Walking Straight (The Walking Together Series Book 1)

by T. E. Killian

  She kissed him again and they leaned back against the couch with their arms still around each other. Then she remembered church.

  “Oh Matt, we need to hurry now to get to church on time.”

  He grinned again and placed a hand on her arm when she started to get up. “No, wait Betty Sue. There’s one more thing.”

  When she sat back down and looked at him, he said, “My dad is going to baptize me today.”

  She whooped again and kissed him again. “Oh Matt. I imagine that your dad is so proud of you now.”

  He grinned. “I guess you could say he is and my mom too. Oh and by the way, Grace and Brianna are going to be here today too.”

  She sat up straighter then and exclaimed. “Oh my! I almost forgot. Brianna is going to be baptized today.”

  She thought for a moment. “You mean you’re both going to be baptized today?”

  He laughed. “Yeah. Brianna is so excited that I’m surprised you haven’t heard her all the way over here.”

  Soon they were in the Cherokee headed for church and again Betty Sue was having a terrible time sitting still. She’d been looking forward to seeing Brianna baptized but now that Matt was going to be baptized too, it was turning out to be one of the happiest days of her life.

  They arrived at church just as Sunday School was letting out. As soon as they walked in the front door of the church, Betty Sue saw what looked like a welcoming committee consisting of Pastor Henry and his wife Linda, Hal and Judy Wallace and of course Grace and Brianna.

  Brianna came running up to them and leaped into Matt’s arms. Betty Sue could tell that Matt wasn’t quite used to walking without his cast yet so he was slightly off balance and had to lean against the wall to keep from falling from the impact.

  Betty Sue tried to stay back a ways to let the family have their time but Linda wasn’t about to let that happen. Just as Trish walked up, the two dear ladies grabbed Betty Sue and pulled her into the hugging and laughing group.

  Linda whispered in Betty Sue’s ear. “After all, dear, you may not be family just yet but I’m sure you’re going to be soon enough.”

  * * *

  Matt looked around him at his family with the addition of the Hal, Judy, and Trish too. He felt like he had been away on a long trip and had finally made it back home . . . where he belonged.

  His dad left to go to the back of the sanctuary and the others all made their way down the aisle to a row of seats that would hold them all.

  Matt wound up with Betty Sue on one side and Brianna on the other. The little girl seemed to be so excited that she was literally bouncing in her seat. He reached out an arm and tried to calm her down. But all that accomplished was that she succeeded in winding him up too.

  “Uncle Matt. Isn’t it just so wonderful that we’re going to be baptized together today?”

  He grinned and squeezed her. “Yes, it is Kiddo and I’m just as happy about it as you are.”

  When Brianna turned to her mom to tell her something, Matt seized the opportunity to lean close to Betty Sue’s ear and whisper, “I told my dad that with him and me both in that tank up there that he’d better let some of the water out or we’d overflow it.”

  Betty Sue giggled. “I’d imagine that he already had it lower because of Brianna.”

  Matt grinned. “That’s what he said too.”

  Grace stood and leaned over to Matt. “It’s time for you and Brianna to go back to the dressing rooms to get ready for the baptism.”

  Matt allowed his sister and niece out into the aisle before he stepped out and followed them to the back of the pulpit area. He’d never been back there before and was surprised to see a narrow hallway that seemed to wrap around the back of the pulpit platform with two doors on the outside of the hallway.

  Grace took Brianna into the one marked ‘Women’ and he headed for the other one.

  Once he was dressed, he stepped out of the door and it sure felt strange being barefoot in church even if no one could see him now. He looked down at his left leg. It still felt funny to have that heavy, awkward cast off. But it sure was a good thing it had come off Friday. For once, he’d made up his mind to be baptized, he didn’t want to wait any longer.

  Matt stood back and watched as his dad led Brianna down into the water. He wondered how his dad felt about baptizing his granddaughter. He knew his dad had baptized Grace years ago and now he was baptizing her little daughter. He almost got choked up just thinking about that.

  He was so caught up in his own thoughts that his dad had to call his name twice to tell him it was now his turn.

  Well, here goes nothing, he thought.

  He stepped down into the water with his dad. As he did, his dad reached up and turned off the microphone that was mounted on the front of the tank. He then turned to Matt and said, “I love you Son and I couldn’t be more proud of you than I am right now.”

  That did bring tears to Matt’s eyes. Quickly, his dad turned the mic back on and proceeded with the baptism. Soon the water hid his tears and Matt came up out of the water feeling better than he had in years.

  By the time Matt and Brianna finished dressing and made their way back into the sanctuary, his dad was stepping into the pulpit to preach and for some strange reason, Matt didn’t want to miss a word that his dad had to say.

  As he sat back down next to Betty Sue and of course Brianna, he tried to keep his concentration on what his dad was saying about something Jesus had said about how Christians should always be telling others about Him.

  The whole idea hit Matt like a ton of bricks. Now that he was a Christian, did that mean that he was supposed to do that too, tell others about Christ? Yes, that was exactly what his dad said Christ meant.

  Man o man did he ever have some thinking to do. Then something his dad said made him stop and listen a little closer.

