Two Hard

by Amy Brent

Max’s attention was drawn away from the sky to the golden retriever, who was nosing around at the old oak tree in the front yard.

  “Well, are you going to go or what?” he asked the dog. Prince looked up at him and dashed to his side to nuzzle his hand. Max patted his head affectionately. Prince was good dog. He had gotten him when he was just a puppy, almost twelve years ago.

  After Prince took care of his business, the two climbed into Max’s battered old Chevy pickup and headed into town. Max was a cowboy who would work in the farms during the day. He was also a part time contractor who worked various jobs around town. Today he was to begin a big job at the church. Pastor Phillip had hired him to repair the roof, and restore some of the older parts of the church that were in need of some help. This would include repairing some of the siding, along with some of the windows to make the church more heat efficient.

  Max pulled up to the church and was surprised to see Pastor Phillip already there. He climbed out of the truck with Prince close at his heels.

  “Good morning, Pastor. I wasn’t expecting to see you here so early,” said Max.

  The Pastor looked up and smiled at him.

  “Good morning Max. Well, I thought I would get an early start today and be here in case you needed anything.”

  Max glanced up at the old church.

  “Well, I thought I would get started on the roof this morning. The weather looks to be pretty good over the next few days, so I figured I’d get that done and out of the way first,” said Max. Pastor Phillip nodded in agreement and watched as Max retreated to his truck to begin unloading his supplies.

  “And who’s at the farm.”

  “I had James take care of the farm today.”

  James was Max’s old friend who volunteered to help him at the farm whenever he needed help.

  A wave of sadness suddenly came over Max as he recalled the accident that had changed his life so many years ago. Max had been twelve years old at the time. It was a snowy day in December when he and his parents had headed out to go to the local market. They were driving through town when another car had lost control and hit them. Max’s parents had been killed instantly, but Max himself had been spared.

  Having no immediate family in Royal Oak, Pastor Phillip had decided to take him in. Phillip had just been appointed Pastor of the church and he and his wife had prayed on the decision to give the boy a home and to try and comfort him in his loss.

  Max had been a pleasure to raise. He had adapted well to life with Pastor Phillip and Katherine. He had made it through school and immediately went on to work as a contractor with a local construction company. About five years later, Max ventured out on his own and started his own contracting business. Along with that, he used to help Jack (Pastor’s friend) in his farm. And the entire farm became Max’s responsibility three years back when Jack passed away.

  There was always something missing though. Max poured himself into his work, letting it consume most of his life. Either it would be contracting assignments or he would be at the farm. He loved animals.

  He had always steered clear of getting involved with women. Pastor Phillip had thought it was because he didn’t want to get hurt. But, it was clear that over the years Max had grown lonely. Pastor Phillip had prayed continuously for God to put a woman in Max’s life, someone who would see what a wonderful man Max had become.

  That evening, after putting in an exhausting ten-hour day, Max and Prince were sprawled out on the couch watching a football game. Max had his laptop in front of him and was trying to sift through a mound of emails. Most of them were either the usual spam mail or work-related, but this time, one of them was different. It was an advertisement for a website called ChristianMailOrderBrides.com. Intrigued, Max clicked on it.

  It was a Christian dating website that had listings of women who were looking to meet men – they were ready to be a mail order bride. He was about to click it off when he noticed one posting in particular. The posting was by a woman who called herself “Anna.”

  She had included a picture of herself and Max couldn’t help but notice how different she looked. Most of the ads on the website had pictures of women who were smiling and looked happy. Anna’s picture didn’t look like that. Her eyes held a certain sadness, like she was carrying around the weight of the world on her shoulders. Max didn’t know why, but he was drawn to Anika for some reason. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know what was making her so sad.

  Max had never been really interested in any of the women his age at the Pastor’s church. He’d always been really shy ever since he’d lost his parents. Although he had survived the accident, a part of him had actually died that day.

  The Pastor and Katherine had been praying for Max to find a way to let go of the pain he’d been carrying around for so many years, and they honestly felt that if met the right woman, she just might be able to bring him around. It’s actually pretty amazing what true love can do for a person.

  Though sad-looking, Anna’s photo was still quite a striking one. Her hair was long, dark and wavy, and it had a healthy shine to it that made it glimmer in the photo. She had perfectly rosy lips, and although they weren’t smiling, Max could tell they were perfectly “pouted.” She had a shimmery gloss on her pinkish pouty lip in the picture. Her eyes were amazing. Max could stare at her eyes in that photo forever. They were a hazel and sea-green color, and Max thought they were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

  While looking at Anna’s profile on the Mail Order Bride Dating website, Max decided to send her a message. He couldn’t quite put his finger on exactly why, but he felt led to reach out to her. Her eyes, though stunningly perfect, seemed to bear the same kind of pain he had been dealing with for so many years. Max clicked on her profile and wrote her a message:

  Dear Anna:

  This is my first time ever on one of these dating sites, and normally I wouldn’t bother sending anyone a message, but there was something special about your profile, something unique. Most of the women on this site are all smiling and happy like they haven’t got a worry in the world. In fact, some of them seem desperate to get married.

