Chapter Three
The next weekend
I played another football game with my fraternity brothers, I twisted my ankle
just so I could see Ashley at Student Health. She was a sight for my sore eyes
and my sore ankle. I began to think I could handle any pain just as long as she
was there to hand me the ice pack. She asked me if I was planning to be in
church on Sunday. I considered playing hard to get, but decided against it. She
said she went to church with her family so I couldn’t pick her up… but I could
meet her there, and sit with her. Up front. With the kids. In plain view of her
father. I wondered if she could see me gulp. I wondered if my voice went up two
octaves when I said yes.
I was floating on
air for the rest of the week, but at least my athletic exploits were limited to
darts. My sore ankle could handle eight feet to the board and eight feet back,
especially if the losers kept buying my beer. Cricket, 301, 501, I was on fire.
But it was different. I was like a bug zapper to barflies, but I didn’t that
night. My brothers used to call me ABC because in the bar I would “Always Be
Closing,” but not that night. They thought it was a fever. I told them it was
church. They didn’t know it was a girl at church.
Keeping secrets,
that’s a sign.
So I went to
church on Sunday. Ashley started her lesson by telling the kids about Samson
and Delilah. I thought it was kind of a racy story for the kiddies, but she was
teaching the lesson, so I listened. That’s what I thought until she asked me to
join her up front and it wasn’t an invitation I could say no to either. I had
to join her up front and I had no idea what she was thinking. I could see her
father in the grand chancel wondering what was going on too. Suddenly I was
playing Samson to her Delilah. I was the strongman, she the temptress. I was
the Nazirite; she was the woman from the Valley of Sorek
Ashley told the
story and I hammed it up as Samson. She played Delilah as a femme fatale. The
kids got to play the Philistines so they jumped and crawled all over me. I had
a blast with a dozen little surrogate nieces and nephews. Everyone smiled, the
parents clapped. People were amused and, as Ashley explained from the
scripture, it was all fun and games until Samson loses an eye. Of all things,
that was what she was trying to teach the kids, play nice because it’s all fun
and games until someone loses an eye. Considering how we met, I laughed at
that.
Lunch that day
was fried chicken. It was also the first time we kissed. It was like kissing a
thunderstorm and being touched by lightning. Every pore in my body tingled with
the touch of her lips, the lightest tease of her tongue.
I became more and
more active in the church. Eventually I started leading the children’s time
with Ashley. We would always plot what we would do during service during the
week. We would plan for the Wednesday night meeting. She would come to my
football and soccer games. She even got me into bible study and the University library.
When I went to see my parents for a couple of days at the end of Fall Break
they thought they saw something new about me. I didn’t say “I’m on fire for the
Lord!” like lots of folks do. I love Jesus, but I hate cheesy displays of
faith. I guess the people who say those things are sincere, but when I try those
words come out of my mouth and smack me in the face. Different strokes for
different folks.
I didn’t even say
that I met the perfect woman, a girl nice enough for Mom to love and a woman
hot enough for Dad to punch me in the shoulder and say under his breath “Good
work, Son!” Not that my dad would do that, but still. When they saw me though,
they sensed things were different, and considering my laundry didn’t smell like
the usual six different perfumes they knew things were serious.
Things were going
well on the academic front too. Ashley took the Medical College Admission Exams
before we met and was getting acceptance letters from Med Schools all over the
world. Her future was looking better and better everyday. I was going to
graduate without any problem, but until recently I had thought nothing more
about my future than next week’s game, this weekend’s party, and Ashley. I was
guessing The Reverend Doctor A&W DeMoss was getting the same feeling about me,
and that’s when he pulled me aside.
“Son,” face it,
it’s going to be trouble when someone who is not your father calls you ‘son,’
“Son,” he says, I know that you and my daughter have been seeing a lot of each
other lately.” So I nodded, “and you know my daughter has a good future ahead
of her and I love her more than anyone but Jesus.” My mind kept repeating “don’t
say anything stupid, keep nodding,” He continued, “but I’m guessing you haven’t
had strong feelings about your future have you?”
“No sir.” He’s
not stupid, don’t lie to him. If he catches me in a lie he’ll probably have me
on an express train to hell.
“Son, I’ve
noticed you have a way with the youth, have you considered ministry as a
vocation?” That’s when I could have been knocked over with a feather. Ministry?
Me? Yes, I love God, but ministry? I’m a B student. Isn’t there more study to
enter ministry? Oh no, I can see the stains beginning to swell up on my shirt.
Yes! Deodorant failure! Never let the man see you sweat, too late now.
“Well, sir, no I
haven’t considered it. But now that you mention it, it sounds wonderful. It
would be great to be sort of a Christian guide for those kiddoes, wouldn’t it?”
We talked a bit longer. He told me that there was more to the vocation than
that. He even explained the difference between vocation and a job. He explained
that I would need to complete my degree and go to seminary and learn about the
bible, and learn Greek and Hebrew. I would have to learn about pastoral care
and Christian Education. I would have to learn about church history and trends
projected for the church’s future. Then he told me that he had connections,
connections that would help me pay for seminary, and that’s a big help. I had
gotten some grants and taken out some student loans to get this far, so
connected money is good money.
With his support,
by the time Spring Break rolled around Ashley had picked a medical school and I
was accepted into seminary not far from her med school, her Father’s alma
mater. It was imposing to meet in an auditorium named after Ashley’s great-grandfather
though. I knew her dad was a big deal, I didn’t know her family was four
generations of a big deal.
When Spring Break
rolled around, my parents decided to come out and make a week of it. I wondered
how they could afford it, but it was nothing to wonder about, it was going to
be fun. My folks would finally get to see more of Ashley than pictures and
short videos and shorter 3D scans. We would all get together and I would
propose.
But no.
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