Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Kevin’s reunion with Melissa had been surprisingly cordial. Almost anticlimactic.

All the angst and worry earlier that morning proved to be silly. Maybe not silly but not necessary. They had known each other for a long time, and six years had passed. Enough time to mature, and with maturity came acceptance. It wasn’t that he hadn’t accepted the breakup. It had been all the plans that would never materialize that caused so much pain at that time. He remembered something he had once read by Kierkegaard—“The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you’ll never have.” Thankfully, he was over that, too. Yes. He was good with all of it. And happy for Melissa. She seemed content with her life. Although happiness wasn’t always a product of contentment. He let out a big rush of air. He thought he must have been holding his breath for at least two hours.

He shook out the tension in his shoulders and relaxed into the seat of his truck as he headed toward the farm. Speaking into the Bluetooth smartphone, he instructed it to call home. He felt like E.T.

“Calling ‘home,’” came the robo response.

“Hello?” Kevin heard his mother’s voice.

“Mom. I survived. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

Mrs. Matthews could feel the smile coming through the phone. “Oh. Thank Goodness. I was praying!”

“Me too!” Kevin joked. He was a spiritual guy, but not necessarily religious, so the thought of him praying made his mother laugh.

“Now, don’t you go take the Lord for granted. He does do miraculous things for us!” Maggie Matthews was always reminding her son of God’s work, even though it was hard to justify things like famine, war, and poverty. When questioned, she would turn the argument around by pointing out the many blessings, no matter how small.

“Oh, Mama. You know I respect Him and all the fine people who do His work. I am not taking anything for granted. Believe me!” Even Kevin was beginning to believe in miracles—regardless of size and circumstance. Thinking of the many times his squadron had dropped food and medical supplies to the desperate and the sick, he realized that it must have seemed like a miracle to them. Faith wasn’t something he had given much thought to, but he was beginning to appreciate it more and more as he thought about the life he had led.

“Are you heading to the farm? You should find out if that pretty doctor stopped by last night. Maybe Jake has some information to share.”

“I am way ahead of you. After Melissa’s, I stopped by the hospital to deliver a tree and introduce Wylie to a kid who had had his leg crushed. Found her in a bush.”

“You what? Found who in a bush? The doctor? What on earth was she doing in a bush?”

“She was leaving the hospital and tripped. This is the second time, by the way, so I’m beginning to wonder about her agility. Let’s hope she’s sitting down when she’s in the OR!” Kevin was surely joking at that point. “Yep. She picked out a tree, and it’s going to be delivered tonight. So can we just let things fall where they may? You know, the old que sera, sera philosophy?”

“Well, some things will be what they will be, and some things need a little encouragement. And I think this fits into the latter category.”

“Roger that! I’m pulling into the yard now. By the way, what’s for dinner?”

“Kevin, didn’t you just finish lunch? And you’re thinking about dinner already?”

“I need something to look forward to after a hard day on the farm.” Kevin was only half serious. The really hard work was done by the farmhands. Kevin’s big job was to make sure no potential customer left without a tree and several bags of ornaments.

“Maybe you can look forward to delivering a certain tree to a certain doctor tonight.”

“Over and out, Mama!” Kevin was grinning from ear to ear. The first encounter with Melissa after six years had gone smoothly. It was just two old friends casually getting together. No animosity. No blame. Both realized they had moved on, and neither was bitter or distressed. At least, not anymore.

Kevin jumped out of the truck and headed to the main building, where he checked the sales slips from the night before, looking for Dr. Klutz’s receipt. A six-footer. That’s a lot of tree for such a petite woman. Guess she’s going to need a hand. Kevin was feeling very sure of himself.