Free A Wife for Stephen by Valcine Brown Page A

course.
“Stay the course,” he whispers to himself with
conviction.
Saying with the finality of one who has come to a
decision of the heart, Stephen continues, “That’s what I
need to do. Unless God says otherwise, I will stay the
course.”
Looking
directly
at
Mario,
Stephen
says
gratefully, “Thanks, Mario. I really appreciate you being a
sounding board. That’s just what I needed.” Giving Mario
a pound, Stephen nods his head and then turns to leave the
room.
Mario is left in the wake wondering, ‘What just
happened?’
    All Celeste’s morning meetings
go smoothly without a
single hitch, and Celeste is reminded by the growling of her
stomach that it is time for lunch. Buzzing Jayla’s desk
phone, Celeste waits for Jayla to pick up. When she does,
Celeste says, “How about we go get some lunch. You
free?”
    “Sure. Is it a working lunch, should I
bring my note
pad?”
“No work. Just food.” Celeste
gives
her
best
impersonation of a cave man, “Me hungry.”
“All right.”
As Celeste retrieves her wallet from her brief case, she
pads across her office to go to lunch with Jayla
“So where should we go? Dave’s or Country house?”
Celeste asks Jayla as they take the elevator to the first
floor.
“I don’t know. You pick.” says Jayla.
“Hmm, I pick Dave’s. You got your walking shoes on?
It’s such a marvelous day I feel like getting some fresh air.
Jayla simply points down at her feet with her oversized
purse strung over her shoulder. Jayla giggles as she sees the
look of surprise on Celeste’s face when Celeste notices that
Jayla is wearing a brand new pair of Nike running shoes.
“So you bought a new pair of running shoes, hmm?”
“I thought about getting a pair of walking shoes, but I
figured if I really wanted to keep up with you then running
shoes would be the only way to go.”
Arriving at one of their favorite luncheon spots, they are
greeted by the regular lunch host. Requesting a table for
two, they are led toward the back of the restaurant and
seated in a large booth.
Celeste is grateful for the friendship that she has found
in Jayla. At first, Celeste was worried that it would be hard
to
be
friends
with someone
who
is
your
subordinate,
worried that it would affect her employee’s ability to stay
on top of her job and not begin to slack off just because she
had become friends with the boss. But her fears were put to
rest as Jayla, over the course of the past couple of years,
has continued to do an exemplary job as a secretary whilst
the two of them have become friends.
Jayla had the ability to tackle tough assignments, work
long hours when it was requested of her while never once
slacking or shirking any of her responsibilities. No doubt,
this could only be contributed to the fact that Jayla was a
Christian. She believed in good, hard, and honest work.
After ordering one of her usual meals, Philly steak and
cheese sandwich with a side order of fries and a vanilla
shake, Celeste excuses herself to go to the rest room.
Returning to the table, Jayla and Celeste begin to shoot the
breeze and talk about Jayla’s boyfriend Rodney. Jayla has
been hoping for some time that Rodney will propose but is
beginning to feel discontent with the lengthy time he is
taking. “I know that he loves me,” says Jayla, “I just can’t
figure out what’s taking him so long to pop the question?”
“Maybe he just needs a little more time, Jayla. He’ll get
around to it, don’t fret.”
“Deep down, I know you’re right. It’s just reassuring to
hear you say it. You have very good intuition when it
comes to men. I remember when you told me to dump
Charles because you got the impression that he was the
cheating type, only to find out two days later that he was
making a play for someone else.”
“I try to go with the first impression I have. Usually it’s
right on the money. Although, I must confess that I have
been wrong on more than one occasion,” admits Celeste.
Just at that