A Baby for Christmas (Love at The Crossroads) (7 page)

“Got it. What do you have a taste for?”

Solae didn’t have to think. “Hmm. I’m feeling Chinese.”

“Then let’s do it. I’m parked right over there.” Desiree pointed to a small Mazda SUV.

With Solae trailing Desiree, they easily arrived at Ryce Oriental Buffet on Dorsett Road in less than fifteen minutes. She had seen the restaurant in passing, but had never eaten there. She’d have to tell Candace about it.

They parked and chatted on the way inside. Desiree looked much better. Surprisingly, a handful of other church members were standing in line to pay. They exchanged “Praise the Lord’s” and hugs before it was their turn and Desiree treated.

With plates in hand, they started at the closest buffet station and scooped sample portions onto their plates until there wasn’t room for more.

Desiree glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “I guess this is a good start.”

Solae nodded as they headed to a vacant table. Settling in their seats, they bowed their heads and silently asked God to bless their food. Solae was about to say “Amen” when she faintly heard Desiree whisper, “Lord, You know I needed a friend. Thank You for sending me one today. Amen.”

“Me too. Amen.” Solae smiled.

While they ate, Solae learned that they had as much in common as they did in differences. They both were thirty-one, but Desiree had been married three years and had two sisters. They enjoyed board games, especially
Monopoly
; they preferred shopping at off-the-beaten-path boutiques versus the clearance racks at major department stores. The major thing they shared was they both had been hurt by the men they loved.

As Desiree revealed how she found out about her husband’s affair and confronted him, Solae’s heart ached. “I moved out. I had to. It’s been ten days.”

“Your family doesn’t know or suspect anything?”

Desiree began to pick with her food. The dinner conversation was definitely taking a turn for the worse. “Probably so. I guess they’re waiting for me to say something. I can tell they want to ask.”

Solae had no advice to offer; neither did she have an opinion. It was foreign territory. “I feel ashamed for even thinking, ‘woe is me’ because I’m not the marrying kind.” Solae didn’t believe in telling all her business, especially to a new friend, so she gave Desiree the highlights that she and another friend were dating two brothers; one got a diamond ring, she got other diamonds; and then Hershel’s clueless response about their future—that hurt her the most.

“From what you’ve told me, Hershel is a jerk.”

I didn’t say all that.
Solae tried not to cringe.
I still do love the man.
When Solae vented to Candace, her friend tried to stay neutral, but always grasped at straws in Hershel’s defense. Desiree probably didn’t see the value of any man at the moment. Solae understood that.

Changing the subject, they both agreed to enjoy their meal without any further discussion of their woes.

Solae called Desiree to check on her new friend a few days later. At least the woman’s problems trumped hers so that Solae no longer harped on her situation as much. It was as if God gave her a new focus.

“I’m still prayerful.” Desiree advised she was at work and didn’t have the privacy to talk long.
“Although my fairy-tale love story has been ruined, I’d like to see Michael come begging for my forgiveness,” she said in a hushed voice, “so I can say no. I know that’s vengeful, so I’m asking Jesus to flush out my thoughts that are not like His thoughts.”

 
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the 
Lord.
How many times had Solae recalled that verse in Isaiah 55?

It was Solae’s turn to sigh. “I know. Where you would be justified to tell him no, I would feel like a proposal from Hershel now would be because he pities me. I don’t want that.”

“Do you really feel that?”

“Yes and no.” Solae eyed the emergency scanners that she had packed up to donate for the disabled veterans’ truck along with some other household items. “I gave him an unspoken ultimatum. I was beginning to feel like he was stringing me along, only to admit in six months or a year that we wouldn’t work out. When we first started dating, he mentioned that he had dated a couple of times after his divorce; but they didn’t work out, so he ended them.”

“Wow. Well, if you saw the handwriting on the wall, you did right. I’m sorry,” Desiree tried to comfort her.

“Me too.”

My thoughts are not your thoughts,
God spoke the Word.

Lord
, I don’t even know what my thoughts are at this point,
Solae confessed.

“I’m going to need your prayers, Solae. I have an appointment to see an attorney tomorrow, then I agreed to give Michael an hour of my time on Friday. It’s going to be hard.”

“Will do.” She began praying at that moment. Desiree joined her. They whispered their “Amens” together.

“If you’re up to it, we can always go to see a play at the Black Rep on Saturday,” Solae said. “At least we can end the week on a good note.”

“I’ll let you know. Thanks again for the prayers.”

Rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep. At this point in her life, Solae felt she had done both, leaving no room for her own misguided thoughts.

The next day, Solae began her fast. Forgoing her meals, she replaced them with prayer, adding Desiree to her list. For lunch, she remained in her cubbyhole, reading her Bible.

“Is everything all right?” Candace looked concerned.

Solae nodded.

“You sure?” When she nodded again, Candace accepted her answer. “Oh, okay. I’m meeting Royce for lunch. He not long ago got off work and he’s waiting up to see me before he crashes for a day or so.”

The lovebirds. “Tell Royce I said hi.”

“Will do.” Candace made a fast exit.

The day didn’t drag, and hours later, she and Candace walked out of the building together, heading home.  “You going to Bible class tonight?” Candace asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Do you want to do something Saturday? Royce is off, but I know he won’t mind babysitting.”

“Oh.” Solae frowned. “I may have plans.”

“Plans?” They had made it to their respective vehicles, but they didn’t part ways.

“Really?” Candace folded her arms and lifted a brow to emphasize her mischievous nature. “With whom and doing what, and how come I don’t know about it?”

