Redemption Lake (15 page)
Authors: Monique Miller
The tennis match spectacle had all eyes landing on Charlotte. She seemed oblivious to the fact that everyone was focused on her. Taking a deep breath, she turned her body and attention to her husband. “Xavier, is there anything you want to tell me?”
Without even allowing his mind to complete a full thought, Xavier said, “Nah.”
Charlotte leaned over and pulled the thick accordion file off the floor. She opened it and pulled out three sheets of stapled paper. Upon further inspection of the file, Xavier saw that it had tabs separating the compartments by months. And from what he could tell, each compartment had something in it.
“Xavier, I've tried and tried to get you to tell me the truth about what you've been doing behind my back, but you continually tell me there's nothing going on. I've asked you time and time again to just be honest with me. You continually tell me you're being honest. Even less than an hour ago, out on that porch, you held my hands, looked in my eyes, and tried your best to assure me that you have been and are being honest with me,” Charlotte said.
Even though Charlotte had asked the question, Xavier sat stone still with tight lips.
“What? You don't have any reassurances for me right now?” Charlotte said.
Her tone and demeanor mirrored the way she had been acting just before she sprung the STD test results on him. Xavier knew he'd better say something. That day sitting at their dining room table, Charlotte had only had one thin little envelope with just enough damaging information to cause his wife to leave him for a few days. That one sheet had caused her to almost leave him for good. If not for the reassurances he'd given her, Xavier was sure she'd have left him long ago.
It was as if he had lockjaw. His mouth refused to move, which was a good thing because he had no idea what would end up tumbling out.
“Go ahead and admit it, Xavier. Admit you've been lying to me,” Charlotte said.
His body seemed to have contracted the lockjaw also. He couldn't even nod his head to answer her question.
“Charlotte, do you and Xavier want to go into another room so you can discuss whatever is bothering you?” Phillip asked.
Without looking in Phillip's direction, Charlotte said, “No, we can discuss this right here and now. Nobody is perfect in this room, and everybody has skeletons. I'm just the only one in here who is about to let those skeletons breathe.”
“Yes, but Charlotteâ” Phillip attempted.
Charlotte held up her hand to stop him from speaking. “Honestly, I don't have a problem with talking in front of you all. And unless my husband says he has a problem, we can finish this right here.”
The tennis match spectators turned all eyes to Xavier. This was the time to say something, the time to save face and go into another room with his wife so that they could talk about whatever was on her mind. But his body still refused to obey his brain.
“So, there you have it. He doesn't mind either,” Charlotte said.
Charlotte picked up the piece of paper she was holding in her hand. “For the month of May there were fifteen phone calls made from your phone to the number 555-1837 and twenty-eight calls received from the same number. In the month of June there were fifty-one calls to the same number and forty-seven calls received by you from that number.” Charlotte paused and looked at Xavier. “Do I need to continue with July and August?”
Xavier couldn't believe what he was hearing. How had she known about all those calls? The only way was if she had a detailed phone bill for his cellular phone. He had to think of something to say quickly.
“Those were all business calls. You know how my work cell phone goes out. I started using my personal cell phone to take care of needed business transactions for work. That's the phone number for the new sales guy who started a few months back. I was his mentor.” Xavier chuckled with nervousness. “He was a slow learner at first, so I had to keep on top of things with him until he fully learned the ropes.”
“Oh really, Xavier? Is this new sales guy named Angel? What is he? A transvestite with an unusually high soprano voice?” Charlotte taunted.
How did Charlotte know the phone number belonged to Angel? He wondered if Charlotte had called Angel and gotten her voice mail or something. Angel had never mentioned talking to his wife.
He stammered, “Baby, what are you talking about? Who's Angel?”
Charlotte pulled a sheet out of the July section of the accordion file. “And I quote, âHey, baby, it's Angel. Where you at? I've been waiting for over thirty minutes. You said you'd be here thirty minutes ago. You know I gotta go to work in a few hours. I wanted to spend a little time with you. Call me as soon as you get this to let me know when you'll be here.' That was a phone message Miss Angel left you on July 21st,” Charlotte said. “Funny, I don't remember hearing anything about any sales tips in that message.” Charlotte's voice was full of facetiousness.
