Bosco purred as he rubbed his head under her chin. Emma had had him for about four months now and he always was a good companion. Bosco settled down on her lap while she grabbed the remote and looked to see if something else was on since the show had just ended. As she started flipping through channels, a lightning bolt crashed outside of her window. Bosco jumped up terrified and ran off of the bed. Emma was a little startled as well. The bolt landed pretty close to her apartment. The clock on her end table read 11:38 as the rain began to fall outside. It came down strong.
“Wow!” She said to herself. “I’m glad this held off until the game was over. I hope all of the kids made it home before this started.”
She looked back to the television when suddenly a thought blasted through her mind: Jack McKenzie is dead.
“What?” She said out loud. “Hello?”
She quickly turned her lamp on and saw no one. A panic quickly ran though her. Did I actually hear something? She thought. Did I lock the door? She knew she had done that, though, because she was pretty obsessive over making sure it was locked at night.
“Anyone there?” She said to a silent response.
Bosco came out from under her bed and jumped back on top of it. She let out a stifled scream when she saw him. Purring, he walked back up to her and tried to cuddle with her. Did I make this up? She thought. Why would I think Jack McKenzie is dead?
She immediately grabbed her phone. She thought about calling Jack and Marie’s home just to see if he was all right. However, as she scrolled through her contacts on her phone, some rationality came over her. Don’t call them and wake them up. I couldn’t have really heard anything. Maybe I nodded off and dreamt it. It’s just a random thought. It’s not real.
The problem that she couldn’t shake, though, was that the thought was now in her mind. A thought so loud, that it was as if it was spoken. She reached into the drawer of her nightstand and grabbed her pepper spray. Quietly, she got out of bed and walked down the hallway turning the lights on as she went. Her apartment was a one bedroom with a bathroom, kitchen, and living room. It didn’t take her long to check everything and see that there was no one in there. Relieved, she checked the deadbolt on the door and saw that it was locked as well. She couldn’t have heard anything. It must have been imagined.
Emma climbed back into bed, turned off the television, and listened to the rain. Even though something very weird had just happened, the rain was calming to her. She thought about how in the Bible, rain wasn’t seen as a bad thing, but instead was a blessing. With Bosco lying next to her, she fell asleep. She had no idea how her life was going to change tomorrow.
20
It began to pour and the guys were stuck on their bikes.
“Man, this is ridiculous!” Trent said while trying to dodge a huge mud puddle in front of him. “When is someone going to get their drivers license so we don’t have to look like a bunch of idiots out in the rain?”
“It’ll take more than a car to keep you from looking like an idiot,” Mark replied with a smirk.
“You’re one to talk. At least I have a hood to cover my head and I’m not trying to hold an umbrella while riding a bike.”
“It’s not that hard. I think you’re just mad you didn’t think of it.”
“You’re right. I’m upset that I can’t look like a circus animal on a bicycle.”
“Dude, I thought the storm was going to pass us by tonight.” Josh said “I didn’t see anything about it on my iPhone.”
“I don’t think Angry Birds does the weather in Galesburg,” Trent replied.
“Hey, I have a weather app!” Josh said in his defense. “I like to keep informed.”
“Well you were really informed this time,” Trent countered.
“I’m telling you the weatherman did not predict rain for Galesburg!” Josh shot back.
“If there was no rain predicted, then why did Mark bring an umbrella?” Trent asked.
“Good point,” Jordan said. “Did you know it was going to rain Mark?”
“No,” Mark answered. “I just always keep one strapped in the drink holder on my bike.”
“Who keeps an umbrella with them while riding a bike?” Trent shouted in bewilderment. “You are the only person I have ever seen use an umbrella while actually riding! What do you do when you want to keep a drink with you? Hang it around your neck?”
“You know,” Mark said confused, “I never thought about using the drink holder for a drink.”
“And you wonder why you don’t have a girlfriend.”
Josh and Jordan erupted in laughter. Trent almost wrecked his bike from laughing. Even Mark smiled.
“Laugh all you want, but last I checked I didn’t see any girls hanging on you guys either. What’s your excuse?”
“I’ll tell you why,” Trent replied with his trademark grin, “It’s because we are a group of dorks who ride bicycles in the rain with one of us trying to use an umbrella while he rides. We are hardly the poster boys for cool.”
“It’s alright,” Jordan said. “At least we can laugh about it now.”
“Actually I’m crying,” Josh replied. “The rain is just covering up my tears.”
“Mark’s got an umbrella you can borrow! Ha!”
“Shut up, Trent!”
Regardless of the rain they were still in a good mood. It was Friday night after all. Football was fun, youth group was powerful, and two days of no school were ahead of them. The rain was a small sacrifice to pay in order to make it to Josh’s house where an overnight of video games and food awaited them.
“Guys, I think we better find some shelter. It’s really coming down hard,” Jordan said.
“What place is open right now?” Trent asked.
“All I can think of is Steak n’ Shake,” Jordan replied.
