His First Lady (25 page)

As Evan turned the pages, she saw that Sundi had written something about
her ‘The first lady is the nicest prettiest woman I ever met besides my mommy’
. Then she saw Leon’s name. Evan’s curiosity peaked knowing how much Sundi loved Leon.

Evan continued to read and in one split moment of eternity, her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. Rereading the first sentence and then the second one, it was as if her life had stopped and everything went black. Revisiting and carefully reading every letter and every word written by Sundi, it seemed as if a flood gate of fire had engulfed Evan’s body. The food that Evan had eaten suddenly moved from her stomach up into her throat. Her heart began pounding loud and thick and her hands began to shake so rapidly that she could no longer see the words as they all seemed to run together.

Nauseous, Evan put her hand to her mouth, jumped up and ran to the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet. She reached up and grabbed a towel from the towel rack; put it to her mouth trying to keep herself from vomiting again. With her legs too weak to support its weight, she stayed on her knees and crawled back into her room, picked up the journal again just to be sure that she really had read that. Every muscle and function in her body seemed to give out reacting to what her eyes were seeing.

With tears flowing on her cheeks, Evan continued to read Sundi’s writings about Leon touching her one day in his office and how much she hated him. Sundi wanted to die; Sundi said she would continue to try and kill herself until she was with Jesus and out of her pain. Evan screamed. Filled with fury and rage, Evan took her arm and wiped off everything on her dresser causing them to crash onto the floor. She picked up the glass lamp on the night stand and threw it across the room causing it to smash into pieces once it hit the wall.

Evan stood up, screamed again as fury filled her body. She clawed at her peach comforter and duvet throwing them off of the bed and onto the floor, like a wild animal, she pulled down the drapes then threw the candlesticks on her vanity across the room to the floor length mirror causing the glass to shatter. Afterwards, she looked around at the chaotic mess and hated everything in that room. She hated that she had made a life with a monster and had relished in the luxury of a life that was an imitation of everything beautiful and true.
She was getting everything that she deserved and she knew it. She had married a snake.

Evan lay with her body quivering, curled in a fetal position alone on the dark living room floor with only the glow from the kitchen illuminating the downstairs. Her head throbbed from the countless tears and her eyes were swollen to the point that it hurt just to move them. Used tissues were strewn around her while she clutched some between her fingers. She didn’t call the police; she didn’t call anyone. There were so many thoughts running through her head but she’d decided to face the monster that had destroyed a little girl’s life, so she waited.

Not hearing Leon drive up, she jumped hearing the front door close and the deadbolts being locked. She slowly forced herself to sit up from the floor. She heard Leon whistle a tune from their choir then throw the keys on the glass table in the foyer. She blew her nose. The whistling stopped as Leon realizing where she was, walked into the living room and turned on the light.

He stood stunned looking down at her. “What’s going on in here? Why do you look like that?”

Evan looked up at him with vicious red eyes. In all of the times he had mistreated her and belittled her, she had still loved him and she had forgiven him. But now it was the first time that she could truly say that she was repulsed at the very site of him.

“I thought long and hard what I would say to you when I saw you. And now that I see you, I don’t know what to say to you.” Her voice was low almost a whisper.

“What are you talking about?” He frowned.

She looked up at him. “How could you hurt Sundi like that? How could you touch a child? You destroyed everything sacred and true to her to the point that she doesn’t even want to breathe anymore.” Evan’s words were slow and painful, hurting to think about them, to speak them.

Leon walked further into the living room and leaned on the wall. “What are you talking about?”

Evan took her hand and scooted across their slick hardwood floor to lean her back against the sofa. Putting her knees up, she rested her elbows on them and wiped her runny nose. “You sat in that hospital with all of us knowing that you were the reason that she was there and you sipped coffee pretending to care. How evil are you?”

Leon’s eyes stretched wide as he stood staring at Evan becoming angrier the more he listened to her. “You’re talking crazy.”

Evan gathered the strength and got up from the floor. “I am not crazy!” Evan screamed to the top of her lungs at him.

