Remember Who You Are

Chapter 26-27

Chapter Twenty-six





Wesley sat in the dark. Hubert Laws filled his office with gospel jazz. His eyes closed, he had been dozing off and on since the end of his New Members’ class. He had never expected thirty people to attend. Mostly firefighters and their families, some had never returned to the church after Bradley Oliver's funeral; but when they heard about the class from other firefighters, they decided to attend. Many were on call and in uniform.





Not much was accomplished, Wesley admitted to himself. By the time thirty people settled into place (when Wesley had only expected ten), a good portion of the hour had passed. So Wesley took the time to do an extended introduction and delayed the start of instruction until the following week.





Wesley tapped his cell phone to check the time. Ten minutes before the youth program started. He was curious to see you would show. He expected Squeaky, ___ he reminded himself to stop thinking of her as Squeaky, and maybe her friends. Wes hoped Cora would show. Her presence could increase the cool factor – her being a college student – and act as a warning for the younger girls. Cora could gain from being a role model and surrogate big sister for the younger girls. I have it all worked out, thought Wesley. Now, if only everyone follows my plan perfectly.





*****





Wesley walked into the fellowship hall. A rectangular room lined with folding tables and chairs stacked against the wall, this room seemed vastly inadequate for a growing church. Wesley knew that it was rooms like this that prompted churches to expand and build larger fellowship halls. There was no expanding New Covenant and besides, Wesley doubted the church could afford remodeling. Another problem for another day.


Wes walked into the kitchen. Hundreds of pots, pans, and utensils hung from a suspended rack on the ceiling. Two professional size gas stoves lined the left wall from where Wesley entered and two huge refrigerators and a large freezer lined the right. Beneath the hanging pots and pans, a huge table that served as a prep area, cutting board, and holding area filled the center of the room. On the long table sat two small bags of cookies. Wesley had earlier placed two cases of bottled water in one fridge and the cookies on the table. He would discover tonight the snacks the group preferred.





A few minutes later, hearing voices in the hall, Wesley gathered himself and went to meet the girls. Singing together, softly, as they walked down the hall were Squeaky, ____, and the two girls who had been attending church with her. Seeing Wesley step into the hall, the girls stopped singing and started blushing. The first two walked past Wesley, still blushing and mumbled “Hey Preacher Wes,” while Squeaky, ___ stopped, wrapped her arms around Wesley’s waist, and gave him a quick hug. Cora and a friend appeared at the end of the hall and quickly made their way to Wesley and the other girls. A quick hug from Cora drew a surprised look from her friend but no one spoke until Wesley closed the door to the room.





“Hey guys, thanks for coming. I think…”





At that moment, the door opened and Katherine Meade and her mother, Rebekah slipped in. Katherine mumbled “Sorry” as she came into the room. Seeing, and recognizing the other high school girls, she joined their group as her mother said, “Sorry we are late, it is all my fault.” She winked at Wesley. “If, uh, if you could use a helping hand, I would be glad to stay.”





Wesley watched Katherine out of the corner of his eye while he answered her mother, “I would never refuse help. Glad to have you.” Wesley saw Katherine roll her eyes and exhale a deep sigh. He hoped Rebekah’s presence would not inhibit Katherine in any way. Though he knew it would.


Looking at this small group in this large room, and assuming no one else would join the group tonight, Wesley had an idea. “Since there are only a few of us, why don’t we go to the parsonage for this meeting? My den is more comfortable than these folding chairs.”


 


Chapter Twenty-seven


Open, untouched bags of cookies sat on Wesley’s coffee table as everyone settled, with their bottles of water, into the furniture of Wesley’s den. Lucky had been an instant hit with all the girls and was now stretched out between Cora and Debra, the two college girls, having his belly rubbed by both.





“Start with a prayer?” Pausing for only a second, Wesley began, “Lord, thank you,” he paused a second, remembering his prayer earlier in the day, then resumed, “Thank you for another beautiful day. And thank you for these wonderful women. Let their courage not be thwarted by doubt, may the fire of hope not be smothered by the darkness of despair, and may their reserves of love be as endless as your mercy. In Jesus’ holy name we pray, Amen.”





A chorus of “Amens” followed Wesley’s though he heard one young voice whisper “Dang.”





“Now for introductions. I guess age before beauty, so that makes me first.”





Wesley introduced himself and each of the girls introduced themselves with Katherine Meade being the last. All four of the high school girls were juniors and except for Squeaky - ____ and Katherine, Wesley forgot their names and hated himself for his weakness. Both college girls, Cora and Debra – these he remembered, were freshmen which reduced any negative impact the age differential may have created.


“I guess I am last,” said Rebekah Meade.





Wesley leaned forward and gave this beautiful woman his undivided attention. Realizing he knew little to nothing about her, outside of her relationship with her husband, he was eager to discover this woman as an individual – not only as the wife of his friend.


“I graduated from UVA a looong time ago,” she chuckled and glanced at Wesley, “with my degree in business, and I returned to school after I married and earned my MBA.”





Wesley tried to hide his surprise. He had assumed that, if Rebekah Meade worked – and was not simply a stay-at-home mom – that her profession would be a more traditional one for women. Realizing how patronizing and misogynist that was, Wesley smiled to himself and decided to never reveal his thoughts out loud.





Rebekah Meade continued, “I now own my own company which I operate out of my home. I am a financial planner with several licenses. I can sell insurance, annuities, stocks, even set up 401K’s,” she concluded.





“I didn’t know all that,” admitted Wesley.





“Shoot,” snorted Katherine Meade. “My mama makes more money than my Daddy.” All the girls laughed and eyed Rebekah with admiration, who had the good grace to blush.





This is perfect, thought Wesley. “Well, I hope you continue to join us on Sunday nights. I would even like you to be the co-leader of the group. If everyone agrees.”





Wesley knew that requests were harder to refuse if asked in the presence of an audience. Those HR seminars were good for something, thought Wesley. Looking around at the small group, all the girls were nodding their approval at Wesley’s suggestion, with Katherine being the only one that seemed less than enthusiastic.





“Good. It looks like we have a co-leader.” And a role model, thought Wes. He was well-pleased with the fortuitous turn of events and Rebekah’s unexpected participation. Wesley was feeling rather pleased with himself.





The rest of the meeting proceeded without incident as discussion focused on the difficulties of returning to school. Wes knew that trust would have to be earned before any real breakthroughs could occur. On that note, at the end of the meeting, he said, “Rebekah, can I speak to you privately before you leave?”





*****


After everyone had left, Rebekah had sent a nosy and disappointed Katherine to the car to wait while she and Wes talked. “She’ll be ok,” said Rebekah.





“She’s a good girl,” said Wes.





“Look, I never got the chance to thank you, for, well, you know. Saving Kat. If anything ever happened to her I would lose my mind.”


“You’re very welcome.” Wesley was touched by her simple honesty and her gratitude. “I do need a favor from you. Something that may be difficult.”





“Name it.”





“Well, we need to gain their trust. The only way to do so is to expose our own vulnerabilities and mistakes to them. We have to let them know that we are as flawed as they are and we are here, not to judge them, but to show them we understand because we have been where they are. I need you to find a way to open up about any issues you had as a teen. I know that can be difficult because parents often hide their past from their kids. Of course, you may have had a perfect childhood and never did anything wrong.”





Rebekah stood silently for a moment. “No. No perfect childhood. But there are things that Katherine does not know. I will think about it.”


“Thank you.”