But this departure carried a lot of extra emotional baggage for both of them, because Hugh would be leaving with Teri and the other women in the Missile Fire Control division. Jennifer was not pleased, and despite her almost daily resolve to ignore her feelings, they nevertheless surfaced regularly. For his part, Hugh had been on an emotional roller coaster since that night a month earlier at Gitmo. There had been no repetition—nothing close—while the ship was tied to the pier in Norfolk preparing to deploy. But Hugh couldn’t put that night out of his mind. And that made him feel terribly guilty, because he often reminded himself that Jen was a perfect wife and a wonderful mother to their children. He knew that he loved her. But Teri was younger, somehow more dynamic, and, well, nearby. He spent more waking hours with Teri than he did with Jennifer.
The only way he could handle the situation was to put each woman in her own compartment in his mind. The problem was that as the countdown for their departure continued, the two women’s presence merged. Jennifer’s unhappiness and Teri’s excitement whipped him between emotional extremes several times each day.
The long weekend in Washington had been his idea as a special getaway for the two of them. William and Carrie had volunteered the White House as a base, and they’d also promised to stay out of the younger couple’s way if they wanted to be alone. The trip up that Thursday afternoon had been very quiet, punctuated occasionally by Hugh’s attempts at conversation. Jennifer knew she was beginning her usual withdrawal routine, which she went through to fortify herself for his coming absence. She didn’t like the result any more than he did, but she always felt powerless to stop it.
Twenty minutes later they pulled up to the White House gate and were immediately passed inside. Carrie greeted them at the entrance and showed them to their room in the private quarters on the upper floor of the oldest part of the building.
“What are your plans?” she asked.
Hugh looked at Jen. She smiled and replied, “Oh, we’re pretty flexible. I’d like to go to the National Gallery. If the weather’s pretty, we might take the boat ride down to Mount Vernon. We’re up for whatever seems interesting.”
“Well, we won’t get in your way. Can you have dinner with us tonight? William expects to be finished about six-thirty. And then we’ve got a Bible study. In fact, our teacher will be dining with us.”
“Bible study?” Hugh asked Carrie. “Since when have there been Bible studies in the Harrison White House?”
“Since about the middle of July. Over two months now. We’ve really been blessed with some great teachers. Michael Tate—you remember him from Easter—and some other pastors have designed a three-track course for us. We’re studying the gospel through Jesus’ sayings as one track; key concepts woven throughout the Bible as another; and then on the third track we’re studying individual books of the Bible. So far we’ve done Genesis, Luke, and we’re almost through Acts.”
“And William studies with you?” Jennifer asked, obviously surprised.
“It was his idea,” Carrie said cheerfully. “We try to get in six classes a week, two from each track. Either in the morning or at night, or both, depending on his schedule. When he went to South America in late July, he took audio cassettes. It’s been wonderful. We’ve learned so much, and frankly we can’t wait for each class. Michael has arranged for some gifted men and women of God to disciple us. And what we’re learning seems so relevant to today. We can’t believe we never took advantage of all God’s power and wisdom sitting right on the shelf in the Bible.”
The younger Harrisons were speechless. Finally Hugh asked, “William has felt God’s power, you said? You mean he’s been saved, like Mary?”
Carrie’s smile broadened. “Yes. He gave up trying to run his life about three months ago, when our friends the Sullivans were here. You remember Richard and Janet? Well it’s a long story, but the result is that both of us have turned our lives over to the Lord. William is a different man. Many people see it in him, but they don’t know why or what to say. Sometimes it’s really amusing.”
“I was going to say this hasn’t exactly been on the nightly news,” Hugh reflected, “though I don’t guess it’s really any of their business. I’m just having trouble taking it all in. You know, ever since Jen and I prayed with Michael on Easter, we’ve been trying to read the Bible, and we’ve joined a church. But with our crazy schedules and the kids and everything, we haven’t gotten too far with our faith. In fact, at least in my case,” and Hugh looked at Jennifer, “it’s been sort of dead lately.”
“Well, then join us tonight, if you want. An African-American preacher from a local church is one of our teachers—he’s covering biblical themes. His name is Joe Wood, and tonight we’ll be continuing with God’s concept of a just and lasting government. Now that’s only a coincidence tonight. We’ve also studied all sorts of other things—what the Bible says about marriage, the family, debt, the Holy Spirit, and lots of other subjects. We just happen to be on government now.”
“Sounds fine to me,” Jennifer responded. “It’ll probably be interesting.” She turned to her husband “What do you think, Hugh?”
He was delighted to see the first spark of positive interest from his wife in weeks. “Sure, let’s do it. Do we need Bibles?”
“I’m sure we’ve got a couple of extras. Now you two relax and we’ll see you for dinner between six-thirty and seven.”
RALEIGH—That afternoon the Northside High School varsity cheerleading team finished its last practice before Friday night’s upcoming football game. Sarah Prescott and her three best friends on the cheerleading squad, all seniors, sat together in a shady section of the bleachers, cooling off after running through all their cheers twice. Sarah, an accomplished tennis player for her school, had enjoyed gymnastics as a young girl, and she thought of cheer-leading as a way to have fun with her friends while also keeping herself in shape.
