CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Aunt Tillies’ memorial service was held the Friday morning after her death. Not more than fifty people were in attendance at the modern funeral home. Flowers were lined across the front of her steel bluish-gray casket. The benches were more comfortable than those at church, David thought. He was sure no one would want to spend very much time seated in a mortuary. The pastor gave a wonderful eulogy and then asked for David to come forth to have words. He looked at his mother for reassurance and handed his program to Stephanie to hold for him.

He slowly walked to the front and smiled at two elderly ladies that were seated on the front row. He thought to himself that they must be Aunt Tillies’ cousins.

“Relationships,” David began after clearing his throat, “are not always easy to establish. People drift in and out of our lives on a yearly basis. Those people who seem to cling to us, very often do us good. Some people leave us, and we never give them more than a fleeting thought. Aunt Tillie came into my life, but instead of her clinging to me, I clung to her. I discovered that I needed her more than she needed me. Her presence was comforting at a time when I needed comfort, her wisdom was incredibly sound, at a time when I needed advice. But more than any of these qualities,” David said looking straight ahead to avoid the individual faces in the audience, “her relationship with God was to be envied.”

“Upon visiting her on many occasions, I often would leave thinking, I hope that I can get to know God the way Aunt Tillie knows him. In our last visits together, she prayed for me more earnestly than anyone ever could. She invested time in me and I believe it was a sound investment. She also imparted to me something that I was not aware of. She helped me to see my reason for being alive. It was a greater purpose than I could have dreamed. I do not believe that Aunt Tillie has left me after all,” he said, noticing that Aunt Tillies’ cousin was wiping a tear.

“She is a part of me more now than ever before. I know that Aunt Tillie never had children of her own, but I never knew my grandmother. I would kind of like to think of her as my adopted grandmother. That way she will always be a part of my family heritage. God Bless You.”

Ten minutes later after a solo and the reading of Psalm 23, the service was completed. David was a bit surprised that it was over in exactly one hour. He expected others to talk about her kindness, but much to his surprise, Pastor Taylor said, “that concludes the services for the late Tillie Green. Those of you who so desire may continue with us to Redemption Cemetery.”

Not quite having grasped the closure that he needed, he continued with the twenty others. He decided to ride with his mom and sister in his mom’s car. Her red six cylinder Chrysler was nearly ten years old. Yet it ran almost as smoothly as the sunny day his father had drove it home.

“We have a new family car,” his father said. “It almost seemed comical to think of the car as the “family car” these days.

“You did alright,” Steph said as they walked together toward the parking lot. “As a matter of fact, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks Steph,” David said. “How are you doing these days?”

“Pretty well,” she said with a gleam in her eye. “Don’t tell mom, but I’m going to have lunch with Dad on Saturday,” she said, unable to contain her joy.

“Really?” David asked. “Why the secrecy?”

“He just said it was our little date. It will be just the two of us.”

“That’s nice,” David said, imagining the conversation. He hoped that whatever they talked about would be good news.

“I am the resurrection and the life...” Pastor Taylor began “...ashes to ashes, dust to dust...”

David watched from across the rectangular grave, as Rose dropped her head in grief. He silently left the huddle of family and friends where he stood and walked behind the crowd. He ended up at Rose’s side and almost without warning, offered his shoulder for her to cry on. Accepting, she wept quietly, and he never said a word.

David heard laughter all around him. Nothing was that funny. But then again, the sound of the laughter was distorted and surreal. Of course, David thought. “I’m in hell.”

He hid behind the shadows of tall unattractive pillars and listened as the reports were given.

“I don’t know what happened. I tried to kill him. It’s just that his wife kept making some strange confession about a successful marriage and she keeps reporting to that David Edwards. The plan was spoiled but I’m about to close in on David Edwards. I’ll need the help of some of the others. It may be a little more complicated than I first thought because of this prayer thing he’s trying. I’ll put an end to that or my name isn’t the Big D,” he said before bursting into obnoxious laughter again.

David awoke into the darkness of the night. He had been tossing and turning for more than 30 minutes. His forehead was sweaty and his eyes struggled to adjust to the pitch blackness of his room. The only light came from the digital red clock positioned in front of him. It was only 3:30 a.m. It had been several weeks since his journey into hell.

“I’m tired of going through this,” he said. He turned on his little lamp and pulled the Bible from his night stand. He shook his head and said “this is dé-jà vu”. He was distracted by a light tapping at the door. He did not immediately get up because he thought it must be the wind. After the persistence of the noise he put on his robe and went to his apartment door. Looking through the peep hole he could see a distorted view of a face that reminded him of his friend Stephen. He quickly opened the door after unlocking the gold deadbolt.

“Stephen, what are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you ok?”

“Oh, I’m ok,” Stephen said. “I’ve been driving around for the last three hours,” he said, as he put what resembled a gym bag on the floor. “Myra and I had another fight. It would have looked worse if she left home at midnight, so I left. I just don’t know what to do anymore David. I feel like going out and having a drink. Which is strange since I don’t care for alcohol.”

“Just calm down,” David said yawning. “Things always appear worse in the middle of the night.”

