Forgiven Read online

  ***

  Diane was giddy with excitement. She had gold in her hand and she planned to use it. She flipped through the pictures she had taken of Cassandra and her new man. The one she liked best was of the two of them holding hands. They looked so sweet. Diane quickly uploaded that photo and then emailed it to JT’s cell phone.

  She laughed as the picture mail went through. She then turned on her car and drove straight home. She was delighted when she saw that Benson’s car was still in the driveway. She just had to show him this. He always talked about how nice and sweet Cassandra was. Well now he would know that she wasn’t the only one who had succumbed to temptation. Maybe now he would take that hurt puppy dog look out of his eyes that always appeared when he thought she wasn’t looking. As far as Diane was concerned, Benson was wrong for that. If someone says they forgive you, they should just go on and do it. Stop holding grudges.

  She gripped her cell phone in her hand. This will shut him up, she thought as she opened the front door. “Hey, Benson, where are you?” she yelled from the entry way.

  Benson came out of the kitchen, drying his hands with the dish towel. “Hey sweetie, I was just finishing up those dishes for you.”

  There he goes again, always letting her know when she didn’t do something she was supposed to do. Maybe this was his way of getting back at her for cheating on him. He was going to nitpick her to death. Diane smiled and said, “Thank you, baby. You’re my hero.”

  A big grin crossed Benson’s face as he kissed his wife on the cheek. “You know me, baby. I do what I can.”

  She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the living room. “Come sit on the sofa with me. I’ve got something to show you.”

  “This must be good. You seem so excited.”

  “Benson, you don’t even know the half of it.” She waited until they were seated together on the sofa. She then pushed buttons on her cell phone until she was viewing her pictures. She handed the phone to Benson and said, “Look at this.”

  Benson took her phone and scrolled down until he had seen all ten of the pictures Diane had taken of Cassandra with some man that he didn’t recognize. He handed the phone back to his wife and stood up. “Are you fixing dinner tonight or do you want me to do it,” was all he said.

  Diane’s eyes bugged out. “Benson, did you see the pictures I showed you?”

  “I saw them. I’m not sure why you took them, but I’m sure you have your reasons.”

  “You’re darn right I have my reasons. When I show these photos to the family court judge, we’ll be able to get Lily back.”

  His eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “How could Cassandra having lunch with some guy help us get Lily?”

  Did she have to spell everything out for this man? “Don’t you get it, Benson? Cassandra’s having an affair.”

  “I think you’ll need much more than those pictures to prove an affair,” Benson said while walking back into the kitchen.

  Diane got up and followed him. “Didn’t you see that man holding Cassandra’s hand?”

  “I saw it, but there has to be some other explanation. Cassandra is not that kind of woman.”

  If he would have slapped her it would’ve hurt less. “What are you trying to say, Benson? What kind of woman cheats?”

  Benson turned to face his wife. He walked over to her and put his arm on her shoulder as he said, “I didn’t mean anything by that, Diane. I just don’t think Cassandra is cheating on JT, that’s all.”

  “Why do you think so much of her? Cassandra is human just like the rest of us. She has faults and flaws – maybe you just can’t see them.”

  He rubbed Diane’s back as he said, “Maybe I’m not looking because it’s none of my business.”

  Diane shoved Benson away from her. “Oh, it’s our business all right. But if you can’t be bothered to get your hands dirty, then I guess I’ll have to do it myself.” She stomped out of the kitchen and plopped back down on the sofa in the living room. She picked up the telephone and dialed. When it was answered she said, “What’s up, Margie?”

  “Nothing much. I just got back in from filling out some job applications. You know how it is in this economy. I just got laid off again.”

  Diane couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face. It wasn’t that she was wishing bad fortune on Margie, but if she was hard up for money, she might be more agreeable to the plan Diane tried to talk her into last week. “Yeah, it’s hard times all over. Benson’s worried that he might have to lay some people off.”

  “Well, I hope I find something soon,” Margie said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

  That’s when Diane decided to go in for the kill. “You know, Margie, Faith Outreach Church has deep pockets and they owe us.”

  “I don’t know about all this, Diane. I’ve worked so hard to forget about all the sin I committed with JT Thomas. I don’t know if I can dredge it back up again.”

  “That man wronged you. He wronged us. And I don’t know how you can let him get away with what he did without making him pay, but I can’t. JT is going to get what’s coming to him, mark my words.”

  “Even if you’re right, and JT needs to get what’s coming to him, I don’t see how we’ll end up with a penny. JT doesn’t have any money left. They moved out of that big house, he sold his Bentley. The man is broke.”

  “I know he’s broke, Margie.” Geesh, she was so tired of having to explain everything to every dumb body. “But Faith Outreach is not broke.”

  “He doesn’t work there anymore. JT has a little over twenty members in his church and has to rent space from the community center he works at for Sunday services,” Margie said.

  “I see you’re still keeping tabs on the man,” Diane said with a smirk on her face.

  “I can’t help but hear things, Diane. I do know a lot of the same people he knows.”

  “And how is that?”

  “Because I went to Faith Outreach all the years he was the pastor there of course.”

