The Perfect Christian by E. N. Joy Page B

bar. I laid ’em out for you so I wouldn’t forget to give them to you.”
    â€œIs that so?” Doreen asked, not believing a word that came out of his mouth.
    â€œYeah, that’s the truth. I swear to God.”
    Doreen cringed and took a step backward, almost falling out of the window. She’d much rather fall out of the one-story window and land in the bush that sat outside their bedroom window than get struck by the lightning bolt that was about to come down and take out old Willie.
    Sensing the disbelief in his wife, Willie added, “For real. Some guy made his wife take ’em off and put them right in the pot. I just happen to win them. I mean, I know they might be a little high for you, but I figured it just might be time for you to give a few new things a try.”
    Was Willie trying to tell his wife something with that last comment of his?
    â€œTry new things, huh?” Doreen said. “Well, let me tell you this much, Willie; I don’t want what another woman has already had.”
    He shrugged. “Fine; then. I’ll just give ’em back to the fella whenever I see him again.” Willie reached for the shoes, but Doreen pulled them away.
    â€œThat won’t be necessary. You just go on about your business. Get yourself cleaned up while I fix you some lunch to hold you over until dinner,” Doreen told him.
    Willie swallowed hard. “But, uh, what about the shoes?”
    â€œOh, these shoes right here?” Doreen played dumb. She looked the shoes up and down. “They’re not my style. But don’t worry; I’ll make it a point to find the owner of them myself and give them back to her personally.”
    â€œUh, well, are you sure?” Willie looked as if he’d swallowed a rotten egg whole and was about to throw it back up.
    â€œPositive.” Doreen twitched up her nose.
    â€œWell, fine then. I guess I’ll go and take that shower.” Willie turned around and practically ran into the door. He looked back over his shoulder at Doreen and smiled, then tripped out the bedroom door and made his way down the hall to the bathroom.
    The strong, in control expression Doreen had on her face turned into a weak, sad one. Her head that she’d been holding up felt like it weighed 200 pounds as she let it drop.
    â€œWhy do I put up with his mess?” she asked herself out loud. She didn’t have to ponder on the answer. She loved Willie. He was her husband. And like her mother and God’s Word said, God didn’t like divorce. Divorce would have most certainly been the easy way out, but Doreen feared a divorce might be more hurtful and painful for her to deal with than staying married.
    The moistness in her eyes turned to tears and fell. She was hurting. She was hurting bad. “God help me,” was all she could say as she turned and looked back outside the window. It was then she received a new revelation for the term “Ram in the bush.”
    Doreen looked down at the shoes again. “If the prince could find Cinderella with a single shoe, surely I can find the woman who has been sleeping with my husband with two.”

Chapter Eleven
    It was only early Wednesday evening and Our Place was jumping. One who didn’t typically frequent such spots would have sworn it was a Saturday night. Well, Doreen was one of those people, but on this particular evening, something had led her here. This feeling took over her that literally had her jump right up from her seat and head over to Our Place to look into some things.
    â€œSo this is why Wednesday evening Bible Study has such a poor turnout sometimes,” Doreen said to herself as she entered the joint. “Folks too busy up in here doing the devil’s work.” She scanned the room. Spotting Willie on the dance floor crooning to the music of the house band with some female, Doreen realized that her husband was one of them folks she was referring to.
    The