by Gregg Stutts
“Rose, would you come out here?” Willy called.
Rose opened the sliding glass door and stepped onto the deck, still wearing an apron covered in flour. She sat down next to Willy who immediately took her hand in his. Rose never asked why Willy had called her. She either knew why or it didn’t matter to her. Willy and Rose exchanged a glance. Max could tell they knew what it meant. He had no clue.
“Max, after I retired as a teacher, I would still spend some time at the junior high as a volunteer,” Willy said. “There was this one particular program that would come to the school once a year and talk to the kids about waiting until they were married before having sex. As you can imagine, it was a tough sell.”
Max nodded as if he understood where this was going, even though he had no idea.
“As part of the program, they would show kids pictures of sexually transmitted diseases. It would turn your stomach, Max. It really would, but we wanted those kids to know what risks they were taking. Ya see, no one else was telling them about the risks associated with their behavior.”
Max kept nodding while hoping he hadn’t already missed the point.
“After a medical professional explained all the pictures, we’d break into groups and ask the kids questions or answer theirs if they had any,” Willy said.
“Okay,” Max said.
“What I would always tell my group was that they’d had something taken away from that day,” Willy said. “Do you know what it was, Max? What was taken away from those kids after seeing those pictures?”
He thought for a moment and guessed, “Their innocence?”
Willy and Rose both smiled. Max thought they were trying not to laugh.
“Well, I guess you could say that was taken away from them, but I suspect most of them lost their innocence long before seeing those pictures,” Willy said. “No, what I told them had been taken away from them was their ability to ever say they didn’t know. Once we showed them those pictures and explained all about those diseases, they couldn’t ever say they hadn’t been told.”
“I see,” said Max, “but what does this have to do with me?”
“Max, we’re going to share something with you that, well, it’s very powerful,” Willy said. “I believe you heard Rose ask me about it the other night.”
“You mean the secrets?” Max said.
“Yes, Max, the secrets,” Willy said.
“I wasn’t sure if that was just a little joke between the two of you,” Max said.
“It’s no joke,” Rose said.
“Max, there’s a principle at play in the universe that states ‘you reap what you sow,’” Willy said. “It’s all around us. Sow corn and that’s what you’ll reap. Sow anger and you’ll reap anger. Sow kindness and you’ll reap kindness.”
Max sensed another pop quiz coming from Willy.
“Let me see if I can tie all this together,” Willy said. “Rose and I are going to share some principles with you that we’ve learned over fifty years of marriage. They’re powerful principles. When you sow them faithfully, you reap from them in abundance.”
“I understand,” Max said, not totally sure that he actually did.
“Of course, they’re not really secrets, but might as well be,” Willy said. “Most folks don’t seem to know them, so it’s like they’re secrets hiding in plain sight.”
Max nodded.
“But just like with those kids, Max—we’re going to take away your ability to say you didn’t know,” Willy said. “You will be accountable for your new found knowledge.”
Max could see Willy and Rose were serious about this stuff.
“Now Max, before we get to the details, I need you to understand something,” Willy said. “Sometimes a marriage can be so far gone that only a miracle can bring it back to life. What I mean by that is sometimes one spouse may have neglected the other for so long that these secrets don’t seem to work. And what we’ve seen is that God doesn’t just step in and overrule someone’s free will.”
“I’m not sure I’m following you,” Max said.
Willy looked at Rose and then back at Max. He seemed reluctant to tell Max what he was thinking. “Alright Max, here’s the thing—we can share with you what we know, but it doesn’t mean your wife will necessarily respond. We hope she will. We can pray she will. But there’s no guarantee she will. Just like she may have hoped you would behave differently over these past few years.” Willy paused. “I’m sorry if that sounds harsh. I don’t mean it to.”
“Don’t worry, I see what you’re saying,” Max said. “I can do all the right things now, just like Michelle has been. From her perspective, nothing she did worked to make our marriage better. So even though I might do the right things now, it doesn’t mean she has to respond the way I want her to.”
“That’s right, Max,” Rose said. “We hope she will. We’re praying she will, but God won’t force her to.”
“I understand,” Max said.
“Alright, then,” Willy said, “when we refer to the marriage secrets, what we’re saying is that a husband and wife have each been given certain things they can do that will have a supernatural effect on their spouse.”
“Can I add something here?” Rose said.
“Of course,” Willy said.
“Well, something you just said reminded me that there’s an exponential effect that occurs when the husband and the wife do this together,” Rose said.
“That’s right,” Willy said, “Keep going, Rose.”
“Max, if just one spouse uses these secrets it has a more limited effect than if both spouses are using them,” Rose said. “Does that make sense?”
“I think so,” Max said.
