His First Lady (22 page)

“We’re the ones that are late showing up,” Greg responded.

Evan sat in her living room staring at the picture of a pretty young teenager who at 17 was pregnant and due to give birth in February. She had barely said a word to Leon or Ms. Crowley who showed up to their house laden with pictures, notebooks, and documents. The visit had taken her completely off guard since she and Leon had avoided conversation with each other the past few days and he hadn’t bothered to mention the visit.

Ms. Crowley seemed to watch Evan closely as if attempting to read her. “She’s a beautiful girl. She’s just in a bad situation right now and has decided that it was against her families’ faith to abort the baby. She’s really looking for a great family to raise her child.”

“I think she has a touching story and we’d like to continue pursuing adopting the baby,” Leon said smiling at Ms. Crowley and patting Evan’s thigh who sat beside him.

Evan didn’t know what to say. It was true; he had pursued this without her and now she was like a deer in headlights. “Does she have a great support system or is she alone?” Evan asked.

The pudgy faced woman smiled. “She’s a senior this year and still lives with her parents who are very supportive. They just want a family that they can trust will raise this child in a Christian home,” Ms. Crowley said attempting unsuccessfully to cross her chubby legs.

“As a pastor, I will make sure of that,” Leon said assuredly.

The woman seemed to continually eye Evan making her quite uncomfortable. “Do you have any questions, Mrs. Ladson?” Ms. Crowley asked.

Evan looked up from the pictures on the table at the middle aged, round faced woman with kind hazel eyes and droopy cheeks. She seemed like she loved her job and would derive no greater pleasure in life than to make families complete.

“I…I don’t think so,” Evan staggered on her words, feeling slightly confused. Evan couldn’t explain the uneasiness in her spirit but she also wasn’t convinced that it wasn’t her own selfishness. It was hard to distinguish at this point.

Those words seemed to excite Ms. Crowley. “Oh good. You are such a beautiful couple. I’m very excited for you.”

“Would we be involved in the actual birthing experience?” Evan asked nervously looking at the picture of the young woman who was due to give birth to their child.

Ms. Crowley smiled. “That can certainly be arranged but of course the mother would have to consent. But I don’t see why it would be a problem.”

Evan nodded with a forced smile. “Yes, of course.”

Leon rubbed his palms together. “This is perfect. Ms. Crowley, we’re both excited and we can’t wait to proceed with this adoption.”

Ms. Crowley looked over at Evan. Evan sensed that the lady knew there was hesitation on her part.

“Are you as excited as your husband, Mrs. Ladson?”

Evan nodded. “This is very exciting.” Evan’s voice cracked feeling slightly more frightened than excited. “When do we meet the mother?”

“You aren’t wasting any time, are you baby?” Leon interjected.

Ms. Crowley laughed; Evan didn’t. She didn’t know what was funny.

“We can arrange that as soon as possible.”

Leon stood up and Evan followed his lead.

“Thank you very much. This will give us the chance to make appropriate plans now that we’ve seen everything up close,” Leon said.

“Great. Of course we will work closely with your attorney and provide as much help as needed.” An eager Ms. Crowley threw her oversized bag on her shoulder and held out her hand toward Leon to shake and then to Evan. “It’s going to be a pleasure working with the two of you. I’m so glad that I’m finally getting the chance to meet you both.”

“Of course,” Leon said walking her to the door. “It’s been a real pleasure and we can’t wait to move forward.”

“Good day Mrs. Ladson.” Ms. Crowley waved as she walked out of the house.

“Have a great day, Ms. Crowley,” Evan said watching the woman walk off.
Something just didn’t feel right.

Leon held his head back allowing the warm water to gently massage his face and head. He had stayed in the shower basking beneath the massaging water head longer than usual hoping that Ev would be out of the house by the time he came out.

She brought him coffee this morning. He didn’t know if it was a peace offering or not, but he could barely look at her anymore. Except for her telling him that she was volunteering and speaking at a women’s shelter, they had communicated very little with each other. They were like ships passing in the night only he worked hard for his ship to only pass hers when absolutely necessary.

Shutting off the water and listening at the door for a second to confirm that Evan was gone, Leon wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out of the master bath into the bedroom. He yelled downstairs for Evan but Rosalie answered in her usual broken English that Evan had left.

He closed his bedroom door and picked up the phone and dialed Ms. Crowley. Her voicemail picked up.

“Ms. Crowley, this is Pastor Leon Ladson. I hope you are well. It was nice to finally meet you in person. Unfortunately, my wife and I decided not to pursue the adoption at this time. We do hope to be able to pursue this option in the future at a more opportune time,” Leon said about to hang up when he thought about something. “Oh, and Ms. Crowley, please do not return my call as my wife is not emotionally prepared for the complexity of this process. Thank you and God bless you.”

Leon hung up the phone with a satisfied smirk. He stood up and stretched when his eyes caught glimpse of a wrapped gift box on Evan’s dresser sitting with other items she had brought home from the church. Wondering what it was and who it was from, Leon walked over and picked it up.

Evan turned her car off remembering the scarf that she wanted to wear with her mauve dress. She hadn’t even pulled out of the driveway good when she remembered it. She ran back inside the house and passed Rosalie who held a bucket full of water and a mop coming out of the laundry room.

“Rosalie! I left my scarf,” Evan shouted running past her as fast as she could in a dress and heels.

“Meester want you,” Rosalie called after her with her hands full.

Evan knew exactly what Rosalie meant. Feeling the seam rip slightly in her dress, she pulled it up above her thighs as she ran up the stairs. She opened their bedroom door and found Leon standing naked with her gift in his hand.

