Jezebel (10 page)

“I'm sorry for upsetting you like this,” he said.

Jessie Belle eyed his reflection in the mirror. “Honey, you didn't do this.”

“Is there something going on with you?”

“Could be stomach flu. There's some kind of virus going around, you know.”

“Are you sure that's what it is?” Traynor asked.

Jessie Belle gave a slight shrug. “I don't know, but I'm going to see the doctor tomorrow if I can get an appointment. Whatever it is, I intend to nip it in the bud.”

She walked back into the room and removed her clothes. “I'm just gonna get into bed if you don't mind. I don't feel well at all.”

Traynor stayed upstairs with her until she fell asleep.

As he watched her sleeping form, Traynor couldn't believe how close he'd come to ruining his marriage by listening to the lies of another woman. Still Traynor wondered at the reason why Cynthia would try to break up him and Jessie Belle.

Sure, she'd flirted with him from time to time, but Traynor had simply ignored it. He figured that she was just naturally flirtatious. It had never occurred to him that Cynthia would have other motives.

He felt like a fool.

T
wo days later, Jessie Belle's prayers were answered. She and Traynor were going to have a baby.

The doctor confirmed it that morning. Jessie Belle was six weeks pregnant. According to her calculations, she'd conceived on her wedding night.

Thank You, God
.

A baby was just what she needed to put an end to this mess Cynthia stirred up.

She resisted the urge to pay the troublemaker a visit when she left the doctor's office. Jessie Belle decided to bide her time for now, but she wasn't about to forget what Cynthia had done.

The witch was gonna pay.

Jessie Belle cooked a special dinner, set the table and changed into a beautiful silk nightgown. Mary Ellen had helped her arrange several elegant floral displays around the living room and dining room. The scented candles emitted a soft ethereal glow, adding to the romantic ambiance.

Everything has to be perfect
.

She checked the clock. Traynor was due home any moment. Jessie Belle couldn't wait to see the look on his face. Her husband would be thrilled to know of his impending fatherhood. He wanted children.

She stole a peek outside the huge picture window in the living room. Traynor had just pulled into the driveway.

He's home
.

Jessie Belle checked her reflection in the mirror. “I look stunning,” she whispered. “I just hope that Traynor thinks so.”

He has to be happy about the baby
.

She said a quick prayer before opening the front door to greet him.

Traynor did a double take when he walked into the house. “What's going on?” he asked. “Are we having company for dinner?”

Smiling, Jessie Belle responded, “Honey, do I look like I'm hosting a dinner party?”

His eyes traveled up and down her silk-draped body. She was wearing the black gown he loved with the matching robe. “You look beautiful, Jessie Belle. I guess you're feeling much better.”

“I am,” she responded. “Honey, why don't you go get comfortable? When you come out, I'll have dinner on the table ready and waiting for you.” Jessie Belle planted a kiss on his lips.

Traynor went upstairs to their bedroom.

Humming softly, Jessie Belle navigated to the kitchen to prepare their plates.

“Did you do all this for me?” Traynor asked when he strolled into the dining room ten minutes later.

He sat down at the head of the table.

“Of course I did,” Jessie Belle responded. “You're my husband and I thought we deserved an evening of romance.” She walked over to the cassette player on top of the sideboard and pressed a button. “I figured I'd bring the jazz to us.”

Traynor smiled. “Everything looks real nice, Jessie Belle.”

“I made stuffed pork chops for dinner,” she announced. “I know how much you like them.”

Jessie Belle smiled as she watched Traynor enjoy his meal.

He glanced up. “Aren't you going to eat your dinner?”

“My appetite is still a little iffy, but don't worry about me,” she responded. “I'll make some soup in a few minutes for me.”

Traynor looked concerned. “Did you get a chance to see the doctor?”

“I did,” Jessie Belle confirmed. “And there's definitely something going on.”

“What is it?” He laid his fork down and wiped his mouth with the edge of his napkin.

