Everyone is replaceable— everyone. Even your grandparents who've celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. If they hadn’t married each other, they would have married someone else. If you can’t comprehend this simple, yet profound truth, you certainly don't understand people enough to manipulate them. Your world will begin to make more sense once you grasp this lesson.

Speaking of lessons, Melanie’s absence has given me a lot of time to think. It’s quiet without her around. Tidier too.

It would have been bad enough had my lovely wife deceived me and me alone. But, that wasn’t the case. Given Adam knows about her past, obviously other members of the leadership are aware as well. Her deception doesn’t make me look good. In fact, it makes me look weak. That’s why Melanie had to be reprimanded. Not only is she a liar, there was a point that demanded to be proven.

Often when one is called into battle, it is apparent that the best way to go about a thing is indirectly. Keep your hands clean, as my father liked to say. If your opponent hasn’t a clue what you are up to, a defense cannot be prepared.

I haven’t a clue what Melanie’s defense will be. But I know how to find out. For this reason, I start with Beth for answers.

“How is she?” I say to her over the phone.

It takes her a second to respond.

“Beth?”

“Oh…um…I haven’t heard much other than the surgery went well.”

“Surgery?” My gut sets. “I thought she was just going in for reprogramming.”

“You weren’t happy with her, Tom.” She sighs. “So we freshened her up a bit.”

I take this for what it is. A sign. They don’t think my wife’s lie was big enough to extricate her, but they want her to pay for what she’s done. It isn’t that I don’t. The church and I, we often have different ideas where retribution is concerned. “She’s recovering from the loss of a pregnancy…”

“Best to get it all over with at once,” Beth assures me. “This way she’ll return to you good as new.”

“How long will that be?” I know the statistics on single men and I have no intention of living that way.

“Hard to say.”

“It’s her first offense.”

“Tom, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t ask for me to fix her and then say you want her back before the fixing is done.”

“Well, I’d like to see her.”

“And you will.”

“When?” Specifics is what I’m after. If the enemy is settled, make them move.

“Give her some time, Tom.” I hear the smile in Beth’s voice. “You know what they say, about absence making the heart grow fonder. Melanie needs to learn her lesson. And trust me,” she says. I’d be willing to bet she’s broken into full grin. “It’ll be a pleasant surprise for the both of you.”

Beth is wrong. I hate surprises. I say nothing.

“It’ll be like a whole new woman coming outta there.”

I think about the other morning in the kitchen and realize maybe Beth has a point. But I can’t let her think she’s won entirely. “Man should not be without his wife,” I tell her. “We’re practically newlyweds.”

My thoughts drift back to the lasagna I found this morning in the freezer. “Melanie had been preparing meals ahead of time in preparation for the baby.” A girl after my own heart. “Maybe I exaggerated things a little.”

Beth holds her resolve. Which means I must as well. “This will be good for you both. You just have to let go just a bit. Let us do our job.”

“She color coordinated my canned goods.” When I asked about it, she’d said she was bored. Maybe bringing her here was too much too soon.

“Tom.” I hear the warning in Beth’s tone.

“I miss her.”

“I thought you preferred alphabetical order,” she counters unexpectedly. I forgot she knew June.

“I thought so, too. And you know what Melanie said to that?”

“No. What?”

“She said it’s important things are not only functional but that they look good.”

Beth scoffs. “She’s good, Tom. But she could be better. We agreed on that. That’s why she’s at the center. That’s what we’re working on.”

“I like the way she looks.”

“I’m sure you do,” Beth tells me. “But you called me. Remember? Which means she isn’t yet functional, is she?”

Speaking of things that weren’t functional…Michael showed up at the office one afternoon. That was the good news. I hadn’t seen my business partner in three days. Thankfully, he was sober. In fact, he looked good. Clear-headed. The bad was that once again, Mark Jones was in tow.

“Tom,” Michael said boisterously. “Mark has presented me with an offer I think you should take a look at.”

Conveniently, he left out the part about where he’d been and why he hadn’t shown up to work. A stack of papers was slid across my desk. “I would like to purchase your house,” Mark Jones informed me. “You can live there rent free so long as you agree to serve as New Hope’s accountant.”

My eyes met his. “How did you know my house was up for sale?”

I’d expected him to say Michael had told him. He didn’t say that. “We pay attention, very close attention, to people of interest.”

“I can assure you I’m not that interesting.”

“On the contrary, we think you would be a good fit for our team. Considering—” He turned to my business partner, “How Michael here has talked you up.”

I pushed the stack of papers away, back in Mark’s direction. “I’m afraid I can’t accept your offer at this time.”

“Tom—” Michael cleared his throat. “They’re helping me get sober. You wouldn’t believe it. I feel better than I have in months.”

“I’m glad.”

“Tom, come on. Don’t be stubborn.”

“I’m not interested.”

Michael furrowed his brow. “I really think you ought to give this some thought.”

“Mr. Anderson,” Mark cut in to help him. “Is something wrong with the offer?”

“It doesn’t solve my business problems.”

“About that—”He opened his suit jacket and pulled from it a piece of paper. “We are prepared to pay you this…as well as offer free tuition for your children to our exceptionally rated private school.”

I glanced at the floor briefly before meeting his eye. I’m aware of the cost of putting two kids through private school, and I’m aware of the cost of having to yank them out. “Your offer is very generous,” I said as I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms across my chest. “But I’m afraid I can’t accept this.”

“I’m almost offended,” Mark said.

