Chapter 11 #2
“Because we’re human. And if we instantly did that, we’d never actually grow. I think it’s that growth in trust that God is looking for. Because people who trust Him in the bad times as well as the good are the people He can use.”
Maybe Annabelle should have been the one to meet Ethan. They both seemed to have a heart for ministry beyond what Ellie did.
The café closed at two, and for some reason, there always seemed to be a number of last-minute arrivals, people who insisted on coming and often staying past closing time.
Mum and Dad weren’t too keen to kick them out, but Emma-Jane and Ellie had always thought it demonstrated a degree of selfishness and lack of awareness of others.
Who arrived late, without a booking, then insisted on making others stay behind?
They weren’t a chain restaurant but a family business, they had lives, and if Ethan were to come, she didn’t want him here with a bunch of people watching them.
“Did you want me to set up the tea demonstration?” Annabelle asked.
She checked her phone, then shook her head, her heart dipping in disappointment. “It’s nearly two, and he’s not here. I don’t think he’s coming.”
Annabelle studied her, then hugged her. “I’m sorry.”
Ellie blinked back emotion. She didn’t cry, so this was unusual. “It’s okay.”
“It’s okay to be disappointed.”
“I know.” She faked a smile. “But c’est la vie, right?”
“And if this isn’t right for right now, then we trust that God knows what He’s doing, anyway.”
Emotion clogged her throat, forcing her to nod. She was glad Annabelle did not insist on another hug, as that might have caused her to spill tears she didn’t want to admit to having. Crying over a man? That was Katie’s domain, not hers.
She shrugged, shifted away, blinked hard to contain the emotion. Foolish emotion. See? She’d known he couldn’t like her. Not really. Not enough to want to make a difference and actually come to see her again. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
“I know you will be, but if you ever want to talk, well, I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”
“By all your old men, no doubt.”
“Exactly.” Annabelle winked.
But as the day dragged on, and the late Sydneysiders departed, and Ellie told her dad and Annabelle to go home and she’d lock up, the fact that Ethan hadn’t shown weighed on her. And if she’d been someone who did emotions, she might have let the tears begging to appear escape.
But since she wasn’t that girl, she didn’t, and instead sat at a table in The Silver Teapot, listening to the sound of passing traffic, wondering if any was a car that would stop and its driver want to come in.
She watched as people passed the door, her heart leaping as someone knocked on the front door.
But when she opened it, it was a woman she didn’t recognise.
“Sorry, we’re closed.” She pointed to the sign that listed their hours, then shut the door.
See? He wasn’t coming. He wasn’t coming. She bit her lip, resumed her seat at the round wooden table, and watched the shadows stretch across the room, holding herself mercilessly still. Because if she moved, she might break, and she didn’t have time for that. Didn’t have capacity for that.
“Lord, I want to have as much faith as Annabelle, but it’s really hard. I don’t know why Ethan hasn’t come, but wherever he is, please bless him.”
There. That was an unselfish prayer.
She pressed her lips together and held back a sob.
How had his day turned out like this?
Far from the Saturday he’d anticipated, drinking tea with a woman he admired, Ethan sat on a leather couch facing his father, sister, and brother, in a hastily convened family crisis meeting.
Instead of wending his way through historic villages that were dressed in spring florals, he was stuck here, feeling the noose of family obligation slowly tighten around his neck.
What had he done to deserve this? Had he ticked off all the members of his family so much that they’d all ganged up on him like this?
Not content with Ethan’s refusal to submit to his command, Dad had orchestrated this family meeting, bringing out the big guns.
Francine and Rob had inherited Dad’s hard nose and political savvy, and they always had an eye for the main chance.
So, when Dad had commanded Ethan to stay for lunch, he’d thought it was a chance to repair things.
The thought that Christine would die had been playing on his mind all week, and he didn’t want to leave any relationship on shaky ground.
As far as it depended on him, he wanted to live at peace with others.
“Ethan, you’ve always been known as a good guy.” Francine smiled, like she didn’t realise that he recognised this was her tactic before she came out swinging. “I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to help out poor Christine at this time.”
Yep, there it was. Bulldozer Francine, as usual. He wondered if Wayne had said anything to her recently about the blue-haired woman he’d seen Ethan with last weekend.
“Yeah, if you ask me, it sounds a little selfish,” chimed in Rob. “Not exactly what a Christian should do.”
Ethan glanced at his younger brother. “If you think it sounds so selfish, why don’t you marry her?”
Rob coughed. “I’m not the one Lucinda has her heart set on.”
“Shame.”
He sighed. “Yeah. Because she is kinda hot. I’m saying that in a completely platonic way, of course.”
“I don’t care how you say it. I’m not interested. She’s all yours.”
Rob wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, but I’m not ready to settle down yet.”
“Neither am I.”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t get in the way of Lucinda.”
Ethan glanced at his father, who was watching them from under hooded eyes, his fingers pressed together like he was praying. Not that he was. The only god his father believed in was himself. “Well, Dad? Got anything else to say? Otherwise, I’ve got places to be.”
His father glanced at Francine, who nodded.
Oh, okay. So they had planned this attack. He settled back, crossed his arms, waiting for the next blow.
“Is the reason you’re reluctant to consider this because you have a relationship with someone else?” Francine asked.
“No. The reason I am reluctant to do this is because I don’t want to. Why is that so hard to understand?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Wayne mentioned he saw you with a blue-haired woman last Sunday.”
And there it was. Of course Wayne had.
“Blue hair?” Dad’s nose screwed up so hard he might need another nose job. “Are you serious?”
“I won’t deny that I met a woman at the mystery weekend that I enjoyed spending time with.”
“Wasn’t that the weekend you were supposed to go with Lucinda?” Rob asked.
“She was sick, remember?”
“Whoa.” Rob grinned, his eyes alight with unholy glee. “My big brother the baddie.”
“Look, I’m gonna stop you right there because Lucinda and I are not, and never have been, in a relationship.”
“Yeah, that’s not what going away together to a hotel suggests.” Francine smirked.
“We had booked separate rooms,” he snapped. “We’ve never done … that, if you must know. And I have no intention of doing that with anyone until I’m married.”
“You’re so virtuous, aren’t you?” Rob sneered.
“I’m not perfect. But I do try to practice what I preach, especially when I want to be a youth pastor one day.”
“This again?” Francine rolled her eyes.
Dad’s eyes could splinter wood. “Are you batting for the other side, is that it, Son?”
“What? No. How can you think that? Okay, if you must know, yes, I found Elinor attractive. And I was supposed to see her this weekend, but then I lost her number.”
“You got her number?” Rob whistled. “Wow. That’s progress.”
“I got her Instagram. Then I lost my phone and got locked out of my accounts, so now I can’t find her again.”
“Poor Ethan.”
“I’m not really interested in hearing about a blue-haired woman,” Dad said, his expression flinty. “She does not sound like the right kind of woman for you.”
“She is, way more than Lucinda is. At least she’s a Christian.”
Too late, he remembered this was not the way to get any of them on board. If his mum had been here, she would have nodded, but the rest of his family held no faith. No faith in Jesus, anyway.
His dad leaned forward. “Lucinda will make you a fine wife. You should reconsider.”
“Why are you being so pushy about this?”