The Best of Everything (7 page)

Alicia threw the phone on its base and turned on the television. She flipped through a few movie channels, watched CNN for a few minutes, and then decided to check out QVC. Very rarely did she watch shopping channels on Sundays, but from the looks of the citrine and diamond ring they were showing, she was very glad she’d tuned in on this one. This ring would go perfectly with the mustard-color leather jacket she’d purchased not very long ago.

She watched and listened to the host as she described the details and thought about her mother and how she’d actually sided with Phillip against her own daughter. But Alicia wasn’t going to let that bother her because she knew her mother was only trying to keep peace between her and Phillip. Either that or she just didn’t get what Alicia had been trying to tell her. She didn’t understand that Phillip was being unreasonable and was only trying to control her and that she wasn’t having it. He kept acting as though Alicia had a problem and now her mother sounded as though she might be thinking the same thing, but they were wrong.

However, in the end, the only thing that really mattered was that Alicia was a grown woman, and she didn’t have to listen to
anybody she didn’t want to listen to. Not Phillip, not her mother, not Melanie, not anyone.

And for the rest of the evening, she wasn’t going to think about any of the problems she and Phillip were having. What she was going to do instead was relax, enjoy the QVC precious stones broadcast, and see what else she liked in addition to the ring she was now getting ready to order.

She did what made her happy, and there wasn’t a single thing wrong with that.

T
his past weekend had been by far the worst weekend of Phillip and Alicia’s marriage, but now that he’d finally awakened and was watching her sleep so peacefully, he was reminded of just how much he loved her. He didn’t understand why she did the things she did and why she couldn’t seem to stop, but there was no denying that he loved his wife with everything in him. He hated arguing with her as if they were mutual enemies, but she made him so angry sometimes—and lately on a pretty constant basis.

What he wished was that they could rewind to the first day they’d met and start over again, because for him, life couldn’t have been more perfect. He’d been beyond taken with her, and it hadn’t mattered to him that she was ten years younger. In the past, he never would have even considered dating a woman that much younger, but Alicia was out of the ordinary. She was a very young woman who had a very old soul, and he never noticed their age difference. He’d thought she was perfect for him, but now with the way they weren’t getting along, he couldn’t help wondering if maybe they’d made a mistake. He wondered if maybe they’d married too quickly because it just seemed that no matter what he said or did, he couldn’t stop her from overspend
ing like some madwoman. She was digging a very deep ditch for herself and also for them as a couple, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Maybe it was finally time he did tell Curtis what was going on so that maybe Curtis could offer him some much-needed advice. He didn’t want his telling Curtis to backfire, but he wasn’t sure who else he could turn to for help.

Phillip continued admiring his wife until finally she opened her eyes. He wasn’t sure how she was going to react, but he smiled at her. To his surprise, she smiled back and he felt relieved.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for getting so angry at you and for using the pulpit as a platform to purposely say things that I was mainly directing toward you. I’m also sorry I wouldn’t talk to you when my parents left and that once again, we went to bed not speaking. It kills me when we’re like that but, baby, I was so upset.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry that we can’t seem to agree on anything, and that we’re at each other’s throats all the time.”

Phillip pulled her into his arms and looked deeply into her eyes. “We still have to figure out a way to settle our differences, but the one thing I don’t ever want you to forget is how much I love you. Because I
do
love you.”

“I love you, too, Phillip, but I have to tell you that I’m not happy about your ex-girlfriend showing up out of nowhere.”

“I’m not sure why she came, but I promise you, I haven’t had any contact with her or seen here in years, and I definitely had no idea she was going to be there yesterday.”

“I hope you’re telling me the truth because I could never deal with you having any outside affairs.”

“And you won’t ever have to. I’m committed to you and our marriage, and the idea of my being with another woman is completely out of the question.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that because I’m nothing like my mother, my first stepmother, or even Charlotte. I would never stay with a man who sleeps with one woman after another, year after year.”

Phillip understood how she felt and now that they’d cleared all of that up, he desperately wanted to discuss the real problem at hand. He wanted to try to reason with her and maybe discuss them sitting down and figuring out a monthly spending allowance, something fair and one she could try to stick to.

