Chapter 30 Perky

"Do you know what time it is?" Monica groans sleepily and rubs her eyes as she sat in front of her computer. "I know, I know it's way early but you're not going to be back in town for another week and I really need to talk to you," Karen said in an excited tone.

"Wow you seem very perky this morning; what did you kill the bastard that wanted you to kill your baby?" Monica asks taking her laptop into the kitchen. "I wish but no the creep is very much still alive and guess what? Asshole is married." She said with disgust.

"That's no excuse for what he did but it does explain a lot; so what happened? Why are you so happy?" Monica asks putting the kettle on her stove. "What are you doing?" Karen asks. "I need coffee so spill what's going on?" "Well the asshole came to my house the other day and tried to beat me up but he didn't get to because my knight in shining armor showed up and almost kick his ass." She said smiling.

"Knight in shining armor? And who's would that be?" Monica asks. "Weeell it's a guy I knew from back in the day. He was messed up before but now he has gotten his life back on track and he has hunted me down and just in time too. He saved my baby's life; I can never thank him enough for that."

"And…" Monica urges. "Well, he wants me back," Karen said with a bright smile. "Do you think it's wise to start another relationship now; after what just happened?" "Well normally I wouldn't even think of doing that but I've been in love with this guy for a while now but we got separated and I thought I had lost him but now he's back and he wants to be with me and I want o to be with him."

"And it's not as if we can be together out in the open right now because he's married and his wife is very pregnant not to mention I know her," Karen said running her fingers through her long hair. "Oh whoa….excuse me…..what?" Monica asks in shock. "It's not what you're thinking; alright listen when he decides to change his life he got baptized and then this gold digger decides to latch onto him so thinking he was doing the right thing he married her but then he realized he didn't love her and when he tried to leave her she told him she was pregnant," Karen said taking a deep breath.

"He was all about trying to make it work for his kid's sake but that was before he found me again, now he just wants out and it will happen but it's going to take time until then we'll just have to keep it on the down-low." She said with a sigh.

"And he told you all this?" Monica asks sipping her coffee. "Yes, he did." "Alright sounds like you have it all figured out so keep in touch and let me know what's happening; I'm glad you're happy again; I'll call you later when I get off work," Monica said waving goodbye. "Alright later," Karen said and cut her off. "Now to put my plan in action." She smiles wickedly.

Diane sighs contentedly as she woke up next to her handsome husband the next morning; she tried to move but he held her even closer and kiss her forehead. "Morning beautiful." "Morning handsome; you know I love you to death right." "Mhm." He moans kissing her again. "But I guarantee you it's never a good idea to deprive a pregnant woman of using the bathroom." She said pinching him.

"Ouch…sorry." He said letting her go. An hour later they had a fifteen-minute prayer session had breakfast took a shower together and was now in the process of getting ready for church. After he had won three games and she had won two at video games the day before, she was feeling a little tired so he had followed her to their bedroom and while she took a nap he had sat beside her on the bed and did some work on his lap-top. When she had woken up they had dinner, took a shower together, called Jasmine then cuddled and watched movies until it was bedtime.

They were currently walking towards the garage when Diane's phone rang, it was Karen. "Hi, Karen." "Hi Diane, how are you?" "I'm fine and you?" "I'm okay Gabriel friend had to leave but she left someone here to guard me; but I got a strange phone call from Josh a few minutes ago, he says that he's sorry for what he did to me and he's asking me to forgive him and that I should tell Gabriel that he's sorry and a whole lot of other mumblings that I didn't really understand, I just thought I should let you know."

"That does sound a little odd, I'll talk to Gabriel and maybe we can have a little chat with Josh after church today. Will you be coming to church?" Diane asks getting into the vehicle and fastening her seat belt. "I wasn't planning to but I guess I could; I'll go get ready." Diane ends the call and told Gabriel what Karen had said. Gabriel listens but said nothing while he drives through the gate and closes it behind him. "You're messing with my plan Josh. Just what the hell are you up to now? Blasted fool." Karen swore under her breath as she got ready.

They drive in silence for a while; Gabriel seems to be deep in his thought. "Are you okay baby?" she asks softly. "I'm fine, why?" "You're very quiet, what are you thinking about?" "I'm thinking about what you just told me, something isn't adding up, the last time I saw Josh he was very angry and was determined to get rid of her baby and now he's apologizing, something isn't right and I'm not buying it."

He used his earpiece to call someone at church and asks if Josh was there, he then ends the call. "He's not at church." "Maybe he's running late." "Maybe but my gut is telling me that something is wrong." Gabriel had almost reached the church when he turns the vehicle around and heads in the opposite direction. "Where're you going?" Diane asks. "To Josh's house." "Why?" "I've no idea; I just have this strong urge to go there."