Leon stared at her but she wasn’t afraid.

Evan laughed through her tears. “Are you attracted to little girls?” Evan asked. “I mean, it’s not like you sleep with me.”

“Shut up,” Leon said calmly.

“You are disgusting!” Evan screamed before throwing the pink journal at him.

Leon ducked as the journal went flying toward his face. He stood back up in shock and stared at Evan.

“Everything makes sense now,” Evan cried as tears ran down her face. “She didn’t want to sing, she hated church…she wanted to kill herself. You knew all along!” Evan said wiping her face with a damp tissue.

Leon stood in a state of shock looking at her. “That’s a lie. I would never do anything like that. Where are you getting that from?”

“She wrote it down,” Evan said pointing at the book that barely missed his face opened on the floor near him.

“She’s lying.” Leon picked up the journal and flipped through the pages as Evan watched him. “Where? I don’t see anything.”

“She’s not lying,” Evan cried wiping her eyes and nose with the tissue in her hand.

“She’s lying!” Leon yelled giving Evan a deathly stare. “She’s a little liar.”

“She’s not lying!” Evan sobbed loudly as she sat on the sofa. “Who does that? Who touches little girls? Who hurts children?”

“She’s a little liar and her mother is too.”

“How could you stand there Sunday after Sunday pretending to know God? How could you?”

Leon looked over at Evan for a moment then rushed toward her dropping the journal on the floor. He jumped on top of Evan, straddling her as he put both of his hands around her throat. She fought fiercely trying to free herself from beneath him but the harder she tried, the tighter he squeezed her throat. Evan fought for air, coughing, attempting to catch her breath while clawing at his hands and face.

“I want you to take everything you just said back,” Leon hissed at her as she struggled to breathe. “Do it!”

Evan continued to swing and kick as he held onto her neck. Leon loosened his grip slightly but kept it tight enough for her to feel the power he had over her.

“You know I could kill you right now if I wanted to,” Leon said shaking furiously as sweat beads began popping out on his forehead.

Evan fought even harder to free his hands from her neck. She wiggled herself off of the sofa and onto the floor. But refusing to budge, he held on to her falling onto the floor, still on top of her.

Leon trembled as he held his hands on Evan’s neck. “You are going to forget any of this ever happened. Don’t mess with me or I will kill you!”

As tears trickled down Evan’s face, she stopped her struggle. She relaxed and laid motionless, then locked eyes with him. She closed her eyes in surrender. Leon released his hands from Evan’s neck and got off of her. She rolled over on her side grasping for air, holding her throat, coughing as she tried to breathe.

A hard breathing Leon stumbled on the floor toward the journal, picked it up, and with his chest heaving up and down walked swiftly into the kitchen. As Evan tried to catch her breath, she smelled smoke and forced herself off of the floor and into the kitchen. Standing in the kitchen entrance, she watched Leon who turned to face her with the burning journal in one hand and a long lighter in the other.

“You let this go,” Leon demanded holding the burning journal up high. “This never happened and this never existed. You will show up at the church tomorrow like everything is fine. Do you understand me?”

Evan closed her wet eyes and covered her mouth in disbelief. Leon dropped the burning journal into the metal trash can and stood watching over it until it was burned to crisp. Evan watched him walk out of the kitchen.

Daniela got the text from Ariel asking her whereabouts as she was entering the restaurant. She was running late so there was no reason to respond as she was being escorted to Ariel’s table by the restaurant’s hostess. An impeccably adorned Ariel seemed ecstatic to see Daniela when she approached the table standing up and wrapping her arms around her as if knowing each other longer than their two months.

“Who would have known that you had all that pretty up under that white coat?” Ariel asked sitting back down in the chair.

Daniela didn’t quite know how to take the compliment but then again, she had never met anyone quite like Ariel before so she could expect anything. “Thanks. We techs clean up pretty well on our off days,” Daniela said sitting down.

“You do; that white coat you all wear is hideous.” Ariel scooted up to the table in her chair.

