Chapter 24 Did I Make A Mistake
‘I was deceived into all of this?’ Greg kept thinking all the way back to his house.
The revelation that he’d been maneuvered into the path of Veronica LaFayette by the people close to him had shaken him to his very core.
Harry was off on vacation, Keith was on tour with Mark, and Thomas was visiting college campuses looking for recruits.
For the first time, he felt completely alone.
He looked in the mirror after parking his Camaro in the garage.
‘What do I do? Who can I possibly speak to about this?’ He locked the car from the stairs as he headed up into the house by the back entrance near the kitchen.
‘I wish the girls weren’t away on that district school cooking competition.
I need someone I can talk to.’ He opened the door to an eerily silent home.
Not a single sound in the entire place. He made his way to his office and saw his bible sitting there.
‘Well Professor Dinklage, maybe you are right about one thing. You can always go to God,’ he thought as he picked it up.
He sat down and started reading through the book of Judges when he received the text message – ‘are you alright brother? T.’ He sat his bible down then looked up at the ceiling – “if you are asking me God, then no, I am not alright!” he declared as he dropped out of his chair onto his knees.
“I’m not the best at prayer, but I will ask this.
Please give me strength, understanding and wisdom to know the path forward.
” He took a deep breath. “I know all of this has a plan or purpose that You can show me, so, I’m asking for your guidance because I don’t know where else to turn at this point. In the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.”
Slowly, he pushed up from the floor to a standing position.
“Nobuko, my old friend, this is a time I wish you were still around. I could use some of that sage advice you always gave me,” he said aloud looking at the safe where he would replace a flash drive every three months or so.
“Noboko, I hope you learned well from your dad. God’s found a way to get you the money to save Tashugi Enterprises.
There’s no other explanation for Joseph Mauerman to show up like that.
It had to be a miracle from God.” Greg paced around for a moment then looked up at the ceiling.
“If You wanted to get my attention, You have succeeded.” He decided that he should head out to the living room and answer Tessa.
He started to type out a text message, but nothing he began seemed to sound right.
He started one last time, then gave up. “I guess I’ll just have to call her. ” He dialed her cell.
“Thank God, Greg. Are you alright?” Tessa asked with a very worried voice.
“Physically, yes. Emotionally and psychologically,” he paused. “Definitely not.”
“The way you lit out from the meal, it worried everyone.” She looked over to David who was driving. “We had Sarah box everything up, and David and I are bringing it to you.”
“I’m sorry, but what Grandma Graciella told me just really threw me for a loop. I don’t know what to think or how to feel right now.”
“We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. We couldn’t just leave the meals untouched like you did.”
“Well, right now, you two are the only people here who haven’t done something to try to set me up against my will.”
“Greg! You know you can count on Tessa and I,” David called over from the driver’s seat. “Let’s sit down and discuss this.”
“Definitely. I appreciate the support,” he said. “I’ll see you two in fifteen.” Greg disconnected the call. “What were they thinking?” He paced in the living room for a lap around the coffee table then stopped. “Erica.”
“How’d he sound to you?” David asked Tessa.
“Panicked.” She paused for a moment. “Shocked—Upset.”
“Do you blame him?”
“No, David. I don’t. And with everything that just happened in Denver, who does he trust now?”
“That’s a million-dollar question baby. All I know is my best friend,” he looked over at Tessa, “your brother needs us and we’re going to be there like he’s always been there for us.”
“Greg?” Erica said in confusion. “Did I miss something?”
“Erica, I could really use a friend right about now. Are you busy?”
“Not that busy. Why?”
“Would you mind coming by tonight so we could talk. Just you and I?”
David parked right in front of Greg’s door, and Tessa nearly sprinted to the door as David grabbed the boxed meal from his back seat. Tessa was already trying to open the door as David’s head cleared the back seat doorway.
“IT’S LOCKED!” she screamed in frustration.
“Just use the doorbell, or your key. Greg never changed the lock after we got married.”
“DUH! Tessa! Stop panicking yourself,” she groaned. She fumbled around in her purse to find her keys. She was just getting the key selected on her ring as David arrived and Greg opened the door.
“Right on time,” he said with a welcoming waving of the right hand, gesturing them to come in.
