Talise silently cried the next morning during her flight back to Boston. She had survived the looks, charm, and smell of Aaron “Ace” Jamieson. She had even resisted the temptation to smack him and didn’t give in to the seduction of the chemistry between them.
Minister Thomas was the type of man Talise could love and trust. Ace was the kind of man she could love, but was afraid to trust.
When her plane landed Saturday afternoon, she stopped by her ticket counter where Gabrielle was working. Did management think her friend was a work machine? Gabrielle deserved an award for top middle manager/supervisor/regular employee. Talise hoped God would bless her with a different job soon, although she would miss her friend.
“How did it go?” Gabrielle’s face lit up when she saw Talise.
“I was civil.” Talise chuckled. “When Eva warned me that Ace would probably be there, I had to pray. I wanted to go, but I wasn’t up to having a part two of our argument that started when he was here in Boston.
“All the way there, I kept envisioning myself as Bette Midler in that movie with Danny DeVito when she found out her husband tried to have her killed. She pushed him overboard.”
Shaking her head, Gabrielle smiled in amusement. She watched as a passenger glanced their way and then apparently changed her mind about approaching the counter and walked on. “How did it go with your heart?”
Thinking that over, Talise didn’t say anything. “Richard hasn’t stopped proposing to me since Ace stormed back into Boston …”
Gabrielle gasped. “Oooh, let me mark that down in my romance handbook.” She made an imaginary check mark sign with her pen and laughed.
“I know. He wants my baby—it will be our baby—to have a father at birth. I would never have to doubt his love, Gabrielle. You know Richard was dead set against me going to St. Louis. I repeated to him what you told me about having to deal with my baby’s father for a lifetime. He said when I returned, if I felt that I’ve truly moved on from Ace, then he won’t take no for an answer.”
“Don’t think I’m not aware that you purposely didn’t answer my question about how your heart was faring. Don’t you dare say anything! We’ll talk later.” Gabrielle turned and greeted a passenger. “Hi, can I help you?”
When she got back to her apartment, Talise was surprised to see the living room back in order. Myra’s furniture was gone and Lois was putting up leftovers.
“She had to go,” Lois said before Talise could ask. “I can only deal with messy folks for so long. That definitely was a bad idea. Talk about the Lord working in mysterious ways. I told her yesterday and she was out today.” Then, with a wide grin, Lois added, “But wouldn’t you know it, just like that—your rent is covered for months to come.”
“Thank God for my father. He knows that, besides my mandatory bills, I’ve been saving almost every dime I get for the baby. And my tithes, of course. Daddy has really been there for me. When did you hear from him?” Tired from her trip, Talise smiled a weak smile, removed her shoes, and rested her carry-on on the floor.
“I’m not talking about Mr. Rogers. It was Ace. He sent the money to me because he knew you wouldn’t accept anything from him.” Lois stared. “The man must be seriously trying to kiss and make up.”
Talise didn’t want to think in those terms. She had to fight her feelings. “No, he’s getting a jump-start on his child support payments, which I wouldn’t ask him for anyway.”
Sitting on Talise’s bed, Lois crisscrossed her legs. “Well, whatever you want to call it, he overnighted it when I told him why you had to stay at his mother’s for a few days.”
Whirling her head around too fast, Talise steadied herself as she became dizzy. “You talked to him and didn’t bite your tongue?”
“Oh, don’t think I didn’t give him a peace of my mind, your mind, and the mind of every woman who’s ever been wronged. I made him throw in grocery expenses too.”
Pondering over everything Lois said, Talise knew Ace was never stingy with his possessions. God, I love them both: Richard and Ace. How do I know who would give me the greater love?
Greater love has no one than this; to lay down one’s life for one’s friends, God whispered in the wind, John 15:13.