  “Exactly,” Diane said triumphantly. “He began molesting you while he was pastor of Faith Outreach. And all the leadership there did nothing but turn the other cheek while JT was doing his dirt.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly say he molested me. I’m trying to tell the truth to myself these days. And I have to admit that I did go willfully.”

  “Call it whatever you want. Molested gets you more money in court than to just admit you were sleeping around with the pastor. Think about it, Margie, this was a man of authority and he made you believe that there was some divine privilege attached to sleeping with him.”

  “True,” Margie agreed.

  “That’s a molestation of the mind. I had to leave my husband and be apart from my precious children because of what that man did to me. So, I guarantee you, Margie, he’s going to pay,” Diane said as her front door opened and her seven year old daughter, Brittany, and nine year old son, Joseph Jr. walked in.

  The kids put their book bags down in the entry way and then Joseph turned to his mother and said, “I’m hungry. Can I have a snack before dinner?”

  Diane waved him off and said, “Go in the kitchen and ask your father.” She then turned her back on her precious children and continued her conversation. “So what do you say, Margie. Are you with me on this or not?”

  “I guess you’re right. The fact that JT was our pastor is probably the reason I fell so hard for him. Since he’s supposed to be a man of God, he should have left us alone.”

  “Amen, sister! So are you with me?”

  “Yeah,” Margie said. “Let’s do this.”

  Nine

  Lamont had been moved to a regular room by early afternoon. He was in and out of consciousness because the pain medication they had him on kept him groggy. When he awoke, JT listened as Lamont talked about plans for his future and how he was now determined to be a better man than his father had been.

  For some people, near death experiences don’t faze them. But others wake up with a new
outlook on life. The same thing happened to JT when he woke up in the hospital after Jimmy ran him down with a stolen car. JT made up his mind to change his life as he recuperated from his accident. The change didn’t occur all at once, but JT had been determined. And now he listened as Lamont did the same.

  About an hour later as JT sat in the chair next to Lamont’s bed reading Bible versus out loud, the door opened and in walked a young lady with bright red highlights in her hair. She wore skin tight shorts with stilettos. JT hadn’t figured out yet how these young girls walked in shoes so high.

  She stood bedside Lamont’s bed, and with tears in her eyes she told him, “I’m so glad you’re awake, Lamont. I was worried that you weren’t going to make it.”

  Although it was evident that Lamont had a long recovery ahead, he smiled as he told his friend, “I got nine lives, baby.”

  “Okay, Mr. Big Talk. You just better hope Sonya’s people don’t get to you,” the girl told him.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that,” Lamont said humbly.

  JT stood up. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”

  The young lady turned to face JT. “I’m so sorry. Where are my manners?” She held out her hand. “I was so glad to see that Lamont was still breathing that I forgot to speak to you, sir. I’m Shameka Owens, the person who called you about Lamont.”

  JT shook her hand and said, “I figured as much.”

  “Thank you for coming to see about him. I was scared to death that one of Sonya’s people was going to kill him before he got a chance to heal from his own wounds. But I figured with you being a man a God, and in here praying and all, that Lamont would be just fine.”

  “Well, we can definitely thank God that he made it.” JT looked to Lamont and said, “Don’t overdo it. If you need to rest, just close your eyes and drift off. I’ll be back up in a little while.”

  JT took the elevator to the first floor so he could get some lunch. After ordering a ham sandwich, he sat down at the table and opened his cell phone again. His intent was to call Cassandra, but then he noticed that someone had sent him a message.

  “Hey you,” Erica said as she stood next to his table with a tray of food in her hand.

  “Hey yourself. I thought you had fallen off the face of the earth,” JT told her.

  “Is this seat taken?” Erica asked as she looked at the empty chair across from JT’s.

  “Nope, sit down.”

  “My little boy got sick last night and my husband was frantic with worry, so I had to get someone to take over my shift.”

  “That’s good to know… Not that your little boy got sick. I just thought you were trying to avoid me or something. Anyway, how is your son doing?”

  Erica smiled. “Much better. My husband knows everything about history, but very little about a boy with the flu.”

  “Your husband is a teacher?” JT asked. Funny thing was he didn’t feel the least bit jealous about the man that had obviously claimed Erica’s heart. All a person had to do was look into her eyes when she spoke of her husband to know that she was in love. JT used to see that look in Cassandra’s eyes. But he’d stolen that happiness from his wife with his infidelity.

  “Professor of History,” she answered and then asked as she pointed to the wedding ring on his finger, “You and Mona still together?”

  JT shook his head as he touched his ring finger. “That ended a long time ago.” He then had the decency to show a glimmer of embarrassment as he said, “Look, I never got a chance to apologize to you for how bad I treated you.”

  Erica raised her hand to stop JT. “We were in high school… Too young to be in love in the first place. And anyway, Charles is the man I was supposed to marry. We’ve been together for ten years now, and I love him more each day.”

  “That’s good to know. But just so you know, I was supposed to be in your life back then. You were the first person to ever tell me anything about God. And I want to thank you for that. About a year after you and I parted ways, I got into so much trouble that I had nowhere to turn. Then I remembered the things you told me about God and I started praying.”

