Molly - Sarah Monzon Page 0,49

to starting any sort of relationship. He has his daughter and her feelings and future to consider as well.”

Jocelyn readjusted her position on the couch. “Maybe you shouldn’t do anything.”

“Nothing?” I had to do or say something, didn’t I?

“Hear me out,” she continued. “You let your affection push you to make a move you knew deep in your heart he wasn’t ready for. Maybe you should wait now and let him respond in his own time instead of rushing in again.”

Mom tilted her head, considering. “She makes a good point.”

“Nothing.” The word didn’t taste good in my mouth. What if I did nothing, said nothing, and he decided the best thing for him and Chloe was for me to exit their lives all together? Could I do that? Did I love him and Chloe enough to let them go if that would be the best thing for them?

I guess I’d have to wait and find out.

14

Ben

Night float duty meant I could attend church again. I’d been able to work some sort of service into my hectic schedule, whether that be a prayer meeting, men’s Bible study, or a vespers, but regular attendance to morning services hadn’t been possible since the first days of my internship. Sometimes I could slip into the chapel at the hospital during one of my shifts and hear a sermon or Bible reading followed by a positive thought, but I hadn’t been able to worship with my home church family in quite some time.

I hadn’t realized just how much I’d missed the fellowship until I walked through the front doors. Familiarity greeted me like a warm embrace—sometimes literally, as the case with Miss Edna’s frail hug. Over ninety years old, she still managed to maneuver with the grace of a woman a generation younger.

A rough-hewn wooden cross with purple swaged material hanging reverently over its crossbeams had been erected on the corner of the stage in preparations for Easter in a little over a month. Potted white Easter lilies brought hope of new life in a scene commemorating death. A new season, a time for everything under heaven.

If only the seasons in life were as easy to discern as those in nature. The cold frost of winter gradually gave way to the tentative warmth of spring. Days lengthened, blue skies replaced gray, and flora and fauna alike awoke from their figurative, if not actual, slumber. But when did a person know, for instance, when the time to weep concluded and the time to laugh began? Or the time to mourn gave way to the time to dance? When should a person embrace or refrain from embracing?

God may have promised to make all things beautiful in His time, but life sure would be a lot easier if He’d thought to have given me a watch or timetable or something. I would’ve even settled for a sundial or an obelisk.

But I guess that was where faith came in, wasn’t it?

The pastor concluded his sermon by raising his arms and blessing the congregation with the benediction from Numbers 6:24-26. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” He smiled wide and marched down the platform to the piano postlude.

I rose with the others in the pews, shaking hands and making pleasantries with those around me. Chloe sat with a friend a few rows back, so I shuffled with the stream of people in the aisle until I reached her. She beamed up at me as she stuffed her coloring book and crayons into her little pink backpack.

“Were you good for Miss Suzy?” My hand rested on Chloe’s head.

“She was a dream, as always.” Suzy helped her own daughter, Morgan, put away miniature farm animals into a felt barn. “I’d invite you guys over for lunch, but Brad isn’t feeling well, and I wouldn’t want to share any of his germs.”

“Nothing serious, I hope?” Flu season may officially be over, but the nasty bugs made their rounds all year.

Suzy lifted her purse strap over her shoulder and stood. “A bad cold is all.”

“Tell him I said hi.”

“Will do. He’ll be sorry he missed you.” She reached down and took her daughter’s hand. “Morgan asks for Chloe every time she picks out her church dress. We’d be happy to swing by on our way to church and pick her up the weeks you aren’t able to bring her.”

Suzy