The Best Next Thing

“That would be nice. Thank you.”

“No. Thank you. It gives me an excuse to get out of the house.”

Charity was sure that Lia had no end of friends and family who would happily have lunch with her and was under no illusion as to who was doing whom the favor. But it was kind of her to pretend.

They didn’t linger much longer after that and were soon in the SUV on their way home.

“Thank you,” Charity murmured, after a lengthy, comfortable silence. Miles shifted his attention from the road for a second to look at her.

“For?”

“That was the most fun I’ve had with both feet on the ground in I don’t know how long.”

“You know that that statement is going to need a shit ton more elaboration, right?” he deadpanned, and she laughed.

“Before my marriage, while I was a student, I was into just about anything that involved height, flight and/or freefalling. You named it, I tried it. It started with paragliding, then parasailing, kitesurfing, hang gliding, parachuting…I loved the rush of it. The freedom. There’s nothing quite like it. My parents—both of whom are very levelheaded and practical people—thought I was crazy, of course.” She could hear the affectionate exasperation in her voice as she recalled their hand-wringing concern. “They were so terrified that I would get myself killed. But I was always scrupulously careful. I tripled checked my equipment. I was a thrill seeker. Not suicidal. And no matter how much I told them that what I was doing was perfectly safe, they never quite believed me.

“They were so relieved when Blaine and I got serious. They had always liked him. And knew that he would keep me grounded, both literally and figuratively.” She laughed. But the sound was filled with bitterness. “Little did they know that marrying Blaine would be the most dangerous thing I’d ever do.”

She shook her head to drag herself out of the funk that had settled over her.

“Uhm. So, yes…my younger self, the idea of an evening of conversation and Uno would have seemed utterly unappealing. But I loved it. So, thank you.”

“Do you miss that thrill?” he asked, not quite concealing a shudder. “Of throwing yourself out of planes, or off cliffs?”

She considered the question, staring unseeingly out into the dark night.

“No. I was always looking for that extra something to make me feel more alive. But after marrying Blaine, there was no longer any need for that affirmation. Not when I was living in a constant state of terror and hypervigilance. Marriage to Blaine permanently eradicated the thrill-seeking young woman I had once been. The first time he…” She paused not sure how much to tell him.

He seemed to sense the reason for her hesitation. “I want to know, Charity.”

She wavered a moment longer, before deciding to take him at his word.

“The first time he hit me was on our wedding night. The first of many punishments. Only he called them lessons. Lessons on how to be a good wife. The cigarette burns were to remind me to smile. A pastor’s wife has to be approachable you see? And an unsmiling, sad-eyed wife, made parishioners uncomfortable.”

“Jesus.” The softly hissed word was barely audible above the engine.

Charity found the near darkness in the SUV comforting. Being unable to see his reaction to her words allowed her to speak freely. It permitted her to say things she would have hesitated to tell him in any other setting. There was anonymity in the dark. Anonymity and security. She imagined this was what a confessional felt like.

“Jesus had nothing to do with it. Blaine was the devil, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A failed human who had no business preaching to others.

“As I was saying, the first time it happened was on our wedding night. We’d waited, on his insistence, we’d waited to have sex. He said it would be more special that way. I was stupidly in love with the wonderful, caring man I thought he was. And I thought he was being romantic. And that he meant for our first time together to wipe the slate clean for both of us, so to speak. I knew he wasn’t a virgin or anything. He’d blatantly admitted to being weak—his word—with his former long-term partners. I didn’t care, we’d both had other relationships before we started dating each other. I had a healthy sex drive, I liked sex. And I admit, I found the idea of waiting erotic. The thought of all those pent-up desires being unleashed on our wedding night was a powerful incentive to just go along with it.

“But after the sex, as I was getting up to go to the bathroom, he made a comment about his little Cherry—my family’s nickname for me—not being so cherry after all. I laughed it off. And said something silly in response. I went to the bathroom and when I came out, he…” she paused and swallowed thickly. Flinching away from the memory.