Silver Lining (2 page)

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Authors: Wanda B. Campbell

BOOK: Silver Lining
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Chapter 2
“D
o you think she'll show?” Kevin asked his lawyer, trying to hide his anxiety of coming face-to-face with his estranged wife. Marlissa was already five minutes late, but that wasn't unusual for her. Kevin had vivid memories of waiting into the wee hours of the morning for her to come home. Or for the police to call and say they found her passed out on the highway somewhere.
“I doubt it. Neither she nor an attorney responded to the petition. My guess is she probably didn't read it.” Tyson Stokes pursed his lips. “Then again, I could be wrong. Now that you're divorcing her, she might sober up long enough to try to take you for every dime.”
Kevin could not believe that, but, then again, he could not believe he had allowed himself to fall in love with and subsequently marry an alcoholic. Kevin thought he was much smarter than that. In hindsight, he saw every warning sign, every flashing red light. He heard every siren, including his mother, Pastor Rosalie Jennings, preaching.
“That woman is not saved, she's pretending,” is what his mother constantly barked. “She's hiding something.” Kevin made a habit of discarding anything his mother had to say about the women he liked. No one was ever good enough for her only son. During many lonely nights he reconsidered his practice of tuning out his mother's voice.
Kevin checked his watch for the umpteenth time. “Ten more minutes and I'm out of here. I have a full schedule this afternoon.”
 
