Page 43 of Evan

“I know about the rumors going around. I also know that you are so loyal to our pastor, and I cannot blame you after what he has done for you. But the whispers are there, honey.

Things are being said. His wife has not been back for two weeks, and he keeps making excuses. Something has got to break, and he is going to have to own up to the fact that he is not coping.”

“Are you saying he should step down?” She did not feel comfortable discussing him behind his back, not even with her closest friend.

Marsha shrugged and picked up her wine. She was committed to her faith, but sometimes she wondered if Cassandra was wearing blinders. She supposed that after living with the family and working in the ministry, she carried around a certain amount ofburden, which was not easy to bear. “He should get his life in order.”

“I cannot talk about this.” Finishing the wine, she rose and went to pull the curtains over the window.

“I have offended you.”

“No!” She shook her head. “You know how I feel about gossiping. Especially when it comes to Pastor William.”

“We are just talking…”

“We aren’t,” Cassandra interrupted her firmly, “he needs our support and our prayers, not our judgment.”

Marsha backed down. “You are right. And I think it’s time I took my leave.” Putting her glass down, she rose and gathered up her things.

“It will work out.”

“I believe it will. All of it.” Cassandra accompanied her to the door and closed and locked it behind her. Taking up the wine glasses and the bottle, she carted them to the kitchen and sat at the counter.

She had the idea of making a cup of tea, but it wouldn’t do her any good. She was not going to settle into a better frame of mind. Thoughts of Evan were still going to plague her, and she was still at a loss at how to navigate her prayer life.

Images of the photo with him holding that blonde around the waist was still haunting her. She had told her friend that she was trying to get over him and as far as she was concerned it was definitely over, but there was still this lingering hope inside her.

She could not believe that he was lost to her forever. She had very good instincts and what she had felt between them was too precious to just be ignored by him. He had felt something. It had been powerful enough to send him running away.

Marsha had urged her to call him and accused her of letting pride stand in her way, but it was not that. She was old-fashioned enough to want him to make the first move. He had been the one to leave, it had to be him to reach out to her.

Lifting her hands, she used the tips of her fingers to rub her temples where a dull headache was making its presence felt. Pushing away from the counter, she turned out the lights and made her way towards her bedroom.

*****

Evan was finding it increasingly difficult to pretend that he was all right. He had no idea why it was taking this long for him to get over her. It was not as if he had they had been intimate. And they had only known each other for the sum total of two weeks. It shouldn’t be having such an impact on him.

His social life was practically non-existent. The good news was that his company was no longer in the news in a negative way.

The negotiations with the software company had gone off without a hitch and the deal was tied up in a tidy bow. Sherry had prevailed upon him to accompany her to the movie premiere, and he had done her the favor by making an appearance.

He had seen the photo of them in the magazine and wondered if Cassandra had seen it too. The press had hinted at a relationship between them that did not exist. Sherry was just coming out of a very painful divorce and was not interested in him that way.

They were just friends, but neither of them had bothered to correct the misconception. He was lonely and dejected all the time and he missed her so much that it was like a constant ache inside his chest.

There were several times he reached for the phone to call so that he could just hear her voice, to listen to her telling him some story about her children. He had not been back to the chapel but had found the link and watched the service online, just to hear her singing.

He had become a lovesick fool – Lovesick?

Where did that come from? Pushing himself away from the desk, he walked over to the cabinet to pour a drink. It was late and he was planning on going to the club tomorrow. He had committed to a game of tennis, something he was regretting now. His head was not where it was supposed to be.

Call her! The voice inside his head was clamoring to be heard.

“I can’t,” he whispered.

You are torturing yourself.

Taking the drink with him, he sat back around the desk, a brooding expression on his face. Perhaps he should call and apologize for his behavior two weeks ago. Would she take his call? Or would she simply hang up on him? Before he could change his mind, he reached for the phone and dialed her number.