A Wife for Stephen (14 page)

When Celeste enters her house, Thomas is overjoyed to
see her and comes running to greet her. Celeste settles into
the familiarity of her surroundings and goes about feeding
Thomas and herself dinner before unpacking and getting
ready for work the following day.

Celeste suddenly remembers that she was supposed to
call Stephen when she returned home. She goes to her desk
telephone and dials his number. He answers just after the
second ring.

“Hello, Celeste.”
“I just wanted you to know that I’m home safely.”
“Good. I’m on my way to the airport now. We’re

heading to Washington where we have two stops. You
should have the itinerary tomorrow.”
“OK.”
“Good night, Babe. Sleep well. I’ll talk to you
tomorrow.”
As Celeste hangs up the phone, she is surprised by the
excitement and flutters in her stomach.
Before settling herself under her covers she takes time
out to talk with the Lord, enjoying her time spent with
Him.

The
sun
is
shining brightly
outside
her
bedroom
window, and the birds are chirping cheerfully as she gets
ready to take Thomas on his walk before heading in to
work.
Having been
gone
for
the
weekend,
Celeste
is
reticent to leave her furry buddy Thomas. Her heart is
saddened as he gives her puppy eyes as she leaves and
makes her way to the garage. “We’ll go for an extra-long
walk this evening,” Celeste promises Thomas.

It is a little after 11 am and Celeste is at her desk
focusing on the preliminary pictures which might make
good locations for the newest project she is working on
when Jayla enters with a smirk on her face. “What’s up?”
Celeste asks Jayla.

“You tell me,” she places her hand on her hips while
tapping her toes. If it weren’t for the smile playing at her
lips, Celeste might have cause to think that something was
wrong. “There’s a call for you on line one.”

“Who is it?”
“Someone named Stephen Haule. Ring any bells?”
Celeste blushes to the roots of her hair and begins to

reach for the phone receiver.
“Uh huh,” quips Jayla. “Lunch today is on me, and I
want details.” With that, she turns on her heals and exits
Celeste’s office leaving her to
take Stephen’s
call
in
private.
“Hi there. How are you?” Celeste says upon putting the
receiver to her ear.
“I am
great
. I just got some extremely exciting news.
I’ve been having a real estate agent that is remarkably
familiar with the record industry and the needs of artists,
looking for a studio for me to purchase. She just called me
to say that a new property has come on the market that she
thinks I might be interested in. Since I can’t get away right
now she is going to forward me all the info so I can see if it
looks like a genuine find before I make the effort to juggle
a visit into my schedule.”
“Well that’s great. I know how exited you were when
talking about your new label. Where’s the studio at?”
“It’s in southern California. She told me the name of the
city, but I can’t remember it off hand.”
“Wow. You’d be close to me.”

“Yeah,”
but I plan on being close to you whether I buy
that studio or not
but Stephen doesn’t give voice to the
remainder of his thoughts. “I hope you’re having a good
day at work.”

“I am. Although probably not as
exciting as yours.”
“My day is going well, except that I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” the words, truer than she wished they

“I’ll talk to you later.
Bye,” he says before disconnecting
the call.
Stephen had been looking for
a studio since
making the decision to start his own record label and out of
nowhere, he now finds one which his real estate agent
assures him will fit his needs perfectly.
Thank you, Lord.
Stephen can vividly recall the sermon that his Pastor had
given right before he went on tour. It was based on the set
of scripture Proverbs 3:5 and 6 that says, “Trust in the
Lord with
all
thine
heart
and lean
not
to
thine
own
understanding; in all of thine ways acknowledge Him and
He shall direct thy path.”

Stephen remembers having that set of scripture take on
a different meaning as the illustration was given that God
would not lead us around an obstacle course, but that He
would stretch our path before us, and all we would have to
do would be to walk straight. And that is exactly how
Stephen feels, that he is walking straight and achieving all
the goals that God has placed upon his heart to achieve.

The rest of Celeste’s day goes by productively although
she struggles with concentrating courtesy of Stephen. Her
head is in the clouds at Stephen sharing such important
news with her soon after hearing it.

Celeste doesn’t think that Stephen’s
choice on whether
he purchases that studio or not has anything to do with its
proximity to her, but she is delighted at the thought of
having him put down roots so near to her.

Jayla comes into Celeste’s office almost immediately
after the call has ended. “I’m hungry. Can we go to lunch
early?”

Celeste looks at her watch and finds it not too early at
all to break for lunch. She also knows that it’s probably not
food that Jayla is so hungry for, but information.

