The Earring

Book 6 Part 6

"No wonder, they made it through," she said. "A lot of people were praying for them. God used a negative article to generate support."

She put the binder back and removed the fourth and final binder. It was not covered with dust like the other three. When she opened it, Faith found a title page: After Adultery by Sydney Lander. A sticky note was stuck below the title. In Syd's handwriting were scrawled the words, revised and resubmitted. It was dated three days before her mother's death.

"She must have sent it to a publisher," Faith thought. "I'm going to have to show this to Josh and Zach."

"Hello, anybody here?" Aaron's voice interrupted Faith. She looked at her watch. It was lunchtime. She jumped up. She hadn't fixed anything for Jacob, and she wasn't expecting Aaron.

She looked down at her rumpled, dusty clothes and shrugged.

"I'm in here," she called as she started down the hall.

Aaron came around the corner, saying, "There's someone I want you to meet."

He was followed by a blond.

"You!" the girl exclaimed.

"Do you know her?" Aaron said.

Faith felt her face flame.

"This is your fiancé? I thought you said her name was Faith."

"It is," a bewildered Aaron said.

Faith and Kyra spoke at the same time.

"She told me her name was Angelica," Kyra said.

"I can explain," was Faith's contribution.

"She came to Monroe and posed as a writer researching abortion," Kyra said. "I fed her dinner, took her to my meeting, told my girls they could trust her. If this is the woman you're marrying, then you can forget about Shandra spending time in your home."

She turned on her heel and headed for the front door. Aaron went after her.

"Wait," Faith called. "I can explain."

Aaron called back over his shoulder.

"I'll talk to you after work."

His voice sent shivers down Faith's spine. She trailed after them and watched out the window as Aaron caught Kyra's arm. He said something to her. They got in his car and drove away.

Faith sank into a chair and started to cry. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Jacob asked.

Faith looked up. She had forgotten he was here. She swiped her sleeve across the tale-tell tears. She wondered how much he'd heard.

"I'll be okay," she said.

"Look," he said. "I don't know what's going on. I woke in time to see an angry blond storm through the living room followed by a worried Aaron. Then you..." he shrugged. "If you want to talk, I'll listen. If not, I'm sure everything will work out. I mean, Aaron brought her here to meet you, so he's not having an affair or anything."

"Not now," Faith thought.

"Don't worry about it, Jacob," she said. "Like you said, things'll work out."

Jacob tried to smile. One corner of his mouth turned up. His eyes looked sad and amused at the same time.

"You might want to wash your face," he said. "You sort of smeared dirt when you wiped your tears on your sleeve."

"Okay," Faith said. "You go back to bed. I'll wash up and get us some lunch. Things always look more positive on a full stomach."

She fixed them some leftover lasagna, but all she did was push it around her plate. Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion.

"What was Kyra doing here? Why had Aaron brought her to the house? Did her comment about Shandra spending time in their home mean that Kyra's daughter was Aaron's child after all?"

As she tidied up the kitchen all she could do was moan, "What have I done? Oh, God what have I done?"

She went back into the study, but was no longer interested in her quest. She tried Aaron's cell, but it went straight to voice mail. Finally she went to the glassed-in porch and sat in Mama's swing. The fountain failed to soothe her frayed nerves.

"I blew it, Mama," she said. "God tried to get me to stop. Then he tried to get me to confess. What am I going to do now?"

The fountain continued to flow. A breeze tussled the dogwood blooms. A robin hopped across the grass. No words of wisdom surfaced in Faith's agitated mind.

"Okay, God," I admit that I was wrong not to listen to you. "What now?"

Still nothing. In frustration, Faith picked up Mama's journal and started to read.