Chapter Eighteen
Maleeka and Aujanae were trying to enjoy their meal at Applebee’s while going over their very eventful day at church. Maleeka purposely steered the conversation in this direction in hopes of avoiding having to truly explain her living situation with Darrin as she had promised at the church.
“What was April thinking, showing up at church like that today? You would think the homewrecker would find another church to attend. I could have squeezed the life right out of her with my bare hands,” Maleeka said as she demonstrated her words.
“Girl, I could not believe that skank had the nerve to get all funky, talking about William didn’t find anything trashy about her. How dare she?” Aujanae fumed.
“Yes, child. That was just way too much for me right there. She better go to bed tonight thanking God for you and Deacon Ealy. I was about to punch her straight in the mouth for that comment.”
Aujanae chuckled. “Yes, you were. Girl, you surprised me. I did not know you were this feisty, Maleeka.”
“You know what? I’m normally not that crazy. I have not actually had a fist fight since fifth grade, but seeing her all bold and brazen, standing there like the Queen of Sheba just set something off in me. That cow probably doesn’t think she did anything wrong either. She probably thinks that she had every right to date William because he allowed it. You know what I mean? She probably also blames you. You know how they do and what they say: ‘His wife wasn’t keeping him happy. He was so unsatisfied in his marriage,’ like she was doing him some sort of favor. Women like that make me sick.”
Maleeka had worked herself up into another semi rage just talking about April and her audacity. She was so angry that she almost neglected to notice the pained look on Aujanae’s face.
“Oh, Aujanae. I’m so sorry. I was just rambling on, being all insensitive. This is all still pretty raw for you.” Maleeka reached across the table and rubbed Aujanae’s hand.
“Maybe she would be right. Maybe I was a bad wife. Maybe I didn’t satisfy William,” Aujanae said somberly.
“Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare blame yourself for this. Did William ever complain to you about being a bad wife or not satisfying him?” Aujanae remained quiet and sullen. “Answer me, Aujanae!”
“No! William has never said that he was unhappy in our marriage. I mean, we were not perfect. We had issues like every other married couple. I had no clue that he was dissatisfied.”
“Then there you have it. I don’t care if you were the worst wife on the face of the planet. It would have been his job to alert you that he was not happy and then try to work through things with you, not go out and get himself a hooker.” Maleeka slapped the table to emphasize her point.
Aujanae tried to smile and allow Maleeka’s wisdom to seep into her psyche. Maleeka was right, she thought. William’s affair was in no way her fault, and she would not allow herself to take any blame.
The pair sat at the table, chowing on more of their meal for a few moments before speaking again. Maleeka was the first to call it quits with her Asian chicken salad. She looked at Aujanae carefully, measuring her next words before she blurted them out like she had done earlier without considering Aujanae’s feelings. Aujanae looked up to find her friend staring at her intently.
“What is it, Maleeka? Why are you looking at me like that?” Aujanae asked, puzzled.
“I know what William did was jacked up, Aujanae, but no one will be mad at you if you decided to forgive him and try to work on your marriage.” Maleeka’s voice was the softest and most compassionate it had been all day.
Aujanae’s eyes filled with tears at the heartfelt statement of her friend. Many women colleagues would be singing every woman-done-wrong, girl-leave-him-alone song ever created, but even in the midst of nearly coming to blows with her husband’s mistress, her good friend Maleeka was telling her it was okay to take him back and forgive him. Aujanae viewed that as true godly friendship—a friendship she would be sure to cherish.
“Thank you for saying that, Maleeka, but I don’t think there is anything left for me and William. Like you said, if he was unhappy with me he could have at least told me, warned me even, but he was too selfish to say anything. He did not just have an affair, a thirty-day fling with a beautiful woman he ran into in the mall and just could not resist. He had a long-term relationship. Heck, he even went as far as to fall in love with another woman.”
That statement made one of the tears that rested in her eyes fall, but Aujanae choked back the sentiment and continued to share with her friend what she felt in her heart.
“I don’t think I could ever trust him enough to let him back into my life after that. Not to mention the fact that he thought so little of me, so much of her, that he did not even think to protect me from what could have been a life-threatening disease. No. That is not a man I want to share the rest of my life with any longer.” Aujanae’s pain was tangible, but her strength was admirable.
“I’m not trying to be an advocate for William or his behavior, girl. I support you whether you stay or leave the marriage, but you two have a son together. Have you thought about how this will affect him?”