“I am offended,” Michael said.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

The following evening I arrived home to find Mark Jones and his wife Beth having coffee in my living room. Iced coffee with milk, like my father drank. June always said she hated it and yet there she sat, glass half empty.

After exchanging pleasantries, I asked my wife to meet me in the kitchen. “Have you spoken with Michael?”

“Who?” She wasn’t expecting me to lead with that. Recognition passed over her face. “God, no. Why?”

I wipe at a smudge on the counter. A perfectly clean house, and still there’s this, one little blemish. “No reason.”

“I really think we should take them up on this offer,” June said, her voice hushed. “The kids will get to go back to private school. We’d get to keep the house…”

I wiped down the rest of the counter just in case. “Define private school. Define keep.”

“Come on, Tom.” She took the dishtowel from my hand. “What do we have to lose?”

“Except everything?”

“I don’t think you’re seeing this clearly.”

“Why would I take a job with a church? I am not a religious man.”

“So? It’s a paycheck,” she said. She placed her hands on her hips. “What does religion have to do with balancing their books and investing their money?”

“Everything, I’d be willing to bet.”

She sighed heavily. This is what she did when she was defeated which wasn’t often. Or, as I was learning, not often enough. She motioned with her head toward the living room. “I’ll get rid of them,” I said but when I turned Mark Jones was standing in the doorway of our kitchen. “Now, now.” He held his palms face up. “There’s no pressure, here. Really. I’m sorry if we’ve given the wrong impression.”

I lifted the tray from the counter and handed it to June. “Excuse me,” she said, looking from me to Mark and back. “I’ll leave you two to talk. I promised Beth more tea.”

I watched her walk out and then I turned my attention to Mark. “I hate to disappoint you, but I haven’t anything left to say.”

“Listen, Tom.” Mark said, leaning back against the counter. “I’m not going to lie. I, myself, was not always a man of God.” He glanced toward the living room, toward the sound of laughter, and then back at me. “But I think you’re missing the bigger point, and I don’t want you to miss the opportunity that goes along with it.”

“Like I said—”

“You see, the thing is… I can relate to your position. Adam is the real fanatic where New Hope is concerned. Me…I consider it more of a social experiment. A lifestyle, if you will. Along the lines of an exclusive country club—only—and I’m sure you can understand this—with tax benefits built right in.”

“I don’t think—”

He cut me off again. “What I’m really looking to create within the New Hope community is something that spans time, something that exceeds all boundaries of religion. I have a vision of the way things could be. And I was hoping you could help with this.”

“I don’t think that is possible.” I didn’t explain why. I didn’t think it was any of his business.

“Every religion follows a set of principles, if you will,” he said, glancing around the kitchen. “I want to create our own.”

I waited for him to continue. I, too, surveyed the kitchen. Everything was in order. Almost.

“Beth has already gotten started on this, but she can only see to a certain point, if you catch my drift.”

I didn’t catch his drift, exactly. Although, I had just briefly met his wife, and if he meant that she was a little on the unintelligent side, then yes. “Principles are not the easiest thing to create. Most of them already exist.”

“Precisely,” he agreed. “And you seem like a man who prides himself on excellence. I’ve seen what you can do. I’m aware of how meticulous you are.” He motioned around my kitchen. It wasn’t spotless. There was a speck of dried tomato sauce from last night’s dinner just above the range. He missed that. “We do not blindly make offers like the one your family has received. The goal with New Hope has never been to create just another church. We’re not interested in another run-of-the-mill Christian organization. No, we want something bigger. We want an entire community who prides itself on excellence. Just take a look around—”

I do, and it’s all I can manage to contain myself. I have the need to pick up the towel and scrub the leftover sauce. But I don’t. Somehow it seemed to do so would make his spiel less effective.

“Our society has lost its sense of standards. Just look at what’s happening in the world. Look how many people are either broke, obese, divorced, disease-ridden, or drug and alcohol addicted.”

I take account although I already know. Me, I’m broke. The bottle owns my best friend. My neighbor eats every meal out of a sack even though he’s had two heart attacks.

“We can fix this,” Mark assured me. “But it starts with us. I don’t know about you and June, but Beth and I want to surround ourselves with like-minded people. People who demand success of themselves and others. People who seek mastery in all areas of life. We want that for our children.”

I think of my children, the source of the laughter coming from the living room.

“Just think about it, Tom. What are we leaving for the next generation and the one after that? More of the same? The status quo?”

He has a point. “I don’t know.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll back off,” he said finally. “This is your call.”

“I just—”

“I get it. But just between you and I— we don’t really even follow the teachings of the Bible. Well, not the whole thing. Mainly, we focus on the important passages. You know, the ones that stand out.”

“No,” I said. “I don’t know. I’m an atheist. ”

“It’s like filler.”

“That seems deceptive.”

“Call it what you want. You’ve seen our numbers. We’re small—but we’re growing. People want change. Like you, they want more for themselves and for their families. They want to feel safe, and they’re desperate for something better.”

I was in the process of thinking of a final way to say no thanks when June entered the kitchen with empty glasses. Beth followed her in, and I watched as the two of them stood next to one another, placing the dishes in the sink. It’s only then I got an accurate comparison. Beth may not have seemed that intelligent, but she’s aces in the looks department. Not a single hair out of place, immaculate appearance, fit and trim, even after children. She’s almost perfect. “I’ll talk it over with my wife,” I said, looking at June.

Mark grinned. “That’s a very good call.”