Rose thought for a moment and said, “It’s the difference between addition and multiplication. If only one spouse is doing it, it’s like adding 1 + 1 + 1 +1. But if both spouses use their powers, it’s like multiplying 2 x 2 x 2 x 2. When both of you do it—it unleashes a lot of power.”
“Okay, I think I see,” Max said. “Michelle was only able to add. If I’d been doing my part, we would have been multiplying.”
“That’s it,” Willy said. “And our hope is that you and Michelle will still get the chance to see the multiplication effect in your marriage.”
Rose poured more coffee for each of them.
“There are three secrets for each of you, Max,” Willy said. “We don’t have time to cover them all, so we’ll just talk about one of the six this morning. It’s the most powerful of the husband’s three.”
Max realized he should probably be taking notes, so he quickly excused himself and got his briefcase from his truck. He was about to open the door and step back onto the deck when he saw Willy leaning over to kiss Rose. She caressed his face and their eyes remained open as their lips met. He didn’t want to interrupt or stare, so he stepped away from the door for a moment. He wondered if he and Michelle would ever enjoy a moment like that.
A minute later, Max tried again and saw Willy and Rose holding hands and talking. Max stepped outside and sat back down. “Okay, so you were going to tell me about the strongest one for the husband.”
“That’s right,” Willy said. “Now before I get to it, you need to know that each of the six secrets are meant to bond the hearts of a husband and wife to each other. That’s what will happen when you use them.”
“Of course they can also be used between two people who aren’t married,” Rose added.
“And that can be very damaging,” Willy said. “That’s where affairs start.”
“Okay,” Max said.
“Now Max, this first secret will sound overly simplistic,” Willy said. “Your tendency will be to dismiss it, to think you already understand how to use it. Like I said, these secrets are hiding in plain sight.”
“Don’t over simplify,” Max said quietly as he wrote those words on his legal pad and underlined them.
“Alright, here it is,” Willy said. “Sacrificially love.”
Max didn’t say it, but
he agreed with Willy’s earlier assessment. Sacrificially love? Max wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it was something more than that. He knew Willy wasn’t going to say something like “x-ray vision” or “mind reading” but he was expecting something more than just love.
“I told you,” Willy said. “Too simple, right?”
“Well, I have to confess it does sound a little elementary,” Max said.
“Marriage 101,” Willy said.
“I guess there’s more to it, huh?” Max said.
“Oh, you have no idea,” Rose said as she patted Willy’s arm.
“Max, how does your wife like to be loved?” Willy asked.
It had been many years since a teacher had called on him in class, but all at once the feelings rushed back. Max felt like he’d just been asked what three plus two was, only he didn’t know. He knew he should know. Max looked over at Rose for a little help, but she was only grinning.
“Max, I’m not trying to put you on the spot,” Willy said. “Well, okay, maybe I am, but I need you to see there’s a lot more to it. It’s one thing to say we love someone, but it’s a whole ’nother thing to know how to do it.”
Max was writing down as much as he could.
“Max, it will be very helpful for you to think of love as a verb, not a noun,” Rose said. “We’re not talking about a feeling. We’re talking about actions, about things you do.”
“Love…is…a…verb,” Max said as he wrote it down and underlined each word.
“Again, I know this all sounds very simple, things even a child would know,” Willy said. “But I assure you it’s powerful stuff.” Willy was quiet while Max continued writing. “I think that’s enough for today, Max. But I do have a homework assignment for you.”
Max was ready to write it down. “Okay, go ahead,” he said.
“Come up with a list of ten actions that communicate to Michelle that you love her,” Willy said. “But keep something very important in mind—we’re not looking for actions that you think make her feel loved. We’re looking for actions that actually do make her feel loved.”
“Alright, I think I can do that,” Max said.
“You’ll need to put your detective hat on,” Willy said. “Think about your relationship. Look for clues.”
“Max, it’s also not cheating if you ask Michelle for help,” Rose said with a smile.
Max thanked Willy and Rose for breakfast and for spending part of their morning with him. As he drove home, it was dawning on him just how difficult his homework assignment would be. If the answers were obvious to him, Michelle probably wouldn’t be a thousand miles away. He knew he had a lot of work to do, but he also thought about Rose’s suggestion. That seemed like a good place to start.
As soon as he got home, he sat down at the table, pulled out his legal pad and numbered one through ten on his marriage game plan page. And then he called Michelle.
CHAPTER 35
It was a beautiful Saturday morning at the beach. Michelle had been walking along the water’s edge for almost two hours. She passed a few runners and several fishermen, but mostly the beach was deserted. Other than the waves rolling onto the beach and the seagulls scavenging for food, it was quiet and peaceful. She wondered what the latest forecast was on the storms headed west across the Atlantic.
