CHAPTER 36-3
812 Words
Roger squeezed his eyes shut, his groggy mind trying to wish away the tapping sounds. “Who is it?” he muttered, surprised to find that Juliette’s side of the bed was still empty. The knocking persisted.
He rolled over and swung his feet to the floor. “Coming.” He cleared his throat in an attempt to make his voice sound less irritated and then opened the door. “Benjamin?”
Roger squinted in the light from the hall. Benjamin stood fidgeting with his fingers and tossing glances in nearly every direction. Roger held the door open and hoped his mind would clear soon. How long had it been since Juliette went downstairs? Roger hadn’t even looked at the clock. “Do you want to come in?” He flipped on the switch, and Benjamin ducked his head when the lights came on. Roger gestured to a chair by the bureau.
Benjamin planted himself down, his bulk threatening to demolish the dainty cushion Juliette perched on to preen every morning. “I’ve come to make confession.”
Roger raised his eyebrow. “You know it’s the middle of the night, don’t you?” He studied the way Benjamin’s hands rubbed the tops of his thighs. “But if it’s going to help you sleep better, then go ahead.” He forced himself to keep his eyes open.
Benjamin gazed into his lap. “I slept with Eve.”
Roger scratched at his bald spot with one hand and ran the other across his stubbly cheek. Slept with Eve? Roger’s Korean was pretty good by now, but he still ran over the words in his mind just to make sure he had gotten them right. He cleared his throat, aware that he wasn’t as awake as he should be for a conversation of this magnitude, especially one in a foreign language. “Slept with Eve? Just now?”
Benjamin’s shook his head, reminding Roger of a massive horse swishing his tail from side to side. “Long time ago.”
“So why are you telling me?” Roger knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the question left his mouth, but he couldn’t take it back. What did Benjamin expect this late?
The security guard curled his shoulders even closer to his chest. “She came again. Tonight.” Roger heard the catch in Benjamin’s throat and wished to cough for him.
“So you were together in the past, and she thought it might be fun to spend some time together again. And you ...”
“Forced her out.” Benjamin stopped rubbing his pants legs and started tapping his knee which bounced rhythmically.
Roger thought about his housekeeper. Beneath a sharp and somewhat angular exterior lay an obvious feminine allure, easy to catch the eye of a young man like Benjamin. “That must not have been easy.”
Benjamin shook his head once more. His brow was sweaty. “I didn’t want her to go.”
“You didn’t want her to go, but you knew she couldn’t stay, so you did the right thing and sent her out.”
Benjamin held his large palms open. “I hurt her.”
Roger leaned forward. “Hurt her feelings, you mean?”
“No. I pushed her. Made her fall.”
“Where is she now, then?”
Benjamin shrugged. “Her room, I guess. Didn’t see her after that.”
“Well, then, she’s probably not injured too bad. Physically at least.” Roger stared at Benjamin’s reflection in the dresser mirror and noticed his back trembling.
“I’m awfully sorry,” Benjamin remarked.
“Sorry for what?”
“For that. It was before I was baptized.”
Roger shook his head once to get a little more oxygen flowing to his brain. “You weren’t even saved. It makes sense you would have acted that way. I can see how that might make living and working in the same house together somewhat awkward, but you have nothing to apologize to me for. Now, if you caused our housekeeper to fall and break her ankle so she can’t cook us Saturday brunch tomorrow, then I might be a little upset.” Benjamin made no response to Roger’s attempt at humor. Roger sighed. “Tell you what. It’s late now. I’m not thinking clearly. We could talk about this all night long, but I probably wouldn’t make very much sense. This sounds like something you need to deal with between yourself and God. Why don’t you go back to your room, spend some time in the Word, and tomorrow after brunch, we can talk about it more.”
Benjamin scrunched his face up. “I guess.”
Roger thought back to when he was saved right out of college, the temptations that assaulted him as soon as he confessed his beliefs, the late nights alone in his room with only his memories, his thoughts, his fleshly desires. He put his hand on Benjamin’s shoulder once more. “Here’s another option. If you don’t want to go back to your room just yet, head to the den. You can pray and study there, hopefully without as many distractions.”
Benjamin nodded, his eyes almost rising to meet Roger’s for the first time that night.
Roger held the door open. “Good luck, Brother.”
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