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“You looked that up.”
“No. I knew it. I just didn’t want you to know that I knew, because...”
“Why? Because what?” she prompted when he trailed off.
“Because I can’t tell you anyone else’s birthday.” His eyes met hers, but not with confidence, almost as though he was forcing himself to lift them from the floor or they were so heavy they just wanted to sink into the ground.
Her breath caught in her throat again. The feeling was starting to become familiar. He kept surprising her.
“You did?” She trusted him. She’d seen him do business. She’d seen him refuse to lie even when it would be more convenient, even at times where it really wouldn’t be considered a huge lie, just a little nudge of the truth, and he refused.
“Yeah.” His lips pulled back, and he didn’t look super happy about it.
But he didn’t say anything more, just walked back to the desk, grabbed the two bottles of water, and came back and sat down beside her, the box between them.
“This feels a little familiar. Only the last time, we were looking at the lake from the other side.”
“And there were ants and bugs, and I had you sitting on the ground without even a blanket.”
“I didn’t mind. It was the first time I’d ever had an outdoor picnic, and I have to say, I might have gotten addicted to the occurrence.”
“You never had a picnic outside before?”
“This is the second time in my adult life that I’ve eaten on the ground. I did it a good bit when I was a kid. But never outside.”
She closed her mouth. Somehow it was so hard to imagine the man in front of her as a little kid being shuffled around by his parents. And used. He might not want to admit it, but he had been abused. Maybe they hadn’t hit him, but allowing a small child to get drunk was most definitely child abuse, in her book anyway.
“It’s a wonder you didn’t grow up to be an alcoholic.”
“I don’t drink. Or I probably would be.” He opened the container and stared at his food for a moment. “I suppose we should pray for this.”
The pastor had said something in his sermon about thanking God for everything, including their food. She knew Alex had been listening. He always listened. He might not agree, he might be thinking of arguments in his head or might even be creating a whole world where nothing went along with whatever the speaker was saying, but he always listened. He said more than once that you don’t know what you don’t know, and you don’t know what you might learn from someone else.
“I suppose we should. You want me to?” she asked, figuring that what he had said was a hint for her.
“I can.”
Instead of allowing her eyes to widen, she dropped her chin and closed them. He was going to pray for their food? That was new. In all the times they’d eaten together, she wasn’t even sure he’d ever waited for her to get her food out before taking a forkful and continuing to work while he ate on the side.
A few long seconds ticked by before his voice broke the silence. “Lord God, thank you. For the food. For the company. Most especially for the company. And for the new direction You’ve given me. Amen.”
His words were short, but they didn’t hold any insecurity, and he didn’t look to her to see what her reaction would be, as though he wasn’t sure how his words would be received. It was like he was only saying them for the Lord, and she just happened to be sitting there with him and happened to hear them. She felt like she’d seen a little glimpse of his heart.
He felt like God had given him a new direction?