“Well let’s head there and I’ll call my mom and let her know where we are so she doesn’t worry,” Josh said.
They lowered their heads and trudged forward as they tried to make their way up Fremont Street, which eventually crossed with Henderson. Steak n’ Shake was less than a block to the left. By the time they made it to Henderson, the rain was coming down in sheets. Large puddles began to form along the sides of the road, as the drains could not keep up with the volume of water. The wind began to pick up and a large gust actually took the umbrella from Mark’s hand and blew it down the street.
“My umbrella!” Mark screamed as he turned to go after it.
“Forget the umbrella!” Josh said grabbing him. “We have to cross the street and get inside before we get stuck by lightning!”
“Come on, let’s get off our bikes and push them,” Jordan said. “There is too much water and we might fall over in the middle of the road.”
They guys got off their bikes and waited on the sidewalk until they had a gap between the cars to cross. They were just about to go when to their left they saw a red Mustang flashing its lights and honking its horn. The engine revved up and sped toward them.
“Step back, guys!” Trent yelled as he backed them up. “This guy is crazy!”
They looked closer and could see it was Clayton Stoneking in the drivers seat with 3 other buddies in the car.
“Is that Clayton?” Mark asked. “How did he get a license?”
“He didn’t,” Jordan replied. “And he knows that no one will do anything too him.”
At that moment, Clayton blared the horn at them and drove straight through the water, which had gathered in the gutter. Instantly, all four of the guys were completely soaked. Clayton and his friends laughed hysterically as they watched the aftermath.
Humiliated, Jordan grabbed his bike and began to cross Henderson Street. “Come on, let’s go before they come back again.”
“If Clayton comes back again, I’ll punch him in the mouth!” Trent said with the little amount of sp
irit he had left.
“If you touched Clayton, all four of them would beat you up and you know it,” Jordan replied. “Let’s go.”
“It’s not right,” Mark said. “He used to be our friend.”
“Used to be is right,” Josh responded.
As they crossed the road the rain began to lighten and by the time they got to the restaurant it had softened to a drizzle. “Hey guys,” Jordan said. “The rain has lightened up and we are already soaked. Let’s just go to Josh’s. We are only about ten minutes away anyway.”
“Well we had better hurry up then,” Trent replied already back to his normal self. “Josh hasn’t had his teddy bear with him all day. Little Snookums has to be lonely by now!”
Mark and Jordan laughed as Josh stared at him.
“Shut up, Trent.”
21
As the rain started to fall, Convert helped the other youth leaders tear down the stage in the gym. He felt like he was floating on air after the reaction the kids had tonight from his testimony. At the front of the stage, at both ends, were some speakers that were used for the music. Convert walked over to help get them down because they looked very heavy and he knew it would take a few of them to do it. A youth leader by the name of Paul was on a ladder that was set up on the stage so that he could get some of the decorations down while other leaders were gathering everything else up. Paul looked down at Convert as he was walking toward the stage and said, “You did a great job tonight, Convert. I’m really glad you took the time to share your story.”
“It was my pleasure,” Convert replied. “Do you guys need some help with those speakers?”
“Sure,” Paul said as he reached up to pull down the last decoration. “As soon as I get this, we’ll get some guys and carry those off the stage.”
Just then, as Convert walked closer, Paul overreached and lost his balance. His feet slipped off of the rung and he slid halfway down the ladder before he fell off with a crash to the stage. Paul went one way while the ladder went the other way towards the speaker. The ladder hit the speaker with such force that the speaker began to tip towards the front. Convert instantly sprang to action and, on pure instinct, he ran forward to catch the six-foot speaker. He got there just in time and, with his arms raised above his head, he stopped the speaker from crushing the two ladies that were in front of it. Some of the other leaders quickly ran over to help him out, but Convert was able to grab it and set it on the floor before anyone else got to him.
Everyone was stunned. Jason ran over and said, “Is everyone ok?” And in genuine amazement added, “Convert, how did you do that?”
Convert looked back at him and said, “Just instinct I guess. I saw it start to fall and I sprang into action.”
“Yeah, but that speaker is over two hundred pounds and you caught it like it was a pillow!”
Convert was genuinely surprised. “Two hundred pounds? It sure didn’t feel like that to me. I guess I don’t know my own strength.”
The two ladies he saved, Karen and Linda, were extremely thankful and hugged him for saving his life. Convert didn’t really understand it. It seemed that everyone saw this as a bigger deal than he did. He was honestly more concerned for Paul’s fall than he was about the speaker. The speaker felt as light as a cardboard box. Would that have really hurt anybody?
Paul got up slowly. He was shaken, but he was more embarrassed than hurt. A couple people helped him up and thankfully he was ok. “Man, I’m sorry!” Paul said to Convert. “Are you sure you’re ok?”
“I’m good,” Convert replied. “I’m more concerned about you.”
“How did you catch that?”
“I don’t think it’s as heavy as you think it is,” Convert said as he turned around to move the speaker.
At that moment, however, Aaron walked back into the gym and called out, “Hey Convert! Can I see you for a second?” Aaron had no idea what just transpired.