“Look I just need a place to stay for a few days, until I can figure out exactly what I’m going to do.”

“Sure,” David said. “You’re welcome to stay with me. You must be tired after driving around for three hours. Let me get you some blankets and I think I have an extra pillow,” David said.

He went into the closet of his spare room and brought down an old quilt his mom had given him when he moved. He also found a sheet, pillow and pillowcase for his friend. He felt bad that things hadn’t worked out better for him. He had hoped his advice would have made a difference, but there was no time for wondering about problems. It would soon be light and there would be plenty of time to talk later. David helped Stephen get settled, sat up and talked to him a little longer and finally went to bed about 4:20 a.m.

Much to his surprise, when he awoke it was 7 a.m. He jumped up, showered, left a note and a spare key for Stephen and drove much faster than normal to work.

“I must have slept through my alarm, or had I even set it?” David questioned himself. He was turning the final corner before reaching the parking lot when he realized he hadn’t prayed at all. The guilt trip would have to wait until he had settled in at work. He couldn’t arrive later than his clients. He would pray in the office.

The receptionist stopped him before he could get inside his office.

“Mr. Edwards, I hope you don’t mind, but I had to move a client up one slot. She has an emergency and this is the only time she had available.”

David looked across the room that was half filled with people and found a rather anxious young woman smiling at him. He assumed this was the lady and told the receptionist he would see her in two minutes.

There was a full load of clients to be seen that day. New and old faces seemed to have kept the office filled. Before he knew it, the day was over. He was happy about the busyness of the day because it kept him from getting sleepy. It had been a little while since he had stayed up all night.

He returned home and noticed Stephen’s car was still in front of the apartment building. He went inside and found the living area tidier than he usually kept it. There was one exception. A large black suitcase had replaced the gym bag along the far wall.

“Stephen?” David called out.

“I’m back here,” Stephen yelled.

David followed the voice to his spare room and was shocked by what he found. Stephen had rearranged the room and was bending over the table that was serving as his altar. The horns had been placed beneath the table, so that Stephen’s clothes and toiletries could fit neatly on the top. Stephen was bending over a gray futon which he was trying to set up against the wall. He never looked up once to see David’s frowning face indicating his displeasure at the change.

“I hope you don’t mind David,” he explained. “This is just a temporary rearrangement in order to make sure you have the space you need. I can’t tell you how it makes me feel for you to be here for me. I’ll remove the suitcase from the living room, and you won’t even know I’m here. I’ve just got to figure out what to do.”

“Have you seen or spoken to Myra?” David inquired.

“No, she wasn’t there when I returned to get some of my things. I think we both need time to consider our situations, but if you don’t mind, I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“Oh sure,” David said glancing at his altar horns. He felt like he was invading Stephen’s space so he went into his own bedroom. At least things there appeared untouched.

David gathered his laundry together and decided to make himself scarce for the evening. He also needed some time to think.

Once in the hallway, he heard his neighbors’ door opening. He descended the stairs without waiting.

“Hey David!” yelled Michael. “How’s it going? Let me know when you’re having chili again,” he said.

“Oh I will,” said David. “How’s your wife?”

“She’s O.K.,” he said, lowering his voice. “Say, is it expensive to attend your counseling session?”

“Not really,” David said. “We offer payment plans and sometimes the fee is discounted when the family has hardships.”

“Could you send me more information?” Michael asked.

“Hey, that’s no problem. I’ll be glad to have it mailed to you by the end of this week.”

“Hey man,” he said grabbing David’s arm. “I’d really appreciate it.”

Laundry was not a chore for David that evening. The problems he had on his mind made the time pass quickly. He hoped he had made the right decision in letting Stephen stay with him for a while. He just wished he had been asked about rearranging his prayer room. He resolved that he would use the living room to pray. It was an inconvenience, but it was better than not praying at all.

He was sure it was his Christian duty to take in Stephen. What are friends for? They would have to find a way to share the apartment space for the next few days. The dampness from the musty apartment building basement was starting to bother David’s throat. He folded the clothes and left to get some throat lozenges.

He returned to the apartment with basket in hand and took the clean clothes directly into his bedroom. Stephen was not there. David went into the kitchen cupboard and found a can of chicken noodle soup. He wasn’t sure how old it was, but he felt like he needed some soup. “I’m catching a healing,” he said out loud. He chuckled slightly as he thought of Aunt Tillie.

After dinner he gargled with warm salt water and prepared for bed. Stephen had not returned so he thought he would turn in early. He reached for the small picture frame that held Rose’s picture. It was hard for him to come to terms with what he felt. He knew he loved her. He also knew that somehow, when the time was right, God would release him to marry her. He put the picture back in its place and picked up the Bible.

His normal enthusiasm just wasn’t there, and he immediately started to yawn. He blamed it on his scratchy throat, as he closed the black leather cover and fell asleep.

Laughter, heat and more laughter. That’s what David was sensing as he stared into the dark. He could see no one. He extended his arms to feel for whatever was there. Yet he felt he was just groping into the darkness. Who’s laughing at me? David thought. “Why am I so warm?” he said out loud. “It’s hot, hot, hot!” he complained throwing the covers off him.

