TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 10

SEPTEMBER 1985 to FEBRUARY 1986

Dawn felt like it had to be the ultimate walk of shame as she and her husband walked to the car, especially when he opened her door for her as he whistled softly. Was it some psychological ploy to make her feel worse? Or was he really this forgiving after literally finding her in bed with his best friend?

A side of her wished Hal would have punched Ed. Instead, when she came out of the bathroom, she discovered Hal and Ed sitting under the awning outside. They were chatting casually as if it were just any other day.

When she stepped outside of the camper, her husband arose and calmly asked if she was ready. She wished he would yell at her, or at least act mad. Instead he just seemed disappointed. Twenty minutes previous when he found her hiding in the small bathroom, he seemed on the verge of tears as he took in the sight of her wearing one of Ed’s shirts.

“You forgot these,” he had said matter of fact as he handed her black tights to her. Her face flushed as she recalled Ed pulling them off of her and tossing them at the table the night before.

Dawn felt extra dirty wearing yesterday’s clothes. She pulled her boots off as Hal drove out of the campground, propped her feet on the dashboard, and slouched down as if to hide. She found it ironic that Hal waved at Ed as they left, but she didn’t.

Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t. She was horrified when she caught the scent of her forbidden lover on herself. Why hadn’t she taken a shower? She was simply too eager to get out this place. Besides, what was the point of showering when she was putting all of her dirty clothes on afterward? Her dull, throbbing brain hadn’t factored driving home with her husband in the close proximity of the car.

As they rode in silence, Hal’s emotions whirled. It hurt him to the core to think that his relationship with his wife and best friend was tarnished. Other than his two children, there was nobody in the world he was closer to than Dawn and Ed.

Hal tried not to look at it as a betrayal. Dawn and Ed had developed an extra close bond after Wendy’s death. He had let them. They just happened to get a little too close, leading to a  mistake. Hal felt more left out than betrayed. Not that he wanted threesome. That would just be weird as well as wrong. But if Dawn was going to cheat, he was glad it was with Ed rather than a gold chain wearing, mustached Marlboro man who drove a corvette.

Dawn found the silence was deafening as they drove. “Hal, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he replied, forcing a smile.

“I wish you’d yell at me or something.”

Hal laughed. “Listen, Dawn, I’m to blame for what happened last night too.”

“How do you figure?” she asked with a frown.

“You told me you weren’t gonna behave.”

Dawn’s frown deepened. “I was joking… Sort of.”

“Many a truth is said in jest.”

“So you’re saying you knew Ed and I were gonna fool around?”

“No, I didn’t know. But I figured it was more likely than not.”

“Why did you let it happen then?”

“I wasn’t fit to drive after drinking a bottle of wine, and you didn’t want to take a cab.”

Dawn studied her husband as something began to occur to her. “Hal, can I ask you something?”

Hal frowned at his wife. She had never asked permission to ask him something before. “Of course.”

“Never mind.”

Dawn took an especially long shower after they got home. When she stepped from the shower, she was surprised to find her husband smiling at her, wearing her robe. “We’re home alone.”

Despite still feeling grogging from too much drink the previous night, Dawn grinned from ear to ear at the prosect of repairing her marriage so fast. Hal was extra passionate, and Dawn chocked it up to some animalist desire to reclaim his territory. Then the question she had earlier returned as they were in a post coital cuddle. “Can I ask you something?”

“Is this the question you said never mind about?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re gonna ask me this time?”

“Why did you drink last night? I haven’t seen you have a drink in a few years, let alone a whole bottle of wine.”

“Well, I was worried and, well, feeling lonely and left out.”

“Please don’t be mad with my next question,” Dawn began, and then chewed her lower lip nervously.

“What is it?”

“Let me qualify it before I ask. Given what transpired last night, I hope your answer is yes. So here it goes, did you at any point in your history with Wendy ever fool around together? Even if it was just a more than friendly kiss?”

Hal told her about the deep kiss he and Wendy shared back in 1969. It was then that Dawn happened to interrupt the passion with a phone call. A call that told them both that Ed was back from the war. A call that stopped what likely would have been an illicit affair between Wendy and Hal. A call that inevitably sent Wendy and Ed on track to rekindle their romance.

Dawn forced a smile, asking gently. “Is that why you are forgiving Ed and me so easy?”

Hal snorted. “This is anything but easy.”

“The way you’ve handled it so far has made it easier for both Ed and me, and I’m very grateful.”

“Yeah, it certainly plays a role in me forgiving so fast, but there’s something else,” Hal said, and then he chewed on his lip as he considered his words.

“What else?” Dawn asked, eagerly.

“It was the very last one on one conversation I had with Wendy,” Hal said, and then he fought hard to not choke up on his words. “She obviously knew she was dying. Yet her concern was for all of us, especially Eddie and you. She talked about how the war, and even things Eddie saw as a cop had affected him. He had horrible nightmares, followed by sleepless nights. So on top of that, she was very worried about how he would handle her death.”

Hal pinched the bridge of his nose and bowed his head. Tears leaked from Dawn’s eyes as she gently rubbed Hal’s arm.

“She was worried about you too, Honey,” Hal said, forcing a smile. “The years when you struggled with depression. She was also concerned with how both of you and Eddie had lost your, um, spiritual zeal.”

Dawn closed her eyes, bowed her head, and nodded. She couldn’t stop feeling the sting of yesterday’s sins. She began to sob, and Hal hugged her tight. When she settled, Hal finished speaking about Wendy.

“Anyway,” he continued. “She told me that you and Ed were gonna need each other. I told her I knew that. She said it could be dangerous because of your lack of spirituality, coupled with your love for each other. I told her I know, but I’ll give them all the freedom they need, I’ll set them free. Then she smiled and squeezed my hand.”

