The Wedding Caper by Janice Thompson

take Warren at his word?
Had he ever given me reason to doubt him in the past?
    A lone
tear trickled down my cheek. I would’ve brushed it away, if my arms and fingers
had cooperated. Instead, it plopped down into the soapy water, making itself at
home. I lingered for a while against the edge of the tub and took the time to
truly repent for my silliness over the past few days. I thought of Warren and
the great sacrifice on his part to make sure we had the funds for the weddings.
Common sense told me he must’ve cashed in an IRA to come up with that money.
Doing so must have broken his “We won’t touch this until our retirement” vow. And all for the love of family.
    My heart
swelled with overwhelming love for the man. Yes, he had surely proven himself
trustworthy, and I’d been childish to doubt his actions or his intent. From now
on, I would return to being his helper, his lover, his friend. I would cease to be his judge and jury.
    Even if
it meant I never found the actual perpetrator. Even if the crime went unsolved
forever. I would follow the Lord’s leading and only go where He wanted me to
go. The words rushed out in a heartfelt prayer:
    “Lord,
You’ve got my full attention this morning. I am sorry for taking the reins away
from You . Again. I ask You to
forgive me for running out ahead of You. Help me, Father. I want to do the
right thing. If You want to use me in this, then I
want to be useable. If it’s not of You , then take the
desire away. And Father, if You want to use me in some
other way entirely, show me. I’m Yours, Lord. . . .”
    The
presence of the Lord suddenly shook me to my core. I somehow knew that He
wanted me to do something, something specific. With fresh tears running down my
cheeks, I responded. “Yes, Lord. I’ll do that.”
    As
soon as I can get out of the tub. I had apparently been sitting so long the water had turned cold. And if I
thought getting in had been tough, I had made no psychological preparations for
getting out. The process took a good ten minutes, if you counted the toweling
off part. And all the while, Sasha whimpered in agony.
    Finally
dry—and nearly standing aright—I slipped on my robe and inched my
way down the stairs and toward the back door. I had no sooner opened it than
the frustrated puppy bounded out and located a spot to relieve herself. I filled
her dog dish with a can of Macho Mutt—her favorite—and went about
the task of preparing breakfast. With Warren and Devin already gone after
tending to their own breakfast, I settled on a piece of toast and a cup of hot
tea. Earl Grey, of course.
    My knees
didn’t seem to want to bend, so I opted to stand while I ate. The pain in my
back eventually forced me to lean against the countertop. I somehow managed to
nibble the toast and sip the tea. Out of the corner of my eye, something
grabbed my attention. There. Up on the bar. The newspaper.
    I reached
for the Clark County Gazette and nearly dropped my teeth as I read the
headline: BURGLARY SUSPECT FREED
    The story
focused on Jake Mullins, describing in some detail his release from jail after
several rounds of questioning. Though the police still felt they “had their
man” they simply couldn’t provide adequate evidence to support their
suspicions.
    I
whispered a “Thank You, Lord!” for Janetta’s sake, though my heart twisted a little. With Jakey temporarily out of the picture, I couldn’t help but wonder. . . .
    No. Don’t
do this today. You’ve got your marching orders. Use ‘ em .
    I pressed
the paper aside and headed to the bedroom to begin the very tedious process of
dressing. Though usually quite selective about my attire, I decided this wasn’t
the day to fret over the trimmings. Forget the jewelry. Limit the makeup. Wear
the comfortable gray slacks and black turtle-neck .
    In short,
stop worrying about what people will think. Just be yourself .
    With a
song of praise on my lips, I eased my way out to the car. After a brief stop at
the new