He didn't remember getting that particular message from Angel, but it sounded like one of her typical messages, vernacular and all. Had Charlotte been listening to his cell phone messages somehow?”
Charlotte directed her full attention to Xavier as if there was no one else sitting in the room. “Do you want to hear more?” She paused. “I've got more.”
Xavier shook his head.
“Oh no, humor me, please.” She pulled another sheet out of the accordion file; this time from the label titled July. She traced her finger down the sheet. “Okay, here's a real good one. âHey, Xavier, I got your message, and last night was absolutely wonderful. I just hate that things got cut short. Let me know when Charlotte is scheduled to be out of town again. I'll check and see if the date coincides with any of the times Quincy will be out of town. Call me back after six o'clock. Quincy has a meeting and won't be home.'”
Xavier's mouth dropped. He couldn't be hearing what he thought he was hearing. He remembered that particular message well. It was from their neighbor, Carly. And even though Carly hadn't left her name on the message, Xavier knew good and well Charlotte had known who the voice belonged to. Carly had left messages on their home answering machine many times, especially about their book club meetings.
“Charlotte, Iâ” Xavier began to say, but Charlotte cut him off.
“No no. There's one more thing I want you to listen to.” She pulled out another sheet of paper. “Now this one is a little different, a dialogue of sorts which went as follows.
“PrettyB: What's up with you?
“Sunshine627: Nothing much. When are we going to hook up?
“PrettyB: That's up to you.
“Sunshine627: Told you I'm game. When you gonna post a picture? I want to see if you look like you described yourself.
“PrettyB: LOL, I told you I am still new at this whole chatting thing.
“Sunshine627: Yeah right. We been chatting for over a month. Even I can tell you how to post your picture.
“PrettyB: Okay. Truth is, I am a little shy, and I don't want to put a picture on this site. You know there are a lot of weirdos out on the Internet.
“Sunshine627: You could always e-mail a picture to me.
“PrettyB: Nah, I want you to meet me up close and personal. Pictures don't do me justice.
“PrettyB: You still there, Sunshine?
“Sunshine627: Uh yeah, I gotta go. I just heard my boyfriend's car pull up.”
Charlotte looked up at Xavier, and then at the others seated around the table. “That was one of the tamer messages. I'll spare you all the details of the many other Internet correspondences my husband has been having.”
“Okay, Charlotte. We need to talk,” Xavier said. He had no idea what else his wife might pull out of the file, and didn't want to find out in front of the others.
“Oh, so now you want to talk?” Charlotte said. She folded her arms. “Go ahead and talk.”
“Not in front of everyone. We need to talk this out in private.”
“What? Is all this too uncomfortable for you? Can't stand the heat?” Charlotte asked.
Phillip interjected, looking at his watch. “Hey, everyone, it's time for our scheduled break. And after the break, I'd like for you all to talk one-on-one with your spouse about each part in the S.M.I.R.K. acronym and how it relates to your marriage. Don't worry about meeting back here at The Round Table.” His eyes darted toward Xavier and Charlotte. “I want you to find some place where you and your spouse can talk privately.
Phillip directed his attention to the others at the table. “And if there is anything either of you two other couples need to talk about, then I strongly encourage you to do so. As John 8:32 says,
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
”
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
”
Amen
, Xavier thought, hoping finally telling his wife the truth would make him free.
, Xavier thought, hoping finally telling his wife the truth would make him free.
Chapter 16
Xavier Knight
Tuesday: 3:33
P.M
.
Tuesday: 3:33
P.M
.
Charlotte sat on the twin bed opposite Xavier. With folded arms, she stared him down. He could feel her eyes on him.
In his lap he held the expanding file Charlotte had pulled all of her information from. She'd been silent for the past fifteen minutes as she watched his trembling hands go through the entire contents of the file. From the months of February through July, he'd found sheet after sheet of damaging information. He didn't set the file down until he'd scanned the last sheet.
