Chapter 35

"This is business"  Jenny hissed at Charlie, while giving Lavon a sharp glance.  "Mr Jackson needs a vendor.  You're the only one I know.  You're here to make his life better." 

Charlie sighed and ran his hand through his hair.  It had been a long day with multiple problems.  Sales were down.  Jenny had put herself behind a wall sometime during the time she'd been sick, and he couldn't get her out.  "I'll take care of it, Baby."

Jenny tensed.  He had no right to use that name with her again, as if he'd never - she'd never - never had to leave her husband.  He made me leave, she reminded herself.  She sighed, fisted her hands, and glanced at the clock.  Thank God, she could go back to work.  Frozen pizzas never looked so good.  She left without saying goodbye. 

Charlie watched her leave, and turned to the vending machines.  First order of business, the coin jam.  He opened the lock, popping the crossbar out and rotating it until the machine swung open.  Charlie separated the inner door from the outer door, and hissed as he saw the coin jam.  What a mess.  He got to work. 

"Man" Charlie raised his head, almost hitting it on the lockbar, and peered around the door.  "It's not my business, but I'll tell you anyway."  Lavon took a deep breath.  "You've got a lot of work."  Charlie stared at him, baffled, and Lavon leaned forward.  "I'm a pastor.  She'll talk to me, sometimes.  I try to encourage her on God's path."  Lavon looked around the empty breakroom.  "You burned her bad.  When you didn't come after her, you left a hole.  Some men might be looking to fill it."  Charlie bristled and came out around the machine.  "NOT me.  But she might have a friend... hoping."  Lavon swallowed.  "You didn't hear it from me."   Lavon got out of his chair, punched the time clock, and left the room, and Charlie alone with his thoughts. 

Charlie prayed for a while as he cleared the coin jam and cleaned the mechanism.  A few minutes of routine maintenence would have saved the employees a lot of aggravation.  He put the money in a zip top plastic bag and gave it to Mr Jackson.  He came back and reviewed the soda selection. 

Too many diet selections for night-shift workers.  Not enough caffeine.  He added another type of Mountain Dew and removed the Diet Lemon Lime.  He moved the Cokes to a double column and test vended every selection.  He removed a panel and adjusted a slipping rotor, then closed everything up and cleaned the machine with a basic spray cleanser. 

He taped one of his cards onto the vending machine, with "For service or refunds, call..." highlighted.   Charlie then moved on to the snack machine and whistled sadly.  Fingerprints smudged the front of the machine.  Wide products were stocked into narrow coils, ensuring hang-ups and annoyed customers.  Three pastry items were out of code. 

He had a quick talk with Mr Jackson about demographics and reloaded the machine.  Hot peanuts, hot Cheetos, and pork rinds made it into the lineup.  Baked chips came out of their too-narrow coils and returned to store inventory.   Pretzels were gone, but he added a new flavored pretzel bite.  They'd done well at his other location.  Charlie scoffed at the stuffed row of graham crackers.  What was this, daycare?  He pulled his handcart closer and got to work. 

Charlie had left by the time Jenny came back for her last break, but the machines looked fantastic.  The employees stood around, exclaiming over the selections and buying snacks.  They couldn't stop talking about the new vendor.  Maria liked his butt. 

She hadn't thought of this.  Charlie had followed her to work.  He'd be spending every break and lunch with her for the future.  Worse, she'd invited him. 

At least Mr Jackon looked happy, munching on a Moon pie and Mountain Dew.   A red one, no less.  Who knew? 

Chapter 34

Jenny, better now, leaned back in her chair in the breakroom.  The familiar white walls surrounded her, commercial flooring, and a wall of red lockers adjoining the sink and microwave.  She frowned at the snack vending machine. 

"He didn't come in again?"  The store owned the machine, which was contracted to an outside vendor.  He hadn't been doing a good job of stocking, and a lot of items hung up.  Charlie'd explained to her that meant it was badly stocked.  Jenny stared at the half-empty vending machines, empty coils everywhere. 

"Yeah," Lavon replied, his bald black head shining under the fluorescent lights.  "And the soda machine's stealing coins."  Jenny muttered in disgust.  A coin jam, left untended, continued to rip of every new customer.  "Do you think your husband might want the contract?"  Jenny shrugged and tried to look uninterested. 

