Living Separate Lives (6 page)

Chapter 9

After a full day at the spa, relaxation by the pool, touring the property, and visiting Kaylan’s parents, the ladies refreshed themselves and walked to the main house for dinner. During the planning stages, Kaylan had asked each lady to tell what their favorite meal and favorite dessert were. This weekend was all about them, and she made sure the caterers were well prepared to accommodate their every request.

Tonight’s meal consisted of roasted garlic crab, tiger prawns, and noodles. For dessert, the ladies would have Candace’s favorite, strawberry cheesecake. The table was superbly set. They pulled out their chairs and made themselves comfortable.

Kaylan and the caterers locked eyes, which was her cue for them to start serving the dishes. They brought to the table a plate for each of the ladies, which consisted of the entire Dungeness crab—roasted to perfection—and large tiger prawns. The garlic noodles were served in a glass casserole dish and placed in the center of the table. The caterers filled their glasses with a non-alcoholic beverage. Once everything was set, they held hands in preparation for a word of prayer. Kaylan asked Tiffany to do the honors.

“Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You for blessing us with this weekend. Thank You for Kaylan, who so graciously opened her home to us. Bless the food and allow it to bring nourishment to our bodies. We rebuke the calories and the fat that this weekend will leave on our hips. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” After they chuckled, they said, “Amen” in unison.

For the next hour or so, they did not raise their heads, nor did they say a word. They feasted slowly, savoring all the flavors, herbs, and spices from the seafood and noodles. Tonight was not the night to have manners, not with crab and tiger prawns. They licked their lips and fingers and smacked on the food the entire time.

After savoring tonight’s meal, the caterers brought them each a warm towel for their hands and mouth. The cheesecake would have to wait until later; they were too stuffed to even consider taking a small slice. But a cup of flavored coffee seemed to hit the spot.

“Jordan, are you okay?” Kaylan peered at her. “Is something bothering you? I can tell you are in another place and time. That’s what this weekend is for: so we can bond, get free, and allow God to heal us.”

Tiffany moved her chair closer and looked Jordan directly in the eyes. “I’m sure we got a whole lot to talk about this weekend.” Tiffany continued to emphasize her point. “These men… I just don’t know about them. Some of them don’t want to commit, some of them want to sleep around, and some of them don’t know when they have a good woman.” It appeared that Tiffany wanted to continue her rant, but the look Jordan gave her indicated that it was time to move on. “Oops, my bad. Sorry, Kaylan, you were talking to Jordan, huh?”

The room fell silent. Jordan nodded, but didn’t smile. “Something is, but I’ll wait ‘til later to talk about it. I don’t want to spoil our dinner,” she said sadly. Kaylan saw the worry in Jordan’s eyes as well as her effort to try and control her emotions.

The look of shock was evident on Kaylan’s face. Those words pierced her sharply as though a knife had been thrust in her chest.
What in the world was Tiffany talking about when she said “Men sleeping around”? Whose husband was she referring to? Considering there are only two married women at the retreat, she is either talking about Bryan or Eric. And I know she ain’t talking about my husband,
Kaylan pondered.

Kaylan took a sip of coffee before she spoke. “Now Tiffany done got me wondering what she’s talking about.” She stared at Jordan and reached for her hand. “Jordan, when you’re ready, we are all ears.” Out of the corner of her eye, she took a glimpse at Candace, who was squirming in her seat.

Kaylan leaned back in her chair and looked at the three of them. They had been friends since high school, but she wondered if she really knew them as well as she thought. It was quite obvious that Tiffany knew something about somebody’s husband. Jordan was going through a major test, and Candace was uncomfortable, but why?
Lord, please don’t let nothing jump off up in here.

After dinner, they headed over to the guest house to relax, but Jordan could barely contain herself. As much as she tried to suppress her emotions, Jordan doubled over and began sobbing when she entered the living room. Her head collapsed in her hands and her tears were unrestrained. Seeing Kaylan’s happy parents only reminded her of the life she wished she could have.

Tiffany and Candace grabbed Jordan, putting their arms around her waist. They ushered her to the white, three-piece sofa and helped her sit down. Tiffany and Candace plopped themselves down, one on each side of her.

Kaylan hurried to the bathroom to get some tissue. When she returned, Jordan reached for one of the tissues and blew her nose. Without being asked and in between the sobs, Jordan told the ladies that Eric had asked for a divorce and was seeing another woman. A disapproving silence filled the air as she continued with her heart-breaking news. The more she shared, the louder her voice became.

Kaylan stood directly in front of them and stared at Jordan intently. She could hear the anguish in her friend’s voice. “What? No, Jordan. Eric is cheating on you?” She covered her mouth with her hands.

Tiffany rolled her neck and eyes. “Oh, believe it, girl. Yes, Eric is having an affair with some trifling home wrecker.” Tiffany wasted no time continuing the discussion. “Yeah, and Jordan called the woman, too.” But Jordan didn’t want them to know about the phone call. She did dial the number, but hung up after the phone connected. She was afraid to face the woman that stole her husband’s heart.

Jordan raised her voice. “Tiffany, is this my story or what? Let me tell it.” Tiffany’s eyes grew wide. But she acknowledged that Jordan was right. It was her story and her pain, and if she wanted Candace and Kaylan to know more, it would have to come from her. “I’m so sorry; please forgive me.”

