Daniel's Wife

DANIEL'S WIFE

by Anna Christian

Published by Dadielte Production at Smashwords

copyright 2010

http://anachristian.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

The phone rang loud and insistent. Jessie’s hand reached out from beneath the covers to grope for it as the cold air attacked her warm flesh. She picked up the receiver. The voice on the other end was bright and sunny for so early in the morning, a sharp contrast to the still dark, chilly room.

Good morning, Mrs. Weaver, it said. Are you available today?

Yes, Jessie mumbled, wondering what time it was as she tried to collect herself.

We’ve got a call from Franklin Junior High to sub for Sarah Becker in English.

Jessie grunted and hung up. Climbing out from beneath the warm comforter, she rushed to the bathroom and threw cold water on her face. Only then did her body begin to come alive. It had been a rough night. Her bloodshot eyes reminded her of an almost sleepless night and all the crying she had done at the airport when Daniel boarded the plane. Tears flowed as they drove to the airport and again upon her return alone to the empty apartment.

In all their five years of marriage, this would be the first time she and Daniel would be apart for more than a week. The prospect of spending a month alone until he returned seemed overwhelming. She was alone in a strange town with few, if any, friends.

They had been in Judson Springs just four months before Daniel was sent to Dallas, Texas as part of a team to open a new branch office.

I’ll be back before you know it, he said kissing her on the forehead and wiping away her constantly flowing tears with his handkerchief. Now that you’re working, you won’t have time to miss me. And don’t just sit around and do nothing but watch TV. Get out and meet people. There are a lot of things you can do in a town like this.

But Daniel, she protested, You know I’m not good at making friends. I’ll be okay by myself.

He sighed, resigned to the fact that she would probably stay home watching TV and doing little else unless he was there to push her.

Well, take care of yourself and as soon as I get there, I’ll let you know just where I’ll be staying. He kissed her once more on her turned-up nose and gave her a small peck on her lips, carefully avoiding the stream of tears that seemed endless. A disembodied voice announced the soon departure of his flight.

Gotta go, honey, he said turning slowly away as if reluctant to leave. He squeezed her hand once more before running briskly to the flight departure door.

More tears flowed down Jessie’s face, clouding her eyes, curving into her mouth and dripping onto her blouse. She blew her runny nose and wiped her eyes stopping the flood momentarily, in time to watch Daniel board the plane. She waved again, but he was already gone. The heavy doors closed, the propellers began to spin as the plane taxied its way toward the runway. Jessie stood watching long after the plane had disappeared.

There were few people left in the lobby of the airport. Since this was the last plane for the night, the place was closing down. The same woman, who sold tickets, checked baggage and inspected passengers’ carry-ons, closed and locked the doors leading to the airstrip, now waited a bit impatiently for Jessie to leave.

Barely aware that she was holding up the closing of the airport, Jessie moved, as if in a daze, toward the exit. She glanced around once more to gaze through the huge window looking at the place where Daniel’s plane had been.

Ma’am, we’re closing, the clerk said in a stern official voice. For the first time Jessie became aware of her surroundings. A tear trickled down her face followed by a loud sob that caught her and the lady by surprise. Embarrassed, Jessie smiled at the clerk and hurried to the door.

CHAPTER 2

A letter in the mailbox sat waiting for her when she returned from her latest assignment. It was from Daniel. No more than a few lines, it was a little longer than the Mailgram he’d sent when he landed in Dallas two weeks earlier. In this one he gave her a scant sketch of his activities: opening the new office, hiring new employees, going to cocktail parties. In the time he had been there, he had met more people than Jessie had in all the months they’d lived in Judson Springs. Sure, she knew a lot of people here, had met them all through Daniel, but they were his friends, not hers and with him away, they’d found no need to call her or she them. Consequently, her phone seldom rang.

Just as Daniel had said, she spent her hours away from work watching TV or cleaning the apartment, though, heaven knows it didn’t need much touching up.

It was a luxury apartment located in an upper middle-class neighborhood, one of the few integrated communities in Judson Springs. It was their third apartment since coming to live in this small city. Daniel was never satisfied living in one place for long. Last year they had moved five times in a town slightly larger than Santa Rosa, Ca. Jessie had gotten so use to moving; she became very efficient at packing everything at a moment’s notice.

Although she wished they wouldn’t move so much, she never complained. She figured Daniel’s restlessness was due to growing up in a family of migrant laborers who followed the crop from town to town, year in and year out. In Daniel’s case it was apartments that he chased rather than jobs. He had been with the same company for over several years and had risen to the status of middle management. Because his company had a number of offices throughout the country, transferring from one branch to another was no problem as long as there were openings.

In their five years of marriage, they had lived in four cities including Judson Springs. Jessie couldn’t keep track of the number of apartments they’d leased. Most of them were places she could have easily stayed. Daniel always chose the best in luxury apartments in middle-class neighborhoods. No sooner were they settled in, however, than he would become restless and Jessie would know it was time to move on.

