Golgotha

Glory

Maya kidnapped Grace's daughter and niece, coercing them in some way to do such a horrible thing, but Grace only saw Maya as the victim. Roman didn't know when it happened, he should've been paying closer attention, but Maya must've said something to Grace to make her believe none of this was Maya's fault. 

Roman saw it throughout their whole marriage. During those first few years together, he only noticed it with other people. He even joked about it, called it her modus operandi, which she didn't like, because presumably, there was no modus operandi—she just wanted what was best for everyone. The way she could get people to like her and do just about whatever she wanted, Roman couldn't help but admire her for it.

He would never forget the first time he realized she was doing it to him. Ira was maybe two or three. Maya was working so much, which Roman didn't mind back then. It was her first large-scale project, and with her being gone all the time, it actually made it easier for him to take care of Ira. Not that he could've used a little more help, but at the time, he was still getting used to being a stay-at-home dad. Everything went a lot smoother without Maya there giving him suggestions or second-guessing his decisions.  

It was a Thursday. Maya called just before noon from her Douglasville branch, which was more than an hour away from where they lived. She wanted to come home and see them because she was feeling stressed out. Spending some time with them would be a nice break from what she was doing.

It hardly sounded like a nice break, in the middle of the day, having to drive more than an hour, all the way back home, staying for only a little while, and then driving all the way back. If Roman was being completely honest, he didn't want her to come home. He already had his whole day planned, and there were things he needed to get done before the weekend. He told her to stay in Douglasville, get her work done, and then maybe she could come home early for dinner. 

He couldn't remember what else was said on the phone, but by the end of it, she was on her way home. He was irritated at first, but when he looked over his plans for the day and saw how he could rearrange his schedule, he became pretty excited about her unexpected visit.

As if it happened just a few days ago, he could see her walking up the steps to their front door with two large bags from St. Martins. She was wearing black low-rise jeans, a cropped blouse and her hair in a bun. The way she stared at him—it was like she wanted to rip his clothes off as soon as she got in the house.

The early dinner was a nice break from their routine. They hardly did anything spontaneous like that when Ira was a toddler. After they were done eating, Maya told him he deserved a break. She wanted him to sit there while she cleaned up and took care of Ira. She even played with Ira in the living room, which didn't go over too smoothly. Maya tried to roll a ball back and forth with her, but if she had ever actually played with Ira, she would've known that all Ira did with those rubber balls was pick them up and chew on them. Ira lost interest almost immediately, doing what she and Roman always did when they were done playing. She started picking up the balls and the other toys and putting them in the toy bin.

While they finished cleaning up—Roman putting the leftovers in containers, Maya wiping down the kitchen table, Ira watching cartoons on Roman's phone—Maya told him about a new project in Florida, which they were starting in a few weeks. As she described the project, Roman replayed in his head the last few hours—from her phone call, the unexpected visit, the food, the way she was dressed, how she was looking at him, offering to clean up, taking care of Ira—she wasn't even trying very hard. She was just running through her modus operandi. Every gesture, every deliberately placed word, thrown at him so carelessly, like a confession crumpled up and tossed in the corner for him to easily pick up and read. That's what irritated him more than anything; she wasn't even attempting to hide what she was doing because she must've thought he was too dumb to figure it out.