allowed the sweetness in her voice to fall away. “What am I supposed to think? It’s six weeks before our wedding and you’re lost in thought at work and at the gym, looking for a chance to go back to North Carolina. Then you say something about not wanting to lose the past.” A sound more cry than laugh came from her. “Come on, Brad. How do you expect me to feel?”
This time his tone was marked with frustration. “You have to trust me. I love you, baby. I can’t wait to marry you.” He brought his voice back down a notch. “This … whatever this is … isn’t about you. I promise. I’ll be gone for the weekend, and I’ll work things out.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. God … give me the words. Why do I feel like everything’s falling apart?
In response, sure as God’s love, one of the verses from earlier that night came to her. The last line from what they’d read together. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Laura breathed in the truth and waited while it worked its way through her heart and soul. She tightened her hold on her cell phone and shifted her gaze to the dark side of the night sky. Be merciful , she told herself. “Listen. I’m not sure I understand, but … you have my blessing on this, Brad. Go to North Carolina.” She felt the beginning of peace spread through her. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Thank you.” The relief in Brad’s voice was immediate. “I’ll figure things out, and when I get back, we’ll talk. It’s just something I have to work through.”
“Okay. I trust you.” The panic still wanted to consume her, but she denied it. Mercy would win out tonight, because that’s what God was asking of her. If Brad needed time away, time with his parents back in North Carolina, then she would understand and support his decision.
“You’re alright?” His tone was tentative.
“I’m fine.” The words were easy. Her feelings could follow. “Let’s get some sleep.”
The call ended with promises to talk the next day. Brad would buy a plane ticket and fly into Raleigh Friday morning. As Laura hung up, she could barely believe what had just happened. Brad was having doubts. Not about her, maybe. But doubts all the same. Nothing else could explain his deep thoughts and pensive mood. Nothing else would have sent him packing for North Carolina. She wondered how she might’ve responded if the girls hadn’t met for their Bible study that night. But they had met, and now Laura had chosen to love, to show him mercy by trusting Brad and refusing to stand in his way. The Bible was right. It didn’t feel great, but this was true mercy, true love.
A love that was possible in God’s strength alone.
Eight
B RAD HADN’T LIED TO L AURA, NOT at all. He reminded himself of this fact often over the next couple days, and again as he caught a ride to LaGuardia for the 7:55 nonstop to Raleigh. He wasn’t going to call Emma or look her up. Never mind the photo he’d found in his desk, this trip wasn’t about her. He’d told Laura the truth. The trip was about himself, about going home and looking for closure. It was about having an honest conversation with his father, and hopefully gaining from that talk a sense of how to walk away from the past for good.
His dad was picking him up, and Brad suspected the two-hour drive to Wilmington would give them a good start on the conversation. At least they would have time to catch up before Brad got to the heart of the matter. No one knew the terrible details about Brad and Emma’s final summer together. Brad was very close to his parents, but he had never found the time or courage to tell them the truth about what happened. Now that was about to change. He was close to his mom, but he needed the sort of advice only his father could give.
The American Eagle commuter plane rumbled through a patch of turbulence. Brad looked out the window. Small planes didn’t bother him, even though at six-foot-one he couldn’t
This time his tone was marked with frustration. “You have to trust me. I love you, baby. I can’t wait to marry you.” He brought his voice back down a notch. “This … whatever this is … isn’t about you. I promise. I’ll be gone for the weekend, and I’ll work things out.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. God … give me the words. Why do I feel like everything’s falling apart?
In response, sure as God’s love, one of the verses from earlier that night came to her. The last line from what they’d read together. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Laura breathed in the truth and waited while it worked its way through her heart and soul. She tightened her hold on her cell phone and shifted her gaze to the dark side of the night sky. Be merciful , she told herself. “Listen. I’m not sure I understand, but … you have my blessing on this, Brad. Go to North Carolina.” She felt the beginning of peace spread through her. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Thank you.” The relief in Brad’s voice was immediate. “I’ll figure things out, and when I get back, we’ll talk. It’s just something I have to work through.”
“Okay. I trust you.” The panic still wanted to consume her, but she denied it. Mercy would win out tonight, because that’s what God was asking of her. If Brad needed time away, time with his parents back in North Carolina, then she would understand and support his decision.
“You’re alright?” His tone was tentative.
“I’m fine.” The words were easy. Her feelings could follow. “Let’s get some sleep.”
The call ended with promises to talk the next day. Brad would buy a plane ticket and fly into Raleigh Friday morning. As Laura hung up, she could barely believe what had just happened. Brad was having doubts. Not about her, maybe. But doubts all the same. Nothing else could explain his deep thoughts and pensive mood. Nothing else would have sent him packing for North Carolina. She wondered how she might’ve responded if the girls hadn’t met for their Bible study that night. But they had met, and now Laura had chosen to love, to show him mercy by trusting Brad and refusing to stand in his way. The Bible was right. It didn’t feel great, but this was true mercy, true love.
A love that was possible in God’s strength alone.
Eight
B RAD HADN’T LIED TO L AURA, NOT at all. He reminded himself of this fact often over the next couple days, and again as he caught a ride to LaGuardia for the 7:55 nonstop to Raleigh. He wasn’t going to call Emma or look her up. Never mind the photo he’d found in his desk, this trip wasn’t about her. He’d told Laura the truth. The trip was about himself, about going home and looking for closure. It was about having an honest conversation with his father, and hopefully gaining from that talk a sense of how to walk away from the past for good.
His dad was picking him up, and Brad suspected the two-hour drive to Wilmington would give them a good start on the conversation. At least they would have time to catch up before Brad got to the heart of the matter. No one knew the terrible details about Brad and Emma’s final summer together. Brad was very close to his parents, but he had never found the time or courage to tell them the truth about what happened. Now that was about to change. He was close to his mom, but he needed the sort of advice only his father could give.
The American Eagle commuter plane rumbled through a patch of turbulence. Brad looked out the window. Small planes didn’t bother him, even though at six-foot-one he couldn’t
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