Love, Honor, and Betray by Roby, Lawson (best ebook for manga .TXT) 📗

doesn’t have anything to do with this since Marissais no longer with us. She’s constantly reminding me that her daughter is dead.”

“Mm, mm, mm. That poor niece of mine. Just pitiful, I say.”

“I hadn’t told you this, but last week, she brought up the idea of us having another baby.”

“Why?”

“For some reason she thinks that will make things better for us.”

“I don’t see how. Not when you and her are so at odds about Curtina.”

“That’s what I told her. She doesn’t get that either, though.”

“Lord have mercy on Charlotte’s soul. She’s got a lot to learn and a lot of growing up to do.”

“I agree, but she doesn’t see that.”

“Then, I just don’t know what to tell you, Curtis. My prayer is that the two of you will soon work this out, but I don’t seehow you can do that if Charlotte doesn’t realize how wrong she is.”

“I didn’t want to say that to you, but unfortunately, you’re right.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“I am, too, but in all fairness to Charlotte, this isn’t all her fault. Because had I not gotten caught up with Tabitha, therewould be no Curtina.”

“But what’s done is done, and sadly you can’t change what happened. All you can do now is go forward.”

“I know,” Curtis said, looking at his watch. His office phone rang, and he knew it was Lana, letting him know that Bruce andStephanie had arrived. “Well, hey, Aunt Emma. It was good talking to you but I need to get going here.”

“Anytime.”

“Thanks for everything, and I’ll see you this evening.”

“You take care, now, Curtis.”

He set his cell phone down, called Lana back, and told her to send Bruce and Stephanie in.

When they entered, Stephanie, a short, petite young woman, smiled and shook Curtis’s hand. Bruce, a tall, bodybuilder type,did the same, and they both sat down. Curtis smiled to himself when he realized how much Bruce towered over Stephanie; hecould probably pick her up with one hand.

“Thank you so much for seeing us,” Stephanie said.

“I’m glad to do it and glad both of you think enough of your relationship to go through this process,” Curtis said.

“Yes, thank you very much, Pastor,” Bruce added.

“You’re quite welcome. So, first of all,” Curtis continued, “how did the two of you meet?”

They both looked at each other and laughed.

“Wow, so is the humor a good thing or a bad thing?” Curtis said, chuckling.

“Should we tell him, baby?” Bruce asked her.

“I don’t see why not. We’re totally different people now, anyway.”

“We met at a strip club,” Bruce said with no hesi­tation. “I used to work there, and Steph used to come in sometimes withsome of her girlfriends to watch my show.”

“We used to be ashamed to tell people, but not anymore.”

“And you shouldn’t be because everyone has a past. All of us have done things we wouldn’t do today, and the important thingis that we’ve changed for the better.” Curtis thought about his own yearnings toward repeating history. He even wondered ifhe was qualified to give this couple any advice at all, what with how rocky his own relationship was. Not to mention how pessi­mistiche was these days about the institution of marriage.

“Yes,” Stephanie said. “Bruce and I finally realized that, and we’ve even started sharing it with others as a testimony. We’vebeen sharing our story with friends and letting them know just what can happen once you allow God to take charge of your life.”

“Good for you. That’s what I like to hear,” Curtis said. Then he changed the subject a bit. “So, how long have you been engaged?”

“We dated for about six months, but we’ve been engaged for a year now,” Bruce said.

Stephanie nodded in agreement. “So all told, we’ve been together for eighteen months.”

“Good. Then, you’ve had a nice amount of time to get to know each other.”

“Yes, we have,” Stephanie said.

“We’ve learned a lot about each other, too,” Bruce said.

“And are you pretty much in agreement on most things?”

Bruce twisted his mouth to the side. “For the most part.”

“Is there something in particular that you’re not quite on the same page about?”

“Money,” Stephanie blurted out immediately.

“Uh-oh,” Curtis said.

“But we’ll work all that out as time goes on,” she said.

“You might,” Curtis told her. “But chances are you won’t. Finances can cause more problems in a marriage than infidelity aswell as lots of other issues. Money can make people do some strange things and make you de­spise each other. My daughter andher ex-husband are a prime example, and they don’t mind me telling their story to any of the couples I meet with.”

Curtis could see how disappointed Stephanie was to hear this, but he had to be honest with them.

“So, what is it the two of you disagree on?” Curtis asked.

Bruce answered first. “I think our money should all be deposited into one account, and that’s what our bills should be paidfrom. To me, there shouldn’t be any of that fifty-fifty stuff. You know, that craziness where we both pay one half of everybill we have. To me, we should both pay a hundred percent of everything together.”

“Not me,” Stephanie added. “Our marriage is going to be a partnership and normally partners split everything fifty-fifty.Especially since I’m coming into the marriage with basically no debt, and Bruce owes just about everybody.”

Bruce shifted his body toward her, and Curtis knew this was a constant debate between them. “But if we’re going to becomeone the way the Bible says we are, then we should become one with everything we have.”

“I disagree,” Stephanie said, then looked at Curtis. “But what do you think, Pastor Black?”

“Well, I have to admit that every situation is different, but I am a believer in joint bank accounts for all married couples.I do think you should each have your own checking or savings accounts on the side so that you can save your own emergencyfunds, but the majority of your salaries should go toward paying your bills and toward your retirement accounts.”

“See,” Bruce said, laughing.

Stephanie smiled but said, “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

Bruce