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There was always an aftermath.
“How’s Silas?” That question always took the pressure off her and sent Lucy on a verbal rampage. Melody let her talk until they reached the end of the sidewalk. “I’m so glad you have a great workplace relationship with your boss.”
Lucy’s nostrils flared. “Yeah. Me, too.”
“Lighten up. He pays you well.” Better than she was paid, master’s degree and all. “I need to run, Luce. Things to do before play practice.”
A certain person to message, that is.
“Kay. See you tomorrow.” They hugged and parted ways. As soon as Melody slid into her car, she opened Holy Appimony and read the message that had waited long enough.
Jeremy: Morning! How did you sleep?
The timestamp was almost two hours ago. Melody’s fingers shook as she typed. Was it from the cold or eagerness?
Melody: I’m so sorry, I was eating with friends. We have this Saturday brunch tradition and you know girls talk a lot so it took a while.
He responded with a grimacing emoji, followed by a laughing one.
Jeremy: I’ll take my peace and quiet, thanks. How are you today?
Melody: Okay. Hoping for a good practice. I need it.
Jeremy: Positive thoughts, okay? I’ll be praying for you.
Melody pinched her lips together. He was a Christian. Figured.
Melody: Thanks. I need all the help I can get.
Why couldn’t she say these things to anyone else? She wasn’t making any huge revelations. Simply saying what was real. That she was afraid. Under pressure. Feeling incapable.
She had experienced these feelings her whole life. No amount of self-talk made her believe she would ever be adequate. But somehow Jeremy did. He’d given her a sliver of hope.
She never wanted to let go.
Chapter Four
TJ squirmed in his seat. The sermon was about Jacob deceiving his father to get the birthright and the never-ending consequences that followed Jacob for the rest of his life. All because he’d chosen to be dishonest rather than put his future in God’s hands.
Was TJ doing the same? If he truly trusted God to take care of his heart, he wouldn’t be engaging in such blatant duplicity. But how else could he get closer to Melody without risking the same rejection he’d experienced from her before?
No, this would work. It had to. And it was. Yesterday they spent an hour instant messaging after her brunch. He’d forgotten she did that every Saturday, but it was worth the wait, even if she’d told him much he already knew. Like the fact she played the piano, violin, flute, and trombone. That she had a master’s in music performance. That she loved to sing and act.
Then she told “Jeremy” about her best friend TJ in vague terms. Enough to make him think she didn’t want him to be jealous. Likely because she didn’t think there was anything to be jealous of.
That hurt.
That and the fact she continued to unload things on him that she never told the real TJ.
When the congregation stood for the closing prayer, he rose hastily to join them. He’d missed most of the sermon.
“Wasn’t that a great message?” his mom asked as she handed him a casserole dish to carry to the table half an hour later.
“Uh…yeah. It was.”
“You didn’t seem to be paying attention.” She touched a hand to his cheek, a concerned gesture. “What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing. Nothing.” He straightened when Melody entered the room, a red scarf tied in an elegant knot below her chin. She never came to church. She had stopped without explanation near the end of their senior year. He’d only asked once for her reason, and she refused to say. Should he have pressed harder? At least she came to Sunday lunch at the Halverson house each week. He was glad she hadn’t given that up and hoped she never would.
