The Sweetest Revenge (Part 1)

Doris was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring down at her unmanicured toenails and crusty feet. She wiggled her toes, hoping that would make them look more attractive, but it didn't.

As she staggered to the bathroom for her morning ritual pee-dump, she paused to look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy from crying all night. In less than two hours, she would have to get those puffy eyes cleared, eye lids contoured with eye shadow and mascara. Sitting down to pee brought back memories of the night before: the arguing, the accusations, the blaming, the threatening, and ultimately the storming out.

"It happened again." Doris mused.

Her cell phone rang. Without finishing the requisite hygiene, Doris scurried back to her bedroom to grab her phone, slowed by her underwear straddled across her ankles.

"Maybe he's calling to apologize." She thought with hopefulness.

"Hello?"

"Doris James, this is Attorney Paul LeFever. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Yessss. Sure." Doris responded hesitantly but curiously.

"Mrs. James, you came into our offices two years ago for a consultation. We thought you might want to follow-up with us. We received a divorce petition from your spouse's attorney."

"Reese?" Doris questioned with disbelief.

"Yes. Mr. James filed for a divorce, Mrs. James, and sent the petition to our office. Were you not aware, Mrs. James?"

"No...no...I guess I wasn't." Doris was stunned. "What do I do now?"

Doris heard words coming out of the attorney's mouth but she didn't know what they meant.

"So I'll see you Thursday, 10:30am in our law offices. Okay? Okay." Attorney LeFever hung up, without waiting for Doris' confirmation.

Doris pulled up her underwear and walked back into the bathroom. She stood looking again at her puffy eyes and the history behind them, decades of history. She had devoted her life to his career, his children, his dreams, his agenda. And what did she have to show for it? Puffy eyes, unmanicured toenails, and crusty feet!

Doris turned the shower to a warm temperature, stepped inside and cried; allowing the water to wash away her tears. While standing in the shower, the Bible verse from yesterday's meditation came to mind: "'Vengeance is mine' the Lord says. 'I will repay.'" Dories wanted back all the years she sacrificed herself for him. She wanted back all the times he minimized her intangible contributions while still demanding she contribute more. She wanted back all the money she might have earned had she maintained her career rather than listen to his advice to leave "for the sake of the family."

Doris' blood began to boil. A rush of anger overwhelmed her. She cooled down the shower temperature to get some relief. It didn't help. She plotted in her mind as the streaming water began to clear her thoughts.

Revenge or vengeance?

Did she want to get revenge or allow God to exact vengeance?

Doris thought and thought and thought. The burden of being a "good submissive Christian wife" sickened her. Long ago she had grown weary of that title and pronouncements from the church about how to behave towards a husband.

Doris decided: "I want BOTH."

She stepped out of the shower, got dressed, and headed to work.

[To Be Continued]

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Destiny Nicole Walker is a thoughtful and creative writer who is unafraid to challenge long-held, traditional beliefs about the connection between God, spirituality, and wifedom. She re-examines and provides alternatives to societal notions about motherhood that disenables the feminine spirit. She invites every reader to do the same.