Contingency (Covenant of Trust) (20 page)
Read Contingency (Covenant of Trust) Online
Authors: Paula Wiseman
When the coffeemaker kicked off, Bobbi poured a large mug and retreated to the study. Her Bible lay on the edge of the desk with her devotional book stuck in the back, open to July 27. She hadn’t touched her Bible since that day. Guilt-ridden, she dropped into the desk chair and flipped to the current reading. Psalm 142.
All right, You’ve got me. I’ve been avoiding reading, avoiding You. I’ve already failed as a wife, and I’m failing as a mother. God, I don’t think I can handle reading about how I’m failing You, too.
Father, the lawsuit. The details in that ... I thought knowing he cheated hurt. What do I do next? I told Chuck I would divorce him. The facts make it so much more painful. You know details worse than that about each one of us, and You put it aside and love us anyway. How? How do I put it aside and love him anyway?
I’m tired. I’m tired of hurting. I feel abandoned and alone. Even when I push You away, deep down, I know how much I need You. Don’t You leave me, too.
“I cry out to the Lord with my voice ...
I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly set a snare for me.
Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, ‘You are my refuge ...
Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may praise Your name ...
For You shall deal bountifully with me.’”
Tears dropped onto the pages of her Bible. “You do know,” she whispered. “You do know. I
am
overwhelmed. I have no refuge left, and dear God, I’ve never been lower.”
She read the psalm again.
There’s always hope at the end of a psalm.
She savored the last line, “You shall deal bountifully with me.”
“When? When will You deal bountifully with me? Where does the sentence start? ‘Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name’. Out of prison.” Bobbi pushed back from the desk and took a long sip from her coffee. “Is Chuck the jailer? Then how do I get out?”
*******
Chuck rounded the
corner, beginning the sixth mile of his morning run. Most mornings he stopped at three. His quads and calves burned from the extra distance. Somehow, it made sense to punish his body for all the trouble it caused him.
God, I’m in a no-win situation. Are You testing me? To see where my real priorities are? Well, I’m failing.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
But this wouldn’t be making peace. It would be rolling over and dying.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
She’s not persecuting me because of You, though. She’s trying to ruin me and destroy my marriage. She doesn’t want a relationship with me, so why can’t she just disappear? And why would she have to hurt Bobbi? Bobbi is innocent.
He’d never seen Bobbi so upset. Even that first night she hadn’t threatened to divorce him. She said ‘I can’t risk exposing
my
sons’ and not ‘our’ sons? Was that a slip?
After his run, he took a long shower, and then rummaged through his tiny kitchen, hoping a bowl of Cheerios wasn’t his only option for lunch. He debated all morning whether or not he should skip dinner tonight and give Bobbi some space. She stunned him when she called.
“Chuck, I don’t think I can do dinner this evening.” She sounded calm, but tired.
“I don’t blame you. I know you need to absorb ... everything. I handled it all wrong.” He sighed, then asked, “What did you tell the boys?”
“That you found out some information from work which upset you, and you needed to talk.”
“True, but vague.”
“They don’t need any more specifics.”
“I know what you said about how to proceed, but I ...”
“Chuck, I want you to talk to Phil about this. Get his take, and then we can see about having dinner again.”
“Sure,” Chuck said, trying not to sound disappointed. Her request was reasonable and pragmatic, very typical of her, but he hated the idea of giving up dinner, even for a few days. “I am sorry for upsetting you last night.”
“I don’t want to discuss this anymore until you talk to Phil. Goodbye.”
*******
Tuesday, September 6
Pulling into the
parking lot at his law firm, Chuck felt a nervousness he hadn’t experienced since taking his first case. Yesterday, Donna called from the pastor’s office and cancelled the counseling session. He never got to discuss the lawsuit with Phil this weekend, and now he had to face Walter Davis unarmed. He took three deep breaths, picked up his briefcase, and walked into Walter’s office at exactly eight o’clock.
“Chuck, good to see you,” Walter said, standing to shake hands. “How are things?”
Chuck watched for Walter to sit, then he took a seat in one of the office chairs. “Bobbi and I are going through counseling. We’re able to talk.”
“You’ve done quite a job keeping up with things here. Maybe I should have you work at home all the time.”
“I’m not at home right now.”
Walter shifted in his chair, frowning with disapproval.
“Bobbi needs a little time and space, and it’s easier for her if I’m not there all the time. I have dinner with her and the boys three times a week. It’s amicable, and I’m sure everything will work out in time.” Chuck hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.
“I commend you for fighting to keep your family, for facing your ... responsibilities.”
“About that,” Chuck said retrieving the lawsuit filing from his briefcase. Handing the papers over, he said, “Tracy has filed suit.” Davis’ jaw clenched. “She’s claiming harassment, but she didn’t name the firm. She never complained to you, did she?”
“Never.” Walter flipped through the papers, frowning and shaking his head with each new page. “She’s obviously mentally ill.”
“What?”
Walter rested his elbows on his desk and folded his hands. “This is not the filing of a competent attorney. It’s the rambling grievance of a scorned lover. At the very least, she’s emotionally disturbed.”
Chuck bristled at the word ‘lover.’ “So you agree she has no case. I expect it to be dropped as soon as I answer it.”
Walter scowled and shook his head. “Son, this is a shakedown, and you need to teach her a lesson. I want you to countersue her and destroy her.”
