“So, where do we go from here?”
He moved closer to her and put his arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Let’s talk about it. We have the rest of the night and for as long as it takes. But you know what? I’m hungry! Now that we’ve talked, my appetite is back with a vengeance. Come on, let’s see what we can rustle up to eat.”
Jaci stood up, kicked off her shoes, and headed into the kitchen. “Yeah, I’m starved. Some psycho forced me to leave the dance before I had a chance to eat.”
He laughed as he followed her into the kitchen, hugging her from behind. “But look how much more enjoyable the company is.”
They worked together and fixed bacon, eggs, and toast. While they ate, he told her about the talks he’d been having with his pastor.
Jason
Jason had grown to appreciate Gerald Robinson since Gerald had become the pastor of his church. He had known the guy in high school when they played basketball and ran after women together. After high school, they lost touch and had gone down different paths. Jason hadn’t seen or heard from him in years. He was blown over when Gerald had been introduced a couple of years ago as the new pastor. He was progressive and a serious advocate of the movement to get men more committed to the Lord and a Christian lifestyle. He arrived at just the time Jason was searching for a new meaning in life. Since then, under Gerald’s mentorship, Jason had gradually become more committed to living the Christian life. He still blew it sometimes, but Gerald made him understand that continuing to try was the important thing.
“You know what my pastor’s had me doing? By the way, he’s really anxious to meet you. Anyway, he’s had me studying Scriptures. Many different ones, but I’ve spent lots of time in Proverbs. He said after I read and took in the wisdom of those Scriptures, I would know what the Lord would have me do about any situation. I read, write down any verse that I think applies to our situation, and then discuss it with him. I’m surprised at how much I enjoy it. And I’ve really learned a lot.”
“But has it helped you in a practical way?”
He answered with an “are you for real” expression. “You better believe it. I didn’t know all of that was in there to help us live. I’ve always been told to read the Bible, but truthfully, I haven’t done so on a consistent basis. But it’ll be a priority from now on. You know, I would like to share some of my favorite verses with you. Can I?”
Jaci felt the joy bubble up in her heart. She couldn’t think of anything that would have pleased her more. With a big grin on her face she answered, “I would love it!”
“I’ll be right back,” he told her as he ran up the stairs and came back a few minutes later with a Bible and a notebook in his hands.
They spent the next few hours poring over the Scriptures that Jason said had helped him the most. But he confessed that his very favorites were found in Proverbs 31.
“Sweetheart, when I read those verses, I thought of you. The more I read them, the more I saw you in there. Everything described in those verses, I’ve observed about you. It blew my mind, especially verse twenty-nine.” He started reading the verse and continued reading to the end of the chapter.
Jaci looked uncomfortable. “Jason, those verses are talking about this man’s wi—”
“I know what they’re talking about, honey.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “Do you know what I’m saying to you, sweetheart?”
Jaci looked away from the intensity of his eyes. She wasn’t ready to deal with what she saw there. “You know what? I’m tired,” she said as she glanced at her watch. “Oh my goodness! It’s way past time for me to be getting home.”
“Why don’t you just bunk out here for the rest of the night? I promise you’ll be safe. And I’ll even feed you some more bacon and eggs when you wake up,” he told her, grinning widely. “Trust me?”
She looked hard at him, wondering if she had lost her mind to even consider it. But she remembered the times when he could have taken advantage of her, and how he always protected her, even from herself, then answered, “Yes, I trust you. Give me one of your shirts to sleep in.”
He stood and pulled her up with him. Cupping her face in his hands, he whispered, “I don’t know if I’m thinking rationally tonight. I have a beautiful woman that I’m crazy in love with in my house, and I’m promising not to touch her! I know something is wrong with me!” Taking her hand, he led her up the stairs and into his spacious bedroom. He went into the closet and came back with a T-shirt in his hands. “You can change in there,” he said, pointing to the bathroom.
When she returned dressed in his shirt that reached almost to her knees, he had put on some pajamas and was lying on the bed. “Okay. What room can I sleep in?” she asked him.
“This one,” he answered quickly. “I want to spend this whole night with you. And don’t worry, I remember my promise.”
She looked at him as if he were crazy. “Well! Mr. Proverbs Man. Where has all that wisdom gone? Out the window? Hiding under the bed?”
“Honey, I know what I’m suggesting might not be the wisest thing, but I just don’t want us to be apart tonight. We’ve come so far, gotten so much resolved. I’m just not ready for it to end.”
She went into deep thought at what he said. She too felt the fragile bonding that she was reluctant to break. But suddenly a Scripture came to her mind. “Jason, the first thing we have to decide is who we’re going to serve in our relationship. We both know we’re not the strongest when it comes to resisting the temptation of giving in to our feelings. You’ve been so good at making sure we don’t cross any lines and I appreciate it. I know you think you’re strong tonight, but I just recalled a Scripture from Ephesians. It simply says: ‘Don’t give place to the devil.’ My grampa used to put it this way: ‘Give the devil an inch, he’ll take a mile; let him ride, he’ll soon be driving; give him a crack, he’ll make a door.’ Do you get what I’m saying? One seemingly innocent decision can lead us down a path we didn’t intend to follow. And we want our relationship to honor God in every way, right?”