  But in your picture, as lovely as it is, your eyes seem solemn and sad. I want to know why you look so sad and what it would take to put a smile on your beautiful face.

  I would love to take you as my ‘mail order bride,’ but suggest we get to know each other first. What do you say?

  Sincerely,

  Max

  For a few moments, Max sat there and stared at the message he’d written. It was very unlike him to write something like that to a woman he didn’t know. In fact, it was very unlike him to write anything to anyone, let alone a strange, yet lovely woman he’d never even met. He wondered what Anna might think when she read the message—if she even read the message.

  As Max sat there looking at the message, he thought about deleting it and walking away, but something inside of him made him send it. He remembered how Pastor had told him that God had made Eve just for Adam, and that He’d also made a woman out there just for Max as well. Max read over the words he’d typed one last time, and then quickly clicked “send” before he changed his mind again. Then he sat back and sighed.

  Prince came over and sat down at his feet.

  “Hey boy,” Max said, reaching down to pet Prince on the head, “You think maybe she’ll write us back?” Prince let out a loud, playful “yelp” and began to wag his tail.

  The following evening, Max found himself in the same position as the previous. He was sifting through all of the emails in his inbox when he saw one that stood out. It was from ChristianMailOrderBrides.com. It was a reply from Anna.

  Max couldn’t help but feel excited that the lovely, yet solemn-looking Anna had replied to his message.

  “She wrote us back, boy!” He said happily, clasping his hands together in delight. Prince ran around in circles around his feet happily, as if he knew that Anna had written Max back.

  Max pulled his
chair up closer to the table he had his laptop setting on, in order to get more comfortable. He was excited to see what Anna had written in reply to his original message. He opened up the email and clicked on Anna’s message.

  It read:

  Hello Max,

  My name is Anna. I was happy to read your message. No one else has ever asked me why I did not smile in my profile photo. It’s because whenever someone takes my photo, it reminds me of the last time my parents took photos of me. My parents passed way when I was young, and I was raised in a convent by nuns. They were very good to me, but I never really got over losing my parents.

  They wanted me to stay in the convent and become a nun, but I didn’t feel led to become one. I have always pictured myself in a different kind of life. Right now, I work as housekeeper at the convent during the day, and I study the Word in the evenings. It is hard work, but I am thankful that I have a job at all. And I really enjoy working with the children here.

  I have always felt I was meant for something different in my life, and that’s why I decided to put a profile up on the site. I hope to one day leave the big city and settle down somewhere in a nice small town.

  And to answer your question, I love flowers. Flowers always put a smile on my face.

  Sincerely,

  Anna

  Max couldn’t help but read the email over and over again. He couldn’t explain why, but he wanted to know more about her. He decided he would ask her for her phone number, or at least offer her his phone number to her. He wondered what big city she lived in and what it was like there. He also wanted to ask her which convent she worked at, because he had something special in mind for her.

  Max quickly wrote Anna back and asked her everything he’d been wondering about. He couldn’t wait to hear back from her yet again.

  The next day, Max went to work on the church roof with a big smile on his face. He hummed a tune to himself as he worked. The Pastor was an older man, but he was pretty sharp, and he could tell there was something different about Max. He looked up at the young man he’d red as his own and smiled. Then he coughed a bit to himself, not wanting Max to hear.

  After work that night, Max hurried home to see if Anna had written him back again. Prince sat down on the floor at his feet as he checked his email on his laptop. Just as he’d suspected, there was another message from Anna waiting for him.

  Max and Anna communicated through emails over the next few days. Each day after a long day of working on the church roof, Max found himself eager to get home to learn more about her. It wasn’t until the end of the first week that Max and Anna decided to exchange numbers and speak on the phone for the very first time.

  It was early on a Saturday morning when Max’s phone rang. Even though he’d be anxiously waiting to hear Anna’s voice for the first time, he found himself feeling quite nervous. Socializing was something that always been a struggle for him since the death of his parents, especially when it came to talking to women.

  But still, the idea of talking to Anna for the first time beckoned him to the phone.

  “Hello, Max here,” he uttered into to the receiver, attempting to sound as assertive as he possibly could.

  “Hi, Max. This is Anna.”

  Her voice was soft and sweet. To Max, it sounded almost melodic coming through over the phone line. Max could feel his heart skip a beat and butterflies flutter around in his belly.

  “Hi Anna, I’ve been waiting for your call,” Max said excitedly with a huge smile on his face. “It’s so nice to finally hear your voice. And it’s a beautiful voice, by the way.”

  “Thank you, Max. It’s great to finally hear yours as well,” Anna replied. She sounded like she, too, was smiling on the other end of the line. “You know, this is the first time I have ever tried this online dating mail order bride kind of stuff.”

  Max noticed a trace of nervousness in Anna’s voice. He was beginning to like this more and more. He thought that it was natural to feel a bit nervous, after all, he was a stranger to her.

  “It’s my first time too, but I’m really glad you did!” Max admitted, honestly. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling into his end of the receiver.

