David found it difficult to keep his mind focused on his work that next day. He kept trying to remember Steph’s song. He had written down the parts he could remember. Every time he thought he had remembered a line, the words just didn’t sound right. The song he heard was so sincere, so beautiful, so convicting. He was about to leave for lunch when the phone rang at his desk.
“Mr. Edwards,” he answered.
“Hello son, how’s it going?” the voice asked on the other end. David was quite surprised to hear this cheerful voice calling him at the office.
“I can’t complain,” he said. “How are you?”
“Doing great son, listen, have you had lunch yet?” he asked.
“No, I, well no I haven’t,” David answered hesitantly.
“How about meeting your old man at the diner down the street? I think it’s called Cindy’s Diner. Hey, it’s my treat. I think we’re overdo for a talk. Can you meet me there by 12:30? It’s a quarter after now.”
“Sure Dad,” David answered. I’ll be glad to see you. Take care.”
He hung up the phone and fiddled around the office for about eight minutes. The diner was no more than 6 minutes away, if you walked. David figured walking could do him some good.
When he arrived, his father was already seated at a corner booth that faced the entrance. It was exactly 12:30 and the diner was only half full. Mr. Edwards smiled and beckoned for him to come back there. “Thanks for coming son. I know it was a last minute invitation. How’ve you been?” he asked in a fatherly tone that was laden with guilt.
“Are you and Rose talking again?”
“We’ve never stopped talking Dad. We just have some issues that need working out,” David explained. “What about you?” David asked.
“Well, your mother and I have been separated about two years now. I thought I should tell you that I’m going to file for divorce soon,” he said nervously.
“How soon?” David asked, sensing an urgency in his father’s tone.
“Next week,” his father answered. “I think it’s time to bring this prolonged situation to a halt. We need to move on with the rest of our lives.” The words seemed to sting David. He felt numb. He wanted to get up and walk out, but that would be childish. He said nothing at first. He turned his attention to the large picture window and watched the cars go by.
“David, I know this couldn’t be a complete shock. After all, we’ve been separated for two years.” David turned to his father and looked him in the eyes.
“Dad, do you think divorce is the answer?” he asked as nicely as he could. However there was a rather sharp edge to his tone.
“Son, I don’t know what the answer is, but I can’t just continue to live like I’m living. After all, I’m not an old man. I do have some plans for my life that I’d like to follow.” He stopped talking, as a waitress approached his table. “What can I get you today?” she asked, while passing them two menus. “The special today is tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and the fruit of the day. It’s only $4.50,” she said pulling a pad out of her white apron pocket.
“That sounds good to me,” the elder Edwards said. “How about you David?”
“I’d just like coffee,” he said. “I’m not very hungry.”
She scribbled on her pad and asked Mr. Edwards what he’d like to drink.
“I’ll have a coke,” he said.
“Would your plans happen to include a certain young woman you’ve been seen with lately?” David asked almost rhetorically.
His father leaned in to get better eye contact with David.
“Alright,” he said, “man to man, I think you’re mature enough to understand. Melanie and I are in love. We want to get married. She wants to maybe start a family with me. I know I’ve made some mistakes in the past, but I think things will go better for me, this second time around.”
David did his best to hide his anger. Many things were going through his mind, especially Aunt Tillie’s words about getting in the face of God. His father knew the Bible as well as anyone. Since they were being so honest, he decided not to hold back.
“Dad,” he said in a very calm voice that even surprised his father.
“I’m willing to look over what your divorce will do to mom, to Steph or to me, if you can tell me honestly that you’ve gotten in the face of God and he has given you permission to remarry and abandon the vows you made to him 28 years ago. If you tell me that God is pleased with your decision, I’ll give you my blessing.”
The waitress arrived with the coffee and coke just as David stood to leave.
“I’m sorry I won’t be staying,” he said, as he headed toward the door. His father was too upset to try to stop him. He sat there and stirred his coke with a straw until he could gather his wits about him.
David returned to the office and closed the door. He didn’t want to see anyone until he figured out what to do next. Should he tell his mother? No, that wouldn’t be wise. Besides it wasn’t his place to do it. He would continue to fight the spiritual war with the best weapon he knew about. He would increase his prayers to three times a day. He wished he had someone to talk to, but he was really too ashamed to tell anyone, even Aunt Tillie, that his father said he loved another woman.
Feeling wounded and depressed, David left the office an hour earlier than usual. He went to the supermarket and bought the ingredients for homemade chili. It was really the only recipe he mastered while away at college. Somehow chili always made him feel better.
