Love Is Enough

by Emma Easter

  “What are you talking about, Sienna?” Trisha asked, frowning. “You love God. I know very few people who love the Lord as much as you do. Why would you think that?”

  “Before your nightmares began, did you ever think of your job as evil?” Audrey asked.

  “Umm, not exactly evil, just vain and meaningless. Anyway, I felt like it wasn’t God’s will for me to continue modeling. But I continued anyway because I liked it.”

  “No, you didn’t like it, you loved it,” Audrey said.

  “All the more reason why I had to give it up.”

  “And why did you abandon Derrick at the altar?” Trisha asked.

  Sienna sharply sucked in her breath. The way Trisha had said “abandon” caused her already unmanageable guilt to shoot up. She answered quickly before she could be swallowed up by a mire of guilt.

  “Because after that, I knew I had to be consecrated to God alone and marriage or a romantic relationship would rob me of that. I knew God didn’t want me to get married.”

  Audrey looked accusingly at Trisha.

  “I wasn’t really bothered that you ‘abandoned’ Derrick at the altar,” Audrey noted. “What has been troubling me is the fact that you quit your job.”

  “You don’t have to look at me like that, Audrey.” Trisha smirked. “I already know you don’t think marriage and relationships are important.”

  “Did I say that?” Audrey scowled at her. “Anyway, just like I told you before, Sienna, I don’t think God is behind any of it.”

  “Sienna, I think you should leave this place now. Come to Rosefield with us,” Trisha said. “You can move in with Stan and me until you’re ready to go back to New York.”

  Sienna clenched her jaw and shook her head.

  “No, I think I’m exactly where God wants me,” she said, determined.

  Audrey snorted. “But Trisha, do you really want her to move in with you and Stan? With everything that’s going on with both of you?”

  “What’s going on with them?” Sienna asked, looking pointedly at Audrey for answers.

  Trisha narrowed her eyes at Audrey. “It’s nothing,” she gave Sienna a small smile. “There’s no reason to trouble her, Audrey.”

  “No,” Sienna said. “I want to know, Trish.”

  Tears shimmered in Trisha’s eyes, and she didn’t speak for a minute. Finally, she said, “Stan cheated . . .” She wrung her hands like a little girl and let out a sob. “Stan cheated on me.”

  “Oh Trish, I’m so sorry.” Sienna wrapped her arm around Trisha’s waist. “What are you doing now?”

  “We’ve decided to see a marriage counselor.”

  Sienna nodded. She felt sorry for Trish, but her emotions were too unstable at this time to offer any advice.

  Audrey’s forehead creased.

  “That’s why I always told you guys to be careful when we were younger. Marriage isn’t all it’s made out to be. In fact, I think it’s overrated.”

  Sienna smiled sadly, remembering Derrick. He was such a good guy. She remembered how he was so studious and kind. He’d looked heartbroken when she’d left him at the altar. Even though she had felt guilty about that, she was certain that what she did was what God wanted her to do. She nodded.

  “You know, Audrey, I have to agree with you. I think everyone needs to focus entirely on their relationship with God.”

  “What about people who are married?” Trisha said. “Surely, God wants us to also treasure our marriages.”

  “I guess so.” Sienna shrugged. “But I think people shouldn’t get married unless they’re sure their spouses won’t take away the undivided attention that God requires.”

  “Way too many people have bad marriages that they conceal under a blanket of smugness,” Audrey said. “I prefer to stay single.”

  “I like being married,” Tricia crowed.

  “No, you’re afraid of being alone, that’s all,” Audrey replied tautly. “You give up everything that’s important to you, including your dignity, just to stay married.”

  “I don’t find the idea of coming home to an empty house every single night appealing!” Trisha’s eyes flashed.

  “And I don’t find being married to someone who’s warming up someone else at night appealing either!”

  “Guys, stop it!” Sienna looked from Audrey to Trisha and back to Audrey. “Must you always be so brutally hone . . . umm . . . must you say everything that is in your head, Audrey?”

  Trisha looked away. Audrey shrugged.

  “All I’m saying is that you should learn to stay away from men, especially handsome men who seem way too nice.”

  Sienna saw something in Audrey’s eyes that told her Audrey was thinking of a specific someone as she uttered those words. Bryan’s face once again appeared clearly in her mind. His kind, bright blue eyes shone with concern for her, the way they had the last time she saw him. “Stay away from handsome men who seem way too nice,” Audrey had said. Those words felt like a warning from God to her.

  She prayed once more, Lord, please help me stay away from that chaplain.

  Chapter Four

  Audrey walked around the Rosefield Youth Center, smiling. The mayor had announced months ago that a sizeable amount of money would be going into renovating the place. As she’d been put in charge of the day-to-day running of the center by the mayor, she had been very pleased about that. The Youth Center was close to her heart.

  It hadn’t taken long for the renovations to start and most of the work had already been done. The sprawling single-story building, which had begun to look somewhat dilapidated with age, was now spanking new, with brand-new facilities and additional workshop spaces for the kids.

