by Edward Goble
“Designated driver?” Madison said.
“No, we’re staying here at the hotel, just can’t stand ending the day with left-over per diem.”
“Of course. Convention attendees?”
“Vendors... Haven’t seen you out on the floor though.”
“Me. No. Other business in town, I just happened to be at the hotel,” he said.
“Mmmm. Sounds like fate to me.” She winked at him as she collected her change and dropped a handful in the tip-cup. She picked up the drink carrier and turned to go. Then, thinking of something, she balanced the carrier in one hand while opening her bag with the other. Somehow she collected her wallet, then, clutching the purse under her arm, opened the wallet with her free hand. She then leaned forward, seizing a business card from the wallet with her teeth, and, going through the process again, in reverse, stowed the wallet and recovered her purse from under her elbow. She removed the card from her lips and tossed it on the counter by Madison’s cup.
“You made that look easy,” he said.
She smiled, “Just in case you get any wild ideas.” As she left, he couldn’t help watching her till she was completely out of sight. She reminded Madison of a blond receptionist on one of the television cop dramas. Like her on-screen counterpart, she wore a snug grey business skirt and heels to match the bright red lipstick with which she’d made a lasting impression on the right end of her business card. Blond At The Bar had a way about her that transcended her attractive physical appearance. It was a sexual power that Madison had previously only imagined. He had wondered if there were really women like this in the world - strong, forward, sexual. Now, without expecting to, he had apparently found one - or one found him. Picking up the simple white business card from the unmoistened end, Madison noticed that Blond At The Bar had a name. Printed in deep blue ink just to the left of the candy apple lip-print, along with her business contact information, was a name, Judy Turnbull.
Chapter 23
He threw the card away. Twice. The second time he recovered it, he placed it on the desk by his iBook. Judy Turnbull was evidently an account executive with Waring Distribution, whatever that was. The address on the card was Tyler, Texas - probably corporate, but the cell phone and email were her own. He didn’t recognize the phone prefix. Those were all screwed up these days anyway, he thought, as he wondered where she might be from.
He spent most of Friday in the room, had breakfast brought in, studied through the morning, then went for a swim at the pool on the 4th floor at lunchtime. He had a sandwich from the deli billed to his room and hit the books again through the afternoon. He was coming up with some creative and, he thought, effective material on the family that would really help people deal with some of the difficult issues of marriage and parenting. The series would be called “Rules of Engagement,” which primarily dealt with communication, trust and honor. He would open with a story he remembered from A Bronx Tale where the local mob tough guy, Sonny, gives some advice to the local kid, Cologero, who is preparing for his first date. Sonny insists that the way to find out if the girl is worthy of the young man’s money and time is to give her a simple test. Sonny tells “C” to open the door for the young lady like a gentleman, then, on his way back around to his side of the car, watch to see if she reaches over to unlock his side. “If she does,” Sonny insists, “she is a keeper. If she doesn’t, then she is just thinking about herself and isn’t worth your time. End the date right there.” Madison always liked that scene, and it was the perfect introduction to his first “Rule of Engagement,” which was called, “Being Others Focused.” He worked through the evening, then stopped to check in with the office, making certain everything was ready for Dr. Culbert, and spent an hour talking with Jill.
“I miss you,” she said, “don’t ever leave again while I’m pregnant, Buster, or I might have to hurt you!”
“I know, honey, but this is really important. The time with Dr. Cross was essential, and my messages are really coming together.”
“I understand, Mad, and I’m glad. I know it’s going to be great. I’m just tired, it seems like, all the time. My body’s changing. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do this again. And Billy doesn’t understand. He wants to play and wrestle and go 90-per all day long,” she sighed. “Can you maybe come home early?”
“I’ll try, hon. I’m sorry about this, the whole thing has caught us by surprise, hasn’t it? I mean, the conference, the baby, geez.”
“I felt the baby move last night,” she said.
“No way! What’d it feel like, a linebacker or a ballerina?”