  His dad said, “All of you must know quite a few people who need to know about Jesus. Are you telling them? If you aren’t then what’s stopping you?”

  That hit Matt hard again. Sure, almost everyone he knew outside his family needed to know about Christ. But could he, Matt Livingston, former druggie and church hater, tell them about Christ?

  The service was over before Matt could come to any conclusions but he vowed right then to sit down with Betty Sue later and see what she thought he should be doing now.

  As soon as he and Betty Sue were both in the Cherokee, Matt turned to her and said, “I don’t want to share you with the rest of the group right now. Could we stop somewhere so we can talk alone for a little while?”

  She smiled that beautiful smile at him. “That’s exactly what I was going to ask.”

  Instead of going to the diner, Matt drove to the local pizza joint where he hoped they wouldn’t be bothered as much by other people wanting to talk to them. And he knew that it would be so noisy in there that no one would overhear anything they said to each other.

  As soon as their waitress left with their order, Matt reached out and clasped both of Betty Sue’s hands in his.

  “Betty Sue, I’ve got some questions that I hope you can answer for me because I don’t think I’m ready to talk about any of it to anyone else just yet, especially my dad.”

  She grinned. “Okay, Matt, I think I can understand how you feel. So what are your questions?”

  He frowned. “Well, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what my dad said this morning in his sermon.”

  He was glad that she just squeezed his hands and waited for him to continue.

  “Now that I’m a Christian, am I supposed to do all those things he was talking about that Christ said we should be doing.”

  Betty Sue surprised him when she started giggling. He didn’t know what to think and it must have shown on his face.

  Betty Sue placed a hand on his cheek. “Oh, Matt, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at me.”

  That really threw him for a loop but she continued, “You see, I’ve been thinking the exact same things. Now that
I’ve come back to the Lord, I should be doing those things too.”

  Before he could react to all that, she added, “I’ll tell you what Matt. Why don’t we start doing those things together? We can start telling all our friends and all the people we meet about Christ.”

  * * *

  The following Wednesday was Christmas and Matt’s whole family plus Hal, Judy, Trish, and of course Betty Sue were all gathered at his parents’ house for Christmas dinner.

  Matt had been wanting to get Betty Sue alone all day, but Brianna had kept both of them occupied helping her with a vast assortment of her new toys.

  Finally, he had been able to grab Betty Sue by the hand and lead her out to the living room where no one was just then. They were all either in the kitchen or the family room.

  He led her to a couch and they sat down close but facing each other. She began to get a questioning look on her face so Matt knew he’d better get on with what he wanted to say before she decided she needed to help the other women in the kitchen.

  But first, Matt couldn’t resist pulling her into his arms and kissing her long and hard. When they pulled away a little, her eyes had a faraway look in them and that was exactly what he wanted to see there. Now she was ready to hear what he had to say.

  He pulled back far enough to grab both of her hands in his as he looked her in the eyes. Then he jumped in before he could lose his nerve.

  “Betty Sue, I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone.” He paused to build up his nerve a little more and he noticed that she now had anticipation shining in her eyes.

  “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

  He waited for a response from her but her face remained blank for what seemed like a long time. Then her mouth opened wide but nothing came out. She closed her mouth then leaned over, pulled him to her and began kissing him.

  Now he was really confused. Was she going to refuse him now after all they’d been through together? Was she still afraid to trust another man after the way her ex-husband had treated her?

  He had to say something now. “Betty Sue . . .”

  Then she opened her mouth again but this time she shouted, “Oh Matt. For a long time I thought I’d never marry again. I was just so afraid to let any man have control over me the way Dave did.”

  Just as his heart was sinking, she grinned and said, “But you Matt. You’re the kindest, gentlest man I’ve ever known. You may not want to hear this but you are so much like your dad.”

  Then she slapped a hand up beside her head. “But I didn’t answer your question did I?” Before he could answer, she continued, “Oh yes Matt. I will marry you. You’ve just made me the happiest woman in the world.”

  He pulled her to him for another kiss but they were interrupted by a squeal from Brianna just before she launched herself at the two of them. Somehow, she wound up between them and partially on both their laps.

  Then the whole group was surrounding them. Matt wasn’t surprised. He figured that someone had to have been spying on them and he had a feeling he knew who it was. He suddenly realized that he wanted a little girl just like her too . . . and the sooner the better.

  Grace came and sat on Matt’s other side. When he turned toward her, she threw her arms around his neck and said, “Oh Matt, I’m so happy for you. All of my prayers for you have finally been answered. You have accepted the Lord and now you’re going to marry Betty Sue who is the best person in all the world for you.”

  She kissed him on the cheek and jumped up. “Come on now Brianna. Let’s leave them alone for a few minutes. I think they may have a few plans to discuss.”

  Brianna reluctantly allowed her mother to pull her to her feet then followed her out of the room.

  Matt had wanted Betty Sue to himself then but it wasn’t to be just yet. Trish plopped down on Betty Sue’s other side and wrapped Betty Sue in a tight hug.

  “Oh Sweetie, I couldn’t be happier for you.” She leaned her head to the side. “You too Matt.”