With a brief case in one hand and a grocery bag in the other, he tried to maneuver the outer door to his apartment building. A young man standing on the inside of the building saw him and came to his rescue.
“Thanks a lot,” David said.
“Don’t mention it,” replied the young man. “I was just standing here waiting for my wife to get home.”
“Then we’re neighbors,” David said. “I’m David Edwards, I met your wife shortly after you moved in.”
“Oh yes, she mentioned that. I’m Michael McCain. I was in such a rush that I locked my keys in the car. That’s why I’m standing in the hall,” he explained.
“Well, you’re certainly welcome to wait in my apartment,” David offered.
“That will be great. Brenda should be home within the hour,” he said. David put the key in the door and let Michael McCain in.
“Make yourself at home,” he said as he put the groceries on the kitchen counter. “Don’t ask me why, but I’m in the mood for chili,” David admitted. “I stopped at the grocer and picked up all the ingredients. I can never quite remember what I have or don’t have in my cabinet.”
“I’m a fan of chili too,” Michael said. “Brenda has a special recipe for making it real spicy.”
“She must be a good cook,” David said.
“Oh, she’s a great cook, when she’s got the time to spend in the kitchen,” her husband said.
“If you don’t mind my asking, how long have you two been married?” David asked.
“Five years; hey you’ve got nice furniture,” he said changing the subject. David knew then that Michael wasn’t going to volunteer any information about his private life. He thought he could try another tactic to get him to open up.
“Hey, since you both like chili, why don’t you join me for dinner tonight? I always cook enough for at least six, because I never learned to cook for one person,” David explained.
“Well, if it’s alright with Brenda, it’s fine with me,” Michael said. “I guess it just depends on how tired she is. Are you much of a sports fan?” Michael inquired, while looking out the window at his car.
“I’m a basketball enthusiast. I also like to shoot hoops at the gym when I can,” said David, as he started pulling out a skillet and a pot to start the chili.
“When I was a little younger I used to play a lot with my father,” David said; “but that came to a sudden stop.”
“Did your Dad die?” asked Michael. “No,” said David, “something worse than death. He separated from my mother two years ago.”
Michael looked a little stunned. “You mean leaving your mother is worse than dying?” he asked in disbelief.
“Sure,” said David. “Dying is something you do when you can’t help it. Separation and divorce are both choices you make,” he said with confidence.
Michael put the coat down that he had been holding and came closer to the kitchen area.
“So are you saying that you would prefer that your father was dead?”
“Not at all,” David said. “What I’m saying is that death is more honorable than the stigma attached to a man who walks out on his family. He can be rich and he can be successful, but somebody, somewhere will always say, I remember when he walked out on his family.”
“So what do you suggest a man should do when he can’t stand to be married anymore, shoot himself?” They both laughed, just as the onion started to sizzle in the skillet.
“I can only answer from the perspective of a Christian,” David said.
“Alright then, what does a Christian man do?” Michael asked.
“Well, it’s just my own opinion, but I think a Christian man has to examine himself to see when and where he stopped planting his fruit seeds.”
“Fruit seeds?” Michael repeated as if the term was foreign.
“Yes,” said David. “In my Bible study at church I learned that there remains two times in the earth: planting time and harvest time. This principle is alive and working in every area of our lives. In marriage, seeds of kindness, forgiveness, longsuffering, etc. are planted. If you stop planting these seeds but continue to need those things, there is a great deficit. Instead of having a bumper crop, you will have a famine and therefore divorce is the only option you will see.”
“But doesn’t marriage take two individuals who want this healthy crop?” Michael asked.
“Well, I’ll put it this way,” David said. “The harvest comes much easier and faster when one plants and one waters. But that’s where faith and steadfastness comes in. You’ve got to be willing to plant and water too, if necessary, to keep your marriage alive. But that takes work and patience and many couples choose not to invest in their marriage because there are other options available.”
“Did I ask you what you do for a living?” Michael asked. “You must be a minister.”
“No, I’m a Christian counselor,” David said.
“Well, that explains your wealth of knowledge. I’m a high school administrator,” Michael said.
“Hey, that looks like Brenda’s car. I’ll check with her about dinner,” he said, as he grabbed his coat.
“Thanks for letting me hangout.”
The door closed and David could hear their muffled voices in the hallway. He dropped his head and said a prayer of thanksgiving. Not only had a door been suddenly opened, but for the last few minutes he had been able to start to minister in a way he had not done before. He was pretty sure they would be back for a chili dinner, but he had so much more to offer them than spicy beans and beef.