“It felt like a goldfish, if you want to know the truth... But it’s just so surreal, you know? I haven’t felt this for... so long, it’s just... it’s amazing,” she said. They talked about names and about which room to use as the nursery. They spoke as if they had been separated for months instead of just three days.
Madison sat still in the quiet room for a long time after they had hung up. “Dear Lord,” he prayed, “Please take care of Jill, and give her the strength to make it through this pregnancy. Thank you for blessing us with this new life.” He rose from the side of the bed where he had been sitting for their conversation and went to the desk. He picked up the business card with the lipstick imprint and he threw it away. Again.
Late in the night Madison woke up and logged onto the hotel’s high-speed internet portal. He checked his email and clicked around at a few sites. The RLU site was already advertising the conference, and unbelievably, had already posted a photograph of him taken just yesterday while he was on campus. He looked at Consumer Reports for reviews on new minivans, and checked his meager stock portfolio. He was tired but restless. He decided to ask the hotel concierge if they could help him get an earlier flight, maybe even leave tomorrow afternoon, surprise his wife.
Chapter 24
Saturday morning he was up at 7:00 a.m., which, with the time difference, was still 5:00 a.m. for him. He showered and glossed through the previous day’s notes, then, at 8:00 a.m., he went downstairs to see about getting an earlier flight. There were a few people ahead of him at the concierge desk, so he got in line. If he could catch a noon flight, he could surprise Jill and Billy for supper today instead of tomorrow, which would be great. “Just do some writing on the plane ride to make up for lost time,” he reasoned.
Across the lobby, he noticed Blond At The Bar, uh, Judy, step into the line at the little breakfast bistro on the other side of the elevators. Figuring, wrongly, that he might say goodbye, he stepped out of line and walked over to the cafe. She had already been seated by the time he arrived at the open doors. The room was full, and the couple in front of him was waiting to be seated. Judy was sitting at a table near the front, facing the door. He saw her but pretended that he had not. She spotted Madison just as her waiter stopped at her table with a glass of ice water. She said something to him that made him smile, and he nodded and walked over to where Madison was waiting, the smile never leaving his face. “Sir,” he said, “Mademoiselle asks if you would like to join her.” Madison was trying his hardest to make it look like he had wandered in for breakfast and not like he followed her in here, which he had. “Uh, sure,” he said, looking over at Judy and nodding gratefully. The waiter then showed him to the seat across from her. “Mademoiselle,” the waiter said, nodding graciously.
“Thank you,” Judy said, looking up at the waiter, flashing big blue eyes and a smile that he would remember for weeks.
“Wow, thanks,” Madison said. “It looked like I was going to have to wait awhile.”
“Mmm, Does that mean you owe me one?” she asked.
Ignoring the implication, Madison looked around, clearly uncomfortable, yet, it seemed harmless enough. “What could happen,” he thought.
“Expecting someone?” she said.
“Oh, no. Sorry. Yeah, I was supposed to meet someone here a while ago, but it looks like they’re a no-show.” He was a lousy liar. “How about
you, where are the three musketeers?”
“I’m afraid the party life has gotten the best of my girlfriends. We were supposed to meet down here for our last breakfast, today’s the last day of the convention, you know, but they all slept in. The floor doesn’t open till 10:00 a.m. today. They said to wake them at 9:30,” she shrugged. “Whatever.”
“You don’t look the worse for wear,” he said, and then, “That didn’t come out right. I meant, you look great.” And slowly, wishing he could gather the words back to himself, “It doesn’t appear that the late nights have affected you... That is closer to what I wanted to say.” Madison was way over his head here.
“You’re funny... handsome and funny... what a combination.”
They talked over coffee and Madison found out that Judy Turnbull was a real person, not just a voluptuous woman in a tight skirt. She was from South Texas, near Galveston, where she was the senior account executive for her company. She was smart, shared a condo with a man in a plutonic relationship, enjoyed horseracing, scuba diving and absolutely loved making big sales. She was the top producing rep in the state and would soon, she hoped, be district or regional manager.
“So, Madison,” she asked, “what would your wife say if she saw you eating breakfast with me?”
“My wife?”