When they moved to Champaign, Illinois, Daniel promised Jessie this would be their last move. They would settle down, maybe even buy a home and begin a family. He was nearing his 30s and felt the time had come to stop moving about. Jessie was grateful to rest; more than anything in the world she wanted children, at least two, and a home to call their own, the American dream, maybe even a pet of some kind. But then when they moved from that first apartment in Champaign, Jessie wondered if Daniel really meant what he’d said about settling down. After the second move, she became resigned that he hadn’t really meant it at all. By the third move, she gave up her dream all together.

It returned briefly when Daniel told her to quit her part-time job at the answering service and become a full-time housewife. It was time to start a family he had said. No more moves. It was time to dig in.

Jessie eagerly quit her job, which she didn’t like anyway. It was just something to keep her occupied because Daniel made more than enough money to satisfy their needs several times over.

She became a full-time housewife, cooking, cleaning and volunteering at the hospital and at the local library reading to children; however, the one thing that would have made her happier than anything else was to get pregnant. But she didn’t. She’d read in a magazine about infertility treatments and suggested to Daniel that they both take fertility tests to see what the cause was. Daniel was reluctant. He said if God wanted them to have children, He’d send them in His own good time. Besides, the world was overpopulated. Why add to it?

I want children as much as you do, he assured her during one of their discussions. But frankly, I’d just as soon as not rush things.

He confessed his reluctance. Since he was the oldest of eleven children, he had to practically raise his siblings. His father always working, his mother too weak from giving birth, not only was he required to help around the house, but much of the discipline and childrearing was left to him. What he didn’t tell her was that even before he’d met her, he vowed never to father a child into this world. To make sure, he had a vasectomy when he turned twenty-one.

After a few months, Daniel’s restlessness returned. Jessie sensed it and as much as she dreaded it, she started thinking about where their next move would take them. Six months ago, it landed them in Judson Springs.

Having a knack for making friends, it didn’t take long for Daniel to become a part of the community. He was gregarious and articulate; everyonemen liked him because he seemed to know his way around. He knew how to organizize things, had done a lot of traveling; and wasn’t afraid of a good argument. In other words, he had style. Women liked him because he made them feel very feminine. His eyes seemed to say a lot more than he did. He knew how to use just enough flattery so that men wouldn’t get jealous. He had a touch of worldly sophistication that made the Black black residents of Judson Springs feel proud just to know him.

On the other hand, Jessie was shy and introverted. She was usually at a loss for words whenever she found herself drawn into a conversation. Unlike Daniel’s well-trimmed physique, since their marriage, Jessie had gained weight. She had always been a good cook and loved to prepare complicated recipes. The first ten pounds she gained during her first few years of marriage had increased to fifteen. Why should she worry about her figure? If Daniel minded, he never said anything to her about it.

She had a pretty face with a turned-up nose, generous lips and shapely legs. Upon seeing her, though, one wouldn’t remember if they’d met before. Not interested in exploiting her good points, she wore plain shapeless dresses always making her look heavier than she was, and except for small hoop earrings, she wore very little jewelry. At parties she was simply Daniel’s wife. Most couldn’t even remember her first name. She had a talent for fading into the background, for becoming part of the scenery.

From what Jessie had seen of Judson Springs, it was a lovely place. Since they’d arrived in the winter, she hadn’t haddidn’t have much of a chance to explore the town. Heavy snowstorms and pouring rain kept her inside. What little she’d learned about it she’d gleaned from the few cocktail parties she attended with her husband. She knew that it had a small bBlack population that was spread out and stratified. At the top were a few doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and government workers who had recently transferred in from other cities. At the bottom were the old-timers who worked in the town’s only factory, a the cannery, and the day laborers who worked on the farms or wherever they could. Also there was a sizable prison population as Judson Springs housed the state’s only prison.

None of that affected Jessie, though. She quickly settled in and whenever the wintry weather lifted, on those clear days, she began to take trips downtown to shop in the quaint stores and eat lunch at the small coffee shops. She’d visited the nearby park and feed the occasional ducks that swam in the streams, and simply enjoyed the tranquility.

After a while, she began to think about getting some kind of job. When they first married, at Daniel’s urging, Jessie only worked part-time or at temporary jobs to keep from becoming bored. Though she had graduated from college with a degree in Liberal Studies and had even taken some teacher training courses, she’d never pursued a job in education, much to the disappointment of her Aunt Eva who taught in the Baltimore school system and who had encouraged her. In fact, at a critical point of her training, she met Daniel and fell in love.

Any further thoughts about a professional career were promptly abandoned.

The one positive thing that came out of all the parties she attended with Daniel was that someone mentioned that Judson Springs had a shortage of teachers.

Suddenly remembering, Jessie remarked she’d almost completed her teacher training courses.