"I don't know" she sighed.  She didn't trust Charlie any more than she had a month ago, when she never expected to hear from him again.  He wanted to just walk into her life as if he'd never left it, but he had, and she'd moved on.  She wasn't the same woman. 

Lavon leaned back in his chair, his work polo straining over his broad shoulders, and steepled his hands under his chin.  His gold wedding band gleamed in the light as he caught her eyes. 

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Doctor Death, now, would it?"  Jenny flinched.  Her across the street neighbor, Dr Steven Black, worked for the medical examiner's office.  They were good friends - too good, according to Lavon, who'd believed she should cut off all contact, and that was before Charlie had made his big return. 

"Lavon" she started, as their boss came into the room.  He looked around at her, Lavon, Javier, and Maria, chattering on her cell phone.  Javier scrolled on his smart phone, snickering now and then.  When Mr Jackson got to the vending machines, he paused, and growled. 

"Don't get a soda" Jenny warned. "It's got a coin jam."  Mr Jackson, his pasty white skin gleaming, frowned and took a key out of his pocket, then looked around.  "Does anyone know how to fix this?"  His thinning brown hair featured an unfortunate comb-over.   His white oxford and chinos looked wilted. 

Mr Jackson, bad hair aside, was the best and most understanding boss Jenny had ever had.  He took out his phone, dialed, and hung up when he went to voicemail.  He frowned at the machine, fingering the key. 

"I know a guy" Jenny started as Lavon grinned.  "He can give you a fair deal and I know he'll keep them stocked." 

Chapter 33

Charlie checked his email and put the phone on "Vibrate" as he bounded up the stairs to Jenny's house.  He frowned at the sagging trim and peeling paint.  He had to get her out of this dump. 

He adjusted the collar of his navy polo shirt, checked his chinos, and finger-combed his thick blonde hair into place.  The door opened suddenly and he stood face-to-face with - his mother in law. 

Her lined face tightened up as she frowned at him.  "What are you doing here?" 

Charlie took a deep breath and reminded himself to mind his witness.   "I'm here to see my wife."  He felt like he had the time Karen had caught them in bed, their senior year of high school. 

Karen scoffed at him and turned on her heel, leaving the door open.  "I never understood what she saw in you." she muttered.  Charlie took another deep breath. 

Their raised voices woke Jenny, a few minutes later.  She staggered down the hall, eyes blurry, coughing into her hand.   She glared and them both and pointed at Princess, hiding under the table.  Jenny then headed for the fridge, poured herself some juice, and drank it, putting her empty glass in the sink. 

The house was so quiet it echoed as Jenny shut the refrigerator door and absently pressed on it to make sure it was closed.  "I will" she began, "Throw you both out.  I am going to bed, to sleep.  If you can't be quiet, get out.  I'm sick and the last thing I need is you two bickering."  Jenny stomped off to bed as Karen and Charlie gaped at each other. 

"She's got boundaries."  Charlie murmured in approval. 

"Karen, please let me talk.  I think you need to hear my testimony." 

He shared how he'd been overwhelmed as a young husband, seeking God, and fallen into the cult.  They'd loved him so much, showering him with approval.  Slowly, though, the approval came with conditions.  Karen nodded somberly. 

"Jerks remind me of a few men I knew." she muttered.  Charlie nodded and continued. 

He told her of the slow slide into legalism, the increasing demands for larger "tithes", and a more restrictive dress code for Jenny.  "You know Jenny is..." Karen nodded.  If anything, her daughter was too conservative.  Jenny was very modest and self-concious of her scars. 

"Looking back, it was crazy, but I couldn't see it.  Jenny just wanted to make me happy and did whatever she could to make that happen.  She practically wore a burqua.  She covered her hair."  Their eyes met, Jenny always had such pretty hair, and she loved to wear her ponytail.  Charlie began to choke up.  "I was squeezing all the love out of her, but she still stayed." 

Charlie paused.  "What do you know about why she left?"  Karen thought for a moment.  "The obvious, I guess, you threw out her medication... let me tell you, when I found out I wanted to...."  Charlie held up his hand.  "My Dad beat me for it.  As he should."  Karen relaxed and took a sip of her tea. 

Charlie had brought his own drink, a bottle of Dr Pepper.  He unscrewed the cap and took a long drink before he resumed speaking.  "He tried to molest her."  Karen jerked. 

