Knight Music

by Darlene Franklin

  Thirteen

  “I thought I might find you here, brother.”

  Max. Ty’s eyes flew open.

  “I came as soon as I heard Nel was in the hospital.”

  Funny, Ty didn’t peg Max as the type to hang out in hospital rooms.

  “I figured you’d be here and you could use a friend right about now.”

  “You got that right.”

  Max didn’t say anything more for a moment but took in the room with his usual wide-eyed interest. “This is a pretty place. A good place to come and meet with God.” He put his hand on Ty’s shoulder. “Is that what you’re doing here, son? Meeting with God?”

  Ty turned to the man who had become a good friend in a short time. “I think maybe I am.”

  “You can’t fool me, not when you’ve been where I’ve been. You got something weighing heavy on your heart. And if I had to guess, I’d say you’ve never even crossed the starting line. That you’re still fighting it out with God as to whether you need saving or not.”

  “That’s not the question. I know I’m—to use the word I’ve heard at church—a sinner.” Ty looked at the cross. “And I know that you believe Jesus died for everyone’s sins. That’s the sticking point. Some things are just plain unforgivable.”

  Max didn’t speak for a minute, and Ty wondered if he was marshalling arguments against Ty’s disbelief. But Max took the conversation in a different direction. “You know I used to drink.”

  Ty nodded. “So you say.”

  “I drank for years. Pretty near died from it. Couldn’t hold down a job. My wife had the patience of a saint, but finally she had enough and went to her mother’s when the bank threatened to foreclose on our house.”

  “I don’t need to hear this.” Ty shifted uncomfortably on the pew.

  “I think you do.” Max dropped his hand from Ty’s shoulder. “The day I got the foreclosure papers, I took my first drink at daybreak and didn’t let up all day. I tried to start a blaze in the fireplace. When the kindling didn’t catch fire, I poured lighter fluid over the pile and lit a match.” He scratched his chin. “Well, it don’t take much imagination to guess what happened. By God’s grace I got out of there, but we lost everything.” He stared at the cross without seeming to see what was in front of him. “Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me.”

  Ty didn’t respond, not sure what he would say. Back in the day, Max didn’t only have a problem with alcohol, he’d almost killed himself and his family in the process. Ty found it hard to believe, knowing the man he was today.

  “So I don’t know what’s on your heart, son—and I don’t need to know, that’s between you and God—but you can’t tell me you’ve done worse than I done. And then there’s another story. From the Bible. The apostle Paul.”

  “The guy who wrote all those books of the New Testament?”

  “The same guy. Only before he became a Christian, he made it his mission in life to hunt down and kill as many Christians as he could. After God got ahold of him, he called himself the chief of sinners, and I guess he figured he had a claim to the name after what he done.” Max wagged a finger at Ty. “And you can’t tell me you’ve killed bunches of people for believing in Jesus.”

  Ty shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”

  “So you see? God forgave Paul, and He forgave me. He’ll forgive you, for sure. All you have to do is ask.”

  A light turned on in Ty’s soul. All I have to do is ask.

  “Will you. . .pray with me?”

  “That I will, son. That I will.”

  In the most natural way in the world, both men got to their knees and went before God.

  ❧

  After Sonia finished reading the magazine cover to cover, even filling out the crossword puzzle, she joined Joe in watching the basketball game. Halftime arrived, and Joe turned down the volume. “Ty’s been gone a long time.”

  Sonia shifted in her chair. “Yes, he has. I wonder what’s keeping him. I’ll hunt him down.” She stood, stretched, and walked in the direction of the elevator. The door opened and Ty came out, followed by Max. The two men beamed with an enthusiasm that could have lit a thousand-watt bulb if they could have found a way to plug it into a socket.

  “Max! How kind of you to come. And Ty—you look—I don’t know. Happy.”

  The two men looked at each other and laughed. Ty’s smile widened to the point where his facial muscles must hurt. “I asked Jesus to be my Savior.”