They take the brief
walk to Celeste’s favorite restaurant,
are seated immediately, and place their drink orders. On the
heels of the waitress leaving, Jayla begins the round of
questioning, “First off, was that
the
Stephen Haule, as in
Stephen Haule from
Class One
?”

“Yes.”
“Did you meet him at that concert you went to?”
“Yes.”
“Why am I just now hearing that you met him?”
“The truth is that I never thought anything would come

of
it.”
“And now?”
“Now...” Celeste pauses not sure if she has the courage

to admit the truth that she feels in her heart out loud. “I
find myself hoping something good will come of it.”
“Details.”
“To make a long story short, the night I met him, I was
asking him about his plans for the future and such when I
asked him did he want to get married. He said he had not
imagined me asking him, but since I had put the offer on
the table… he accepted.
“I of course, thought he was trying some kind of hook
line on me, but I played along for a while until I thought he
was taking it too far in talking about taking me home to
meet his mother and all. So, when I told him as much, he
assured me that he meant every word, and I could try him if
I didn’t think he was serious.
“I got all upset because naturally I didn’t believe him.
After I had gone home that night he got my number from
Jenny and called me.”
Over
their
meals,
Celeste
shares
the
story
of
her
decision to go to Vegas and how well the trip went. When
the waitress is removing their dishes, she is just about
wrapping up.
“So, are you going to be seeing him again?”
“I think so, considering he wants us to see each other
exclusively.”
“Wow. That sure is fast. Not that fast is bad. Just not
usual for you.”
“I know. I just feel right about it somehow. There’s no
other way to explain it.”
“Good for you, Celeste. I was beginning to lose hope
for a minute, beginning to think that you were destined for
spinster hood,” Jenny laughs and jokes.
On their
walk back to
the
changes
topics
and the
ladies
everything from music, to television and movies. After
arriving back at their respective desks, Celeste finds her
mind again drifting to what is developing between her and
Stephen.
Celeste is not thinking of long term, but instead is just
enjoying each day as it passes. She isn’t allowing her mind
to focus on the dream she had in which her and Stephen
got married. When she is with Stephen, she feels as if all is
right, that there might be a possibility for them to share
something special.
However,
away
from
him,
she
is
haunted by
the
experiences of her mother. Celeste has nothing but fond
memories of her home life before the discovery of her dad’s
affair. She can vividly remember the family picnics that they
would share,
the
many trips
to
amusement
parks and
movies, all the school events that her parents would attend
office,
the conversation
discuss
a
little
bit
of
and sit together in the audience, smiling at her and offering
her encouragement.
With the revelation of her father’s betrayal, all that had
stopped.
Dad
no
longer
attended
school
functions.
Celeste’s mother and father couldn’t even stand being in
the same room together.
With things in her home changing as dramatically and
swiftly as they did, Celeste walked uneasily, never knowing
when the ground would shift beneath her feet, or when the
rock she was standing on would be transformed in the blink
of an eye to a mudslide, and she would find herself falling
and unable to stop.
Her mind, filled with so many questions, began to wind
into a tight coil of confusion until Celeste began to feel an
oncoming headache.
Celeste closes her eyes and lays her head against the
head rest of her luxurious leather desk chair hoping to calm
herself and stop the headache before the throbbing broke
out into full blown pounding.

Over
the next few weeks, Celeste has grown quite
comfortable with her nightly calls from Stephen. She no
longer
pauses
before picking up her
ringing telephone
during the evening, knowing that it will be him on the other
end of the connection.

The ease with which they share the activities of their day
as well as what was going on in their respective careers
surprises her. Celeste finds herself growing comfortable at
offering her opinions when Stephen asks for advice on the
record label he is starting. She had felt at ease offering
strategic and sound business advice when they were in
Vegas,
but
that
had been
from
a
completely platonic
standpoint. Now, it is on more of a personal level.

The first time he had asked for her opinion under the
guise of their new found monogamous commitment to one
another, she had confessed that she was not extremely
knowledgeable about the record industry other that what it
would take to promote a new artist and keep them in the
spotlight. Celeste had suggested that he might want to seek
a professional’s advice.

Stephen’s comment had been, “I want
your
opinion.”
Their blossoming relationship was based on respect, caring,
trust, and their individual firm foundation in Christ.

Celeste enjoys discussing her workday with Stephen
knowing that his asking is not out of a sense of duty, but
because he wants to know if she is happy.

