by Bart Tuma
When Erik pulled into the Point, there was only one other vehicle, an older Datsun mini-pickup, so he didn’t even bother to tuck in his shirt or straighten his hair with fingers used as a comb. Erik’s only concern was how fast he could get something to eat and hopefully feel more awake. He had to grab the pickup fender before his legs became legs again. He arched his back walking the few steps to the door. There was one other person at the counter, and the cook, a guy, partially blocked his view of who it was. Must be a girl, Erik thought. That cook never pays attention to anyone unless it’s a pretty girl.
The ding of the bell on the closing door alerted the two to Erik’s presence. He saw the girl lean back away from the cook’s conversation, which she must not have found too exhilarating if her eagerness for distraction were any indication. It took Erik’s tired mind a moment to registered who she was. Erik had never seen Laura outside of the Mint, and certainly didn’t expect to see her here. He didn’t know how to react once he recognized her. His first instinct was to turn around and leave.
He didn’t have a chance for retreat. She had already seen him, and her words showed that she recognized him much more easily than he had her.
“I know you. You’re the idiot that decided he could fight a guy three times his size.” She gave his face a critical look. “You look just terrible. I’m surprised you aren’t in the hospital the way you got dragged you across the floor. You better pick your fights better next time.”
“Great that’s the third time you’ve called me an idiot. You made it clear what you think of me. I wasn’t trying to start a fight, but you’re right, I was an idiot to try to protect you from that drunk. The only thanks I got was you yelling at me while your boss drug me across the floor.”
Erik was mad at Laura, but was reminded again of her beauty. She really was everything he had dreamt of. He didn’t want anything to do with her, but was stilled awed by her presense.
Laura shifted back on her seat and now used the cook as a barrier. Unfortunately for her the cook had enough of this game and went back to the grill. Laura looked away and then back to Erik
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean a word of it. I had to put on a show so my boss wouldn’t fire me. It didn’t work. My boss let me go. Let’s say he gave me the chance to find new employment. Told me he didn’t need me having my ‘boyfriend’ coming in and causing problems with the regulars,” she gave a little mirthless laugh.
“You got fired? I’m not your boyfriend.”
“Boy, you’re quick aren’t you? I told him that you weren’t any boyfriend of mine, but it didn’t matter. He’s been looking for an excuse, anyways, so don’t give yourself too much credit. The place has been too slow and he’s pretty tight. I knew he couldn’t afford to keep me much longer, you just gave him a good excuse so he didn’t have to feel bad about it.” She shrugged.
The cook interrupted. “I don’t care about your two’s family reunion. I’m closing the grill in five minutes and the doors in fifteen, so if you want anything you better get it now,”
“Give me a hamburger with hash browns and a cup of coffee” Erik replied. He looked to see if Laura needed anything, but she already had a plate of fries.
“That’ll take too long. I’ll give you scrambled eggs and put some sausage gravy over toast. Take it or leave it. I still have to clean the grill before I can get outta here.”
“I’ll take it, but make sure the gravy’s hot.”
Erik watched Laura pick up her plate and walked to sit directly across from him at the U shaped counter. She only came closer to get a better look at his cuts.
Erik said, “I’m sorry you lost your job, and I’m sorry I played a part in it.”
A small smile formed on Laura’s face “Better take some lessons on ducking if you want to fight again. But I told you; it was going to happen anyway. The guy that was my boss is a jerk. Every time I turned around he was staring at me. It was creepy. Besides, he smelled like he’d never taken a shower in his life. It was hard to even walk past him.” She hesitated a moment, the smile flickering from her face. Hesitantly she added, “You gotta know I was only calling you a loser because I panicked. I never thought you were a loser. I’m sure you’re probably a great guy, but I had to do something cause I saw the look in my boss’s eyes when he was pulling you out,” she added.
Erik’s shoulders relaxed as he found himself smiling. “Forget it. Serves me right for being an idiot.” Simultaneously, he became acutely aware that after working in the field and then his hike up the mountain, his clothes probably smelled as bad as her boss had. He was glad she hadn’t come any closer. “So what are you going to do now?”
The cook placed a plate of eggs, toast and sausage gravy in front of Erik. He took a bite, noted that the gravy was far from warm. He looked over to complain, but concluded it was a waste of time. Instead, he returned his attention to Laura as she answered his question.
“I’m not staying in Sweet Grass, that’s for sure,” she said. “I have a few boxes to pack and I’m out of there for good. I did some exploring around Fairfield today. WinRight needs a checker. That’ll pay more than I made at the Mint, and the Highline Apartments are half empty, so it’ll be cheap housing. If the WinRight job comes through you may have actually done me a favor.”
“First you told me it wasn’t my fault, and then you tell me I did you a favor. I guess I come out okay in the deal?” Erik had a slight lisp trying to talk with a mouth full of toast and gravy that he’d put in his mouth before Laura sat down again. He felt disgusted at himself. What am I doing? Show some class, he thought. I’m not having lunch on the tractor. I’m sitting next to the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.
