“Yes, she did, and I must say, I’m a little disappointed in you too.”
Bristling with anger, Miss Janet responded, “Don’t try to turn this thing around. You know you had no business hiring her.”
Matthew rose and offered a chair to Miss Janet. “Look, I’m the head of this school and the mission agency. I have the authority to hire whomever I think is right for this school.” Matthew spoke with calm determination.
Miss Janet reluctantly sat, her eyes flashing with anger, “Your father would’ve never considered her.”
“You don’t
know
that—and neither do I.” Matthew remained polite, but firm.
“Yes, I do. Your father’s rule was no divorced teachers in the mission school.”
With anger of his own shining through, Matthew continued, “Miss Janet, my father is no longer in charge. I am.”
Miss Janet’s voice rose, “The rule always has been no divorced teachers. It’s biblical, and traditional.”
Matthew arrested his anger and tried to de-escalate the situation, “I don’t understand your attitude at all. You know what kind of person Cate is. How can you act this way?”
“I’m trying to protect this school and its reputation. I
know
how it’s supposed to operate, even if you don’t!”
“I cannot see how Cate Jones is going to hurt this school’s reputation. She is one of the godliness women I know.”
Miss Janet shook her finger at Matthew, “That woman has you hoodwinked. If she is such a godly woman, why did her husband leave?”
“Maybe, because
he
was such an ungodly man.”
“Do you even know the particulars of why she got divorced?”
“Do you?”
“No, I do not, and I don’t want to,” Miss Janet sat rigid in her chair, her arms tightly crossed.
“That’s the problem.”
“No, the problem is
that woman
.”
His anger took hold again, “No, she’s
not
the problem, Miss Janet. You are.”
Matching his intensity, Miss Janet responded, “The problem is you violated mission rules when you hired someone unfit to teach here.”
Matthew carefully considered his next words, “If you are not happy with my decisions as headmaster, maybe you ought to think about leaving the school.”
“I can not believe you’re making this about me. She’s the one! I came in here with good intentions. Now you’re trying to fire me, instead of her.”
“I’m not trying to fire you. I’m trying to get your attention, to get you to calm down and see my side of things—and Cate’s side.”
Miss Janet’s voice was hard as flint, “I won’t abandon my convictions to accommodate
your
policy.”
“I’m not asking you to. I’m asking you to be compassionate and forgiving. Cate’s divorce was not her fault. Her husband lied to her about being a Christian, began seeing another woman, and told her one night that he had filed for divorce.”
“Did she tell you this?”
“No,” Matthew took a breath, “David did.”
Miss Janet’s eyes narrowed, “That’s right. David would have had to be a part in this too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that he knew her before. He would have,” she corrected herself, “
should have
known about her unfitness to teach. His mission agency wouldn’t have allowed her to teach,” Miss Janet answered.
“You’re right, his mission agency wouldn’t have, but I did. From the very beginning, I knew the truth about her marital status, and the circumstances behind it. David vouched for her. Everyone had only good things to say about her. I felt that we were very lucky to get her, and I am now more convinced of that than ever.”
Miss Janet was unmoved by Matthew’s explanations, “I think that you, David, and that woman pulled a fast one, and I don’t think you ought to be able to get by with it. Dr. Kennedy established the rules of the mission for a purpose. How can we teach godly Christian values if we don’t uphold those very rules?”
Matthew tried a different tack, “Will you please pray about the situation?”
“I’ll pray, but I warn you. I won’t change my mind.”
“I hope that’s not so. After you’ve spent some time praying about it, come back and see me again, and we’ll proceed from there,” Matthew said.
As she rose to leave, Miss Janet warned, “Matthew, you might as well be prepared to proceed in another direction.”
Twenty Four
Nothing improved with the passing of two weeks. Miss Janet’s icy coldness caused Cate to stay at school as late as possible, or spend more time with Matthew. She went home only to sleep. Kim and Matthew encouraged her to give God time to work things out.
Cate prayed non-stop that God would help her make sense out of everything. “Oh God, will I have to pay for my wrong decision forever? God, will this always pursue me and cause problems for those I love and for me? God, please help me. I don’t know what to do.”