  Then she narrowed her eyes at him. “But if you don’t treat her right you’ll be answering to Smith and me. You hear?”

  Matt started laughing so hard he almost slid off the couch. When she just continued glaring at him, he managed to say, “I will do better than that Trish. I will treat her like a queen.”

  “Good! See that you do.”

  With that, Trish jumped up and rushed into the kitchen where Matt could hear lots of female laughter. He knew they had somehow heard everything he and Trish had just said. If not, he knew she would be sure to tell them quick enough.

  Once they were finally alone again, Betty Sue grabbed Matt’s hands once more. “I would love for your whole family to be involved in our wedding.” She paused and he could see hesitation written all over her face but she forged on anyway.

  “But I want you and me to be the ones to make the actual plans for the wedding.”

  She said all of that almost as if it were a question and Matt couldn’t help but laugh and hug her as he said, “Of course, Betty Sue. I want you to have whatever you want. And I’m going to make sure that it’s the best wedding ever.”

  * * *

  Betty Sue couldn’t stop looking at Matt. She was so happy and he was the reason. She had finally found a man who was going to treat her right. And to think that when she’d first met him, everyone including Trish had warned her away from him. Some of them, not Trish, had even said that he’d never be any good, that he was just a druggie.

  Well, as she looked at him now, she had to disagree with all of them. He had changed both physically and spiritually. Sure, what most people saw was a clean-shaven man with short hair who had once been a fuzzy, woolly man. Yes, she saw all of that too. But what couldn’t be seen was that Matt had changed inside most of all. He was now the kind considerate person that Grace had said he’d been as a boy.

  The biggest change of all was his new relationship with the Lord. That was what made him a new man, not any of the rest of those changes.

  She stopped staring at him when she realized that he was blushing. “Oh Matt, I’m sorry. I just can’t get enough of looking at you. You’re the handsomest man I’ve ever known.”

  He really blushed then. “Oh Matt, you’re blushing. I didn’t know you ever did that.”

  He laughed. “Why do you think I grew that beard in the first place?”

  She laughed with him then almost as if on command, they both grew serious at the same time.

  She waited to see if he wanted to say something but when he didn’t, she said, “Matt, when would you like to get married?”

  He grinned at her. “How about Saturday?”

  She slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “Matt! I’m being serious here.”

  He laughed harder. “So am I. I’ve waited all my life for you and I don’t want to wait any longer than I have to.”

  She laughed with him for a few seconds then reached down into her bag on the floor and pulled out a small calendar.

  “Okay, let’s see. Oh Matt. Valentines Day is on a Friday. How about then? I don’t have any family and you said that all of your family is either here or in the Kansas City area. They should all be able to make a Friday night wedding.”

  He seemed to be thinking about that for a moment then said, “Well, Grace is still in St. Louis until June. As long as she can make it then it’s all right with me.” He grinned again. “As long as I can’t talk you into any sooner.”

  Proving that she’d been listening in, Grace was suddenly standing next to them. She grinned down at her brother and said, “Whatever day you two settle on, I will be here. I still have lots of personal days left. So just let me know.”

  Betty Sue smiled back up at her. “Okay then, let’s just plan on Friday, February fourteenth.”

  Grace was already on her way back to the kitchen when she threw over her shoulder, “Done!”

  Matt shook his head. “She’s telling all the others already.”

&nbs
p; Betty Sue just laughed. “That’s okay. I think she’s about as excited as we are, don’t you?”

  Matt sobered at that. “Yeah, I know I’ve put my parents through hell over the years and I’m sorry for it. But most of all, I’m sorry for how it’s always affected Grace.”

  He rubbed his hand through his strangely short hair. “I sure hope I can make it up to her now.”

  Betty Sue squeezed his hand. “You’ve already got a good start on it Matt.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Matt knew very well that the middle of February in that part of the country could be eighty degrees or it could be below zero. It could also be sunny, raining, sleeting, or even snowing. But he was pleasantly surprised when he woke up that Valentine’s Day and the sun was shining even though the temperature was only supposed to be in the forties that day. It was still a perfect day to get married and he couldn’t wait.

  In less than twelve hours now, Betty Sue would be his wife. He still had a hard time believing all the good things that had happened to him in the past few months, all centered around Betty Sue of course.

  One of the best things that had happened was that he’d shared with one of his old druggie friends about the Lord and the man had accepted Christ into his life. That was fantastic.

  Another thing that Matt was happy about was that he had totally patched things up with his old high school friend, Kent Jackson. In fact, Kent was going to be his best man tonight.

  Matt had let the lease on his apartment go and moved back in with his parents temporarily. Man had that been a major worry for him. It was never easy for a twenty-eight year old to move back in with his parents even if only for a couple of months. But it had really been great. His parents had made him feel comfortable as if he’d never moved out.

  He and his dad were becoming closer all the time and he was glad about that too. In fact, he even went to his dad with questions about the Bible now that he was reading it every day. Amazing!

  Of course, the wedding was at their church and Matt’s dad was officiating. Now, he would have it no other way and Betty Sue of course was pleased about it too.