So, how are you?” Alicia asked Carmen as she drove onto the freeway, heading downtown to do a little shopping.
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“Hmmph. Worse than ever.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I think JT is in Dallas with another woman.”
“When did he go out there?” Carmen asked in a slightly edgy tone, and Alicia thought it was interesting how Carmen was more concerned about JT’s whereabouts than she was about his having an affair-which meant JT definitely hadn’t told her where he was going.
“Yesterday morning. He went early so he could prepare for a sermon he’s doing there on Sunday.”
“But why do you think he’s there messing around?”
“Because he wanted to take the trip by himself, and that’s how I know he’s up to something. He gave what I’m sure he thought was a legitimate reason, but what he doesn’t realize is that I heard my father tell lies like this all the time. When he was married to my mom, I was too young to know he was lying, but by the time he married his second wife and then Charlotte, I was completely onto him. Even when his wives weren’t.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?” Carmen asked, acting as though she couldn’t care less about what Alicia had just told her. This was also the reason Alicia gave her the answer she wanted to hear.
“I’m going to leave him.”
“I don’t blame you, girl,” she declared. “Because if I thought my husband was sleeping around, I would do the same exact thing.”
“So, you don’t think I’m acting too hastily?”
“Not at all, and especially if you really feel in your heart that he’s cheating on you.”
“I do.”
“Then there’s nothing else to consider.”
“Still, though. I can’t believe JT would do this to me, and so soon after we were married. My father never trusted him, and with each day that passes, I’m more and more sorry that I didn’t listen. Then, of course, there’s the congregation. They’ve been so wonderful to me. So, I feel bad about having to divorce JT because it feels like I’m actually abandoning them. My mom talked about that all the time when she and my dad separated, and now I know how she felt. But what I think I’m going to do is ask JT for what will hopefully be an amicable and quiet divorce and then go to church with him next Sunday to say my good-byes.”
“Gosh, girl, that’s really nice of you and very diplomatic, because if it were me, I’d never tell them anything. I would leave both JT and his congregation and never look back.”
Obviously. “I just think it’s the right thing to do, and if you don’t mind, I’d really like for you to be there. It’s going to be a very tough time for me, and I’m really going to need the support of a good friend.”
“Of course. I’m glad to do anything for you, and you already know that.”
“I really appreciate it, Carmen,” Alicia said, pulling her black Versace shades from the top of her head and down over her eyes. “More than you could possibly know.”