Chapter Thirteen
A whirlwind. That’s what Gracie felt was happening to her. The feeling alone had her daydreaming. Her desires intertwined into a make-believe world, except she knew it was all so real. Being able to spend personal time with Marcus was overwhelming, but very appealing to her heart. Marcus’s smile had made her time away from Dillian easier and lighter.
Back in Dallas, Gracie took over a class for one of her contract trainers. She knew it would benefit Laila and help her with the extra pounds she’d put on over Thanksgiving. Gracie arose even earlier than normal and opened the gym for the day. Faces that she didn’t usually have the pleasure of seeing and people that she wouldn’t have the chance to meet otherwise, was a given with the class at four in the morning.
One of the first people in the class happened to be Tara, whom she’d met through Kendra. The last time they had come face to face was at the hospital the night that Kendra had her near-fatal accident. Tara was actually the one to call Gracie to tell her about the situation.
That night, Tara met Gracie at the hospital’s entrance and led her up the elevator to the floor Kendra was on. After they made enough small talk to settle their nerves, Gracie asked where Kendra had been and what had happened.
“I don’t know exactly where she was but she had called me just before it happened ... crying hysterically! I thought something had happened then, but—”
“So she had the accident after the phone call or before?”
“Yep. After,” Tara replied as she looked at Gracie as if she wanted to continue.
“Hmm. I wonder what was going on with her?” Gracie wondered aloud, not specifically waiting for an answer. She looked up and saw Sean. Gracie walked his way right as Tara readied herself to continue their short conversation.
Now the morning class had begun, and Gracie gave a brief smile and wave. She geared up with her microphone and headphones. Gracie knelt and looked through a group of compact discs, finding one suitable for the class. Gracie was satisfied when she ran across a good ole Vickie Winans hit.
After class, Gracie replenished her energy with a full bottle of water. She lingered a little too long and almost forgot that she wanted speak to Tara when she saw the tall, local model leaving the hot and steamy room.
“Tara!” Gracie yelled across the emptying room, her dry throat slightly choking on the remainder of the water. Tara turned and gave Gracie a friendly wave and turned once more on her way.
“Tara ... wait!” Gracie jumped down from her space and headed for the door. “Girl, what you trying to make me do? Are you paying me back for the workout?”
“Funny! Girl, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you wanted to chat. How’ve you been, Gracie?”
“Girl,” Gracie moved further from the door, allowing one of the last pupils out of the classroom, “I’m doing. Look, I don’t know if you know about me and Dillian, but....”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”
“Thanks. But I just wanted to apologize on his behalf. Kendra told me that you all saw him at the club a while back and how he was acting. That is too embarrassing,” Gracie continued as she faced toward the floor.
“Huh? We saw him where?” Tara asked as she retied her sweatshirt around her waist and crossed her long, lanky arms.
“At the club,” Gracie stared in confusion. “I don’t know which one, but Kendra had said—
“Gracie, I haven’t gone out to a club since last summer. Girl, Kendra is tripping. Listen ...” Tara looked around before she continued. “Can we go into your office?”
Confused by Tara’s words, Gracie agreed. Right as they turned down the hall, Tara started on their conversation, ceasing their walk and continuing their talk.
“I’ve wanted to mention this to you, but since I don’t see you often, I didn’t know how I was going to talk to you. I guess all things happen for a reason, huh?
“Well I wasn’t with Kendra that night,” Tara continued, “but I know about it. I don’t know what Dillian’s problem is and you know I’m not one to get into people’s business, but, anyway, Kendra was out with some dude that night, but I don’t know who exactly.”
Gracie described T for Tara. “I wonder if it’s the dude we ran into at the mall a while back. Do you know him? A young-looking dude? All that I got from his name was T.”
“With T?” Tara asked with disgust, trying not to let Gracie in on her secret pain. “You know what, it wouldn’t amaze me. Yep, that’s T all right. I’m sure he’s become one of Kendra’s new ‘men friends.’ I don’t know what has gotten into her, but since she’s been changing, I don’t really spend that much time with her.”