“Mhmm. You are as married as the day is long.” She smiled a knowing smile; she put an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “I can tell by how uncomfortable you are. I could tell the instant I walked up to your table the other night.”
“Well... Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Have been for a long time now.”
“There you go. Doesn’t it feel better knowing that you’ve got that out on the table? And happily married. Am I right?”
“Very.”
“Listen, Madison, you don’t get to be as good at sales as I am unless you can read people pretty good, okay? And I can read you like a book.”
“You think so?” He didn’t think he liked where this was going, but hey, she didn’t know anything personal about him besides his first name, and he was 2500 miles from home. What’s the worst that could happen? This was kind of therapeutic.
“Here’s how I see it, okay?”
“Ready for your analysis, doctor,” he grinned, adjusting himself in the seat.
“Allright. Here you are, on a business trip God knows how far from home. You miss the wife and kids, but after a long day, where do you end up? In the bar nursing a drink, watching the action.”
“I was people-watching and it was a diet coke.”
“Whatever. Stay with me. It’s been so long since you’ve actually flirted with a girl, other than your wife, that you don’t understand chemistry between men and women at all. When I came up to your table, you nearly wet your pants. Being approached directly like that just doesn’t happen to you. Am I wrong?” She continued before he had a chance to answer or defend. “Women are attracted to you, but you’re not sure why. And you don’t think having a relationship outside or your marriage would be fair to your wife, so you just live, everyday, in this double world where you want what you have, but you also want what you don’t have. You don’t think you could have it... both ways.” She leaned across the table again, providing that view he knew he shouldn’t take, but did this time, for the briefest of seconds. “You don’t think you could have it both ways,” she smiled, regaining his attention, “But you might be surprised.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.” Of course he knew exactly what she was saying, and he was stunned and terrified. “But I think you may be in the wrong line of work. You could make good money as a therapist,” he said.
“I make a lot better money as a sales rep, trust me,” she said. She sat back, studying his face, her mouth was formed into a slight grin, her eyes looking through him. “Did you keep my card?”
“Uh, no. Sorry.” He couldn’t sound convincing.
“Here’s another,” she said, “I won’t mark this one. It’s safe... Well,” she said, breaking the spell he was falling under, “I was supposed to wake the Dixie Chicks five minutes ago. If you’ll excuse me.” She stood, as did Madison, always the well-mannered one. She grasped his forearm gently with her left hand and pulled him down a few inches, and, standing on her tiptoes in her 3-inch pumps, she gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Then she was gone. Madison sat back down and unconsciously rubbed his cheek with a napkin in case there was lipstick.
The concierge was alone at the desk when Madison walked back that way. He wanted a flight out of Dallas worse than ever now. The longer he stayed at the Hyatt, the more likely he was to get into trouble. The concierge made a few calls, and, within minutes, he was booked on a 3:00 p.m. flight to Oakland. He spent the rest of the morning alone with his thoughts in the safety of his hotel room. He wanted to be home.
Chapter 25
“Hey, J,” Madison said into the cell phone.
“Hi. Oh, I miss you... I can’t wait till you get home.”
“Me, too. Won’t be long, I promise. Did you go to church tonight?”
“No. I thought Billy and I would catch the late service tomorrow. When you’re not here, I don’t really feel like going to all three. I could listen to you all day, but it’s just not the same when you’re gone.”
“You’re sweet. I don’t think I could even stand to listen to myself three times in a row.”
“You know what they say... Love is deaf,” she said.
“That’s ‘Love is blind,’ I think.”
“Oh yeah,” she cooed, “I knew it was something like that.”
“Anyway, Jill, I’ve got a little surprise for you.”
“I love surprises.”
“I know. Look out the front blinds.” Madison had made it the rest of the way home from the airport and was parked in the driveway. He didn’t want to go in the house for fear his wife would hit him with a skillet. Calling ahead with the surprise tactic was both safer for him and romantic for her.
“What did you? Oh, Mad!” He saw her glance out the window and then heard the phone click shut as she opened the front door and headed in his direction. Madison was smiling, getting out of the car as fast as he could.
