A Husband for All Seasons (13 page)

“I suppose this is a good time to apologize for my childish behavior in the hospital when you saved my life. While I was home over Christmas I apologized to Mom and Dad and tried to make them understand how much I appreciate what they did for me. So I'm telling you now—I love both of you. I'm fortunate to have two sets of parents I can be proud of.”

Lorene started crying and Chad leaped out of his chair to kneel beside her. “I didn't mean to make you cry.”

“I often cry when I'm happy, and you've made me happier than any other time in my life except the day Perry and I were married. We sort of lost our way, but God, in His goodness, brought us together and has reunited us with you.”

Perry cuddled Lorene into his arms. “More than anything else, I'm thankful that you actually want us to live close to you. We don't deserve that, but since we missed the first quarter of your life, we would like to be close enough to share the rest of it.”

“I don't expect you to make a decision right now, because I don't know for sure that living in Columbus is God's plan for me. And Grace might surprise me and not let me have her home. But even if I can't buy this house, there are other places that I like.”

 

Grace declined to go out for dinner with them, but he called and asked Vicky to go with them the next night. Over the phone Chad filled Vicky in on his reconciliation with Perry and Lorene and even mentioned that all of them might settle in Columbus. He couldn't tell if Vicky was pleased or not. Before they went to Alabama, her opinion about his settling in Columbus wouldn't have made that much difference to him, but their relationship had changed during those five days.

For dinner with Chad's biological parents Vicky dressed in the same long skirt and blouse she'd worn when Chad had taken her to the classy restaurant a few weeks ago. But she felt like a dowdy chicken compared to Lorene's elegance. Although Vicky had never bought
designer clothes, she'd seen enough fashion shows to recognize them.

She was convinced that Lorene's white cashmere suit and blouse had been made by a New York designer. And the three strands of pearls and matching earrings hadn't come from a department store. Vicky wore the earrings Chad had given her, which flattered her ego a little.

While Vicky liked Chad's biological parents, it gave her some small comfort to realize that even the mistake they had made in conceiving Chad had turned out for good. But she felt intimidated in the Saunders's presence, much more than she had when she visited in the Reece household. Chad's adoptive parents were regular, everyday people, more like Vicky's family.

But she considered both Perry and Lorene super-intelligent people, and of course Chad had inherited that same intelligence from both of them. Her lack of a college education embarrassed her and she found it impossible to join in the conversation around the table. She spent her time entertaining Amy.

Chad noticed her silence, and it troubled him. Didn't she like Perry and Lorene? He had been pleased during their visit to Alabama that Vicky and his mom and dad got along so well. But he wanted her to like his biological parents, too.

Lorene and Perry tried to draw her into their conversation, and Vicky was polite, but she was tense and nervous most of the time. Chad was dissatisfied with the evening as a whole. And he was hurt when she was always busy with Amy and didn't find time to say much to Perry and Lorene. His pleasure that they might settle
in the Columbus area was dimmed by the fact that Vicky hadn't seemed to like them.

Perry and Lorene stayed only two days after the surgeon checked Perry and released him for biyearly visits with a specialist in California. The day before they left, Chad took them to see the residential sections of Columbus and its suburbs. But since their idea of relocating was in early stages, they had no idea where they would settle if they did move.

C
radling her phone in her hands, Vicky remembered the biblical patriarch's reconciliation with his brother Esau. Aloud she said, “Well, Jacob, I'm not sure how you had the courage to eat humble pie, but I'm going to find out if I can get up enough nerve to dial this phone.”

The sudden ringing of the phone startled Vicky and the phone almost slid out of her hand. “Ironic!” she said, when she noted the caller.
How's that for timing, God!

She let the phone ring five times before she pushed the talk button.

“Good morning, Mom!”

“Good morning to you, too,” Rachel said. “Dad asked for biscuits and sausage gravy this morning. Why don't you come and join us?”

For a moment Vicky was tongue-tied.

“I'd love to do that. I intended to come to see you this morning, but to get a good breakfast was more than I expected. I just finished dressing—I'll leave right away.”

Rachel was taking a pan of from-scratch biscuits out
of the oven when Vicky entered from the back porch. She sniffed appreciatively the aroma of fresh-baked bread. With a big apron wrapped around his waist, Steve lifted a steaming skillet from the stovetop and carried it to the table.

“Hi, Dad.” Vicky kissed his cheek as he held a chair for her to sit down. This gesture that had once been commonplace earned Vicky an appraising glance from her mother.

“What do you want to drink?” Rachel asked.

“Green tea, if you have it. I read that green tea is good for my health—I'm trying it.”

Rachel pulled out a chair and sat down. “Steve has an early appointment, so I'll get the tea as soon as we have grace.” They joined hands while Steve prayed for God's blessings on the food.

If her father had to leave soon, Vicky realized that she couldn't delay her apology. She would not let this opportunity pass—her whole future could depend on it.

