My Father's Gift (7 page)

“Is there a problem?”

“Not yet, but there could be.  I’m not very good at watching what I eat.  I enjoy food too much to pay attention.”

“What would you like to drink?”

“Coffee.”

After giving the waiter, who re-appeared, their order, Cal looked at D’Cerner, pondering what he should say.  He knew she wanted to discuss what they heard, but after talking to his pastor a few days ago, he wasn’t sure this was the right time.  After seeing her, he wasn’t sure it wasn’t.  He was confused.  His flesh started rising as he thought how she would feel in closer proximity. Suddenly, he knew was in trouble.  The temptation was too great.

“Cal,” D’Cerner interrupted his thoughts.  “Are you ready to talk?”

“No, but I am ready to listen.”

“Listen?  To what?”

“To whatever you want to say.”

“Cal, that was not the agreement,” D’Cerner immediately sensing that something had changed.

The waiter placed their coffee in front of them.

“How many sugars do you take?” Cal asked.

“Two and one cream.”

“Did you get a chance to hear my pastor’s broadcast today?”

“No, I didn’t.” D’Cerner spoke slowly as she realized they were not going to get anywhere with the current trend of thoughts.  She decided that she might as well just enjoy the lunch.

“Well, she really knows her Word and how to put it together.  It was fantastic.”

“I’m sure it was.”  The sarcasm that coated her tongue couldn’t be missed.

Cal rambled on about the message, ignoring her agitation and D’Cerner tried to placate herself by thinking that at least he was handsome.  “I should be thankful for that.  But why is he rambling so?”

“Cal,” A thought occurred to her.  “Am I making you nervous?”

“No, what makes you ask that question?”

“I’m not sure.  Our spiritual connection seems to be broken and the communication network scrambled.”

“That’s not true.  That connection is very much alive.”

“Oh.” She suddenly decided to flirt.  “How alive is that?”

“You wouldn’t by any chance be trying to flirt with me, would you?”

“And if I was?” She was smiling, mischief dancing in her eyes.

“It wouldn’t work.  You know what I said about physical attractions.  This relationship must develop on a spiritual level and nothing else.”

Cal was berating himself even as the words poured out of his mouth.  He was in trouble and he knew it.  He excused himself and went to the men’s room.  Feeling more secure once he was on the other side of the door, he leaned against it for a few seconds trying to regain his composure.  “You are in control,” he kept telling himself.  He ran the cold water and doused his face with it, hoping to extinguish the rising flames of carnal passion.  A few minutes later, control once more his, he returned to the table.

“D’Cerner now that we’ve met, there’s no reason for you not to come to the tournament.”

“Really?” Exasperation was seeping through her pores and her words.

“No, and I’d like for you to be there.”

“I’ll think about it.”

The waiter returned with their salads and they spent the next twenty minutes eating in silence, neither knowing what to say or how to say it.  As soon as they finished, Cal made excuses about having to get back to his office.  D’Cerner didn’t mind and half-heartedly agreed to talk with him later.

The minute she got into her car, she pondered what had happened.  Something was wrong.  The connection was broken.  The entire meeting was a fiasco.  As she drove away, she agonized over what happened.  She went back to her office, but was too distracted to work.  Unable to work, she went home, changed into a jogging suit, drove to the park and sat in the car by the water.  Water always had a calming effect on her.  As she listened to the music playing on the radio, she lay back and thought about what might have happened.  She even tried to get a conversation going with God through prayer, but found He was not responding to her.  She finally realized He was going to make her get through this without His input.  Frustrated, she got out of the car and ran a few laps around the track and then went home, showered, and changed into blue jeans and a sweatshirt.  By the time Chantelle and Carlos came home, she had cooked, something she rarely did, one of their favorite meals, spaghetti with garlic bread and a tossed salad.  They knew something was wrong.

Chantelle looked at Carlos and he shrugged as if to say he didn’t have a clue.  Having years of experience with their mother’s moods, they didn’t question her. They simply enjoyed the meal.  Whatever was bothering her would blow over soon.  As much as they hated seeing her upset, they loved to get the unexpected treats that she cooked to keep her temper from raging.

