by Len du Randt
‘None...?’
Jared nodded. ‘Bingo, baby!’ The two women giggled and Jared thought it a good time to throw in the topic changer. ‘Anyone up for desert?’
No one objected.
* - - - *
After dinner, the three of them continued their light-hearted conversation for another hour before Tanya politely excused herself. After the hug and peck ritual, she left.
‘That was a nice visit,’ Amy said as she and Jared snuggled on the couch in front of the fireplace. ‘I’m relieved that she liked the food.’
‘The meal was divine,’ Jared said, ‘and Tanya loved it. Trust me, if she didn’t, you’d know about it.’
Amy smiled. ‘I think she’s warming up to me. I could feel it. Who knows? Maybe she’ll even like me one of these days.’
‘Of course she likes you,’ he said. ‘Don’t be silly.’ He gave her a reassuring hug and kissed her forehead lightly. Amy was starting to blend into the family. Slowly but surely, she was becoming a Greene. The final twist in the knot would be when he slid a ring over her finger, but that would only be done once the timing was absolutely perfect. He wanted the event to be romantic, yet not cliché. Shaun had suggested that Jared ask Amy to be his wife as they fell towards earth before pulling on the ripcord of the parachute. Jared had something underwater in mind, but he was sure that when the time was right, the perfect opportunity would present itself.
‘I just can’t shake the feeling that she’s never really, you know, liked me.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ he said and rolled his eyes. ‘You know she likes you.’ The doubt in her eyes told him otherwise. ‘I’ll talk to her about it if it would make you feel better.’
‘No! I’m sure I’m just over-reacting.’ She snuggled closer to him and tightened her arms around his mid-section. For a moment both just sat in comfortable silence, listening to the soft crackle of the fire. ‘So,’ she said when she was certain that there were no distractions. ‘Have you given it any thought yet?’
Jared tilted his head and frowned. ‘Given what some thought, my love?’
‘Church,’ she said. ‘You said that you would think about joining me for the service on Sunday morning.’
Nuts! He had completely forgotten about the whole thing. Why did it matter so much to her anyway? ‘Well,’ he said slowly as he formulated the answer in his mind. ‘It all depends on the Patterson contract. Once they sign, I won’t have any weekends to myself for at least a few months.’
‘I’d appreciate it if you could try at least,’ she said and sighed. ‘It would really mean a lot to me if you could make it at least once before that happens.’
‘Still trying to convert me, eh?’
Amy didn’t answer. She merely held him tighter.
Jared switched on the television and channel hopped until he found something worth watching. The two of them spent another hour in silence in front of the television before they retired to the bedroom.
‘I’m going to take a shower,’ she said. Jared merely grunted and fell down on the bed. He liked showering in the mornings before work. It made him feel fresh and ready for a day of hard managing. Amy hummed a tune as she showered, and continued humming as she dried herself and wrapped a towel around her hair before entering the bedroom. She took one look at Jared and smiled. He was fast asleep.
* - - - *
‘So,’ Shaun asked. ‘When are you going to make an honest woman out of her?’
Jared sighed and looked around the ill-lit pub as he probed his mind for an easy-out answer. Other than the bartender and three regulars, the pub was deserted. Business usually picked up around seven, after the rush-hour madness had taken its toll. With exaggerated effort he took another sip of his Chivas Regal and savoured the taste for a moment. The truthful answer would be that Jared didn’t know. He had no idea when or how he was going to propose, but he could sense that the time was near. ‘I’m not sure that the time is right yet,’ he said.
‘What?’ Shaun asked, louder than he intended to. ‘How could this not be the right time? You’ve got everything going for you, man. You have a successful international business, a huge house, and two overpriced cars, each on their own worth more than most people earn in a lifetime. What else do you need?’
‘It’s not like that,’ Jared said. He fumbled in his pocket and produced a small velvet box. He could gauge from Shaun’s facial expression that the content of the box was no mystery. With the flick of the thumb, Jared exposed the flawless 1 carat diamond ring. The dim lighting in the pub only added to the breathtaking effect of the platinum setting.
