David thumbed through the concordance many times before he ended up with three passages. He read about Joseph’s dreams, Daniel’s dream and Peter’s dream.
It appeared to him that those who God dealt with in dreams had revelations or warnings for the present or future. From what David could really understand, Joseph revealed his dreams too early and it got him into trouble with his brothers. Daniel’s dream is still being interpreted today because it has yet to be fulfilled. Peter’s dream was to be shared with others right away because it had a purpose to help people in their present situation. David felt that he was in this category. His dreams must have to do with the present, otherwise God never would have sent Darlene into his office. His mission must be for the present. He needed to warn people about Satan’s plans.
David felt somewhat relieved. Now the question was whether or not Aunt Tillie could help him. She certainly was prudent enough. She’s had previous experiences with God and dreams, he reasoned to himself. He was pacing the floor by now and weighing pros and cons. She already knew about the breakup between Rose and me, he thought. He was starting to feel exhausted. He sat down on the couch and quickly fell asleep.
The blackboard read Phase II. All eyes were focused on someone giving a report. David identified him, because he had seen him before. It was Deception. “In my conclusion,” Deception said, as if giving a motivational speech, “remember to hit them quickly like a ton of bricks. Don’t give them time to regroup before coming at them again and again. It almost always works. They’ll be too dazed and upset to remember who to call on, if you do it right.”
“Enough of that,” a voice shouted from out of nowhere it seemed. “What’s your next step?” asked Satan.
“Well I’ve got her scared and suspicious and next I’ll plant the divorce option so that she considers getting one everywhere she turns,” the demon explained. Then he broke into a sick laughter. “She doesn’t know that he hasn’t really committed adultery yet,” he laughed. The entire room was broken up in a laughter. David was stunned as he witnessed this. Then he heard a bell ring. It was ringing over his head and he was horrified. He didn’t want them to see him. Although he couldn’t see it, he reached up and grabbed the bell to silence it.
“Hello, hello, David?” a voice said. David sat up straight. He was startled to find the phone’s receiver in his hand. He shook himself as in disbelief. The bell was the ringing of the telephone. He put his mouth to the receiver and responded with a hello.
“Hi honey,” a voice said. “It’s Mom. Were you asleep?” she asked.
“Oh, hi Mom,” David answered. “I was just napping. I haven’t heard from you in a week.”
“Did you forget that I was out of town?” she teased.
“Oh, that’s right,” he said. “I really missed you,” he told her with sincerity.
“I missed you too, baby,” she said. “Although when I am in town, you don’t visit me like you should,” she briefly scolded.
“I’ll have to do better,” he explained. “I’ve just been a little preoccupied lately.”
“Have you seen your father lately?” she asked.
“Not for about a week,” he answered.
“Then he hasn’t talked to you about Rose?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” he questioned.
“Oh, your father called me while I was out of town and left a message on my voice mail. He said he saw Rose by chance the other day and she told him the wedding plans were called off. Is that true?”
“I’m sorry Mom. I had planned to tell you both, but there were some things I needed to work out first,” he explained.
“Well, if you want to discuss it honey, I’m here for you. I wish someone had counseled me before I married your father. Maybe things would have turned out differently. Your father said Rose looked, well, terrible; like she’d been crying a lot. I don’t know what she did, but it must have been pretty awful for you to break your engagement. But trust me, it’s better that it happened now than after you were married,” she said.
David just held the phone while she talked. He kept wondering to himself if everyone else was blaming Rose too. That wasn’t fair to her.
“Mom,” David said, interrupting her constant talking. “One day I’ll go over everything with you, but I really need to take care of something right away,” he explained.
“Alright, baby, just remember I’m here for you,” she emphasized.
“Talk to you later,” he said as he put the receiver down. He stood up and walked toward his picture window. He could only make out shadowy images on the outside. His heart was aching. The young woman whom he still loved dearly was unjustly being blamed for their breaking up. He knew he had to fix that situation. She deserved so much better. Yet without an explanation, he had called off their engagement. He walked back over to the phone and sat down to call her. Would she want to discuss this with him? He would try to make her understand. He could feel his heart beating faster as the phone rang. A soft voice answered.