  There was a pause in the line. Max suspected that Anna, even though from a big city, was like him, a bit shy. Over the past few days, they had been exchanging bits and pieces of each other’s lives, likes/dislikes and interests, and now that they were speaking for the very first time, Max felt like he’d already known Anna for much longer than a week.

  She had been telling him about her life out in the big city and how she had always wanted to move to the country and become a Sunday school teacher. Max had never met a woman with aspirations like hers, and it intrigued him beyond words. A woman as beautiful and virtuous as Anna was actually interested in him!

  He wanted more than anything to see her in person, but he didn’t want to scare her off either, so he kept his composure and decided to wait things out until the time seemed right to ask her if her could visit her. She lived less than two hours away from Max’s quiet little hillside town, and he wanted nothing more than to take her out and show her a wonderful evening.

  “So have you ever been out this way before?” he asked, inquisitively. The thought of showing up at the Pastor’s church with Anna on his arm made his heart skip another beat.

  “Actually, no,” Anna replied, “but I’ve love to come visit someday.”

  Max’s face lit up with excitement. He could already picture himself escorting Anna around the countryside and introducing her to everyone in town.

  “Anna, I hope this doesn’t come across as too forward, but I’d really love to come to the city and take you out sometime.” He’d already blurted out the words before he’d given himself a chance to think twice about it.

  Anna was quiet on the other end for a brief moment. Max sat there in anticipation of her answer. Anna had been out on dates with a few other men before, but had never felt any type of connection with them. She was already beginning to have feelings of adoration for Max, however. He seemed so genuine and so honest, and she was eager to meet him in person.

  “Well,” she began, “I work at the convent during the week, but I’m usually available on the weekends.”

  Max felt the butterflies in his belly begin to flutter again. He felt like leaping for joy, but allowed his face to light up in a huge grin, instead. He felt like a high school boy who’d just gotten a date with the prom queen.

  “I attend service at my Pastor’s church in the morning, but I’d like to come and take you out to a nice dinner in the city tomorrow night,” said Max. He crossed his fingers and said a quick prayer, hoping that Anna would oblige.

  “That sounds like a lovely idea,” Anna replied, sounding as if she was smiling again on the other end of the line.

  Yes! Max thought silently to himself. He was already thinking about what he was going to wear and which flowers he planned to surprise her with. She’d revealed to him that she loved roses, so he was already planning to find a very rare and beautiful type of rose bouquet to show up with at her door.

  They conversed on the phone for short while longer, until Anna informed him that she needed to complete her studies for the night. They planned their dinner date for the next evening and Anna gave Max her address.

  After his conversation with Anna, Max felt completely rejuvenated. He had had a few crushes back in high school, but he’d never felt anything quite like what he was feeling now. He had never been in love before, but he had a feeling that that’s exactly where he was headed if things kept progressing this well between him and Anna.

  He grabbed a cold drink from his fridge and plopped down on his couch in front of his t.v. Prince hurried over and lay down in front of the couch near him.

  “I’m going to see her tomorrow night, boy!” Max exclaimed excitedly as he reached down to scratch Prince affectionately behind the ears. The dog poked its head up and licked its master’s hand as if sharing in the confirmati
on of Max’s newfound excitement.

  “She might be the one, boy,” said Max, with a dreamy look on his face “she just might be the one – I have found my bride to be!”

  Max hurried around the house getting ready for church service, as Prince watched him lazily from his spot on the middle of the hallway floor. Max always did enjoy the Pastor’s sermons, but today, he was even more enthusiastic than usual. After all, today would be the day he’d finally get to meet his Anna.

  After church was over, Max hurried home to prepare for what he felt might possibly be the best date of his life. He had been on a few dates before with a few local girls back in high school, but never had he felt so nervous, yet so excited about going on one.

  He took a moment to sit down and calm his nerves. Prince came over to him and laid his head in his lap. Max was glad that he always had Prince around. The dog always seemed to understand the plights and pleasures of his master. Max closed his eyes and pictured what it would be like to finally meet the woman he’d been sharing so many details about his life with. He really wanted his first date with Anna to be a special and memorable one.

  Max went into his bathroom and looked in the mirror at himself. He noticed that he’d actually gone a tad bit pale in his state of nervousness. He started laughing at his reflection, looking back at him like a nervous teenager. His laughter brought the natural color back into his face and he felt much better.

  He decided it was time to groom his face and hair. He lined up his mustache and goatee with his trimmers and chose to try a classic look on his hair. When he was all done, he smiled at himself in the mirror, feeling like a new man.

  He went into his bedroom closet and picked out his nicest pair of dress slacks and a white button-down shirt he’d purchased specifically for this special occasion. He did the best he could to enhance his outer appearance, and he sprayed the new cologne he’d bought on his neck and chest.

  Although shy and somewhat introverted, Max had confidence in his looks. According to Pastor’s wife and a bunch of ladies from his church, he was actually a pretty decent looking guy. On the holiday services, when he’d dress up for the occasions, they would always tell him how nicely he “cleaned up.” Tonight, he dressed himself up luxuriously, feeling like the king of his castle.