As she neared the church in the distance, Beth vaguely realized that the boys’ whistles and calls were getting closer. Hands still balled into fists, she found herself too angry to care.
The mood she was in, she almost hoped these drunken Casanovas would come after her. She would love the opportunity to punch something or someone.
Of course, the logical part of her told her that would be foolish beyond belief. It sounded like there were at least three of them and, besides, she had never been very strong physically.
So, instead of turning to face them, or standing her ground, she picked up her pace, hoping to make it to the church before her admirers caught up with her.
She heard their drunken yells increase in intensity. Though she still didn’t dare look back, their taunts now sounded more threatening than they had a moment before.
Throwing dignity to the wind, she broke into a sprint as the large church loomed before her.
Beth let out a gasp as her foot scraped painfully against, what felt like a wooden rod. She felt her balance failing just as she landed flat on the ground.
She could hear her pursuers laughing now as they came closer to her. She tried to stand but could not seem to force her feet up.
The voices were coming closer. In a moment, they would be right on top of her. She balled her hands into fists once more; preparing to fight as hard as she could if they grabbed hold of her.
“Hey!” A loud, powerful yell caused her attackers to fall silent.
Soon, a voice she recognized was speaking forcefully to the men in Spanish.
Beth heard the men mutter what sounded like shame-faced apologies as their voices grew softer. It sounded as though they were moving away. Beth heard a new set of footprints moving towards her.
“Can you stand?” Brent asked gently. For the first time since falling, Beth turned back as her savior offered her a hand up.
“I think so,” she said.
“Anything sprained?” he asked.
“Just my pride,” Beth said. A weak attempt at humor.
“Looks like a nasty scrape,” Brent said, taking her elbow gently in hand. Beth looked at it too and realized, for the first time that it was red with blood.
“I didn’t even notice,” she said.
“Let’s get you back to the church,” he said. “We’ll get you cleaned up there.”
Then, without another word, he did something she’d never expected and draped an arm around her shoulder. She shivered as she felt his hand curl possessively around her arm.
Instinctively she leaned into him. When she did he bent down and said softly.
“I told those guys you were my fiancée. We might as well make that look believable, in case they look back.”
Beth felt her voice catch in her throat as she tried to answer. In the end, she found that she could do nothing but nod as Brent led her through the front doors of the church.
The large room containing the children’s cots was dark and empty when Brent and Beth arrived.
“They must be in the sanctuary watching the movie,” he said.
“The pastor lets the kids watch movies in the sanctuary?” Beth asked. She knew Pastor Robert would see such an activity in his sanctuary back home as close to sacrilege.
“They usually show Christian films,” Brent answered with a shrug, as though it were the least important thing in the world. “Besides, the sanctuary’s the only room with a large enough blank wall for a projector.”
Before Beth had taken on this mission, she might have asked why a church this large didn’t have a television. But, she had learned that churches in Mexico were very different from the pristine, wealthy churches back home.
Brent sat Beth down on the cot that had been specified for her and grabbed the first aid kit from the wall. He patched up her elbow in silence then found another scrape on her knee that needed to be looked at.
“Wow,” he said. “You really got banged up.”
“I wasn’t looking where I was going,” she said.
“You should have waited for one of us to come with you,” Brent said. “I tried to tell you, cities like this can be dangerous after dark.”
“I know that now,” she said. “I mean...I knew it then too. I just...I couldn’t wait.”
She felt her face flushing and she looked away from him. She felt suddenly embarrassed by how brash and stupid she had been. Brent kept wiping at her knee with disinfectant. Beth winced every few moments at the sting in her open scrape but didn’t dare say anything.
“Are you going to tell me what had you so spooked at dinner?” Brent asked after a brief silence.
“I wasn’t spooked...exactly,” Beth said. “Like I said, it’s family stuff. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“Well, I’ll worry anyway,” Brent said with a half-smile on his face. “You might as well tell me.”
As Beth looked down at him, his eyes still fixed on hers, she realized that he was right. After that dramatic exit, Brent would, no doubt, wonder about what had caused it the rest of the weekend.
And, with everything else going on, the truth was, Beth really did want to talk this out with someone. So, she heaved a sigh before spilling the entire story.
She told him first about her father’s problem with drinking. How he would go to the bar instead of church with Beth, Jack, and their mother. She told him how, one night, a bartender had called her mom from her dad’s phone. Her dad had passed out drunk and the bartender wanted someone to come and pick him up.
Even though it was two in the morning, Beth’s mom agreed to go. She told Brent how the buddy her dad had been drinking with decided to drive home on his own. How he slammed into the driver’s side of her mom’s car just as her mom was pulling into the bar.
She told him about coming home from college, despite exams, despite classes despite everything. She told him about crying on her brother’s shoulder in the hospital when the doctors told them they could not save their mother.
