Grace Alive: a Christian Romance (9 page)

“Where are you going, Zoe?” my mom asked as I
practically bolted past her.

“Going to get some coffee with a friend.”

“So, you aren’t coming to the ladies meeting
before work?” she asked.

“Not this time, thanks for the invite though.
Love you, Mom,” I said as I slipped out the door.

I arrived at Espress’ Yourself Café in record
time. I headed inside with a silly smile on my face. I saw Branson
at the table we’d first sat at on our first date. He waved to me. I
walked over to him, my high heeled boots clicking against the wood
floor. I sat down across from him with a content sigh.

“Hi,” I said breathlessly. He grinned at
me.

“You look amazing,” he said, “I ordered you a
mocha if that’s alright.” He folded his hands on the table.

“You’re a fast learner,” I said with a
laugh.

“You can never go wrong by giving girls
chocolate.”

“Smart man.” A minute later our coffees were
done. He went up to the counter and grabbed them for us. He set it
down in front of me, and my eyes lit up with pleasure.

“It looks like you got the ring of power.” He
laughed at my expression.

“My prrrreeeecioussss….” I hissed.

“God, we’re dorks,” he said with a laugh.

“Hey, I like
Lord of the Rings.
From
what you told me last night you’re a big geek at heart too.” I took
a drawn out sip of my mocha with lots of yummy, yum noises.

“You’re not supposed to say that out loud,
Zoe, someone might hear you.” He looked around the room in mock
horror.

“You told me you have Batman underwear, I
mean seriously; you can’t get any geeker than that!” I brushed his
hand with mine. I felt tingles go up and down my arm. We’d talked
about more than just geeky stuff last night too. Why was it so much
easier to say something when chatting than in person?

“Did you listen to that song I posted on my
wall last night?” he asked me. He drank some of his coffee. He was
so good looking. It kept distracting me from what he was actually
talking about. Song? What song?

“Um…no…what song was that?” I asked.

“I wrote it,” he said and raised his eyebrows
at me.

“You wrote a song? You mean you sing other
stuff other than Old McDonald had a farm?”

“I’m branching out,” he said with a
laugh.

“No, I didn’t hear it.” I’d have to look on
Facebook later.

“Tell me what you think, okay?” he said
rather shyly.

“I will,” I said and sipped at my coffee.

“If it sucks just tell me.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t suck,” I said with a
laugh. We talked for a bit longer before I glanced at my watch.
Crap I had to go to work in two hours!

“Listen, Branson, I gotta run! I have to get
ready for work in a couple hours. This was fun,” I said. He stood
to his feet and came around toward me. He pulled me into an
embrace.

“I’ll text you after work. You get out at
ten?” he asked me as he tossed our coffee cups away. I was still
thinking about his hug. It made me tingle all the way down to my
toes.

“What? Yeah, ten.”

“I’ll walk you to your car,” he said. We
headed outside, and he opened up my car door for me like an old
fashioned gentleman. He leaned on my door and peered over top of
it.

“Did I tell you that you looked nice?”

“Girls can always use more compliments,” I
said with a teasing smile. He smiled at me.

“See you later, Zoe.”

“Bye,” I said, and he closed the door. I
watched him walk to his car.
Stop staring at his butt, Zoe,
I thought to myself as I giggled. I started up my car.

***

When I got home, my dad was out busy in the
yard, and my mom was at her ladies meeting. The moment I saw my
dad, my mind went back to the mess I was in. My dad said Jacob was
the one, but there was no way. Why was I thinking about that right
now? I had a little bit of time, so I grabbed a muffin, poured
myself another huge cup of coffee, and plopped myself in front of
my computer. My story stared at me. I put my fingers to the
keyboard and began to type out my frustration at my life. When I
was done I sat back. Was that really how I wanted my character’s
life to go? One big whopping mess? I went to go hit the back key
but paused. Why shouldn’t her life be as big of a mess as mine was?
Why should she get a happy ending and not me? I closed Microsoft
Word down and went to go sit on my bed. I grabbed a book off my
bookshelf and lost myself in another person’s perfect story.

My phone alarm beeped, and I climbed off my
bed to get myself ready for work. I brushed my hair, touched up my
makeup, and got dressed. Another day, another dollar. I passed my
dad on the way to my car.

