her feet. “What’s wrong?

Eva bowed her head but not before seeing the look of sincerity shining through his mocha colored eyes. His eyes were so striking that they looked like they were fake, like he wore contacts; but he did not. It was all him.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she broke free of his grip, and took off running up the rest of the stairs to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and fell across her bed.

Moments later, she heard a light knock. She slowly sat up and listened to the knocking sound again.

“Eva, you all right in there?” she heard Seth ask.

Why wouldn’t he leave her alone? Couldn’t he see that she was upset and didn’t want to be bothered? She decided not to answer him, hoping that he would give up and go away.

Knock. Knock.

Eva remained quiet, lying back on the bed again. She heard Seth as he walked away from her door. It wasn’t long after before she fell asleep.

Meesha sat with the kids in the family room as they watched a popular kid’s movie for what was probably the third or fourth time. She picked up her cell phone and texted Carlton - again. Usually he would come home from church early afternoon, leave for an hour or so to go back to church and be back home for the evening by five thirty, unless he had an evening service or a speaking engagement somewhere. Even then, he would come home, eat dinner with the kids, and maybe take a power nap before returning to church. But it was already past six and she hadn’t heard anything from him. It was so unlike him not to call or come and check on them, and for him not to respond to any of the four text messages she had sent previously had her concerned. Maybe he was with her, the other woman. Does she have kids? Does she make love better than me? Is she prettier than me? A million questions filtered through her mind. Carlton told her that another woman was not the reason he wanted a divorce, but from the way things were looking, Meesha wasn’t buying it.

Ding. The sound of her text message jarred her from her thoughts.

“n a meeting. b there soon as I can.”

Meesha rolled her eyes as she threw her phone down on the couch next to her. She got up from the sofa, leaving the kids to watch the last half hour of the movie without her. In the kitchen, she stood at the island and allowed her tears to flow freely out of sight and away from the boys. Life for her had changed in a flash.

“God, what is this?” she cried out as she looked up toward the ceiling. “Why is this happening and what am I supposed to do?”

For the next several minutes, she remained in the kitchen struggling to regain her composure. She didn’t want the boys to see her upset; and she definitely didn’t want them to see her crying. Why couldn’t Carlton see what he was doing to his family? Did he even care anymore?

“Father God, I need you. I can’t make it through this. If this is a test, help me to see it and help me to pass it.”

Meesha tore off a paper towel, wiped her face, dried her tears, and returned to the family room. Sitting back down on the couch, she told the boys to come and sit next to her. They did as they were told, and she stretched her arms across the length of her sons in an embrace, viewing the rest of the movie with them in silence. Her mind raced in a thousand different directions. Who was this other woman that had captured the heart of the man she loved with all of her heart? Carlton had been her king and she had been his queen for a very long time, with Meesha never having had reason to doubt his loyalty and faithfulness to her and their marriage—until now.

Meesha continued to allow her thoughts to run awry. Carlton may have wanted out but she would have to show him that it wasn’t going to be so easy to up and walk away from her. She had been playing the role of submissive wife long enough. If he thought that she was going to roll over and let him walk all over her, he had another thing coming. It was time she showed him how a real housewife plays the game.