Shadow of Death (16 page)

Foolish!?!
“How do you know what Troy has and has not done when you're all the way in Texas? I bet if you'd seen the pictures of the two of them naked in bed together, you wouldn't be so sure.”

“She drugged him! He told you that.”

Whatever!
Troy could fool Aneetra and his mama with that story, but Natalie would not believe it. Not for a second! “Even
if
that's true, what would be her purpose for wanting to break us up if Troy wasn't messing around with her?”

“They were together in the past. Maybe he put somethin' on her so good that she never got over him. If Troy takes after his daddy—”

“Di,
puh-leaze
don't go there!” Natalie's words were so abrupt that Aneetra gave her a “what-did-she-say” look to which Natalie responded by rolling her eyes and mouthing the word “crazy”!

“All I'm sayin' is that you never know what goes on in the minds of these whores, but you should know your man. Troy loves you, Natalie. You and my grandbabies are his world. He would never risk what he has with you for even one minute of pleasure with that girl. I'm willin' to bet my life on that.”

Natalie wanted so much to believe Diane, but the images of Troy's black butt cheeks smiling for the camera as he lay between Cheryl's legs made it difficult.
I saw a lady…

“I know my son and, if he was guilty of any of this, Troy would have never called me because he knows I would have cussed him up one way and down the other. He's grown, but I know the last thing Troy wants to hear is my mouth. He would have avoided me like a fat girl does veggies.”

Aneetra, who had leaned her ear closer to the phone, apparently overheard Diane's weird analogy and covered her mouth to contain a chuckle. Natalie wasn't in a laughing mood. Besides, it wasn't like Diane could exactly be classified in the thin category. She had a small upper torso, but her hips kept her shopping in plus-sized sections. “I'm going downstairs to get some water,” Aneetra whispered.

“When Troy told me what happened, I did fuss at him for keepin' all of this a secret for so long, but I didn't get on him too bad ‘cuz I didn't want to kick him while he's down. You have to stand by him and believe in him, Natalie, no matter what it looks like. Troy may be many things, but one thing he's not, is a liar. If he says he didn't have an affair with that woman, then you, of all people, should take him at his word. You know how much Troy hated Reed for his actions. Troy never wanted to be anything like his father used to be. I can't see him doin' that to you.”

Natalie allowed her mother-in-law's words to rest on her heart like morning dew falling on grass. For a split-second, she felt at peace. But, like the parable Jesus explained in Matthew 12 of the sower and the seed that fell on stony ground that could not grow because it had no root, ultimately, such were Diane's words. Natalie's heart was hardened as fear of being humiliated took over. She was in pain now, but she could only imagine how much worse the situation would hurt if she was like Hillary Clinton who stood by former President Clinton when he was accused of inappropriate behavior with Monica Lewinsky, only to learn that the accusations had been true in the end. Natalie had not been an angel in her pre-Jesus days, and it didn't surprise her that someone would sleep with her husband like she'd slept with many others.

Diane had warned her not to be foolish, but Natalie already had. She'd been foolish enough to think that she could live her married life happily-ever-after when she hadn't respected the union of others. She believed in grace, no doubt. Corrine, Ean, Ebony and Nate were proof that grace existed. Had it not been for them, Natalie's life situations would have all been in vain. This situation with Cheryl was karma whether Aneetra liked the word or not. Natalie believed it would be possible for her and Troy to work through his affair. Aneetra and Marcus had made it; so had Lisa and RJ. Even her in-laws' marriage had defied all odds. If there was any chance that Natalie's marriage could survive, Troy had to first be honest with himself and her, and he wasn't. That made her realize that her marriage would ultimately end in demise. “Di, I appreciate your love and concern, but I really can't talk about this right now.”

“Okay, but please do me a favor and don't give up on him so easily, Natalie. Have faith in him and in God to work this all out for your good and His glory.”

Stunned by her mother-in-law's final words, Natalie held the phone even after Diane hung up.
“Have faith in him and in God to work this all out for your good and His glory.”
Such a statement was not the norm for the sailor-like-cursing sixty-something-year-old whose Bible likely contained more cobwebs than a barn in the middle of the field that had been abandoned for decades. What was even more eerie was Aneetra had said something similar prior to Diane's phone call.

