A little earlier that same evening, Monica sat on her bed with Lance’s Bible in her lap. She had taken it with her to church that morning. Boldly, she had visited Seconds Sons so she could watch Lance in action. She’d given Lance her undivided attention, but it wasn’t until Noah had started talking about how God wanted him to be the husband Sydney needed that Monica paid close attention. She realized she hadn’t chosen to go to church that day by accident. When Noah called Sydney up next to him, Monica pictured Lance doing the same to her and Quinn. It had been too much. Monica had jumped to her feet rejoicing.
That was when the idea struck that she needed to take Lance for a visit down memory lane. So, she’d gone into the restroom to remove an important piece of clothing. Tenderly, she’d placed it under his windshield. Then, she’d rushed home waiting for his call.
She leafed through the pages of the Bible and read some of his highlighted passages. Judging by all the notes and yellow marks, she could see her Lance was into the Word. Monica felt her chest puff. Lance was ready to be the spiritual head of the home, just as she was now prepared to be the wife he needed.
Monica recognized God at work. He had separated them because He had to work on them individually before He brought them back together. Monica was at the place where she should be and now understood Lance’s needs. That’s why she’d left the surprise for him on his windshield.
She pictured Lance reflecting on the good times they’d had and coming to the realization that Belinda was not the one for him. He was probably breaking up with her right now. Monica smiled. She had some naughty plans for their impending reconciliation.
Closing the Bible, Monica went into the playroom to visit with her daughter.
“Mommy,” Quinn shouted with a wide smile.
Monica’s heart warmed. It never failed to touch her how much unconditional love her daughter gave. “Hi, Quinn. Want to go to the park?”
“Park!” Quinn squealed. “Yes. Park. I go park, Mommy.”
Monica laughed at her antics. Quinn was jumping up and down. “Swing, Mommy. Swing.”
“All right, go find your shoes.”
Freda laughed, “She sure loves the playground. Do you want me to come?”
“No, no,” Monica said. “I’m sure we will be fine. You go get a much needed break.”
“Okay, have fun.” Freda didn’t need any other encouragement. “I’ll watch some of my shows.”
Monica and Quinn played together for a couple hours at the park. Then she drove Quinn to Dairy Queen. Monica laughed at Quinn’s soggy cone, which ended up on her clothes. “Let’s get you home and washed before Daddy comes. We don’t want him to see you looking like this, do we?”
Quinn merely looked at her.
Monica laughed. “Let’s go bye-bye.”
“Bye-bye,” Quinn parroted.
Quinn was such a happy child, Monica thought. How had she gotten so blessed? She watched her daughter sway side to side as her pigtails hit her cheek. Quinn cracked up. Lance was going to fall in love with Quinn when he saw her. It was impossible not to. Thinking about Lance made Monica hurry. She didn’t want to not be there when he arrived.
When she pulled into her driveway, Monica’s shoulders slumped. Lance’s car wasn’t there. She looked at her watch. It was 7:17 p.m. That was plenty of time for him to kick Belinda out of his life. She got out the vehicle and fought the urge to slam the door. She didn’t want to scare Quinn who rambled on, even as Monica took her out of the car seat and walked her into the house. Distracted, she ran her daughter’s bath. Once Quinn settled and played with the bubbles, Monica sat on the toilet and fumed.
It was now 7:49 and Lance still hadn’t shown up. Why hadn’t he called?
Just then, Monica slapped her forehead. Had she left her contact information? No wonder she hadn’t heard from him. “Stupid, stupid,” Monica called herself. But, she did so without rancor because she now knew the reason for Lance’s absence.
Lord, I needed to get quiet to figure it out. Thank you.
Monica saw Quinn was pruning up. She got her out of the tub and wrapped her into a towel. She giggled at her daughter’s silly movements. Once she’d dressed her, Monica sang her lullabies and rocked her to sleep in the rocking chair she had in the corner of Quinn’s room.
With a glance at the clock, Monica became energized. She knew what she had to do.