Authors: Monique Miller

The Marrying Kind (13 page)

BOOK: The Marrying Kind

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Chapter 18

That night and for the next week and a half, Travis tried to no avail to reach Marla. His calls went directly to voice mail. He wondered if she was even checking the numerous messages he'd been leaving her. He had even sent her multiple texts of apology but failed to get any responses back. He didn't see her anywhere that next Sunday at church.

He felt really bad about the way he'd handled things with Marla. If he had just been himself, his true self, then he wouldn't be in the situation he was in. He should have told her that he was knowledgeable only because he'd been to the previous church service and knew firsthand what the pastor was going to preach about. He should have reciprocated information about himself when she was telling him about her life.

Why hadn't he come clean in the first place? Was it because he was trying to be some sort of player? Was it because he didn't think she would like him for who he really was? Or was it because deep down he didn't really care enough about the woman to tell her his innermost thoughts and feelings. Maybe she was right about that part.

And when he really thought more about it, Travis realized that Marla deserved more than what he had to offer her at the time. He needed to do some work on himselfâthere needed to be a major overhaul on his life. For years he had stressed over his outer appearance. He'd worried about his height compared to other men and how women would see him. He'd also worried about what people would think about his torn-up teeth before he finally got them fixed at the dentist. And in all that time, he had never really looked at himself on the inside. His heart needed an overhaul, his spirit needed an overhaul, and his finances truly needed a major overhaul. The goals he previously had in life needed to be seriously revamped.

As he sat in the quiet of the bonus room, he shook his head, wondering who in the world he was to think that he of all people could or even should be a player. He hadn't been able to handle one good and devoted wife; how was he supposed to handle multiple women? And what did he have to offer any woman? Shelter? No. Financial security? No. Being dependable? No. Being a true spiritual man of God? No. That checklist was seriously delinquent. If he had spent half as much of his time working hard to keep a steady job while he was married instead of working hard to find ways to be out of work, maybe his marriage would have survived.

Even though he was being hard on himself, Travis knew there had to be some good qualities about himself. He thought about it. He was a faithful man. Not once had he ever cheated on his wife, or seriously looked in the direction of another woman while he was married to Beryl. And in his heart he was still faithful to her. With all the dating he had done since he and Beryl separated and divorced, not once had he been with any other woman intimately. He wondered if Beryl could say the same. He didn't even want to think about how the Urkel-looking Darrin might have tried to seduce her down in the tropical islands.

There was definitely something he didn't like about that guy. He was cocky, and a little bit too self-assured for Travis's taste. And he didn't even seem like Beryl's type. Beryl's type was more like him. From the looks of Darrin's clothing and the rock of a ring he'd presented to Beryl, it looked as if Darrin didn't have any financial problems. But he figured Darrin's money was probably a very inviting enticement for Beryl.

As he remembered it, Beryl was always nagging him about money and the finances. But Travis had to stop that train of thought and lay shame to the devil. Beryl had not always been nagging him about money and finances. And when she did talk about the money she had been within her full rights. Travis had not been carrying his weight as a husband and father. He was often lazy and let her carry the load and burden of making sure their household stayed afloat. So how could he blame her for gravitating toward Darrin? Now she had a man by her side who looked as if he was taking care of that whole burden for her. And Beryl should never have had to go through the court to get Travis to pay for his own children. For this he was ashamed.

He shook his head again. What a mess he'd gotten himself into. Then he thought about the advice from his friend Phillip that day he'd seen him at church. He needed to look to the Lord and pray about it. The Lord would help lead him.

Travis kneeled down in front of the recliner he was sitting in and bowed his head into his hands to pray. He prayed his prayer, out loud saying, “Dear Lord, I come to you this day in prayer. Lord, I have made an awful mess. Lord, I understand now that I've made some mistakes. Okay, Lord, I have come to realize that I have made quite a few mistakes. And I want to make up for any mistakes that I have made. Lord, I want to be a better man. I want to be stronger in you, Lord; I want my finances to be stronger; I want to be the man I am supposed to be to my children and that I should have been to Beryl. Lord, please forgive me for not being accountable.

“Lord, I know I can't do this on my own. So I am asking for your guidance and help. And, Lord, I pray that I did not hurt Marla too bad. Please help heal her heart. And, Lord, I know I shouldn't be asking for so much when I have done so little in my life to honor and please you, but, Lord, I just ask one last thing. Please protect my children and their mother. I know deep down in my heart I don't like the fact that Beryl is now with another man, but, Lord, my spirit keeps telling me that man is no good for her. So please keep her safe, Lord; take care of her.

“I thank you, Lord, in your son Jesus' name. Amen.”

Travis got up off of his knees and felt as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He had some things to focus on now. He was going to make some changes in his life starting right then. And he knew that he was not going to have to make all of the changes by himself. He had the Lord on his side.

Once he was finished praying, Travis realized two very important things. First, he thought about his previous self-checklist of the kinds of things he could offer any sane woman. He had to change those no's to yes's; and, secondly, he didn't want just
any
sane woman, he wanted Beryl. He wanted his ex-wife back.

Travis sat at the desk in his friend Brent's home office. It was there that he'd started looking at all of his finances. He started breaking down his current expenses and bills, and had also started a spreadsheet of sorts to list future bills he would need to pay once he was out on his own again.