“What are you doing with that?” She asked Leon.

Leon looked surprised to see Evan walk through the door. He casually picked up his towel from the floor and wrapped it around his waist. “I saw it on your dresser and wondered who it was from.”

Evan took the gift from Leon then walked inside their closet for her scarf.
Did he really just wrap himself with a towel when she walked in?
“It was in front of my office door. I’ve been meaning to open it,” Evan said. “It just kept slipping my mind.”

“Who’s it from?” Leon asked.

Evan didn’t know if she should have been flattered that he sounded jealous or angry that he was about to open a gift addressed to her. “I don’t know,” Evan said.

Leon shook his head. “Who doesn’t open a gift? I’ll open it.”

“No you won’t,” Evan said.

Leon stood and opened his sock drawer. “Are you hiding something?”

Evan walked back out with the scarf. She walked over to their mirror and began tying it around her neck. “Leon, I have nothing to hide.” She turned around and looked at him. “I’ve been thinking; I’d like us to try marriage counseling.”

Leon stopped and looked over at her as he slipped into his slacks. “Absolutely not.”

Evan’s eyebrows rose. “Why not?”

Leon continued dressing refusing to look at Evan. “I said no. I don’t do marriage counseling.”

Evan turned from the mirror and faced him. “We’re about to make a huge commitment to a child and we can barely stay in the same room with each other. I think we need to fix our problems before we bring a child into our situation.”

Leon turned toward her. “Ev, I’m not the one with the problem so I’m not going to tell some stranger that I am.”

Evan plopped down on the edge of the bed. “Leon, what are we doing?” Evan begged. “I want us to be in love again.”

Leon stopped and stared at Evan coldly. “I’m in love.”

With that, Leon left her sitting on the bed as he walked out of the bedroom.

Greg lay in his bed listening as the rain hit the roof hard and heavy. His house was quiet and dark with only a hint of light shining in from the street lamp. It was still early evening but the clouds hid any glimpse of sunshine making it feel later than a little after six in the evening. Greg relished this time talking with God and listening to the rain hit the roof.

It was times like these that he thought of Cara. Although it had been six years, he still missed her so much. Sometimes, it seemed like he could still smell her. There had been so many yet so few nights when the two lay in the bed together, him holding her as they listened to the pitter patter of the rain.

Greg turned over in his bed and opened his bedroom window. The cool breeze rushed in. He closed his eyes as the wet breeze hit his face. God was good, he thought. Greg rolled back over on his back then heard what he thought was a knock at the door. He didn’t move but listened to be certain. It was a knock. Greg quickly got up from his bed, slipped on his pajama pants and ran to the front door. As his usual style was of slowly approaching the door, he peeked out to see a rain drenched First lady.

“First lady?” He asked through the door. “Are you okay?”

“Pastor Greg,” She shouted through the door. “I apologize that I just showed up like this but may I come in?”

Greg stood still and silent for a moment unsure of how to answer. “Um, is anything wrong?”

She hesitated as if uncomfortable that he hadn’t let her in yet. “I don’t know.”

“Um, okay.” Greg looked back inside his apartment unsure of what to do. Looking back through the peephole at her; wet and cold, he decided that he couldn’t leave her out there. He flipped on the light and turned the knob before realizing that he didn’t have a shirt on. Greg opened the door giving him just enough time to run to the back while allowing her to let herself in.

As he searched through his drawer for a t-shirt, he heard the door close. So many thoughts ran through his head and most of which included the fact that it was highly inappropriate for her to be at his home alone. He changed out of his pajama pants and along with a t-shirt put on a pair of jeans and sneakers. He didn’t even want to give off even the hint of impropriety.

After grabbing a blanket and a towel from the linen closet, Greg walked slowly back to the living room area wondering what to say and how to react to her. She stood still dripping wet at the door.

“Greg, I’m so sorry for coming here like this. I just didn’t know where else to go.”

A confused Greg shook his head. “It’s no problem, First lady.” He handed her both a blanket and a towel.

A soaked Evan looked down at her wet clothes. She began taking off her soaked jacket and Greg rushed over to help her. He took it from her. “I’ll hang it to dry for you.”

“Thank you; can I use your bathroom?”

Greg nodded. “Oh sure, of course.”

She stood still looking at him then he realized that although she had been there with Pastor Leon before, she’d never been any further than where she stood now. “Down the hall on the left; I’ll hang this and start some tea.”

After Greg hung Evan’s jacket on the front door hook, he walked over to the fireplace, placed a few fire logs in it then lit it. He hoped that the fire would warm her up a bit. As the fire grew, Greg started the tea. He yawned as he turned on the faucet and ran water in the tea kettle. Leaning on the counter, he prayed for God’s wisdom feeling stuck in an odd situation.

While his eyes were closed, he heard Evan walk back into the living area. He glanced up. Even with little make-up and stringy damp hair, she was stunning. Greg quickly turned away and placed the kettle on the stove while he prepared the tea bags. As the water began to boil, he pretended that he didn’t know she was standing behind him. He poured the water into the cups and then turned around; handing her a cup. Not wanting to be caught looking at her, he continued nervously dipping his tea bag in the water almost afraid to look up.

“Greg, I apologize for being here. I know this is strange but I didn’t want to go home and I don’t want to have to explain anything to anybody so I came here.”

Greg looked up at her. “But why?”

“Why?” Evan repeated.

“Why did you come here, First lady?”

Evan walked over and sat on the sofa in front of the fire. “I don’t know.”

Greg let out a long deep sigh. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“It’s obvious that I inconvenienced you,” Evan said standing up as if motioning to leave.