  “Oh, oh, oh.” Her voice rose higher with each syllable. “I’m so happy for you.” She hugged him. “Come on, you have to tell the others.” She giggled. “What wonderful news!” She danced ahead of them down the hall, holding Ty’s hand the whole while.

  They burst into the room. Joe glanced up, curious, and stood. “What has you so excited?”

  Their joy must seem strange given the reason for their presence at the hospital.

  “This is what the Bible means when it talks about confessing the Lord before men. Tell the world.” Max grinned.

  “I just gave my life to the Lord.” Ty showed no hesitation in saying the words.

  Joe jumped in the air. “Hallelujah!” He hugged his cousin. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” Michelle added her congratulations.

  Brian returned from his latest check on Nel. “Mum’s awake now, and we can visit for a few minutes.”

  “Let’s go tell her your news.” Nothing could equal the thrill of a new baby Christian. The news would perk up Nel for sure. Sonia tugged Ty’s arm, and he trotted behind her down the hall. The others followed. They tiptoed in. Nel looked drained and scary, the way people did when hooked up to IVs and monitors. An oxygen mask hid Nel’s nose and mouth, but her face looked serene. She flicked her hand, gesturing them closer to the bed. Max came in with the other family members. “It’s good to see you, dears.” The mask distorted her words.

  Joe took his mother’s hand on one side while Michelle stood on the other. Brian checked the monitor and nodded, apparently satisfied with the readings. Sonia and Ty hung back with Max.

  “Is that you, Max Collier?” Nel pressed a button and brought her bed to a sitting position. “How kind of you to come.”

  Max approached the bed. “It’s my pleasure, Nel.” He winked. “We have some good news for you.”

  She smiled, a little weakly. “Do tell me. I could use some good news.” She coughed, a horrible hacking sound, and then sipped on her water jug. Her eyes swept the room and landed on Ty. “Tell me, Ty.”

  Sonia saw him hesitate, a childlike shyness creeping over his features. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “Go ahead. Tell her.”

  “Are the two of you. . .”

  Sonia and Ty looked at each other and laughed. Michelle giggled.

  “Very well. What has happened?”

  “Oh, not much.” Ty’s grin burst out again. “I just asked Jesus to be my Savior tonight, that’s all.”

  “Oh, praise God, praise God.”

  A nurse—Wendy, the one with the kitty-cat tunic—stuck her head in the door. “You folks are having entirely too much fun.”

  Brian lost some of his professional demeanor and grinned at her. “Well, you see, we just learned my cousin here”—he slung his arm around Ty’s shoulders—“has made things right with God. And we’re all rejoicing.”

  “Well, praise the Lord and hallelujah.” She winked. “You bottle up some of that good feeling and take it again tomorrow, Mrs. Knight. That’s good news indeed.”

  God had blessed Nel with a Christian nurse.

  “Ty. As my new Christian brother, I’m going to ask a favor of you. Please find the Bible I’m sure is in that table drawer and read me Psalm 34.” Nel’s voice grew weaker with each word, and Sonia worried they had tired her out.

  “Sure thing.” The drawer was empty but for the Bible. “Psalms is in the middle, right?” He stuck his thumb in the center and turned a few pages. “Here it is.” He positioned the volume in his hands like a p
iece of music and began reading. “ ‘I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.’ ”

  Sonia glanced at Nel and thought she saw her lips moving underneath the oxygen mask.

  Ty continued through the end of the Psalm. “ ‘The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.’ ”

  “Amen. ‘Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,’ and that means you, brother.” Max clapped Ty on the back. “I’d best be heading home. But I’ll check back with you tomorrow. You know the whole church is praying for you, Nel.”

  “I know.”

  “Thanks for everything.” Sonia hugged the friendly bear of a man.

  “Sure thing.” He left.

  Sonia glanced at the clock. The time neared eleven; she had class in a little more than ten hours.

  “Do you need to go?” Ty asked.

  Sonia looked at Nel, whose eyes closed for a second before she forced them open again. Sonia nodded.

