War Room (10 page)

Tony was headed to the gym anyway,
so he took Michael’s invitation to meet him at the workout room. Michael climbed on the stationary bike while Tony did pull-ups. It felt good to work up a sweat and try to forget the conflict at home. To build muscle, he knew he needed to push himself, to feel the burn and the pain. Too bad his marriage hadn’t been like that. There was plenty of pain but little building.

Their conversation turned to work and Tony revealed what had happened the day before. Not to brag, but to bring Michael up to speed.

“You got another bonus? Man, I went into the wrong line of work.”

Tony spoke through his reps. “I couldn’t have been a paramedic.”

“You got that right, bro.”

“And you’re too calm to be a salesman.”

Michael laughed. “Yeah, but could you imagine if I got a bonus every time I saved somebody’s life? Check it out. Heimlich, two hundred dollars. CPR? Four hundred. And I’d get a thousand if they’re ugly.”

Tony laughed as he moved over to the rack of dumbbells. He loved Michael’s dry humor and the stories about the people he encountered as an EMT.

“Remember that one lady who had swallowed garlic and she choked and I had to give her mouth-to-mouth? That should have been a Hawaiian vacation.”

Tony began curling twenty-five-pound weights. “I couldn’t have done it.”

“Yeah, you could do it. You’re not going to let somebody just die in front of you while you eat your salad.”

“I don’t do CPR, Mike. I’d just call 911.”

“That’s just cold. You’d just let somebody die? What if it was your wife?”

Tony put the weights on his thighs and held them there. What if Elizabeth were choking and needed help? What if she needed CPR?
She would probably tell me I wasn’t pushing on her chest right,
he thought.

Michael stopped pedaling and got a sad look on his face. “Hold on, bro, what’s that?”

“What’s what?” Tony said, continuing his routine.

“What’s up with you and Liz?”

Tony strained through another set of reps. “Nothing.”

“Nothing? Look at you getting all tight. You got extra veins popping out that weren’t even there before. Dude, what’s going on with your marriage?”

Tony didn’t like sharing the hard stuff with anybody, especially someone like Michael, who was pretty much perfect. But he was so close to the falls with Elizabeth, he knew he would have to explain sooner or later, so he let the water carry him over.

“Mike, I’m just tired of her, okay? All right, I said it. I don’t need her nagging me all the time. I’m just tired of her junk.”

Michael was fully focused now. The stationary bike had stopped. “Her junk? Dude, you married her, junk and all. It’s not like some sort of buffet where you get to pick and choose what you want. You get all of her.” He paused and let the next sentence sink in. “And you’d better not have somebody on the side.”

Tony let the weights stretch his arms out. How in the world did Michael come up with that? Was he following him around? Was it that clear?

“So you’re trying to do CPR on my personal life now?” It was defensive, but Tony had to at least put up a good front. What was he supposed to say
 
—
I am looking for someone
?

Michael resumed his workout. “Yeah, I’m a paramedic. But I’m also a Christian. Which means I help people . . . while I’m helping people.”

“Mike, we’ve been friends a long time, but some things are none of your business.”

“True, and since we’ve been friends a long time, I’m not going to just watch your marriage die. So if it’s bleeding, I’m not gonna keep eating my salad.”

Tony dropped the weights and stood straight, grabbing his gym bag. He looked at Michael with a sly smile and with a little sarcasm said, “I’ll see you in church.”

Michael called after him as he walked away, “Need to see the church in you, bro.”

Tony kept walking, not wanting to respond. He didn’t need Michael’s guilt. He hit the door and walked through the atrium of the community center, passing the receptionist at the front. She was one of Elizabeth’s friends. What was her name? He nodded at her and felt coldness from her as he passed. He wondered what Elizabeth had said to her about him, about their marriage.

As he got in the car and drove away, he thought of several comebacks for Michael. Questions that could push him to the edge of his belief in God. The Almighty had created marriage to be happy and vibrant. Wasn’t that what He wanted for His children? Well, Tony wasn’t happy and neither was Elizabeth. In fact, Tony was one of the major reasons Elizabeth wasn’t happy at all. And she was the main reason he heard fingernails on the blackboard of life when he walked into the house. The loving thing, the kind thing would be for the two of them to go their separate ways. It would be hard, but in the end, it would lead to happiness.

What about Danielle?
Michael’s voice said in his head.

She wouldn’t understand. She was too young to get it. But Tony would be in her life, on weekends, at special events. Birthdays and graduations. He might be an even better dad from a distance than he was sleeping in the same house. And he would finally be out from under all the weight of obligation. Obligation to listen to the nagging and feel like a jerk. That’s how Elizabeth treated him. Instead of respecting him and being grateful for what he’d provided, how hard he worked, she only looked at him as a glass half-full. He would be happy living apart from them and that would spill over to Danielle, so she would be better off in the end.

The loving thing to do here was to make a decision. Elizabeth wanted him to be the leader in the home, so that’s what he’d do. Just like in the gym, short-term pain led to long-term gain. They would endure the questions from family and friends and move forward on the journey to a happy life.

As Tony hit the garage door opener, he once again thought of Veronica Drake from Holcomb. Maybe he should get back there sooner than planned to go over some details of their deal. Maybe have dinner. Maybe stay overnight. After all, he thought, it was never too early to think about your own happiness.