“Yeah,” she said, looking at him. “You came out alright. Except your face…” she shook her head with a little laugh. “They did a number on you, didn’t they? Where’d you go after that?”
“I’ve been home.” Erik washed down the remainder of his food with a quick drink of cold coffee. “I’ve been home and just about everywhere else since then… I’ve had a lot to think about. Right now, all I want to do is clean myself up and sort out some things and I guess let my wounds heal,” Erik commented as he put his hand on his still swollen and scabbed jaw. “After I first left the Mint I just drove for a while and ended up sleeping in my pickup.”
“Sounds like you had a great Saturday night, just like me.” Laura said as she leaned over the counter to get a closer look at Erik’s wound.
“In a strange way it was a great evening. I’ll never forget it.” To Erik’s surprise, he kept talking, “I felt so messed up. I prayed to God. I’d never really prayed that way before, and this time it seemed like God was right there with me. I don’t even know how to explain it, but He touched me and He was right there with me.” Erik’s words flowed easier the more he talked. When Laura had just been a dream, he hadn’t been able to think of anything to say to her. Now, when she was a reality, he was saying things he couldn’t have fathomed saying to anyone before.
Laura was quiet for an uncomfortable minute. She hadn’t expected nor wanted to get into a conversation about her past and Jesus. Finally, she said, “Sounds to me like you gave you life to the Lord.”
Erik placed his fork down on the now empty plate. “So, you know the Lord, too?” he asked.
***
It had been along time since Laura had talked to anyone about Christ. Either it was the undertone of excitement she heard in Erik’s question or it was the desperation she had felt over the past two days with losing her job and knowing she had to find another and move. Maybe it was a combination of it all, but his question had reminded her of how she had been in the past. She was suddenly acutely aware of where she was, what time it was, the diner, the cook, and Erik. It was the acuteness one feels when they are suddenly totally in the present. When all thoughts in a person’s head stop and they are faced with one pressing question; the question Erik had asked. So, you know the Lord, too?
She answered slowly. �
��Yes, I have been a Christian. I met Him about six years ago, although it seems longer than six years. When I met Him, it was the best time of my life, but things change.” And so did her voice
“What do you mean by that?” Erik asked.
“Stuff happens.” She sighed.
“I don’t know what you mean about ‘stuff’. What stuff?”
“You don’t want to know. It’s not important, and it’s probably just me. Enjoy your food and your new life with Christ, and forget I said anything. It’s just me rambling.”
“No, you need to tell me what you’re talking about. I’m new at this and I don’t know what to expect. I just got done talking to a guy who has been saved for years, and he seems more excited about the Lord than I am. He said to keep it simple, and not let things confuse me.”
“Yeah, he’s right. Listen to him, not to me. It’s been a long night. I just got fired, and I’m tired. Don’t pay any attention to me. I’m just a girl who doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Everyone knows girls just talk and it doesn’t mean anything.” Laura didn’t want to get into a long conversation about Christ with a guy she didn’t even know, and she swiveled her chair towards the outside windows. She thought how nice it was for Erik to be excited about Christ, but she had been there before. She had hoped for so much, but the reality around her didn’t carry much hope. She was at a small greasy diner with a cook who had been trying to hit on her, and a stranger with a beat-up face and smelly clothes. This was no longer the good old days.
The cook returned from cleaning up the grill. “Hey, the party is over. I’m locking the doors.” He reached under the counter, pulled out a set of keys and moved to the door and impatiently waited for them to follow him.
“We need to talk, we really need to talk” Erik said to her as Laura was forced to turn towards him as she left. “Do you mind talking in my pickup?” Erik asked as he rose to follow her from the diner.
Laura’s past meant she would never again be alone in a pickup with a guy. But… She looked at Erik. There was something about him and the way he spoke to her about the Lord. She surprised herself by replying, “Okay, but I need to get home, so it has to be short. I’ve got an interview tomorrow.”
Chapter Eleven
The earlier heat of the day on the northern Great Plains had yielded to the cool night of a cloudless sky. Laura felt the evening breeze on her face and couldn’t help but feel relieved to be out of the diner, but her feet still moved slowly. Erik was at the pickup door before her slow steps had left the edge of the Point. Her eyes watched his every movement searching for any hint of danger but she found none, only the comical movements of Erik trying to quickly straighten up the passenger side of the pickup truck which held an array of tools and farming apparatuses.
Erik worked at clearing a spot in the open door of the pickup and wondered if she was even going to get in. His mind raced. He was about to be alone with Laura. It would be great to talk about Christ, but what else would he say? He had never talked to any girl about anything important, and this wasn’t any girl.
“Sorry about the mess. I wasn’t expecting visitors.” It was all Erik could think of to say as she at last arrived by his side and waited patiently as he pushed the junk and tools off the seat, and shoved the big pipe and tire wrench behind the seat.
Laura’s concern wasn’t the mess. She climbed into the truck but left the passenger door open as he went around and got into the driver side of the pickup. The open door was more symbolic as they would still be very much alone. She felt better leaving one hand on the door handle. Then she waited for Erik to say something.
The silence made Erik’s first words even more awkward.