"The leader tried to molest her and she said no.  She tried to tell me but I wouldn't hear it.  The next day, he called me in for a private conference - when I got home I threw out the medication.  I have to think he figured if she were 'mental' no one would credit her story.  He was abusing several women in the cult." 

Karen's body felt like one giant knot as she processed the story.  She'd tried to protect her daughter; who'd been abused.  Jenny had eloped with Paul, who seemed like a decent man, and she'd been abused again.  Karen rolled her head from one side to the other as tears streamed down her face. 

"Why do we fail her, Paul?   She's made of love, and we..." Charlie held her as she cried, awkwardly patting her back.  He did the only thing he could think to do and offered her his other soda, which she drank greedily. 

"It has a better ending" Charlie resumed.  "After Jenny left, I went to the police.  You know I majored in accounting."  Karen nodded.  Jenny had been so proud when he'd gotten his degree.  Charlie smiled, a slow, evil grin.  Karen leaned forward.  "What?"

"The ah, brother had put me in charge of the books.  He had a lot of hidden assets.  After I'd read Jenny's letter I was able to determine his other victims.  I went to the Police."  Karen gasped.  "I was a confidential informant for several months, until they went to jail."  He smiled sadly.  "I wanted to go after Jenny, more than anything, but I had to cut the head off the snake."  He sighed.  "By then I was a mess, I didn't think I deserved her.  I still wanted God in my life but I was paranoid about another cult.  I didn't want to get back to Jenny until I was right."

Karen leaned back slowly, fingering the lace edge of her blouse as she appraised her son-in-law.  "Are you?"  Charlie sighed. 

"I don't deserve her, but I love her more than anything.  I want her in my life.  I finally found a real church and I want her to meet them.  How is she with God?"  He'd read some of her blog, enough to know Karen was saved, but Jenny was pretty close-mouthed about her own faith. 

"She reads the Bible every day.  She prays for everyone, even you and the people who hurt her."  Karen winced.  "Sorry."  Charlie waved it off. 

"I mentioned going to my church, it's a Calvary Chapel."  Charlie bolted up and grinned at her.  "You too, huh?  You must go to the Northside."  He nodded. 

"Charlie" Karen sighed.  "I think she'd rather die before going back to church.  You've burned her." 

Chapter 31

Karen held out the freshly made juice drink to Jenny, who dutifully gulped it down.  Jenny grinned.  "I can't taste it."  and began coughing again, drinking some hot tea on her nightstand. 

She may have made her mistakes, but Karen was determined to do right by her daughter as much as possible, for the rest of their lives.  When she'd gotten the text cancelling their weekly lunch, she'd leapt into action, packing her juicer, visiting the health food store, and making a final stop at the farmer's market on her way over. 

Jenny'd protested weakly, but let her in and gone back to bed.  Karen had quickly whipped up an immune stimulating tea (she was a certified herbalist, aromatherapist, and massage therapist) and detoxifying juice drink. 

Rather than nag Jenny about her medication, Karen had taken a quick peek at the pill organizer.  Good girl.  She passed the overflowing sink and placed a moistened hand towel in the microwave.  Poor Jen had the worst sinus congestion.  She dabbed the appropriate oils, refolded it, and placed it on Jenny's forehead. 

Jenny murmured her thanks and thought, ironically, how she'd wished for a mom like this in years past.  Who knew her own mother would turn out to be the one she'd wanted?   She drifted off to sleep, the soothing aromas of the oils unclenching the tightness in her head. 

Karen got to work.  She did a load of laundry, cleaned the litterboxes and bathroom as best she could, did the dishes, and cleaned the obvious out of the fridge.  She replaced the expired, discarded food with fresh organic options she knew Jenny liked. 

When she finished, Karen sat down on the couch, catching her reflection in the front hall mirror.  "One day I left the house with my shirt inside out" Jenny had confided.  "I need to to a last check".  Her somber brown eyes gazed back.  Her face showed her age, due to the years of heavy smoking.  Karen found it ironic she'd never really had any health problems, besides the drinking and bipolar disorder.  Her plump figure reflected a love of her own baked goods, but her husband was fine with that.   She was a lot shorter than Jenny, whose 5'8 must have been a gift from her father. 

