Chapter 19 Counseling
The reception was lively; Sandy was dancing with her best friend Cathy. Her father and her brother, Luke, approached them. Her father reached out his hand beaming. Sandy took her father’s hand, and they started dancing.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
Cathy was about to leave the stage when Luke took her hand. He smiled broadly and said, “Beautiful, may I have this dance please?” Cathy smiled at him and replied, “Luke, when are you going to introduce my sister-in-law to me?” Luke’s smile faded and said, “Cathy, I haven’t found someone who has touched my heart deeply yet.” Then they started dancing.
When Edwin came back from the bathroom, he looked around to locate his wife. He was so jealous when he saw his wife in Luke’s arms. On their wedding day, Luke didn’t hide that he had feelings for Cathy. He looked at him in his eyes and said, “If you ever make Cathy unhappy, I will snatch her away from you.” Edwin laughed out loud because he never thought that that day would ever come.
However, when he saw his beloved wife smiling sweetly in Luke’s arms, he felt uncomfortable deep in his heart. Even though he was aware that Luke wasn’t a threat to their marriage because when they were growing up, Cathy treated Luke as her big brother.
However, he couldn’t shake the feeling of losing his wife to Luke. Edwin wanted nothing more than to rush over there and to take his wife away from him. Was his lovely wife thinking of leaving him and marrying Luke?
He would never allow that to happen. When the song ended, he walked towards them with a big smile on his face and said, “Sweetheart, may I have this dance?” Cathy smiled sweetly at her husband, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She placed her hand on his shoulder. Edwin hugged her waist and said, “Baby, I love you so much. I will try to be a better man.”
Around 5 pm, Cathy asked Mia Shelton to look after her daughter. She quickly changed her clothes, and they went to Pastor Andrews’ church. He smiled brightly when he saw them. Edwin introduced his wife to Pastor Andrews and said, “My wife and I have been married for six years and we have a five-year-old daughter. Your words of encouragement touched me so deeply. I have failed to honour my promises I’ve made to my wife several times. I don’t know how to say no when my sister needs me and for that I am sorry. I love you with all my heart and I don’t want to lose you.”
Pastor Andrews smiled at Mrs Parker and said, “How do you feel about what your husband just said?” Cathy looked at Pastor Andrews and replied, “I don’t know if I can trust what my husband just said because every time I tried to talk to him about this matter he always brushed me off. My sister-in-law hurt her five-year-old daughter, and her husband asked him to fetch his sister.”
She took a sip of water and said, “I thought my husband would tell him that he has prior arrangements with his family that he couldn’t cancel. To my dismay, he cancelled our trip, which was planned a long time ago. Also, he knew that our daughter and I were supposed to do the fitting, but he didn’t care. I felt rejected and it was clear to me that my sister-in-law was more important to him than us.”
She looked at her husband and said, “I am not saying do not care about your sister, but you have to consider my feelings as well. As my husband, you were never there for me when I needed you the most. When I poured my heart to you, you told me that I am heartless. I don’t think there is a need to continue with this marriage.”
Edwin looked at his wife with gentleness in his eyes and said, “Sweetheart, I was wrong. I wasn’t aware that I was putting my sister as my first priority until I heard Pastor Andrews’ words. Since my sister is the only living relative, I thought I always have to be there for her. Please give me another chance. It wasn’t my intention to hurt your feelings. I promise to try harder to put you first. From today onward I will listen to you.”
Pastor Andrews looked at the couple and said, “Mr and Mrs Parker, I am glad that you came to see me before it was too late. Mr Parker, what are you going to do if you receive a call from your sister?” Before he uttered a word, his phone rang, when he looked at the caller ID, he smiled broadly it was his beloved sister.
He excused himself, then he walked away to answer the call. Pastor Andrews and Cathy looked at each other puzzled. Edwin smiled broadly and said, “Hello Elizabeth, is everything alright?” His sister smiled and replied, “Big brother, I am outside your house, please open the door.”
His brother replied, “Elizabeth, we are not at home, we are in Johannesburg to attend Cathy’s friend’s wedding. Don’t you remember?” Elizabeth said, “I thought you had cancelled the trip. I am so bored being locked in the hotel. When are you coming back?”
Edwin sighed and replied, “We are coming back tomorrow. I will fetch you to visit your sister-in-law on Monday.” Elizabeth was not happy to hear that her brother wouldn’t be able to come back the same day and asked annoyingly, “Why don’t you come back today? I will stay outside your house and wait for you guys. I hate to stay at the hotel.” Then she dropped the phone.
When Edwin returned to his wife’s side, Cathy looked at him strangely and asked, “Was it a call from Elizabeth?” Her husband nodded his head and replied, “We have to go back home today, my sister is waiting for us outside of our house.” Cathy felt bitter in her heart. She looked at Pastor Andrews and said, “Thank you so much Pastor Andrews for availing yourself to help us to save our marriage.”
Then she took her handbag and left. Fortunately, there was a cab outside the church. He called Luke to find out if everyone was at home. Luke told her that they were on their way to the airport. She asked the cab driver to take her to the airport. Would their marriage be saved?