Jeffrey knew he shouldn’t have taken the job, but it was in the field that not only had he spent four years in college for, but had labored diligently at a job where he was disrespected for another five. “It’s so far away, and you know I don’t want to move.” Marjorie was more than a determined woman, she was headstrong and knew her place, right at the top where she had always been. She had come from a very wealthy family, and her parents had been under her thumb basically from the day she was born, every whim was answered, very little had ever been denied her. “I’ll be home every weekend, and you never know, it’s a nice town and they have great schools.”
Jeffrey had worked at the large company that his wife’s grandfather had started, and although his father-in-law did not actually manage it, he still had a lot of influence there, and that was how he had landed the position in the first place. He thoroughly enjoyed the work, but five years of continuing jabs about how he had ended up employed with the company was enough, the experience he had gained now allowed him the opportunity to make some real money, the one thing in life that his wife seemed to like. “I don’t care if their schools are made out of gold, I’m not moving that far away from my parents, so you had better start rethinking this stupid idea.”
Jeffrey loved his two children, and he loved his wife, most of the time. The house that they lived in was a wedding present from Marjorie’s parents, well, mansion was more like it, along with the job, although it wasn’t quite like that. Jeffrey had thought the furniture was just fine in the house when they received it, but not his wife, and with the new furniture came extensive remodeling, a pool and two cars that cost more than he made in two years. Along with his wife’s incredible shopping habits at all of the finest places and her need to be seen in the best restaurants several times a month, Jeffrey’s debt load was more than he could hope to pay off in twenty years even with the new position he had accepted.
The first few weeks were a mixture of elation and despair, it was an hour and a half drive in traffic to the airport, and then a flight of almost three hours each early Monday and late Friday, but he really enjoyed the work and everyone there was courteous and friendly. He rented a small apartment just two blocks from his new place of work, spent nearly every morning either jogging or exercising, and his evenings were filled with quite time in his new small place. “You don’t have to stay for the whole week honey, just a couple of days, I’m sure you’ll like it.” Marjorie gave him the look that he knew all too well, she had put her foot down and no one was going to change her mind. Jeffrey had not seen his children for two weeks now, his wife deciding that it was a good time for them to go on a long cruise with her parents, but he knew what she was attempting to do, they were being used as a weapon against him. “Here’s what you’re going to do, you’re going to quit that stupid job, go back to work for my families business, and live the life that you’re supposed to live, or you will be the one who will have to pay the price.”
Almost three months passed by before she showed up at his apartment, and she would not have done that if her father had not had business to attend in the city that Jeffrey basically called home now. They both stepped inside his new home away from so-called home, and with a disgusted look on her face his soon to be ex-wife turned right around and walked out, informing her father she would be waiting in the limousine with not one word or look at Jeffrey. “I’ve had someone keeping an eye on you Jeffrey, you need to stop attending this new little club you’re in, get yourself back home, or your out of everything.” Jeffrey did not fly home that weekend, or the next, and all his calls went unanswered. It took him a couple of days to figure out what his father-in-law meant by that “little club” sentence. Several of his new co-workers met twice a week in an informal Bible study, and although Jeffrey knew absolutely nothing about God, he had accepted their invitation one night and found the company enjoyable. It was after all better than staring at the television and thinking about his marital problems. “I didn’t know anything about Christ either two years ago Jeff, but hey, what do you have to lose, good friends, good conversation, free snacks and pop, how can you lose.”
He liked being called Jeff, it was his wife that had demanded that everyone call him Jeffrey, the formalities had always needed to be observed. The small group had given him a Bible the first night, and although they had not commanded him to read it, he had started to just out of the desire to seem friendly. The owner of the company, a very small man with large glasses, had even attended the informal meeting twice, and it surprised Jeffrey that he was treated as one of the gang, “We’re all servants, Jeff” he had said to him as he reached for another cookie.
The divorce papers arrived in the mail six months to the day that Jeffrey had accepted the new position. He flew back that Thursday, taking two days off work which he didn’t feel he deserved, but they were practically forced upon him by his new employer. “Get it figured out Jeff, take all the time you need, you’re a good man, God will guide you.” There was no shouting, no pleading, just the firm resolve of his wife that it was over, he would get nothing, and Jeffrey need not worry about the children, they were doing fine and would continue so without him. It was a strangely calm reassurance that Jeffrey, now Jeff, felt over the next few days, he felt like he should be missing something, but he couldn’t quite figure it out. He thought he would bring it up at the Bible discussion group tonight, he was sure they wouldn’t mind helping him find out what it was.
