by David Allen
“You shouldn’t swim out this far without a boat,” the guide said. “There’s too strong of a current and the sharks are big out here.”
“I know that now.” Scott sat down on a bench and looked shakily to Laura. “Thanks.” He looked at Laura with wordless gratitude.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she half-sobbed. “How horrible would that have been?” She gave a little coughing laugh in the middle of her sob.
Scott lowered his head and leaned on the wooden bow. The guide clambered up to him with a towel.
“We were just loading up to head back. You’re very fortunate. I think the ‘Man upstairs’ was looking out for you, if you know what I mean.” The guide’s thick accent was excited. “A minute later or earlier, we wouldn’t have been here.”
Back at the beach, Scott profusely thanked the snorkel guide and staggered off the boat onto the sand, Laura helping him. As soon as the boat had driven away, and his feet were on solid ground, Scott sank to the sand, knees buckling underneath him.
Laura sat down next to him and they sat in silence, their minds registering the shock of what had just happened. Then Scott began to laugh, a strange fluttery laugh. He shook his head and lowered it into his hands.
“It’s like I‘m a magnet for catastrophe.” A tear ran down his cheek and he still laughed. “I’m so glad to be alive.” Laura rubbed Scott’s back. she was laughing too. “I’m starving.” Scott gripped the ground shakily. “I feel suddenly like I haven’t eaten for a week.”
“Wait right here, I’ll get the picnic basket.” Laura jumped up and sprinted up the beach. She returned from their hiding spot carrying the cooler and her bag. She plopped down next to him. “Here it is.” She popped the lid open and a second later they where unwrapping their lunch of turkey sandwiches, potato salad and apple juice.
Scott paused from biting into his sandwich. “Oh darn, that shark ruined my flipper, and it was my uncle’s.”
“We can get a new one.” Laura unwrapped her turkey sandwich.
Scott nodded. “It’s not that, it’s that John told me to be careful. Now I’ll have to explain to him why the right flipper looks more like a shoe.” He stopped to drink some apple juice. “I guess I deserve it though. I was pretty arrogant, I thought I knew better.”
Laura was looking at Scott’s foot. “Let me clean up that foot. I’m a nurse. I’ll make sure it doesn’t get re-infected.” She leaned over and touched Scott’s heel.
She had a little first aid kit in her bag. A few minutes later, Laura finished bandaging and cleaning Scott’s heel.
“It’s only one o-clock. Why don’t we head up to the memorial and find a place in the shade where we can talk?” Laura suggested.
Up by the memorial, there was a green, grassy knoll overlooking the beach and several tall green trees grew, providing shade. Scott leaned comfortably against a grassy bank while Laura flopped down on the grass, chewing a piece of grass.
“So did you talk to John about Matthew last night?” Laura twisted the grass between her fingers.
“Didn’t have a chance.” Scott gazed affectionately at Laura. “I spent all my time getting ready for this snorkeling trip.” He looked away and gazed over the water. “I will soon, though.” The breeze rustled Scott’s red hair. He glanced at Laura.
She was looking back at him. “What are the chances of us sitting together on the plane, and then meeting again together out here?” She shook her head. “We were total strangers four days ago, you know.”
Scott was looking back over the ocean. “You wouldn’t know it now, though.” His voice held just a little wistfulness. “I feel real good with you.” He let out a breath of air. “Thanks for saving me from that shark.” His voice sounded strange, almost awkward.
“All I did was swim for all I was worth.” Laura was staring at the ocean. “When I realized you weren’t right behind me, I didn’t know what to do, then I saw a boat in front of me. I screamed, I really didn’t do much.”
Scott lifted his foot and held his shoe in his hand. “I know God was looking out for me. I should have died several times over this last few months.” He set his foot down. “I’ve been struggling with whether I can really trust God.” Scott laughed bitterly. “How stupid can I be?”
Laura sat up, eyes twinkling. “I hate to quote you, but wasn’t it you who told me that God has the three legs of trust for us more than anyone?”
He nodded. “I think I’m just now beginning to realize it on a heart level.” He looked away over the ocean. “I was really angry at God when I had to leave the Marshall Islands, I didn’t trust him. I thought he was taking me away from everything good.” He was quiet for a minute. “I don’t know exactly why he did, but I’ve accepted it now, and I know God’s looking out for me.” He turned to Laura suddenly. “What do you think of mission work?” His eyes were deep and dreamy.
“Well, I, uh, don’t know.” Laura sat back. “I’m a nurse and I know I could help, but I’ve never been on more than a short trip away from the States.” She looked back at Scott. “Why?”
“Oh, nothing.” Scott’s face flushed slightly, he looked away.
“No tell me,” Laura coaxed. “There has to be a reason.”
