“Matt!” Anna’s voice cut in with a level of indignation. “No, I didn’t tell her. She raved about how much her son had changed and how kind you’ve been to her. Then she asked me how she could believe in this same Jesus. What was I to say?”
“The fact remains, Anna, whatever you would’ve told her concerning our relationship would’ve been far from the truth, because you didn’t even give me the courtesy of an explanation.”
The phone clicked dead, and Anna stared at her cell in utter shock.
No wonder she felt ill at ease in telling anyone about what brewed between them. A piece of this puzzle was missing.
“Oh, God,” she cried, “What have I done?”
Do not let your heart be troubled, trust in me. Matt needs healing from his past, and you need to embrace his story. This is all part of my plan.
Twice in one day, an assurance that God had their circumstances in his trustworthy hands enveloped her like a warm blanket on a cold winter’s day. She laid her head back down and drifted off to sleep.
The anguish of the past couple weeks bled into trembling rage, bubbling up, boiling over. Matt smashed his fists down on the coffee table and jarred the glass of water, so it tipped and splashed all over his computer. A curse slipped easily from his lips as his brooding flashed into sudden anger. He had not entertained that kind of language for months now. Where was this coming from?
The call from his mother sent him in a tailspin. He knew that she loathed anyone who cheated in a relationship, though she had stooped as low many a time. He had assumed Anna would tell his mom her version of their story. Why hadn’t she? That fact remained more of a puzzle to him than anything.
The more he thought about the situation, the more confused he became. A spike of anger rode his spine, and he bit back the pain. One part of him wanted to run to Anna and beg her to listen, but another part hung back in hurt and anger that she would believe the worst of him. He wondered how they could begin a marriage with so little trust. But worse yet, he felt that same pain of abandonment he had felt as a child. And he had promised himself he would never allow that again.
He should have stuck to his original plan and kept relationships on the superficial level. No pain that way.
Melody suddenly danced in his head. Her playful gurgle and baby laughter filled the lonely crevices of his mind, and turmoil vanished. She brought instant joy.
He glanced up to see the picture of Anna tenderly gazing down at Melody and a flood of love swept over him. His breathing quickened and his pulse rate accelerated. After what she had believed, his mind objected with vigor, yet he could not force his sorry heart to say goodbye.
Life had been so much easier before God’s love swooped down in the forms of Anna and Melody. He could no longer live without them, even if hurt and disappointment reigned. And now to complicate matters, his mom was scheduled to arrive the next day, which forced him to talk to Anna and bridge the canyon that cut between them.
Anna fussed with her hair, changed her clothes from her sweats and T-shirt to a blouse and a pair of jeans that showed off her trim figure, and applied a light dusting of make-up. As nervous as a cat on a shaky limb, she needed a boost in confidence. The glance in the mirror did not disappoint. Matt was due to pick up Melody any moment, and she was not about to let him escape.
The cell rang as it had the last few weeks. Matt announced his arrival then immediately hung up.
The rain had not let up all day. Anna slipped on her raincoat and ran out.
He rolled down his window with his eyebrows arched in question. “Where’s Melody?”
“She’s playing in her playpen. Come in for a moment.” When he did not immediately respond, she pleaded, “Matt, with your mom about to arrive, you know we need to talk.”
A band of sunshine split between the storm clouds and lit the world around them. Anna lifted her head. “Oh,” she gasped. “I just love it when it’s raining and yet the sun decides to shine.” Sunbeams danced on rain droplets and the trouble between them took backseat to the display of God’s nature all around them. Color caught her eye, “Oh, Matt, look at the incredible rainbow and these clouds with the sun breaking through … it’s like God has us in his spotlight.”
“I’ll grab Melody and we can drive up the hill toward your place where we’ll be able to see the show.” She didn’t wait for his reply.
As if nothing brewed between them, Anna had Melody in her car seat and jumped in beside him. A comfortable silence filled the car other than the occasional coo from Melody. The rainbow intensified in color and brilliance and Matt stopped along the side of the road as soon as they had a view of the city. Anna jumped out to snap a few photos and waved at Matt. “Bring Melody.”
She motioned to him to stand with Melody against the backdrop of the rainbow filled sky and snapped a photo with Melody’s chubby hand pointed heavenward and Matt smiling down at her.
She brought the cell over and showed him. “Daddy and his Melody.”
He smiled but still did not say a word.
“Shall we continue to your place?”
He nodded.
With Melody settled quietly in the playpen just inside the French doors where Anna could keep an eye on her,