“They’re not so bad,” Daniela said placing her purse in the seat next to her.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation to lunch. I just think we hit it off so well.”

“I appreciate the invitation,” Daniela said although she almost canceled because she had never befriended one of her clinic’s patients before.

“I hope you didn’t think it was odd that I asked you to lunch. People usually think I have a slew of friends but I don’t really.”

Daniela didn’t exactly think about Ariel having or not having friends; maybe it was Ariel that assumed that she consumed more of people’s thoughts than she actually did.

“I’m always so busy and I’ve never had lunch with one of our patients before.”

“It’s not a conflict of interest is it?”

Daniela grinned as she looked around the fancy restaurant. “I don’t think so. It’s not like I can do a better ultrasound on you than my other patients.”

Ariel laughed. “You’re so funny; that’s why we clicked.”

Daniela smiled.

Ariel looked at her menu. “What’ll you have?”

Daniela picked up the menu looking curiously at it. “I don’t know. I’m so hungry that everything looks good. What are you having?”

“I’m nauseous so something simple but I can recommend some great dishes for you.”

“Oh good,” Daniela said looking over at Ariel who wore her pregnancy well and certainly didn’t let it stop her from maintaining her keen fashion sense. “I’ll have whatever you recommend then.”

“Good, it’s on my guy anyway so price doesn’t matter.” Ariel placed the menu on the table.

Daniela raised an eyebrow curiously. “Okay.” Daniela grinned.

Ariel winked.

“So, how’s pregnancy treating you?”

“It’s been a good pregnancy although I’m always nauseous.”

“Oh, well you should speak with Dr. Ulma about the nausea. She can prescribe something if it’s too bad,” Daniela said.

“I may do that,” Ariel said.

“Just make sure to eat right and get plenty of rest although with children, that may be a little difficult.”

“Yes, you know how that it. But I’ve got other things going on like I’m so nervous about moving to this apartment that my guy is putting me in that I told you about and I’m thinking about my kids. It’s just a lot.”

“What are you going to tell your kids?”

Ariel laughed. “What am I going to tell my husband and my kids?” Ariel laughed. “It’s worked out. I have a family emergency; they’ll be fine without me. Rick might actually need a break from me anyway.”

Daniela was fascinated listening to Ariel. She had never heard of anything as bizarre as Ariel’s situation and her plan to fool her husband was all very strange. She wondered who this man was that she was married to. “My husband wouldn’t be so trusting. And I couldn’t undergo a body change like a pregnancy especially after having had three babies already without him asking questions. I don’t know how you’re getting away with that.”

“I’m not showing much and my husband would never tell me that I was gaining weight. He feels that he has a trophy wife so he doesn’t make many waves. I take care of him and he trusts me.”

“Oh.” Daniela picked up her glass of water to drink. The waitress came and Ariel ordered for the both of them, ordering more food than the two of them could eat in one setting. After the waitress walked off, Ariel looked at Daniela with excitement.

“I know you think I’m crazy. Have you ever been in love with two men?”

Daniela was taken aback by the question. “No Ariel, I haven’t.”

Ariel leaned forward putting her folded arms on the table. “Believe it or not, I love my husband and my children with everything in me. So, leaving my family is not an option but I love having what I have with my guy.”

Daniela stared at Ariel for a moment. “What about his wife?”

“I know her. She’s a great First lady. It makes me feel kind of bad.”

“Kind of bad?”

Ariel shrugged.

“Does she have a clue?”

“God no!” Ariel laughed. “This woman works at the church and has so much going on that she doesn’t have time to see what’s really going on. I would never intentionally want to hurt her.”

“Wow,” Daniela said staring at Ariel for any sense of remorse but seeing none. “I have a hard time believing that this is all happening in a church and nobody knows. Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?”

Ariel sipped her water. “No we barely acknowledge each other in church. Besides if a woman would take care of her husband then her husband wouldn’t be taking care of someone else.”

Daniela made a disagreeable face. “You think that this is her fault?”