  Teens were sitting and lying all around the well-manicured grounds, while others played basketball on the new basketball court. She went inside the building and found a group of kids taking piano lessons. She stopped to greet Jackie, the music instructor, and the redhead smiled at her.

  “We love what they’ve done with this place,” Jackie said. She had a wistful expression on her face as she added, “That handsome police officer also came here this morning.”

  Audrey nearly snorted. What was it with all these women, hankering after handsome men? Jackie beamed.

  “He wants to start another workshop for the kids.”

  Audrey frowned. That guy took the position that belonged to me, now he also wants to hijack my kids’ workshop. Can’t I have one thing that’s fully mine? She muttered, “He’s not going to start another workshop? Not on my watch.”

  The woman looked confused “I thought you knew about it. He wants cooking and home management lessons for girls and a woodworking workshop for boys.”

  “What?” Audrey’s eyes widened in shock.

  “I said he . . .”

  “I heard you.” She marched away, furious. Of all the outrageous, sexist things she’d heard, this was the most ridiculous. She was going to give him a piece of her mind right now. If he fired her for insubordination, then so be it.

  She walked all the way to the station feeling like her head was going to explode. Without knocking, she stormed into his office and gave him a death stare.

  His eyes grew big.

  “Really?” She stared down at him. “Cooking and home management lessons for girls and woodworking workshops for boys! You couldn’t come up with something more sexist!” He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. “And you had no right getting yourself involved with my kids’ workshop in the first place!”

  He looked up at her with a patient smile which made her even madder. “First of all, it’s the police department’s kids’ workshop, not yours. Secondly, I didn’t come up with the ‘cooking lesson’ thing. I don’t know who did, but it wasn’t me.”

  She said slightly less confident, “The music instructor at the Youth Center said you told her that this morning. Why would she lie?”

  “I wasn’t even at the Youth Center this morning,” he said. “Did she mention my name . . .
Ken Baylor?” He smiled sweetly at her like she was a confused little girl who simply needed to be straightened out. “What exactly did that instructor say?”

  Audrey answered reluctantly, “She didn’t mention your name, but she said the handsome officer . . .” Her words suddenly dried up as she realized how absurd her thinking was. She’d assumed he was the one Jackie was talking about because of the words, “handsome officer.” Was that all she had noted about him; that he was handsome?

  His amused grin only added to her embarrassment. “Surely, there are other handsome police officers, or does it mean you find me ‘particularly handsome,’” he teased. She harrumphed even as she asked herself the same question.

  “Well, I guess Jackie was talking about some other officer. I’ll go find out who it is.”

  His grin was still in place as he said, “That shouldn’t be so hard. Maybe you’ll finally discover another handsome officer apart from me.”

  She glared at him, then strode out of his office. Outside, she shut her eyes, mortified. She’d just made a total fool of herself, and he had enjoyed every minute of her humiliation.

  Focus, Audrey. Forget about him and find the officer Jackie was talking about.

  But as she asked each of the men about the kid’s workshop and if they had spoken with the music instructor this morning, she admitted to herself that she did find Ken Baylor ‘particularly’ attractive. His piercing brown eyes, tanned complexion and general rugged look appealed to her. He was probably the most handsome man she’d ever seen. That didn’t mean anything, though. She wasn’t interested in dating anyone and certainly not the guy who took the job that was supposed to be hers.

  At last, she found the officer who had said those ridiculous things to Jackie. His name was Officer Fred Draper, a dark-haired, bushy-browed, unruly, twenty-something-year-old. She had already given him several official warnings after he’d been caught a few times driving under the influence.

  She gave him a piece of her mind and then made him eat his words.

  *****

  Trisha’s jaw dropped as she gazed at the pregnancy test strip in her hand.

  It can’t be, or can it? She was scared of having her hopes dashed. But there were two clear lines on the strip rather than one. She took a deep breath and told herself to calm down and not get too excited. She checked for signs of pregnancy at least once a week, but she was never pregnant. Today, however, there were two lines. Unless her eyes were deceiving her, she was definitely pregnant.

  Unparalleled joy rose in her, and she whooped, unable to contain her excitement any longer.

  She took another deep breath to compose herself and did the test again. Again, it showed she was pregnant. She shrieked and then covered her mouth. She didn’t want Stan to find out this way. She wanted to surprise him.

  In her mind, she began to calculate the date of conception, and then realized it had to be the day she found out Stan was cheating on her. He had gone on another business trip after that and only just come back this evening. It was somehow fitting that this baby would be conceived on that day. Hopefully, it was a sign of what she wanted—a stronger bond between her and Stan through this child.

  Lord, please let this baby stay this time.

  Fear began to work its way through her heart and then she forcefully pushed it away. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

  She took the pregnancy test strip, went to the bedroom she shared with Stan and found him still asleep. She sat on the bed, gently tapped his shoulders and said, “Wake up, baby.”

  He cracked opened his eyes and grumbled.

  “Just a little more sleep.”

  She chuckled and held the stick above his head.

  “What’s this?”

  “What does it look like, silly!” she declared, elated.

  “No!” He blinked rapidly.