The cat door clicked and Princess wandered in, headed over to Karen.  Karen held her breath.  She'd always worried her daughter's cat would hate her.  Princess adored Jenny, and had avoided Karen for as long as she could remember. 

Could she ever atone for her sins?  She knew Jesus' sacrifice had covered them, but she had such a terrible time forgiving herself.   Karen offered a shaking hand (a side effect of the lithium) to the cat, who butted up against it and demanded petting.  She stroked the cat gently. 

Chapter 30

A few weeks later, Jenny developed a sore throat, which quickly developed into a nasty cold.  Her boss sent her home early, insisting she take the rest of the week off. 

Thankfully Jenny had sick leave; she wouldn't lose any money.  She called Charlie (they had plans for coffee, whatever Charlie had planned he was taking it very slow) and left a message on his voicemail. 

Charlie was horrified when he got the voicemail.  Jenny sounded so awful.  He thought about it, prayed about it, and called his pastor.  Then he went to her house. 

"I want to help you" he told her, as she stood there in her orange bathrobe, sneezing into a battered tissue.  "What can I do?" 

Jenny sat on the couch for a few minutes and thought about it.  "Glead the litter bogeses."  Charlie nodded.  He cleaned Baby Girl's box every day.  He got to work and finished the job in no time. 

"I want to get you some medicine" he told Jenny, as she lay back on the couch, coughing.  She sat up.  "The syrup will kill me".  Charlie gaped. 

"My antidepressant will interact with decongestants.  You have to get me the 12 hour mucus pill, and an antihistamine, seperate."  Charlie nodded and made a note on his smartphone.  "Cough drops.  Sugar free.  A couple different flavors, please."  She blew her nose again.  "And more tissues."  She rubbed her forehead. 

"What do you take for headaches?" Charlie asked, his blue eyes dark with concern.  "I can tell you have a headache."  Jenny sighed. 

"I have about half a bottle.  I'm OK, but if you want to get more it's in the medicine cabinet."  Charlie looked.  Generic brand.  Of course. 

Jenny looked at Charlie, wondering how much he'd changed.  She was tired.  Her eyes itched.  Her throat hurt, her sinuses throbbed, and she just wanted to crawl into bed... but she had a problem.  "My refills came in today" Charlie tensed.  "I need to pick them up."  Charlie took a breath and waited for her to finish - a big change from the old Charlie. 

"Would you like me to take you?" he asked "I could take you in for the refills, take you home, then get your other supplies." 

Jenny sent up a quick prayer and thought for a moment.  "You can get them."  She headed into the bedroom and dug around in a pants pocket, pulling out a wad of money.  "Here's the money".  Charlie gave her a speaking look as she offered it, then raised his eyebrows. 

"How much is it?" he asked.  She told him, and he laughed.  "I spent more than that filling up my gas tank!"  Jenny, left holding the money, looked at it for a moment before sticking it back in her pocket.   She could always put it in the emergency fund. 

Charlie left the house and got into his new-to-him crossover SUV.  It had plenty of room for merchandise and held his Mag-liner folding cart without any problems.  He liked the sporty lines and the navy paint.  Jenny liked it, too. 

He drove to Mega-mart and went to the pharmacy, pushing a shopping cart.  He talked to his dad, a pharmacist, as he waited in line and verified the medications Jenny could take without having an interaction.  Charlie shuddered at the thought - here, honey, have some cough syrup...

The technician gave him a searching look as she handed over the medication, and Charlie explained Jenny's cold.  "She didn't want to get you sick"  She smiled and passed on well-wishes. 

Charlie hunted up the cough drops, medication, and tissues.  He opted for the name brand lotion variety "Soothes sore noses".  Jenny's nose had looked pretty sore! 

Even though she hadn't asked, he also picked up some cat treats and litter.  Jenny had been running low and he'd noted the names. 

Every time he went to Jenny's house, she had cottage cheese and plain greek yogurt in her fridge.  He'd peeked - she was out.  He added them to the basket, along with juice, honey, soup, and lemonade.  Mom had always sworn by a hot lemonade when he got sick.  He threw some fresh lemons into the cart and went to checkout. 

As he waited in line, he noted the low price on the candy bars and mused about food costs.  Mega-Mart had cheaper prices, but his machines offered convenience, and people were willing to pay for that. 

