January 20, 2010 – Angela’s Demons

Dee and I sat transfixed as Angela’s slowly pulled her hand from the purse. She stopped and gazed up at the pulpit where the Shark was still railing against sin. She finally withdrew her hand and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was empty. She looked over at me and turned and walked out of the church.

I squeezed past Daria and ran down the aisle after Angela. I caught up with her in parking lot where she was frantically digging in her purse.

“Angela, wait, what was all that about?”

The tears had ruined her makeup and still they kept coming.

“Nothing Marc, nothing. God where are my KEYS?”

She kept digging and gum and change and cards fell out of the purse onto the ground.

“Angela please talk to me.”

“Nothing really to talk about Marc is there? What else is there to say?”

“We can go somewhere and talk.”

She stopped digging in her purse and her dark eyes shone with anger.

“Talk about what Marc? Ok, let’s talk about my horrible taste in men. Maybe how I get treated like a whore all the time. Hmmm, or maybe how I acted like a one and not only screwed a pastor, not only fell in love with him, but I’m pregnant with his child and he’s not going to claim it. Is that enough to talk about Marc?”

She dropped her purse and leaned heavily against her car and wept. I went to hold her and she pushed me away and wiped her tears, then picked the purse up from the ground. A number of items had fallen out including the gun, her keys and a small bottle of prescription pills. I picked them up and handed them to her.

She took two of the piles from the bottle, dry swallowed them then got in the car.

“Angela, I’ll help you any way I can.” I told her.

“Thanks Marc, but you’ll need all your energy for Tami, trust me.”

“Tami and I are…I don’t know what we are. We had a talk, she said the baby was mine and she aborted it.”

“Then why did Justin tell…it doesn’t matter. You’re better off without her Marc believe me.”

“What? Why?”

“She doesn’t love you. Not like you love her. You know what she told me once? She told me that sometimes the thought of sleeping with you made her depressed.”

I said nothing.

“Here’s my advice. Find yourself a nice girl that’s going to love you and only you.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“What I have to do. Goodbye Marcus.”

She sped out of the parking lot and into the street and I stood there and watched as she disappeared down the street and out of sight.

I turned to go back into the church and Daria was there at the door.

We walked toward one another and met halfway between the church door and the parking lot.

“Is she all right?”

“No. She’s pretty upset. I tried to talk to her but she wouldn’t hear it. She did tell me one interesting thing though.”

I told her what Angela claimed Tami said and Daria shook her head.

“I’m so sorry Marc. You deserve better.” She paused then looked up at me. “Maybe I shouldn’t say this but…”

She looked a little embarrassed and at a loss for words.

“What Daria. Say it.”

She looked up at me and the look in her eyes was a very different one than I’d ever noticed on my friend’s face.

“I just wanted to say that I think that you…”

Just then the church doors burst open and the congregation began to stream forth from the church. Tai, Tanya and Neville saw us and made a beeline for where we stood.

“That was…an experience.” Neville said. “That guy is something else isn’t he?”

“Thank God we don’t come to this church; otherwise I would have to keep a good eye on my wife.” Tai said. He nudged Tanya in jest but she was looking at Daria.

“Daria, you ok?” She asked.

Daria nodded in response.

“So what happened with Angela?” asked Neville.

Before I could begin to recount what had happened, Tanya spoke up.

“Um, guys I need to visit the ladies room. Daria, want to come along?”

Without waiting for an answer she took Daria’s hand and led her back into the church.

I began to update my friends, beginning with the conversation with Tami inside the church and ending with Angela peeling off in her car.

When I was done there was moment of silence from my friends.

“All I can say is, you sure know how to pick ‘em my friend.” Neville said, clapping me on the shoulder.

“Can I get an amen.” Tai concurred. “So what are you going to do now?”

“Well the first thing I have to do is talk to my parents and let them know there won’t be a wedding. I won’t tell them the details but I have to say something. Then I find a good therapist, give her a huge retainer and plan on being in therapy for the rest of my life.”

We all laughed, and just then the women came back and saw us cracking up with each other.

“What’s so funny guys?” Tanya asked.

Just then Daria’s pager went off with a loud annoying beep. She pressed a button and grabbed her cell phone from her purse.

“Sorry guys, it’s the hospital, I’m on call.”

She stepped aside to make the call and my friends and I continued to talk amongst ourselves. A minute later she retuned.

“Guys I’m sorry I have to get to the hospital ASAP. There’s an emergency. She looked at me and her look made my blood run cold.

“I think it’s Angela, Marc. She shot herself.”