He Remains Faithful

by Laurie Gilbreath

Chapter 35

  On a Tuesday night during the last week of January, Mike woke up at 2:30 in the morning. He was thinking of Kelly. She lay beside him, her breathing deep and her chest gently rising and falling. He couldn’t sleep; he was too excited. After carefully getting out of bed so as not to wake Kelly, he stretched and walked into the den. Sitting on the couch in the silence, he prayed.

  “Lord, I think I am hearing your voice. You have done such a miracle for Kelly and me. I know you’re still working; I know there are still some bumps along the road ahead. But I thank you so much for how you are restoring us. God, you know what woke me up tonight. Is this from you? Is this something you want for us? The idea excites me. It would be so beautiful, such a picture of your love. Give me wisdom, Jesus, and if this is your will, help the pieces to fall together. In Your name, amen.”

  After Mike finished praying, he opened his Bible and began reading passages:

  Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice…For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies…When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave us all our transgressions…But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more…praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel. Who alone does marvelous deeds.

  The passages so perfectly with what God had done in Kelly’s life and in his over the past year. He wanted to celebrate, to express the joy God have given them in the worst of circumstances. The more he read and prayed, the more certain he felt about God’s direction. At 5:00 he slipped back into bed, fighting the urge to wake Kelly and tell her what God had told him. But as he lay there, he thought better of it. Kelly would know when the time was right, and he hoped she would feel what he was feeling as he lay in bed. He fell asleep and dreamed of what God had in store.

  The next morning Kelly awoke, rolled over, and kissed Mike lightly to wake him. He opened his eyes and smiled. He pulled her toward him and held her closely.

  “I heard you get up last night,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t sure whether to go to you or not, but I had the sense that you needed time alone. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, everything is fine. God and I had some business.”

  “What kind of business?” Kelly looked slightly concerned.

  “Don’t worry Kelly,” he touched her nose lightly, teasing her. “It’s a secret between God and me. We’ll tell you about it when the time comes.”

  “Oh, so the two of you have been conspiring, have you?”

  “Something like that. And now I have to get ready for work.” He kissed her and stepped into the bathroom. Kelly heard him turn on the shower.

  She sat up, wondering what Mike had meant. She knew it couldn’t be anything bad; his eyes were dancing too much for that. What was it? Kelly had always been one who couldn’t stand to wait for anything. As a child, she had always been the first one up on Christmas morning, using every ounce of willpower not to open the presents until everyone was awake. The night before her wedding, she hadn’t slept at all. She knew that it would be hard to wait for Mike on this one. She silently thanked God for his work and His love for them, and then she got out of bed and started getting ready to do some work Bob had sent her.

  Kelly spent most of the day doing research for Bob. When she grew tired, she slept. It was nice to be able to work when she wanted and to rest when she needed to rest. She did spend several hours on Bob’s assignments, however. He had been so flexible with her; she wanted to do her best work no matter where she was working. At about 4:00, Mike walked in with the kids.

  “You’re home early. Not that I’m not glad, but what’s the occasion?”

  “Now that we have expanded some and I have been able to hire a couple of new people, I won’t have to be there as much or as late. This early stuff may become more of a habit.”

  “I’m glad,” Kelly said, sitting close to him on the couch. “We like having you around.”

  “Oh do you now?” Mike asked. He moved closer, and Kelly thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, he wrapped one arm around her and tickled her mercilessly with the other. Her shrieks brought the boys running.

  “Daddy’s tickling Mom!” Mikey shouted.

  “Yeah, let’s save her!” exclaimed Sam. They both climbed onto Mike, but instead of rescuing Kelly, Mike grabbed the two of them as well and somehow managed to tickle everyone. Finally, when Kelly and the boys were out of breath from laughing, Mike released the boys and put his arms around Kelly. He gave her a dizzying kiss.

  “Eww, they’re kissing again,” Sam said, wrinkling his nose. “Let’s get out of here.” The boys left, muttering about how gross kissing was.

  “One of these days they aren’t going to think kissing is gross anymore,” Mike mused. He kissed Kelly again.

  “I’m counting on Jesus coming back before then,” Kelly laughed.

  Dinner that night was simple, but Kelly savored the time together at the table; it was so normal and happy. There were still times that Mike was distant, working through the hurt and anger and the desire to truly forgive Kelly. She sometimes felt a terrible shame. But not tonight. Mikey and Sam chattered incessantly as Mike and Kelly smiled at each other across the table.

  After the boys were settled in bed, Kelly took a deep breath, whispered a prayer, and sat on the couch beside Mike.

  “Mike, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Mike looked at her. “Sure. What’s up?”

  “I got an email from Bob today saying that he needed me to come in to the office for a few days. I don’t want to, but I don’t know if I can tell him no either.”

  Mike sighed. “I assume that Andrew will be down the hall.” He looked at Kelly. “And this is something you have to do?”

  “Yes, I really do. I know it’s not an ideal situation. But if you really want me not to go, I will tell Bob.”