“Honey…” Jessie Belle paused for a moment. “I'm going to have a baby.”

“What did you say?”

She smiled. “I'm pregnant, Traynor.”

Traynor looked as if he didn't know whether to jump for joy or cry.

“Did you hear me?” Jessie Belle asked. “We're going to have a baby. Aren't you happy about it? It's what we both wanted.”

“Are you sure?” Traynor asked quietly.

“The doctor confirmed it this morning.” Jessie Belle met his gaze. “I thought you'd be a little more excited about the news that we're going to be parents.”

Traynor broke into a smile. “I'm very happy. I guess I'm a little in shock, too.”

“We're gonna have a little baby.”

His gaze met hers. “Wow…”

“I'm glad it wasn't the stomach flu,” Jessie Belle said with a chuckle.

“So it's been morning sickness, then?”

She nodded. “Hopefully, it'll go away in a couple of months. I can barely keep anything down.”

After dinner, Traynor sent Jessie Belle upstairs with a promise to join her as soon as he cleaned up the kitchen.

When he came up twenty minutes later, Jessie Belle was in bed naked.

“Make love to me.”

Traynor did as she requested.

He fell asleep in her arms afterward.

Jessie Belle listened to Traynor's soft snoring for a few minutes before easing out of bed.

She was still seething over the fact that Cynthia had tried to destroy her marriage. Jessie Belle decided that she needed to settle this mess with Cynthia once and for all.

She slipped on a pair of black pants and a black shirt. Jessie Belle pulled her shoulder-length hair up into a ponytail.

Jessie Belle left home under the cover of darkness and walked across the street. Cynthia wasn't going to get away with this.

She ran up the steps to the porch and rang the doorbell.

“Cynthia, I want to have a little talk with you,” Jessie Belle stated when the front door swung open.

“Do you know what time it is?” Cynthia demanded. “What do you want?”

Jessie Belle pushed past her. “I want you to stay as far away from me and my husband as possible. I think you should find another church.”

Folding her arms across her chest, Cynthia asked, “What does Traynor have to say about this?”

Jessie Belle met her gaze straight on. “He knows you're nothing but a troublemaker.”

“I haven't done a thing. Can you say the same?”

“Cynthia—you're messing with the wrong woman.”

Jessie Belle smiled when she glimpsed fear in Cynthia's eyes. “I hope we understand one another.”

“I know what I heard.”

“Like I said, you don't know what you're talking about. I want you to stay out of my business. Stay away from my husband, Cynthia. This is my only warning.” Jessie Belle headed to the door.

Glancing around, she added, “It doesn't take much to break in here. I hope you're not a heavy sleeper.”

“Hey, what's with all the attitude lately?” Atkinson demanded.

Cynthia sent him a sharp look. “How could you do this to me?”

“Do what?” he asked. “What did I do?”

“I can't believe you're having an affair with Jessie Belle Deveraux right in my face like this.” Cynthia wiped away a tear.

“I ain't having no affair with nobody.”

“I saw you, Atkinson. You kissed her in the choir room and I heard what you said. Y'all was all hugged up and making plans to meet somewhere on Monday.”

“I was with you all day Monday,” he stated. “I didn't leave your house until late, remember?”

“I know that, but what did you do when you left me?”

“It was after ten. I went home.”

“Any other time you would've spent the night with me.”

“You weren't doing nothing but being mean—I got tired of it, so I went to my own place.”

“Okay, but I saw you kiss Jessie Belle. You can't deny that.”

“I kissed her, but she pushed me away. Did you see that?”

“No,” Cynthia said quietly.

“I'm not having an affair with Jessie Belle. She ain't nothing but a big user. She just wanted to get that car. That's why she even started talking to me at all. She think she better than us.”

“That woman is evil,” Cynthia spit out. “I'm telling you the truth…. She came over here last night and threatened me.”

He cracked up.

Angry, Cynthia elbowed him. “It's not funny.”