He dropped his head, not knowing what to say.
“What are you dropping your head for? No need to be ashamed now; now that you've been caught,” Charlotte said. “Do you want to explain?”
“Explain what? It looks like you've done quite a good deal of investigation yourself.”
Charlotte stood, crossing the room to pick up a copy of one of the detailed cell phone bills. “Explain this. What was so important that you and these Angel and Yasmine women needed to talk over five hundred times in a six month period? And you and Carly talked a hundred times or more. Since I can't get a detailed phone bill for land line calls, I am sure it's been way more than that.”
“I don't know. It doesn't seem like I talked to them that many times,” Xavier said. And it was true. He hadn't realized it had been that much.
“I'm surprised you found time to work, talking to them so much. And it's a wonder I talked to you at all. But let's see, I did at least get the chance to talk to you one hundred and eighty times. Maybe I am a little special.”
“Charlotte, don't.”
“Charlotte don't what?”
“Don't do this. You know you are special to me.”
“No, not really; not for the past eight months or so it seems,” Charlotte said. “And Carly ... I can't believe you slept with her. She was supposed to be my friend. How could you do that to me, and with her of all people?”
“Charlotte, baby, first of all, I didn't sleep with her. And please believe me when I say it wasn't all that cut and dry. It wasn't all that simple, and I didn't have feelingsâI mean any real feelingsâtoward any of these women.”
“Oh, I am supposed to believe you now? Now that I've done everything but get your fingerprints matched, I'm supposed to believe whatever you decide to let fall out of your mouth?”
“It's true. I didn't and don't have any feelings for any of those women.”
“So what were they? A hobby or something? Most people get regular hobbies, but not you; you have to get a hobby that could jeopardize our lives, not to mention eventually cause you to end up getting someone pregnant.”
“I used protection,” Xavier quickly said.
“So, I guess that gonorrhea must have slipped through the condom somehow?” Charlotte rolled her eyes.
“Charlotte, that was low,” Xavier said.
“No, Xavier, you are low.”
She was one hundred percent right. How could he have even formed his lips to say that to her? He was one of the lowest pieces of scum on the earth. Why couldn't he have just learned his lesson losing his first wife? And why couldn't he have just found something else to occupy his time? Now he was right back to where he was years earlier; trying to explain his actions to his second wife.
His mind was reeling; he couldn't believe the extent in which Charlotte had gone to gather information about his escapades. And he wondered why she'd kept it all a secret from him for so long.
“There's no excuse for what I've done,” Xavier said.
Continuing to fold her arms, Charlotte stared at him.
“I'm sorry for lying to you. I'm sorry for withholding information. There's just no excuse.”
“What about the women you chatted with online? How many of them did you sleep with?”
“None,” Xavier said.
“Come on, Xavier. You're just saying no because you've seen everything in that file. Don't you know this could be another test for me to see if you'll tell me the truth?”
“You don't have any proof of me sleeping with any of the women online because there isn't any evidence to find. Yeah, I chatted with them and probably led them on in many cases, but it was all just fun to me. I didn't sleep with any of them. I'll have to admit that I did meet Angel once. But nothing happened.” Xavier was stating the truth. He'd set up a meeting with Angel at a restaurant in a city over an hour away from his home. With anxious anticipation, he waited for Angel, who said she'd be wearing a camel colored top and mini skirt. When she'd rounded the corner of the front doors and introduced herself, Xavier had been completely turned off.
The picture she'd posted on the Internet had been old. It was a picture of her wearing a bikini on the beach. In the picture, she was every bit of a size three, if thatâpretty and petite with a smooth hourglass figure. The woman he'd met that night at the restaurant sounded the same as the Angel he'd spoken to on the phone, but the long gone hourglass figure had now turned into a Coke bottle shaped like a two liter. And she was nowhere near a size three; more like a size twenty-three. Xavier couldn't make enough excuses fast enough as he tried to get away from her.
He'd made it back home in record time that night, hoping Angel hadn't gotten a glimpse of his license plate.