Shaun whistled between his teeth as he took the box from Jared’s hand to have a better look at the ring. ‘No offence, Jay, but if you don’t plan on marrying her, this might just give Amy the wrong impression.’
‘It’s not that I don’t want to marry her,’ Jared sighed. ‘It’s just...’
‘Just...?’
‘There are some...issues that I need to sort out first, you know.’
Shaun shrugged. He didn’t. ‘Issues? What issues?’
‘Take the whole church thing as an example. Last night she, once again, tried to guilt-trip me into going.’
Shaun shot his cuffs and wiped some imaginary dirt from his jacket sleeve. ‘And you don’t want to go?’ he asked and finished his drink.
‘For what reason would I want to go?’ Jared asked. ‘They always take you on an emotional high before bringing you down hard. This is their cue to squeeze you for most of your hard-earned money.’ Jared motioned to the bartender and washed down the rest of his drink. ‘They do it with the music, you know? With a piano they excite you. They call it praise. With a violin they pull you down and call it worship. It’s then—when you’re emotionally at your weakest—that they hold out their cupped hands. At the end they close off with more songs of praise so that you go home with this warm fuzzy feeling in your heart which fuels the eagerness to go again. Nothing ever gets accomplished. Wars still continue; famine still ravages countries. No lives are really ever affected for the better.’
The bartender interrupted, asking if he could get them another round of the same. Both confirmed with a nod.
‘Spoken like a true atheist,’ Shaun said once they were alone again.
‘Agnostic,’ Jared said. ‘There’s a difference.’
‘There is?’
‘In short, we believe that man can neither prove nor disprove the existence of a god. It speaks only to the knowledge of the existence of gods, and not the belief in them.’
‘So you can believe in a god and still be agnostic in that you don't believe you can prove that your god exists?’ Shaun asked. ‘Even though you sincerely believe it does?’
Jared nodded. ‘But that’s beside the point,’ he said as Shaun handed him the velvet box. Jared took one long thoughtful look at the jewel inside before snapping the lid shut and burying the box in his jacket pocket. ‘How much do I sacrifice of who I am to please the one I love?’
‘Well, if it means that much to her that you go,’ Shaun said, ‘why don’t you just go with her and get it over with?’
Jared raised an eyebrow as the waiter delivered their drinks.
‘You love her, right?’
‘That’s a stupid question.’
‘Well, then just go with her, man,’ Shaun said. ‘I mean, what’s the worst that could happen, right?’
Jared stared at the contents of his glass as he swirled it around, in his mind weighing reason against love, and love against ego. He could go; there was nothing that hindered him. It was giving in on his initial position that bothered him the most about the whole affair. If he could give in to this, what would he give in to next? Where would it end? ‘All right,’ he finally said and a smirk spread across his face. ‘I’ll go.’
‘You will?’ Shaun asked in disbelief, surprised at how easy it was to sway the un-swayable.
Jared nodded. ‘On one condition though.’
‘Yes...?’
‘That you join us.’
Shaun almost spilled his drink. ‘You’re kidding, right?’ he asked and laughed. ‘Please tell me you’re joking.’
‘Come now,’ Jared said and smiled. ‘After all...what’s the worst that could happen?’
Shaun sighed and bit his lip. ‘Tell you what,’ he said. ‘If you ask her to marry you, I’ll join you on Sunday.’
‘I have a better deal for you,’ Jared said, his smile broadening. ‘If you still want a job to go back to on Monday morning, you’d join me on Sunday.’
‘Okay,’ Shaun said and threw his hands up in defeat. ‘At least pick me up on your way, eh?’
The two quickly finished their drinks together and slammed their glasses on the table three times; their tradition of showing that the “meeting” was over.
‘Okay,’ Jared said as he motioned to the waiter to bring the bill. ‘Now the only question that needs to be answered is, do we pick you up in the Bentley, or the Aston Martin?’
* - - - *
‘Tell me about this church you want me to go to,’ Jared said as Amy handed him his coffee. ‘What could one expect? What should a person wear?’