Charlie headed out into the dark and humid parking lot, loaded his groceries, and took them to Jenny.  She smiled beautifully when he gave her the refills.

Maybe he could regain her trust.  Charlie knew she still cared, but her walls were up.  He wanted to batter them down but he knew more than anyone how she'd react to that approach. 

Chapter 29

Jenny saw Javin coming down the road and waved cheerfully. He picked up his pace and headed towards her yard, dumping his backpack by the door.  He opened the front porch and walked in, gaping at the stacks of Bibles. 

Jenny couldn't believe it.  Every Bible she'd ever wanted, right here in her living room.  She'd continue to pray and see when God wanted the next handout. 

She grinned at Javin's slack jaw as he surveyed the room.  He ran a hand along a case of open, children's Bibles, and she smiled. 

He'd loved the Children's Bible she'd given him a few years ago. She planned to give him a NKJV Study Bible for his birthday in a few weeks.  Pops had given his permission along with a searching look. 

"My husband came back."  Javin knew a little of her situation, she'd had to leave a "bad marriage".  He'd wanted to know if Charlie hit her and she'd said no. 

Javin gaped at her now.  She absently noted his molars were almost in.   He began pelting her with questions and she explained the events of the last few days. 

"He came by to talk, I think. He was really sick, and I took care of him for a few days.  Last night I got fired from the gas station.  He took me to Mega-mart, and gave me the Bibles.  He says he wants to take care of me; and he doesn't want a divorce.  I don't know what he wants." 

She paused.  "He has a really cute black kitten, with one eye."  Javin alerted.  He'd found a sweet brown tabby kitten in the bushes a few months ago.  Jenny and Pops had worked to get her fixed, and she was the queen of the household.  She loved to lie in Pop's lap when he had his dialysis treatment.  "Jasmine would love her, I bet." 

Jenny headed for the kitchen.  "Since Charlie was buying, I got the good stuff.  Would you like a snack?"  She pulled a carton of unsweetened soymilk out of the fridge, and began digging around for sliced meat. 

Chapter 28

Javin headed home, carrying his backpack over one shoulder, kicking an empty soda can.  School wasn't too bad, he supposed, but it hurt to hear the other kids talk about their parents. 

He hated, more than anything, watching the fathers at the games.  His father was in prison, for murder; a drug deal gone bad, he'd explained in a letter.  The other boys had fathers, he had letters. 

At least Jenny understood; her own father had gone to prison for a while, attacking the man who'd hurt her.  "It was a small town, Dad knew where they'd arraign him.  From what I heard there wasn't much left." 

Jenny'd lost her Dad; so had he.  She had her father back, but Javin would never see his father free again.  He'd gotten life.  His mother had overdosed a few months later and he'd gone to live with Pop. 

Javin had found her body.  He'd never forget the sight of her stiff limbs and dead, glazed, eyes.  He shuddered.  He'd never take drugs; they'd killed his mother and might as well have killed his father. 

Javin was a medium skinned young black man, twelve years old, developing a nice set of muscles, he thought.  Jenny wouldn't let him use the weights yet but they did callistenics. 

"People are going to think I'm a pervert" she'd said bluntly, blowing her hair out of her face.  "Your Pops is OK with this?"  She'd waved a hand at herself and her house as they stood out back.  "I'm not so good with the social rules and all but I wonder what people might think." 

Pops had come over in his wheelchair and asked her questions, mainly about Jesus, Javin mused.  He must have been happy with the answers because he told them both Javin could come over.  "As long as it's OK with you" Pops had clarified.  "Don't be a pest." 

Pops wasn't afraid of the belt, no matter what people said, and Javin respected his rules.  Jenny had told him she had bad times; but he was still welcome.  He'd just have to understand she wasn't the same Jenny. 

He'd wanted to hug her, but didn't.  Miss Jenny was everything he'd wanted in a parent.  She said she was different, but Javin figured she was in all the right ways.  She didn't judge him by his skin, even after that other black guy had robbed her at the bus stop.  His fists clenched. 

When she found out he had bipolar disorder too, she'd cried, then begged him to take his medications as directed. Javin had shared his fears of addiction and she'd showed him her medication. 

"Do you think I'm a junkie?" she'd asked teasingly. 

Heck, no.