Jason surveyed her, the light of understanding in his eyes. “You’re right sweetheart. I just got carried away with the joy of having you here. So what do you want to do?”
“We’ve talked to each other and talked about the Lord, read His Word, and agreed with it. But the one thing we haven’t done tonight is talk to the Lord. Can we just talk to Him together and seek His wisdom and direction in our relationship? And then we’re going to bed—in separate rooms.”
“Thank you, sweetheart, that’s a great idea. It’s He who will keep us on the right path.”
They talked to the Lord together. Each picking up from where the other left off in presenting their petitions to Him. They prayed until they were almost asleep. Then Jason took her to another bedroom.
Mercies
Jaci
Jaci awoke early the next morning after sleeping soundly. It took her a minute to orient herself, then memories of last night returned. “Lord, thank You for Your mercy, because You were surely with me last night,” she said quietly. She slowly slipped out of bed to go into the bathroom, then dressed in her now-rumpled dress.
She knocked on Jason’s door before sticking her head in and calling to him softly. He stirred, then raised his head, looking at her with sleepy eyes. “Baby, what are you doing up this early? It’s barely daylight. Go back to bed.”
“No, I need to get home, I have some things I need to do today.” She gasped. “I just remembered, I don’t have my car. How am I going to get home?”
He gazed at her for a long minute. “I think you’re running away from the progress we made last night. Is that it? If it is, it won’t work. We’re not going back.” When she didn’t respond, he gave a long sigh. “Okay. If you insist on leaving at this ungodly hour, you’ll have to drive yourself. Take your pick, the Jag or the Navigator?”
“Neither one, really. But I guess the smaller one is the lesser of two evils. Why can’t you drive me? How are you going
to get your car?”
He got out of bed and handed her the keys to the Jaguar. “I’m going back to bed. Then I have some errands to run. I was hoping to take you with me. But you’re not cooperating. Anyway, Patrick is supposed to come by later today. I’ll get him to drive me over to get the car.”
“And what was I supposed to wear when we ran these errands? I’m not exactly dressed to hang out, you know.”
“Oh, we would come up with something. Sure you won’t change your mind?”
“No, I don’t think so.” She knew she needed to do some serious thinking about the big change in their relationship.
When Jaci walked toward the door, J.P. went to the closet and slipped on a robe, then followed her down the hallway to the stairs. She found her purse, shoes, and coat in the family room and waited while he disarmed the alarm system and unlocked the door leading into the garage. He showed her which button on the keyless entrance pad to push to gain entry to the car. “It’s pretty powerful. So go easy until you get familiar with it,” he cautioned.
“You don’t have to tell me that!” She was totally intimidated by the car.
By the time she drove across town in the early morning light, relieved there was not a lot of traffic on the streets, she was enjoying the car. She turned down her street and was surprised to see a car parked in her driveway. As she got closer, she recognized it as Gloria’s. Her mouth dropped open in amazement when she realized the possible implications. Gloria had come to her house last night, parked her car, and Bill had picked them both up. Could this mean? . . . Had she been so immersed in her own problems that something had developed between her coworkers without her noticing?
“We . . . lll!” she said to herself. “This is a surprising development. Goodness gracious! Uh! Uh! Uh!”
Then she reminded herself not to jump to any conclusions.
She drove the Jag into the double garage and parked it next to her Jeep. Thankfully, she had thought to tuck the garage opener into her purse along with her keys before leaving last night. Seldom did she use any entrance to her house other than through the garage. She went through the process of unlocking the door to enter the kitchen, going straight to the answering machine to check her messages. To her relief, all was well. She had grown so accustomed to expecting bad news that it was almost a letdown to hear routine messages.
After she showered and slipped into comfortable clothes, Jaci realized she was too mentally and emotionally hyped to relax, so she decided to go grocery shopping and cook dinner for Randi and her family. She knew they hadn’t enjoyed a good home-cooked meal in a while. Deep inside, she knew she was just seeking a distraction to avoid thinking about last night. She wasn’t ready to deal with all the ramifications just yet. Had Jason almost proposed to her, or had she imagined it?
She decided on the popular African American menu that never failed to delight: baked chicken, greens, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, and cornbread. And she knew Randi would be looking for cheesecake. Since she seldom cooked large meals anymore, usually settling for TV dinners or a salad with a piece of meat grilled on the George Foreman grill, she needed to buy almost everything.
Later, as she stood at the sink washing and re-washing the greens, she berated herself. Of all the grand ideas she had ever had, this was one of the worst. She continued harassing herself throughout the meal preparations, regretting her earlier call disclosing her plans to an excited Randi. She could have caught up on some much needed sleep, or cleaned the house, gone shopping, weeded her flowerbeds. Anything but this. A pizza would have sufficed!
Her doorbell rang just as the food, almost ready, began to produce enticing aromas. She swung open the door to greet Gloria and Bill.