  “Yes, yes we are pregnant!”

  “Oh, Trish, are we really?” He stood and whisked her up.

  “Yes, you’re going to be a father.”

  “Wow!” He kissed her and then sobered slightly. “What, what if it happens this time again?”

  She shook her head and put a finger to his lips.

  “Shhh, it’s not going to happen.” She wouldn’t allow him to entertain the idea. “We will take care and pray. I think this baby is going to stay, Stan.” She smiled. “This time, we will have this bundle of joy and be stronger because of him or her.”

  *****

  The students, about fifty of them, gathered at the parking lot of the Bible school. Bryan stood beside the big bus, discussing the route with the driver that would take them into the next town for their scheduled street evangelism. The weather was great today, a perfect blend of happy sunshine and refreshing coolness.

  Bryan beckoned them to come nearer. He then led a short prayer, asking for God’s grace as they went out to share the gospel and the bags of supplies each had donated. After the prayer, he addressed the group.

  “So, we’ll enter the bus now. You can all sit anywhere you want, next to whoever you want to. But once we get to our destination, you will each find the partner I paired you up with last week and then head out to share the word together. Do you all understand?”

  They nodded.

  From the corner of his eyes, he saw Sienna at the back of the group. Even though they could sit anywhere on the bus, he’d hoped that, as his partner today, she would choose to sit beside him. But he should have known she wouldn’t. She avoided him at every turn.

  And why do you need to sit beside her on the bus?

  He thought about that. Maybe it was because he needed all the time he could get with her so he could find out exactly what was wrong with her. Since that day he asked if he could help her in any way, she had stopped coming to the chapel, even for the morning and evening prayers. Without a doubt, he knew it was his fault, and he wanted to change that.

  Maybe she’s found a solution to her problem.

  But he doubted it. He watched her as she entered the bus. She still looked distressed, so fragile. He felt in his heart an overwhelming need to help her, to protect her. He got on the bus after everyone and sighed softly with longing as she sat beside someone else.

  And then he chided himself. His intentions had become mixed up. He genuinely wanted to help her, but he could feel himself falling hopelessly for her. In his mind, he was already trying to figure out how to win her heart. But she didn’t need a boyfriend now. What she needed was a person who would help her.

  Another girl came to sit next to him and smiled cheerily at him. He smiled back and then looked out the window as the bus began to move. She looked a little gaunt today, Sienna. She was naturally thin and the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, but she did look extra thin. His heart flooded with worry.

  He whispered a short prayer for her and then tried to think of something less troubling. He watched cars speeding by, but her face remained in his mind.

  They drove through Green Valley, the small town from which he came. He thought about his parents and the house he’d grown up in and smiled. It was a short distance from where they were now, his family house. He made a mental note to call his mom and dad as soon as they got back to the Bible school, and then his mind was back on Sienna again.

  Soon, they entered the next town, Leedville, where they’d planned to share the Word and also hand out bags of daily supplies to people. The town had not yet fully recovered from the flooding that had happened two months ago, and many of the people could do with the groceries and supplies they were going to donate today.

  They stopped in front of a church, climbed down from the bus, and without ceremony, divided into pairs. They all departed until it was just him and Sienna standing beside the bus. He walked up to her, knowing she wouldn’t come to him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  He smiled to try to put her at ease and then said, “We’ll go in that direction,” and pointed toward a diner. “I’ve been
here before for street missions. The town is mostly safe. Some of the people can be a little prickly, but most of them are basically friendly.”

  She nodded. They began to carry the remaining bags of provisions from the trunk of the bus.

  “Do we hand out the donations before or after we share the gospel?” she asked.

  He smiled in pleasure. This was the first time she had spoken to him without fear. The last time he’d spoken with her, she’d looked like she couldn’t wait to scamper away. He held himself in check before she could notice he was staring and withdraw into her shell again.

  “We’ll hand out the food and then ask politely if they want us to pray for them. If they say they do, we can then share the gospel and pray for them. We’ll let the Lord guide us,” he replied.

  She nodded without saying anything more.

  He studied her face—how startlingly blue her eyes were and how smooth her skin was. His heart raced wildly. He wanted to reach out and caress her cheeks to see if they felt as soft as they looked, but he put his hands behind his back so he wouldn’t give in to the temptation.

  If only she didn’t look so scared of me.

  She was the kind of girl for whom he would give up everything; the kind with whom he wouldn’t mind spending every waking moment.

  He pushed the thoughts away. Remember why you wanted her to be your partner today. It was so you could try to help her in any way you can.

  They walked past the diner and passed a barbershop. She kept a little distance between them as they walked. They saw a group of adolescents talking beside an old library, and they gave them some of the bags of groceries. He asked them if they had any prayer requests. Most of them shrugged, but three of them asked for prayers for different small ailments.

  After he had prayed for them, he moved on with Sienna.

  He turned to her after they passed a train track.

  “So, Sienna, I didn’t get the chance to ask you in the class. I’ve been slightly worried about you since that day I spoke with you in the chapel.”

  She didn’t look at him as she said, “I’m good.”