Miss Janet’s praying did not change her mind. In fact, it reinforced her opinion of the whole situation. She decided to notify Matthew’s father and Dr. Patterson of the situation, but kept this fact to herself until her plans came to fruition.
When Miss Janet called Dr. Patterson, she asked if he could drive to Peguche. She did not give any specifics, only saying she needed to discuss a matter with him face to face. When he agreed to meet her the next day she asked him to make sure that David be present at their meeting.
On receiving Dr. Patterson’s call, David suspected Miss Janet’s nefarious purpose for the meeting. Matthew had informed him about what happened in Otavalo and Miss Janet’s subsequent visit to his office, and how Matthew hoped that prayer would defuse the situation. Dr. Patterson’s call made him believe that had not happened.
David returned Matthew’s favor, and informed him of the meeting the next day. Matthew and David both thought it best not to say anything about it to Cate until the following morning.
Since Miss Janet had insisted that David be involved in the meeting Dr. Patterson suggested that it be held at David’s house. The meeting was set for the afternoon. Dr. Patterson arrived first, and Miss Janet five minutes later. When David opened the door for Miss Janet, he knew immediately that he had been right about the purpose of this meeting. “Good morning, Miss Janet.”
Very curtly, she answered, “
That
remains to be seen.”
“Dr. Patterson is in the living room.”
“Thank you,” she stomped into the room.
Dr Patterson rose to greet her. “Good morning, Miss Cook.”
Despite her frosty attitude, David played the perfect host, “Won’t you have a seat, Miss Janet?”
“Thank you.”
“Well, I believe we are all here now. Shall we get started?” Dr. Patterson suggested, in his usual pleasant voice.
“You may wish to wait,” Miss Janet corrected. “There’ll be two more shortly.”
“Two more?” Dr. Patterson looked to David, who merely shrugged.
“Yes, I decided this morning to include Matthew Kennedy and Cate Jones.”
David shook his head and let out a sigh. He hoped to avoid Cate having to go through what was about to happen.
Dr. Patterson noted David’s distress, “Miss Cook, what is this meeting about?”
“I’d rather wait until everyone is here before we proceed.”
As she finished her statement, Matthew and Cate arrived, and David went to invite them in.
He saw the nervous apprehension on Cate’s face. “It’ll be okay,” he whispered, as he led them into the living room.
“Matthew, Miss Jones, how are you today?” Dr. Patterson rose and greeted them.
When everyone was seated, Dr. Patterson nodded to Miss Janet to begin.
“Dr. Patterson, this is difficult for me. I have always had the deepest respect for David, and the utmost confidence in him as a man of God. Therefore, I deeply regret to inform you that I believe he is guilty of a misjudgment that will tarnish his reputation-and that of your mission agency.”
Cate immediately looked at Matthew for encouragement and briefly glanced toward David, who was watching Miss Janet. Cate saw the shocked expression on David’s face as Miss Janet leveled her charge.
Dr. Patterson allowed her to finish before he asked, “Exactly what is your accusation against David?”
“He willfully conspired with Matthew to violate the rules of our mission agency.”
“How did he do that?”
“He encouraged Matthew to hire this
divorced
woman as a teacher for our mission school,” Miss Janet nodded her head toward David, Matthew and Cate.
“Miss Cook, am I understanding you correctly? Your accusation is that David encouraged Matthew to hire Miss Jones to teach at the mission school,” Dr. Patterson tried to clarify.
“That is correct. He encouraged Matthew to violate the mission rules in order to get
her
a job.”
“Miss Cook, even if what you say is true, I don’t know why I’m here,” Dr. Patterson said.
“It’s true. Just ask them. They’ll tell you,” she pointed toward them with her hand.
“But, madam, I’m trying to tell you—”
“Just ask them!” Miss Janet insisted.
Dr. Patterson saw her agitation and reluctantly gave in. “David, did you encourage Matthew to hire Cate?”
“I recommended her for the job, if that’s what she means.”
“See,” Miss Janet’s eyes flashed with vindication.
Dr. Patterson continued his questioning, “How did you know there was an opening?”
“Matthew wrote me about it.”
“And, why did you recommend Miss Jones?”
David answered, “Because God called her to teach in a mission school, and if Matthew agreed, why not this one?”