She halved two biscuits and spread them with several spoons of brown gravy filled with bits of sausage. She pulled the individual bowl of citrus fruit closer to her plate. She lifted a forkful of food to her lips and laid it back on her plate.

“This looks like a meal fit for a king but I can't eat until I say what I came here to say.” Her eyes were downcast but she sensed her parents' surprise. Why did she find this so difficult to do?

After a long pause, during which she fought to still her trembling lips, Vicky said, “I apologize for the pain I've caused you during the past three years. I've been wrong, and I'm asking your forgiveness.”

“But, Vicky,” Steve said, and Vicky shook her head.

“Let me finish.” Closing her eyes, she said, “I've been acting like a spoiled brat. I've made several wrong choices and I've had a long, pity party. It's over now. I want to start over with you and God.”

Vicky opened her eyes to find her parents kneeling by her chair. They took her hands, and Steve lifted the one he held to his lips.

“Welcome home, daughter, and I know that God has welcomed you, too. We're not exactly guiltless in this situation. Maybe if we'd been better parents, you might have come to us sooner. We thought we knew what was best for you, forgetting that what we wanted might not be what you or God wanted.”

Tears blinded Vicky's eyes and choked her voice.

Rachel took some tissues from the box on the cabinet and handed them to Vicky. “We won't interfere with your choices again. But don't shut us out of your life.”

“I won't. I don't know what I want right now, except I'm convinced that God hasn't released me from the vow I made to serve Him. I took up His cross at the Belleville church. Since I've laid it aside, I want to go back to take it again. Will you go to services with me there next Sunday?”

“Of course, we will,” Steve said. “I often think about our close fellowship with those people. There's a lot to be said for a small congregation.”

 

Although there was a hint of tension between Chad and Vicky after Lorene and Perry left, they had kept in
touch. After her reconciliation with her parents, Vicky called Chad.

She explained about her visit to her parents. “I'm planning to go to the church where I made my vow to Christian service. Mom and Dad are going with me. I'd like for you to be there, too.”

“I wouldn't miss it,” he said.

That Sunday, flanked by her parents and Chad, Vicky felt well armored when she entered the small sanctuary of Belleville Christian Church the following Sunday morning. The service hadn't started as yet, and many members of the congregation who remembered Vicky and her family greeted them warmly.

Mr. Lanham took Chad in hand and introduced him to everyone. Chad appreciated the fact that he didn't make any mention of Chad's career, but several people picked up on the name and mentioned his football games.

When they were seated, with Vicky between him and her mother, Chad surveyed the small room. The sanctuary probably wouldn't hold more than fifty people, and no more than thirty were in attendance. He tried to envision Vicky growing up in a small community like this. These people must have influenced the compassion for suffering people that had prompted her to dedicate herself to full-time Christian service. It had taken a lot of courage for her to go alone to work with the Red Cross during the flood in West Virginia.

The very fact that she was filled with love for others had made her vulnerable in the two unfortunate relationships she had had. He wondered, as he often had since Vicky had told him, if she was still in love with that Damon guy. He
squirmed uncomfortably at the thought, and Vicky looked at him quickly, seeming to sense that he was troubled about something. He smiled brightly at her.

Her deep compassion had also prompted her to give herself toward his personal emotional healing. He wouldn't have come this far without her help.

Throughout the opening exercises and the sermon, Vicky's slender hands unconsciously twisted together and several times her shoulder brushed against Chad's. She felt that she had disappointed her friends because she hadn't kept the vow she had made. Her body was tense and Chad prayed for God to give her the courage and the words that He would have her speak.

The minister closed his sermon with a prayer and stepped from the pulpit to announce the closing song. He gave an invitation to all who had a need to come forward for prayer.

The congregation sang the first verse. Vicky didn't move and Chad wondered if she had changed her mind.

During the singing of the second verse, however, she nodded to Chad and he stepped out into the aisle to let her walk by him. Her mother followed. Chad wondered if he should go with her, but he hesitated. This was Vicky's hour—he shouldn't intrude.

She talked briefly with the pastor and knelt at the altar with her mother and the pastor beside her. The congregation finished the remaining verses of the song and stood, with bowed heads, as the pianist continued to play softly.

At last, Vicky stood, and faced the assembly with a determination on her face that Chad had never seen
before. There was a slight tremor in her voice, but as he watched her, Chad experienced a feeling for Vicky that was far from platonic. Vicky had made it plain from the first that she wasn't interested in romance. If he did love her, as he was beginning to suspect, and she didn't return his love, how could they continue their friendship?

“Many of you were here several years ago when I came forward in a service such as this and took up my cross submitting my life to full-time service to God. I'm ashamed to admit that while I kept that vision burning for a few years, in the stress of adulthood, I lost my enthusiasm. For the past few years I've been out of fellowship with God because I knew, in my heart, that I wasn't fulfilling the vow I'd made.”

“Bless her, Lord,” the pastor encouraged.