“Work?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled and climbed into my
car.

“See you tonight, Zoe. We need to talk
later.”

Great. Just great. I pulled out of the
driveway and headed toward my work. I got there and smiled at my
familiar customers as I relieved a girl named Amanda, who stocked
shelves.

“Hi, Zoe, ready for another day?”

“Yeah, should be fun.” I sounded depressed
even to my own ears.

“You okay? You seem like you’re having a
rough day.”

Rough life more like it. Yeah, my dad is
making me marry some nasty guy. It was great!

“I’m good. Just went to bed late last night.”
I slid behind the counter, and she headed toward the back to pull
some freight out. She left in an hour or so, and I’d have the place
to myself for the night.

“Have fun!” she called over her shoulder.
Yeah, loads of fun. I couldn’t get all the crap out of my head that
was going on with my family. The one thing that kept me from going
insane was thinking about Branson. It was so weird. The logical
side of me was like screaming at me that I was an idiot, while
something else in my heart was shouting hallelujah. It was the
weirdest battle I’d ever gone through. The hours dragged by as I
straightened up the store. I made a couple rounds, helped a few
people, and finally nine o’clock rolled around. One more hour! Then
what? Ah! I was hanging out with Branson tomorrow! The thought hit
me like fresh air. I managed a smile.

The door dinged, and a couple girls from
church came in. One girl named Tori, who is really a big huge snob,
came right up to me.

“Hi, Zoe, I heard you and Jacob went out last
night. How’d that go?” I could read the jealousy in her eyes. God,
please.

“It was amazing,” I sarcastically said. I
don’t think she caught it though.

“You have it so lucky, Zoe Reed. God has
really blessed you with such a great man. Jacob is so amazing.”

She could totally have him!

“Tori, this little courtship is not my
idea.”

“But Jacob said your dad said God told him
you two were meant to be together!” She looked at her two friends
who were just soaking all the information in. Crap. I didn’t want
them to think ill of my dad.

“Yeah, God did. I just haven’t had
confirmation in my own heart. I’m sure it will come,” I said and
tried to look like I was sorting something on the counter so they’d
go away. Tori didn’t really take the hint.

“Maybe you’re just in sin, and God’s not
talking to you right now.”

I wanted to slap her! My gosh! How dare she?
Little miss let me show my boobs to half the church! I clenched my
jaw together my face turning red. Maybe I wasn’t the perfect
Christian all the time, but I’d heard how many guys Tori had slept
with, and it was more than I could count on two hands. She claimed
that was “before” she got born again, but there were still rumors
floating around. It’s probably why Jacob wanted nothing to do with
her.

“Maybe if you’d kept yourself pure he’d look
at you twice,” I shot back at her, and instantly regretted my
words. I was just mad today. Everything was heating me up. Her two
friends looked shocked, and Tori’s jaw dropped open.

“You’re cruel, Zoe Reed. I swear if you
weren’t the pastor’s daughter…” Her lip trembled as her two friends
ushered her out of the craft store. Oops. Ah! Why did I say that? I
really hated the way I spewed crap sometimes.
Jesus, please
forgive me! I didn’t mean to be so mean to her! I just get so sick
of her and her friends. They think they are so much better than
everyone else in the church. They can have Jacob Whitmen! I don’t
want him!

I looked up at the clock and started cleaning
up for the night. It was almost ten. Finally after cleaning up and
shutting everything off, I punched out and locked up the store. I
got into my car and just sat there for awhile. At my church people
were always pointing the finger, judging, and casting blame on
everyone. If people saw Branson with me I would get heaped with
judgment up to my eyeballs. I couldn’t let anyone see him, but this
city really wasn’t that big. I’m sure someone knew him, and a lot
of people knew who I was. How was I going to keep my friendship or
relationship or whatever this was a secret? Already people knew
that Jacob and I were ugh…courting! The thought still made me want
to puke. I headed home to get some sleep for the night. Tomorrow
was Sunday finally.