“Hi!” Gloria said. “Bill drove me home last night, so we came by to get my car. We just took a chance and rang the doorbell. Whatcha’ doing?”
“Cooking a meal for my daughter and her family,” Jaci explained, stepping back. “Ya’ll come on in.” They stepped through the door, sniffing the air.
“Whoo!” Bill yelled. “Something smells really good. What are you cooking? Do I smell some greens?”
“Yep. Along with some other good stuff. They haven’t had a good meal in a while.”
“Huh! They better get in line behind me. I ain’t going nowhere till I eat. How soon will it be ready?”
“Me neither,” Gloria said, kicking off her shoes. “You need some help? I make pretty good cornbread. Just show me where everything is.”
Jaci, realizing she had company for dinner whether she wanted it or not, smiled. As she and Gloria left the room, she said, “Why don’t you see if there’s a game on, Bill? There’s bound to be something at this time of the day on a Saturday.” Bill picked up the remote and started flipping until he found a game that suited him, then got into it so heartily that he seemed to have forgotten all about the food.
As they bustled around the kitchen, it occurred to Jaci that this was the first time either of her coworkers had visited her home for any length of time. They had come by for a few minutes to drop things off or, in last night’s case, to pick her up, but beyond that, there had been no hanging out together. In spite of that, they made themselves right at home.
When Gloria pulled the cornbread out of the oven Jaci noticed that the chicken was beginning to fall off the bones, so she removed it too. Bill saw this and jumped up and shouted, “Grub time is on! Where can I wash my hands?”
After Jaci dished up brimming platefuls, they sat at the small kitchen table and ate like they hadn’t seen food in days. Conversation intermittently flowed between mouthfuls, but conspicuously missing was any mention of the happenings of the previous night.
They all groaned when the doorbell rang. Jaci looked at the clock hanging above the table. “It’s not time for my daughter and her family to get here. Maybe it’s Jason.”
When she opened the door, Jason and Patrick stood there, both smiling broadly. “Hey, guys! Come on in.”
Jason gave her a quick hug and pressed his lips to hers in a brief kiss, before leading the way into the family room, where he had a view into the kitchen. When he saw her coworkers sitting at the table, he continued walking toward them, asking how they were doing and introducing them to Patrick, who had followed him. Seeing the food on their plates, he turned to Jaci with an accusing look. “You didn’t tell me you were going to cook all this food. Is it for us? Looks like one of my favorite meals, especially the greens.”
“No, I just decided on the spur of the moment to cook a good meal for Randi and her family. Gloria and Bill just happened to drop by and wouldn’t leave until I fed them.”
“Well, you’re not getting rid of us either. Where are the plates?”
“Pat, are you hungry? Do you want to eat?” Jaci asked Patrick, who was still standing in the middle of the room.
“You gotta be kiddin’! You couldn’t melt me and pour me outta here! Hey, did you make cheesecake? You know I love your cheesecake,” Patrick said, scrambling in the cabinets for a plate.
“Wait a minute! You guys go wash your hands! You know better. The bathroom is down the hall to your left. The food will still be here. And yes, as a matter of fact I did bake a cheesecake. It’s a favorite of my daughter too.”
“Aw, man!” Patrick said, almost running down the hall.
Gloria and Bill continued eating, but had questioning looks on their faces. Apparently, something significant had occurred between J.P. and Jaci last night.
Jaci called Randi and told them to come on over while there was still food left. Good thing Jaci didn’t know how to cook in small quantities.
Later, after everyone had eaten their fill and left, Jaci and Jason snuggled together on the sofa. “I just realized why I’m so beat!” Jaci said. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Uh! Wonder why?” Jason asked with a chuckle, which quickly faded as he turned serious. “Sweetheart, have you given any thought to what we talked about last night?”
&nbs
p; He had done all the praying and thinking he could do. His mother was right. He knew his own mind. There was no way he was going to let Jaci get away from him. He would never find a woman more suited to him than she was. All he had to do was convince her that they had something worth keeping. He spent the morning shopping for an engagement ring. Now his only hope was that Jaci would accept his proposal. He felt like a nervous teenager on his first date.
“Not really, why?”
“Because last night changed everything. I meant it when I said that I love you and I hope you did too.”
“Yes, I do, but . . . I think we should move very slowly and carefully from this point on. Just to make sure these feelings are real and not just about, you know . . . physical attraction.” She hesitated nervously, not knowing how to continue. “We both know there’s a real . . . uh . . . a really powerful chemistry between us. To be honest,” she looked at him directly, “I admit that I’m human, with all the feelings and desires that go along with being human, but I’m a Christian and I can’t give in to them. I made that mistake once, I won’t do it again. I . . . we have to exercise self-control, no matter how powerful the attraction. Otherwise, we can’t expect God to bless what we have.”
Jason nodded in understanding. “Well, I don’t disagree with that and I’ll try to be patient with your need to move slowly. But I’m sure about what I feel. I love you and as far as I’m concerned, what we have is permanent.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small velvet box, and opened it to reveal a very large pear-shaped diamond ring. “Jaci, I love you very much. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? And as soon as possible, please?”
Seasons Page 18