Confessions of a Submissive Wife

CHAPTER 14

The Illusion

2015

It had been months since David's beating and things at home were better than ever. It was as if he was a new creature. We attended church service faithfully every Sunday. We even had Pastor Joel and his wife, Angie, over for dinner a few times. I always knew that there was nothing too hard for God to fix but did he truly fix my husband, my marriage? Or is this just another one of his power plays? The uncertainty wore on my spirit, but with each passing semi-perfect day, the worrying became a faded feeling.

We were expecting our first child and David was delighted to be a dad. Pam and I were going to the spa after work. This pregnancy sure was affecting my memory, I thought. I left my credit cards at home, which was in the complete opposite direction from the spa. Pam was broke as usual, which I could never understand what she was doing with her money, cause she was the highest paid office assistant this side of the Chesapeake Bay. Trying not to drive all the way home when the spa was only three blocks from my office, I checked my office safe for the petty cash I kept at the office. To my surprise, it was emptied. Where's all the money? I plopped down in my soft leather desk chair and instantly buzzed Pam over the intercom.

"Yes, are we going to do this or what? I'm ready for Le Le to soak these toes girl, I'm dying for a pedicure, you don't even want to know," she said as she stood in my doorway, popping that annoying gum.

"What's wrong Danny, you look stressed, is it the baby? Are you having pains? Should I call an ambulance?" Pam asked. While she fired one question after the other at me, as she began to panic.

"No, I'm good," I said as I opened my safe.

"Now correct me if I am wrong, but you and I are the only ones in this office that have the combination, right? I know I have been forgetting a lot of things as of late, but I would remember taking $50,000 from my safe."

"$50,000? Girl, you kept $50,000 in there? Girl, I could have paid off all my student loans, paid off my Lexus and everything, you was holding out on me the whole time," she said as she paced back and forth, counting the number of exploits she would have persuaded had she known I kept that much money only 20 feet from her desk.

Once she stopped envisioning herself stealing money from our petty cash, she noticed I was not smiling; in fact, I was panicking. I now know that the only two people that could have taken the money were standing in my office and did not do it. Which leaves only one other person, David. I instantly felt sick to my stomach and weak, trying not to think that my husband would steal from me again. Everything was going so great, he really changed. Marriage counseling actually worked, or so it seemed. I grabbed my keys and purse and rushed to the door like a stampede of wildebeest. Pam stopped me and snatched my keys from my hands.

"I'm driving," she said. "You know if it's about to go down, you will not be alone with him when it does."

"I'm calling your Uncle Hammer so he can meet us there," she said as she began dialing his number.

"Pam no, please don't call him...you know what happened to Steven," I said. "Not this time, I will just ask him if he took the money. He has really changed, Pam." I said, poorly trying to convince her.

"So... Danny," she said popping gum and dramatically pausing anticipating a response from me. "Yes," I said

"You actually thought I would steal from you?"

"Only for a moment did I think you took the money. In my heart I knew you would never steal from me," I said.

"Right, like why I would steal from you? You give me everything anyway," she said as she laughed. Still very much not able to catch my breath, let alone laugh, I ignored her joke and continued to gaze out the window.