Page 28 of Evan
She smiled at him and reached for his empty food carton. Gathering up the used napkins and everything else, she put them inside the paper bag and folded it over.
“What if I wanted more?” He asked her quietly.
“I am sure you do, but we are both going to do the right thing.”
“Which is?”
“Doing the right thing.” She grinned at him. “Now I really need to get home. I have a class tomorrow and I am not prepared.”
He did not make a move to start the engine but took her slender hand in his and spread it out until he was staring at her unadorned nails. She had long, slender fingers that were quite elegant.
“Do you play the piano?”
“Yes.” She whispered, feeling the heat from his hand holding hers.
“I can tell.” Linking her fingers with his, he drew her inexorably towards him”
*****
“I am surprised you are home this early.” Ingrid Weeks wandered into his study, trailing white chiffon and some sort of sweet-smelling body wash in her wake.
“I finished my visitation early and decide to come and work on my sermon.” He did not tell her he had stopped at Marjorie’s briefly and had to tear himself away. “How is the headache?” Putting aside the notebook he had been making jottings, he turned his attention to her.
“Manageable.” She wandered around restlessly, going over to the bookcase to look at the titles. “Darcy called.”
“She did?” He hadn’t heard from their daughter in months. He had called her to try and persuade her to come back home and they had ended up arguing. It was all they did, and he was at a point where he couldn’t deal with it anymore. “How is she?”
Turning away, without picking out a book, she glanced over at him. “She refuses to come home.”
His shoulders slumped with weariness. “I suppose I am to be blamed for that as well.”
“I don’t know William.” Walking over to the sofa tucked beneath a large bay window overlooking the garden, she folded her legs beneath her. “We are falling apart and yet there you are preparing a sermon as if we are the perfect family.”
His eyes glittered. “There is no such thing.”
“We are fractured, broken and you still persist in going on.”
“What on earth do you expect me to do?” He wished he had stayed away longer, at least until he knew she was asleep.
“Face up to the truth. How can you be preaching about love and forgiveness and the importance of a family praying together, when we are not doing anything of the sort? Doesn’t it bother you? The hypocrisy of it all? You stand behind that pulpit appealing to sinners to get it right, when you are doing all the wrong things.”
“You are not in a position to judge me,” he told her stiffly, “look, I might not be perfect. Yes, our family is broken, but what better person to preach about what should not be done?”
She stared at him and shook her head. “I know you are having an affair.”
The statement was so out of the blue that it stunned him for a few seconds. “What?”
“William, one of the things I admired about you was how enthusiastic you were about our love life. I have been with you for years now, not to notice the sign. I don’t really know who she is, but I am imploring you to proceed with caution. You would not want your congregants to find out their pastor is committing adultery.”
He stared at her and wondered what had happened to the woman he had fallen in love with.
“That’s your concern?” He asked bitterly. “It has nothing to do with you. As long as I am not found out, I can continue being with another woman. What happened to us Ingrid?
We used to love each other; we would do things together no matter how busy we were. I used to come into this very room to prepare for Sunday and you would sit right on that sofa and offer your contribution. Afterwards, we would either take a walk or sit and read the Bible together. What happened to you?”
“I lost my son!” She cried. “I am dealing with that tragedy; the best way I know how and apparently you are dealing with it by being with another woman.” She took a breath and leaned back against the cushions.
Her eyes were vacant as if all the light had been turned off and she was existing in complete darkness. “Chad was the best of us and God took him away. How could he?”