Solae laughed. “It’s not with a man. I told you, I’m through. A person can only take so much rejection and hurt. I may be going to see a play at the Black Rep. Desiree will let me know on Friday.”

“Who’s Desiree?”

“A sister who attends Rapture Ready Church. I doubt if you know her, but she was there when you were coming.”

“Oh.” Candace looked crestfallen.

Did Solae detect a slight pout—no her friend was hurt. “What’s wrong?”

“It just seems strange…not doing things together, knowing the same people or each other’s business...our monthly girls’ night out—”

Solae motioned her to a nearby picnic table that was parked near a pond on the company’s campus. “Candy, you’re married. Royce is your best friend and I know he makes you happy and that makes me happy.”

“Don’t give me that. I was married before and we still got together.”

“True, but you know it’s hard to come around when I know Hershel could show up at any minute. I can’t pull you away from Royce. I wouldn’t want to, but I have to have a life outside our friendship. No one could replace what we have, but I’ve got to live and make new friends.”

“I’ve been hoping and praying that you and Hershel would work it out,” Candace said sadly.

Twisting her lips, Solae watched a goose wobble his way into the water as she allowed the commotion to settle down in her heart at the mention of Hershel’s name. “I’ve lived and I’ve learned. It would be a pity proposal anyway. That would crush me. It has to be one-hundred-and-one-percent love…” she thought about Desiree’s situation and made a note to call her. If love couldn’t hold a marriage together, then pity had no foundation.  “Oh, there’s one more thing I guess you should know.”

Candace groaned as if she didn’t want to hear it. “What now?”

“I’ve decided to become a virtual assistant because at the end of the summer I’m going to school full-time in Chicago.”

“Chicago!”

Solae had never seen her friend so frazzled. Candace leaped up, spilling the contents of her purse on the ground, then began to pace the distance from the picnic table to the car in circles.

Tears began to fall down Candace’s cheeks. “We’ve never been separated,” she whispered in a state of shock.

Standing, Solae gathered her friend’s belongings, then dragged Candace back to the bench. “We’ll always be sisters, but sometimes even twins go their separate ways. This hasn’t been easy for me.”

Candace sniffed and nodded. “I know.” She dabbed at her eyes. “Well, we have two months to cram in as many sister moments as we can.”

“Yes.”

A few weeks later, Candace
called to complain about Solae canceling some get-togethers, but it couldn’t be helped. She had less than two months to finalize her affairs: put her house on the market and make sure all her forms were completed for the University of Chicago.

“All I have to say
is you don’t have a legit excuse to miss Lindsay’s birthday party, and Hershel will be here, so get over it before you get here.”

The party might also serve as a good time to come clean and tell Hershel what she wanted was to be his wife. Since she was moving, his reaction wouldn’t matter anyway.

“Hey, I’m just curious. Why haven’t you invited me to tag along with you and Desiree?”

“You’re in a special place right now—”

“What does that mean? I might be married, but I’m multi-dimensional. I’m a wife, mother, friend…”

“Desiree’s marriage is a few prayers away from being dissolved. I didn’t want her to
become envious of your bliss because her husband cheated.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Everyone doesn’t have a happily-ever-after with a husband. It’s not just me.”

Candace sniffed. “I know. I’ll be praying for their reconciliation.”

“You know that’s not always possible in all cases, so I’ve been praying God’s will be done.”

“Can’t go wrong with that,” she agreed,
and reminded her about Lindsay’s party again before ending the call.

“My differences with Hershel won’t stop me from coming, only the rapture. See ya.”

“Is Miss Sollie going to be there?” Harrison asked as Hershel. He had decided to take the boys to his brother’s house so he could get some rest after clocking in almost fifty-six hours in four days.

“No, son. She’s not going to be at your uncle’s house.” Hershel exhaled. It had been a while since he had offered another excuse why he and Solae weren’t seeing each other anymore. “Just because you don’t see her doesn’t mean Miss Sollie doesn’t love you, or isn’t thinking about you.”

“Like Momma?” Brandon asked. His curious expression tugged at Hershel’s heart.

She’s nothing like your mother!
Gritting his teeth, Hershel eyed Mrs. Biddle who shrugged helplessly.

He squatted. “Remember I explained that we have to pray for your Mommy?” Harrison nodded. “Well, Miss Solae is praying for you and I’m sure you’ll see her soon.”

The boys seemed satisfied with his answer. He headed to his shower, kicking himself. There was no comparison between Solae and Rita except the affect they had on him.
Maybe Candace could take the boys to see her,
he thought as he pulled up to Julia and Trent’s house twenty minutes later. He gave his sons hugs and kisses before returning home exhausted.

After three days of hibernation, Hershel returned rejuvenated. He rang the doorbell and waited. Trent opened his door, stepped outside, and closed it.

“What are you doing? I came to get the boys.” Hershel was in no mood for his brother’s odd behavior.

“They’re at the playground with Julia. Come on, I’ll drive. We’re holding a family meeting and Royce is waiting for us at Highlanders Pub and Grill.” Trent tried to shove him off his porch on his way to his Chevy truck parked in the driveway. 

Hershel didn’t budge. “Unless someone is dying, I usually call the family gathering,
baby brother
.”

“Believe me, you’re killing us,” Trent yelled as he got behind the wheel and turned the ignition. “Gas is more than three dollars a gallon, so I don’t like being idle. Come on, bro.”

Did he miss something? Hershel squinted at his youngest brother’s erratic behavior. “Fine.” He threw his arms in the air. Just to annoy Trent, Hershel walked at a snail’s pace to the truck.

Clicking on his seatbelt, Hershel waited for some type of explanation. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”