The spreadsheet he had concocted was basically drawn by hand since he didn't have a computer to put one on. He listed his current expenses, like food, transportation for the bus and taxis he'd been taking, and his cell phone bill. Then he also put expenses like gas, water, rent, child support, electricity, and savings, as well as tithes and offering on his sheet.

Mentally he had to prepare for the future and he had to do the same physically. As soon as he started getting paid, he would start putting money away for the categories on the spreadsheet as if he currently had the expenses. That way he'd know what he could and or couldn't handle in the upcoming months.

With a little less than two months to go until Brent was to return, Travis knew he would have to step things up into high gear. After months of living at Brent's he had only managed to save $333. He needed a job, and not just any job. He needed a job that potentially had good pay, good benefits, and the potential for growth. But most of all he needed to be able to keep the job once he found it. Travis knew that was a tall order, but he had the Lord on his side so he commenced looking for that perfect job, knowing that faith without works would be dead.

Travis scoured the classified section of the newspaper looking for jobs. He had applied for several and had even had an interview for a call center position. He closed the folder with his spreadsheet.

He looked down at his cell phone, hoping that there was a message or missed call indication from Beryl, but there was nothing. It had been almost two weeks since he'd seen Beryl and the boys in the mall. He'd called and left her several messages but she hadn't called him back. He knew it was karma and payback all rolled up into one. Now he was the one calling and leaving messages only to have his calls ignored.

His cell phone rang.

“Hello,” Travis answered.

“Hello. May I speak with Mr. Travis Highgate?” the person at the other end of the line said.

“This is he.”

“Hi, Mr. Highgate. This is Melanie Shumaker in the HR department of the Escape Inns call center.”

“Oh, yes. Hi, Ms. Shumaker,” Travis said. He hoped she was calling with good news.

“Mr. Highgate, I am calling to see if you are still interested in the position for call center attendant for which you applied.”

“I sure am,” Travis said with hopeful expectation in his voice.

“Great. Well, we would like to offer the position to you.”

“Thank you. I would like to accept,” Travis said almost before the woman could finish offering him the position.

“Okay, well great then,” Melanie Shumaker said. “Your hours would be from eight to five, Monday to Friday.”

“Yes, I remember,” Travis said.

“And I want you to know that there was a typing error on the pay that we are offering for the position you applied for,” Ms. Shumaker said.

“Oh, really?” Travis asked, ready to hear that the pay was lower than he originally expected.

“Yes, the pay is actually two dollars more per hour.”

“Really?”

“Yes, sorry about that. I hope this information will further solidify the answer to accept that you've already given me,” Ms. Shumaker said.

“It most certainly does,” Travis said. He felt like a child on Christmas morning receiving more gifts than he was anticipating.

“There will be two weeks of training. The first day will mainly be orientation,” Ms. Shumaker said. “The orientation and training will be the same as your regular working hours from eight to five.”

“Wonderful,” Travis said.

“Okay, then, we'll see you bright and early at eight o'clock,” Melanie said.

“Eight o'clock it is,” Travis replied.

“You can report to the HR office first, and bring your social security card and ID with you. We'll have you fill out other pertinent paperwork when you get here,” Ms. Shumaker said.

“Thank you, Ms. Shumaker. I look forward to meeting you and being an employee of Escape Inns,” Travis said.

“Wonderful. I can see already that you will be an excellent call sales agent for the company. You are polite and very cordial,” Ms. Shumaker said.

“Thank you and have a wonderful evening,” Travis said.

“You too.” And with that Ms. Melanie Shumaker hung up.

Travis jumped up from his seat and shouted, “Yes.” The Lord had opened a door for him that gave him all that he'd asked for. He would be working at a great place, with great pay and benefits.

He went straight to his bedroom to look for an outfit to wear for his first day of work. He found two pairs of pants and a couple of dress shirts. There wasn't much for him to choose from in his own wardrobe that looked business-casual enough to wear, but if he had to, he would continue to wash his two pairs of pants and change shirts often to make it look like he had more clothing than he really had. He had contemplated going to the Goodwill to find some shirts and pants before, and now he would seriously revisit that idea.

He ironed one of the pairs of pants and the light blue dress shirt he owned. He laid out his socks, shoes, and underwear so that they would be ready in the morning. Then he headed down to the kitchen to pack a lunch. He made two sandwiches and put some chips in a sandwich zip bag. He found a thermos in Brent's cabinet and he filled it with grape juice. If he could help it, he wasn't going to spend any extra money eating out or at the vending machines.

That night Travis headed to bed early. He set two alarms: the one on his nightstand and the one on his cell phone. Although he wasn't the type to oversleep or miss an alarm, he didn't want to chance it with this job. He'd had enough problems and mishaps with jobs in the past and he was determined for that not to be the case with this job.

That next morning Travis awoke a few minutes before either alarm went off. He took his shower, got dressed, and made a breakfast of oatmeal, coffee, a slice of buttered and jelly toast, and a glass of orange juice. His stomach was full and satisfied by the time he took his seat on the city bus. As he rode toward his new job, he wondered why the company was starting him out on a Friday, but figured it might be easier to do orientation on a Friday and full training of employees starting the full week on a Monday.

He had arrived early at the HR office at 7:50 and was sitting outside of it when the first HR person arrived.

“Hi. Can I help you?” the woman who was fumbling with her keys to open her office said.

“Ah, yes, I am here for my first day at work. My name is Travis Highgate.”

BOOK: The Marrying Kind

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