Chloe (24 page)

It is Sunday morning. James sits at church in his usual
spot, listening to his mother and Phil give the week’s sermon. He hears from
Chloe sporadically and it is all he can do to cling to his sanity in her
absence. He has always known that he needs her more than she needs him, but now
that truth is oppressive.

They have scarcely spent a day apart during their decades of
friendship, except for when they were fighting. Even in that instance, it was
torture. His faith is the glue that holds him together. All good things come to
those who wait. All things work for the good of those who love God.

•

Discussions and settlements about royalties and contracts carry
on for the next two weeks while Chloe is making adjustments to the script and
her prized characters. These rather long-winded meetings are flanked by a
proposed agenda and casting schedule. She spends a lot of time at the office,
but there is nowhere else she would rather be than here. When Chloe sees the
casting list, she is astonished to see several big names being considered for
starring roles in the picture.

•

James stands at his desk, stooped over a newer blue print.
He has both hand drawn sketches and computer printouts spread over the surface
of his work space. There are scattered wads of paper tosses haphazardly over
the floor too—projects that did not make the cut. He casts a fleeting glance
towards the tiffany box on his bureau.

James still has the engagement ring. Heck, to his knowledge
Chloe has no idea that he plans to propose. She also has no idea that she
already turned him down once. He still has the mind to ask Chloe to marry him.
Now he needs the means. She is not going to be the only breadwinner in their
relationship.

That would drive him bananas.

He is piecing together a portfolio to showcase his work to
contractors and hiring firms. Chloe worked so hard to make her dreams come
true. It is his turn now. Perhaps it is best that she is out of town at the
moment. He can focus on his craft instead of on her. Though her image
constantly preoccupies him, he finds ways to ignore it, or at least make her
absence bearable. He wishes she was here for moral support, the way he has been
there for her.

He cannot stop thinking about the kiss they shared
though—the kiss on the park bench the day Chloe received the infamous letter of
interest. It was without a doubt the most thrilling moment of his life. And
confound it all, he wants to kiss her again. He makes a mental note to do that
the very minute she comes home, preferably when she steps off the plane. He’ll
just waltz right up and plant one on her, in front of everyone. It’s a
statement that needs to be made. And if she gets mad, tough.

James sits down to sort through the samples he chose and
insert them into the appropriate tabs in the binder.

•

It is a dizzying whirlwind.

If she is not writing, she is in a meeting or on the phone
or attending another casting session where she tries not to unceremoniously
gawk at the celebrities. The visions, visits from Patrick, and other odd
episodes become a thing of the past. She rarely, if ever, thinks on them. The
break is a breath of fresh air. It is a distant, unseemly memory that she would
rather put as far behind her as she possibly can.

Chloe is thrilled with the fact that the directors want her
to work and collaborate as closely with them as possible in order to capture
the original feel of the script. That being said, she is expected to be present
during filming which means she will spend the next few months on location. She
is excited to meet the cast and even more excited to see her product come to
life on the silver screen.

•

Today, James has an interview with a contracting company. If
all goes well, he could land an internship to shadow some of the accomplished
architects before he takes on a few projects of his own. Maybe one day he will
be able to start his own agency and manage his own pool of contractors.

Above all else, he wants to make Chloe proud. He wants to
make his mother proud too, but Chloe takes precedence, just as she always has.

"So, Mr. James Jones," Hank Miller says from the
other side of his mahogany desk. "Novelty name."

James knows he is being facetious and probably trying to
bait him into a retort, so he remains silent. They are both dressed in business
suits with pressed slacks. Hank is a large, meaty man with big bushy eyebrows
and a shining bald head. James swallows the urge to chuckle at the way his
mustache obscures his lips, bent into a permanent blond frown, and again when
he sniffs and wiggles his nose to stifle a sneeze.

Miller looks over his application diligently. "Any
relevant schooling?" he grumbles gruffly.

Relevant schooling.
James would love to thrill him with
tales of his Lego days in kindergarten. "Bachelor’s in Architecture,
sir." The man’s brows jump halfway up his forehead, exposing two sky blue
eyes. James swears he is about to say something, but his only response is a low
hmmm
and then he resumes scouring through his credentials.

"And what inspired you to apply here at Vector
Industries?" Miller inquires lowly.

"Well sir, yours is a very prominent corporation. I
know a lot of folks who appreciate the care and craftsmanship that goes into
your designs. I want to be a part of that tradition and help bring new,
innovative ideas to the table." James smiles. Miller blinks his beady
blues. The answer sounds rehearsed, but that is only because it is. He
practiced for hours, preparing for a slew of questions. He wants this job.

Badly.

The man responds with a dutiful nod and another rough
hmmm
from his throat. Laconic. Intimidating. Efficient. James can tell he is a good
boss who takes no bull.

Miller moves onto his portfolio, his broad hands combing through
the pages with gentility that belies their size. His frown deepens. He begins
to glance between James and the carefully selected samples. He closes the
binder brusquely.

“One more thing,” Miller says. James fears he is in for a
huge letdown until the man says, “… Why aren’t you employed yet?”

•

A few weeks later, Chloe is in a helicopter, being flown to
a remote location in the southwest. When production begins, she can hardly
contain her enthusiasm. Every one of her ideas is given due consideration and
respect. Chloe has never felt so appreciated, so highly revered, except for
maybe during her time with James.

Every day, Chloe sits with the director behind the camera as
he gives instructions to his actors and crew. He pauses between takes and
transitions for scenes to garner her thoughts. At first, Chloe is reluctant to
give her opinion. But as the days pass, she becomes much more comfortable with
the cast and crew members.

The story of Jesus’ birth to the day of his death and
resurrection is thirty three years in the making. Chloe figures it is best to
start at the beginning.