“How did you...” was all she got out before their embrace. “Oh, I missed you so much,” she said into his neck, tears of happiness and pregnancy streaming down her face. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming home.” She pulled back and pounded both hands into his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I’ve been moping around here all day. I could’ve gotten fixed up.”
Madison smiled. He was crying, too; he couldn’t tell her how glad he was to be home, safe in her arms. “I wanted to surprise you... ‘Surprise.’” They held each other on the front grass, neither willing to allow the moment to pass. They talked into the night about the upcoming conference. He told her about Dr. Cross, the campus and about how young the students are these days. There were a few details of the trip that he failed to include, but those were better left unsaid, he decided.
The Enright family drove to church together Sunday morning, arriving at 10:45 a.m., a few minutes early for the second service. Madison had felt compelled to stay with his family even though his nature would have been to attend to his Sunday morning ritual as usual. He convinced himself that this was a day off, no one expected him and everything was arranged to flow without him, so he would resist the urge to intervene. He could tell that it really blessed his wife to have him stay behind and take them to church.
“This is nice,” Jill said as they piled out of the Rover and started walking toward the sanctuary. “Just like a real family - I could get used to this,” she said, taking her husband’s hand in her own. Seeing the Pastor coming to church like a regular person was strange, especially for his staff who wondered if they should include him or leave him alone.
“I’m going back and check in with Dr. Culbert. Be right back.” Madison kissed Jill on the cheek and walked
down the aisle, shaking hands and greeting people, then disappeared behind the stage into the prayer room. “There he is,” Madison said as he opened the door.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the Pastor of this little church,” Dr. Culbert smiled and rose, extending his arms for an embrace. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Dallas with our old friend?”
“I broke free a day early.”
“So how is the old genius?”
“Amazing,” Madison said, shaking his head.
“Cross has probably forgotten more than you or I will ever know.”
“I don’t doubt it. And yet he asks me to speak for his conference.”
“He’s a visionary, son. Probably sees something in you that you can’t even identify yet. He wants to help give birth to something great. It’s the way he thinks.”
“Well, I’m honored. Hey, I’m going to go back out and sit with Jill, we’ve really been looking forward to you being here. The congregation needs a little class once in a while.”
“You are welcome, my friend. Glad to do it - but this three services thing, whew. I might be getting too old for that kind of schedule.”
“I’ll have Pastor Dan bring a stool up to the stage, or would you prefer a La-Z-Boy?”
“Hey, you put a La-Z-Boy up there and I’ll be here twice a month! Ha!”
Pastor Dan did bring a stool onto the stage with him when he came up to introduce Dr. Culbert for the third time. The congregation applauded as Dr. Culbert ascended the stage.
“Thank you, thank you. Well this is service number three for me this weekend and I tell you, that’s nearly a month’s worth of preaching at my little church - and I get a week between each sermon! This three times per weekend bit is a big task for an old goat like me. Listen, you are a young church with a young, strong Pastor. But I’m telling you, when he gets to be my age, we’ll see who has the last laugh.”
The congregation laughed as the dear old man pulled the stool forward and settled himself upon it. Dr. Culbert, or Dr. Ray as he had been known for over fifty years, was the epitome of wisdom. He had been an infantryman in Korea where he had experienced the scourge of war and the cruelty of men. He returned home with a commitment to helping people solve their problems in the light of God’s love. He attended college, achieved the lofty status of Ph.D., and began to pour himself into the lives of young people that would change the world and rectify the sins of his generation. Thick gray hair with black horned-rim glasses that rested upon his bulbous nose, he was rarely seen without his requisite grey suit, blue tie and black wing-tip shoes. Dr. Ray had retired from RLU in 1992 and accepted the Pastorate at a small church in Northern California where he lovingly served and blessed all who were fortunate enough to wander within his reach. He didn’t really travel any more, didn’t drive at night and was uncomfortable using airplane latrines, but he always made exceptions for his students, many of whom were preaching, and called upon him for personal advise and pulpit-fill once in a while.