Daniel laughed. Honey, I can’t picture you as a teacher. You’re too...what’s the word - , meek, humble??. The students would step all over you, send you home crying. No, you’re more suited for taking orders, not giving them.

At the time, his remarks hurt her, but she said nothing. He must have sensed her hurt because when she mentioned to him later that she’d like to try her hand at substitute teaching, after all, she didn’t think she needed to be credentialed, he said he’d look into it. And he did. He checked with one of his colleagues at work whose wife worked for the school board, and explained the process Jessie needed to go through to be certified to teach in Judson Springs.

When she got a call to substitute at the local school, she was eager but nervous. That evening, for the first time in their married life, Daniel took Jessie out to dinner to celebrate her accomplishment. It was shortly after that that Daniel came home all excited about a move to Dallas.

This is just what I’ve been waiting for. They asked me to be part of the team to open their new office. This is gonna mean a lot of money for me. And I’ll get a chance to move up another notch in the company. What do you think?

That’s great, Daniel, but what about what you said about settling down here?

His eyes shifted away from hers.

Aw, we’ve got plenty of time to do that. We’re young yet. I don’t know about you, but there’s a hell of a lot better things I can think of. Besides, it shouldn’t take more thanay be a few weeks, a month at best. Then we can talk about that house and children.

‘A few weeks, a month?’ she thought. Well, why not? I’ve never seen Dallas. It should be fun, she shrugged, as long as it wasn’t a permanent move she guessed it would be all right. Then when we return…

Not we, me. The company thinks it best that the the team go alone, no spouses. They feel they can save money if it’s just the team. Besides, I can get the job done quicker without worrying about you. And, while I’m away, you can look around for a house, he smiled at her and gathered her into his arms. And when I get back... He kissed her on herthe earlobe, her neck and finally, her mouth, a long and passionate kiss. She felt her resistance melt.

In their five years of marriage, other than an overnight, weekend, or a week longweeklong trip for the company, they were’d seldom been apart. ‘For a whole month?’ She wanted to protest, but she knew it would do no good. When Daniel made up his mind about something, he couldn’t be swayed. She resigned herself to wait for his return.

There wasn’t much on TV day or night, few movies, mostly local religious shows or reruns of Hee Haw, Lawrence WelkWelk, and The Dukes of HazzardHazzard. Radio was no better. The one station that played the kind of music she loved, - jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues - Black music only came on late at night and only for an hour. One would have thought that with all the prominent bBlack folks in town there would be at least one station that catered to their needs. Instead there were more religious s programs---a stern voice preaching on the wages of sin,- , talk shows about the best method to keep slugs out of the garden, or country and western, and pop music playing the same songs hour after hour and long gaps of silence between stations.

Lacking anything to watch on TV or listen to on the radio, Jessie grew increasingly restless. The apartment was spotless. She had worked on an afghan until her fingers ached. She’d finished a thick novel and didn’t feel like opening up another book for a while. Along with restlessness, she felt depressed. After repeatedly dialing the hotel in which Daniel was staying, getting no answer to his room, and leaving messages that he never returned, Daniel’s number several times and getting no answer,she gave up. There was no one else to call and besides, just as none of Daniel’s friends remembered her name, she remembered none of theirs. There was no place to go.

Although the crime rate in the city was low, she was too afraid to leave the apartment after dark. And even if she did, she wouldn’t know where to go other than to the mall or to the movie theater. How many times could she visit the city’s one mall or the movie theater that didn’t change pictures often?

Finally she picked up the telephone book, which contained both white and yellow pages and was no bigger than a fat novel and thumbed through the pages stopping when she came across the listings of what she hoped were Black black organizations in town. There were three listings. One was a garden club that raised Black black orchids;, the other had been disconnected. She dialed the third number. After a couple of rings, a woman’s voice answered.

I was wondering, Jessie said hesitantly, I’m new in town and I would like to attend one of your meetings if I could.

The woman’s voice was enthusiastic. She told Jessie where they were located, when they met and invited her to their next meeting. By the time Jessie hung up, she noticed that her palms were sweaty and she was shaking. At least she had taken the first step. Daniel would be proud.

CHAPTER 3

A small town, Judson Springs had three high schools, six junior highs, and nine elementary schools and a population a little over fifty thousand. Composed mostly of white students with just a handful of African Americans and Hispanics; the student body at Franklin Junior High were from middle class and working parents. Built fifty years ago, the school was one of the oldest schools in the town. Like many of the buildings in Judson Springs, it was a one-story rambling structure with smaller bungalows added as the population grew.

Jessie heard the first bell ring as she pulled into the parking lot and took the first empty spot she saw. Grabbing her purse and her thermos, she hadn’t had time to drink her morning coffee; she rushed to the office to get her assignment. Luckily, the office wasn’t crowded. The secretary, a tall brunette in her fifties, dressed in a flowery dress that made her look like a birthday cake, handed Jessie the keys to the room along with