“Hello Rose,” he stammered. “This is David and I’d like to talk to you.”
“About what?” she asked in a rather neutral tone. “I feel like I owe you a better explanation than what I gave you earlier.”
“You aren’t feeling guilty are you?” she asked curtly.
“Would you just give me about 10 minutes of your time?” he pleaded.
“Alright,” she said, giving in; although she kept her feelings guarded.
“I’m coming to pick you up, say in about twenty minutes,” he said.
“I’ll be ready,” she replied with a little hesitation.
The drive to Rose’s house was one of both apprehension and excitement. The evening seemed especially fresh as he drove with the windows lowered, just enough to taste the freshness of the air. He was only a few blocks away when he heard a faint ringing. He was puzzled for a moment until he realized it was his cellular phone. He could hardly hear it because it was inside his brief case. He slowed down at the yellow light and waited for it to turn red. No one was behind him in this city of 70,000 people. He reached into the backseat with his long arms and got the brief case. He opened it just in time for the changing of the light. Maybe Rose is calling to see how far away I am,” he thought. It was rather unusual for someone to call him on his cellular phone during the evening hours. “Hello,” he answered, with curiosity in his voice, “this is David.”
“David,” said a frantic voice on the other end. “I need you baby!” He was rather stunned to hear her tone of voice.
“Mom?” he said in bewilderment. “What’s wrong?” he asked, as he pulled the car out of traffic into a parking lane. “It’s your sister,” she said. “She’s unconscious, and I can’t wake her up,” she said nearly whispering while trying to hold back the tears.
“Mom call 911,” he instructed. “Don’t panic, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” After checking in his rear view mirror, he made a U-turn and began the twelve minute trip across town to his mother’s house. “Lord, please let her be alright,” he prayed aloud. She’s got to be alright, he thought. For as long as he could remember, he’d taken care of his little sister, watching out for her, giving her advice, lending her money. Only during the last year had he noticed a change. It was definitely the result of the separation. She seemed to have moved into her own private world. She’d call him on the phone, but their level of confiding was somehow different. Then she started some ridiculous diet, he remembered, that was totally unnecessary for a girl of 5 foot 5. She was actually pretty and had what he considered an ideal weight. He wondered if she was still on the “fad” diet pills that he had scolded her for taking more than three months ago.
David tried to clear his mind of negative thoughts, in order to pray for his sister. She needed help now and scolding was not going to help.
When he pulled into the driveway, he had to maneuver around the ambulance. That’s when he noticed his father’s Chevy. He felt a little better, but was afraid to be too optimistic until he could see his sister. He entered through the side door that was so familiar to him as a child.
He walked through the kitchen and headed down the hall toward the bedrooms. The pictures that told the story of his family for most of his childhood were no longer lining the wall of the paneled hallway. They had been replaced with modern art. It was a painful walk. But today wasn’t the day to deal with his pain, there were matters of greater importance. He heard voices coming from his sister’s room.
Two paramedics were attending to her. One was a rather muscular young man who David thought couldn’t have been much older than he was. He was completing a blood pressure procedure. The other attendant was a woman about 45 years old who was asking questions. His sister’s eyes widened as David came through the door. “I’m alright,” she said, extending her right hand for him to hold. David sat on the paisley designed bedspread that was folded back on her daybed. He sat on the side opposite the paramedics and looked to them for information. “This is my brother David,” said Stephanie smiling. Her eyes looked weak from exhaustion. Her brother noticed that her color was unusually faint and the only thing around her glowing was the bright lamp on her night stand. In one glance he could see that her room had changed a lot. She once had her walls covered with plaques of honor and certificates of recognition. Now they were nowhere in sight. This could have been anybody’s room. It was certainly not one where pride was evident. Yet it was clean. With a quick sweep of his eyes around the nicely furnished room, he felt he was in a sterile environment like an institution.