“Sure,” Convert said as he started to walk toward him leaving some mesmerized leaders behind. As he left, three of them had to grab the speaker to move it.
“Hey, it’s getting late,” Aaron said. “I just can’t thank you enough for what you did tonight. I don’t want you to feel like you need to do anything else so please don’t think you have to help us clean up.”
“It’s no problem,” Convert replied. “I enjoyed hanging out with everyone. You have a good group of people here.”
“You’re right. God has blessed me with these people. Well, you can do what you want. I just didn’t want you to feel obligated.”
It took about another forty-five minutes to get everything put away. At 12:30, Aaron and Convert were the last to leave the building. By that time the rain had stopped. As they got to their vehicles Convert said, “I can’t wait to talk to Jack about this. I know both him and Marie have been praying for this for a long time.”
“I hear you,” Aaron replied. “I look forward to our next meeting. Thanks again, Convert! Have a good night!”
They both got into their vehicles. As Aaron started his car he felt a little pang of sadness. He thought about the sudden thought he had earlier? What if Jack was dead? “No way,” he said out loud. “Just my imagination.” He started his car up and drove away.
As Convert drove home, he couldn’t help but smile. Tonight was such a great night and he felt like waking Jack and Marie up when he got home just to talk about all of it. He decided, however, that all of it could wait for breakfast.
As he pulled into the driveway, he saw that the lights were off to the house except for the front porch. He got out of his truck, entered the side door of the house, and went downstairs. Convert thought all was well as he got ready for bed. He had no idea that, even though Marie was asleep safe and sound, Jack wasn’t home and never would be again.
First Time Out
The Tragedy Of Earnest Weller
1
“The amazing thing about our brains is that they are a perfect recorder. Everything we have ever seen or experienced is stored away without any flaw. The problem isn’t with the retention of memory; it’s with our ability to bring it back. That is what we are here for. We are here to help you remember!”
As Earnest Weller sat in his recliner, what he saw on TV wasn’t just a commercial; it was a spark of hope he hadn’t felt in a long time. Seven months had come and gone since his wife of 63 years had passed away. He wouldn’t have described how he was feeling as numb, rather he felt empty. In all truth, he was simply alone.
He was grateful for the years he had with her and he was relieved that his wife was in a better place where the suffering of her cancer could no longer touch her. In his career, Earnest and his wife had been very successful investors and entrepreneurs. Their value was worth millions of dollars and that was not counting what they had divided and disbursed to their three children who now ran their own various companies. None of this, however, meant anything in comparison to his wife and he would have given it all up to get her back. He had no doubt that he would see her again someday, but that assurance didn’t fill the hole in his heart that was currently occupied with sadness.
He knew God was there and he knew that God was supposed to be all he needed, but the problem was that this knowledge didn’t take away the sadness. It didn’t take away the pang he felt in his gut when he would look over at his wife’s empty rocking chair where she used to hum the old hymns while knitting. On her end table, she always had a glass of sweet tea and a novel laying face down open to the page she was reading. She never used a bookmark. She just simply put it on the table until the time came for her to pick it up again. Earnest loved her for all of these things. He loved the little details that made Cheryl Weller exactly who she was. He felt guilty for missing her so much, but his pastor gracefully reminded him that God gave Eve to Adam in the midst of paradise because “it is not good for man to be alone.” Therefore, if Adam needed
Eve in paradise, then it was ok to miss his wife amongst a time and place on the earth that was far from the Garden of Eden. In truth, deep down Earnest wished he had gone with her. He was done being alone.
Earnest grabbed a pencil as he waited for the phone number to appear on the TV screen. He watched as this new company, Flashback Inc., claimed the miraculous: perfect recollection. What if every memory he ever had with his wife could be remembered with perfect clarity? What if he could be young with her again? What if he could live out his remaining days here on earth by living out the greatest times of his life all over again?
The phone number flashed on the screen and Earnest made sure to write it down. Truth be told, he wouldn’t have needed to write it. He was never going to forget the number that just might give him his wife back. “It’s improving my memory already,” Earnest chuckled as he picked up the phone.
2
“Hello, Mr. Weller. Welcome to Flashback,” a sweet natured receptionist said to him as he approached her counter. “If you’ll have a seat, we will call you in when Dr. Rule is ready for you.”
“Thank you,” Earnest replied. He was surprised by how quick they were able to get him in. He had just made the appointment yesterday and they had a spot already open for him. He had figured it was because they were a new company and hadn’t yet built up a huge clientele. If what they promised in their commercial was real, however, they would grow very rapidly.
Earnest took a seat and grabbed the Readers Digest that was next to him. He always enjoyed flipping to the joke section, but today he didn’t need a joke to feel better. The thought of being able to re-live the memories of his wife again invigorated him.
He made it through half of the jokes when he heard the receptionist say, “Alright Mr. Weller. Dr. Rule will see you now. I hope you enjoy your appointment!”
The Scarlet Plan Page 8