But the girls’ topic of discussion that afternoon was not sports. Two of Sarah’s friends, Jessica and Maria, were in the section of senior health which opened the year with the human sexuality curriculum. Sarah and her other friend, Becky, were scheduled for human sexuality during the second six-week period. Jessica and Maria had both experienced their first sessions with the virtual reality computer that afternoon, and the other two girls were very curious.
“So what was it like?” asked Becky, sitting one row above Jessica and Maria and retying her long blond hair into a ponytail as she talked.
Jessica blushed slightly and looked down, but then smiled. “It seemed kind of stupid at first—real unnatural I guess. But then, I don’t know, it sort of got interesting, and I guess I liked it.”
Maria, who had announced to her friends six months earlier that she was no longer a virgin, turned on the seat to look up at Sarah and Becky. “I thought it was awesome. You wouldn’t believe how realistic it is! This guy...well, you’ll see. You get to choose between six different guys. I mean,” she blushed slightly despite her obvious bravado, “it was almost better than the real thing...maybe because I could completely control it. I’m not scheduled for another session until Tuesday, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Sarah asked, “How about you, Jessica. When’s your next time?”
“On Tuesday, too. I think it’s some sort of group thing. It sounds creepy and sort of gross to me, but I guess I’ll try it.”
“Sounds fantastic to me,” Maria interjected, almost laughing.
Becky turned to Sarah. “I can’t wait till our class gets its turn. Grant and I still haven’t gone all the way, and I’m like really curious to see what it’s like. How about you?”
Sarah looked down at her hands, which were clenched into fists in her lap, then glanced at each of her friends in turn. “I don’t think I’m going to be trying it. Mom and Dad have said it’s up to me, but I agree with them that God intends sex to be between a husband and a wife in marriage, not with a computer in health class.”
“Oh, come on,” said Mari
a, leaning back against the bleachers. “That’s absurd. Nobody believes that old stuff any more. And besides, this isn’t real sex—its education! And fun, too. Anyway, isn’t Ms. Bowers failing kids who don’t work with the computer?”
Jessica was more sympathetic and touched Sarah’s knee. “Hey, I’m still a virgin, too. But this isn’t bad. I mean, I guess it’s like having sex, but nobody gets hurt, and that computer sure won’t give you AIDS or a baby. So it’s not a big deal. You really ought to try it.”
Sarah looked down again, bit her lower lip, and shook her head. “I know. One part of me wants to, but the other part believes it’s wrong. I mean they’re going to do group sex and lesbians and all that wacko stuff.”
“Yeah, won’t that be cool?” said Maria. “Hey, it’s just a computer. We’re not really doing any of it. It’s just thirty minutes or so in a room with a computer. Does it say anywhere in the Bible that you can’t have fun with a computer?” She laughed.
The other girls had known about Sarah’s faith for several years. Sarah was a respected class leader and usually no one teased her about her strong beliefs. But Sarah’s opinion on the computer seemed bizarre to her friends. Nevertheless, her pain was obvious as she wrestled with the competing desires within her.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Maria said sympathetically. “Do whatever you want. It’s your body and your mind. But I don’t think it’s that big a deal. And I have it on good authority from Tyler that Matthew really enjoyed his session. In fact, he’s signed up for extra tutoring,” she said, trying to cheer up her friend with a joke.
Sarah smiled half-heartedly. “I’ll see. I’ll try to figure it out.” She looked up and across the football field at nothing in particular. “I guess I’ve got about three weeks to make up my mind. Jessica, has anybody in your section not used the computer?”
Jessica shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I heard there are maybe like eight or ten in the whole senior class who might not, but, I mean, that’s out of over two hundred. But no one in our section.”
Sarah rose and said, “Well, it’s all very interesting. Mom told me that the big trauma of her senior year was staying out until two in the morning after their prom. Here I am, thirty something years later, trying to figure out whether to make love to a computer and some group of electronic people in health class. God help my children, if I ever have any. I wonder what they’ll be dealing with?”
ATLANTA—Rebecca held the telephone to her ear and was relieved when it was answered. “Is this the home of Eunice Porter please?”
“Mmm.” the voice was distant, almost like a whisper. “This is Eunice Porter.”
“Hi, Ms. Porter. This is Rebecca Harrison from the hospital. Remember me?”
A short pause. “Sure, Ms. Harrison. The president’s sister.” Her voice was still a low monotone. “What can I do for you this afternoon? I’m about to leave for work.”
Rebecca tried to sound friendly. “I just hadn’t seen you in quite a while and I wondered how you’re doing. Have you had your baby yet?”
There was another, longer pause. “Why are you asking that? I was in your hospital and had an abortion almost a month ago, so why are you calling me now?”
Rebecca was suddenly very embarrassed. “Oh, Ms. Porter, I didn’t know. I must have missed it. I’m terribly sorry. This was just a personal call because I hadn’t seen you, and I wondered what had happened. You had an abortion, huh? Gee, it was pretty late in the term for that”
Now there was a trace of hostility in Eunice’s voice. “That’s my business, not yours. Really, why are you calling me? Don’t tell me it’s just because you’re curious about me. You can’t be opposed to abortions with that brother of yours. So tell me what this is about.”