“Hi Steph,” he said. He ignored her hand and hugged her while sitting on the edge of her bed. “Are you OK?” he asked in a voice of compassion.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” answered the female paramedic. “One thing’s for sure,” she continued, “we recommend that she cease taking these diet pills and discard them immediately. My daughter once took that stuff,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. “I don’t know how the FDA ever allowed it on the market,” she continued. “I also think she should come in for a thorough examination.”
“I don’t want to go,” said Stephanie looking at David for support.
“Where’s Mom and Dad?” he asked.
“They’re in Mom’s bedroom discussing me,” she said.
“I’ll be right back after I talk to them,” said David. He hurried down the carpeted hall and stood in the doorway. It was obvious that they didn’t hear him coming or see him standing there because they kept talking. His Mom was sitting on her bed wiping tears while his Dad was turned with his back toward the door.
“I didn’t say it was your fault,” his Dad snapped. “I just said you should have known about her diet pills. After all, she does live with you. You might as well stop crying. It’s not going to help the situation. If we don’t send her to the hospital, you’ll have to watch her closely the next few days to make sure she’s alright.” His father reached into his pocket and handed a handkerchief to her. She lifted her head and extended her hand. That’s when she saw David.
“Hi baby,” she said, quickly fixing her face to smile. His father turned and said, “Hey, guy, when did you get here?” while he patted him on the shoulder.
“I’ve been here a few moments,” he said. “What’s the deal with Steph?” His parents looked at each other and then back at David. His father spoke first. “Well, your mother seems to think the diet pills caused a bad reaction.”
“That’s not what I said at all,” she responded, getting up from the bed. “I said she’s been taking them longer than she should have been and her body doesn’t need them and...”
“But a moment ago,” her father interrupted, “you said that-”
“Dad, it really doesn’t matter,” David said cutting him off. “What are we going to do now?” he asked.
The drive back home was rather disturbing. David wasn’t quite sure why. He was glad Stephanie was feeling better. She walked him to the door before he left. He made her promise to call him the next day to make sure there were no side effects. His father left before he did. His face showed signs of anger or was it guilt? It was eleven o’clock when David left. He had a very uneasy feeling. He came to a rather sudden stop at the traffic light when he remembered Rose. He couldn’t believe it. After he got the call from his Mom, visiting Rose completely slipped his mind. He pounded the steering wheel with his fists. He was completely angry with himself. How could she ever trust me again? he thought. I’ve disappointed her at least twice.
“Lord, what is it with me?” he said aloud. He pulled his car over and got his phone out of his briefcase again. He had placed it there at his Mom’s house, because he didn’t think he would need it. He convinced himself to call her in spite of the time. David got out of the car and leaned against it as he dialed her number. “Hello,” a sleepy voice answered after five rings. For a moment, he thought he had the wrong number, probably because he expected and wanted Rose to answer so badly. “Hello,” said David. “May I please speak to Rose?” he asked nervously.
“Hello David, this is Sister Marie.”
“I, I apologize for calling so late Sister Marie, but I had an emergency this evening,” he explained. “Are you alright David? You weren’t in an accident were you? Rose was pretty worried about you. She said you should have been here hours ago,” said Sister Marie in a voice that was both concerned and scolding at the same time. “Rose finally went to bed. She was rather angry, I don’t mind telling you.”
“It’s my fault,” David admitted. “I know she probably won’t speak to me, but I really was only a few minutes from your house when my Mom called to tell me something had happened to Steph,” he explained.
“Is she alright?” exclaimed Sister Marie.
“Well the paramedics believe her diet pills gave her a bad reaction. Mom couldn’t wake her up for the longest time. “But she’s fine now.”
“Why on earth is Steph taking diet pills?” she said bluntly, sounding more like the pastor’s wife he was accustomed to hearing. “Why that young lady’s already thin as a rail. But then again,” she said more calmly, “separations and divorces cause unusual reactions from children. But I don’t need to tell you that,” she said. “What do you mean by that?” he asked defensively.
“Oh David, just look at you,” she said. “Sunday you looked as if you hadn’t slept in God only knows how long and ...”
