Читать книгу I Hate Walt - Vicki Andree - Страница 17
Monday, January 7 Arvada, Colorado
ОглавлениеMary Lou powdered her nose. Bobby would be on time. She flipped through the blouses in her closet for the tenth time and decided to change her top. She glanced at the clock. Six fifty-eight. She slipped on the blouse and glanced in the mirror. That’s better. She smiled at herself and walked into the living room as the doorbell rang.
She opened the door. Bobby stepped in, and they hugged, long and tight. Mary Lou kissed him, and he held her close.
She inhaled his cologne. “Mm, you smell good.”
“It’s one of my new essential oils. Sandalwood. Glad you like it.” He reached to help her with her coat.
“I sure do.” I could take this relationship to the next level right now. You are the sexiest man in the universe. The only time you look better is when in uniform, and that cologne may drive me to do something shocking tonight.
Stop it, girl, you’ll scare him to death. You were in Alaska too long.
He opened the door for her. “I made reservations at the Greenbriar. Hope that’s all right.”
She glowed. “I love it. I haven’t been there for ages. It’s pretty special. Are we celebrating?”
Bobby laughed. “Just that you’re back in the lower forty-eight.”
Mary Lou and Bobby got into his aging Range Rover. She snuggled into the seat as Bobby turned the key and the engine roared to life. He turned toward Boulder and Left Hand Canyon.
The Greenbriar was packed, as usual. The hostess led Mary Lou and Bobby to a table in the back of the dining hall, next to the doors to the kitchen.
After they had been served, Bobby smiled. “Mind if I say a prayer?”
Mary Lou blushed, put down her fork, and quickly bowed her head. “Go ahead.”
“Lord, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, we just want to thank You for this day and for Mary Lou’s safe return. Thank You for who You are and what You did for us on Calvary. Thank You for Your provision in all things. We praise Your Name and ask Your blessing on this evening. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.”
Mary Lou lifted her head and looked around to see if anyone was watching. Everyone seemed involved in their own conversations.
Bobby lifted his glass of iced tea. “To life!”
She lifted her tea, and they clinked glasses. “I’m so glad to be home. I guess I’ve told you that a dozen times already tonight. Being with you is what I dreamed about when I was stuck in Alaska. I mean, it was awful, and not hearing from you made it worse.”
Bobby sipped his tea. “I’m sorry. A lot has happened since we last saw each other. I guess I need to get you caught up.”
Mary Lou loved the way his eyes lit up.
He blurted, “I converted.”
The remark frightened her. “What do you mean? Converted to what?”
“Remember that we had a date you had to cancel the night before you left for Alaska? One of the guys at work—you may have heard me mention his name before. Alex.”
She shook her head.
“Anyway, Alex and I went over to Hacienda Colorado to get a bite to eat. We had a good visit, and it ended up with him inviting me to his Bible study. I told him I wasn’t interested, and he proceeded to tell me about Jesus.” Bobby rushed on. “And right there, we prayed, and I took Jesus as my Lord and Savior. My feet have not touched the ground since. Between work and Bible study, it’s been quite a ride. But I have to tell you—Bible study has been incredible. I have learned so much. I mean, my parents raised me Christian, but I never knew Jesus the way I know him now.”
Speechless, Mary Lou could only blink.
“The thing of it is,” he continued, picking up speed. “Well, I want the same thing for you. Jesus is real. He wants to save you from sin and call you His own. You can pray and ask Him to forgive you of all of your sins, and He can do that because He took them on at the cross. He will forgive you and guarantee you a place in Heaven for eternity.”
Mary Lou’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re witnessing to me? I can’t believe you don’t know that I’m Christian. How dare you decide what my belief system is! Excuse me. I need to go to the rest room.” She wiped at her eyes and stood.
He grabbed her hand as she passed him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
She jerked her hand away and strode to the ladies’ room.
Ten minutes later, Mary Lou returned to the table. “Don’t worry. I’m better now.”
He put down his glass. “I’m glad. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
She reached for her glass and flatly said, “I forgive you.”
Bobby grimaced. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about us and about my career and…well, a lot of things.”
She leaned forward. “What? There’s more? What are you taking so long to tell me? Just tell me. You know I can’t take all this mystery.”
He sucked in a deep breath. “All right. Here it is: I’ve been offered the job in San Diego that I interviewed for last October. Remember when I had to go for the oral examinations?”
Mary Lou blinked. “I remember, but they didn’t call you, and I thought it was done. I thought—”
“It was never over. It just takes time for them to get all the background checks and so forth done. I accepted the job last week, and I will be moving to San Diego within the next few days.”
Mary Lou lost her appetite. She couldn’t speak. She sat there, stunned.
“I didn’t want to tell you this while you were in Alaska, but there’s another reason I’m going at this time. You see, I care very much about you. To be honest, I’m falling in love with you.”
Hope surged into Mary Lou’s heart. The conversation wasn’t turning out the way she’d feared.
Mary Lou felt her shoulders relax. Oh, Bobby, I agree. Don’t stop talking. Yes, I will marry you and move to San Diego. Just ask, you dope!
Bobby took her other hand. “The only problem with that is that—well, now, please don’t take this the wrong way.”
Mary Lou squeezed his hands. “Go on. I want to hear what you have to say.”
Bobby smiled a sad smile. “When Alex and I talked, I told him all about you and how wonderful you are. He told me that it sounded like I might be having impure thoughts about you. The more that we talked, the more I knew that what he said was true. Then this job came up. And the more that I think about it, I’m pretty sure it is a God thing. I need some distance to grow spiritually, and your beauty distracts me.”
Mary Lou summoned her brightest smile. “If that job is what you want, then you should go for it.”
Bobby glanced down at the plate in front of him then back at her. “The job is important, of course. But more important is for you to understand where I’m coming from.” He squeezed her hands back and took a deep breath. “I’m afraid that we’re unequally yoked, and I couldn’t live like that. You may be the woman God wants me to spend my life with—it’s just that, if you are that woman, it’s the wrong time. I hope to move back to Denver sometime in the future.”
Mary Lou let go of his hands. She found her voice and heard herself ask, “Unequally yoked? I told you I was a Christian.”
He reached across the table to take her hand back. “That is great news, but our spiritual priorities are different. Jesus means everything to me, and I don’t believe you have that same commitment.”
She clasped her hands together in her lap. Her shoulders lifted, along with her voice. “‘Spiritual priorities’? What does that even mean? I’m a Christian. Tell me what you want.” She felt her back arch. “So I’m not good enough for you?”
“I didn’t say that at all. It’s not about being good enough; it’s about being able to have a right relationship with the Lord and being ready to do whatever He asks for the rest of our lives.”
She threw her napkin on her unfinished meal. “I’m ready for something, Bobby. I’m ready to end this conversation. Take me home.” She went to get her coat.
Bobby caught the waiter, paid the bill, and hurried outside to see Mary Lou standing in the parking lot beside the car.
Snow had begun to fall. The light from the streetlight glowed around her. She was hugging herself and shivering in the cold. The sight made him want to take her in his arms to comfort her, but he knew better. He was the reason for her hurt.
He pressed the button on the key fob and unlocked the car from a distance. She was in the car by the time he reached it.