Never had she felt so comfortable with sharing herself
with a man. Not even her ex-fiancé. Although she and
Tyrone spent quite a considerable amount of time talking, it
was mostly spent with Tyrone doing the talking and Celeste
doing the listening. Tyrone had not cared what was going
on in Celeste’s career, as was evident when she would
share what happened during the workday and he would
brush her off by saying, “Let me tell you about my day.”

Tyrone and Celeste’s conversations had always held an
underlying tension that Celeste only now realizes had never
left. She had just grown so accustomed to it that she had
begun to ignore it. She had brushed aside her fears and
resignations for the familiarity of Tyrone.

The relationship that she is developing with Stephen has
been teaching her a lot about what a relationship should be
built on. She realizes that she had never shared the trust,
compassion, and love with Tyrone that she now shares
with...Stephen?

Love?
Am I really in love with Stephen?
Celeste asks herself.
She searches her mind for different verbs. Concern,

adoration,
respect,
caring,
compassion,
kind
ship,
friendship? Yes, all those fit. But yet there is still more.
Love

It is the umbrella that covers and encompasses every
one of these emotions. It fits so well, like no other word
can.

Celeste feels a smile come to her face. Loving Stephen
is okay. No, it is better than okay. It fits.
But does he feel the same? Celeste has neither the
gumption to ask such a forward question or the fortitude to
withstand a negative response. She would rather keep her
feelings a secret than to confess them. Celeste decides to
wait until the time is right. Namely, after he tells her first.
What do I do if that time never comes, she wonders to
herself.
Uh uh, Celeste scolds herself. You have come so far,
don’t you start backtracking down that road again. You’ve
come too far to mess up now with this kind of thinking.
Mentally pushing the negative thought from her mind,
she begins to think of more positive thoughts as the phone
starts to ring.
“Hello?” Celeste answers the line.
“Hey, Babe. How are you?” says the man who has been
on her mind quite a bit lately.
“I’m fine. How was your concert tonight?” Celeste asks
as she takes a seat on the couch in her den.
“It was good. I miss you,” Stephen whispers into his cell
phone.
“I miss you too.”
There is a change in Celeste’s voice that Stephen can’t
quite put his finger on but is determined to find the cause of
it before the end of their conversation. He has come to
understand from the dream that he had that rushing Celeste
would only put her further from him. So, he contends
himself to wait a bit before asking.
“I was hoping that you would like to meet me,” he
continues, “in Philadelphia. I’ll be going home for a week
in the beginning of October, and I would like to introduce
you to my parents.”
“I… I would love to.”
Stephen feels a smile tug at his lips and releases a breath
that he wasn’t aware he had been holding. “That would be
fantastic. I’ll have the arrangements made, and I’ll let you
know...”
“Wait… Do your parents even know you’re seeing me?”
“Of course. They’ve known for quite some time. They
can’t wait to meet you.”
Celeste is pleased to know that Stephen has talked
about
her
to
his
parents.
That
certainly has
to
mean
something
, she thinks in reference to the negative ideas
that were trying to take hold in her mind right before
Stephen’s call.
“Do you need to go or can you talk a little longer?”
Celeste asks wanting to prolong their conversation.
“I always have time for you. What’s up?”
“Nothing, exactly. I just want to talk to you for a
while.” Celeste is not ready to admit her newly discovered
feelings for Stephen, but she does want him to know that
she cares for him. “I really have missed you, Stephen.”
“Baby, what’s the matter? I hear sadness in your voice.
Did something happen at work today?”
“No. Everything is fine at work. I just...”
Stephen waits a full minute to allow Celeste to gather
her thoughts before continuing. When she says nothing, he
goes on to say, “You know that you can talk to me, don’t
you?”
Relationships are built on trust. Isn’t that what she was
just talking to herself about? “I sometimes feel...” Celeste
spit it out, she chides herself. “I just want to be sure where
I stand with you. I don’t want to get my feelings hurt.”
“Aw, Baby,” Stephen breathes into the phone. “I would
never doing anything to hurt you. What’s this all about?”
Although they have only known each other for a short
while, Celeste knows it is time to tell Stephen about her
past relationship with Tyrone. But she is just not ready, so
she defers by saying, “I don’t trust my own judgment.”
"We aren’t supposed to trust our own judgment. We’re
supposed to trust in the Lord. If you follow where He
leads, you won’t go astray.”
“You’re right.”
They spoke a half-hour longer. When Celeste hung up
the receiver she felt confident. Stephen is nothing like
Tyrone.
Tyrone
was
a
mere
shadow of the man that
Stephen is.