A Wife for Stephen (9 page)

“Of course I am. About what?” Mario asks in
bewilderment.
“About me inviting Celeste. Gimme a minute and I’ll be
ready to go through the sound check.”
“Cool,” says Mario as he rises from the chair. “I’ll meet
you on stage.”
Removing his phone from the cargo clip, Stephen hits
the
return
call
button
on
his
cell
phone.
He
listens
impatiently as the recording for Vines and Robert’s comes
on to
announce that
the office is closed for the day.
Stephen pushes the end call button.
“Well, I know she couldn’t be home yet,” he thinks out
loud. “So, shall I leave a message on her answering
machine at home or call back when I think she’s made it
home?” Not knowing how far she works from her home,
Stephen figures it best to leave a message since he doesn’t
want to take the chance of missing her later. He must get
the sound check down now.
Dialing the number for Celeste’s home, he again waits
while the phone is ringing, “Celeste speaking,” he hears in
his ear.
“Celeste?” Stephen asks.
“Yeah. Who is this?”
“It’s Stephen. I didn’t think you’d be home yet.”
“I’m not. I forwarded my house calls to my cell phone
before I left my office. What’s up?”
“Well, I was thinking...” he pauses, not sure how to
continue.
“About?” Celeste questions.
“Well, I’d really like for you to
come out here, to
Vegas. I give you my word, Celeste. I won’t try
anything
.
You’ll have your own room and you’ll be free to come and
go as you please. I just really want to see you again. We
only have a few more cities to hit before we head to
Europe. And then I’ll be there for a whole month before I
can come back.”
“You wouldn’t have to give me my own room.”
Shocked and taken aback, Stephen is sure that he must
have misunderstood what Celeste is saying. “What?” he
asks in order to gain clarification.
“I could just room with Jenny.”
Relieved at the miscommunication and smiling at the
possibility that Celeste is considering his proposal, Stephen
sits silent, waiting for Celeste to speak.
When she doesn’t, Stephen asks, “So, you’ll come to
Vegas then?”
Celeste
feels
an
extremely
strong
desire
to
throw
caution to the wind and say ‘Sure! Why not.’ But since
acting on impulse is not in Celeste’s nature, she opts for,
“I’d like to, but I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
Stephen’s heart plummets like a lead weight suddenly
being dropped from the top of the Empire State building.
“Let me think about it, Stephen. I don’t like making
spur of the moment decisions. I need to plan. Besides, I’m
not so sure how much I trust you. I think you’re too slick
for your own good.”
“OK, but if you decide to come I would like to be able
to book you on the same flight as Jenny, which leaves LAX
at 11 AM tomorrow morning. With this town being a
weekend getaway spot, I would hate it if we waited for the
last minute to try to get you on the flight and there were no
available seats.”
“Yeah, you’re right. How about this, let me think about
it while I finish driving home, and I’ll call you with my
answer when I get there. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine! I’ll talk to you in a little while. Oh, wait.
Celeste, I’ll be in a sound check, and we never have our
cells on during a sound check.”
“No worries, I’ll leave you a message one way or the
other.”
Daring not push the issue any further and being content
enough that Celeste didn’t flat out say ‘No,’ knowing that
Celeste is thinking about it is enough for Stephen at this
time.

Arriving home only takes about
a half hour. When
Celeste pushes the button on the remote of her visor, her
garage door opens. She pulls her car into its regular resting
spot and puts it in park.

Thomas greets her upon her entrance into the house.
“Hey, Boy! Anyone call while I was at work?” Celeste asks
as she places her keys in their spot and goes through the
same routine that she goes through every time she enters
her home. “I am far too predictable, Thomas!” she exclaims
as she rubs his head.

As Celeste pauses with her hand poised above the play
button of her answering machine, she does it. She makes
the decision to do things differently. She casts aside all
plans she had for working this weekend and decides to
have fun. “I’m going to Vegas tomorrow to see Stephen,”
she pronounces.

Contrary to what she told Stephen, she decides to call
Jenny first for encouragement and confidence bolstering.
When Jenny answers the phone at the salon, Celeste tells
Jenny
about
Stephen
inviting her
to
Vegas.
Celeste
questions, “Do you mind if I room with you in Vegas? I
don’t want to be all by myself.”

