Seasons (23 page)

Jaci looked across the room. “And you’re sure you really have it settled? Like I’ve told you before, I can’t be going down
another wrong path. I’ve been praying about us too. I just want the will of God for my life. If that includes you, then so
be it. If it doesn’t, I’d rather deal with it now. Good,
Godly,
relationships are not easy and we both need to be certain of what we want before committing to anything.”

He smiled in appreciation of her ability to articulate his own feelings so well and felt the rightness of their relationship
settle in his mind. “Sweetheart, I’m a hundred and fifty percent sure. But I’ve never been in love before. Yeah, I was married,
and in and out of affairs. But I never felt about any of those women the way I feel about you. The very core of my existence
changed when you came into my life. Now that’s a very big adjustment and yes, it’s taken some time and prayer for me to get
here. My heart, my spirit, has been here all along. I just had to fight and win the battle in my mind.”

“So, where do we go from here?”

He moved closer to her and put his arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Let’s talk about it. We have the rest of the night
and for as long as it takes. But you know what? I’m hungry! Now that we’ve talked, my appetite is back with a vengeance. Come
on, let’s see what we can rustle up to eat.”

Jaci stood up, kicked off her shoes, and headed into the kitchen. “Yeah, I’m starved. Some psycho forced me to leave the dance
before I had a chance to eat.”

He laughed as he followed her into the kitchen, hugging her from behind. “But look how much more enjoyable the company is.”

They worked together and fixed bacon, eggs, and toast. While they ate, he told her about the talks he’d been having with his
pastor.

J
ason had grown to appreciate Gerald Robinson since Gerald had become the pastor of his church. He had known the guy in high
school when they played basketball and ran after women together. After high school, they lost touch and had gone down different
paths. Jason hadn’t seen or heard from him in years. He was blown over when Gerald had been introduced a couple of years ago
as the new pastor. He was progressive and a serious advocate of the movement to get men more committed to the Lord and a Christian
lifestyle. He arrived at just the time Jason was searching for a new meaning in life. Since then, under Gerald’s mentorship,
Jason had gradually become more committed to living the Christian life. He still blew it sometimes, but Gerald made him understand
that continuing to try was the important thing.

“You know what my pastor’s had me doing? By the way, he’s really anxious to meet you. Anyway, he’s had me studying Scriptures.
Many different ones, but I’ve spent lots of time in Proverbs. He said after I read and took in the wisdom of those Scriptures,
I would know what the Lord would have me do about any situation. I read, write down any verse that I think applies to our
situation, and then discuss it with him. I’m surprised at how much I enjoy it. And I’ve really learned a lot.”

“But has it helped you in a practical way?”

He answered with an “are you for real” expression. “You better believe it. I didn’t know all of that was in there to help
us live. I’ve always been told to read the Bible, but truthfully, I haven’t done so on a consistent basis. But it’ll be a
priority from now on. You know, I would like to share some of my favorite verses with you. Can I?”

Jaci felt the joy bubble up in her heart. She couldn’t think of anything that would have pleased her more. With a big grin
on her face she answered, “I would love it!”

“I’ll be right back,” he told her as he ran up the stairs and came back a few minutes later with a Bible and a notebook in
his hands.

They spent the next few hours poring over the Scriptures that Jason said had helped him the most. But he confessed that his
very favorites were found in Proverbs 31.

“Sweetheart, when I read those verses, I thought of you. The more I read them, the more I saw you in there. Everything described
in those verses, I’ve observed about you. It blew my mind, especially verse twenty-nine.” He started reading the verse and
continued reading to the end of the chapter.

Jaci looked uncomfortable. “Jason, those verses are talking about this man’s wi—”

“I know what they’re talking about, honey.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “Do you know what I’m saying to you, sweetheart?”

Jaci looked away from the intensity of his eyes. She wasn’t ready to deal with what she saw there. “You know what? I’m tired,”
she said as she glanced at her watch. “Oh my goodness! It’s way past time for me to be getting home.”

“Why don’t you just bunk out here for the rest of the night? I promise you’ll be safe. And I’ll even feed you some more bacon
and eggs when you wake up,” he told her, grinning widely. “Trust me?”