“So she is cheating on Sean then, huh? What is going on with that girl? I see men coming through here. She says that she’s training them.”
“Oh, she’s training them all right. But not like you would. You know what I mean. I’m praying for Kendra, and she is still my girl, well, was, but that’s teenage what she’s doing. We are in the real world and I’m not with it.”
“Right.” Gracie quietly agreed with her head down.
“Well, I better get going. I have a photo shoot this morning with Saj Studios. But please don’t tell Kendra I told you about me not being in the club with her. I think she really is going through something.” Tara wanted to elaborate more on Kendra and T, but decided against it. Just because she was going to end her friendship with Kendra, she didn’t feel as though she should try to persuade Gracie to do the same.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Thinking fast, Gracie remembered what she was going to ask as Tara started walking back down the hall. “Tara. Remember when Kendra had the wreck and you said that she was crying on the line before the accident ... do you know what she was crying about?”
Rewinding her memory to Kendra’s car wreck, Tara closed her eyes.
“You know. I don’t quite know. She never really spilled anything out of the crying. All she said was that she needed someone to talk to and that she couldn’t talk to you because you’d start throwing God all up in the midst.”
Shocked by the comment, Gracie threw her head back in disbelief, wanting Tara to continue. “Really?”
“Yeah. She just kept saying her life was over, her life was over. I asked her a few days later at the hospital what was going on, but that’s when she stopped talking. Said it was nothing.” Tara shrugged her shoulders and checked her workout watch, making sure she wasn’t running late.
“She never told me anything,” Gracie said, looking down at her shoestring that lay on either side of her shoe. “Shoot, I never knew Kendra went through drama at any point.”
Eyebrows arched, Tara seemed shocked by Gracie’s statement.
“Where have you been, Gracie?”
“Huh?”
Walking back to Gracie, Tara continued.
“Gracie, honestly, I’ve known Kendra longer than you have and I don’t know how you can still stand to be around her. I sometimes let things that she does go simply because of all the drama in her life. I mean ...”
“Me and Kendra are like sisters ... We are there for each other.”
“I hope you’re right about that. But as for me, I know I’m through now.”
“What do you mean? ‘Now’ you know you’re through?” Gracie asked with squinted eyes.
“Well, at first it was all in my mind, but when you asked about me being at the club with Kendra, then you asked about the guy and I said I didn’t know ... when you said T. Umm, T is the guy I was talking to, really into, but I felt like something was going on with him and Kendra. Now I know.”
“Oh my goodness,” Gracie walked even closer to Tara and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry, Tara, I had no idea. Please believe me.”
“Gracie, I know what type of person you are. I’m not worried about it. You and Kendra are friends, not twins. Don’t even worry about it. I’ll get over it.” She hugged Gracie just a little longer than an acquaintance would. Tara teared up when she realized that Kendra really had betrayed her. “Look, I better go or I’ll be late. Thank you, Gracie, for the talk ... thanks for the hug.”
Gracie released Tara. “You can call me anytime, Tara. I hope you’ll still be coming to the gym.”
“Girl, and you know it. I’ll definitely call you, maybe we can do lunch or something.”
“Sounds good.” Gracie turned and went into her office. She hadn’t decided whether to put Kendra on the spot when she got in or just sweep it under the rug. One thing she knew for sure was that Kendra was becoming someone she didn’t know.
Now she knew that Kendra was cheating on Sean. Gracie still wanted to know what secret Kendra was keeping. She was worried and knew that as much as she wanted to be in the loop with Kendra, she knew her friend wouldn’t tell her.
“Lord, give me strength to deal with all this. Please keep Kendra out of harm’s way and give her strength to deal with whatever it is that she is going through. I need you, Lord, but I think she needs you a little more right now.”