Commencement

by Lawrence Cherry

  ****

  The Luncheonette where they had coffee was as empty as it always was on Sundays. Allen and Davis ordered their coffee and the waitress came back with it not long after. There was another moment of silence between them as each of them pondered what to say next.

  “So when did you decide you wanted to be baptized?” asked Allen who couldn’t take the silence any longer.

  “In the last week or so. I realized that if I’m accepting God into my life, then I have to submit to Him making me a new person in Christ. There’s a lot of stuff I still have to let go of. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

  Then Davis paused for a moment.

  “I’m listening.”

  “Look, Al, I just want to apologize for how I acted at the Christmas Celebration. And for cuttin’ you off like that. I been praying to God, and he opened my eyes to see that, I got too much pride. I know now that you wasn’t tryin’ to clown me or nothin’. You were just tryin’ to have my back. Feel?”

  “I hear you. But you had every right to be angry, Davis. It wasn’t just your pride. You were right. I was being a disrespectful jerk. I should have listened to you when you told me that it wasn’t my business, but instead I tried to play God with your life. I’m just glad that you’ve forgiven me.”

  “Yeah, but still I know you didn’t mean anything by it. Sometimes I get too caught up in the whole ‘respect’ thing, you know. Probably ‘cause I don’t have enough of it for myself. I keep thinkin’ people are looking down on me, but really it’s me looking down on myself.”

  “But Davis, you’re a really great guy. Why would you think otherwise?”

  “ ‘Cause I see you and Miko, and Tim, and you guys are like all proper and all that. You know a lot of things about life that I never knew ‘cause I didn’t have nobody to teach me. Like you know how to relate to people without fightin’ all the time, and you know how to kick back without getting’ into trouble. And you all went to college and everything.

  It’s like you guys are from a whole other world and sometimes I’m not sure how I fit in.”

  “I don’t know Davis. Just because we’ve had a certain kind of upbringing, that doesn’t mean that we’re perfect. Trust me, we’ve had our fair share of arguments. We make mistakes and get in trouble, too. That’s just life.”

  “Yeah, but you guys have helped me so much. I feel like I have nothing to give back to you.”

  “No way, man! Davis, you are highly intelligent, caring, humble, selfless…just about everything I thought I was until I met you. I can’t tell you what a privilege it is to be able to call you my friend.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. And I realize now that you have something that is worth more than all of our education, and family background combined. You have something that I’ve been searching for, for months and still haven’t found. You have a real relationship with God. He speaks to you. He guides you. Like you said earlier, he opened the word to you so that you could understand what you needed to let go of.”

  “But Allen, you’re a Christian, just like me. All of us have a relationship with God.”

  “No. A lot of us go to church and pretend. We go through the motions, but we don’t have a real connection to God.”

  “You don’t go through the motions, right? You pray, and I know you believe, right?”

  “Yes, but not the way you do. It’s like you really love God and you trust him completely. Tamiko has that, and now Tim may even have it, but somehow, I’m not sure if it’s happening for me.”

  “We’re all going to have our doubts sometimes. There have been times in my life where I wasn’t sure God was going to step in but he did.”

  “Yeah, but at least you know how you feel about Him. Sometimes I can’t help but feel angry and frustrated with Him.”

  “We all feel that way sometimes, but we can’t let ourselves stay there. Jonah was angry with God, and there were times when Moses got really frustrated, but we have to remember that He is God and it’s His world. He knows what’s best. Maybe it’s your anger that’s hindering your relationship. The fact that things haven’t turned out the way you think they should have. Maybe you need to pray about that and ask Him to help you let it go.”

  “You know what, maybe you’re right about that. You see Davis; this is why you’re so important to me, and everyone else. So will you hang with us again? Come to dinner tonight?”

  “I don’t know. Are you sure the others are going to be as forgiving as you?”

  “There’s nothing to forgive, Davis. Come on, man. Even Tim misses you.”

  “Well, if you put it that way…Oh, and there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about Al.”

  “What?”

  “I heard you went to the hospital with one of the guys? Is everything ok? Tamiko isn’t sick, is she?”

  “No, Tamiko is fine. It was someone else.”

  “Then it must be Tim.”

  “I’m not sure I can confirm or deny.”

  “It’s okay Al, I get you. I won’t say nothin’. Now I think I understand why he went up today. Is it really serious?”

  “Yeah…yeah.” was all Allen could muster.

  “I figured. I’m gonna pray for him. God’s going to work this out. No doubt.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I know so.”