“Thanks, Greg,” David said with a nod and pushed forward his boxed meal with the notecard on top.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Sarah sent you a note, hoping that you would be feeling better soon.” David smiled. “I see exactly what you see in her now. She’s not that different from Carry.”
“OUCH!” Greg said. “Rub salt into my wound would ya?”
“Oh, don’t ham it up with me, Greg. I know you too well.” David followed Tessa in. “She really thought you were sick the way you were nearly stumbling out of The Black Angus.”
“Poor girl thought you might have gotten food poisoning and was really worried. We all had to sit there and eat something in front of her just to calm her down,” Tessa said. “She really is attached to you, brother.”
“You have that effect on everyone around you. They do things for you that they wouldn’t do for anyone else.”
“You think so David?” Greg asked with genuine interest in the answer.
“Look at me,” he said. “That was MY Team you walked in on in seventh grade. But, there was just something about you that made me share my team with you.”
“I still remember the look on Thomas’s face when I drained that three pointer from the bench,” Greg laughed.
“I thought it was so funny the way he did that reeling motion to bring his mouth back off the floor and shut it.” They all laughed together.
“That is a memory that I always remember when I feel down.”
“Because it was the first time you were accepted at Christian Academy Prep, Greg. You became part of our group, and eventually, our family.”
“David, I can’t tell you how that changed my life that day. I was actually missing Robby and didn’t even want to try out.”
“I made you do it,” Tessa bragged then turned to David. “I told him I’d tell Aunt Willamina on him for not doing with dad spent hours teaching him to do.”
“Yeah,” Greg shuddered a little bit. “Aunt Willamina was a little more intimidating back then,” he laughed. “So, why is it I feel like they betrayed me?”
“Because you were sinking so low so fast that you didn’t even see how many people were hurting right there with you,” David said and pulled him into a tight hug. He whispered in his ear, “I was one of those that felt your pain like it was my own.”
“I know, brother,” Greg whispered back. “I know.” They separated and Greg finally closed the door. “You have always had my back since that day.”
“And I will until the day I die, Greg. We might not have been born brothers, but we are no less brothers than Darren and I are.”
“So, how can we help you through this brother?” Tessa asked.
“I don’t know.” Greg moved over and put the box on the coffee table then sat on the chair at the near end while David and Tessa sat on the couch with the window behind them.
“I’m feeling lost about my own self. I mean, would I have married Carry if I’d known this whole thing with Veronica was a setup?
Or would I have even cared that I was being setup if I’d known about it.
” He paused as they quietly listened to him just spit balling things.
“I know Erica had me messed up by leaving, but she was just a symptom of my real problem in that relationship.”
“Michael Stamson?” David asked cautiously.
“Exactly. And now when I’m just starting to feel confident again – BOOM!”
“Greg, relax for a moment. Let your mind think about something else,” Tessa encouraged.
“You mean like how it was that time when I found out that Veronica’s mom had cancer and might die, so I go over to make her feel better and in my attempt to cheer her up, I propose to her?”
“I wish you’d stayed to get the full story on that,” David said softly. “Tessa pressed for more information.”
“You didn’t just propose for no reason.” Tessa slowly leaned forward.
“You saw the sadness in her eyes when her mom told Grandma Graciella that she wouldn’t be able to dance anymore.
” She sniffed her nose as tears started to well up in her eyes.
“She had been ignoring the return of her cervical cancer for over a year while trying to maintain a normal life for Veronica.”
“Vanessa?” Greg said softly. “Return?”
“Aunt Janet confirmed that Vanessa nearly lost the first battle with cervical cancer and was surprised she even conceived.” Tessa choked back on the tears.
“Janet and Vanessa were so close and they went into labor within hours of each other.” Tessa grabbed a tissue from the table and blew her nose.
“I’m sorry, David. I can’t tell him more. ” She leapt up and ran to the bathroom.
“She’s going to be okay after she cries it out,” David stated softly. “When something affects her deeply like this, she has to let it out. We learned that lesson the hard way over Jason and Philip Marsden at Prom.”
“I’m glad she has you, David.”
“Even though I never really liked your relationship with Erica because of how she treated you,” he let out a short breath. “I never stood in the way or put her down.”