Natalie's emotions were all over the place. Confusion…anger…guilt. Why was everyone so insistent that Troy was telling the truth? Troy was not perfect! Why couldn't her loved ones accept that she had a right to believe differently? Why was she so afraid to believe him? She thought about Diane and what she knew about her mother-in-law's commitment to Troy's father. Diane and Reed had a rocky marriage until a couple of years ago. Troy's dad had cheated multiple times, been abusive, and even fathered a child outside of their union. When Reed had been accused of murder, Diane's belief in him didn't waver, not even for a second, despite the evidence pointing in his direction. Yet, here Natalie was, ready to throw her husband to the wolves because of one woman's word—and some pictures—that Troy had had an affair.
“Have faith in him and in God to work this all out for your good and His glory.”

Natalie pondered on the meaning of faith—to believe in what one cannot see. There was a fine line between faith and foolishness. Natalie had vowed that no man would ever make a fool of her. She'd already given up her heart, her independence, and her career for Troy. Was she expected to throw away common sense as well?

Not wanting to be alone in the room with her thoughts anymore, Natalie decided to join Aneetra downstairs. She'd been gone a while and Natalie suspected it was because Aneetra had wanted to give her privacy during her phone conversation with Diane. It certainly didn't take twenty minutes to get a drink of water. Natalie didn't know what to think when she walked in the kitchen to find Aneetra holding a picture of Troy and Cheryl up to the light.

“Come here. You need to see this.”

“No thanks. I've seen enough. I'm trying to figure out what disturbs me more—the fact that you're staring at that photo, in general, or that you dug it out the trash to stare at it.”

“Oh, hush. Trust that this is quite uncomfortable for me as well. Seriously, though, you need to take a look at something.” Aneetra used a free hand to motion for Natalie to hurry.

“What,” Natalie said after she'd moseyed over.

“Look right here. You can see the reflection of someone in the headboard.”

Natalie snatched the picture to investigate further.

“You know what this means, don't you?” Aneetra's sly grin had “I-told-you-so” all over it. “This photograph was staged.”

A
s he turned down the street into his neighborhood, Troy wasn't certain what to expect when he walked in the house. When he left, Natalie had been livid upon hearing from Nugent that he'd gone by Cheryl's. Ironically, it wasn't something that he was purposely trying to keep from her. They were having such a tender moment that he didn't want to ruin it by bringing up her name. Cheryl had now pulled a disappearing act to make it seem like he'd done something to her only added to his anger. He prayed he would never see her again; he wasn't sure he'd have sense enough to let go this time.

Troy was surprised to see Aneetra's car in his driveway so late. He was glad that she was there for Natalie. Plus, it didn't hurt that Aneetra believed him. She was Natalie's best friend and as down-to-earth as a friend could be. Aneetra was a good person on the outside and at her core. Troy knew that and he was certain Natalie did as well by the way she valued her friendship with Aneetra. If anyone could possibly sway Natalie's opinion in his favor, Aneetra would be the one.

Unlike earlier, Troy decided to park in his normal spot instead of on the outside behind Natalie's car. Aneetra's car was there anyhow. He walked through the garage door into the kitchen and wasn't quite sure what to make of Natalie and Aneetra at the island with a magnifying glass, staring at a picture of him and Cheryl.

“Hey, Troy,” Aneetra spoke nonchalantly as if she and Natalie were putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

Natalie ran and put her arms around him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Cheryl's gone missing and they wanted to talk to me because of what happened earlier.” It felt so good to have her in his arms that Troy didn't want to let her go.

“What did happen?” Natalie's reddened eyes looked both worn and weary. She'd been crying.

“I'll tell you, but first can someone let me know what's going on here?”

“There's been a break in the case.” Aneetra explained the new revelation and he rushed to see for himself. Sure enough, there was the reflection of someone's image in the background. “Do you have any idea who that is?”

Troy squinted at the picture like doing so would bring clarity. “No. I'm pretty sure it's a male because of the baseball cap.”

