CHAPTER 37

REGRETS

Caleb woke up at noon on Sunday. He was so glad Beth didn’t call him to go to church, but now he was wondering why. She’s probably mad at me because of our discussion about Christianity.

He had to go to the stadium at 1 to pee again, and then he had the rest of the day off. With nothing better to do, he thought to himself, You know, I’d like to go to Disneyland. So he decided to phone up Beth. “Let’s go to Disneyland.”

Beth giggled. “You’ve got to be kidding me? The big tough football player wants to go to Disneyland?”

He laughed and said, “Why not? I’ve wanted to go since I was a kid, and it’s pretty close, I think. Let’s go—it’ll be fun.”

“Okay, superstar,” she said with a smile, “let’s go to Disneyland!” He was like a kid at Christmas time and told her he would be right over.

Caleb rushed up to his room and grabbed a thousand dollars out of his money bag before heading over to Beth’s. When she opened the door, the first thing he said was, “I’m sorry about last night; I shouldn’t have spoken to you or about your faith that way.”

Beth took his hand. “It will take care of itself in time; don’t worry about it.”

Beth had never seen him this excited. “Ahhhh, you’re just so stinking cute!” she said, giving him a pat on the arm. “Let’s go to Disneyland! What rides are we going ride?”

“Every single one of them!” Caleb said as he ducked into his car. “We’re going to see and do everything in there!”

She laughed as she too plopped down in the Vette. “Do you need any money? I hear Disneyland is expensive.”

“Nah, I have lots of money.”

“Okay, Mr. Moneybags,” she chuckled.

When they pulled into the parking lot, there were so many cars that they had to park what seemed like miles from the entrance. They parked, hopped on a shuttle bus, and took off towards the entrance. Caleb paid the lady and in they went.

Caleb and Beth had more fun than they could have imagined. They rode the big rides and the little rides; if it could be ridden, they rode it. They both ran, and laughed, and talked. It was the best day ever for Caleb, and that wasn’t really an exaggeration. He did sign lots of autographs, but he was getting used to that. They had their pictures taken with every Disney Character they saw. They ate more junk food, drank pops, and went to shows. When they announced it was time to close the park, Caleb’s shoulders slumped. “Dog gone it, I wish they were open all night!”

Beth smiled, then suddenly jumped up on him, wrapped her legs around him, and gave him a big kiss. “Caleb, I love you so much. I’m so happy you’re in my life.”

He just grinned and said, “Well, you’re a lucky girl.” Beth bopped him in the chest and started laughing.

* * *

Later that night, he walked her to the door and she asked him to come in and rest a bit. He said, “Sure, but don’t try to take advantage of me, okay?” Beth rolled her eyes and went to put on her PJs. They laid on the couch, watching TV and talking.

He decided he’d be a bit of a tease. “You sure got some nice boobies under those PJs. They’ve been squishing on me since you laid down, and I think your nipples are hard too.”

She blushed badly and said, “CALEB! I can’t believe you said that! You just try to embarrass me, don’t you?” She bopped him in the chest again.

She snuggled up to Caleb and asked him softly, “Caleb, how many girls have you had sex with?”

He knew this was a loaded question—any answer would be the wrong one. “Well, uh…why do you ask?”

She replied softly, “I’m just curious, I guess. I know you’ve been with plenty. You’re the best-looking man in the universe and the QB and all. I bet all the girls were just throwing themselves at you.”

“Do you really want to know?”

“The past is the past,” said Beth, “but I have to know.”

He sighed and said lovingly, “I’ve been with so many girls, Beth, I don’t even know the answer to the question.” He looked at her with his big dimples and beautiful eyes and said, “All those girls mean nothing to me, Beth. I’ve never in my life felt about another girl the way I feel about you. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

“Ahhh, Caleb you’re going to make me cry. I don’t care about those other girls. I just want you to be faithful to me as long as we’re dating, okay?”

He replied firmly, “OKAY.”

Caleb surprised her and told her he had been reading the Bible a lot since they had their argument. “It’s quite the story.”

“That’s nice, Caleb; I hope it gives you encouragement.” She stopped for a moment, as if thinking, then said, “Focus mainly on the New Testament. The Old Testament has a lot of valuable lessons, but it can be hard to understand.” Caleb figured she would go on and on, but Beth didn’t say anything else about it. Beth knew she had planted the seed the night they had their rant, and she had faith that God would take care of the rest.

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s company. Then Beth whispered, “Tell me about your mother, Caleb. What happened?”

He laid there quietly, reflecting for a moment; he hadn’t talked about his mom to anyone before. “My mom was a good woman who loved me very much. She made some bad decisions in her life, so she and dad got a divorce. Mom died in an explosion at our house just six months ago.” He swallowed hard, focusing on getting the words out. “My mother was a gorgeous woman, half white and half Indian, with the silkiest long black hair. I can still remember as a child snuggling with her, and she used to read me books every night. She was a very loving mother; I was lucky to have her. You know, I have my mother’s eyes and skin, and I have my dad’s size and his big old dimples.”

His voice started to crack. “I wasn’t very kind to my mother the last four years of her life, and I just wish so, so much that I could take it back.” Tears were starting to trickle out of his eyes. “I miss her a bunch. I read somewhere that we never appreciate what we have until we don’t have it anymore. That is so true. I just wish I would have been more gentle and kind towards her.”

“My dad divorced Mom when I was eight years old. My brother got killed in Vietnam, and my sister died of a drug overdose. This all happened within a five-year span. It was all so sad, and my mother held her head high during all that grief.” He grinned a little and said, “Mother just loved going to church. Every Sunday she would try to get me up for church and I would just chastise her and threaten her. She was such a Godly woman and I was like the devil, but it didn’t matter; to Mom, I was always her little baby boy. Beth, I was all she had left in this world and I treated her like trash. I have quite a few regrets in my life, but none greater than the way I treated my mother. My mother was nothing but loving and kind to me. She loved me no matter how bad I was or how badly I treated her. Man, I wish she was still here.”

Beth reached up, wiped Caleb’s tears, and said, “That’s such a sad story, Caleb. I…just don’t know what to say.” They just sat there silently, and she hugged him tightly. They were both so tired, and they eventually fell asleep on the couch together. He woke up around 3 A.M., he picked her up and tucked her in her bed and told her he loved her.

As the months passed by, Caleb continued to read the Bible almost non-stop. He was consumed by it—it was just his nature with books.