  Brian frowned at the group. “All of you, get on home and rest. I’ll call you if anything changes.” The fact he would stay the night with his mother went without saying.

  Nel roused herself long enough to give Ty one last smile before he left, and then he and Sonia waited at the elevator with Joe and Michelle. Michelle stood in the shelter of Joe’s arms, their burden halved by sharing it together. Perhaps someday she and Ty. . .now that he was a Christian. . .Sonia shook her head. It was far too soon to think such a thing, not with the issue of the stolen artwork still unresolved.

  The temperature had dropped twenty degrees since their arrival earlier in the evening, and Sonia skipped ahead to the car as fast as she could. Closing the door cut the windchill even before the heater kicked in. “Brr.”

  Ty turned the engine on and let it idle for a few moments until the hot air began circulating. “I know I need to tell the family about what I did. And I’m ready to do it. I figure it’s what Jesus would want me to do.” He threw his head back against the headrest and grinned. “I can’t believe I just said that. If you had told me when we drove over here tonight that I would be asking ‘What would Jesus do?’ before the night was over, I would have laughed.”

  “I know. Isn’t it wonderful?” Warm air filled the car, and drowsiness crept over Sonia. But first, Ty’s concern. “But with Nel being sick. . .”

  “It’s not the right time.” Ty shook his head. “What’s the saying, take one step forward, two steps back? That’s what this whole business with the robbery feels like. I want to do the right thing, but does it have to be so difficult?” Some of the joy that had poured out of him all night dimmed.

  “God’s ways aren’t ours. But His timing is perfect.” Cliché, Sonia, cliché. “You’ll know when the time is right, and now I bet you’ll have the courage, too.”

  “I sure hope so.” He put the gear in reverse and backed out of the parking space. “I guess I have a lot of praying to do.”

  “If it means anything, I’ll be praying, too. I have been all along.”

  “I know.” He turned his face to her, the smile back in place. “And it does mean a lot. More than you know.”

  ❧

  A phone call from Joe before the children’s class reassured Sonia that Nel remained in stable condition, if not making rapid progress. She put aside her concerns for her friend as she worked with the children. Today was the third class of the second session, and she asked the class to use shapes to create pictures. Last week she had provided cutout squares, diamonds, and circles for them to paste onto paper. This week she encouraged them to paint using the shapes they had studied.

  When the class ended, she missed Ty’s help in setting up for the second session. Parents picking up their children asked after Nel, and Sonia repeated what little she knew. Nel remained in serious, but stable, condition.

  After the adult class had gathered, her students had little interest in the lesson she had prepared. “We’re all worried about Mrs. Knight,” one of the high schoolers who had returned for the second session said. “Can we make something you can take to her? A giant get-well card or something?”

  The others in the class murmured their agreement.

  “That’s a wonderful idea.”

  Sonia set out two of the largest sheets of drawing paper she had with her—eighteen inches by twenty-four. She added an assortment of colored pens, chalk, magic markers, and the like. She enjoyed watching which medium each student chose. The girl who had suggested the card turned out to have a fair hand for calligraphy, and she wrote “Get Well Soon” in the middle. The rest of the hour flew by as each person filled the paper with miniature sketches and personal notes and get-well wishes.

  After her students left, Lydia Costillo called.

  “I didn’t expect to hear from you today.” Sonia searched for a bag big enough to hold the get-well card.

  “I stopped by Tony Cipoletti’s gallery last night, and I saw a few of the stolen items. You know, Jonah’s wood carvings and your angel pictures and one of Passo’s paintings.”

  “That sounds about right.” Anger rang in Sonia’s voice. “Does he think nobody will notice?”

  “That’s why I’m calling. I think I should call the police or something. He could make it all disappear, you know?”

  All too easily. But. . .Sonia didn’t want the police involved, not yet. “Is his store open on Sundays?”

  “Let me check.” Sonia heard pages rustling. “No. He doesn’t open again until Monday morning.”

  “I’ll be there bright and early. Let’s check it out together.”