Thirty minutes later he came to a stop at Josh's gate and what they saw told them that something was very wrong. Josh's wife was outside with her two children, she was pounding on the door yelling for Josh to let her in, neighbors were gathering at the gate to see what all the commotion was about.

Gabriel and Diane step from the car close the doors and walk towards Josh's wife. Diane was the first to speak. "Hey Marie, what's going on?" Marie turns to her with tears running down her face. "Oh thank God you're here, I need help, Josh has been acting strange since yesterday, this morning he took the children out of their bed and put them outside." She cried.

"I rushed out to ask him what he was doing and he ran back inside and lock the door and now he won't let me in, he said it's better if we all stay out here. Something is wrong with my husband; he isn't acting right; you've to help him please, he bolts the door from the inside and I can't get in, I can't get in!" She screamed beating on the door.

"Shhh, calm down, I'll do my best to help him alright." He turns to Diane who was trying to comfort the children with the help of one of the neighbors. "Baby please call our locksmith, give him the address and tell him to bring a new door lock." He said. "Why do you need a new door lock?" Marie asks in a panic. "Because I'm about to break this one."

He kicks the door twice but it didn't budge, he realized that if there was a time for him to put those Supligen and eggs to good use it would be now, so taking a step back he gathered all the strength he could find and kick the door bursting it open, he then ran inside with Marie behind him. Diane stayed outside with the children. "You check down here while I check upstairs." He told her as he ran up the stairs.

Gabriel entered the master bedroom just in time to see Josh climbing up on the window ledge with a rope, one end was tied to the foot of the bed and the other end was around his neck. Gabriel rushed over and grabs him in the back of his neck dragging him off the ledge.

"Oh no, you don't," Gabriel said angrily. Josh spun around with a shocked expression on his face when he realized who was standing in his bedroom. "This is unbelievable! What the hell are you doing here? And how did you get in my house?" He asks angrily. "All of which is irrelevant right now, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Gabriel asks narrowing his eyes at Josh. "I'm standing on a window ledge with a rope around my neck, what does it look like I'm doing?" Josh asks rolling his eyes.

"It looks like you're seeking an easy way out of your mess; instead of facing it like a man you're taking the cowardly way out." Gabriel sneers. "Oh for the love of God, just go away so I can jump in peace alright; because the last thing I want to do right now is face the shame and disappointment on my wife's and family's face when they all find out what I've done and they will."

"And you think jumping through a damn window is the way to avoid their shame and disappointment? For God's sake man use your head; do you have any idea the hell you would be putting your wife and your kids through if you go through with this?" Gabriel asks grabbing the rope from around Josh's neck. "This isn't the way Josh, the devil is trying to kill you and destroy your family but there's another way, you can choose life."

Josh put his hands on his head and began pacing back and forth. "That's just it; I don't deserve to live, not after..." He couldn't finish the sentence. "Come on Josh we all mess up and make mistake but instead of taking your own life you could go down on your knees and asks God to forgive you and we both know he will."

"That may be true but I don't think I'll be able to forgive myself. You see the thing is, this isn't the first time I've done something like this, three years ago I got a seventeen-year-old girl pregnant, I convinced her to have an abortion and she did. After that, I swear I would never do anything like that again and what do you know? I did it again, except this time when the girl didn't want to get rid of her child I tried to do it for her. What kind of person does something like that? What kind of a person am I?" He asks with shame.

Marie entered the room and glared at her husband, her anger was practically radiating from her small frame. "You're a person that has allowed the devil to control him; the kind of person who has taken his focus off God; the kind of person that has allowed his flesh to lead him instead of the spirit of God but most of all you're my husband and the father of my children and I still love you." She said walking over to him.

"I know that it was the holy spirit that brought Brother Gabriel over here this morning because you messed up and just as you have convinced one girl to kill her child and then tried to convince the other, it's the same way the devil is now trying to convince you to kill your self and from the looks of it he almost succeeded," Marie said in a shaky voice.

Josh sat on the edge of the bed, holds down his head, and began crying. "What else am I supposed to do? I'm going to lose everything I've worked so hard for, you and my kids; my position at work, my position in the church not to mention the shame that you and my children will have to live with because of me. There're a lot of people in the church that look up to me, what are they going to think of me now? There's no way I'll be able to face them again." He cried in shame.

"You're an ass but I knew that when I married you and I know; my God I know that I should be looking for a good divorce lawyer right now but I can't because I love you." She said kneeling down in front of him. "As I stand at that door a while ago and listen to all that you've done; I should hate you and a part of me really wants to but I can't. When I think of how close I came to losing you just now it crushes my insides." She said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I'm carrying our third child and you were going to kill yourself? You were going to leave us?" "It's not as if I want to baby but how do I live this down? How do I look you in the eyes again; make love to you; tell you I love you when you know what you know about me now. It's not the same anymore; it will never be the same ever again." He said without looking at her.