Jenny giggles at the shock she hears in Celeste voice
before continuing to say, “Of course you can room with
me. Did you call and see if there was room for you on my
flight?”

“Not yet. I’ll do that right now. Maybe they can
sit me
next
to
you.
What
flight
number
and airline
are
you
taking?”

Celeste writes the information on her memo pad just as
Jenny, excited for Celeste’s newfound freedom says, “Call
me back and let me know.”

“Will do,” says Celeste before hanging up the phone.
Retrieving the yellow pages from the bookshelf, she begins
to look for the phone number to the airline on to which
Jenny is already booked.

Before she can pick up the phone to dial the number to
the airline, her line rings, “Hello,” Celeste says as she
answers the phone call.

Surprised to be hearing Stephen’s voice, Celeste replies
back, “Hi.”
“I called the airline that Jenny is booked on, and they
have one more seat available. I don’t know if it is next to
Jenny, but you’ll both be in first class.”
“Wow, you sure work fast. I was just about to call
them,” Celeste admits.
“You were?”
“Yeah. I’ve decided to accept your invitation and come
to Las Vegas.”
“Great!” Stephen exclaims. “I hope you don’t think me
too presumptuous, but I took the liberty of reserving you a
seat on the flight. I was hoping that you would say ‘Yes.’
Listen. I’ll arrange everything for the rest of your trip; all
you need to do is show up at the airport. Okay?”
“OK,” Celeste agrees. “Jenny said that I could share her
room, so there’s no need to make hotel reservations for
me.”
“All right. Well, you sleep well, and I’ll be at the airport
to pick you up when you arrive.”
Not
knowing what
else
to
say,
Celeste
responds,
“That’ll be fine.”
“See you then,” is the last thing Stephen says to Celeste
before ending the call.
“See you then,” Celeste says before hanging up the
receiver.
As Stephen places the phone back on the loop of his
pants, he realizes that he is immensely relieved that Celeste
has decided to come and spend time with him. He is getting
the chance that he prayed for.

After telling Jenny that she got a seat on the flight,
Celeste asks Jenny if she would mind picking her up on her
way to the airport.

“Of course not. I’ll just ask Mario to
send the limo here
a half an hour earlier so that we won’t be rushed to make
our flight.”

“Limo?”
“That’s what Mario said. I told him that wouldn’t be
necessary, but he insisted. I figured there was no harm in
letting him flex his muscles a bit. You know how men are,
always out to prove a point of some sort.”
“I guess,” comments Celeste, realizing that in fact, she
has no idea how men are, not having had any experience
with them. She has, however, had plenty of experience with
boys. There’s quite a difference between men and boys. “I
better start packing. Hey, it’s been a long time since we’ve
been to Vegas. Want to do some shopping while we’re
there? You know I love to visit any out of town mall.”
“Cool. See you in the morning.”
Having ended their conversation, Celeste goes about
making preparations for leaving on an overnight trip. She
calls
her
regular
dog sitter
and asks her
to
come by
Saturday evening to walk Thomas, Sunday morning for
feeding and walking, and again on Sunday evening since
Celeste is not sure what time she will be home.
With eyes wide open, she realizes that she should call
Pastor Rawlins and let him know that she won’t be
attending services on Sunday. It suddenly occurs to Celeste
that she is not quite sure how to explain that she is going
out of town to see someone who is practically a stranger.
Celeste decides to just bite the bullet and get it over
with. Picking up the church directory, she finds Pastor
Rawlins’ home phone number. Celeste dials the number
and listens intently to the sound of the phone ringing.
Celeste breathes a sigh of relief when she hears the
answering machine pick up. She has a couple of seconds to
figure out what she is going to say. Then the sound of the
beep chimes in her ear.
“Hi, Pastor Rawlins. I won’t be at church this Sunday.
I’ll be out of town. I’ll see you next Sunday.” Short and to
the point serves quite nicely. Celeste then places the phone
back on the hook and proceeds to her bedroom to pack.
Deciding that she would like to purchase a new outfit on
Saturday for the concert that evening, she elects to put only
casual clothes in her overnight bag along with her spare
toothbrush and travel size toiletries that she keeps on hand
for business trips.
Having packed quickly and placed her bag near the front
door, Celeste finds herself with too much time to think and
begins having second thought about her trip. Questions
travel in circles through her mind as she second-guesses her
plans and then third guesses her second guesses.
“Enough!” she takes every thought captive rising from
the edge of her bed where she had been sitting. “One of the
fruits of the spirit is ‘self-control’ and I have the right not
to
put
myself
in
any
situation
which
makes
me
feel
uncomfortable or that I am not in control. I am going on
this trip, I am going to have a good time, and I am sure I
can make Mr. Stephen keep his hands to himself.”
Maybe I can get some work done before I leave, Celeste
thinks to herself. She then decides to take Thomas on his
evening walk first. Celeste changes into a jogging outfit
and adorns a pair of walking shoes. Thomas is happy as he
joins her for their evening walk.
Arriving home, she checks her message machine and
finds that she has no new calls, which doesn’t surprise her
one bit. Most people are out with their significant others.
Celeste sets down at her desk and engulfs herself in
work. When she looks up at the clock she notices that it is
nearly midnight. Stretching her aching muscles, she rises
from the chair and pads her way down the hall to her
bedroom.
After
putting on
her
pajamas,
Celeste
calls
Thomas to come to bed.
Celeste focuses her thoughts toward Heaven as she
kneels in prayer beside her bed to pray:

Dear Lord,
I
thank You for Your
grace and mercies,
which are new, every day. I pray that each day
You bless me with, I walk in a way that
is
pleasing to You.
I
have
made
a decision to go to Vegas
tomorrow, and I pray that You will go with me
every step of the way. Please send Your Holy
Spirit to lead and guide me.
I hope that I don’t end up regretting this
decision. If I have committed any sins against
You, I pray that You would forgive me Lord and
help me to please You.
Thank You so much for the blessings You
have given me, especially my advancement at
Vines and Robert’s. It is You all the way. No way
could I be where I am except by Your grace.
May I never forget to thank You for all that You
have done for me.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen

Celeste is always glad when she talks to the Lord, and
immensely grateful for the peace He gives her when she
does so, peace that passes all understanding. Climbing into
bed, she shuts off her bed table lamp and goes to sleep.

In the morning when she awakes, the birds’ song she
hears from outside her window promises a most beautiful
day ahead. Celeste climbs out of bed and proceeds to
shower and dress. She puts on a pair of black denim jeans
and a
short
sleeved,
cream-colored blouse.
The
black
leather ankle boots that she chooses goes nicely with her
outfit.

Looking at herself in the mirror she decides to add a soft
touch to her attire by putting on the thin gold chain that her
mother bought her for Christmas a few years ago, with
matching small gold loop earrings.

“Good morning, Buddy,” Celeste greets Thomas in the
kitchen. “Is it time to eat?” Celeste dishes out his portion
of dog food and places it on the floor next to his water
bowl that she has cleaned and refilled. The time on the
clock tells Celeste that she has half an hour before Jenny
will be arriving to pick her up.

“We only have time for a short walk today, Thomas. I’m
going out of town overnight, and I will be leaving in half an
hour. Better eat up if you want to go for a walk.”

Thomas obliges and finishes his food within minutes.
Celeste changes her mind and decided it will be better to go
outside into the backyard and exercise Thomas rather than
taking a walk. That way she doesn’t run the risk of losing
track of time and not being ready to leave when Jenny
arrives.

As Celeste opens the sliding glass door that leads to her
private backyard, Thomas follows closely on her heals. She
goes over to the corner of the yard where Thomas has left
his bright yellow tennis ball and picks it up. Thomas knows
what will follow.

Celeste throws the ball over and over, each time having
it returned to her by her lovable furry pal Thomas. When
the sound of her doorbell chiming breaks into the quiet
time
she
has
been
having with
Thomas,
Celeste
tells
Thomas that this is the last one and throws the ball one last
time.