Given New Worlds
Page 41
A chuckle indicated Sean’s insight into the situation. “Did Nathan talk them into it?”
“Your son was very proud of you.”
“He was very bored.”
“Well, that too.”
Abby saw them being ushered towards the staircase for the processional and tugged on Sean’s arm. “I was very proud of you also.”
“Proud of us, you mean. I didn’t do it alone.”
They gathered in a queue at the top of the stairs, and Abby tipped her head onto his shoulder. Butterflies were dive-bombing her insides along with Geraldine’s obstinate kicks. She held tightly to Sean’s arm, trying to gain a modicum of peace and tranquility, but all eyes in the dining room were currently pointed up at where they were gathered.
The line began to move, and Abby adjusted her gown, ready to take the first step. She could feel her voice box begin to tighten with emotion and knew that she wouldn’t be able to talk until she calmed down, which could be another hour or two. She’d better deliver the news before it was completely gone.
“I got a text from Jerome earlier. Nathan got another letter.”
The music in the background began to play, and ushers frantically encouraged the laureates and their escorts to shush, but for Sean, at that moment, it would be impossible. “Where?” He asked. Excitement building in his eyes.
Abby began to say the letters, but her voice was now a lost cause. Instead she lifted her hand and motioned the letters in sign language.
“M.I.T.?” Sean said, his smile highlighting the dimple along with the wrinkles around his eyes. “Are you serious?”
Abby nodded her head and held tight to Sean’s shoulders as he picked her up and spun her around, nearly toppling them over the railing.
“Dr. Court, um… and Dr. Court…, please,” one of the ushers awkwardly growled.
Sean set Abby back on her feet, pressed a kiss on her forehead, then leaned down and placed an additional kiss on her protruding stomach.
They walked slowly, following the escort down the stairs behind the Royal Family, then to the table of honor where the King of Sweden provided an eloquent and entertaining speech along with a toast. During the first course, they were finally provided several moments without having to abide by pomp and circumstance.
“How do you think he’ll do?” Sean asked during the reprieve. “It’s a big school. Far away. It’s going to be hard to let him go.”
Abby thought back to her own college years, how her parents had held tight, forced to keep her in a gilded cage by threats that had burdened them from the day she was born. Nathan had none of that. He was free.
The scared, lonely, little five-year-old boy hanging on Mama Zawadi’s skirts was no longer alone. The kid who had awkwardly tossed a Koosh ball back and forth with a visiting missionary was now able to throw a basketball clear into the hoop from the end of their driveway. The child who had refused to wear long pants for an entire year, forcing Abby to explain to his teacher why he should be allowed to wear shorts in thirty-degree weather, was now comfortably wearing Armani and Levi’s. No, they wouldn’t keep him protected. They would let him go, let him live his life, make his mistakes, face his demons, and grow stronger because of them.
But most of all, they would show him how to put the past behind him, trust, and discover the many new worlds that God had planned for him.
Because he was truly free.
It wasn’t a fairytale life by any means.
It was a whirlwind of busyness and learning how to be imperfect.
Through all of it, Abby knew that there was only one perfect thing.
God.
Psalm 10
1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”
12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
Dearest Readers:
Thank you for reading the story of Abby and Sean. If you enjoyed this novel, please consider leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads.
~ Rach.
Visit Rachael Sircar’s website at
https://writerrachael.weebly.com/
Send her an email
writer_rachael@aol.com
Enjoy some of Rachael’s other novels:
Taking Pictures
100 Meals to a Kiss
The Data Driven Series:
Data Driven: Chance Encounters
Data Driven: Delhi Connections
Data Driven: Revised Priorities
Data Driven: Desert Inquiries