The sunlight shone through my window blinding
me awake. “I’m up, gosh…” I mumbled as I put my hand up to block
the warm rays. What was today? Oh yeah it was Sunday! I was going
to get to see Branson this afternoon after church. Had I told Mom
and Dad about my plans? I couldn’t think this early. I stumbled out
of bed, showered, and put on a pair of black stretchy pants, and a
light pink sparkly sweater dress that hung to my knees. I added a
small heart shaped necklace and curled my hair into soft curls. I
applied my makeup carefully and then looked at myself. I looked
pretty good. I headed downstairs. I was going to drive today again,
since I was meeting Branson after church, and Mom and Dad were
going somewhere else. My mom was putting dishes away when I
descended from the stairs.

“Hi, sweetie, you look really nice. Me and
your dad are going to the Whitmens after church if you’d like to
join us.” She was hinting at something. They wanted me to get to
know my future in-laws. This was not going to end well.

“I’ve got plans today, Mom, but thanks
anyways,” I said and headed toward the fridge. I pulled out the
orange juice and poured myself a glass.

“Me and your father really wanted you to be
there today, Zoe, we are going to talk about the courting
arrangements for you two.” She poured herself a cup of coffee.

I turned around with what I hoped wasn’t a
sneer.

“Did Dad tell you that I haven’t even said
yes to this courtship? He’s shoving it in my face! I haven’t heard
God speak to my heart about Jacob,” I said the words harsher than I
meant to. My mom flinched a little bit. Then her mouth went into a
grim line.

“Your father told me you were okay with it.
You went out with Jacob Friday night.”

“Yes. Because Dad set it up. Mom, I have to
pray more about this…I don’t want to make a mistake.”

“Are you doubting your father, then?” Her
voice came out critical and sharp. She slammed a notebook down on
the counter and started furiously scribbling something down. What
the heck.

“No…I just don’t have peace about it all yet.
I need time. Can’t you two understand that?” I tried to get her to
look at me, but she ignored me.

“You are running out of time, Zoe Grace.
Jacob is the perfect match for you.” She poured creamer in her
coffee and splashed some on the counter.

“I gotta get going; I’ll talk to you later.”
I couldn’t deal with this right now. I headed out the door, my
orange juice left untouched. I was so furious that I could barely
shove my key in the lock of my car. I finally did and let out a
long slow breath. It was going to be okay. I was not going to the
Whitmens today. No way. I was going to see Branson. I’d already
canceled once with him for Jacob, I was not doing it again. I
climbed into my car and threw my purse on the seat. I started up
the engine and headed toward the church. I would just go into the
private prayer room and have a little bit of a talk with God.

***

When I got to church, Jacob was already
there. I moaned and headed toward one of the prayer rooms the
intercessors used all the time. He spotted me and waved. I kept
walking. Was that rude? I really didn’t care right now. I walked
right into the prayer room, and he followed me in.

“I just wanted to tell you I really enjoyed
our date Friday night. I’m excited to hang out with you today after
church.” He closed the door as I set my purse down on a chair.

“Jacob, I came in here to pray for awhile. Do
you mind?” I said and tried to keep the anger out of my voice. It
wasn’t working very well. I was practically biting my cheek to keep
from screaming at him.

“Oh, sorry, Zoe, I just wanted to tell you
that really quick.” He flashed me a smile.

“I’m not coming to lunch today. I have plans
with someone.” I kept my attention away from his face. I didn’t
feel like looking at him right now.

“Oh? Who?” he asked with suspicion.

“A friend,” I said and looked away from him.
I wonder if he could tell I was lying? Wasn’t Branson just a friend
right now? I wasn’t dating him or anything.

“Oh, sorry to hear that. We’ll talk later.”
He went out of the prayer room, and I heaved a sigh of relief.
Finally. I grabbed my journal and Bible and settled on the floor. I
put on some music from a little stereo that was kept in the
room.

“God, seriously, You have a lot of explaining
to do. Why did you tell me to go out with Branson? I know it was
Your voice. I recognized it.” I waited for God to explain Himself,
but He didn’t speak to me at all. I growled in frustration as I
started pouring over the Bible. I got to the verse about disobeying
your parents and slammed my Bible shut. That wasn’t helping at all!
If Jacob was my husband God better change my heart quick because
the more I thought about him the more I grew angry. After a good
half hour of me whining to God, I left the prayer room and went to
find my seat. Mia was already there. Tomas was talking to some
other men on the other side of the room.