Excerpt of Miracle Interrupted Set by Edie Ramer

From STARDUST MIRACLE

Becky ran across the grass and laughed at her brashness. She
wore her tan trench coat – her church coat – over her red
negligee. Tonight she felt free. With a sexual appetite and
playfulness she hadn’t felt for a long time.

She couldn’t swear that what she planned had never happened
in the church, people being what they were. But it had never
happened in the church before with her and Jim.

Laughter spilled out of her mouth, and she only stopped
because she was breathless from an overload of excitement.
The need to experience something more with her husband had
been building inside her for a long time. Now it was finally
boiling over – leaving her lightheaded and unlike her usual
self.

She liked these feelings. Liked this side of her a lot.

When she’d stepped out of the car tonight and looked up at
the stars, something happened. Something changed. For so
long, she’d been carrying a dark weight around with her.
Going through the days and nights trying to say and do all
the right things, when inside something had felt all wrong.

She’d lost the joy of life. Not fully living...just going
through the motions. At only thirty-six, she’d felt old and
dried up.

Now she felt young again. Free.

Jim wouldn’t know what happened to his proper wife.

She reached the church’s back door, using it instead of the
front entrance because she didn’t want anyone passing by to
see her. Not that there was anything wrong with going to see
her husband. But if anyone mentioned her late night visit,
her face would probably turn the color of a ripe tomato and
give away what they’d done.

She slipped the key into the lock but it turned easily. She
stepped inside. Jim must’ve come in this way and forgotten
to lock the door behind him. He was always preoccupied with
his work and his parishioners.

She admired that. She did. But once in a while, she wanted
his mind, plus a few body parts, to be on her.

And not just when her body temperature was right for conception.

She started toward Jim’s office, and her heels clicked on
the linoleum floor.

Laughing under her breath, she stopped and took them off.
She wanted to surprise Jim with a good surprise. No. A
wonderful surprise.

His door was closed. Habit, she supposed, since no one was
here except him. She heard him speaking. Couldn’t make out
the words. Just his voice.

Probably saying lines from the sermon he was preparing. Then
his voice stopped, and she imagined him frowning at his
computer screen while he wrote the next line.

She started to undo the buttons of her coat, then decided it
would be sexier to do it inside with him watching. Kind of
like a stripper.

Stifling a giggle, she turned the handle and flung open the
door.

“Surprise!”