at this point she’d try anything to get her son back on the right track.
Desperately, she called Lester again. Once again she got his voice mail. Why was it that her husband was AWOL in her hour of need, yet her ex-lover was right there, willing to help her deal with this crisis?
Chapter 19
L ester stared at Rachel, trying to weigh his words carefully. “So explain this to me again,” he said. That little vein in his head was pulsing, so she could tell he was getting angry.
“I said, Jordan got suspended from school and he’s gone to stay with Bobby for a few days, maybe permanently.” They were in Jordan’s sports-themed room. Rachel was throwing her son’s clothes into a suitcase. Lester stood in the doorway staring at her.
“And you didn’t think I needed to be consulted on this?” Lester said.
“I tried to call you several times; you were obviously too busy since all I got was your voice mail. Did you even check your phone?” Rachel snidely remarked as she passed by him and out of the room. She carried Jordan’s suitcase downstairs and set it on the kitchen floor. Lester followed her. She could tell he was upset, but she didn’t care. He hadn’t gotten home from his conference until well after midnight last night and didn’t even realize Jordan was gone until this morning.
“So you sent our son to live somewhere else without even talking to me about it?”
Rachel turned to face him. “It’s not just somewhere else. It’s with his father. And I tried to talk to you about it. But just like my father, you were too busy to tend to your family.”
“Here we go with this again,” Lester said. “I swear, I’m so sick of this argument. I try to take care of my obligations at the church and make sure I’m keeping you and the kids happy. Ninety percent of the time, when you call, I come running. But one of the few times I’m not available, you run off and do something stupid like this. We can handle Jordan’s problems.”
“Can we, Lester? Because it doesn’t look to me like we have.”
“Mmph, doesn’t surprise me that she would do something like this.” Both Lester and Rachel turned to Lester’s grandmother, Naomi. She was standing in the kitchen doorway holding Nia’s hand. “I rang the doorbell, but I guess y’all were too busy arguing to hear, so Nia let me in.”
“Nia, what have I told you about opening that front door?” Rachel snapped.
“Please. She saw it was me,” Naomi snapped back. She leaned down to Nia. “Sweet Pea, go get your backpack. Grandma is here to pick you up.” Nia giggled and ran to her room. Naomi walked into the kitchen, her gaze directed at Lester.
“I tried to tell you, baby. Not only does she not act like a proper first lady, she doesn’t act like a proper wife.”
Rachel shot the old woman a nasty look. Naomi would never let her live down her past and she’d probably go to her grave thinking Rachel wasn’t good enough for Lester.
“Grandma, please let me handle this,” Lester said.
“Don’t look to me like you know how to handle her at all.” Naomi shook her head.
Rachel bit her lip. She and Naomi had gotten along just fine until Lester decided to marry her. Since then, the old woman couldn’t stand her. She thought that Rachel was too “worldly” for her precious Lester, whom she had raised.
“Please don’t start with me today, Mrs. Naomi,” Rachel said. “I told you if you’re going to come to my house, you need to stay out of my business.”
Naomi glared at Rachel before turning back to her grandson. “It’s a doggone shame you let her disrespect your old, fragile grandmother like this. You need to put a leash on your wife. I never, ever would’ve dreamed of disrespecting your grand-daddy’s mama. Just shows you what type of women the world is producing today.”
Rachel took a deep breath. It was bad enough she had to deal with Naomi in the first place, but she was not about to take this in her own house. “You
Desperately, she called Lester again. Once again she got his voice mail. Why was it that her husband was AWOL in her hour of need, yet her ex-lover was right there, willing to help her deal with this crisis?
Chapter 19
L ester stared at Rachel, trying to weigh his words carefully. “So explain this to me again,” he said. That little vein in his head was pulsing, so she could tell he was getting angry.
“I said, Jordan got suspended from school and he’s gone to stay with Bobby for a few days, maybe permanently.” They were in Jordan’s sports-themed room. Rachel was throwing her son’s clothes into a suitcase. Lester stood in the doorway staring at her.
“And you didn’t think I needed to be consulted on this?” Lester said.
“I tried to call you several times; you were obviously too busy since all I got was your voice mail. Did you even check your phone?” Rachel snidely remarked as she passed by him and out of the room. She carried Jordan’s suitcase downstairs and set it on the kitchen floor. Lester followed her. She could tell he was upset, but she didn’t care. He hadn’t gotten home from his conference until well after midnight last night and didn’t even realize Jordan was gone until this morning.
“So you sent our son to live somewhere else without even talking to me about it?”
Rachel turned to face him. “It’s not just somewhere else. It’s with his father. And I tried to talk to you about it. But just like my father, you were too busy to tend to your family.”
“Here we go with this again,” Lester said. “I swear, I’m so sick of this argument. I try to take care of my obligations at the church and make sure I’m keeping you and the kids happy. Ninety percent of the time, when you call, I come running. But one of the few times I’m not available, you run off and do something stupid like this. We can handle Jordan’s problems.”
“Can we, Lester? Because it doesn’t look to me like we have.”
“Mmph, doesn’t surprise me that she would do something like this.” Both Lester and Rachel turned to Lester’s grandmother, Naomi. She was standing in the kitchen doorway holding Nia’s hand. “I rang the doorbell, but I guess y’all were too busy arguing to hear, so Nia let me in.”
“Nia, what have I told you about opening that front door?” Rachel snapped.
“Please. She saw it was me,” Naomi snapped back. She leaned down to Nia. “Sweet Pea, go get your backpack. Grandma is here to pick you up.” Nia giggled and ran to her room. Naomi walked into the kitchen, her gaze directed at Lester.
“I tried to tell you, baby. Not only does she not act like a proper first lady, she doesn’t act like a proper wife.”
Rachel shot the old woman a nasty look. Naomi would never let her live down her past and she’d probably go to her grave thinking Rachel wasn’t good enough for Lester.
“Grandma, please let me handle this,” Lester said.
“Don’t look to me like you know how to handle her at all.” Naomi shook her head.
Rachel bit her lip. She and Naomi had gotten along just fine until Lester decided to marry her. Since then, the old woman couldn’t stand her. She thought that Rachel was too “worldly” for her precious Lester, whom she had raised.
“Please don’t start with me today, Mrs. Naomi,” Rachel said. “I told you if you’re going to come to my house, you need to stay out of my business.”
Naomi glared at Rachel before turning back to her grandson. “It’s a doggone shame you let her disrespect your old, fragile grandmother like this. You need to put a leash on your wife. I never, ever would’ve dreamed of disrespecting your grand-daddy’s mama. Just shows you what type of women the world is producing today.”
Rachel took a deep breath. It was bad enough she had to deal with Naomi in the first place, but she was not about to take this in her own house. “You
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