“It’s after eight,” he spoke above her head. “How was church?” he asked after a period of silence. His question brought back unpleasant memories of what happened earlier in the day and effectively dredged up the emotions that were associated with that memory. She found she couldn’t answer him and instead tears streamed unhindered down her face until they splashed onto his naked chest.
“Why are you crying? What happened?” he asked fully alert.
“Nothing,” she evaded. “It’s just that I missed you a lot today and because of that I just felt down.” He tilted her face so that he could look into her eyes and she was grateful that the bedside lamps did not provide enough illumination for him to see that there was more to it than what she was letting on – his eyes had the effect of a lie detector and she just didn’t want to get sucked into the compelling pools.
Sighing, he replied, “I’m sorry honey. I should have been there today. I know how much it means to you that I come to church with you. I promise I’ll do better.”
She reached up with a smile on her lips and pressed them against his, grateful for his consideration. He promised to do better and she knew he never went back on his promises so she would hold him to it. That night she slept more peaceful than she had, her husband’s arms securely wrapped around her with promises that he would visit her church. Maybe once and for all the church gossipers would be put to shame when they saw just how happy a couple they were.
*****
The following Sunday Michael was in church with Imani and she could not be happier. Some persons were genuinely happy to see that he had finally accompanied his wife to church especially her pastor and her best friend and then there were others who were mildly surprised and then those who were outright shocked as they had already termed her marriage as a failure. She didn’t bring him to church to gloat or get back at the naysayers but she would be a hypocrite if she didn’t say it felt good to see them eat their words.
As they sat and listened to the sermon she could tell that her husband was really intrigued by the word as he sat and listened intently, his eyes trained on the pastor. Whenever something from the word impacted him she felt him squeeze the hand he held. At this rate she supposed the church would be gearing up to accept a new member.
She noticed that they received furtive glances from the gossipers and a few other members from the church but the looks that really caught her eye were the ones from Andre and Andrea. While Andrea’s stares were ones of curiosity, Andre’s were more scrutinizing. His gaze was penetrating as if he was trying to find some flaw that she wasn’t aware of. Though she had long gone put aside the hurt and pain she felt whenever she saw the Richards, they weren’t really close but it wasn’t a problem for her. Now as they sat watching her and Michael’s every move, she felt uneasy but she couldn’t quite understand why.
“It’s finally good to see you again Mr. Fray,” said her pastor smiling at her husband as they shook hands after service.
“It’s good to see you too Pastor Jacobs. I really enjoyed the message today. It was really impacting,” affirmed her husband.
“Enough to have you come over to this side of the fence?” he asked boldly. Her husband laughed but didn’t reject the offer.
“We’ll see. Probably after a few more of your sermons and an act of God you will have a new member,” he conceded after his laughter died down.
“Well I will be praying for you my brother. I see you have already been adapting to the family role quite admirably but trust me, with God in the center of it all everything will work out the way it should.”
After greeting a few more brethren the couple was on their way home.
“How was it?” Imani asked her husband as she rested her head on his shoulder while one of his hands played with her stomach.
“I truly enjoyed the service,” he confessed. “Really made me want to do some introspection and change some things that aren’t right,” he said thoughtfully. “You know your pastor is right if I want to be the best man for my family, then I definitely need God to be in the mix. I don’t know how I’ve been surviving this long without any real thoughts towards Him.
“I’m proud of you sweetie,” she declared earning her a kiss on the forehead. When they got home that evening, they spent some quality time alone with Michael giving her a full body massage while he complimented her, making her feel special. She was getting very rotund but he made her embrace it as he told her he found it to be a gift for a woman to grow with a child and that it made her more beautiful. Afterward, they made love but in a sweet sensual way as he was afraid of hurting the baby.
Michael put aside all meetings and cleared his schedule to go to church the following Sunday and Imani could not be happier seeing as he was becoming committed. She thanked God for the changes happening in her husband and continued to pray that he would learn to love her as well as express it openly.
This Sunday Pastor Jacobs preached about ‘Love and the commitment of Love.’ Again she could see how much the word had captivated him and she was pleased.
“Hi Imani,” came Andrea’s abnormally high pitched voice as she stood on the pavement in front the church waiting for her husband who had gone to use the restroom.
“Uh, hi Andrea,” she said in an unsure voice.
“I didn’t get the chance to tell you how sorry I am for what happened between you and Andre.” As much as the apology was long overdue, she was in a better place now and didn’t want to dwell on the past.
“Look Andrea, I appreciate what you’re doing but the past is the past and I have moved on.”
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“I know Imani but I guess I got a little remorseful when I considered the fact that you and Andre would have probably been married if I hadn’t stepped in the picture. Things would have been different, you know?” She didn’t know why Andrea was adamant about bringing up the unfortunate circumstances but as she made to answer her, she felt a firm hand at her back. Looking up she saw that it was Michael. She smiled up at him but his face was anything but pleasant and his lips drawn in a grim line causing her smile to drop.
“Excuse us,” he spoke curtly to Andrea before escorting her to the car. For the whole ride he said nothing and sat as far away as possible from her. She wondered what could have happened in the short space of time that he went to the bathroom and came back.
“Are you alright?” she asked cautiously as he yanked off his tie and threw it on the bed, before sitting on the chaise at one end of the room to remove his shoes and socks. He looked up from his task and she noticed the look of annoyance on his face.
“Does it look like I’m ok?” he asked in irritation. As she had never experienced this side of him, she was at a loss for words and opened and closed her mouth in surprise. She was afraid to say anything that would irritate him further.
“I’m gonna go take a shower,” she said simply heading for the bathroom. He didn’t answer but continued with his task of undressing, his frustration evident with each movement.