  Tears bubbled in Erica’s eyes as JT related his news. She covered her face with her hands for a moment and then looked at him with renewed joy. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that. I prayed for you so much the first couple of years after we broke up. But I never knew what happened to you. I will admit, through the years, I envisioned that something awful had happened to you. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but every now and then the Lord would remind me to pray for you.”

  “Well, let me be the first to tell you that your prayers worked. God saved me, but more importantly, He delivered me. These last five years have been rough for me and my wife.”

  “What’s her name?”

  Now it was JT’s turn to smile when talking about a spouse. “Cassandra,” he answered.

  “I can tell by that big grin on your face that you love her quite a bit.”

  “I do. She’s the woman God had for me,” JT said with a smile that quickly evaporated as he finished. “I’m just not sure if she still thinks I’m the one for her.”

  Erica gently put her hand over JT’s, gave it an encouraging squeeze and then released it. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is there any certain thing you want me to pray about?”

  Just a year earlier, JT would have taken offense at someone offering to pray for him in the manner Erica was doing now. He would have told them that he knew the Lord, and was well able to pray for himself. But the past year had humbled him and helped him to see that prayer changes things; and the more people praying the better. “Here’s the thing, Erica. I lost my church almost a year ago because of the multiple affairs I’ve had.” Erica didn’t look shocked or like she was condemning him straight to Hell for his failings, so he continued. “I have three children, but only two of them belong to my wife. Cassandra and I are trying to get full custody of my newest child.

  “Even though I have repented and turned my life back to God, my wife still feels the pain of my adultery. She lives with it every day and I want her to be free from it. Can you please pray that Cassandra will learn to trust me again?”

  “I will,” Erica said, then she punched JT on the shoulder and pointed in his face. “And you, you big jerk. Don’t ever hurt her like that again.”

  That was the Erica he knew from high school; straight forward and to the point. JT lifted his arms in surrender. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ve learned the hard way. I’ve only loved two women in my life; you and Cassandra. I let you get away, but I don’t ever want Cassandra to leave me. I don’t know what I’d do if that happened.”

  Erica looked at her watch. “I’ve got to get back to work, but I will pray for Cassandra. Don’t worry about that.” She stood up and took her tray to the trash can before leaving the cafeteria.

  Remembering that he had a message, JT picked his cell phone back up, opened it and clicked on the message. It was picture mail. JT rolled his eyes as he wondered about the people who spent their day picture mailing folks. He normally deleted picture mail so fast that it didn’t have time to register with Sprint that he’d received such a thing. But for some reason, JT couldn’t make himself hit the delete button. He’d seen this cell number pop up on his phone before, he was sure of it. But he’d obviously not talked to the person enough to remember whose number it was. Curiosity got the better of him and he opened the picture mail.

  For a moment, JT thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. The woman in the photo looked like Cassandra, but she was holding hands with a man that JT didn’t know. That couldn’t be his wife… could it?

  He dialed Cassandra’s cell phone, and of course it went straight to voicemail again. This time JT left a message. “Cassandra, I need to talk to you. Call me back as soon as you get my message.” His tone was demanding, but at the moment JT didn’t care.

  He hung up and dialed his house. His evil mother-in-law picked up the phone again
. JT got right to the point. “Put my wife on the phone now!”

  “And just who do you think you’re talking to?” Mattie asked.

  JT could picture hands on hips and the neck roll that he was sure was being displayed on the other end of the phone. So he gave back just as much attitude as he was getting. “I don’t want to talk to you at all. I want you to stop answering my telephone or do as I say and get Cassandra to the phone this minute.”

  “Boy, I don’t know what woman you are out of town with that has given you the courage to call here talking crazy. But Cassandra ain’t here, and if she was, I wouldn’t put her on the phone to take abuse from you,” Mattie informed him and then hung up in his face as usual.

  JT shut his eyes as he hit the end button on his cell phone. He couldn’t deal with this. He knew from deep within his heart that although he had done his wife wrong multiple times, he wouldn’t be able to take her cheating on him. He looked to heaven and asked, “Why is this happening to us now, Lord?”

  He could have understood if Cassandra had cheated on him while he was disrespecting and cheating on her. He wouldn’t have been able to deal with that fact then either, but he would have understood why she would do such a thing. But now, when he was trying to be a better man? When he was struggling through her panic attacks and no sexual relations with his wife… why would she do this to him now?

  His eyes misted with tears as he thought about losing his first daughter and how that had torn him away from God. JT had promised God that nothing would ever separate him from His love again. But this…? If God allowed Cassandra to cheat on him while he was trying to do the right thing, JT didn’t know how he would recover from something like this.

  ***

  Cassandra found two dresses and a pair of slacks that she really liked at the mall. She and JT had agreed not to spend any money outside of paying bills for the next two months. But JT would just have to deal with it. She was still smarting from that comment Diane made about calling JT’s cell phone. Cassandra had decided not to go off the deep end until JT came home and was able to explain the situation to her. She was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt since she figured out that it had been Diane playing on her phone last night and not some other woman JT had started fooling around with. But that benefit was only going so far. If he had been talking to Diane behind her back, Cassandra was prepared to move out.