 
Riding the elevator to the sixteenth floor en route to Lightfoot & Stokes, attorneys at law, Marlissa reflected on the day she first laid eyes on Dr. Kevin Jennings.
She was rushing through the grocery store entrance as he was leaving, and she banged her leg on his cart.
“Ouch!” she screamed.
“I'm sorry, miss. Are you all right?” The deep voice was enough to make Marlissa temporarily lose focus on the pain. The face and body that accompanied the voice were more than enough incentive for her to put homeboy Cisco on hold, for a while anyway. He was six foot three, she estimated, dark chocolate, with the most developed upper body she had ever seen. It was as if every muscle in his arms and chest had been chiseled by a master designer, then slowly developed. His clean-shaven face housed soft, yet the sincerest, brown eyes she had seen. They instantly drew her into his essence.
“I'm fine. I just banged my leg a little,” she finally answered.
“Can I take a look? I'm a doctor,” he asked. “I just want to make sure the injury is superficial.”
Marlissa did not like the idea of a strange man touching her, but for reasons she could not explain, she did not want to leave this stranger's presence, not this soon. When she did not respond, he extended his hand to her.
“Hello, I'm Kevin Jennings. And you are?”
“I'm Marlissa Scott,” she answered after bringing her mind into focus. She then gave him a light, impersonal handshake.
“Now that we've been officially introduced, follow me to my car and I'll take a look at your leg.”
Marlissa wasn't following this strange man anywhere, no matter how fine he was. “Why can't you check me right here?” she asked, leaning against his cart.
“My prosthesis won't allow me to kneel.” Kevin pointed to his lower right leg. “If you sit down, I'll be able to examine you better.”
Suddenly, Marlissa wasn't smitten anymore. “Hold on, I thought you said you are a doctor. How can you be a doctor and be a cripple? That's a lame pick-up line and I am not impressed!” Marlissa went on a rampage, shaking her head and waving her finger in his face. “You all up in here talking about follow you outside so you can look at my leg. Humph, for all I know you could be a rapist or something!”
“Hold on!” Kevin raised his voice above hers. “I am not a rapist and I'm not trying to pick you up. I'm a doctor, an ophthalmologic surgeon to be exact. I'm impaired, not crippled. I operate with my hands, not my leg.” Kevin stepped back behind his cart. “I was just trying to help, but for all I care, you can go and sit five hours in the emergency room.” Kevin shook his head and walked away, grumbling, “Crazy woman.”
For a reason Marlissa couldn't explain, she didn't want him to think she was really a basket case. “Hold on,” she called after him. When he didn't stop, she tried to run to catch him, but couldn't ignore the pain shooting through her leg.
“Ouch!” Her agony was enough to get his attention. Against his better judgment, Kevin stopped and waited for her.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I mean, you never know who to trust these days.” Marlissa hoped her smile would soften his stance.
For the first time Kevin took a good look at the crazy woman who had just called him a rapist. Touched in the head or not, she was an attractive woman; tall and leggy and the color of coffee with two servings of cream. The bob haircut outlined high cheekbones and a set of full lips. Her elongated nose revealed her African American and Indian ancestry.
“Maybe you should just go to the emergency room,” he suggested, but not nearly as firmly as before.
“No, I want you to examine me. It'll save me a lot of time.”
“I'm parked over there.” He pointed to a silver SUV.
They walked to his vehicle in silence. Marlissa watched his every step. Aside from a slight limp, Kevin walked normally and with ease.
“Sit here,” Kevin said after opening his trunk.
Without protest, Marlissa sat down on the base of the vehicle and lifted her pant leg. As Kevin gently examined her, she tried to make conversation.
“What happened to your leg?”
“Car accident when I was a sophomore in high school, severed my right leg below the knee,” Kevin answered without taking his eyes away from her leg. “Does this hurt?” he asked, extending her leg.
“ No.”
“Point and flex your foot.”
She obeyed. “How long have you had an artificial leg?”
“I've worn a prosthesis since I was sixteen.” He released her leg.
“You've adapted well. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known.”
“Nothing's broken, but you do have a slight bruise. Ice it tonight and you'll be fine.” Kevin stood upright, signaling that it was time for her to leave. Marlissa sensed his defensiveness and made the first move.
“Kevin, excuse me, Dr. Jennings, thank you for helping me. I really didn't mean to upset you back there.”
Kevin shrugged. “These days it's understandable, but it still doesn't feel good to be called a rapist.”
“It's not exactly a compliment to be considered certifiably crazy either.”
They let down their defenses and shared a laugh. When they said good-bye twenty minutes later, they'd exchanged numbers and made plans to meet for dinner the following evening.
That was almost four years ago. After a year of dating, they were married in a lavish ceremony at his mother's church. Marlissa had wanted a small, private wedding, considering she didn't have much family. She'd never had the honor of meeting the man who'd participated in her conception, and her mother had died during childbirth. Her grandmother had suffered a stroke and died, suddenly, the day after Marlissa turned twenty-one. The only family members Marlissa knew of were a couple of aunts and distant cousins. However, Pastor Jennings had insisted on a grand affair. In Marlissa's opinion, Rosalie Jennings cared more about making her church friends jealous than she did about her son's happiness. Their wedding had more to do with her than Kevin and Marlissa. Pastor Jennings chose the colors, the flowers, and the bridesmaids and their dresses. She even selected the favors.
The elevator's wooden doors parted, bringing Marlissa back to the present. Walking down the hall to suite 1621, she forced the tears back. In a few minutes, she would see the man she'd vowed to spend the rest of her life with. The man who was supposed to be the father of her future children. The man she had intended to forsake all others for. The only man she had ever loved and still loved.
Kevin stood and walked over to the window after reading the conference room clock for the third time. In a way, he was relieved his estranged wife had not shown. When he last saw her, eighteen months ago, she looked and smelled like death to him. As deeply as she had cut him, Kevin couldn't stand to see her destroy herself, so he stopped looking for her. From the sixteenth-floor window, his eyes traveled down to the streets of downtown Oakland, wondering if Marlissa was sprawled out in an alley somewhere. Kevin knew she was still alive; at least, she had been a month ago when Tyson handed her the divorce petition at her current job site.
“Mr. Stokes, Marlissa Jennings is here.”
Kevin's breath caught upon hearing the receptionist's voice over the intercom. No sooner had he exhaled and turned to face the door than his wife stood no more than five feet away from him.
“Sorry I'm late. Parking downtown is horrendous,” Marlissa offered, mainly to soften the daggers Kevin's eyes threw directly and instantly at her. It was then that she saw how deeply his anger for her was embedded. The softness she once found in his eyes was gone. Aside from that, Kevin looked wonderful. From the beginning, Marlissa had labeled him the “finest man ever created.”
Being the no-nonsense business man he was, Tyson Stokes cut to the chase. “Mrs. Jennings, will your lawyer be joining us soon?”
“I don't have a lawyer.”
“Mrs. Jennings, the letter I gave you advised you to obtain representation.”
“Mr. Stokes, I don't know a lot about divorce proceedings, but from what I do know, if the divorce is not contested, the process is less complicated,” Marlissa offered.
“That's correct, but you still need representation to protect your interest in the marital estate,” Tyson explained.
Marlissa nervously wrung her hands. “Mr. Stokes, I don't have any interest in the marital estate.”
That statement took both Kevin and Tyson by surprise. With the two of them gaping at her like she was an alien, Marlissa took control of the situation before she lost her courage. “Tyson, Kevin, can we sit down? There's something I need to say.” Without waiting for them to take their seats, Marlissa pulled out her chair and sat down. Once Kevin was settled, she took a deep breath and began.
“Kevin.” When he didn't respond, Marlissa wanted to leave, but her heart wouldn't allow her. If she was ever going to move on with her life, she had to close this door, despite how painful and heavy it was.
“Kevin,” she continued, “when I married you I was a wounded little girl in a woman's body. I didn't love myself. I didn't even like myself. For that reason alone I shouldn't have married you. I didn't know how to love you.”
Kevin shifted in his seat but still didn't speak.
“About a year ago, I found the Lord. Actually, He found me. Since that night, I've learned a lot about myself. I've stopped drowning my pain with alcohol and I am learning to face my issues head-on. That's why I'm here. I need your forgiveness.”
“Mrs. Jennings, my client is dissolving this marriage,” Tyson interrupted.
“I understand, but please let me finish.” Marlissa directed her attention back to Kevin. “Kevin, I am so sorry for the many ways I hurt you. I'm sorry for the lies and the broken trust. I am sorry for rejecting the love you freely offered me. You were a good and patient husband, and I'm sorry I couldn't love you the way you deserve to be loved. I am sorry I couldn't let you inside.” Marlissa placed her hand over her chest and felt the erratic beat of her heart. “Kevin, can you please forgive me?”
Kevin looked away without answering.
“Mr. Stokes,” she pressed on through Kevin's silence. She had to finish before she fell apart. “I understand California is a community property state. However, I don't want anything, not even alimony. If you draw up the necessary document, I'll sign it before I leave.”
Tyson was always prepared. “Give me a few minutes and I'll have a notary here.” Marlissa nodded her consent and Tyson left the conference room. Kevin walked back to the window. Marlissa did not miss the message his body language sent. Her husband did not want to have anything to do with her; he couldn't even sit at the same table with her. After a few cold moments, Marlissa conceded total defeat.
“Kevin, I pray that one day you'll forgive me. More than anything, I want you to find someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

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