*****

Cal felt like an idiot after leaving D’Cerner at the restaurant, but he didn’t know what else to do.  She was much too attractive to spend a lot of time with alone.  Besides, he was a man and he couldn’t afford to ignore that fact.  Godly, yes.  But a man just the same.  He knew she was probably confused about his behavior, but he’d call her later.  Right now, he had to get his feelings under control.  He drove back to his office and changed into work overalls and decided to clean one of the limousines himself.  He rarely cleaned the cars, but he knew it would take his mind off D’Cerner.  Thinking about her reminded him that he had been alone much too long. 

“Besides,” he thought, “I need time with my Father on this one.”  He tried to pray, but couldn’t concentrate.  At least that’s what he thought when He didn’t respond him.  “Work, work, work a little harder,” he thought.  “I’ll call her later when I’m finished and apologize.”

*****

“Hello.” D’Cerner looked at the clock.  She didn’t think it would be Cal since it was only eight o’clock.

“Sister Everett, this is Cal.” She couldn’t help but detect the formality he used.

“I think I know your voice by now.”

“I’m sure you do.  Look, I apologize for rushing off this afternoon, but I remembered some important work I needed to do,” he said, thinking to himself that it wasn’t a lie because the car needed to be cleaned.

“I understand.  I thought perhaps I had offended you.”

“No.  You didn’t.”

“Well, would you mind telling me if I passed inspection?”

“You were not being inspected.”

“Really?  Somehow that’s how I felt.”

“No, you weren’t.”

“So, and your opinion is?”

“You are a very attractive woman.”

“You weren’t disappointed?”

“No, were you?”

“No.  I told you Daddy said we wouldn’t be disappointed.”

“So you did.  Well, look. I’ve got an early day tomorrow so I’m going to turn in now.  You have a good evening.”

“Thank you.  You do the same.” D’Cerner hung up the phone, puzzled.

“That was certainly strange,” D’Cerner mused aloud.  We usually talk for hours at a time.  Oh well.  This gives me time to get some work done.” 

She convinced Chantelle and Carlos they needed to do laundry as well as some other chores and stayed busy until about midnight, when she fell asleep, exhausted.

Chapter Ten

Cal spent an unsettling evening with Kathy and Don.  Both, it seemed, were deliberately trying to get on his nerves, so he sent them to their rooms to pray.  He went to his room, fell on his knees and tried to pray, but couldn’t because he kept seeing D’Cerner’s face.  Finally, he gave up and got into bed where sleep, for the most part, eluded him.

*****

For the next few days, conversation was strained between Cal and D’Cerner.  Whenever he called, they would end up arguing the merits of scriptures—water baptism, the infilling of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues—and getting frustrated with one another.  Trying to have a normal conversation was getting so ridiculously tedious that, one morning, after a particularly trying conversation with Cal, D’Cerner decided she’d had enough of this nonsense.

“Daddy, I know what you told me, but this is ridiculous.  I cannot marry this man.  I don’t even like him any more.  I can’t do this.  I won’t do this.  I’ll deal with the consequences, whatever they are, but I cannot do this.”

At that moment, the phone rang.  At first D’Cerner thought it was Cal, then, realizing he wouldn’t call early in the morning, picked it up.

“Hello,” she said frustrated.

“Hey, Dee.  What’s happening?” Angela’s cheerfulness somehow grated on D’Cerner’s nerves a bit.

“Hi, Angie.  Same old thing.  What’s going on with you?”

“While I was sitting at work this morning, just before time for me to leave, Daddy told me to tell you, ‘you can do this.’ ”

“Great.  He’s talking to you, but not to me.”

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“You probably won’t believe me when I tell you, but here goes.”

For the next hour, D’Cerner filled her in on what was going on with Cal.  She had not had an opportunity to tell Angela anything about Cal before now because of her work schedule, but it felt good getting if off her chest.  The only other person she had confided in was one of the ministers at the church and that was just in passing conversation. 

“So,” D’Cerner said after she finished.  “What do you think?”

“Now, you know Daddy knows what He’s doing.  It sounds like you and Cal haven’t figured it out yet.”

