Forever Blessed (Women of Prayer) (32 page)

The guy behind the counter recommended that he purchase a helmet that had a mass-produced autograph on it. That brought the price down quite a bit and the kid probably wouldn’t notice the difference anyway.

Paul had the sales clerk wrap it up in Bears paper and then took off for Wisconsin. His Saturdays had been wasted since Laney decided to move his kids to that god-forsaken state. He wondered what she was up to. She’d filed the restraining order and he had expected divorce papers to follow shortly afterward, but they never came.

He eased into his Mercedes. “Wonder how she’s been making ends meet? It’s time to work my way back into the kids’ lives and find out what their mother has been up to.” He turned on the easy listening music that was programmed into his radio and sat back in luxury while he made the three-hour drive to see his kids. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Matt’s face. He would love his gift.

*  *  *  *

Barbara sat at the table next to her husband. He fully recovered from his heart surgery and seemed feistier than ever. She tried to avoid him at every turn but at their age, the farthest she could run was her sewing room. She slowly ate her BLT, trying to figure out how to share with him the things she had been learning, the things Laney had been sharing with her about the Bible and how husbands are supposed to treat their wives. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t like it.

“I’ve been talking to Laney some.”

He grunted.

“She’s been learning a lot of stuff at that new church she has been going to.”

He made a noise she didn’t quite understand.

Barbara bit off a piece of bacon, sucking the salt from the crispy meat. She wondered if she should go on.

“Can I share something with you?”

He looked up from his sandwich, clearly irritated. “What is so important that it can’t wait until after I’ve eaten? You’re about to give me indigestion.” He took a bite then talked with his mouth full. “It’s bad enough I have to eat this turkey bacon. Now let a man eat in peace.”

She finished eating her sandwich, then cleaned up the kitchen. Dave vacated one chair and took up residence in another, the recliner in the living room, and read the evening newspaper.

Barbara watched her husband from the corner of her eye. He was a good man. He had worked and had taken care of his family all these years. He didn’t hit her often, just when he thought she was being obstinate, and the violence definitely had decreased over the years. She wondered if this would be a good time to read some scripture with him. If she asked him to read her a verse, would he? And if she feigned ignorance, would he look into it and study it? He just might. That might be just the ticket, have him discover his behavior on his own.

She approached him cautiously. “Dave, is this a good time to talk with you?”

He sighed and set the paper aside. “As good a time as any, I suppose. What’s on your mind?”

She took out her worn Bible and asked him to turn to 1 Timothy Chapter Five. “I have been reading and I don’t quite understand everything. Can you explain it to me?”

“Sure, I can do that.” He opened his Bible to Timothy. “Let’s see here. Ah, here it is.”

He glanced over the scripture with his eyes. “Is there a certain part that is stumping you more than the others? Or are they all stumping you?”

“Well, I was reading the first few verses and it seems to me like he is talking about our relationships in this passage, you know, how we are to treat one another. I just got a bit confused when I read verse eight. It seems pretty harsh. What if a man loses his job or is disabled?”

He read the verse out loud. “Well, maybe it means something different, maybe it isn’t talking about money.” He looked thoughtful. “Tell you what, I’ll look into it and get back to you on it. All right?”

She nodded her head, hoping she had done the right thing. She didn’t always know for sure what the “right thing” was. She did her best.

             
             
             
             
Chapter Forty

Paul pulled up in front of the little house Laney now called home. He had a right to be here. These were his kids.

He approached the front door and knocked. No answer. He didn’t see the van. They must be gone. Well, he certainly wasn’t going to leave the gift and not see the boy open it. He was his father.

He decided to wait. It was a nice day so he walked around the yard trying to see in the windows, trying to glimpse into his wife and kids’ lives. He had just stepped back from the girls’ bedroom window when he heard a voice behind him.

“Can I help you with something?”

He turned around, about to tell the person who interrupted him to mind his own business but thought better of it when he saw the person doing the speaking.

“Uh, yeah, sorry. I was hoping Matt was home. I knocked and no one answered. I thought for sure he was supposed to be here today so I thought I better make sure everything was okay.” The lie floated out of his mouth as easily as it had crossed his mind.

“Well, they aren’t here. I can give it to him for you.” The big black man started to take the gift from him but Paul pulled back.

“I’d like to give it to him myself, if it is all the same to you.”

“Suit yourself, but if I see you looking through any more windows, you’ll be talking with the cops. You hear?”

That grated. He didn’t care to take orders from anyone, let alone some black guy. “Uh yeah, whatever.” He turned and walked back to his car and then sped off.
Who did that guy think he was? And where is Laney? Does she think I want to spend my day off sitting around waiting on her? Stupid woman.

He had passed a small café on his way into town so he stopped in for a bite. Might as well eat. He looked over the menu and grumbled. “Not exactly five-star dining, now is it?”

“Excuse me?”

