“Why?” Angela yelled at me from her sofa. Her nostrils were flared and cheeks red.
“You know why, Ang,” Karen sighed. She was fragile and had less stamina in this stage of her pregnancy.
But not me.
“Yeah, you do, but in case you don’t want to remember, it’s because it is a lie, and for us Christians, lying is a sin. I know you’ve been upset about Timmy cheating on you with that girl, but you need to forgive him and move on.”
“Move on?” Angela jumped from the couch as she yelped. Good thing her parents weren’t home and we could hash this out without alarming them.
“Yes! Move on, whether that means be with him or move on without him, you must start with forgiving him.”
“Forgiving him for cheating on me?”
“Yes! We’ve all done wrong, Ang. And I’m inclined to believe you would’ve moved on with Stenton Rogers this summer even if things were good between you and Timmy.”
“Oooh…” Karen cupped her mouth. She knew I was right. The elasticity in Angela’s panties were worn. They never stayed up.
“You sound ridiculous. I would have never done that to Timmy! Stenton Rogers or no Stenton Rogers!”
“Yeah, but you did it to Alton Alston’s fiancée,” I charged.
“Alton Alston did that to his fiancée! I don’t owe her shit!”
“But you do. As a woman, you are obligated to protect other women with bleeding hearts just like yours. You were just as wrong for getting involved with an engaged man. Your offense may have been different than his, but the game of cheating is still the same. You provided the playground for him to cheat. Just like Regina did Timmy.”
“Regina is a bitch. Everyone knows that.”
“And you’re different? You’re putting a baby on Alton that you know isn’t his, Ang,” I pushed.
Things got quiet. I was losing my patience, but had to forge ahead. We always vowed to be responsible for each other. I had to convince her to drop this bogus paternity claim.
I grabbed my forehead. “Listen, Ang, the thing about anger and resentment for someone who has wronged you is it festers. Just like the bishop said last night in his sermon: you have to view forgiveness as a natural part of life while we’re on this journey. As sure as we live, people will hurt and disappoint us. But if we can keep in mind that our time here is short…a blink of a passage; just like Jesus forgave Judas, we’d understand that it’s a minor detail in our journey here.”
I moved closer to Angela and saw the tears cresting her eyes. Karen sat Angela back down on the couch and wrapped her arms around her. I kneeled in front of Angela, gently gripping her knees.
“You accusing Alton of fathering your precious baby affects everyone in the picture. The real target is Timmy, the person who is the father of this child. Address your issues with him, release Alton, and decide on your next move. If you do not, you will have years of anger, bitterness and resentment that will gravely affect you…” I placed my hand on her tight stomach. “…and your child for years to come. No one is worth your misery. Forgive Timmy and move on.”
We stayed in that position for a while. My mind racing, wondering what was going through Angela’s head. Eventually she shifted in her seat, so we all did. Angela stood, and we all followed suit.
“I’ll drop this paternity thing with Alton,” she murmured. But there was more behind her eyes. “I’m also going to figure out what to do about Timmy. But let me tell you this: whatever I decide isn’t for you to approve or to judge. Until you have lived…done something bold for once in your life, you have no authority to advise anyone about the art of living.”
Then Angela brushed past me, nipping my arm roughly. I turned to watch her storm out of the living room. When I turned back to an aghast Karen, I knew my confusion about what just took place wasn’t unfounded.
~~~~~~~~~~