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“I think you look good with bright orange pollen all over your face. If it weren’t for my allergies, I’d rub noses with you so we could match.”
He finally broke away from our stance, and I found myself letting out a sigh of relief. I didn’t remember ever feeling soattractedto someone before Eli. But since he was in a relationship—engaged,after all—I needed to remember that this was a dangerous line to walk, one that would always lead to sin.
Katies Biblical Application
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17
Picking up his flowers, Eli nodded at me over his shoulder and walked to his car, parked a few spots away from mine. I dropped the duffle bags into the back of my SUV as the door was still open.
“Eli,” I hollered over, my voice cracking like a preteen boy going through puberty.
He turned around, his eyebrows raised quizzically. “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry for being rude the other day. At the drugstore. That wasn’t cool. I’d been having a little eye makeup emergency before going out and—well, that’s a poor excuse.”
He nodded and didn’t say anything for a moment, causing me to hold my breath and wait.
“Okay.”
“Can we still be friends?”
I wasn’t sure that part was a good idea since I felt strong feelings toward him, and he was taken, but I wanted to know he didn’t hate me at least. It didn’t mean I had to see him, but if I casually ran into him and Carolyn, at least we wouldn’t have this elephant between us.
“I don’t know.”
My heart stopped. Was he reallythatmad about one-off comment, even after I apologized?
“Oh, okay then. Well, take care.” I closed the back of my SUV as I waited for my inflamed shoulders to settle before grabbing the heavy hatchback.
Eli was still standing there, facing in my direction but not quite looking my way. His eyes were up, as if he were gazing at a cloud formation, trying to decide if it was a cat riding a unicorn or just your typical stratocumulus formation. With him not leaving, I felt like I should loiter too, so I reached down to tie my shoe, but that was not something I could do without announcing.
“Better tie my laces. Wouldn’t want them to come undone on my big drive.” I mumbled loud enough that the neighborhood ladies surely heard, as one commented,“Make sure they are tight.”
Eli glanced at me as I was tying them. He must have expected my eyes to be on my shoes, but in fact, I could multi-task—such as cracking an egg while brushing my hair. The fact that I dropped twice as many eggs as I consumed reallyhad nothing to do with the fact that Icould.
I waited for Eli to say something, but after making eye contact, he turned and walked away. Running my fingers along the side of my head under my hair, I could feel a large bump forming.How embarrassing,I thought. At least it didn’t pop up while he was still standing here. Yes, better for all injuries to reveal themselves after the handsome man had left.
I hit the lock on my key fob and marched back to my apartment to get Dolly. The sun coming out felt like a great blessing for my day of driving as I was concerned we’d hit rainstorms.
After washing the last of the pollen off my face, and the bit that spread to my hair and teeth—I was finally ready to depart. I fetched Dolly, who was wagging her tail as we got her harness on so we wouldn’t have to fumble with it on the road. She seemed very excited, and her joy was contagious.
Once back outside, I triple-checked my door was locked and felt assured I’d unplugged everything inside and had my living room light set to a timer. The neighbor ladies waved me off.
Dolly quickly got into her car seat, and I felt emotion coming over me. There was only one thing left to do. I put my head down in my hands and prayed out to God.
“Dear Jesus,
I don’t know how I royally messed things up beyond repair with Eli. I’m so sorry for being rude to him. I just want Eli to be happy… even if it’s with someone else.”
It was such a relief to feel the words of my prayer come out. Just then, Dolly let out a little yawn, and I smiled.
“And Jesus, thank you for this little creature. You really did send me lovewhen I asked for it, just in another form that I wasn’t expecting. She has brought me so many interesting things in just a few days. I can’t wait to see what else You have in store for us.”
Yes, I still had a deep desire for a husband, which was a different kind of love, but there was no mistaking that God had answered my prayers.
“You have shown me nothing but love in my life. Bringing Dolly to me has shown your love even more. I have complete trust in You for my future and will not worry about anything, as you’ve commanded us not to, but instead will cast that all upon You, oh Lord!”
I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes as I felt overwhelmed with God’s love and the presence of the Holy Spirit. I lifted my face and was ready for the journey, looking out my rearview mirror to see it was clear. Turning on my car, I backed out of the parking spot and drove off into the day.