“Of course I have. B.J. has been my number-one priority in this whole sordid mess, but William and I don’t have to be together to properly raise our son. William is a great father. I don’t think that will change. I won’t play games with him or anything of the sort when it comes to him spending time and contributing to raising our child. Even if he and April stay together. I know William won’t allow any harm to come to my baby, so we will just work through parenting our child together.”
Maleeka was very proud of Aujanae. Not many women—including herself, if she was honest—would be so amiable under the same circumstances. Aujanae was truly letting her Jesus light shine in this situation. Maleeka realized she was actually glowing with it as she spoke so confidently and sincerely.
“You know, you sound like you know what you’re doing, Aujanae. Good for you. Now me, even though I was trying to be Christ-like when I said what I said about it being okay to take him back, I don’t know if I could in reality be so calm and rational if I had to actually wear your shoes. Me, I would be burning up some clothes, setting BMWs on fire, having a true Waiting to Exhale moment before I let go and let God.” Both women cracked up laughing.
When the laughter quieted down, Aujanae had some questions of her own to ask.
“Speaking of relationships and marriages and whatnot, when did you and your fiancé Darrin start living together? What prompted you all to move in together instead of waiting until you were married?” Aujanae asked, surprised.
Maleeka rolled her eyes, thoroughly through even with herself for her harebrained scheme at this point. She initially started to give Aujanae some made-up story that would possibly make sense of her decision, but she could not even think of one. In light of all Aujanae had endured today and these last few weeks, she felt she owed her the truth. She told her of her reasoning, from the beginning of her plan all the way to how she felt it was the most foolish decision she had ever made as she woke up this morning.
“Girl, the sight of Darrin makes me sick right now, and it has only been one week. The truth of the matter is it’s not really him specifically. I think it’s my own guilt and conviction that makes me so sensitive to every little thing he does wrong. I know I have been cranky, irritable, and virtually impossible to live with, but I can’t help myself. Pastor Abraham’s sermon today did and did not help matters. I mean, it helped amp up my guilt, but it made me realize I messed up big time, girl.”
In light of how helpful and insightful Maleeka had been to her in her crisis, Aujanae wanted to be just as supportive to her friend and offer her godly advice in return.
“Mal, the fact that your decision is tearing you up the way it is, is a good thing. It shows you do love the Lord. You have just got to love him more than you love Darrin. I don’t know the details of your living arrangement or what Darrin’s options are, but you all need to put an end to this. Let him get his own place or go back to his old place or whatever, but the last thing you want to do is get comfortable in the situation you are in. You need to rectify this while you can and wait until you two are properly wed before living together, no matter how close your wedding date is. By the way, have you two set your date yet?” Aujanae asked curiously.
Maleeka rolled her eyes and groaned loudly. “No. I have been engaged to this fool for four years. I have foolishly moved him into my place, hoping to prompt him into hurrying up and marrying me, and I have turned into this mean woman, filled with guilt that I don’t even recognize anymore, only to be no closer to being a proper wife than I was on Valentine’s Day, four years ago.”
Maleeka dramatically plopped her head down on their table loudly. The noise prompted a few people nearby to look in their direction. Aujanae smiled an embarrassed smile at the other patrons then got up from her side of the table to check on Maleeka.
“Girl, are you okay? Look up. Let me see if you have a knot on your head,” Aujanae asked, concerned.
“I’m fine,” Maleeka stated as she raised her head. No bruising or bumps were visible. “I think I just knocked some sense into myself. I have decided when I get home I am going to tell Darrin that he needs to move back into his house with David. The transition will be annoying, but it will be less painful than continuing to live in the cocoon of guilt and misery.”
“Good for you. If you need me to, I will even help.”
“Thanks, Aujanae. I truly appreciate your ear and your advice.”
“Right back at you, girlfriend. But I have one last question. How in the heck did Gerald Miller find out about you and Darrin living together? What is going on between you two? There were sparks flying like crazy between you two.”
“That’s like three or four questions, Aujanae.” Maleeka chuckled goodheartedly. “But to answer your question, Gerald Miller has been flirting incessantly with me since the first day we met. I have told him I am engaged, but he keeps insisting, none too subtly, that Darrin is not good enough for me. He thinks he’s better. He knows about our living arrangement because he was at David’s house the day we moved Darrin out of there.”
“Hmmm. I see,” Aujanae said subjectively.
“Girl, there is a whole lot being said in that hmmm. I know what you are thinking: the same thing my cousin Tammy has been saying and thinking for quite some time as well. You both think Gerald is better for me too,” Maleeka said dismissively.
