Charlie wasn't done. "Look in the backseat, Jen." She turned her head, to the center row of seats, filled up with cardboard boxes.
Jenny only got one thing in cardboad boxes. She squealed as Charlie turned on the light and got out of the car, opening the back passenger door.
"Bibles!" she squealed. Charlie'd gotten the classic New Testaments she used as the backbone of every handout, the Spanish-language Biblias she got off the internet, and the coveted Children's Bibles her recipients adored. "I got Kid Bibles!" She danced around happily. "Yo tengo Espanol!" She bounced up and down, as excited as a child at Christmas.
Charlie smiled at his wife; he'd missed her enthusiasm. Jenny invested herself into everything she did, caring more than the average person. It was clear he'd gotten her the perfect gift. "I can take them back and get you some jewelry, if you'd like?" Jenny playfully slapped him and went back to counting cases.
Charlie cleared his throat and she looked at him, concerned. "This isn't it." She gaped. "I'm going to keep you in Bibles. God's blessed me; I need to share that with others - through you." Jenny nodded soberly.
"I hope you know what you're in for." They grinned at each other in the parking lot, June bugs flying around the streetlight and hitting the ground around them. The air was moist and humid, the stars hidden behind a blanket of thick and puffy clouds. Charlie offered her his arm and she shut the doors, taking his arm.
"Let's go gas up my pimp-mobile."
Monday, July 22, 2013
Chapter 21
Charlie drove down the Beltway, dodging a manic in a sports car and an older lady texting on a cell phone. Houston driving.
He looked over at Jenny, staring out the windshield in the dim light. Jenny had impressed the hell out of him, talking to Flaco's Mom and giving her the Bibles. She'd consoled the older lady in Spanish, praying with her and handing over two very nice bilingual Biblbes. He wondered what Jenny was thinking. Jenny glanced over at him.
"Would you like some music?" Charlie asked. "I have an input jack if you have your MP3 player, or I have the satellite music channels."
Jenny shifted in her seat, paused, and bit her lip. "Charlie" Her serious eyes burned a hole in him. "How can you afford this pimp-mobile?"
Charlie choked with laughter and nearly swerved into another lane, corrected. "Pimp-mobile?" He looked around at the plush seats and the elaborate console. Maybe she had a point.
"This is a loaner." Jenny sat up a little straighter. "My car was t-boned" And I almost died, he thought. He'd had far too much time to think as the car had slid into oncoming traffic. Jenny's eyes widened. "No wonder you're getting migraines."
Charlie pulled into a gas station, unfastened his seatbelt, and faced his wife. "I had a lot of time to think about what's important. Like you." He swallowed. "I have to make things right."
Jenny's face was still in the darkness. She'd learned the trick, she said, living with Carl. He fed on fear and she'd learned to hide her emotions.
"What does that entail, Charlie?" Her voice was husky, and she cleared her throat. "You don't want a divorce - are we permanently separated or what? I've been living in limbo." Her voice cracked with annoyance as her face relaxed into anger. "I've been busting my butt to live on my own and follow the Bible. And you've done, what, exactly? Bought yourself some kind of pimp mobile and sent me a thousand a month in guilt offerings? Thanks for the money, by the way, you pay a lot of bills, but I'd rather have a husband!"
Charlie coughed. "I know. I read 'Or Get Off the Pot' after the accident. It made me realize I had a lot to do." She nodded tersely. She'd vented all her anger into the post, calling Charlie a coward and worse, demanding he give her a divorce and get of her life forever - or stand up and be the man she thought she'd married.
Charlie leaned towards her and took her clenched hand in his "I want to be your husband. I want to live with you and watch you grow old. I want to take you to Mega Mart and help you hand out Bibles on the corner. If you'll let me."
Jenny gaped at him, her jaw slack. This was the last thing she'd expected.
He looked over at Jenny, staring out the windshield in the dim light. Jenny had impressed the hell out of him, talking to Flaco's Mom and giving her the Bibles. She'd consoled the older lady in Spanish, praying with her and handing over two very nice bilingual Biblbes. He wondered what Jenny was thinking. Jenny glanced over at him.
"Would you like some music?" Charlie asked. "I have an input jack if you have your MP3 player, or I have the satellite music channels."
Jenny shifted in her seat, paused, and bit her lip. "Charlie" Her serious eyes burned a hole in him. "How can you afford this pimp-mobile?"
Charlie choked with laughter and nearly swerved into another lane, corrected. "Pimp-mobile?" He looked around at the plush seats and the elaborate console. Maybe she had a point.
"This is a loaner." Jenny sat up a little straighter. "My car was t-boned" And I almost died, he thought. He'd had far too much time to think as the car had slid into oncoming traffic. Jenny's eyes widened. "No wonder you're getting migraines."
Charlie pulled into a gas station, unfastened his seatbelt, and faced his wife. "I had a lot of time to think about what's important. Like you." He swallowed. "I have to make things right."
Jenny's face was still in the darkness. She'd learned the trick, she said, living with Carl. He fed on fear and she'd learned to hide her emotions.
"What does that entail, Charlie?" Her voice was husky, and she cleared her throat. "You don't want a divorce - are we permanently separated or what? I've been living in limbo." Her voice cracked with annoyance as her face relaxed into anger. "I've been busting my butt to live on my own and follow the Bible. And you've done, what, exactly? Bought yourself some kind of pimp mobile and sent me a thousand a month in guilt offerings? Thanks for the money, by the way, you pay a lot of bills, but I'd rather have a husband!"
Charlie coughed. "I know. I read 'Or Get Off the Pot' after the accident. It made me realize I had a lot to do." She nodded tersely. She'd vented all her anger into the post, calling Charlie a coward and worse, demanding he give her a divorce and get of her life forever - or stand up and be the man she thought she'd married.
Charlie leaned towards her and took her clenched hand in his "I want to be your husband. I want to live with you and watch you grow old. I want to take you to Mega Mart and help you hand out Bibles on the corner. If you'll let me."
Jenny gaped at him, her jaw slack. This was the last thing she'd expected.
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