The neck that had once enticed him with forbidden longing now drew his attention for a different reason. Gabe was so angry that he wanted to choke the life out of Veronica.
She couldn’t be telling the truth.
“Don’t believe me? Call your wife and ask her what she knows,” Veronica said and laughed. “Call her and ask her who she believes.”
A caretaker at the orphanage joined Gabe and Veronica outside and began peppering them with questions about American life. What was Hollywood like? Was everyone really rich? How did poor people survive? Had they ever met Beyoncé or Barack Obama?
Gabe politely excused himself from the conversation and assured the man that Veronica would be happy to tell him everything he wanted to know.
“She’s a big fan of Entertainment Tonight and the National Enquirer,” Gabe said with a straight face. “I don’t think she has to be anywhere this afternoon. Ask away!”
Veronica narrowed her eyes at Gabe while smiling at the caretaker, who led her to a bench where they could sit and chat.
That’s what she deserves, he thought. First she seduces me, then she tries to ruin my marriage.
All he could think about was Rachelle hearing Veronica’s accusations and being devastated. Despite the disdain he had long felt for his wife, he had never meant to hurt her. Veronica had just been . . . available.
He strolled through the orphanage, looking for a quiet, secure spot in which he could make a cell phone call. Sometimes the calls went through and sometimes they didn’t.
He wondered where Veronica had been when she succeeded in contacting Rachelle. How could she?
He finally got through and decided to play it cool, in case Veronica had been bluffing. When Rachelle didn’t answer, he left a message on her voice mail.
“Rachelle, I’m guessing you’re still in Jubilant, and . . . that’s fine. Just wanted to say hi and let you know that things are going well here in Uganda. We have a few more days left before we head back to the States. The trip has been . . . amazing, Rachelle. I can’t wait to see you and tell you about it.”
God, please don’t let her leave me.
He left a similar message at home, in case she had decided to return to Houston. What if she were at their house, moving herself and the kids out? The more he thought about losing his family, the angrier he grew. It was all that selfish Veronica’s fault.
Before fully thinking it through, he stalked off in search of her. She was still on the patio, this time sitting by herself. Gabe moved swiftly, until he was standing before her.
“Do you know what you have done? You may have ruined my life! You think that’s going to make you Mrs. Covington? Think again!”
Veronica couldn’t escape him from her seated position, so she cowered instead. “Stop yelling,” she hissed. “All these folks don’t need to know we’ve been sleeping together!”
“Too late.”
Gabe spun around and Veronica leapt to her feet.
Stevens stood before them, and he was fuming. “I really don’t believe this.” He looked at Gabe with a mixture of hurt and disgust. “Man . . . why?”
Gabe lowered his head.
Veronica stepped in front of him and smiled at Stevens. “So now you know.” She stabbed her finger in Gabe’s direction. “Your partner here has been stringing me along for almost two years, telling me how bored he is with his Barbie-doll wife, and how he needs some true companionship. Well, I’m tired of playing second string. He needs to make good on his promises.”
Stevens looked from Veronica to Gabe and back again, without speaking.
He bowed his head briefly before looking up again and gently addressing Veronica. “This trip ends in another four days, but under the circumstances, especially since our hosts have likely heard this inappropriate exchange, I think it would be wise for both of you to head back home early.”
Veronica seemed unfazed. “I’m tired of this place anyway,” she said. “Please send me home!”
“The thing is, I can’t send you out of here together—that would be just as inappropriate as allowing you to stay. One of you has to go tomorrow and the other can leave two days later. It’s going to be an extra burden for our drivers to keep going back and forth to the airport two hours away, but I don’t see any other way to handle it.”
Gabe sighed and shook his head. Not only had he broken his marriage vows, he had disgraced himself with his colleague.
Mukasa, the director of the orphanage slowly approached Stevens and tapped his shoulder. He took Stevens aside and gestured vividly while speaking too low for Gabe or Veronica to understand.