Charlotte paused, thinking about his response. Xavier knew she couldn't comeback with any proof that he'd slept with Angel either.
“Look, I know you've spent a lot of time finding information to back up all you've been saying. And you're right; much of the truth is here in black and white. But believe me when I say I'm a changed man. Getting that STD really scared me, and giving it to you scared me even more,” Xavier said.
He took a deep breath. Keeping secrets and telling lies wasn't going to work anymore. He needed the truth to make him free. “I did know I had gonorrhea before you confronted me. I was afraid to tell you and was really hoping you wouldn't get it.”
“I knew,” Charlotte said.
“You knew what?”
“I knew you knew about the gonorrhea before me. When I went on the Internet to find out more information on the disease, I saw that you'd already done searches,” Charlotte said.
Xavier wasn't sure, but for a flicker of a moment, he thought he might have seen relief on Charlotte's face because he was finally telling the truth. But it was only there for a moment, quickly replaced with a furious scowl.
“What the heck were you thinking? What if it had been some other disease; an incurable one? Or what if I hadn't shown any symptoms and it was too late for me to be treated?”
“I wasn't thinking straight, I know that. Everything happened so fast. I went to the doctor, got my results, and just got scared. I immediately broke it off with Yasmine. She wasn't too happy I'd broken it off, but at that point I really didn't care. She'd given me a disease, and because of her, I gave it to you.”
“No, Xavier. Because of you, you gave me the disease. I married you, not that woman,” Charlotte said.
Xavier nodded his head. Now was not the time to start blaming someone else. He had to take ownership for what he'd done and face it like a man. Whether it led him down the same road he'd been down before or not.
“I did break it off with her.” Xavier picked up a handful of papers off the bed. “And somewhere in this tall stack of investigative paperwork, you should see that I haven't had contact with Angel or Carly in months. I'd broken it off with Angel before I met Yasmine. And Carly ended up getting a conscience herself, and stopped talking to me.”
“So, what are you supposed to be, a saint or something? Am I just supposed to forget all this because you say you're turning over a new leaf?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes, something like that. We can start with a fresh slate. No more secrets, I promise. And again, I haven't had contact with any other woman in months. And there aren't any other women in the woodworks for you to find out about. From what I've seen in these papers, you've been extremely thorough.” Xavier was sincere in all he said.
“Don't you understand that you've demolished any amount of trust I've had in you?”
“Can I ask you something?” Xavier said.
“What?” Charlotte snapped.
“If you knew about my stepping out for months, why didn't you call me on it before today? Why gather all this information for months?”
“Your ex-wife tried to tell me that you had numerous affairs during your marriage to her, but you'd only told me about the one affair. So who was I to believe? I believed you of course. You're my husband. But then I started seeing some things that just didn't add up. So I checked here and there.
“There is a saying that goes, be careful what you look for, you just might see it. That's when I started noticing the increased number of calls on your detailed cell phone bill. I was in denial and kept thinking there had to be an explanation for all the stuff I was finding. Then when I got the disease, and you wouldn't give me the details I wanted, I found myself doing even more investigative work. And after looking in the right places, I found more than I could handle.”
Charlotte stared at him with contempt. “I wanted so badly to believe you. I truly hoped there was an explanation for everything. I gave you chance after chance to tell me the truth, but you never did.”
“I'm telling you the truth now.” He held the papers up again. “Look at your papers again. Look at the dates again. You'll see. A couple of weeks prior to your confronting me about Yasmine, my correspondence with her stopped. And the correspondence with everyone else in real life, and in cyberspace, ceased also. I am a changed man. I promise you.”
He hopped off the bed and handed her the stack of papers he'd been holding. “Just look. You've got to believe me.” Then he scooped up the rest, giving them to her as evidence.
Instead of looking at the papers, she stood and threw them back. Some landed on the bed, but most scattered to the floor.
“You're like the boy who cried wolf, Xavier. Prove it to me,” Charlotte said. She stepped past him, leaving him in the pile of papers.
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