Sinful by Victor McGlothin

you” came rolling out instead. Dior raised the window and shrugged on her leathered sleeves, all the time watching the woman rushing back to Kevlin like she had done all the times before. “So that’s what a fool looks like from behind,” she said, thinking of herself.
    Twenty blocks and a world away, the choir at Fellowship Union belted out a final number from behind the pulpit. Chandelle gazed at Marvin and squeezed his hand. She smiled thank you at him, then leaned against his broad shoulder as if she wasn’t sitting close enough.
    Chandelle’s immediate boss and mentor, Grace Peters, who was sitting with her husband in the next pew, caught a glimpse of their tender moment. She had a lot to be thankful for as well, a wonderful marriage to Wallace, a wardrobe of designer maternity clothes, and a baby growing inside of her. It was Chandelle’s brainchild that had inspired Grace to take stock in her life and envision it with a husband. Dating woes, men’s lies, and alibis plagued her throughout a tumultuous journey. However, she stumbled onto something great and subsequently has been enjoying it.
    â€œI almost passed you a note suggesting that you two get a room,” Grace whispered in Chandelle’s ear, once the church services concluded. “It was hard paying attention with all of that body checking going on.”
    â€œI didn’t know it was that obvious,” Chandelle said, her face all aglow. “Marvin and I met with the realtor yesterday. As soon as we find a house we like, we’ll have plenty of rooms to choose from.”
    â€œOoh, Chandelle, I should have known better than to bring up married folks’ business around you. I’m surprised you’re not standing here with your belly stretching out like mine.”
    â€œWe’ve been practicing, that’s for sure,” Chandelle chuckled. “But we decided to wait so the baby would have a real nursery. Now it won’t be long,” she said, slightly envious of Grace’s good fortune. “It’ll be nice for our kids to come up together. You’d make a wonderful godmother, Grace. That’d make it harder for you to fire me, then.”
    â€œJob security isn’t a bad thing nowadays, is it?”
    â€œNo, it isn’t,” Chandelle agreed. “Speaking of that, when is Wallace going back to teach?”
    â€œHe decided to let it go for now. His father’s been leaning on him pretty heavy to join the family firm. Since I’m not interested in moving to Austin, he’ll probably run a satellite office here. Oh, there he is flagging me down from the back door. See you tomorrow.”
    â€œSee you, Grace,” Chandelle hailed, very glad to have a friend whom she could look up to and receive a paycheck from at the same time. Marvin eased up behind her, slyly brushing his hand against the back of her dress. “Oops,” she stammered. “Boy, don’t be sneaking up on me in public like that. I didn’t know who that was trying to cop a feel.”
    â€œIt’d better be only me, in public or otherwise,” Marvin said, with a raised brow. “I almost had to break down the water cooler in the pastor’s office. He didn’t opt for the delivery service like I recommended. Now I’m the one he expects to change out the bottles and keep it running.”
    â€œSo, what did you do?”
    â€œI changed out the bottles,” he admitted, laughing at his predicament. “And I’m waiting on the call I know is coming to keep it running too. Let’s get out of here before something does go on the blink. I’m picking up an extra shift today.”
    Chandelle wrinkled her nose at Marvin’s latest news flash. “I thought you got Mr. Mercer straight last year about working on Sundays?”
    â€œI did, but this was my idea,” he confessed, knowing that an argument was imminent. “We’ll talk about it on