Gabe looked at her and rolled his eyes. “Happy now?” he asked. “Feel better?”
She rolled her eyes as well. “If I can’t be happy, neither should you. We went into this together, so we can go down together.”
Stevens and Mukasa returned. Mukasa lowered his eyes so that he did not have to look at either Gabe or Veronica. Stevens addressed them matter-of-factly.
“Mukasa can arrange for you to stay in a nearby parsonage with a minister and his wife for the next four days,” he told Veronica. “That would prevent us from burdening his drivers with extra trips. It’s more feasible for you to go than Gabe, because the family has three daughters. You are the more appropriate choice for their sleeping arrangements.”
Veronica put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You’re trying to send me off to sleep in some hut? In Africa? By myself? Who do you think I am?”
Stevens sighed and turned to Mukasa. “Thanks, friend, but we’re going to have to figure something else out, okay?”
By nightfall, it had been determined that Veronica would stay, but would no longer serve in the same vicinity as Gabe. As long as they weren’t seen together, Mukasa agreed to tolerate their presence for the duration of the trip.
Stevens had been sullen the rest of the day. Gabe finally garnered the courage to approach him after dinner, where he sat with Chrissa, looking out into the bush.
Gabe walked over slowly and stood there, unsure of what to say.
After what seemed like an eternity, Stevens broke the silence. “Yes?”
Chrissa patted his back and rose from her seat. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”
Before walking away, she paused and gave Gabe a light hug. “No matter how bad it seems right now, all things have a way of working themselves out.”
Gabe didn’t tell her that was what worried him most. When she was gone, he took her spot next to Stevens. “
You disgusted with me?”
Stevens looked at him. “Yeah, Gabe, I am. How long has this been going on?”
Gabe sat back and peered up at the sky. “Veronica exaggerated a little. I’d say about eighteen months. Either way, it was too long. The other night, when I was asking you about God’s grace and mercy? It was because of this. Veronica and I broke up about a month or so ago, and my stay here only reinforced that decision. She kept coming on to me and got angry when I told her it was really over. I lost it earlier today when she bragged about calling Rachelle and telling her about the affair. Is this how God redeems our mistakes?”
Stevens stood up and faced Gabe. “Don’t go bringing God into this. You’re no scapegoat. We all have to deal with the consequences of our actions, no matter who we are—saved or sinner. You still need to ask him to forgive you, along with asking Rachelle—and Veronica, for that matter—if you’re serious about fixing things.”
“Veronica?” Gabe said and frowned.
“Yeah, her too,” Stevens said. “I don’t know how all of this started, but you chose to participate. You chose to cheat on your wife, and in the process, you violated Veronica too. If you had resisted, she wouldn’t have been able to act on her desires. It took only one of you to be strong enough to stop.”
Gabe put his head in his hands and groaned. When he lifted his eyes, Stevens was staring at him, this time with compassion.
“I’m disappointed, Gabe, but didn’t I tell you about my gambling problem the other night?” he said. “None of us is perfect. We simply can’t be. So I’m upset, but I’m not judging you. I just want you to think about whether living for nothing but yourself, by your own rules, is worth all of this.”
Stevens slapped Gabe’s back gently. He turned and walked toward the orphanage.
“Good night, man,” he said. “I’m praying for you.”
Gabe sat there in the dark and in the silence, fully seeing himself for the first time. His seasons of accomplishment flashed before his mind’s eye: his marriage to Rachelle, the professional accolades and awards, the birth of his children, his complacency with everything. The arrogance and sense of entitlement. The thrill he thought an affair would bring. The emptiness that followed. The joy of helping a Ugandan woman who had been bedridden for months feel better. The despair over possibly returning home the same as he had left.
He just couldn’t. He sat there and sobbed and replayed those scenes over and over. And for the first time with pure sincerity, he called out to God.
“I need you now, Lord. I don’t know any other way.”