But he decided not to because he didn’t want to risk having another falling-out with her. He simply didn’t have the emotional energy that would be required to deal with the kind of quarreling they always fell into—that is whenever this particular subject came up, and, today, it just wasn’t worth it.

Today, all he wanted to do was feel close to his wife and share the kind of intimacy they’d shared at the beginning of their marriage—intimacy without animosity, resentment, or excessive anger.

He just wanted to make love to her and be happy.

Alicia smiled as Phillip turned the black BMW SUV, the one she’d talked him into buying just before they were married, onto the winding driveway and drove up to the garage area. No matter how many years passed or how many times she visited her father and Charlotte, she always felt like it was her first time seeing their home. It was nearly a mansion and probably was one by most people’s standards, and Alicia loved it. So much so that she lived for the day she could have one built just like it. Of course, at the rate she and Phillip were going financially, it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, but it would happen at some point. She couldn’t say exactly when, but she knew she
was destined to live in one of the best kinds of houses money could buy. She knew this because she refused to believe that God would bless her with a father who was rich, allow her to live in great wealth her entire childhood, and then force her into an average, middle-class lifestyle as an adult. The God she knew didn’t work that way, and she was counting on Him to come through for her the same as He always had.

When Phillip turned off the vehicle, they both stepped out of it and walked around to the front door. Her dad and Charlotte had flown back from Houston last night and had called this morning to invite her and Phillip over for lunch. Her dad and Phillip were both off on Mondays, so her dad liked spending time with just the four of them whenever he could. Alicia wished Matthew, her baby brother, had been home, but he was already at school. She even wished she could see her baby sister, Curtina, but since she lived with Tabitha, her mother, Alicia never saw her as often as she would have liked to. Tabitha had told her she could visit Curtina anytime she wanted, but Alicia still wasn’t all that fond of Tabitha. She felt sorry for her because she had HIV, but the idea that she had slept around with Alicia’s father, all while knowing he was married to Charlotte, didn’t sit too well.

After ringing the doorbell, Agnes, the housekeeper and cook, opened the door and smiled.

“Why hello, you two.”

Alicia walked in first. “Hi, Agnes. How are you?”

“I’m fine, Ms. Alicia. And you?”

“I’m good.”

“And how are you, Mr. Phillip?”

“Very well, thanks.”

“Your parents are in the dining room, and I’ll be serving lunch very shortly.”

Alicia dropped her Louis Vuitton shoulder bag on one of the tables in the entryway. “Thanks, Agnes.”

Alicia liked Agnes, but she still missed Tracy. Matthew missed Tracy, too, and if it hadn’t been for their father having an affair with Tabitha and Tabitha blackmailing Tracy the way she had, Tracy never would have been forced to betray Alicia’s dad and Charlotte. It still made Alicia sad when she thought about all the scandals her father had been involved in and how his actions had affected and hurt so many different people. He’d hurt people intentionally and unintentionally, directly and indirectly, but Alicia tried her best not to think about any of it because now she really was proud of the good person her father had become. He was a true man of God and worked a lot harder than he used to at doing the right thing. Alicia was also glad that he and Charlotte were finally very happy with each other.

“Hey, baby girl,” her father said, hugging her.

“Hi, Daddy.”

Phillip spoke to and embraced Charlotte and then Alicia did the same.

Alicia sat down at the long wooden table that seated twelve. She was adjacent to her father, and Phillip sat next to her. “So, Daddy, how was the trip?”

“The best. Such a powerful conference and so many people.”

Charlotte was across from Alicia. “Your dad was good. He had the entire arena more motivated than I’ve ever witnessed before, and there were thousands and thousands in attendance”

Phillip shook his head in awe. “Amazing.”

“It was a memorable trip,” Curtis said. “But I think my wife had just as good a time at The Galleria as she did at the conference.”

Charlotte playfully rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “I did not.”

“You know it’s true because I practically had to drag you back to the hotel. The woman shopped so much after we got there on Friday, she ended up sleeping almost twelve hours that evening. That’s why she wanted to take an early morning flight into Houston. So she could shop.”