Hal snorted, grinned, and shook his head.

“Was there something more?” Dawn asked.

“Oh, it’s just this stupid song I keep hearing ever since Ed returned last month from Florida. It’s by The Police. It goes, if you love someone, set them free. Free, free, set them free.”

“That’s not The Police,” Dawn corrected. “It’s by Sting, the singer for The Police.”

“Huh? Oh, whatever. Anyway, I swear, half the time I go into some store I hear that song. At first it made me feel, I don’t know, comforted. But now I can’t stand it.”

“Sorry,” Dawn said.

“No, I mean… Never mind,” Hal replied, smiling as he rubbed her shoulder.

The next day, Hal noticed Dawn throwing away a sack of books. He frowned. “Why are you throwing away books? Why don’t you take them to the used bookstore like usual?”

“I’ve decided they’re not appropriate reading material,” Dawn replied uneasily. “To be honest Hal, I’ve developed some bad habits. I’m just supremely regretful that it took infidelity to wake me up to my spiritual lethargy. Once again, I’m so sorry.”

“I know,” Hal replied, giving her a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to keep saying that. I’m not going to take back my forgiveness, and neither will God.”

“I’ve asked God, you know.”

“Asked Him what?”

“To forgive me for my grievous sins. Also that I repent and want to renew my faith.”

“Honey, that’s wonderful!”

“And putting this trash in the trash is part of it,” she grinned.

Three days later, Hal had convinced Ed that it was okay to come over for dinner. When he witnessed how awkward it was for Dawn and Ed, he thought he had made a mistake. Nobody could seem to breath with the gigantic elephant in the room. But good relationships are built on communication, and Hal persevered in getting everyone to talk it out, moving forward.

It did cross Hal’s mind that it was strange for the cuckhold in an adulterous situation to be the peacemaker. But due to his selflessness, things got mostly back to normal for the threesome. Dawn and Ed even began hugging again, although awkwardly. Despite himself, their awkwardness and caution around each other pleased Hal.

At the end of October, Ed decided to go to Arizona for the winter instead of Florida. Hal marveled that the aftermath of what could have been a relationship catastrophe, ended up reviving Dawn’s spiritual life. Due to her repentance and recommitment, their relationship was better than ever. It was frightening that it sometimes took a person hitting rock bottom to wake them up. But although forgiven, sin does have its consequences.

In Early January, Hal noticed that Dawn was looking a little pudgy around the middle. He figured it was from too much food during the holidays. But a month later, it caught his attention again. She not only seemed a little more bigger, she was more rounded in the middle.

“Dawn, can ask you something?” Hal asked.

Dawn felt herself tense. She couldn’t recall her husband ever asking if he could ask her a question.

“Of course.”

Hal winced, scratching his head. “Are you pregnant?”

“Of course not,” Dawn laughed. “You’re rude. Just because I’ve fattened up a little over the holidays and winter, you ask if I’m pregnant.”

“But I don’t recall you having your monthly cycle for a while either.”

“Some women go through menopause early,” she shrugged, then rolled her eyes, and grinned. “I am almost forty. Besides, you seem to have forgotten, silly, you’ve had a vasectomy.”

“That’s true,” Hal said, and then smiled sadly. “But Eddie hasn’t.”

Dawn’s face fell as realization washed over her. Did she really not consider the possibility? Hal wondered. Maybe it was some way her mind was trying to protect itself. Regardless, she needed to face reality. He could feel that his blood pressure had spiked.

“Dawn, during your and Eddie’s night of indiscretion, did he use a condom?”

Dawn seemed to be in a trance for a moment before she softly replied, “No.”

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 23)

The Centurion (See Matthew 8: 5-13 and Luke 7: 1-17)

Christ had said to the nobleman whose son he had healed, “Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” (John 4:48)

Jesus was grieved that His own nation should require these outward signs of His Messiahship. Again and again He marveled at their unbelief. But He marveled at the faith of the Roman centurion who came to Him. The centurion did not question the Savior’s power. He did not even ask Him to come in person to perform the miracle. “Speak the word only,” he had said. “And my servant shall be healed.”

In the teaching of Christ, as it had been reported to him, he found that which met the need of the soul. All that was spiritual within him responded to the Savior’s words. But he felt unworthy to come into the presence of Jesus.

He explained to Jesus, as I represent the power of Rome, and my soldiers recognize my authority as supreme, so do You represent the power of the Infinite God, and all created things obey Your word. You can command the disease to depart, and it will obey You. You can summon Your heavenly messengers, and they shall impart healing virtue. Speak the word and my servant shall be healed.

The Jewish elders did not recognize that our great need is our only claim on God’s mercy. In their self-righteousness they commended the centurion because of the favor he had shown to “our nation.” But the centurion said of himself, “I am not worthy.”

We have nothing to recommend us to God; but the plea that we may urge now and forever is our utterly helpless condition that makes His redeeming power a necessity. Renouncing all self-dependence, we may look to the cross of Calvary and say, “In my hand no price I bring. Simply to the cross I cling.”

When they came across a funeral train, it was a sight to awaken sympathy. The deceased was the only son of his mother, and she a widow.

Jesus came and touched the bier. To Him even contact with death could impart no defilement. The bearers stood still, and the lamentations of the mourners ceased. One was present who had banished disease, and vanquished demons; was death also subject to His power?

His heart, that loved and pitied, is a heart of unchangeable tenderness. His word, that called the dead to life, is no less efficacious now than when spoken to the young man of Nain. He says, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18)

Satan cannot hold the dead in his grasp when the Son of God bids them live. He cannot hold in spiritual death one soul who in faith receives Christ’s word of power. God is saying to all who are dead in sin, “Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead.” (Ephesians 5:14). That word is eternal life!