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When It Comes Back Around: (New Excerpt)
The scattered showers evolved into a full-blown downpour as cars streamed steadily past the Reverend Marcus T. Coleman. With the black and white photos of his wife and an unknown male companion carelessly tossed on the passenger seat of his Ford Taurus rental, he cautiously followed his silver Jaguar with ‘Coleman 2′ on the license plate. With each glance at the well-thumbed pics, Marcus’ foot pressed the accelerator with greater force as his stomach lurched with nausea.
Yes, he was angry – angry with himself because he assumed his marriage was well and that his wife was happy. The thought of her in the arms of another man drove him insane, slowly chipping away at his ability to distinguish between right and wrong. What more could another man offer her that I haven’t already given? he questioned as he struggled to see through the rain and the frantic back and forth motion of the windshield wipers. Contemplating his course of action, he glanced over to the passenger seat to the indiscreet images of his wife and the loaded .45 caliber that laid nearby. Marcus didn’t have a plan. He needed to see for himself where his wife was headed and who awaited her arrival.
The thought of Kendra’s indiscretions ignited a rush of fire through his belly. And now he found himself in a place where he could lose all that he had worked so hard to accomplish. His life, an esteemed pastor in the community. The church, a congregation of 2200 that he had led since the passing of his father. Family and friends, who also admired his wife. It would all come to an abrupt end. How could Kendra put me in this kind of position? he thought.
Exiting the freeway and following at a safe distance, Marcus couldn’t help but backtrack in his mind. How did he and Kendra arrive at this place in their lives? Some doubt arose for him a couple of months ago when he arrived home a day early from a church conference in Chicago. As he keyed into their house and entered the great room, he noticed a faint smell. The room itself seemed different – almost unfamiliar and uninviting to his presence. Leaving his luggage in the foyer, he decided not to announce his arrival. Instead, he quietly made his way up the winding staircase towards the master bedroom. He quickly glanced into each room searching for an explanation for his uneasiness. There was none until he reached their bedroom where Kendra stood in the doorway wearing the top to his Ralph Lauren pajamas. He gave her a quick once over as they greeted each other with little emotion. “Hey,” Kendra spoke softly with a half smile.To Marcus, she seemed unnerved to see him, almost timid. Normally, she was boisterous and talking a mile a minute. Today her demeanor reeked of uncertainty and nervousness. It wasn’t just that she was surprised to see him. Something else was going on, but he needed more assurance.“Hey,” Marcus replied as they subtly kissed one another.“I thought you were coming back on Thursday,” Kendra said, with a slight uneasiness in her voice.“I was. Things finished up kinda early, so…” Marcus answered, showing little interest in Kendra’s stall tactic.“It would have been nice if you had told me,” she said, interrupting.
“I had planned to but I got rushed trying to make the earlier flight,” he said, brushing past her and making his way into their bedroom. Marcus sat down on the bed and began subtly surveying the room. The last time he and Kendra talked on the phone, Marcus purposely told her he wouldn’t arrive home until Thursday – all the while knowing the conference would end early on Wednesday, allowing him to catch a 7pm flight from Chicago that evening. After picking up a strange vibe in several earlier phone conversations, as well as her behavior over the last few months, something in his gut told him it was time to find out what was really going on with his wife.
Unbeknownst to her, Marcus was aware that she had lied to him on three occasions within the last few months. Lies about small, insignificant things. Saying she stayed in all day when a neighbor mentioned to Marcus that he saw her car at a nearby park. Telling him she was talking to her mother when minutes later her mother called and Marcus answered only to find out the two hadn’t spoken at all that day. And last week, her doctor’s office left a voicemail message to schedule her annual exam. The same exam she told Marcus she had almost two months ago. Things weren’t adding up and Marcus needed to know the truth.
“Well, I am glad to see you,” Kendra replied, still standing frozen in their bedroom doorway. “You want anything to eat or drink?”
“No, I’m fine.” Marcus looked down at his feet, removing his shoes.
“Well, I’m going downstairs to fix me something,” she said, “then take a shower and probably hit the bed.”
“Okay, well I’ll be down in a sec,” he replied, without looking up at her.
As Kendra disappeared through the doorway, Marcus sat up straight and carefully began scrutinizing every detail of the room. First, he noticed how perfect things were – almost too perfect. He went over and opened the door to their master bath and noticed the steamed mirrors. There was that faint smell again. This time he recognized it as a mix of some type of cologne and scented house spray.
Then before he could mentally process what his senses were telling him, he looked again at the steamed mirrors. Now, why would Kendra need to take a shower when the mirrors look as if someone just stepped out of the shower? he thought. Slowly snapping out of his hypnotic trance, he went back into the bedroom and kneeled to look under the bed. He found nothing. He began searching the closets and the other rooms upstairs, but came up empty.
Regardless, Marcus decided then and there that it was time to find out the truth about his wife’s odd behavior of the last few months.
As he continued to keep his wife’s car carefully in view, Marcus’ cell phone rang. His caller ID read ‘Kendra’s cell’. He stared at the phone for a minute, deciding whether to pick up. He answered, maintaining his composure and reminding himself to stay calm.
“Hello?” he answered, his eyes locked on her image just a few cars in front of him.
“Hey. I was just calling to let you know that I’m almost to the airport.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see you before you left,” he said, changing lanes and decreasing his following distance to avoid being noticed as she slowed down for another turn.
“No biggie. I understand things got busy at the church. Nothing new, right?” she said, in a flippant tone.
Marcus remained silent. Normally when he didn’t answer in two seconds she would ignore his silence and keep talking.
Kendra continued, “I’ll do my best to call as much as I can to make sure things are okay at the house with you.”
Marcus’ tone was solemn. “Okay. And make sure you tell Alisa she’ll have to come this way to visit next time. We’d love to have her.”
“I will.”
Changing the subject and hoping to drum up a bit of nostalgia, Marcus quietly asked, “Do you realize that the last time we took a trip together was when we went to Florida? It’s funny how time flies…that seems so long ago – like a lifetime already, y’know?”
“Yeah, it does.”
“That was a good time for us,” Marcus added. He wanted to give Kendra one last chance to think about their life together. Maybe thinking about the good times would alter her plans.
No luck though. She continued past the airport exit to her intended destination. “The traffic is starting to get heavy. People seem to drive crazier when it’s raining. I’ll give you a call when I land and get settled. Okay?”
“Sure,” Marcus replied, watching closely as Kendra’s Jag careened down the freeway.
Thirty-five minutes later, Kendra finally exited, took a quick right turn and headed into the parking lot of a lavish hotel right outside of the city limits. Even in the downpour, Marcus could see the brightness of her taillights as she parked. He picked a parking space out of her line of vision so he could watch her every move. He saw her first check her make-up in the rearview mirror. Then she ran her fingers carefully over her hair to push back any loose strands. She slowly opened her car door, unfolded her umbrella and headed towards the hotel clutching a black shoulder bag.
Marcus sat in his car, contemplating what he should do next. He couldn’t let her get too far. He had questions, but he knew from the way his blood was boiling that it would cause him to act before he could even get them answered. Any fool knew what was going on here. He took a few deep breaths and readied himself.
“God forgive me,” he painfully muttered.
He reached over and grabbed his .45 as a precautionary measure, making sure the chamber was loaded. It was. He tucked his weapon inside his pants, allowing his jacket to hide it from view. He stepped out of the car and into the downpour of the rain and cautiously followed behind her with only one mission in mind.
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