Finally, she told him about the phone call from Jack. About her father deciding to get married again.
“Jack wants me to come home,” Beth said. “He says I’m the only one who can fix this.”
Brent, who had remained politely silent through most of her story now looked up at her thoughtfully.
“Do you want to go home?” he asked simply.
Beth stared down at him, biting her lip and trying to think how best to answer. When she looked into his eyes and then glanced at the warm hand still placed gently on her bare knee, she realized the truth would probably be best. Even if the truth was much more complicated than she wanted it to be.
“I should go home,” she said. “It’s not fair to leave my brother alone to deal with all of this on his own.”
“That’s not really what I asked,” he said. There was an intelligent smile on his face. It told her clearly that he knew what she was trying to do. It was what she’d been doing her whole life. Worrying about what she should do. About what her mom, her dad, her brother needed from her, rather than thinking about what she truly wanted. Without worrying, even, about what God wanted her to do.
She had known for a while, (a good long while, if she were honest with herself), that God had called her to mission work. Now, after spending six weeks in Mexico, after working her students, she was absolutely sure that God wanted her to be here. Not just for the summer. He wanted her to stay here, to work here as long as she could.
But, that call from God kept butting heads with what her family needed from her. She wondered, not for the first time, why God made such decisions so difficult.
When she heaved another sigh and looked down at Brent, she realized, at the very least, that she should tell him the whole truth. She should tell him exactly what she wanted.
“I want to stay here,” she said quietly. “I feel like...I feel like I fit here. Like this is where God wants me to be. Besides that, I love it down here. I love the kids and...and the people.”
She felt a strange blush come into her cheeks as she said this. She looked away from him and discovered an urge to do something productive with her hands.
“Then stay,” he said.
Beth turned to him, her heart beating strangely in her chest. She wanted to give in. To say yes, of course, she would stay here. Where she was happy where she was doing what she loved. Still, something inside her kept putting up a fight.
“But, I can’t just let my dad—”
“Beth,” Brent said cutting her off with a tired sounding chuckle. “Your father’s a grown man. Only he is responsible for the decisions he makes.”
“But, maybe I could—”
“You can’t change him, Beth,” Brent cut her off firmly. There was something sad behind his eyes when she looked at him now. She remembered suddenly the story Brent had told her about his own father. She realized that, maybe, Brent knew what he was talking about.
“Believe me,” Brent said. “If you try to change your dad’s heart on your own, you’ll only wear yourself out. Only God can change him now. The best thing you can do for him is to pray. Pray and do what God created you to do.”
Beth searched her mind for an argument against this. It was getting more and more difficult to come up with one. Mostly, because, she knew Brent was right. She’d tried, all through her teenage years to stop her father from drinking. To keep him home with her and Jack and her mother. It never worked. Beth only ended up frustrated and angry. Maybe it was time to get out of the way and let God handle it.
Still, that small part of her, that tiny portion of her mind that refused to let go kept pressing on her.
“What’ll I tell Jack?” she asked finally. “I can’t just leave him there to deal with this.”
“Jack’s a grown man as much as your dad is,” Brent answered. “You should tell him exactly what I’m telling you. He’s not responsible for his dad’s happiness any more than you are. The sooner he realizes that, the better off you’ll both be. Besides, he’s got to realize that his big sister won’t always be there to fix his problems for him.”
Beth leaned back, feeling drained and more exhausted than she had all day. Her body felt weak as though she had just run a mile.
She knew Brent had won. She knew she couldn’t leave now. And, when she looked down to see Brent smiling warmly as he placed a bandage over her knee, she could tell he knew he’d won too.
“Besides,” he said finally. “The kids would miss you if you left.”
She let out a small chuckle at that.
“It’s nice to know someone would,” she said.
“Not just the kids,” he said quietly. He wasn’t looking at her now, the smile had gone from his lips and Beth could see a tiny red flush come into his cheeks.
“I mean...I’d miss you too,” he said quietly. Her heart started beating quickly again. This time, the rhythm did not feel at all like anger or anxiety. It was something altogether more pleasant.
Some energy returned to her as she looked down at him, willing him to look her in the eye.
“Would you?” she asked quietly.
It was a moment before he looked at her. When she saw his green eyes glance up into her blue ones, a shiver passed down her spine. There was something there that had never been there before. It was something like adoration.
“I would,” he said quietly.
Beth felt her breath stop in her chest as he gently laid his hand on hers. That fierce beating continued in her heart as he closed the gap between them.
And, when he finally met his lips with hers, kissing her softly, gently, she let out a sigh she felt like she’d been holding in her entire life.
Finally, she knew where God wanted her to be. She knew she belonged right here.
THE END
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