For His Name's Sake (Psalm 23 Mysteries) by Debbie Viguié

think I’d go that far,” she said.
    “Oh no you don’t, you’re not getting out of this that easily,” Geanie said. “You’re going to tell me everything .”
    “There’s not much more to tell. I teased him and he said he wasn’t made out of stone, whatever that means.”
    “That means the man’s annoying self-control is eroding!” Geanie said, jumping to her feet. “You have to take advantage of this. You have to make him take you out right away. Go back in there and get a commitment for a date.” She grabbed Cindy’s arm and tried to drag her to the door.
    Cindy firmly planted herself in the chair, though, as panic raced through her. “No! I can’t.”
    “Why not? This is the perfect opportunity! I’m telling you he asked you out.”
    “He was half-unconscious, out of his mind,” Cindy protested.
    “That’s why you’ve got to follow up quickly before he can claim forgetfulness.”
    “But, I don’t want to go out on a date with him.”
    “Liar!” Geanie hissed, her face contorting in sudden, unexpected fury.
    “What?” Cindy gasped, taken aback.
    “You heard me. You totally want to go out with him. It’s the reason you won’t even look seriously at another guy. You’ve been pining after Jeremiah for nearly two years now and it’s time to put an end to it.”
    “We’re just friends.”
    “Don’t give me that crap. I know you too well. You and Joseph are friends. You and Mark are friends. You and Jeremiah are two people too afraid to admit that you’re in love with each other because then you’d have to do something about it, and you’re both terrified of what that would mean.”
    “You’re wrong.”
    “Not about this. Your face lights up every time he enters the room. You can’t even say his name without smiling, even when the topic is serious. To be honest all of us are getting sick of waiting for the two of you to wise up and do something about it.”
    “Who is ‘all of us’?” Cindy asked.
    “Everyone. Joseph, Mark, Traci, everyone on staff at the church. Dave even started a betting pool about how long it would take the two of you to kiss. Winner gets taken out to lunch by the losers.”
    “That’s terrible!” Cindy said, horrified that her coworkers were betting on her love life.
    “No, what’s terrible is that I’m the only person who can possibly win at this point. Everyone else’s dates have come and gone. I knew how stupidly stubborn you are, though, and how afraid of change. Ironically I never thought I’d win the bet because I didn’t count on him being just as stupid.”
    “I don’t have to sit here and listen to this,” Cindy said, realizing she was shaking and that she was getting really angry.
    “No, you don’t. You can march next door and tell that man how you feel about him. That’s what you would do if you weren’t such a coward.”
    “It’s complicated!” Cindy screamed, leaping to her feet.
    “Can you guys stop shouting?” Joseph slurred.
    They both turned and stared at him. His eyes were open and he was staring at them groggily.
    “Oh, honey!” Geanie sobbed and threw herself half on top of him, hugging him fiercely.
    “Careful,” he whispered, but she didn’t seem to hear or care.
    Cindy just stared at the two of them as they were hugging. Her anger started to fade and in its place she felt a stab of jealousy. She could have hugged Jeremiah when he woke up, but she hadn’t. It wasn’t her place. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling suddenly very cold.
    All the excuses for why she and Jeremiah could never be together flashed through her mind. Some of them were valid, but the majority of them were just roadblocks she herself had put up, probably because she was afraid as Geanie had pointed out.
    She should give the couple their privacy, but she wasn’t ready to go back in the other room and face Jeremiah just yet, not with all the emotions that were cascading through her. Heaven only knew what she would say to him.
    At