Even though it was a peaceful morning, her mind felt anything but that way. She felt happy, but confused. Excited, but fearful. She also felt a nagging sense of guilt she had to keep pushing away. Anything that happened with Chris wouldn’t have happened if Max hadn’t ignored her for so long. Still though, she knew she was on shaky ground trying to rationalize it.
It was 11:50 and she was getting hungry. Most boardwalk businesses were already closed for the winter, but the Sawmill was still open. She was meeting Chris there at noon.
Michelle was about a quarter mile away when her phone starting buzzing. Just the thought of a phone call from Chris was exciting. She pulled it from her pocket and was about to accept the call when she saw it wasn’t Chris. It was Max. She let it continue to buzz until it finally stopped and went to voice mail. He was probably calling again to see if she was ready to come home. That was a conversation she just wasn’t ready to have. Maybe not ever.
A minute later, she saw Chris pull into the parking lot just ahead. It had been a great morning and was shaping up to be a great afternoon, if she could just put that phone call from Max out of her mind and enjoy her time with Chris.
She felt her phone buzz again. Just once, indicating a text. She looked at her phone and saw it was from Max. She wanted to ignore it. There wasn’t anything he could say she really cared to hear. What she cared about was lunch with Chris. He was here. He cared about her. Max had his chance.
She was about to slip her phone back into her pocket, but decided she’d just get it over with and see what Max wanted. She swiped the screen to bring up the message…
What makes you feel most loved?
“Hey, Shelle,” Chris said as he gave her a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too,” she said.
Chris took her hand in his as they walked up the boardwalk together. In her other hand, she still held her phone, which buzzed again. She swiped the screen with her thumb and glanced down, trying not to let Chris see…
I’m trying.
And then she noticed the text she’d ignored from the day before. It was a picture of a wrecked car.
CHAPTER 36
Max spent the rest of the weekend as he had the past two—working on his game plans. He also worked on the assignment Willy had given him. It was proving to be much harder than he’d thought. It would have been easy to just throw a few things on a piece of paper, but he wanted it to be a meaningful list. Plus, he suspected Willy and Rose weren’t going to let him get away with going through the motions. And that’s not what he wanted to do. He wanted to do this right.
He was disappointed Michelle hadn’t called or texted him back. He was trying to make things better and wanted her to at least acknowledge his effort. The more he thought about it though, the more he realized he had no right to expect her to respond. He wondered how many times she had tried with him and had expected at least an acknowledgement. Way too many to count, he was sure.
By Monday morning, Max felt some hope returning. Circumstances hadn’t changed, but he felt like he was on the right course. The win against Springdale had been huge. A win against Rogers would get them to 2-2. He was going to have to address the situation with Dave Turner though. They might not win another game with the way he was coaching.
Max thought about his last encounter with Jack Murphy. He’d been warned. Or was it threatened? Something Max had done had gotten Jack worked up. It was either his call to Ms. Jones or to the police. Or both. And one or both of them had obviously let Jack know Max had called. But why?
Part of him knew he should just let it drop. There was no sense in getting on the wrong side of Jack Murphy. But Max knew something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Whatever was happening in Lakeside involved Jack and had possibly led to Dante’s death. Max had no proof linking Jack to Dante, but he had the picture of the accident scene. And Michelle had it too. If she hadn’t deleted it.
On his way into school, Max passed the scene of Dante’s accident as he did every morning. He decided then that he couldn’t let it go. He couldn’t just ignore the fact that a young man had died, a young man he had coached and cared about. The police had closed their investigation and Jack had warned him, even threatened him to stay away. But he realized he was the only person, other than the police, who knew something wasn’t right. And clearly they weren’t going to do anything about it.
As Max pulled into the school parking lot, his phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket. It was Dante’s mother. She was the last person he expected to call. Michelle was a close second though.
It wasn’t a long conversation, but she said she was willing to meet with him. He had a coach’s
meeting scheduled after practice, so he offered to meet at her house when he was done. She quickly suggested they meet at Kennedy Coffee shop just off the interstate in Bentonville. It was a forty-five minute drive from Lakeside. They agreed to meet there at 9:00 p.m.
He tried to imagine what would cause her to be so afraid of meeting at her own house.
CHAPTER 37
As important as preparing for the Rogers game was, Max had trouble concentrating both during practice and the meeting with his coaching staff. Dave Turner appeared to be just as distracted, even nervous. Max wrapped up the meeting at 8:00, which gave him more than enough time to get to the meeting with Ms. Jones.
On the drive to Bentonville, he had a million jumbled thoughts running through his mind. What was Michelle thinking? What were ten actions that made her feel loved? What could they do to move the ball against Rogers? How did Jack Murphy know he’d called Ms. Jones, the police or both? He didn’t have a complete answer to any of those questions. And his partial answers made him even more confused.
