Silver Lining by Wanda B. Campbell Page B

employer I’m not coming to work because I want to take my kids to the movies.”
    â€œWhy did you bother coming back into our lives if you weren’t ready to commit to us?” Starla quickly corrected the last word. “I mean, to the boys. It’s not fair to them. They look forward to seeing you, Leon.”
    Starla was being unreasonable. He sighed into the phone. “Starla, please—”
    â€œPlease nothing!” Starla screamed so loudly that Leon’s ear started ringing. “It’s not the boys’ fault you drank away our stable home environment and now you have to work two jobs. It’s not fair to them that they can’t see their father. My boys deserve better than that. They deserve better than you!”
    â€œYou’re right, baby, it is my fault. Please try to work with me on this. Once the business is restarted, everything will change.”
    â€œTell it to someone who cares!”
    Leon stayed glued in the same spot long after Starla slammed the phone down in his ear. He was trying to understand what was happening in his life. Everything was suddenly spinning out of control. Three weeks ago, he and Starla were getting along almost like old times. Lately, for some unforeseen reason, all Leon and Starla could manage was arguing, and she constantly threw his past as a sucker punch. Last week, Starla accused him of drinking again, and today she said he wasn’t good enough for her boys. “God, I’m doing my best. How can I get her to see that this is only temporary? How can I convince her to have faith in me again? Even the thief crucified with Jesus received another chance.” He mumbled the prayer.
    Leon started to phone her back, but he knew his wife well enough to know that the sound of his voice would only make matters worse. Besides, Starla needed time to deal with whatever it was that really had her perturbed. Starla was a master at lashing out instead of dealing with the issue at hand. One of their biggest arguments outside of Leon’s drinking occurred in Starla’s eighth month of pregnancy with their first son, Montel.
    Starla had accused Leon of cheating with the checker at the local convenience store all because Leon stopped there almost every day. Never mind that he was purchasing watermelon and ice cream for Starla. It turned out that Starla didn’t really want the watermelon or the ice cream. What she wanted was for Leon to attend Lamaze classes with her but was afraid to ask, because of his busy schedule.
    Leon clipped his phone to his waist and went back inside the gas station. To encourage himself, Leon hummed one of his favorite songs, Yolanda Adam’s “The Battle Is The Lord’s.”
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    â€œGirl, I don’t mean to be all up in your business, not all of it anyway, but are you crazy? ” Vangie asked after Starla slammed down the phone receiver. “Did I just hear you dismiss your husband because he’s working?”
    Starla pulled back the two braids that had fallen in her face. “This is the third time that trifling, dim-witted husband of mine has cancelled on the boys. They deserve better than what he’s giving them.”
    Vangie pursed her lips. “Oh really? They deserve more than a father who’s working two jobs and studying for his contractor’s license so he can start his own business and provide a better life for them?” Starla didn’t answer. “Girlfriend, you’re absolutely right. Your boys deserve much better than that.”
    â€œLook, Vangie.” Starla’s attitude was evident as her neck rolled back and forth. “It’s Leon’s fault he has to work two jobs in the first place, not mine, and definitely not my boys’. We didn’t tell him to drink our lives away.”
    Vangie shushed her. “Will you lower your voice before we both get fired?” Vangie grabbed her arm and led her over to the corner near the