Elizabeth had never tried to sell the house of anyone who seemed more interested in her life than in the sale. Clara
wanted to know more about her relationship with Tony, more about Danielle, more about their whole family situation. When Elizabeth had a free afternoon, she told Danielle they would go to the park downtown together and she could jump rope or feed the pigeons. Then she got the idea of inviting Clara and the woman didn’t have to think twice about it.

“That would be lovely,” she said. “I’ll be ready when you get here.”

Danielle was a little nervous about meeting one of Elizabeth’s clients, but as soon as they pulled up to Clara’s house, the old woman doted on Danielle and talked to her like she was her own grandchild. They drove to the park downtown and ate sandwiches on a bench. Danielle had to show Clara what she could do with the jump rope and the woman seemed amazed.

“When you said you jumped rope, I thought you just jumped rope. But look at you, girl! You’re faster than my coffee grinder! That’s amazing!”

Danielle ate up the attention more than she did the sandwich. And then she gave the crust and crumbs to the squirrels and birds nearby.

“She is really something,” Clara said. “I can see you in that little girl.”

Elizabeth smiled. “I wish I had her energy.”

Clara laughed. “You’ve told me a lot about her, but seeing you two together, well, it helps me pray better
 
—more informed.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve found that God honors the specifics. You can pray for Him to bless this person and be so generic that you make God yawn. Or you can pray arrow prayers that get to the heart of what that other person is going through. Do you see what I mean?”

Elizabeth nodded. “I’ve been trying to be as specific as I can with God. Sometimes I lose hope that He’s hearing me.”

“Well, He heard what somebody prayed about that young thing,” Clara said, nodding at Danielle. “This was a treat for me, Elizabeth. I enjoy coming here. And your daughter is precious.”

“She is. There are days I wish she had a brother or sister. We were just too busy chasing our careers. I don’t know that that was a wise thing to do.”

“You don’t enjoy your job?”

“There are days I do. I sold a house this morning, so that was good. I’d just rather have a good marriage than more money.”

Clara looked tenderly at her as Danielle ran up to them.

“Mom, can we get some ice cream? They sell it right over there.” She pointed to an ice cream shop nearby.

Elizabeth turned to the older woman. “Miss Clara, would you like some ice cream?”

“I’ll tell you what,” Clara said to Danielle. “If you go get the ice cream and let your mother walk me to the car, I’ll pay for it.”

“Oh, no, no, no. I’m paying for it,” Elizabeth said.

The old woman dug in her purse. “And rob me of a blessing? I’m paying, we’re all eating. I’ll take two scoops of butter pecan, please. In a cup.” She handed Danielle a twenty-dollar bill.

“I’ll have one scoop of cookies and cream,” Elizabeth said. “And stay right there because we’re going to pull the car around and pick you up at the entrance.”

“Okay,” Danielle said, beaming. “Can I have strawberry sherbet with gummy worms and chocolate syrup on top?”

The combination turned Elizabeth’s stomach, but she gave her daughter a nod. Clara laughed as the girl walked away and they watched her carefully cross the street.

“So what does a normal week for you look like?” Elizabeth said as they made the slow walk toward her car.

“Well, my son drops in for an hour or two during the week. I go grocery shopping, an occasional doctor’s visit. I go to church service and midweek prayer meeting. Every now and then I drive to the cemetery to tend to Leo’s grave. And my girlfriends and I get together on Friday afternoon for coffee. Other than that, I read a lot and spend time with Jesus.”

They neared the end of the alley where Elizabeth had parked the car.

“I used to spend so much time with my girlfriends, before my job became
 
—”

“Hey!” a young man shouted, jumping out at them and clicking open a knife. He was white, wore a baseball
cap backward, and had crazy-looking eyes. “Give me your money right now!”

By pure instinct, Elizabeth moved close to Clara to protect her. Both were startled by the man and took a step backward. Elizabeth wanted to steady Clara and make sure she didn’t fall. She thought of Danielle and was glad she wasn’t with them. She’d always heard in a situation like this you should give the person robbing you what they wanted so no one got hurt.

“Did you hear me? Both of you, give it to me now!”

Elizabeth held out a hand to calm him. “Okay, okay, we’ll give you our money. Just please put the knife down.”

“Do it, and do it now,” the robber said, holding the knife at eye level.

Elizabeth opened her purse. It had happened so quickly. How could she not have seen him hiding? Shaking, she prayed the young man didn’t attack them. She prayed they would both just survive.

Then she heard a voice, strong and determined, next to her.

“No. You put that knife down right now. In the name of Jesus.” Not a hint of fear. Not a smidgen of nerves. Just a clear, strong voice that reverberated through the alley.

The robber stared at Clara, then looked at Elizabeth. He seemed confused but still angry. He glanced down the alley and then back at them, finally lowering the knife.

“Miss Clara, just give him your money. It’s not worth it.”

But Clara would not be moved. She stood defiant as
the robber glanced away, unable to hold her gaze. After a moment, his face changed and he seemed to panic. He took two steps to the side and ran past them toward the street.

Elizabeth pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911. They found Danielle, the ice cream melting as she walked toward them.

“What happened?” Danielle said, seeing the fear on her mother’s face.

“We just had a run-in with a troubled young man back in the alley,” Clara said. “Did you get my butter pecan?”