“My breaking off the engagement, Sister Marie, had nothing to do with my parents’ separation,” he interrupted. “Actually,” he said, starting to walk down the street, “I think I handled it as well as anyone could. And I don’t want people blaming my folks for my broken engagement,” he almost yelled. “It was not cold feet and it wasn’t Rose’s fault and...”
“David calm down,” said Sister Marie in a concerned tone. “You’re getting yourself worked up over nothing,” she said.
“Well it may be nothing to you, but to me it’s really serious,” he said. “No one seems to quite understand what I’m going through or rather dealing with,” he said walking faster, “I just...”
“David,” interrupted Sister Marie, “it’s been a long day and we’re both tired,” she said trying to bring closure to their conversation. “Why don’t you try to contact Rose later. She’s a pretty reasonable girl,” she said.
“Do you think she’d listen?” he asked more humbly. “I really am sorry,” he said in a softer voice that nearly broke up.
“I believe you are,” answered Sister Marie. “But I can’t fix things between you and Rose, I will tell her that you phoned and that Steph is doing better,” she said.
“I’d really appreciate it Sister Marie,” he said. “And would you pray for me?”
“David,” she said lovingly, “I know I’m not your mother or Rose’s real mother if the truth be told, but you both are always in my prayers,” she said.
When they had said their goodbyes and hung up, David realized he had walked nearly a block from his car. He had ended up directly in front of the Salvation Army. He was surprised to find that he had walked so far. The building was under renovation. Seeing it reminded him of the article he had read recently featuring the building in last week’s paper. The building was more than 80 years old. It was under Phase I of the renovation, the ripping out stage. There was ragged carpeting laying on the sidewalk awaiting the trash collectors to haul it off. There was also something shiny beneath the carpet that caught his eye. One corner was hanging out just enough to light the darkened area whenever a car’s headlight hit it. His curiosity moved him to lift the carpet, which was discarded in a very large roll to lie flat on the sidewalk near the curve probably to be hauled away before morning. David wondered why they hadn’t rented a dumpster for the material, as he stooped to touch the glimmering part of the object. He ran his fingers along the shape of this strange object which appeared to be a horn of some type. It was a little larger than his hand and covered in a gold color. He managed to pull the object from beneath the rubbish and discovered another matching horn on the other side of the plank of wood that was between it. It looked as though this was a mantle for a fancy fireplace. Yet, on second thought, David reasoned that it was probably placed on top of a table that belonged at the altar of the chapel. It looked more like a replica of the Ark of the Covenant.
He wondered why they were getting rid of it. Not that it was of any real value, but it had an antique design to it. He knew he had inherited a knack of collecting odds and ends from his father. When he was younger his father would take him to garage sales, estate sales and cheap auctions. He used to hate going, but he found himself one day following in the footsteps of his father. He would stop at garage sales to make sure there were no bargains calling him by name. His father had a weakness for old tools and unusual items. Sometimes he would clean them up and resell them.
David lifted the table top from the heap of trash and began carrying it toward his car. Surprisingly, it was kind of heavy. He held it away from his clothes just in case there were splinters on the wood. What a night it had been. He wondered if he should be feeling guilty for acquiring such a find. Perhaps this is God’s way of letting me know all is not lost, he thought to himself. After all, if he hadn’t gone to see his sister, he wouldn’t have come down this street. If he hadn’t remembered that he had forgotten to call Rose, he wouldn’t have parked his car. If he hadn’t been angry and upset, he wouldn’t have walked down to the Salvation Army building.
“This must be an omen,” he thought. As he opened the trunk of his car, he said in nearly a whisper, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are the called according to his purpose.” He adjusted the table top with horns, several times before it fit into the trunk of his car. As he drove home, he wondered where he would put it. He didn’t have a fireplace. But he did have the coffee table given to him by his mother. He kept it in the guest bedroom that he used as an office. It was too small to ever let anyone sleep in there. He used it to iron his clothes and work on his computer. Sometimes he evaluated clients and documented the information at home on computer. He would try that when he reached home. He was glad to have something else to think about other than his problematic relationship with Rose. “I hope I’m able to rest tonight,” he thought. “I just want to rest.”