Amy shot him a glance, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes. ‘You mean...you’re going?’
‘I’m thinking about it,’ Jared said. ‘Shaun said that he’d join us, so I figured I might as well check it out, you know, seeing as how important the whole thing is to you.’
She didn’t know whether it was meant as an insult or not, but what mattered to her was that he was going. ‘You don’t have to dress up fancy,’ she said and smiled. ‘In fact, you’d almost look out of place if you wore a suit.’
Jared frowned. ‘Wouldn’t it be disrespectful to your God if I arrived in shoddy clothing?’
‘Not at all,’ Amy giggled. ‘He searches your heart. It’s what’s on the inside that matters to Him, and not what’s on the outside.’ She stole a kiss on his cheek and rubbed her palm against his chest. ‘Besides, your “shoddy” clothing makes kings look like hobos in comparison.’
Jared managed a stiff chuckle. ‘I just can’t imagine that God, Divine Creator of the universe would be impressed by anything less than the best.’
‘You can’t impress God, Jared,’ Amy said. ‘Ever.’ She snuggled up to him and gently ran her fingers up his arm. ‘Do you really believe that we can impress the God that controls every single thing in existence?’ She gave him a moment to think about it as she finished her coffee. ‘He loves us just as we are; rich or poor. No exceptions.’
Jared smiled and gave her shoulder a loving squeeze. ‘Have you ever considered the possibility that the Bible could be wrong? That God, if He exists, isn’t this all-loving being that you believe Him to be? How can a person possibly grasp the complexities of an almighty God with the limited capacity of the human mind?’
Amy’s blood turned to ice. She had this conversation with Jared before and knew where it was leading. ‘He came to earth as a mere Human to show us what He’s like,’ she said, hoping to bring the topic to an end. ‘You only need to read and believe in the Bible to understand how He works and thinks and loves.’
‘I believe in my cheque book,’ Jared said, trying to end the topic with the last say. ‘I don’t need a book of fairy tales to tell me how to live my life. So far it’s worked out great for me.’
For a moment Amy didn’t say anything. She merely stared at Jared’s face, wondering how a man who understood the complicated nature of business could not grasp the simplicity of God. ‘Don’t worry about it, love,’ she said and wrapped her arms around him. ‘You don’t have to participate or believe in anything; your mere presence at Church would be more than enough for me.’
Jared finally forced a smile. ‘How about going out tonight?’ he asked, changing the subject. ‘We could have some Chinese, and perhaps a movie.’
‘Okay,’ Amy said and sat upright. She smiled broadly and Jared could see the childish happiness in her eyes. ‘Stunning idea. Just let me grab my coat.’ She got up and took hold of his hands and with one heave she helped Jared up.
‘Right,’ Jared said and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
* - - - *
It cost an additional ₤5000 to have the back of the Vanquish modified to house two small back seats. Jared didn’t mind the uncomfortable seats. He never sat in them. Shaun didn’t mind either because of the sheer thrill of being a passenger.
The three of them made small talk as the Aston Martin sailed through the streets of Kelwick, stopping only at the occasional traffic light. On several occasions people stopped in mid-stride to look on as Kelwick’s most expensive car growled by. Finally the Vanquish turned into the Church parking lot, gently gliding past the open bays as Jared searched for the best parking spot that would allow them the quickest possible escape route.
‘Where’s the VIP parking?’ Jared asked with a smirk.
The joke was lost on Amy. ‘Just park anywhere,’ she said. ‘We’re all equal here.’
Jared rolled his eyes and parked the Vanquish as close to the main entrance as he could manage. Perfect, he thought with a satisfied nod, for that quick get-away.
A few minutes later the three of them strolled up a wide brick path to the main entrance of the building. Two men in suits stood at the doors, greeting those who entered with a firm handshake while stuffing the Church itinerary into the free hand. Jared shook hands with one of the men and took the pamphlet that was shoved into his hand. He briefly eyed the contents before handing it to Amy.