Candace’s pulse quickened with guilt. It wasn’t easy to dismiss what she was hearing and seeing. The guilt was eating her alive. Her stomach was churning. Her palms were sweating.  Her heart was pounding so loudly, that she was sure anyone in the room could hear it. She felt like running, but where would she go? How would she get there? She tuned Jordan and the other ladies out and focused on her own plight. She knew if they found out that she was the other woman, they would all give her a beat-down. She might not get out of Napa County alive.
Oh, dear Lord, help me
. No point in calling on the Lord now; this was her mess that she created.
Chalk it up to another bad decision that will probably cost me dearly. There is absolutely nothing good going to come from this. I really hate my life now,
she thought.

Candace first learned about Derrick’s wife when she found the photos of his family in his pocket. Since she had lost contact with her friends years ago, she was unaware of who each one had married. When Derrick entered her life, he never made mention of who his wife was, only that they were about to divorce. But when she learned that Jordan was the one, she immediately knew that it had to end. Consequently, Derrick’s, or rather Eric’s charm was too much for her to relinquish. And because she was no longer close friends with Jordan, she was able to continue the affair without guilt. That is until now.

“Candace, are you listening?” It was obvious that she was engrossed in her own thoughts. “Did you hear Jordan?” Kaylan’s voice triggered Candace back to the present.

“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about what Jordan told us,” said Candace.
I should come clean before this gets out of hand.
A flashback of Jordan beating up Stacie in high school crossed her mind.
I am so messed up,
Candace thought.

Kaylan spoke. “Jordan said she’s going to call the woman right now. She wants to hear what the voice of the home wrecker sounds like. Jordan is ready to face this Goliath and maybe give that woman a good cussing out. Well, Jordan didn’t say that last part; that came from me.”

Kaylan and Tiffany continued baiting Jordan until she pulled out her cell phone from her purse. She retrieved the number from the sheet of paper she tucked in one of the zippered compartments in her purse, and dialed the number.

When the call went through, it sounded as though the ring was coming from one of the bedrooms. “Whose phone is that ringing?” Kaylan crossed her arms and asked. “It’s not mine. My phone is at the main house,” Kaylan added.

“My phone is turned off,” Tiffany answered.

Jordan pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at Candace. “Where is your phone?” Jordan paused for Candace to respond. But when she didn’t, Jordan jumped from the white sofa, dropping the phone on the floor. Jordan and Candace made a mad dash to their bedroom (like two athletes running the 100-yard dash) in search of the ringing phone. When they got in the room, Jordan discovered that the ring was coming from Candace’s purse, which was sitting on top of her luggage.

Tiffany and Kaylan looked at each other awkwardly. Tiffany picked the phone up off the floor and disconnected the call. Without hesitation, they followed Candace and Jordan to the bedroom. “If something is going to go down, I am not going to miss any action,”
Tiffany said under her breath.

“Did you know about this, Tiffany?” Kaylan questioned her.

“No. I’m just as surprised as you are. I know this is not happening. This is wrong on so many levels.”

When Tiffany and Kaylan arrived in the room, they witnessed Jordan and Candace having a tug-of-war with Candace’s knock-off purse. “Candace, you better not be the other woman. If you are, you ain’t getting out of here alive. I’m going to kick your butt something bad,” Jordan said angrily.

Tiffany and Kaylan were stunned and speechless. They stood there with their mouths wide open. The last time they heard Jordan talk like that was in high school when she beat the heck out of Stacie Green after the basketball game.

Tiffany and Kaylan jumped in the middle of the brawl. Tiffany grabbed Jordan by the waist while Kaylan grabbed Candace.

“Stop this, right now!” Tiffany yelled.

Kaylan looked intensely at Jordan. “Let the purse go. We are going to find out the truth, right Candace?”

“Okay. If I call that number again and it’s your phone, there is going to be some trouble. You know what I mean? Do you get me?” Jordan’s eyes glanced at Candace. Tiffany and Kaylan released their grip on the women and stood in front of them.

Sweeping her right hand across her forehead to get rid of sweat, Candace clinched her purse with the other hand.

Kaylan spoke in a quiet voice. “Let’s calm down. There is not going to be any fighting going on here. We are adults, and this is going to be handled in an adult manner.”

Tiffany chimed in cautiously, “Agreed. Jordan, what happened to those scriptures you been quoting? You can’t be fighting nobody. You know what the Bible says: ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spirits in high places.’ That’s how it goes, right?” Tiffany paused and waited for a response.

With her hands on her hips, Jordan said, “You serious?” She let out a long breath. “Tiffany, call the number.”

Candace licked her lips and responded, “You don’t have to call the number. I’m so sorry, Jordan. I’m the other woman. I have been having an affair with Eric. But it’s not what you think. At first I didn’t know he was married, and I definitely didn’t know he was married to you! I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

Jordan gasped. Tiffany and Kaylan stared at her with the most disgusted look they could muster. Candace began sobbing uncontrollably, making a spectacle of herself. She begged and pleaded with Jordan for forgiveness.

In between the sobs, Candace began to explain how she and Eric met: “During Christmas, I went out for dinner and there he was at the bar. He approached me and we began talking. Believe me, I didn’t go there to pick up any man and I didn’t know he was married or married to Jordan. We exchanged phone numbers, and the rest… I don’t need to go into all the sordid details.”

Jordan wasn’t moved by Candace’s emotional outburst. One minute later into the theatrics, Jordan shot in between Tiffany and Kaylan, got in Candace’s face, and slapped her. Tiffany and Kaylan grabbed Jordan and pulled her away from Candace. Candace looked dazed and stood with her mouth wide open.