“I don’t know if that’s necessary.”
“You misunderstand me. That wasn’t advice. You are a partner in this firm, my number two man, and even though she hasn’t named the law firm as a co-defendant, there is an association there. I am directing you to file a countersuit and ruin this woman.” He stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. “Keep me posted, and I wish you and Bobbi all the best.” He shook hands with Chuck once again.
So, it’s my wife or my job.
Chuck shuffled to his office and collapsed in his chair.
Wonder if Bobbi would like to move?
He had just turned his computer on when Chad Mitchell knocked on his open office door. “Hey, Chad, come in,” Chuck said, motioning him into the office.
“Can I shut your door?” Chad asked, eyes darting toward the hallway. The young hotshot of the firm, charming and full of himself, he constantly pushed the envelope of decorum with Walter, but got away with it because of his competence and his gift for attracting good clients. Nervous agitation replaced that ease and self-assurance this morning.
“Sure. What’s wrong?”
Chad shut the door and sat down on the edge of one of Chuck’s office chairs. “I wanted to call you, Chuck. I wanted to, but I just didn’t have the guts. I am so sorry.”
“What are you talking about?”
“All this ... you and Tracy ... I was the one who told Tracy you were married. I had no idea ...”
“You’re not making sense.”
“Yeah, okay. Tracy met Michelle and me after work one evening, and she said she was waiting for you. I don’t even remember what I said, but I mentioned your wife, and Tracy got a real funny look, just for an instant. Then she acted real cool. ‘You knew Chuck’s married, right?’ I said. She said, ‘Of course, I asked him for a joke.’ I didn’t know Chuck ... about you and Tracy. I would have never said anything ...”
“It’s okay. It’s good that Tracy found out.”
Chad stopped bouncing his leg. “Now, I don’t understand.”
“Having an affair was a sin against God, my wife, and family, and Tracy, too. I don’t think I could have or would have stopped it unless something drastic happened. You may not believe it, but God used you to keep me from doing even more damage.”
Chad smiled and shook his head. “You sound like my grandmother. She used to talk about God being directly involved in her life.”
“You don’t think He is?”
“If God exists, He surely has better things to do than micromanage my life.” Chad crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair. “Anyway, so what’s going to happen between you and your wife? If that’s not too personal.”
“We’re going to work through this.”
“Just like that?”
“No. I just took five weeks off to go through counseling by myself, and we’re going through counseling together. We’re still separated, but we love each other, and we’re committed to our marriage.”
“If I ever cheated on Michelle, you’d find my body parts in trash cans across three counties.”
“And that’s probably what I deserve, but that’s where God steps in.”
“And you get away with it.”
“Not at all. The consequences don’t go away. Things will never be the same between Bobbi and me. My boys have been hurt deeply, and who knows how much damage I did to my reputation. I didn’t get away with anything.”
“I’ll let you get to work. Thanks for understanding.”
“Before you go, I may need your help on a very sensitive case.”
“If it’s Tracy’s suit, I can’t. I had to file a statement for her. You’re on your own on this one.”
Chuck turned back to his desk as Chad left. Great. Tracy played the part of the betrayed innocent in front of Chad, and drew him into her game. Flipping through the lawsuit filing again, he had to agree with Walter. It was a slipshod job, not like Tracy at all. She never missed a comma in her documents, and he’d seen her turn down cases because she felt they were too weak, cases he would have taken.
Chuck pulled a legal pad from his desk and scribbled an outline for the easiest way out of this mess. Answer her allegations and let a judge throw it out of court. No trial, no need for a countersuit, and a more than sufficient reproof for Ms. Ravenna. When it was over, Bobbi would understand why he handled it this way.
*******
Friday, September 9
“
Whose interest are
you looking out for?” Phil Shannon asked, as he leaned back in his desk chair.
“It’s in everybody’s best interest,” Chuck said. “My name is at stake. Bobbi will agree with that.”
“But she hasn’t yet.”
“She wanted me to get your opinion first.”
“Do you want my opinion?”
“I promised her I wouldn’t do anything until I talked to you, but I don’t know how else I can get out of this.” He braced himself for the ‘right’ answer.
“Who says you have to get out of it? It’s ‘yea though I walk
through
the valley of the shadow of death.’” He cut through the air with his hand. “That’s the thing. Whatever you face, even though it has the size and shape of death itself, once you go through it, you realize it was only a shadow, and had no real power to harm you.”
“So, you think I should fight this? Go to court?” This was more like it.
Phil reached across the desk for his Bible and leafed through it. “You know, my opinion is not worth much. Let me give you a better perspective. Here we go, Jeremiah 15:15. ‘O Lord, You know; Remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.’”
“I figured that’s what you’d say,” Chuck muttered.
“I know. I hate for people to start quoting Scripture at me, too, but it’s all I have.” He smiled and closed his Bible. “And then there’s one in the New Testament you’ve probably heard before. It’s in Romans where Paul quotes the Old Testament ‘vengeance is Mine’ and so forth, but he finishes saying ‘don’t be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.’”
“So I should resign from the law firm and pay Tracy off.”
“I didn’t say that,” Phil said with a slight smile. “Chuck, you are so ready to hear what you want that you don’t listen. I want you to overcome evil with good.”