She looked hard at him, wondering if she had lost her mind to even consider it. But she remembered the times when he could
have taken advantage of her, and how he always protected her, even from herself, then answered, “Yes, I trust you. Give me
one of your shirts to sleep in.”

He stood and pulled her up with him. Cupping her face in his hands, he whispered, “I don’t know if I’m thinking rationally
tonight. I have a beautiful woman that I’m crazy in love with in my house, and I’m promising not to touch her! I know something
is wrong with me!” Taking her hand, he led her up the stairs and into his spacious bedroom. He went into the closet and came
back with a T-shirt in his hands. “You can change in there,” he said, pointing to the bathroom.

When she returned dressed in his shirt that reached almost to her knees, he had put on some pajamas and was lying on the bed.
“Okay. What room can I sleep in?” she asked him.

“This one,” he answered quickly. “I want to spend this whole night with you. And don’t worry, I remember my promise.”

She looked at him as if he were crazy. “Well! Mr. Proverbs Man. Where has all that wisdom gone? Out the window? Hiding under
the bed?”

“Honey, I know what I’m suggesting might not be the wisest thing, but I just don’t want us to be apart tonight. We’ve come
so far, gotten so much resolved. I’m just not ready for it to end.”

She went into deep thought at what he said. She too felt the fragile bonding that she was reluctant to break. But suddenly
a Scripture came to her mind. “Jason, the first thing we have to decide is who we’re going to serve in our relationship. We
both know we’re not the strongest when it comes to resisting the temptation of giving in to our feelings. You’ve been so good
at making sure we don’t cross any lines and I appreciate it. I know you think you’re strong tonight, but I just recalled a
Scripture from Ephesians. It simply says: ‘Don’t give place to the devil.’ My grampa used to put it this way: ‘Give the devil
an inch, he’ll take a mile; let him ride, he’ll soon be driving; give him a crack, he’ll make a door.’ Do you get what I’m
saying? One seemingly innocent decision can lead us down a path we didn’t intend to follow. And we want our relationship to
honor God in every way, right?”

Jason surveyed her, the light of understanding in his eyes. “You’re right sweetheart. I just got carried away with the joy
of having you here. So what do you want to do?”

“We’ve talked to each other and talked about the Lord, read His Word, and agreed with it. But the one thing we haven’t done
tonight is talk
to
the Lord. Can we just talk to Him together and seek His wisdom and direction in our relationship? And then we’re going to
bed—in separate rooms.”

“Thank you, sweetheart, that’s a great idea. It’s He who will keep us on the right path.”

They talked to the Lord together. Each picking up from where the other left off in presenting their petitions to Him. They
prayed until they were almost asleep. Then Jason took her to another bedroom.

J
aci awoke early the next morning after sleeping soundly. It took her a minute to orient herself, then memories of last night
returned. “Lord, thank You for Your mercy, because You were surely with me last night,” she said quietly. She slowly slipped
out of bed to go into the bathroom, then dressed in her now-rumpled dress.

She knocked on Jason’s door before sticking her head in and calling to him softly. He stirred, then raised his head, looking
at her with sleepy eyes. “Baby, what are you doing up this early? It’s barely daylight. Go back to bed.”

“No, I need to get home, I have some things I need to do today.” She gasped. “I just remembered, I don’t have my car. How
am I going to get home?”

He gazed at her for a long minute. “I think you’re running away from the progress we made last night. Is that it? If it is,
it won’t work. We’re not going back.” When she didn’t respond, he gave a long sigh. “Okay. If you insist on leaving at this
ungodly hour, you’ll have to drive yourself. Take your pick, the Jag or the Navigator?”

“Neither one, really. But I guess the smaller one is the lesser of two evils. Why can’t you drive me? How are you going to
get your car?”

He got out of bed and handed her the keys to the Jaguar. “I’m going back to bed. Then I have some errands to run. I was hoping
to take you with me. But you’re not cooperating. Anyway, Patrick is supposed to come by later today. I’ll get him to drive
me over to get the car.”

