Ex-Terminator Life After Marriage Read Online Free PDF Page A

hallway.

Rachel Washington
    R achel stood with her head bowed and waited for Sylvia to return. Mona and Claudette chatted with each other, while Ashley drummed her fingers on her glass. There was conversation in the hallway, then Sylvia’s light laughter. Footsteps from more than one person approached the group, and there next to Sylvia stood a tall, handsome gentleman with a well-trimmed mustache.
    Mona immediately jumped up from her seat before Sylvia could introduce him.
    “Ladies, this is a friend of mine, Marvin Thomas. He is the CEO of Thomas Technology Solutions, TTS for short.” Rachel thought she saw him blush. “He’s recently divorced, so I invited him tonight…that’s if you ladies don’t have a problem with a man being in our midst.”
    “Noooooo,” everyone said in unison barely listening to Mona but sizing up the new member of the group.
    “Well, he’s an Ex and has every right to be here,” Mona said.
    “Thank you, Mona,” Sylvia said. She introduced each lady to Marvin and brought him up to speed.
    Rachel’s mind wasn’t on what she would say or that she would be the center of attention in a few moments. Her eyes were fixed on the man in the Armani suit. His cocoa-brown skin was a chocoholic’s downfall and his dreamy hazel bedroom eyes almost made Rachel lose her balance, but she noticed that he still wore his wedding ring.
    When Rachel came up for air she realized that everyone was looking at her.
    “Why are you all staring at me?”
    “Why were you looking as if you were lost in space?” Sylvia asked.
    Rachel was embarrassed and dared not look in Marvin’s direction. She shook her head, cleared her throat again, and stood still in the middle of the room. She wasn’t sure she could share her pain with the group now that Marvin had arrived. He made her off-balance. Why? She wasn’t sure. Rachel’s nervousness returned, but she needed to move on.
    Rachel’s hair swung as she surveyed the group. She avoided looking at Marvin but felt his eyes on her. Eyes remote, Rachel took in a deep breath, stroked her top teeth with her tongue and began.
    “Hi, my name is Rachel Washington, and I’ve been an Ex for three months. In fact, I’m an Ex for the third time. I guess I can’t keep a man.”
    Rachel heard grunts in the audience, but when she looked at Marvin, he was staring straight through her soul. She shifted back and forth and clasped her hands together in front of her. If she was going to get through this, she had better do it now. Every eye was on her—waiting for her tale of woe, her tale of deceit, abuse and finally eviction from a marriage that was doomed from the start.
    “Reuben and I met on my birthday, Christmas Day, four years ago at my second ex’s girlfriend’s house. I’m not going to even try and explain to you why I was there because it’s not even important to this story. The main thing is that I met Reuben. He was very nice to me, and when he heard it was my birthday, he turned a Christmas Day celebration into my birthday celebration. Imagine me and Jesus celebrating together.”
    Rachel was silent for a moment, searching for words, lost in a former place and time.
    “Reuben was so attentive and charming; he made my day so special.” She held her head down, remembering.
    “He asked to see me again, and I agreed right away. I thought what a wonderful birthday present. A new friend, possibly a new relationship, and who knows what else? It was the latter that I’ll never forget.
    “After four months of dating, Reuben asked me to marry him. I had reservations because I had recently been delivered from an abusive marriage and didn’t think I was ready to carry my baggage to someone else’s house. I enjoyed dating Reuben. We went to plays, dinner, movies, and football games—he was a serious Atlanta Falcons fan, at least he appeared to be—and he always brought me flowers. He introduced me to his mother, which only proved that I was a special friend, but I