“Call it off, Natalie.” Susan’s voice nearly squeaked.
Natalie moved the phone from her ear. She must look like an idiot walking through a parking lot pushing a cartful of groceries, frowning at a cell she held at arm’s length. No doubt she had looked silly inside the store as well. During the entire checkout process she listened to Susan’s woeful tale of a conversation with Drake. What felt like permanent grooves carved themselves into her forehead.
At last the urge to shout at her sister-in-law passed and she replaced the phone to her ear. “Susan, you’re going monkey on me. Come on, girl, get a grip. The straitjacket is gone. Drake is not in your head screening every jot and tittle. Jesus, the Lord Himself, is right there with you and He’s crazy about you.”
“Call it off! A few people skipping church is not going to faze him. He will not budge from his convictions.”
“Do you doubt God’s ability to melt his heart?”
Susan went quiet.
“Of course you don’t. Things seem a little scary at the moment, that’s all.”
“He’s digging his heels in deeper.”
“So God will just have to yank a little harder.”
“I don’t want the church to split over this.”
“It won’t, Suze.”
“This is how splinter groups form.”
“Listen.” She reached her SUV, opened the back end, and unloaded groceries while she talked. “Those of us involved simply want Drake to know we’re concerned. We’re the ones who care deeply about him. We’ll be there for Easter. We’ll be there to work from the inside, praying you all through this time. We don’t want to go anywhere else. We’re not condemning Drake. On the contrary, we’re rooting for him.”
“You’re rooting for him?”
“I hadn’t thought of it like that before, but yeah. That’s it! We are. I am. Suze, I told you. I’ve been in the wrong, always mad at Drake. I don’t want to be like that anymore. Oh, hon, are you crying?”
“I don’t know how to root for him.”
Natalie listened to her sniffle and pushed the cart to a return slot. How could Susan root for him? He hadn’t responded to her need. He hadn’t promised he would stop disapproving of her relationship with Kenzie. She was so torn, still forced to choose between her husband and her daughter. Should she go home? What about their vacation schedule for next week?
“Suze, his vacation time starts Monday. Is he coming to the beach?”
“We…we didn’t talk about it. I have no idea what to expect.”
Natalie sighed and climbed into her car. “You know what Mildred would say to expect. Expect God to show up.”
“I’m losing hope.”
“Glory.”
“What?”
“Glory. I’m not sure. The word just popped into my head. ‘Glory!’ Go sing, Suze. Go walk with Pugsy on the beach. Walk and walk and sing and sing. That’s how you root for Drake. God inhabits the praises of His people. Praise Him and He will show up and He will melt Drake’s heart.”
Natalie propped her arm on the steering wheel and rubbed her forehead, listening to silence from Susan’s end for what felt like minutes.
At last there was a final sniffle and she cleared her throat. “All right. ‘Glory be to the Father.’” She sang the words. “‘And to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.’”
“What is that?”
“The ‘Gloria Patri.’ Second Century traditional. ‘As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.’”
“And amen.”