“A few weeks ago I promised that I would take up my cross again and I came today for that purpose. I thought it was appropriate for me to renew my vow at the place where I'd first taken it. I've never known why God called me into His service for I don't have a lot to offer except a willing heart. But the words of the closing hymn today spoke to my heart, ‘Though your talents may be few, give to God whatever you have, for what you give to Jesus He can multiply for you.'”

Accustomed to a more formal worship service than this one, Chad was touched that the entire congregation rushed forward to either hug Vicky or shake her hand. Chad eagerly waited his turn. Gathering her into his arms, he held her snugly. And since some others had greeted her with a kiss, Chad brushed his lips against her cheek. She stared up at him with a glint of wonder
in her eyes as he moved on to make room for Steve to greet his daughter.

Joy surged through his heart as he realized what had happened to him. Despite his eagerness to tell Vicky how he felt, he knew he would have to bide his time. It would be a long time, if ever, before Vicky would be open to another relationship. When he contemplated the love that Vicky had showered on the other two men, he experienced a burning, angry sensation that he diagnosed as nothing except old-fashioned jealousy. Who would have thought that Chad Reece would stoop to that—to be jealous of two men he hadn't even met?

Vicky's face was radiant when they walked out of the church with her parents.

“Let's celebrate,” Chad said. “I'd like to take you out to dinner.”

“I have a better plan,” Mrs. Lanham said. “I want you to come to the house for lunch.”

Chad checked with Vicky and when she nodded that it was all right, he agreed.

The Lanhams lived in a two-story frame house in East Columbus which they had bought when Vicky was a teenager. Built in 1920, the house had been neglected and needed a lot of repair, but over a period of several years, Steve had transformed it into comfortable living quarters. The kitchen had been his first project and his efforts had resulted in a well-lit room with all the modern conveniences that Rachel wanted.

Chad and Steve watched a football game on television in the living room until Rachel mashed potatoes and took roast beef and vegetables from the oven. After
dinner was over all four of them finished watching the NFL game and Chad had only a few uneasy moments when he realized anew that this part of his life had ended.

 

Chad had told Howie not to bother him during Perry and Lorene's visit, but the morning after they returned to California, the agent called.

“Is it a good time to talk, Chad?”

“Yes, and I have good news for you. I'm going to authorize the biography.”

Howie's loud cheer nearly deafened Chad.

“I have a few stipulations, however.”

Howie groaned. “Don't spoil it now.”

“I'm not going to spoil anything. I simply want final approval on what they put in print. Add some kind of a clause in the contract that if they publish anything without my approval, they will be penalized. They can publish the truth, but I don't want a lot of nonsense included just to sell books. I'll leave the financial negotiations strictly up to you, but they have to meet with my approval, too.”

“You're a hard taskmaster, buddy.”

“I've let you get by with too much in the past, so it was time to pull on the reins.”

The deal was signed with a generous advance, and Chad instructed his accountants to put this money in a special account separate from his other investments. All during the months of April and May, Chad worked with his agent, accountant and the editors, both in and out of Pittsburgh. He cleared out his apartment, planning to settle in Columbus permanently. On one of his trips to
Pittsburgh, he had dinner with his former teammates without a twinge of regret that he wouldn't be playing with them again. This was the biggest test he'd had since the accident, and he called Vicky to tell her he had passed the test with flying colors.

The publisher sent editors to Alabama to interview the Reeces, to take pictures of the local sites that had been a part of Chad's life—his schools and the church he attended. His mother called to say that she had loaned the editor the scrapbooks that she had kept through the years.

During this same time Chad met another editor at his Pittsburgh apartment where video clips of all of his NFL games were stored. While he was there he gave up his apartment. His housekeeper packed all of his clothes and other possessions and he put them in storage to be eventually shipped to wherever he made his home.

One by one he was cutting ties with the past, and he actually looked forward to the publication of the book. He returned to Columbus still uncertain about what plans God had for his future.

 

The interview in Chicago was televised nationwide in mid-June and Vicky watched it with her parents, whom she visited more often now. Chad's personality and the strength of his character came through, and the viewers flooded the station with requests for more information about Chad. The publishers were overjoyed that his continued popularity assured the success of his biography when it hit the stands. The publisher had projected the first of August as the publication date and was already setting up book signings for Chad around the country.

“Strike while the iron is hot,” Howie had advised. “Popularity doesn't last forever.”

Because he was so busy with the editors, days would go by when Vicky and Chad didn't talk. When he had time, she was at work. When she was home in the evening, he was involved with reporters. Vicky accepted this—just as she had expected it would be, but she felt humiliated when she sensed that her parents were feeling sorry for her again.

By now Vicky knew that what she felt for Chad exceeded any emotion she had experienced in her previous relationships. She had healed from those unfortunate affairs, but she realized that there would be no ease for her heartbreak when Chad went out of her life.

She wouldn't have had it any other way. She still believed that God had brought them together for a reason. She took pride in knowing that if she hadn't been there for Chad, he might not have reached the height of popularity he was experiencing now.