  Fourteen

  Ty didn’t think he had ever seen a prettier Sunday. In fact, the whole world seemed different. Max said his perception changed because Ty had become a different person—a “new creation.” The phrase “born again” had always sounded like theological hyperbole until he had experienced it for himself. He may have been a Christian for only a day and a half, but he knew something fundamental had changed deep inside his spirit.

  During the invitation at the end of the morning service, Ty almost trotted to the front. He couldn’t wait to proclaim to the world what God had done in his heart. Max stood with him. The only sadness came from the absence of his family, who still kept Aunt Nel company at the hospital.

  When the congregation formed a line to congratulate Ty, he caught sight of Sonia bounding down the stairs from the sound booth, a big smile illuminating her face. Genuine happiness beamed from her dark eyes as she joined the line. Full of emotion, those eyes, and this time they reflected the good news the two of them shared.

  When Sonia reached Ty, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “I couldn’t be happier.”

  “You had a lot to do with my decision.” He hugged her back and released her. “I was listening, even if it didn’t seem like it.”

  “If you were listening to anybody, it was the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord!”

  “Praise the Lord indeed.” And the words felt natural. Whoever would have thought? “Wait for me?”

  “Sure.” She wiggled her fingers at him as she moved forward, greeting the pastor before exiting through the door. Ty followed her progress until the next person took the pastor’s hand, and he returned his attention to the well-wishers.

  ❧

  Ty was a Christian. Sonia hadn’t stopped grinning ever since she heard the news on Friday night. When he’d asked, “Wait for me?” her heart answered for her. Yes, I’ll wait for you. Today, tomorrow—however long it takes.

  Josh found her to tell her the church was accepting bids on the new AV system. “Would you like to see the demonstration?”

  “Of course. Although Barb is the best one to do that. She’s the real expert.”

  “Barb will be there. She’s on the committee. But we’d value your input as well.”

  Josh told her the meeting time, a late-afternoon appointment. With every week that passed, Sonia became more involved wi
th the local community, more than she ever had in Denver. She could have a full life here, a satisfying life. She heard laughter and saw Ty leaving the sanctuary with Max and Pastor Perkins. They headed in her direction. A very satisfying life, indeed, if it included the special man God had for her.

  If Ty was that man. If he straightened out the mess he had created. If he stayed out of jail. She shuddered.

  “You cold?” Ty asked.

  “No.” No physical chill made her shudder, only a glimpse into a future she didn’t want to contemplate. Hopefully tomorrow she and Lydia would uncover more answers. “Are we going to see Nel this afternoon?”

  A slow smile warmed Ty’s face. “I like the way you said ‘we.’ ”

  Heat flooded her cheeks.

  “Take the girl out, before she faints dead away.” Max’s eyes twinkled. “She’s dying of love.”

  If possible, her face flamed hotter.

  “Nothing to be embarrassed about. Young love.” Max put an arm around each of them and brought them close with a bear hug. “You know I’m just joshing you. Tell Nel we’re all praying for her.”

  Ty didn’t seem in the least embarrassed by Max’s pronouncement. “I expect she’ll have several visitors this afternoon. People kept asking for her when they came through the line.”

  “Then we’d better be going.” Sonia hugged Max. “Thanks for everything. You’re a true friend.”

  Ty’s prediction proved true. Pastor Perkins arrived a few minutes after Ty and Sonia. As soon as he left, someone else arrived until Brian banned any further visitors when the cafeteria delivered Nel’s supper.

  “Perhaps I should leave.” Sonia walked down the hall with Michelle to the snack machine. “I’m not family.”

  “No worries. You will be, if Ty has anything to say in the matter.” Michelle giggled. “And now that he’s a Christian, there’s nothing standing in the way.”

  Sonia shook her head. Michelle didn’t know the full story. “Then I’ll stay.” She stared at the selections. She would have made something to eat, but she had run out of sandwich fixings and hadn’t made it to the store in time to pick up more. Peanut butter on cheese crackers gave her the illusion of protein. On a whim, she added peanut butter cups. The sugar rush would keep her going for a little while at least.