"Maybe you're right but it can't get much worst than this or maybe it can, but we won't let it." She said holding his hands in hers. "And Gabriel, I cuss you out good and proper the other day so why are you here helping me now?" He asks his head still down.

Gabriel took off his jacket and ran his fingers through his hair. "Because you're my church brother and I care about you; now the way I see it is that you can either sit here all day feeling sorry for yourself or you can help us find a different solution to this problem." "I've racked my brain trying to come up with a solution and this was the only one I could come up with," Josh said in a defeated tone.

Marie got up and sat beside Josh, folds her arms across her chest. "I have a plan that might work; I'm also not going to sit here and pretend that I'm not angry at you because I am, but we all know that if you ask for God's forgiveness you'll receive it and I think that after I calm down a little I'll be able to forgive you too." She said firmly.

"Then we're going to go talk to pastor together, he's the leader of our church so he's the only person in church that needs to know about this, then you're going to step down from your church duties and we're going to attend marriage counseling because I married you for better or for worst and I'm not going to allow the devil to break our family apart, now I'm willing to make this work, are you?" She asks sternly.

"Yes, yes I'll do anything you want me to do; whatever I can do to make this up to you I'll do it," Josh replied in an embarrassed tone with his head still hanging down. Marie got up and stood in front of him. "Do you mean that?" She asks, folding her arms across her chest again. "Yes, I do." He replied again wiping tears from his eyes.

"I'm glad to hear that, now go take a shower and get dressed, we're going to church, we'll talk to the pastor after service, and then we're going to have a talk with that girl that is now carrying your child. We're going to figure out a way in which you can be a father to that child because there are too many fatherless children running around out there and your child won't be one of them but if you so much as think about cheating on me again you won't have to worry about putting a rope around your neck because I'll kill you myself, do you understand?" She asks angrily.

"Yes Marie, I hear you." He mumbled as he walks towards the bathroom. "And another thing; no one at your work needs to know about this okay." "Alright." He said closing the bathroom door behind him but she walks over and turns the lock and when it opens she sighs in relief and pulls it back up; she then turns to Gabriel. "Thank you for saving my husband brother Gabriel, I'm going to go get ready for church now but um…. Would it be okay if I ask you to stick around for a while; just until we're ready to leave?" "Sure no problem." "Thank you so much." She went and took the kids from Diane who was watching the locksmith as he fixes the door.

Gabriel put his arms around Diane's shoulders. "Are you okay?" He asks. "I'm good, how is Josh?" Gabriel snorts as he sat down beside her. "He'll be alright, for now at least. Marie has agreed to give him another chance."

"What do you mean, he's okay for now?" "Well he certainly won't be if he messes up again, Marie told him that if he cheats on her again she'll kill him herself." He chuckles. "Good and I'll be glad to help her." Diane ads smiling to herself. "They're getting ready for church and she asks if I would stick around until they're ready." "Okay, so what was he up to when you barged in there?"

"He was in his room on the window ledge with a rope around his neck," Gabriel replied running his fingers through his hair. "What! He was going to kill himself?" "Oh yeah." "And you manage to talk him out of it?" "Well, I certainly hope so."

Half an hour later Josh and his family came downstairs. The locksmith was finishing, so Gabriel paid him and he left. Josh looks at the new lock and then at Gabriel. "You broke down my door?" He asks in disbelief.

"Yes, it was the only way I could get in." "Wow you're a real superhero, aren't you Brother Gabriel?" He snorts and Gabriel rolled his eyes at him. "I did what I had to." He replied putting on his jacket and walking towards the front door but Josh stops him by blocking his path.

"Wait a minute, before you go I just want to say, thank you, I knew that by taking my life I wouldn't have a chance to enter heaven but I was going to do it anyway, I never believe in a million years that my wife would ever forgive me for what I had done and to be honest I didn't see myself living without her and my children; I've another chance to make things right and with the help of God I'll." He said with a weak smile then continues.

"I respect you for what you did for me today and for the record I'm sorry I accused you of cheating on your wife; you're a good person, a real man of God, don't ever change." He said, shaking Gabriel's hand.

"Don't worry I won't and if you ever need to talk all you have to do is call or better yet, you could just talk to your wife, she packs a lot of power for such a little woman." "She does and she's very smart too; that's what attracted me to her in the first place." After closing up the house they all left for church.

Food for thought

No one has ever choked to death

From swallowing their pride.

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