CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

 

Caleb headed for the front of the church. He had not realized how far the walk to the front was, and how many people were in church. They were all staring at him and when he turned around, he took a deep breath.

He had never been comfortable with crowds. He always preferred the hustle and bustle of a kitchen, and allowing his food to speak for itself rather than facing people en masse.

Now here he was, about to give his testimony. He had thought about it all of this evening and then he had come to church bold as you please and asked the pastor for the opportunity. He did it for two reasons. He didn't want the continuous whispers about his past to hamper his attendance at the church anymore and he wanted to put Erica's mind at ease. This was the best way to do it, he thought.

He cleared his throat. "Goodnight everyone." The church members eagerly told him good night. He could see the gleam of curiosity in their eyes and the nervous apprehension in Erica's.

"Well, as you may have heard, I was in prison for five years, four months, three days and two hours. I know the exact time because when you are in prison every single minute can be torturous. You track time and it moves so slowly.

"Before prison, I thought I was happy. I had a job I loved, I was married to a beautiful woman… she had a daughter from a previous relationship but I took the child for my own. I had a family, something I never had when growing up.

"Then my wife had an affair with a lawyer and decided that she didn't want me in the picture anymore. I had no idea that she was plotting to strip me of every material possession that I had bought to make our lives comfortable."

He coughed and then cleared his throat.

"I was a fairly decent fellow even then before I knew God. My wife would pick fights and I would walk her out and wait for her to calm down. Apparently, she wanted to spur me to violence but I was not that kind of person, so she became desperate." He paused.

Erica had her eyes closed tightly but Phoebe was whispering in her ears furiously.

"Well, she wanted me out of the way so badly that she decided that she would have me locked up on sex abuse charges. So my stepdaughter was coerced to report to the police that I had been sexually abusing her."

The church gasped and fierce whispers could be heard. He waited for them to quiet down.

He looked at Erica and saw tears in her eyes. He gulped. He had wanted to tell the bare bones of the story as emotionlessly as possible but Erica's tears were getting to him.

"So, I was picked up at work by the police, fingerprinted and herded into a cell with a bunch of criminals. The police said they had evidence. My stepdaughter was adamant that I had touched her inappropriately for years and that I had threatened her if she told anyone. Her mother, my ex-wife, suddenly recalled times when I behaved in a violent manner, threatening both of them.

"I was assigned a lawyer to fight my case but my wife had meticulously planned my demise. She had emptied our joint account, prepared divorce papers and had found some legal loophole to strip me of ownership of our house.

"My family stopped visiting me—the few of them that I had. Even my father abandoned me. I was convinced that when I went to court to answer charges of sexual molestation of a minor that I would be exonerated…surely people could see the truth, I thought. The evidence was weak; they really had nothing to tie me to this so-called abuse, but my stepdaughter testified. She gave the performance of her life. Even to myself in that courtroom I sounded like a monster.

"The judge gave a swift and heartfelt sentence. She said she had no tolerance for people like me. I was so bewildered when I heard that I had gotten twenty years to life that my lawyer said I laughed.

"Let me tell you church," he cleared his throat. "It was rough the first two years in prison. I thought I would have lost my mind. I was innocent but everybody declares his or her innocence in prison. I was not alone in my pronouncement of innocence, but I knew, and God knew that I hadn't done anything wrong. Through those first bitter years, he was preparing me for greater blessings.

"A woman visited me in prison who told me that she was impressed to give me her Bible. It was one of those well-used Bibles from a woman who actually read it. It was marked-up with highlights that actually made it easy for me to follow related passages.

"I read the word, and one night I surrendered myself to Christ. I said to him, if you can get me out of here I will be ever so grateful. I felt within myself that I had to let go of the bitterness that I was feeling toward my wife, by now she had divorced me and had moved on with her new life.

"I was baptized on a Sunday in the prison chapel and I helped my fellow cellmates to know of Jesus for themselves. I had totally left my fate up to Christ and had stopped hoping for a miracle.

"But one day the legal aide lawyer, who had represented me in court, showed up with a grin on his face. He said, 'Mr. Wright, your stepdaughter went to the police and confessed that she was coerced by her mother to accuse you and that you were a good father to her. She confessed the whole thing.'

"I was ecstatic, but it took two months for all the legalities to be sorted out so that I could be set free, by then my reputation was in the toilet. The court system apologized but those people who have no idea about my story will forever tarnish me with the moniker of being a child molester."

Several persons were shaking their heads in pity when they heard this.

"There is one thing that I don't regret about prison though," he said grinning slightly. "I got to know the Lord, and I learned that this world and its materialism, our busy lives, and our fixation on self are also a prison if we do not set aside time to focus on something bigger than us. I am happy that I got to know Jesus before it was too late."

Shouts of Amen could be heard at this statement.

He was about to put down the microphone when he hesitantly brought it up to his mouth again; his hand trembling slightly. "I swore off women for years and wanted nothing to do with them. Understandably, I had trust issues."

He heard chuckles coming from the congregation.

He turned and looked at Erica. Her eyes were shining brightly, a pleased smile on her lips.

"But then I met a woman who loved me for myself and I intend to keep her."

Erica gasped.

"Erica Thomas, will you marry me, I love you."

"Awww," the church gasped.

Erica couldn't believe it. He was actually proposing to her in front of the entire church. She got up. Her legs were trembling and her hands shaking. "You bet I will."

Loud claps were heard and then there was a standing ovation from the church brethren. Lola came to hug her daughter first and then gave her a squeeze. "That's what the investigator heard. I guess he said it all. You have our blessing."

Erica hugged her Mom.

Caleb reached her next, a smile on his face as he embraced her tightly. "My Erica."

"My Mr. Wright," she whispered. "I love you too."

 

THE END