This whole faith thing hadn’t bothered Elena until now. Until she realized that it wasn’t just changing her husband’s temperament. It was also turning him into a bona fide moron.
“The union’s gonna defend you, right?”
They had been talking in the living room for half an hour, long after putting the boys to bed. Bobby had come home late and he finally got around to telling her the news. About the fact that he had chosen to do something stupid and that he was on the verge of losing his job and being sued for money they didn’t have. All because he’d been trying to stand up for some kind of silly thing.
“No,” Bobby said, his face already showing defeat. “They say I acted outside my capacity. That I exceeded my care mandate. And if they’re seen as backing my actions they’ll become liable, too. So unless I apologize, they’re cutting me loose.”
Elena wanted to scream.
“So apologize.”
“I can’t. Not for bringing someone to Jesus. Especially since they’re looking to turn this into some kind of example, where no first responder will ever bring up God again for fear of what might happen to them.”
Bringing someone to Jesus.
It sounded so simple, so insane. This wasn’t like stopping at a rest stop or going through the drive-thru at McDonald’s. She didn’t understand how Bobby could truly believe he’d brought anybody to Jesus when there was no person or face or voice or anything to bring the person to in the first place.
“So to prove a point, you’re willing to risk everything?”
“I’m not trying to be prove a point,” he said. “I’m trying to be faithful.”
Bobby didn’t look defensive at all, which made Elena even more frustrated.
“And you were. The guy’s safe in Heaven now, right? Thanks to you and Jesus. End of story.”
Dial up a prayer next time you’re at church. Put the wooden cross by his gravestone. But leave this whole faith thing out of it. Keep it away from his family.
“For this man, yes, you’re right,” Bobby said. “But what about the next guy?”
Elena shook her head, staring down at the carpet, then over at the couch across the room. She had thought they already had enough to deal with after Carlos had come and gone in a blink. She still hadn’t heard from him and she’d been worried all day. Now her husband was delivering shocking news in the most subdued manner he could.
She didn’t know what to say. She truly didn’t. She wanted to curse at him and leave the room, but that wasn’t going to change anything. She could try to persuade him to change his mind, but she knew her husband. Nothing could change his mind after it had been made up.
“I spoke with Tom’s friend Liam Katz. He’s willing to represent me, but he’s asking for a retainer of twenty thousand.”
Well of course he did.
“Where are we supposed to get that kind of money, Bobby? We’ve got one’s month’s mortgage in our checking account, and all our cards are maxed out.”
The face—blank, controlled, calm—didn’t look away. Elena knew what was coming but didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want to even think about it—
“I don’t know. But I trust God to provide a way.”
Trust.
God.
Provide.
A way.
The Saturday morning cartoons were over. The comic book movie had ended. This wasn’t some kind of fun little fantasy anymore. This was their life. And Elena knew she needed to gain some kind of control over it since Bobby had obviously lost his mind.
“Bobby, we’re not in church. I need to know where we’re gonna get the money. Especially since you insist on tithing on every nickel we make. Tell me—where is it gonna come from?”
He didn’t say a word.
He didn’t have an answer.
Of course, this man before her certainly had all the answers when it came to a man dying in his arms. He had all the words and the answers and he couldn’t say enough. But now, sitting across from his wife, Bobby didn’t have a single thing to say. Besides the whole God’s-gonna-take-care-of-it sort of thing.
She stood up, done with this for now, knowing she was just going to say more angry and hurtful words that couldn’t help.
“I can’t go through this,” she said as she headed toward the stairs.
“What do you want me to do?”
Elena stopped and turned around. Last night Bobby hadn’t hesitated in protecting her. So why couldn’t he do the same right now? Why couldn’t he just protect her and their family in the most simple and basic way?
“Sign the statement. Apologize. Do whatever they want you to.”
There was nothing more to do. That was the solution. The end.
He still sat, looking up at her, his face exhausted and searching.
“Or what?” Bobby asked her.
She had said enough. She answered by heading upstairs and ending this conversation.
There wasn’t anything left to talk about. She wasn’t a pastor or a shrink. She was a wife and a mother and a nurse and she lived in the real world dealing with real problems and solutions. Bobby would wise up. He had to wise up.
There was no other choice.