  “No,” Mike said slowly. “Then you would have to give him some explanation, and that would get complicated. I think I can trust you not to talk to him. I’m sure he won’t be all that excited about this either. So just try to keep your distance. And would you tell me what happens?”

  “Of course. No secrets,” Kelly smiled at him and went to change for bed.

  Mike sat on the couch for a moment, sifting through his emotions. He always knew this kind of thing was a possibility. He didn’t think Kelly was going to go rushing into Andrew’s arms, but he still didn’t like it. In the end, he knew he would have to trust that their interaction would be limited. And he believed Kelly when she told him no secrets. That fact alone encouraged him. They really had come a long way.

  When Monday came, Kelly felt a dread in the pit of her stomach. Even if she hid in her office most of the day, she knew she would see Andrew. She wanted to get there as early as possible each morning so that she could retreat to her office before he arrived. ON Monday Bob called a meeting. Kelly got there as close to the meeting time as she could without actually being late. That way she wouldn’t have to feel awkward waiting there with Andrew in the room. When she arrived, Andrew was sitting in the far corner of the room, and he didn’t look up. Thankfully, there was one empty chair in the front of the room, and she could sit with her back to Andrew. A few second after she sat down, the supervisor of Interdepartmental collaboration came in and started the meeting.

  Kelly was silent for most of the meeting, taking notes and doodling in the margin of here paper. They were discussing ways to make the departments more cohesive. Finally, Andrew made a suggestion from the back of the room.

  “Maybe we could work together on some of our accounts. For example, instead of just one or two of us collaborating, we could form a cohort of several people so that each presentation will have more eyes and minds perfecting it.” Everyone agreed that Andrew’s idea was a good one. Kelly felt slightly sick. She hoped that Bob wouldn’t ask her to be part of a cohort. She just wanted to forget a
bout Andrew’s presence in her life. She and Mike were so close now, and she didn’t want the enemy to take an opportunity to disrupt that with memories of her sin.

  The meeting adjourned an hour later, and Kelly gathered her things, careful to keep her eyes forward. She felt someone pass her and move toward the door. It was Andrew. He didn’t look in her direction, and Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. The meeting was over, and she could assure Mike that she hadn’t had any interaction with Andrew, not even exchanged glances. She knew that Mike would be relieved.

  On Friday nights Kelly and Mike usually stayed up late after the boys had gone to bed, talking or watching movies. After assuring Mike that nothing had happened at the office, they settled in to watch a movie. As they held hands on the couch, both of them were lost in their own thoughts. Mike was relieved and more determined than ever to follow through with the plan that God had placed on his heart. Even though he still struggled, he kept replaying in his mind what Kelly had said at New Year’s. Kelly was thinking about how long they had gone without times like these for all those years. In some ways, they were closer than they had been at the beginning of their marriage, and this always amazed Kelly when she thought about it.

  After the movie, Kelly and Mike went to bed. They lay there quietly for a while, and then Kelly propped up one elbow and smiled. “So have you and God decided to tell me about your big plans?”

  “Nope, not yet. You can’t stand it, can you?” Mike grinned mischievously, putting his arm around her.

  “Oh, I can wait as long as you need to wait. I’m really not curious at all. You just take all the time you need. I can take it.”

  “Liar,” Mike teased and held her tighter.

  Kelly pretended to pout. “You are one cruel man, Mike Bowling.”

  Mike laughed, and then his face grew serious. “Have I ever told you I love you?”

  “Maybe a couple of times,” Kelly laughed. They fell asleep lying close together, each of them dreaming the kind of dreams that only come from the peace that surpasses understanding.

  Saturdays were always special time for the Bowling family. They spent the day going for walks, playing at the park, watching a movie, or playing board games. It was protected family time, and everyone enjoyed it. Sometimes on Saturday night, Kelly and Mike would hire a babysitter and go out to dinner. It made the weekends a thing to enjoy. The tradition began as a way to take the memories of those spring Saturdays off their minds. But everyone had such a good time; they had continued it long after Saturdays were no longer stressful. On this particular Saturday, it was unseasonably warm Kelly paced up some sandwiches, and they picnicked and played at the park. Kelly laughed watching her 6 foot 2 inch husband crawling through the maze. When he reached other side, he shook his head and mouthed, “Never again!” There was a minor crisis when Mikey fell of a swing and scraped his knew, but a Band-Aid and a little attention quickly cured his pain. At 3:00, the boys were worn out, and everyone was ready to go home.

  On Saturday night, after Kelly and Mike went out to dinner, Mike went back the bedroom. He told Kelly he had to make some phone calls. Kelly had a feeling they had something to do with the “secret plans,” as she had come to refer to them. She used every ounce of willpower she had to stay in the den watching the television and not to sneak back to eavesdrop. She got the idea that part of the enjoyment for Mike was keeping it hush-hush, so had decided to humor him. He eventually come to the den and sat beside Kelly.

  “The big plan coming together?” Kelly asked?

  “What makes you think that those calls had anything to do with a plan?” Mike said innocently

  Kelly raised her eyebrows at him, and he broke into a grin. “That’s fine.” She thought to herself. “I can play it cool…I think.”