“What should I know about?” he asked after clearing his throat once. He had been fine in the diner, but now it was just the two of them, and he was mortified to find that he was as awkward and nervous as he had been when in her presence at the bar. But he wanted to know, so he forced himself to continue. “Is what I’m feeling now about Christ going to change?”
Laura unclenched her hands as she realized Erik really did want to talk about Christ. Without thinking she closed the door but her hand remained on the handle. ”No, no. Don’t think that. Erik, don’t let me give you the wrong impression about what I said. You tell me about the other night. That’s more important than my problems.”
Erik didn’t know what to say or how to start. This was all new to him. Once again the awkward silence filled the cab as Erik stared straight forward until he realized that her question was easy to answer.
“Okay.” Erik turned to look at her. “When I left the fight I didn’t know where I was going, but I guess He did. I’ve known God existed. Maybe I should say I hoped He did, just in case I needed Him, but Saturday night was the first time I asked Him to be my Lord”
Erik fumbled with his words. “I can’t exactly tell you what happened. I don’t know what happened, but I prayed to God. I know that, and I know He answered me. I can’t even tell you how I know, but I know. Before this, God was just something out there that, if He existed, was too far away to make a difference. But after I prayed, He wasn’t out there. He was in my pickup with me, somehow, someway. He was there. I needed His touch and it seemed like He held me in His arms. Nothing exactly happened, but I knew He was with me and had heard my prayers.” Erik looked at Laura for acknowledgement that he wasn’t just dreaming. “Is that strange, or did the same thing happen to you?”
The lights of the Point went dark and soon after the cook came out and left in an old car. It became almost completely dark, and only the outlines of their faces could be seen. The silence drew out until Erik repeated himself.
“Is that strange or did the same thing happen to you?”
And Laura was forced to reply. “No it’s not strange. Hold on to that: knowing how close He is, and don’t let it go.” She straightened herself in the seat, no longer leaning hard on the door. “I’ve almost forgotten it, how sweet it is to be close to Him. Don’t let that happen to you. I remember the first time I recognized His touch; different circumstances, but same result as what you said.” Laura’s voice was so soft Erik leaned towards her to hear and then back when he saw her flinch. Again, he had to restart the conversation
“How could you almost forget something like meeting the Lord? What happened?” His question was almost plaintive, as though the thought of it was a tragedy.
“What happened?” Laura replied. “So much has happened. I don’t want to give some ‘poor me’ story. Besides, it’s too long, and it doesn’t make a difference.”
“Of course it makes a difference. It happened to you and it might happen to me.”
“Let me just tell you the good parts, the part where I met the Lord, like you,” Laura said.
“I had just gotten out of high school and things weren’t good. I was having a hard time with my parents, and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life and no one to give me answers. On October 6th, I’ll never forget that date. I decided to go for a little picnic. There’s a big wooded park in Billings and the leaves of the maples had just been touched with the first frost. They were ready to fall, but the bright orange and brown colors seemed to hold them for one more day.
“I didn’t have anything else to do so I packed a lunch and went alone to my favorite spot. My parents always mocked Christians. So maybe out of spite, I started going to church. It bored me, but yet I knew the people were talking about something that was real, and I didn’t have it. A couple of weeks before this in that church I simply prayed that I wanted what they had. That certainty. That faith.
““When I got to my place at the park, I laid out my lunch and spread it before me. Playing pretend, like a schoolgirl, I imagined I was having a catered lunch with friends. I didn’t notice right away, but two men sat at a picnic table right behind me. I overheard snatches of their conversation and I couldn’t help but strain to hear what they were saying once they had my attention. They were both about my
age. One wore a tie, and the other one dressed like he had just came off the oil fields. He did little talking but he seemed to be listening really carefully.
“As soon as I focused on their words I knew the Lord had brought me there. The one with the tie was talking about being committed to the Lord. He talked about God’s love and the plan He had for each of us. The more he talked, the more I turned to catch every word. I didn’t care if they saw me, and soon it was as if I was part of the group without even being introduced.
“The man made it so simple. He explained God wanted to be with us. He pointed to the lunch I had spread on the lawn.
“‘It’s like the feast that this young lady has set before herself,’ he said. ‘Christ has invited us to join Him as you would invite a friend home for dinner. Although He is God of the universe, He doesn’t sit at some far off heaven’s table. He has joined us where we are. Here. He’s God and we’re just people, but He still has loved us with all our problems and all our faults. He has never told anyone they aren’t good enough. He came to bridge the divide between troubled men and women on earth and a perfect God in heaven. And the only way that divide could be bridged was for God’s Son to become a man, to feel the experiences, even the pain that man faces, and then He died on the cross. He died taking every sin, everything man could be guilty of, and every problem Satan could lay on men and women, and He took them all upon himself. He sacrificed Himself in our place. Today, all we need to do is to accept how much we need His sacrifice, His forgiveness, and find the shelter of the cross of His forgiveness, His love.
“‘In fact, He became a person just like us and felt everything we feel, so there wouldn’t need to be any explanation on our part or an separation from Him. He comes to us where we are at, even if it is a sack lunch in a park.