“Did you know that the Kennedy Agency had rules against hiring divorced people?” Dr. Patterson asked.
“I didn’t know if they did or not.”
Matthew sought to remove David from the hot seat. “David told me upfront that Cate was a divorcee, and asked me if that would be a problem; and I said no.”
“So, you made the decision to hire Miss Jones, knowing that she had been divorced.”
“I did,” Matthew said empathetically.
Dr. Patterson was silent for a moment as he studied the group before him. “Miss Janet, I’m afraid I don’t see any grounds for your complaint.”
Miss Janet sat tall in her chair, her jaw firm, “Would
your
agency have hired her?”
Reluctantly, but truthfully, Dr. Patterson answered, “No, I’m afraid not.”
“So, my complaint is that your missionary should not have recommended our agency hire her.”
Miss Janet’s words pierced Cate’s heart. She knew it was true; the IMB had strict rules against appointing people like her, and most mission agencies followed this policy, regardless of whose fault the divorce was, or whether there were biblical grounds. This prevented David and her from having a future together. Now it threatened to destroy her ability to teach in the mission school. Cate’s anxious thoughts were interrupted as Dr. Patterson continued.
“Miss Janet, all that you say about the IMB is true, but your agency is not the IMB. Matthew is the head of your agency and as head, he has the right to decide whom to hire. I don’t see how this has anything to do with David, or our agency.”
Miss Janet fidgeted in her chair and clenched her fists, “So, you’re not going to do anything about this?”
“No, Miss Cook, I am not,” Dr. Patterson said.
“Well, I know someone who will.”
Matthew feared he knew what she meant, “And, who might that be?”
“Your father,” Miss Janet answered.
“Miss Janet, there is no reason to bring my father into this.”
“I beg to differ with you. Anyway, he’s already involved. I called him this morning.”
Matthew’s head dropped, “Janet, I wish you hadn’t done that.”
“I’m sure you do. I had hoped that Dr. Patterson would help resolve this, but the more I thought about it yesterday, I realized that a resolution would require your father’s intervention, so I called him. When I explained the dilemma here, he was very upset. You’ll be hearing from him shortly. I know
he
will straighten the whole thing out.”
Unable to be silent any longer, Cate confronted Miss Janet, “How could you dislike me so much that you would create such havoc and hurt so many people?”
“I didn’t do that,
you
did.”
“Is divorce the unpardonable sin to you?”
“No, a
disqualifying
sin,” Miss Janet corrected, with smug self-righteousness.
Matthew came to Cate’s rescue, “It
is
a sin God forgives. Any way, Cate didn’t cheat and leave, her husband did.”
Miss Janet narrowed her eyes at Matthew, “So,
you
say.”
“Miss Janet, Cate was blameless in the divorce,” David backed Matthew up.
“I’m sure that you two would say anything to help her,” Miss Janet’s lips curled into a smug smile.
“Her father, Dr. Johnathon Jones, told me the details of her divorce. She’s blameless,” David said.
Hearing his words, Cate’s eyes widened and her mouth flew open.
“I don’t think anyone is blameless in a divorce.”
Pointing to Matthew and himself, David asked, “Are you accusing us of dishonesty?”
“No, I’m accusing you,” Miss Janet looked at both David and Matthew, “of being in love with her.”
Dr. Patterson tried to defuse the situation, “Now, Miss Cook, I’m sure all of this can be handled in an amicable manner.”
“I’m quite sure it can’t,” she replied vehemently. “I think you’re
all
in collusion.”
“We’re not in collusion. We’re just trying to understand your attitude,” Dr. Patterson said.
“The fact that you don’t is why I called Dr. Kennedy,” Miss Janet rose to leave.
Matthew tried one more time, “Miss Janet, I have to ask you one more time to please reconsider what you are doing.”
“Not on your life,” Miss Janet answered, as she stormed out the door.
Cate stifled a sob, “I am so sorry that all of you have been dragged into this.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for my dear,” Dr. Patterson assured her.
“She’s not ordinarily like this. I-I don’t understand her attitude at all,” Cate said.
“Sometimes we Christians are terribly self-righteous, unforgiving people. If I understand correctly my dear, you’ve done nothing wrong,” Dr. Patterson handed Cate a handkerchief.