Scott looked away sheepishly. “I was just thinking about the airplane, and how I met you, and, and…” He was turning red.
Laura looked at him, her big eyes curious and just a little guarded. “Uh huh.”
“Oh, I guess, I’ve just been enjoying spending time with you so…” Scott didn’t finish his sentence for a second. “So I might like to get to know you a little better,” he finished. He glanced at her quickly. She was smiling. She brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.
“I don’t meet guys like you every day either. Maybe it would be good to get to know you a little better.” She lifted her eyebrows. “So what are you saying?”
“Well, maybe we could go on a couple of dates.” He looked at Laura. She was looking back. “What have the last days been?”
Scott looked taken aback. “I’m not sure,” he admitted honestly. “I—don’t know.”
“There is one thing you should know about me, before we go any farther.” Laura looked a little guarded. “The thing is...I have a son.”
Scott gasped. “A son?” He felt like the air had just been let out of his lungs. “I didn’t know that.” He looked at Laura. She was looking at the ocean, but Scott saw the twinge of some expression he hadn’t seen before on her face.
“I won’t date a guy unless he accepts my son, first.” She sounded like she was repeating a memorized speech. “If it wasn’t for that, I would probably have been married by now.” She sighed and looked at Scott. “I’ve met a lot of guys but none have been willing… ” Her voice trailed off. “I guess I don’t blame them. Not every man is willing to take on an eight-year-old.”
“Where is he?” Scott asked hesitantly. It was the only thing he could think to say.
“He’s with his dad in Idaho right now.” She was looking at him again. “His name’s Robert. He’s my favorite little guy.”
“Well, I’m not sure,” Scott found himself struggling for words, he couldn’t imagine adopting a boy when he was only 21.
“Let me make it easy for both of us.” Laura again sounded like she was saying a rehearsed speech. “Let’s just stay friends unless you are willing to take on that responsibility. If you consider it, and think it’s an option, let’s talk about it.” She paused. “It’s a big decision, so I don’t expect you to make any decision without thinking it over.” She leaned over and took Scott’s hand in a handshake. “So just friends for now, and I don’t have any hard feelings.”
Scott nodded numbly. “Okay.”
She leaned back against the bank, “I was looking for a opportunity to talk to you about it. I didn’t want to scare you or anything, but I didn’t want to give you the wrong impression.” She plucked a piece of grass. “I’m sorry if I misled you.”
“No, you d
id good.” Scott sat up. “I respect you for that. I think you’ve had the three legs of trust for both me and your son Robert.” He sat in silence. “I just need to think about it.” He felt disappointed.
Laura tossed pebbles in the grass. “Don’t be glum, chum.” She hit him with a small pebble, which bounced off his shirt. “I’m still your friend, and we got a lot we can do today.” She looked serious. “I’m still really glad I met you, even if we never date. I learned a lot from you and I care about you like a brother.”
CHAPTER TEN
The ride back was awkward. Scott tried to avoid eye contact with Laura and wished desperately that the ride to the airbase would go faster. The white elephant in the car made the fun, easy conversation that had been normal before, difficult.
Even Laura’s laughter and her jokes seemed a little forced and unnatural. Scott wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, finally at the gate.
“Can I see your ID?” The guard peered in the car. He glanced at the Air Force Chaplain sticker under the windshield and waved them through.
“Do I look like a chaplain to you?” The question seemed stupid once Scott heard himself ask it, but it was better than the heavy silence.
“Uh maybe.” Laura looked up. “Hair’s a little wild though, not distinguished enough.” She gave a short laugh then was quiet.
A minute later, Scott arrived at Charles’s house. He said goodbye to Laura as she got out of the truck. Neither said anything about ‘next time’ either. Scott felt miserable as he drove away. He slammed the steering wheel in his hand. How stupid could he be? How dumb of him to start liking some lady he met right off the bat, and with a kid!
“I must seem like a real jerk to her,” Scott muttered to himself. Then he got back to the house. “Good.” He sighed audibly. John and Ruth weren’t home, and he definitely didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now. Scott parked the truck and went into the house. He flung himself down on the couch, and pulled a pillow over his head with a tired, frustrated moan. “God,” he said aloud. “I just about got eaten by a shark — I’m exhausted from that. And as if that weren’t enough, I basically just ended my relationship with Laura, all because of a kid!”
Scott sat up and hurled the pillow across the room. It made a small poof sound as it landed on the other couch. The room stared back at him silently. “Aww, forget it!” He muttered. He sagged back down onto the couch and nestled his head into a cushion. “Got some more lighting to hit me with, God?” he moaned, “I must not be getting whatever you’re trying to show me, so why don’t you just tell me?”
