Elise Riley-Tate moves through life in search of her happily ever after. After suffering a devastating loss, Elise questions her womanhood and place in her life and marriage. An unfortunate sequence of events leaves Elise in a conflicted situation...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I was on my way home from my trip to Flint. My team and I were desperately looking for a way to aide in the misfortune. People were attacking government ran utilities which I disagreed with because I worked for one. However, when funds are not allocated for the upkeep and advancement of water systems, things like this happen. Hopefully, our research will help come up with some possible solutions.
My phone buzzed in my cup holder. I grabbed it and balanced it in my palm to see my mother calling. " Hello my baby boy," she sang into the phone.
" Hey Mama! How are you?", I inquired. It was good to hear her voice especially after dodging her and Jayme's calls all weekend.
" I'm good. How are you feeling on this beautiful Sunday? I was worried about not being able to get in touch with you or Elise this weekend, and neither of you showed up at church this morning" she sighed deeply before continuing. " I know that this is a hard time for you and her, but you can't turn your back on God baby, He's the mender of all things," she said passionately.
" I know Mama, and we promise to do better. We just needed some time to ourselves you know", I half-lied. Although we did need some time to ourselves, we weren't necessarily doing it together. I know if I told my mama where I was, she would beat me like I was a child again.
" Well, your brother is not going to accept that. He's on his way to your house now. He said he needs to see his sister and make sure she is alright. Anyways, I'm going to let you go. Jay should be there shortly. I love you son! Hug and kiss my daughter for me okay" she said before she hung.
Instinctively my foot pressed down on the accelerator as I tried to make sure that I made it home before Jayme. I could not let him know that I was not at home. Hell, I wasn't even sure that Elise was home because my call and texts went unanswered. As I turned into the neighborhood, I spotted Jay's F-150 at the stop sign ahead of me. I made a right and circled around the back of the community, where there were fewer stop signs and speed bumps hoping to beat him to the house.
Just my luck, we pulled up at the same time. I hopped out of my truck, leaving my luggage behind until he left. I chose not to pull in the garage because I didn't have time to wait for the door to lift when I need to get inside before my brother. As I was walking towards the front door, I turned around and waved at my brother and gestured for him to follow me to the front door. I was nervous and was developing a slight headache thinking about what could be on the other side of the door. For all I knew, Elise could have packed up all my shit and had it waiting for me at the door. Who knew, I didn't.
As I stuck the key in the door, my brother made his way up beside me. "Damn, my dude, you couldn't wait for me? You gotta pee or something?" Jayme said breathlessly.
' Y- yeah man! So if you don't mind", I hissed pushing the front door to my home open. It was just as I left it, but the curtains were drawn allowing the natural light to flow through the space. I quickly walked to the kitchen, hoping to see my wife but she wasn't there. "Elise!" I called out, " Baby where are you, Jayme is here to see you." My ears perked up at the sound of movement on the stairs.