As decreed by Caesar, whom ruled over most of the ancient
world in that time, all people were to return to the city of their birth to
register for the census. The census was a list of people and property claimed
by each person. It legitimized one’s identity.

In those days, the census was the only way to claim
citizenship and maintain rights and social respect. If one did not register, he
could be thrust into slavery or denied access to privileges reserved for
citizens. It was important to go, which was why Mary and Joseph had to make the
journey to Bethlehem, regardless of the fact that Mary was with child.

The circumstances surrounding the baby in Mary’s belly were
more than scandalous. Mary and Joseph were betrothed, but not yet married. In
those days, a woman could be stoned to death for conceiving a baby out of
wedlock. No one believed that Mary, a young teenage girl, was a virgin when she
started showing symptoms. She was shunned and berated.

Joseph, feeling betrayed and confused himself, agreed to
marry her anyway. He still loved her in spite of the ugly circumstances. He,
and everyone else, thought she was unfaithful to him. Only Mary knew the truth,
in spite of sharing her miraculous testimony with her family who assumed she
was lying to conceal her own mistakes.

Before she was pregnant, an angel, a being haloed in white
light and holy fire, visited her one night. He claimed that she was going to
deliver a child. This puzzled Mary, as she had not yet known a man that way.
The angel explained that the child would be divinely conceived and placed
within her by God. He would be a king and the savior of all nations and she was
to call him Jesus.

He would be fully God and fully man—the Messiah destined to
deliver the world from the filth of people’s wrongdoing, or sin.

Joseph would not believe her until an angel came to him and
delivered the same tidings. Only then did Joseph realize the significance of
this event and his pre-ordained responsibility to keep Mary safe and raise the
baby with her, as a family. Both Mary and Joseph endured great criticism and
scorn from the people in their village.

But now they had each other. And above all, they knew God
was on their side too.

Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. Unfortunately, there
were so many people in town to register for the census that they could find no
where to stay. All the inns were full. An innkeeper, noticing Mary’s pregnant
state, offered them a place in his stable. It was probably not a stable as we
would think of it now, but more of a cave used to house animals. It probably
smelled. It was probably filthy. No place for a king. But it was still shelter.

The baby was born in this place, among livestock and
feedstock. Jesus’ first crib was a manger, or less politely speaking, a feeding
trough.

Many strangers came to visit him, including shepherds and
prominent men from the Far East, or Asia. They brought him rare and expensive
gifts, calling him the Prince of Peace. Mary and Joseph were overwhelmed, as
any parent would be, to be charged with the duty of safeguarding and raising
the son of God.

As time passed, mother and father became keenly aware that
their son was not like other children. He had an innate sense, coupled with
their own teachings, of what was right and wrong and good and bad. Jesus never
sinned, not even in its smallest measurement. His words were kind and his
thoughts were pure. His actions were flawless and free of any fault.

More than once, Mary found Jesus conversing with
priests—holy men and members of the temple—regarding the scriptures. His
knowledge of God’s love was so profound and firmly engrained in him that none
could contest it.

He amazed many. And he would amaze many more.

Joseph was a carpenter, meaning he worked with wood and made
things like tables, stools, and chests. Naturally, Jesus grew in an
apprenticeship to that craft. But his true talents were in teaching the
scriptures and evangelism.

By his early thirties, Jesus had developed quite a
following. He traveled the lands, proclaiming the sovereignty of God to any and
all, dining with the dirty and downtrodden, and befriending the most unlikely
people. Changing hearts. Performing miracles in God’s name. Impossible things,
wondrous things. Giving blind men sight and the lame the ability to walk.
Curing sickness and, on two accounts, raising people from the dead.

During this time, he garnered twelve devoted followers who
became known as his disciples. These men would play a critical role in the
future of the Christian faith and its spread throughout the Roman Empire and
outside world. Jesus was converting people by the thousands with each sermon.
So many loved and adored him. Naturally, this made many of the holy priests
very jealous.

These priests, known as Pharisees, were obsessed with the
law, and the mechanics of Christianity, rather than the blind faith in God and
His wisdom. They did not believe Jesus was the Messiah or the son of God. In
fact, they called him a blasphemer—A liar. A tainted, wicked man who was
leading good people away from the Lord. His teachings were unacceptable and a
blatant challenge to their power.

In their haste to snuff out this flame that was quickly
becoming an inferno, they hatched a plan to stop him once and for all. They
started sending soldiers to hunt for Jesus and make an example of his
followers. Great and terrible persecution of the Christians followed.

No time could have been more convenient for Judas, one of
the twelve disciples, to betray his master and teacher. He went to the priests
and told them Jesus’ location, selling out the eternal king for a meager thirty
pieces of silver. The soldiers came, arrested Jesus, and took him away for
trial as a heretic.

In that time, the law was upheld by the Romans. So,
naturally, the priests took Jesus before their Roman governor—Pontius Pilate—on
grounds of breaking the law and creating unrest among the people. Pilate,
however, found no fault in Jesus. Which made sense, being that he had done
nothing wrong. He decreed that Jesus be taken to King Herod for sentencing
instead. By the same token, the eccentric and glutinous Herod found no fault in
him either. This infuriated the Pharisees.

The priests returned to Pilate with a mob, demanding
justice.

In a last, desperate attempt to make the people see how
outrageous their demands were, he brought out a man from the prisons. Back
then, it was customary that every year, Pilate let one prisoner go, as
determined by the people. Pilate presented them with a choice—to free Jesus, or
to free a man called Barabbas, a notorious murderer and rapist.

Surely, rational logic would make Jesus the obvious choice.
He was harmless.

Sadly… his plan backfired.

Pilate was appalled when the mob started to chant and cheer
for Barabbas instead.