He relaxed on the couch, totally spent, but just as his tired eyelids began to sag, Scott felt a strange peace envelope him. It seemed like a small voice whispered in his head, “I love you, and everything will be okay.” Scott felt the muscles in his face relax as the peacefulness lulled him into an exhausted slumber.
Scott’s eyes where still closed, but his mind suddenly jumped from the dream he was in. What was that? Keys jiggling in a lock. The sound of a door opening. Scott remained still on the soft cushions. He heard heavy steps. It must be his Uncle John. Scott’s eyes fluttered open and he sat up, rubbing his cheek where it had pressed against the couch.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up!” Uncle John grinned at Scott, pausing at the edge of the couch. “Tired out from your dip in the ocean?”
Scott groaned. “You don’t even know the half of it.”
“Oh really?” Uncle John sat down on the couch across from Scott. “How’d it go?”
Scott acted as if he hadn’t heard. He sat rubbing his eyes. “Where’s Aunt Ruth?” he asked sleepily.
“Oh she’s at the church helping to decorate for a program.” John leaned back, “I got off early because today’s Friday, so that’s why I’m home.”
“Oh.” Scott looked at John.
“So how was the snorkeling?” John asked again.
“I ruined one of your flippers. I need to replace it.”
“Don’t worry about it, Scott.” John reached out and thumped Scott on the shoulder. “I have extras. I don’t care about the flippers. I want to know if you had fun.”
“Well, the flipper has something to do with that.” Scott tapped his foot. “A tiger shark tore it while it was on my foot, actually.”
John gave a little gasp. “Where? What happened?”
Scott related the tale of the swim with Laura and how he had gone out too far. “I’m sorry for being arrogant this morning. I think that happened because I was too cocky,” he finished.
John sat on the couch, listening. “I’m glad you’re all right. I’m also real proud of you for sending Laura ahead like that. You definitely demonstrated trust there.” He paused. “I’ll go diving with you any day, Scott.”
“I’m a little shaken up.” He admitted. “I wouldn’t want to swim out there again right away.”
John walked to the kitchen bar, loosening his tie and collar as he went. He ran a hand over his head in an attempt to smooth his hair. “There’s nothing like getting back on a horse when it’s bucked you off.”
Scott had to laugh at that one, “Sure.”
“Sounds like Laura handled the shark incident pretty well,” John observed.
Scott was silent. Then blurted, “Did you know Laura has a son from her previous marriage?”
“No, I didn’t.” John was folding his tie now. “How’d that come up?”
Scott explained the conversation and how he had begun to like Laura. He felt terrible. “She’s a real nice girl, but I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship. I’m definitely not ready for a kid.” He bit his nail and looked up at John.
John was leaning quietly on the bar, listening. “This may not be what you were expecting me to say, Scott, but I know there’s a girl out there for you somewhere. I don’t understand everything that is going on in your life right now, but I know God has a plan for you and he’s opening the doors.” John looked thoughtful. “Keep the three legs of trust and you’ll be a blessed person, and you’ll have a good, happy marriage. I don’t know why this happened, but God has a purpose.”
Scott nodded soberly. “Thanks, John.”
When Ruth arrived home, Scott had to retell the shark incident and also answer several questions about Laura. Ruth seemed genuinely concerned, and said she would call Charles to make sure Laura was feeling okay from the shark incident. “You don’t have to worry about anything, Scott,” she said. “I’ll take care of all the girl stuff.”
That evening after a delicious dinner, Scott excused himself to his room to think. After a while, he pulled out the green journal and leafed through it, pondering what it said. After a couple of minutes, he closed it with a thump and slid out of bed. He needed to talk to his uncle. He had to know. Did John think Matthew was really murdered?
Down the hall, he saw a light shining from under the door in his uncle’s study. He walked softly down the hall and knocked. The door nudged open at the touch, and Scott saw John sitting in a black padded chair, reading a letter. John set it down and motioned for Scott to come in.
“How are you doing?” John asked, removing his reading glasses.
Scott held up the green journal in one hand. “I have some questions.”
John looked from the book to Scott, then back. “Have you read the whole thing?” he asked.
Scott nodded. “Yesterday actually.”
John leaned back in his chair and took an apprehensive breath. “Before we talk about anything, I want to tell you this. I wanted you to read that for two reasons, Scott. One, so you could understand the three legs of trust, and I thought reading it in Matthew’s words would have a greater effect on you than if I just told you.” John paused and cleared his throat. “The second reason I struggled though, is that I wasn’t sure you could handle it.” John looked at Scott. “I thought it was in your best interest to see what your uncle had written about the last days of his life.” He scratched the back of his head. “I prayed about it ser
iously, and I only gave you the journal because I felt a peace about it, and I felt very compelled that you needed to read it.”