The Choir Director 2 by Carl Weber Read Free Book Online Page B

tonight.”
    “What did you say?” I sat up in the bed but resisted the urge to go into the bathroom. Married or not, I’d always believed in giving her privacy in the bathroom. I preferred to see the finished product and not the things that went on behind the curtain.
    Monique peeked her head out of the door. “I saw Tia,” she said solemnly. The troubled expression on her face erased any lingering feelings of anger I’d held about her disappearance that afternoon.
    “When? How? Where?” I rattled off, my head spinning with possible scenarios. Could this mean they were headed for a reconciliation? I certainly hoped so. Maybe it was a bit selfish of me to be thinking this way, but their presence as a couple in the church was inspiring to the young people. It made them consider slowing down, taking time with a relationship rather than simply “hooking up,” to steal the phrase they so often used to describe their encounters with the opposite sex.
    She stepped out of the bathroom and approached me. “TK, if I tell you this,” she started, “you can’t tell anyone, especially not Aaron.” It wasn’t like Monique to issue a warning when she shared information with me, so I immediately understood the seriousness of whatever she had to say. As much as I wanted to put Aaron out of his pain by sharing Tia’s location with him, I knew that I couldn’t betray my wife.
    “I won’t. I promise,” I said, lifting my right hand as if taking an oath.
    “I’m serious,” Monique emphasized. “She made me swear not to tell anyone. Not even you. So you can’t say anything to anyone else.”
    “Monique, I’m a man of the cloth. Keeping people’s secrets is something I’m asked to do on a daily basis, and you know I take that responsibility seriously. Now, tell me what’s going on with Tia.”
    Her eyes welled up, and a single tear fell as she leaned against her dresser. “Tia saw one of her rapists.”
    “Dear Lord, that poor girl.” Tia had been working as the church secretary for almost four years now, but she wasn’t just an employee. She’d found her way into our hearts. We knew she’d been raped a couple years before joining our congregation, but Tia had an uncommon resolve. Rather than falling apart after such an atrocity, she found a way to battle her demons by helping others with the same problem. She ran a rape crisis and counseling ministry out of the basement of the church that not only helped her heal, but hundreds of others.
    “Is she going to be okay?” I asked.
    “I don’t know. I hope so.” Monique had a faraway look in her eyes, as if picturing the state she’d found Tia in. “She was still wearing her wedding dress this afternoon when I found her. Whatever those men did to her, it has all come back. She’s an absolute wreck.”
    “You do know we need to tell Aaron.” The daggers from her eyes told me I should have kept the suggestion to myself.
    “You gave me your word, TK Wilson,” she snapped angrily. “I expect you to honor it. We’re not telling Aaron anything right now.” I’d heard this hard tone in her voice before, but never directed at me.
    “I’m not going to tell him,” I said, backing off a little, “but he deserves to know.”
    “Not when she’s like this.”
    “That man loves her. He can help her,” I insisted.
    “You didn’t see her, TK. You bring Aaron within ten feet of that girl and we may never see her again. She can’t feel good about him until she feels good about herself, and right now, she’s not in a very good place.”
    “Well, we’ve got to do something. Maybe we should call the police?” I understood my wife’s point, but I still couldn’t imagine sitting back and doing nothing.
    “No, it’s too late for that. Besides, Tia doesn’t want to have to deal with them.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” I found myself getting irritated. Men and women dealt with things differently, that was for sure. I could not relate to this