“No, really, Ms. Porter, I was just calling you on my own time because I...I’m interested in you. I don’t do this very often, but once in a while I get interested in someone, and today I was thinking about you and your ba—I mean, I just wanted to find out how you’re doing. Really, that’s all it is.”
“Well, we’re fine if having too many kids and not enough money is fine.”
“How long were you in the hospital?”
“I came in late one afternoon, had the abortion, and left early the next morning. That’s all.”
“Well, I’m really sorry I missed you. We work staggered shifts, and I must have just not seen your file. Anyway, let me know if I can help you in any way.”
“Sure, Ms. Harrison, I will. Now I’ve got to go or I’ll be late for work. Goodbye, Ms. Harrison.”
“Good-bye, Ms. Porter.” Rebecca put down the phone.
WASHINGTON—The two Harrison couples and Pastor Joe Wood were about halfway through their dinner that same Thursday evening. So far the conversation had involved catching up on the time since the four Harrisons had been together at the funeral and on the younger couple getting to know the gregarious but obviously very intelligent Pastor Wood.
William had introduced him as being “sold out” to the Lord. The man exuded a strength that simultaneously drew others to him because of his openness and created a respect that clearly signaled “Don’t tread on me.” A Vietnam veteran from a tough neighborhood in Chicago, Joe Wood had accepted the Lord thanks to a prison ministry thirty years before. Then he had gone on to become a minister, biblical scholar, and author.
“But the ministry I like best, and the one that gives me the most challenge is getting men back in the ball game,” Wood said, as he passed the rolls to Jennifer.
“Really? What do you mean?” asked Hugh.
“I mean reaching out to men and teaching them how to let the Lord make them servant leader in everything they do, but particularly in their families.”
“And you focus primarily on men?” Jennifer asked.
“Yes. Women and children desperately need ministering to, and the best way I can minister to them is by bringing the love of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit into their men’s lives, so those men can become the husbands and fathers God intended them to be.”
The four Harrisons were silent, struck by the simple truth of Wood’s statement. Finally Jennifer said, “Excuse me for asking in this way, and I hope you don’t mind—is most of your ministry in the black community?”
Wood smiled broadly. He pointed a forkfull of mashed potatoes at the president and said, “Until my friend Michael Tate got me this high-paying job working strange hours in the White House, I can’t say I’d ever been quite this far up the ladder. But I divide my time pretty much between corporate boardrooms and the streets. You see, this isn’t a black problem or a white problem. It’s a problem almost all men have—of pushing God, the One who created us and told us how to live, completely out of our lives.
“We’ve got black men having trophy children without marriage and white men having consecutive children through serial marriages, and the net result is the same: a generation of children growing up with no fathers to train or to teach them. So the cycle repeats itself and gets worse and worse.”
Wood ate the mashed potatoes. Then he continued, “If you want to talk about black and white, I’ll do it in a different context. Take a young man who’s never known a loving father as the spiritual head of his household, and that young man has only one chance. It’s black or white; there are no shades of gray. His one chance is to learn about our common Father and to feel his presence and his power. That’s it. One chance. Or he’s going to repeat the cycle in some way. Government programs and psychologists can work on his mind and his motivations. But the only way to really change that young man is in his heart, and only the Lord can do that.”
“You’ve obviously seen this power,” Hugh said. It was not a question, but a statement.
Wood gave a hearty laugh. “That power changed me from a two-bit hoodlum headed to an early death into someone so thirsty for knowledge that I ultimately earned a Ph.D. And I’ve been privileged to watch that same power change hundreds of other people: blacks, whi
tes, men, women, addicts, corporate presidents, homosexuals, prostitutes—you name it, I’ve seen God do it.”
Hugh’s earnestness was obvious as he said, “Jennifer and I have heard about this power, Joe. We listened to Michael’s talk on Easter Sunday, and we prayed for Christ to come into our lives. We’ve been trying to read the Bible, and we’ve joined a church. But I can’t say we’ve felt this power. I’m even beginning to question whether it’s real.”
“Oh, it’s real. Better to say he is real. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity of God. If you’ve really repented and surrendered your life to Jesus, the potential for that power is already inside you. But the Bible says if you’re not feeling the power, you may be grieving the Spirit or quenching his presence in your life through your actions. Are you really trying to walk with him? Are there sins in your past or present that are keeping you from a relationship with God?”
Hugh felt a shiver as he replayed the evening at Guantanamo Bay in his mind. Joe continued, “God’s power can work through us, but only when we yield to his Spirit and constantly submit to his will through prayer. Sometimes salvation and the infilling of God’s Spirit happen simultaneously. But other times a believer has to begin his Christian walk, like your brother is doing, and the infilling of the Spirit comes through that process. Both are right. Both happen all the time. It’s the same power, and it’s just as real.”
As the two couples considered Joe’s words, Carrie smiled and looked at her in-laws. “And this is just our dinner. Wait till we get to Joe’s teaching!”
The President Page 30