Before Jericho

Chapter 3-Sunday

James awoke at eight, the sun already climbing, trying to swallow feelings of guilt. They rose within him like a tide, swelling with each passing minute. What had he done? He hoped no irreparable damage. He'd been half-stoned, half-drunk and all the way in lust last night. He was stupid and he knew it. I shouldn't have walked her back to the room, he thought. Actually I shouldn't have even started flirting at the pool during the day, was the thought that followed soon after. He stifled the feelings long enough to shower, then while brushing his teeth they returned.

He felt like a total dick, a complete and utter asshole, among other things. What kind of man was he to try and seduce another man's fiancé? He didn't know and wasn't too keen on finding the answer to that question. He had to apologize to her for his behavior. Yes, he liked her, perhaps a little too much, but he couldn't be this kind of guy. He continued beating himself up for the better part of the morning, while watching TV and trying to forget her face.

Maddie woke up feeling almost the same way. She tried to call Trevor immediately since she had missed his call the night before, but he didn't answer. She didn't let the feelings of guilt consume her in quite the same way James did, but it still gnawed at her as she went about her morning routines. Halfway through her shower, the phone rang. She leaped out, dripping wet and answered the call. It was Trevor. He didn't keep her long and although she's missed his call the night before he didn't act suspicious, which made her feel worse. Her excuse for not answering was that she'd fell asleep with her phone on vibrate. He either bought the lie or didn't care. He merely told her he was golfing today and that he couldn't wait to see her. After she hung up with him she finished her shower and promised herself that she wouldn't let anything like last night happen again. She promised herself that she would be good.

After dressing in denim shorts and a white tank top she called her mother, who did not answer. When her mother called back she sounded half-asleep. She said she would meet Maddie by the pool in thirty minutes. They planned on going shopping today at the Palmetto Mall, which sat just off of the island. She left the room a few minutes later and headed downstairs.

She made it into the pool area just after ten and the place was already packed with families. Children laughed, ran, and splashed all over the place while their tired parents tried to corral them. She found a place at the bar after she remembered James wouldn't be there until the afternoon. The bartender was a short black man with a bald head. He wore the same casual attire James had been wearing the day before. His name was Tom and he spoke with a Jamaican accent that she found very amusing. She again ordered a sweet tea and sipped it slowly waiting on her mother.

Her mind travelled back to the night before. She wondered briefly if it had been the alcohol or weed that made her behave like that. She quickly dismissed this idea, because she'd been drunk plenty of times and had never done anything like this before. She didn't know much about marijuana but she didn't think it would've been a contributing factor in her infidelity. That's how she looked at it, even though she was still nearly a week from her wedding. She thought of Trevor and his trusting nature. He would never know about this and although she was glad, it made her feel terrible for the way she'd behaved. She vowed not to again, for what seemed to be the hundredth time already this morning. She vowed to apologize to James Rhodes for kissing him and then would cease contact with him. It was the only way to be sure that nothing else would happen. Her mother arrived a few minutes later and they left the pool area together. They had the front desk arrange a taxi and within minutes they were riding off the island toward the mall.

The mall, as it turned out, was not a mall but a series of outlet stores that seemed to stretch for miles. Maddie got excited when she saw all the stores. Like many women, she loved to shop, especially for new clothes. Her mother was withdrawn and surly, complaining of lower back pains. Maddie offered to return to the hotel and forgo shopping, but Catherine insisted they shop. The taxi dropped them off by a huge Nike outlet and went on his way.