The alarm clock rang out loudly causing him to sit straight up. He awoke and discovered he was perspiring. Not only that, but his pajama shirt was pretty wet. He shut the alarm off and began to walk toward his prayer room out of habit. The door was shut and he remembered that he had a guest in his house. He deliberated on whether to pray in the living room, but it just didn’t seem private enough. He went into the kitchen to get some water for his dry throat. He felt as though the fresh water was putting a fire out.

The fire was coming from his internal organs. He quietly went into the bathroom and got out the thermometer his mother had packed along with other basic medical supplies at the time that he was moving. Not only were his eyes red but his face looked flushed. The thermometer read 102. He hoped this was not a part of the virus that the media said had been circulating for the past three weeks. Yet, he couldn’t deny filling awful. He found two aspirin in the medicine cabinet.

He wanted to pray, but instead he just crawled back into bed. He awoke again at 8 a.m. with the sound of music coming from his stereo system. He could tell he was still feverish. He opened his bedroom door and saw Stephen adjusting the volume on his system.

They looked at each other, as if neither was expecting the other one to be there. “I didn’t know you were still here,” Stephen said. “Hey, are you OK?”

“I’ve got a fever,” David replied. “I feel awful. I’m going to call the Center and tell them I won’t be in today.”

Stephen glanced through the collection of CD’s on the shelf while David called his job.

“Maybe you should call the doctor,” Stephen said. “You never know why a fever develops,” he warned him.

“I don’t know,” David said. “First I’ll try these fever reducing tablets.” “I hate going to see doctors. Aren’t you working today?”

“I took vacation for the week to kind of help sort things out. So if you need something from the druggist, let me know,” Stephen answered.

Another two hours of resting reinforced his belief that working was much more fun than being sick. He decided he must call the doctor. The number of rings was quite discouraging.

“Medical Group” a tired sounding voice finally answered.

“Hi My name is ...”

“Could you hold please?” a female voice interrupted.

David was a bit disturbed by the curtness. He was sure however, that his impatience was due to his physical condition.

“Medical Group,” the voice repeated.

“This is David Edwards. I’ve got a 102-degree temperature and a sore throat. I wanted to know if I could see the doctor.”

“Sir,” the doctor is swamped today and tomorrow. Looks like everyone and his brother has some form of this latest virus. They all have rather high fevers. I recommend lots of juice and water. The best I can do is have the doctor call in an antibiotic for you. Do you know your health plan number?”

“Not off hand,” David replied.

“Date of birth?” she continued.

He gave her his date of birth and was rather relieved that he didn’t have to go into the office. Stephen had volunteered to pick up his medication, and he was going to take advantage of the offer.

“Sir your prescription will be available in about two hours. What pharmacy would you like to pick it up from?”

“Healthmart is just around the corner from me,” David said.

The simple questions were starting to tire him out. He felt a headache developing.

“By the way,” David said. “My records should show I’m allergic to certain medications.”

“Thank you” she replied. “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”

‘No,” David answered.

He asked Stephen to pick up his medication at noon. He went back to bed. There were chills going up and down his spine. He figured the virus was attacking at full force. “I’m catching a healing,” “I’m catching a healing, I’m catching a healing,” he kept repeating until he had fallen asleep.

David greeted Aunt Tillie with a huge hug. “I haven’t seen you in such a long time,” he said.

“Are you praying,” she asked. The question seemed to have reverberated over and over and over. He finally dropped his head in shame. “You’re a warrior, a warrior of might. Repeat after me, I’m a warrior. I’m a warrior. I’m a warrior—.”

“David! David!” shouted Stephen. “Here’s your medication.” David sat up in bed looking around as if he expected to see someone else.

“That must have been some dream,” Stephen said. You said something about a warrior. Are you OK?”

“Well, I will be. Thanks for picking up the medicine. What time is it?” he asked.

“You’ve been asleep about three hours.”

“What!” David exclaimed. “Seems like I just went to bed.”

Stephen handed him a glass of water and his bottle of medicine. David glanced at the medication title but did not recognize the name. He then awkwardly opened it with his sweaty hands and took the capsules with hope of getting some relief.

“It says I should take another dosage in six hours. Would you wake me at nine if I’m still asleep?” David asked.

“Sure,” Stephen said. “I’m going out for a while, but I should be back soon.”

“See you later,” David said. “I’m just tired.”

It was a little while before David fell asleep. For the next thirty minutes he thought of his clients, his family, Aunt Tillie and Rose. He mostly thought of Rose. If we were married, he thought, she’d be here taking care of me. Then he felt guilty. He hadn’t prayed in his prayer room. He had let someone rearrange his life temporarily. Perhaps it was just a small inconvenience or perhaps it was a plot to stop him from being a warrior. Maybe I’m paranoid, David thought. That was the last thought he had before the sharp pains hit in his abdominal area. He knew something was wrong. He wasn’t imagining this kind of pain. He knew he wasn’t dreaming. It hurt too bad. He decided to call the doctor’s office again. That was his intention when he passed out from pain outside his bedroom as he made an attempt to reach the phone book on the kitchen counter.