She stood up and started pacing the floor.

“Why you wearing out the rug?” Atkinson questioned. “You acting like you all scared and stuff. Jessie Belle wouldn't harm a fly.”

“She really got you fooled, don't she? I'm not stupid, Atkinson. I know you're attracted to her. That woman ain't nothing but trouble. You better listen to me. I don't know what Traynor Deveraux sees in her. He's such a nice man. He don't deserve a woman like that in his life—she's gonna mess up his ministry.”

Shaking her head sadly, Cynthia added, “I just hate it for him.”

“Wait a minute…. You getting on me for being attracted to Jessie Belle and look at you. You after her husband.”

“Boy, you crazy.”

Atkinson shook his head. “Naw…
I know you
. You want Traynor Deveraux.”

“And you want Jessie Belle,” Cynthia countered.

Atkinson settled back against the cushions of the couch. “So what we gon' do about it?”

Cynthia smiled. “I told Traynor about you and Jessie Belle.”

“So what happened?”

“I don't know. I thought he'd throw her out, but she's still over there acting like she the queen.
I can't stand that woman
. Traynor deserves so much better.”

“She a pretty girl,” Atkinson interjected. “That pretty skin and that long curly hair…men like that.”

Cynthia gave him a punch in the arm. “I don't want to hear that mess.”

“You pretty, too.”

“I wonder what he sees in her.”

“She's gorgeous, smart and sexy…. Jessie Belle has a lot to offer a man.”

“You saying I don't?” Cynthia asked. “You think that witch look better than me?”

“I ain't saying that at all, girl. Stop trying to make this about you.”

Cynthia laughed. “Oh my goodness…Atkinson, you got it bad.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You're in love with her,” Cynthia accused. “I never thought I'd see the day when a woman captured your heart.”

“I spoke to a pastor in Raleigh, North Carolina, this morning,” Traynor told Jessie Belle during lunch a few days later.

“He wants me to take over his church there. He called me because he's retiring and moving to Florida. Donald Thasher is a longtime friend of my father.”

“So what did you tell him?” Jessie Belle wanted to know.

“I told him I'd pray about it and get back to him. I want to discuss this with you first.”

“So how are you feeling about it?” Jessie Belle hoped that Traynor would jump at an opportunity to leave Atlanta since the incident with Cynthia. She thought it best to get far away from Atkinson, too. Now when he figured Traynor wasn't home, he was calling the house and just breathing on the line, or he would try to engage her in sex talk.

Jessie Belle decided not to tell her husband about the calls because she wanted them to move past all the trouble Cynthia tried to cause, but Atkinson was beginning to stress her out.

“I don't have a problem leaving Atlanta, honey.” She nibbled on a saltine cracker, hoping it would help to settle her stomach.

“I thought about it, but to be honest, I feel in my heart that we're supposed to stay here in Atlanta,” Traynor stated.

Jessie Belle couldn't believe what she was hearing. As far as she was concerned, it was long past time for a change. “But it's a great opportunity, Traynor. A bigger church, nice salary increase…you really think we should stay here?”

She had to find a way to convince Traynor to leave Atlanta.

Moving to North Carolina opened a world of new opportunities. They could sell this house and find something much bigger and not quite so old in Raleigh. This time she would have a say in which house they purchased. But the best part of the deal was that there wouldn't be a Cynthia or an Atkinson.

She wanted to escape the mess they were trying to start. Jessie Belle wasn't about to let them break up her marriage. “I think we could do with a change, Traynor, if you want to know the truth,” Jessie Belle stated. “I'm pregnant, and I don't need to be upset.”

“I understand what you're saying, sweetheart. I just want to make sure this is what God wants us to do.”

Jessie Belle held her tongue. She didn't want to fight with Traynor.

She walked over to Mary Ellen's house right after Traynor left to go back to the church.

“I can't stand your neighbor over there and if she don't get a life—I'ma have to teach that strumpet a lesson.”