24. Christopher - A Reminder
Chapter twenty-four
Christopher - A Reminder
Y ou probably just gasped. I know…how could it be? No, it wasn’t like that. You see, Andy and Edie went to her mother’s church regularly. Andy and many of the other young men built the church. They had been married for about eight years. About an hour into a Sunday worship service the main entrance doors opened. Almost everyone turned to see who was entering. It was a small building with about sixty parishioners. If you gasped, imagine Edie’s response when she saw Christopher coming in with an attractive woman and two small girls dressed in their Sunday best. It’s amazing how a body reacts to something as shocking as that. The service continued as they found seats.
“Jenny,” Edie recounted, “I never heard another word for the next hour. I had to concentrate on trying to keep my shaking hands under control. My whole body was tingling, maybe adrenaline from the shock. No one knew them but me and I couldn’t imagine why he showed up there. He had an uncanny ability to find me over the years and an even stranger sense of timing. My brain was shorting out and bouncing around like a BB in a bathtub.”
After the service, many church people greeted them and welcomed them to return. The little girls were beautiful and it was clear to see he was their daddy with their dark hair and his striking aqua eyes. She couldn’t describe the thoughts that went through her. She silently prayed they didn’t want to make this their home church. Edie couldn’t imagine the stress that would create. They weren’t in any rush to leave and she thought she should greet them. She said hello to the woman and the girls and finally approached Chris. She held her hand out to shake his when he pulled her into his body for a hug. Whispering in her ear he said, “I had to see you. Remember, I will always love you.”
She knew she would always love him too, but their love was not to be and they both knew it. After their long, loving and painful relationship, Edie couldn’t make sense of it and she never told anyone that she knew them, not even Andrew. It was all too painful.