“Here, use this.” Aneetra handed him the magnifying glass, but it didn't help. Troy laid both it and the picture on the island. He could tell that the images themselves were still painful for Natalie. He would get down to the bottom of things, just not tonight.

“Come here.” Troy motioned to his wife who came to him and buried her head into his chest. “I'm sorry that you have to go through this.”

“No…,” she cried, “I'm sorry. I should have believed you. I'm a horrible wife.”

Troy and Aneetra looked at each other with a “here-she-goes-with-the-drama” expression. Natalie could be so hard on herself. Troy observed her insecurities whenever things went wrong with the kids or she and Corrine had a falling-out, and he was sure that Aneetra could testify to having witnessed it at other times. “No, you're not. You're a wonderful wife. I didn't make it easy for you to believe me by keeping so much from you.”

“I was scared. I thought this was perhaps the big payback from my past.”

“Baaabe.”
Troy took a step back so he could hold Natalie by her shoulders and look her into her eyes. They'd had a similar conversation before and he sincerely hoped they wouldn't have to have it again. It was getting old. “I love you. I don't understand why you think I'm out to hurt you, or even worse, that God is. Yeah, I know things happen,” he said before she had the chance, “But God is merciful, Natalie. Everything you've done in the past has been forgiven. God isn't waiting for me to cheat on you so He can say, ‘Ha, that's what you get!' He doesn't hold our past against us.”

“That's the same thing I was saying to her earlier. She never listens to me,” Aneetra teased.

Natalie playfully stuck her tongue out at Aneetra. Childish? Yeah, but Troy couldn't be happier. After the day he'd had, he was glad to have his high-maintenance wife display any kind of emotions other than hatred toward him. “I'm sorry.” Natalie turned back to him.

“Me, too, babe.” For several moments, the two of them went back and forth with the “I love yous” and “I'm sorrys” between kisses until Aneetra had had enough.

“All right, lovebirds. I see that three's a crowd. I need to get out of here anyhow and hopefully get a few hours of sleep before having to get up for work.”

Both Natalie and Troy thanked Aneetra for her friendship. After Aneetra left, the couple went upstairs where they continued to talk.

“Your mom called.”

“It figures. I told her to leave you alone, but you know my mama. I hope she didn't upset you. She went off on me.”

“She told me that she didn't come down too hard on you.”

“Yeah, okay. You know my mama, right?”

Natalie laughed and filled him in on some of the things that his mother had said to her. “I felt like crap when comparing myself to how she stood by your dad through murder accusations.”

Not wanting her to get back on her self-pity soapbox or having to repeat the God-has-forgiven-you-for-your-past speech, Troy quickly cut in. “Natalie Renee Coleman—”

“Coleman?”

He knew saying her maiden name would grab her attention. “You are the only Missus Evans there will ever be. I love you and the only way you're going to get rid of me is if you kill me.”

“Okay, now
you're
talking crazy. I would never kill you.”

“That's not what you implied earlier. You threatened my life with your widow before ex-wife comment. You had me sort of scared. That's why the officers were here. They came to ensure my safety. By the way, I filed a protection order against you while I was at the station. Technically, you're a little too close to me right now. You need to back up.”

The cackling sound of Natalie's “whatever!” response was music to his ears. He'd give anything to keep that smile on her face. “I love you, Missus Evans.”

“I love you, too, Mr. Coleman,” she said simply to be ornery.

•  •  •

Last night was good for us!
Troy thought to himself as he awakened Tuesday morning with his wife lying snugly in his arms. Last night, after the playful banter, things got more serious. They talked. Natalie wanted to know everything that had happened over the weekend until the time he left the station. Troy told her about leaving the gym, waking up in the hotel, the paranoia he felt at the Commons and why he'd lashed out at Richard, how he wanted to make love to her Saturday night, but was concerned about her safety, going to Cheryl's, going to see Robert, the tests, and everything else. He included his conversations with his mother and Richard, until the very moment he pulled into the driveway and saw Aneetra's car. That took time. Natalie also asked him about his history with Cheryl, and he gave her all the gritty details, starting from the very beginning.