“And what was I supposed to wear when we ran these errands? I’m not exactly dressed to hang out, you know.”

“Oh, we would come up with something. Sure you won’t change your mind?”

“No, I don’t think so.” She knew she needed to do some serious thinking about the big change in their relationship.

When Jaci walked toward the door, J.P. went to the closet and slipped on a robe, then followed her down the hallway to the
stairs. She found her purse, shoes, and coat in the family room and waited while he disarmed the alarm system and unlocked
the door leading into the garage. He showed her which button on the keyless entrance pad to push to gain entry to the car.
“It’s pretty powerful. So go easy until you get familiar with it,” he cautioned.

“You don’t have to tell me that!” She was totally intimidated by the car.

By the time she drove across town in the early morning light, relieved there was not a lot of traffic on the streets, she
was enjoying the car. She turned down her street and was surprised to see a car parked in her driveway. As she got closer,
she recognized it as Gloria’s. Her mouth dropped open in amazement when she realized the possible implications. Gloria had
come to her house last night, parked her car, and Bill had picked them both up. Could this mean? . . . Had she been so immersed
in her own problems that something had developed between her coworkers without her noticing?

“We . . . lll!” she said to herself. “This is a surprising development. Goodness gracious! Uh! Uh! Uh!”

Then she reminded herself not to jump to any conclusions.

She drove the Jag into the double garage and parked it next to her Jeep. Thankfully, she had thought to tuck the garage opener
into her purse along with her keys before leaving last night. Seldom did she use any entrance to her house other than through
the garage. She went through the process of unlocking the door to enter the kitchen, going straight to the answering machine
to check her messages. To her relief, all was well. She had grown so accustomed to expecting bad news that it was almost a
letdown to hear routine messages.

After she showered and slipped into comfortable clothes, Jaci realized she was too mentally and emotionally hyped to relax,
so she decided to go grocery shopping and cook dinner for Randi and her family. She knew they hadn’t enjoyed a good home-cooked
meal in a while. Deep inside, she knew she was just seeking a distraction to avoid thinking about last night. She wasn’t ready
to deal with all the ramifications just yet. Had Jason almost proposed to her, or had she imagined it?

She decided on the popular African American menu that never failed to delight: baked chicken, greens, macaroni and cheese,
candied yams, and cornbread. And she knew Randi would be looking for cheesecake. Since she seldom cooked large meals anymore,
usually settling for TV dinners or a salad with a piece of meat grilled on the George Foreman grill, she needed to buy almost
everything.

Later, as she stood at the sink washing and re-washing the greens, she berated herself. Of all the grand ideas she had ever
had, this was one of the worst. She continued harassing herself throughout the meal preparations, regretting her earlier call
disclosing her plans to an excited Randi. She could have caught up on some much needed sleep, or cleaned the house, gone shopping,
weeded her flowerbeds. Anything but this. A pizza would have sufficed!

Her doorbell rang just as the food, almost ready, began to produce enticing aromas. She swung open the door to greet Gloria
and Bill.

“Hi!” Gloria said. “Bill drove me home last night, so we came by to get my car. We just took a chance and rang the doorbell.
Whatcha’ doing?”

“Cooking a meal for my daughter and her family,” Jaci explained, stepping back. “Ya’ll come on in.” They stepped through the
door, sniffing the air.

“Whoo!” Bill yelled. “Something smells really good. What are you cooking? Do I smell some greens?”

“Yep. Along with some other good stuff. They haven’t had a good meal in a while.”

“Huh! They better get in line behind me. I ain’t going nowhere till I eat. How soon will it be ready?”

“Me neither,” Gloria said, kicking off her shoes. “You need some help? I make pretty good cornbread. Just show me where everything
is.”

Jaci, realizing she had company for dinner whether she wanted it or not, smiled. As she and Gloria left the room, she said,
“Why don’t you see if there’s a game on, Bill? There’s bound to be something at this time of the day on a Saturday.” Bill
picked up the remote and started flipping until he found a game that suited him, then got into it so heartily that he seemed
to have forgotten all about the food.