‘Where should we sit?’ Shaun asked and tugged at his collar.
‘Bottom, back,’ Jared decided for them. Closest to the exit.
The three of them walked through the foyer and into the massive two-storey auditorium. Both Jared and Shaun were amazed at the sheer size of the building. For a moment Jared felt like they were in a massive Opera House, about to watch a ballet or stage play. As they took their seats, Jared ran his fingers over the soft material. He looked around, studying the faces and dress-code of those that entered and took their seats wherever they felt most comfortable. ‘Tell me,’ Jared said and poked an elbow into Shaun’s side. ‘How many people do you think they could seat in here?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Shaun said, stalling for time as he did a quick calculation in his mind. ‘Two, maybe three thousand people?’
Jared nodded. ‘How many services are there on an average Sunday?’ he asked Amy.
‘Four,’ she said. ‘Two in the morning, one late-afternoon service, and one in the evening.’
‘Four...’ Jared echoed softly as his mind worked out the mathematical motive behind his questions. ‘Going on an estimate of two thousand seats, and only two hundred people, a mere ten percent, showing up at each service and giving ten Rand each; this Church would have made eight thousand Rand. Not bad for a day’s work, don’t you think?’
‘Uh-huh,’ Shaun said, pretending to be interested in Jared’s financial observations. He was, in fact, more interested in the band fine tuning their instruments on the stage at the front. ‘Is that an electric guitar?’ he asked.
Jared leaned forward to take a closer look at the five people on the stage at the front. A moderately attractive young woman stood at an electric keyboard, warming her fingers to the keys as she rehearsed one of the songs that they were going to play at the beginning of the service. The drum player sat at the back, casually talking to what Jared assumed to be the female lead vocalist. The remaining two members of the band were fine tuning their guitars, and every now and then trying to catch up with the girl behind the keyboard.
‘Indeed. I believe it is,’ Jared said and nodded. He leaned toward Amy and dropped his voice to a whisper. ‘It seems that God is keeping up with the times, eh?’ he chuckled. She shot him a glance. ‘Kidding,’ Jared said and held up his hands in surrender. ‘But don’t tell me that you don’t find the whole setup at least somewhat disconcerting.’
‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘for starters, the sheer size of this place. How can a person develop a personal relationship with the priest in a place like this, let alone God?’
‘Pastor,’ she corrected him. ‘Priest is Roman Catholic.’
‘There’s a difference?’ Jared asked. He didn’t give her time to answer. ‘And the electric guitars? Isn’t that too retro for God?’
Amy bit her lip. She wondered if Jared was purposefully trying to upset her or if he actually wanted to know. She took a deep breath to subdue the anger that might reflect in her voice. ‘We believe that God should be worshipped through everything we do, with any means possible. George happens to be good with an electric guitar, and uses the instrument to assist others with their worship.’
‘Ah,’ Jared said and rolled his eyes. ‘I see.’
He didn’t.
It took fifteen minutes to fill up most of the auditorium. More than just two hundred people here, Jared thought as he studied the people flooding the building. He was about to mention it to Shaun when a well-dressed gentleman approached the pulpit. The man made sure that the band was ready and then lightly tapped his finger on the microphone.
‘I greet you in the wonderful name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,’ the man said and a hush fell over the congregation. ‘Let’s all stand up and greet the people around us.’
Jared jokingly shook hands with Amy, and while she continued greeting strangers around her, Jared avoided that discomfort by “greeting” Shaun and striking up a meaningless conversation.
The band kicked off the atmosphere with a few fast-paced songs. Amy joined in, clapping and singing with the rest of the congregation. Shaun mumbled the words displayed on the LED board at the front, trying to blend in but failing miserably. Jared merely sat and scanned his eyes through the crowd, trying to see if he could spot someone he knew. Despite the fact that Jared didn’t share their enthusiasm or belief, he still couldn’t help but notice a certain kind of unity amongst the people; a comradeship that he admired. There was a kinship that one wouldn’t find among the employees at the office. This is the kind of teamwork we need at Whyte & Greene, Jared thought.