“Don’t sleep on that man, Maleeka. He seems like a catch to me. He is good looking. He is in church every Sunday. He is one of the leaders in the Men’s Ministry. He seems very interested in you. He is obviously single. He is always dressed so nice. He drives a nice car. And did I say he was good looking? Honey, if you don’t want him, pass him my way.”
Maleeka gave her patented eye roll and said nothing else on that subject. If she were to say something honestly, she would probably tell Aujanae to keep her still-married paws to herself.
“Let’s get out of here. I have got to get home and kick a certain man I’m engaged to out of my apartment. No use putting it off. The sooner it’s done, the sooner I can get this shame out of my spirit.”
Aujanae paid the check for both meals, and the ladies got ready to leave the restaurant. Just as they approached the door, none other than the man of the last five minutes’ conversation appeared as if he were a conjured-up apparition coming through the same door.
“Gerald!” both ladies exclaimed simultaneously.
Gerald’s eyes bucked at the urgent tone in the women’s voices.
“Hello, ladies,” he said inquisitively.
“Funny you should show up here, at this moment, today,” Aujanae said comically. Maleeka shot her a contemptuous look.
“Are you stalking me, Mr. Miller?” Maleeka asked in mocked suspicion.
“Stalking you? A man brings his favorite niece out for their ritual biweekly dining experience, trying to do a good deed, and he gets accused of criminal behavior. Wow. Only in America, and by a Christian woman no less,” Gerald mocked in return.
“Your niece?” Aujanae asked.
“Yes. She ran in ahead of me. She had to make it to the restroom in a hurry.”
Gerald’s answer was for Aujanae, but he never took his eyes off Maleeka. She was so riveted by his stare that she was unable to pull her own eyes away.
“Ahem.” Aujanae simulated clearing her throat to break the trance. “I think that is very sweet of you, Gerald, to purposely spend that kind of time with your niece. I would love to meet this blessed young lady.”
“But we really don’t have time. We must get going,” Maleeka said, feigning disappointment.
“Oh no, Maleeka, we have a few minutes. I’m sure Gerald’s niece won’t be too long.”
Maleeka wanted to choke Aujanae. To continue to protest, however, would make her look silly and too eager to get away from Gerald.
Gerald laughed at the look of aloofness on Maleeka’s face.
“My niece is the only child of my only brother. He’s a couple of years younger than me. He became a dad when he was barely out of his teens, but he’s had custody of his daughter since her mother ran off and left when Deidre was just a few months old. I spend as much time with her as possible. She’s thirteen. I believe in young ladies having positive male role models in their lives before they start dealing with these knuckle-headed young boys out here.”
Aujanae none too subtly nudged Maleeka with her elbow. Just then Gerald’s niece appeared.
“I’m sorry, Uncle G, but I really had to go,” the pretty young teenager announced.
“It’s okay, sweetie. Deidre, these two beautiful ladies attend church with me. This is Ms. Aujanae,” he stated, pointing in her direction, “and this is Ms. Maleeka.” When he said Maleeka’s name, he reached out and actually touched her shoulder.
Maleeka was surprised by the surge of comforting heat that penetrated her skin at his touch. She wanted to jerk away for fear of truly leaning into its appeal, but she did not want to embarrass any of the others standing with them; so she just stood there like a statue, willing herself not to move.
“Both of you have very pretty names,” Deidre stated politely.
“Thank you. And you are a very pretty young lady,” Aujanae responded.
Maleeka was barely able to eke out a “Thank you.” She was so thankful when Gerald finally removed his hand.
“Well, we won’t hold you two any longer. It was truly a pleasure running into you again today.” Gerald was addressing both ladies, but again his eyes were on Maleeka.
Then, to the ladies’ surprise, Gerald stated, “Maleeka, you need to give me a call. I think we should talk.”
“I don’t have a number for you, Gerald.” Maleeka’s response surprised all the adults in the circle, including herself.
Gerald reached into his jacket pocket and removed a gold case, holding his business cards. He handed one to Maleeka. As an afterthought he gave one to Aujanae as well.
Maleeka took the card silently and read it. Aujanae took hers and stuck it in her purse without so much as a quick glance.
“Thank you, Gerald. Nice to meet you, Deidre,” Aujanae said.
“Looking forward to hearing from you.” Gerald did not address his comment to either lady specifically, but everyone knew who he was talking to.