Page 12 of War
Five
It was an overcast day in Harlem, with moody, grey skies and threatening clouds. It was one thing Faith always loved about New York – no matter the weather, she could fully experience all four seasons in their glory.
Dressed in jeans and thigh-high boots, Faith paired it with a cream sweater that showcased her newly installed auburn weave. After Simone successfully tore out bits and pieces of the other one, Faith seized the opportunity to switch up her look.
On Instagram, she showcased a mini-video installation and a few hundred people already shared it. Her celebrity was steadily rising thanks to the reality show. Eli suggested she created a YouTube tutorial channel and Faith was in the process of starting one. Now, she needed to come out with a wig line and she would be set.
“So, I was thinking maybe on Tuesday’s meeting, you can talk about how to be a good partner,” Amy Sheppard met with her only daughter over tea. “A lot of women see how you and Eli are and really look up to you two as role models.”
For the past several years, Faith led a weekly Bible group aimed called Everpresence, based on Psalm 46: 1-3. The group centered on sisterhood while remaining firm in Christ. The women discussed their struggles, their triumphs, and encouraged one another. They often went out to dinner, had spa days, and trips to wineries.
Faith paused mid sip and blinked at her mother. It was their weekly luncheon together just the two of them. It was a tradition started when Faith was just a baby and continued when she became a wife and mother. “I’m not sure with recent events if that’s a good idea I still lead Tea Tuesdays at the church. I’m sure word has gotten around about the fight.”
“It has,” Amy took a sip of her iced peach tea, “and that’s why it’s even more perfect you lead this upcoming week!”
Faith shook her head. She was lucky the IG gossip blogs only reported the fight for a day but since there was no confirmation of said incident, it just became an urban myth. No one could connect the fight directly to her or Simone and most people thought it was just two customers fighting.
“Simone has brought out the worst in me,” Faith looked out the window of the tearoom, “I was never like this before.”
“Maybe it’s not Simone,” Amy greeted the server who brought over their lunch, “maybe it’s the true Faith coming out all this time.”
“I’m not a hood rat, Mommy.” Faith defended. “But I don’t regret what I did.”
“Let’s say grace, Faith Marie,” Amy grabbed her hand and the ladies bowed their heads, “Father God, we come before You in grace and mercy. Thank you for blessing us with another day and the cooks who prepared our wonderful meal. Thank you for watching over my daughter and her family as they face this trial. In Your name, we pray Amen.”
“Amen,” Faith repeated and folded a napkin onto her lap. “You were about to say?”
“Regardless of how you feel about Simone, you two have one thing in common – Eliodoro – and he feels bad enough about the situation as it is. But you two cannot let your personal feelings about each other dictate how he is going to parent your respective children. He cannot be in a position where he’s forced to choose.”
“I’m not asking him to choose our children over Elena,” Faith grumbled, “in fact, he’s in Houston right now visiting her.”
The news caught Amy by surprise. “Oh?” She blinked. “That’s interesting. I thought Simone had a home out here with Darren?”
“Apparently she stays there sometimes but she’s in Houston the majority of the time,” Faith took a bite of her cucumber sandwich, “so my husband is traveling once a month to see his alleged daughter with a mother who still wants him, and I’m supposed to be okay with that situation?”
Amy took a bite of her chicken salad sandwich and slowly chewed. Her eyes crinkled a little as she stared into the distance. “So, what you’re saying is you don’t trust your husband?”
“I don’t trust him in that situation.” Faith clarified.
“Faith, either you trust your husband in all situations or you don’t trust him, period.” Amy replied. “You can’t choose on how and when you trust your husband.”
“Well, then I don’t trust him.” Faith shrugged, “There. It’s out. I don’t trust Eli.”
Amy felt the tension simmering from her only daughter. Instead of backing off, she wanted to get to the root of it. “Since when?”
“Since forever,” Faith admitted, “he’s given me plenty of reason to not trust him. All of the times we’ve broken up in the past and he’s dated someone so quickly afterward, like if I never meant anything at all to him. He finally made one of the reasons come to fruition with Simone.”
Amy slowly chewed her bite of food as she remembered Faith’s and Eli’s wedding. It was a production, costing close to four hundred thousand dollars. She knew Faith was drunk on her wedding day due to nerves but Amy began to wonder if it was because she knew she was making a mistake. “Why don’t you trust Eliodoro?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Faith shook her head, “maybe the appearance of an outside baby did it.”
“No, before that,” Amy pressed. She had a bad feeling the relationship between Eli and Faith was about to come an ear-bleeding screeching halt. She wondered when Eli’s breaking point was going to happen. “I want to know when you knew you were wasting Eliodoro’s time.”
“And of course, it’s always my fault,” Faith shook her head. It was always the wife’s fault for when a husband strayed, and never the husband. She’d learned the old saying – what a woman won’t do for her man, he’ll get somewhere else – from many older women in her shop.
Faith didn’t even want to know how nasty and disgusting Simone became when she was with Eli. “He cheats on me, and I’m still the villain.”
“No one is accusing you of being the villain here, Faith Marie,” Amy replied, “You just said it yourself you have never trusted your husband, yet you went onto marry him. My question is if you knew that, why did you marry him? There were plenty of great, God-fearing men you could’ve chosen from and you married someone you have never trusted.”