“But Angie, he agreed that when we met we would discuss what we heard, but now he’s refusing to talk about it.  He acts like there’s nothing to discuss.”

“Dee, what did you have on when you met him?  Never mind.  If you had worn a burlap sack, it wouldn’t have made any difference.  The boy is scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

“I look in the mirror all the time, but I don’t see what other people see.”

“Well now, let me explain it to you.  He took one look at you and got scared he would fall into sin.”

“It takes two for that.” D’Cerner smiled.  “I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“But he does.  That’s why he got away from you.  Give him time to get to know you.  It will work out.  After the wedding, your testimony will be a blessing for a lot people.”

“Angie, there may not be a wedding if we can’t even talk to each other.”

“But what did Daddy say?  ‘You can do this.’  I knew something was up when I heard that, I just didn’t know what.”

“Okay, okay.  I hear you, Daddy.  I guess I was too upset to hear Him, so He spoke to you instead.  Thanks, Angie.  Look, it’s getting late so you’d better get off the phone so you can get some sleep.  I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Let me know what’s going on with you two.”

“I’ll keep you posted.  Love you.  Have a blessed time of rest today.”

Chapter Eleven

After D’Cerner finished talking to Angela, she brooded for half an hour and then decided to call her pastor.  “I hope he’s not busy,” she thought as she dialed the number.  “I really need to get a male’s perspective on this situation.”

“Hello,” a warm husky voice responded.

“Pastor Gibson, how are you today?” D’Cerner smiled at the phone, warming to his comforting voice.

“Hey, young lady.  I’m fine, how are you?”

“I’m blessed.  Do you have a few minutes? I really need to talk to you.

“Well, I was about to go get some lunch.  Why don’t you join me.”

“Great!  Did you want to pick me up or shall I meet you somewhere?”

“It doesn’t matter to me.  What’s best for you?”

“I have some errands to run later, so maybe I’d better drive.  Where were you going?”

“Chi Woo’s.  Do you know where that is?”

“Yes, I can be there in twenty minutes.  See you then.”

D’Cerner hung up the phone and ran into her bedroom to change clothes.  In the time it took her to decide what to wear, her mood changed, from enthusiasm to wariness.  A thought flitted across her mind about her constant mood swings, but she decided that it was nothing.   She put on a deep purple pantsuit and pinned her hair up in a French twist.  After slipping into a comfortable pair of pumps, she grabbed her purse off her dresser and her coat out of the closet, set the house alarm and left.  While she was driving, the furrow between her eyes that had begun earlier, deepened and she had trouble concentrating on where she was going.  “Focus,” she told herself.  “This is not the end of the world.  Worry changes absolutely nothing.”  During the short drive, she tried to think positive thoughts—about her latest book, her upcoming trips, but nothing alleviated her propensity to worry.

When she arrived at the restaurant, Pastor Gibson was waiting for her.  Bernard Gibson’s entire demeanor and carriage spoke well of him.  His somewhat portly stature invited one to trust, as did his ever-present smile.  After they greeted each other with hugs, they ordered coffee and the house special, almond chicken.  While they were waiting for the waiter to return with their order, D’Cerner explained the bizarre relationship she had developed with Cal to her pastor.

He listened intently, though inwardly alarmed without interrupting her until she was finished.  He then asked her what church Cal attended, who his pastor was and if he held any particular position in the church.  After obtaining the personal information he sought, he then asked her what she expected out of the relationship, especially since on the surface of things, Cal did not seem particularly interested in pursuing a lasting relationship.  She acknowledged there was a decided lack of interest on Cal’s part, but stated she wanted to remain in position to please God.  He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, stroking his neatly trimmed graying beard and then suggested she let things progress at their own pace, without rushing or expecting anything.  He told that if this were indeed God’s plan it would work. If not, it wouldn’t.  His comments were not exactly what she wanted to hear, but not really knowing what she had expected him to say, she let it go.

The remainder of their lunch was spent discussing her impending travel plans and how they could best coordinate her responsibilities at the church.  After lunch, they hugged each other good-bye and went their separate ways.