“He’s making it sound worse than what it really was.”

“She bought so many items that we would have had to buy additional luggage just to bring them home, so thank God for FedEx, UPS, and all the other shipping carriers.”

They all laughed, but deep down Alicia wished she could have been there with Charlotte. She still remembered the one time she’d gone to The Galleria and how huge and magnificent it was. She’d gone there with her mom on a business trip a couple of summers ago while she was home on break from school, and she’d shopped for hours. She remembered how she’d been glad her mom was tied up with meetings because that had allowed her the freedom to browse like she’d wanted to and without any criticism.

There had been so many fabulous stores, she hadn’t known which ones she should go in first, but by the time she’d left the building, she’d spent well over three thousand dollars. Sadly, though, this had been one of the times her father had told her that she’d charged way too much money on her cards for one month’s period of time and that she wasn’t to ever do that again.

But it had been worth having him scold her about it because her reward had been the most gorgeous pairs of shoes, the sharpest designer jeans she’d ever owned, and better-looking dresses than she’d seen in a long while. Just the thought of that particular day gave her an incredible rush, and she could barely hold back the excitement she was feeling.

“Alicia. Baby. Are you here?” she heard Phillip say and then realized she’d been daydreaming for longer than she should have.

She smiled sheepishly. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“A really great story idea I want to write about, so I guess I got a little caught up.”

She lied without missing a beat, and from the look on her father’s face he, at least, had believed every word.

“That’s why I wish you would spend a lot more time with your writing and that you would take it a lot more seriously. Ever since you were a little girl, your imagination has been vivid and that’s why I’ve always encouraged you to be a writer.”

“I am, Daddy. I’m really going to get serious, and that’s why I’m glad the position at the church is only twenty hours.”

“Oh and by the way, the elder board is meeting tomorrow, so you could probably start on Thursday if you wanted or even next Tuesday, which is the beginning of our workweek.”

“That’s fine.”

“This will be good all around,” Curtis said.

“It really is, Alicia,” Charlotte agreed. “You’ll be good doing PR.”

“I hope so.”

Phillip placed his arm across the back of Alicia’s chair. “You will, baby. Once you get started, you’ll have everyone lining up to join Deliverance Outreach.”

Agnes brought in four trivets to sit each of the dishes on, then came back with everything she’d prepared. It all smelled wonderful, and in this house, lunch seemed more like dinner because on the table were cucumber salad, stuffed shrimp, chicken fettuccine, and hot, buttered rolls.

Once Agnes left the room, Alicia’s father said grace, and they dug in. They laughed and chatted about everything imaginable and it was a wonderful day. Alicia was happy she and Phillip were back on good terms and that they’d come to visit her dad
and Charlotte, but there was one thing that she sometimes couldn’t help thinking about and that was the fact that after all these years, she still wished her parents were still together. She loved her stepmother and certainly loved her stepfather, but there was this aching part of her soul that longed to see her parents married again. She’d accepted the fact that, years ago, they’d both moved on with their lives, but who could blame her for still holding on to her childhood fantasy? What child wanted his or her parents to live in separate households or file for a divorce? Not one she could think of. She knew not every couple was meant to be together, but her parents’ divorce had caused her more pain than the two of them had ever realized. They didn’t know because she purposely tried not to talk about it and had decided it was her responsibility to be a big girl and just be mature about the whole situation. But being mature hadn’t helped her emotionally. All it had done was make her grow up much faster than she’d wanted to.

When they finished eating, Charlotte suggested they see what afternoon movies were playing so they could take in a show. Her father agreed as did Alicia and Phillip, but now Phillip’s phone was ringing.

“Hey, Mom, how are you?”

Alicia couldn’t hear what her mother-in-law was saying but from the look on Phillip’s face and the frantic tone of his voice, she knew something was gravely wrong.

“Is he breathing?”

Alicia covered her mouth in horror.

“Mom, Dad is going to be fine, and we’re on our way.”

Phillip hung up, slid his chair back, and stood up. “We have to get to Chicago. My father has had a heart attack, and it doesn’t sound good.”