He looked up to see the waitress. “Oh nothing, I was just talking to myself.”

“Yeah, that is what I thought.” She smacked her gum. “Now what can I get you?”

He looked over the menu, not sure where to begin. There were salads and sandwiches, hot American dinners, Mexican and oriental food all in one place. Hungry for some home cooking, he settled for the meatloaf dinner, which the waitress assured him was very good.

Sipping his diet soda, he waited for his meal.

He was tired of this life. He was tired of cooking his own meals. He was tired of his co-workers asking him how Laney was. He was tired of her destroying his life. He was tired of her keeping his kids from him. He was tired of her selfishness and her disloyalty. She was his. She was his to do with what he wanted. And her rebellious behavior was going to stop. The waitress clanked his plate down in front of him so he scowled at her. He hoped she wasn’t looking for a tip. That wasn’t happening.

*  *  *  *

Laney stuffed the balloons into the van. If one slipped out into the atmosphere, they would pay dearly. She was careful to hold them while the kids got in and shut their doors. “All right guys, you have to hold those balloons down so I can see to drive.”

Choruses of agreement rang from the back seat.

It didn’t take very long to reach home. She grabbed the balloons to make everything easier and had Matt carry the leftover pizza box. “Matt, put that in the fridge, okay?”

“Sure mom.”

She heard the knock on the door from the bathroom. What a pain. She washed her hands just in time to run out and see Paul standing in their living room. The kids were excited. She had to be careful.

“What are you doing here?”

The smirk on his face told her exactly what he was doing there, purposefully doing the opposite of what she desired. That was his aim, that and causing her as much pain as humanly possible. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

Matt was tearing open the gift that Paul had supposedly sent.
Yeah right. He was lying as usual.
She reminded herself of those words that she had prayed. Then she reminded herself that it was okay to love from a distance. This close was very questionable.

She walked to her front door and opened it. “Paul, I want you to leave. And don’t ever come back here again. Do you hear me?”

He tightened his fists.

Matt jumped in before Paul could respond. “Ah mom, can’t he see me open my present?”

Joy stood off to the side holding Melanie. She didn’t want Melanie in the middle of things if her dad starting hitting their mom.

Laney responded to Matt. “Matt, if you want your father to see you open your gift, then take it outside.” She turned her attention to Paul. “I want you out of my house, now!” Her voice was getting louder.

A deep voice interrupted them.  “Is everything okay here?”

Both Paul and Laney turned toward the front door. Paul was the first to speak. “Yeah, I was just leaving.”

He started toward the door and hissed to Laney as he was passing, “This isn’t over.”

She watched him leave, thankful that her landlord had heard them and came to her rescue. She wasn’t sure what Paul would have done had he not stepped in.

She thanked him, then closed the door. She was more than certain she had not heard the last of him.

Laney heard a loud pop and screamed; terrified he’d come back with a gun. Melanie busted out crying. Her balloon had just popped.

Laney was still standing against the wall with her hand on her heart when Matt interrupted her attempt at slowing her heart beat.

“Mom, it’s a Bear’s helmet. Do you think it’s okay to tell dad I’d rather have a Packer helmet?”

“Matt, I don’t think that is such a good idea. Why don’t you just put the helmet in your room and we can discuss it later, okay?”

Even though Matt and Melanie had lived through their father’s tirades, they were quick to forgive and forget. Joy on the other hand was just old enough to remember everything they had been through as a family.

The two younger kids were already playing and over their father’s visit, while Joy sat on the couch trembling.

Laney sat down next to her daughter and put her arm around her. “Are you okay?”

Joy shook her head then laid it on Laney’s shoulder. “Mom, how did he find us? We were so careful.”

“He has his ways. Your father is a very smart man.” Laney sniffled, trying to hold back the tears that threatened. “It was only a matter of time, honey. I couldn’t run from your father forever.”

“I don’t want him in our lives. I prayed that he would never find us. Why didn’t God answer my prayer?”

Laney grimaced. She had only just come to terms with God’s will not always lining up with her will a short time ago. How could she explain this to an almost twelve year old?

“Honey, I know it’s hard. But, God knows what is best for us. He knows the right things for us as well as the wrong things for us. So, if we pray for something that he knows will hurt us, or not be good for us, he isn’t going to answer our prayer the way we want him to. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, but daddy is the one who hurt us. Why would God want that to happen again? Should we find a new place to live, where he won’t know where we are?”

“I’ve thought about that and I believe God wants us to be strong and do what is right. I don’t want us to be afraid for the rest of our lives. We could run and hide, but your dad would probably find us again. Don’t you think we should stand up to him and tell him he can’t treat us that way?” Laney swallowed hard. This pep talk was as much for her as it was for Joy. “We would have to leave all our friends, your school, our church. What about Miss Ella? She has been like a grandma to you. Do you want to have to leave her?”