Christian Romance: Heaven on Earth... [4 Beautiful Christian Romance Stories] (6 page)

“I think we did pretty well… for a
first time partnership,” Jordan said happily, as he looked over
their work.

“I’ll say. Thanks for letting me help.
It was fun, and sort of therapeutic,” Melissa replied, looking over
to Jordan, and then their eyes met for what seemed like an
eternity.

“Jordan, I got you and your guys some
drinks.” And just like that, the spell was broken. The men who
worked for Jordan came over and all picked up a glass of cool
lemonade.

Jordan got two glasses and handed one
to Melissa, then he led her to wooden swing that was newly
installed by one of the men.

“This is the perfect place to watch a
sunset. I saw it the minute I surveyed the area. I convinced the
owners to have this swing installed.”

Melissa smiled and sat down, but she
gasped when she saw the scenery that lay before her. The sunset
took her breath away.

Melissa hadn’t realized that the
restaurant was at the edge of town and that they actually looked
over the valley and the great lake. The sun was setting and was
nestled against the snow-capped mountains. The sky was colored
red-orange and had flecks of pink and purple; the light reflected
off the water of the lake and left the scenery with speckles of
gold.

“Oh Jordan, I never thought this place
could look so beautiful.”

“I think that a lot of people often go
to other places looking for beauty, never really knowing the beauty
they have at their feet.”

“You’re a wise man Jordan James, wiser
than me surely. I feel like I went around in circles but I still
don’t know where I am.”

“You’re home now.”

And slowly, tentatively, Jordan’s hand
reached out to Melissa, and before they knew it, their fingers were
intertwined. Melissa could feel Jordan pulse and it comforted her.
With a soft sigh, she leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling
his warmth against her, comforted by the rise and fall of his
chest.

It was late when Malcolm’s car finally
pulled up at the front door and Melissa and Jordan got out. They
had eaten dinner at Jordan’s cabin, and Jordan had offered to drive
her home, as Melissa was clearly tired from the travel and
emotional turmoil. She fell asleep the moment the car started to
pull away and Jordan had let her sleep, only waking her when they
were already home. Jordan could sleep in the guesthouse at the back
like he usually did. The Georges were like his second family
anyway.

When Melissa opened the door, she
found her brother sitting in the sofa watching TV, while Sally had
her head on his lap, reading a book.

She came in and cleared her throat.
Sally got up abruptly; she was probably sensitive on how Melissa
would react to them. But Malcolm just looked at her and Jordan
questioningly, shrugged, and then pointed to the parlor
door.

Melissa went on ahead wordlessly. She
opened the door and got in. catching a glimpse of Jordan sitting
down in front of the TV with her brother as she closed the
door.

Inside, she found her mother sitting
beside her father. They were both asleep and she decided not to
disturb them. She looked around at the medicine that was on the
tray and found three bottles of pain meds and anti-inflammatory
drugs. A sudden movement by her mother made her jump and she
dropped a bottle of pills to the floor. The noise woke her
father.

“Rose petal, we’ve been waiting for
you,” he said as he gently woke his wife who sat beside
him.

“You don’t have to wake her dad. We
can talk tomorrow.”

“No we’ve put this off for too long.
Honey, Mels is here,” he said again, shaking his wife
gently.

“Oh? Mels, you’re finally home, please
sit down.”

Melissa took a seat as her mother
straightened in her chair. Her parents exchanged meaningful glances
and, finally, her father took a deep breath.

“Mels, we found out I had cancer more
than one month ago.” Melissa started; it was a shock to know that
they had kept the cancer from her for weeks before telling her. She
was about to protest but her father held up his hand.

“It was my decision not to tell you
yet and I want you to listen now. Here me out and be angry if you
want, but listen first. I had it in my head to tell you when I was
already getting better. I didn’t want to worry you needlessly. I
was diagnosed, initially, with stage 3 cancer and I had the option
of chemotherapy, to see if I was responsive. We did it, it was
horrible, but I felt like I could still get better. 3 weeks ago, I
had another check-up with the doctor, and he told me I was
non-responsive to the treatment, that it was doing more harm than
good and that… there was nothing they could do.” Melissa felt like
a sledgehammer slammed into her gut. Her father’s words
reverberated in her head and she didn’t know what to do with the
information.

“Now,” her father continued, “I am
taking medication for the pain, but nothing else. We could go for
more invasive treatments, but your mother and I decided against it.
There’s nothing anyone can do, it’s all in God’s hands now. When we
got the news we didn’t… I didn’t… know how to tell you any of it.
So we decided to have you come here, so we could tell it to you
face to face and you’d at least have people around you who love you
and will take care of you. I couldn’t bear to think of you grieving
alone in London with no one to turn to. I’m sorry we didn’t tell
you sooner petal, I really am.”

Melissa’s eyes saw nothing anymore.
She just cried and cried. There was nothing she could do, and she
couldn’t be mad at father now. She just didn’t know what else to
do. She never imagined, even when she found out he had cancer, that
it would be hopeless right at the beginning. She understood now why
he talked the way he did this morning. This was all just
goodbye.

Melissa felt hands coming toward her
and pulling her toward the bed, hands that used to be so big and
strong, now so thin and frail. It made her cry even
more.

“Don’t be sad petal. I lived a good
many years and had a wonderfully fruitful life. I’ve had more than
most and I thank God every day for blessing me with a loving wife
and great kids. I’m so proud of you petal, everything you wanted
you’ve got now. But I only worry that what you want might not be
what you need.”

“Daddy don’t worry anymore. About me
or anyone else. I want you to think about yourself this time, think
about your health. I want you to fight daddy.”

“I don’t have to honey. I couldn’t ask
anything more from my life. I’ve had enough happiness in this
lifetime to spill over to the next. My cup has runneth over petal.
I have you all to thank for that. But when the time comes to say
goodbye, I wish I could leave you in the loving hands of a man I
can trust will try to make you as happy as your mother made
me.”

“I’ll be fine. You don’t have to
worry.”

“I’m a bit tired now. But tomorrow, I
want to sit at dinner, like we used to when you were kids. I want
you to cook your roast beef for all of us and we’ll have an old
fashioned family dinner. Okay?”

“Okay.”

 
However, her father
couldn’t sit at the dinner table the next day. He was too tired.
And he didn’t feel better the next day either, or the day after. In
fact, her father did not get out of bed for a whole week. He simply
stayed in bed, spoke some words, some made sense, some didn’t, and
would go to sleep again. There were times that Melissa knew her
father was in very bad pain, when Sally would go into the room and
come out half an hour later looking sad and disheveled. Sometimes,
Melissa heard her father cursing, but she knew it was the pain
talking. After his medication, her father would often sleep for
hours, even a whole day sometimes.

The family marched on despite the
heaviness. Melissa called her company and requested for an
indefinite leave of absence, because of her father’s health. They
had been kind and said she could take her time, but underneath it
all, she knew it was a risky move and it could mean less
responsibilities for her when she went back, but she knew she’d
rather be here for her family, and savor what little time she had
with her father that was left.

Needless to say, it was a difficult
time for everyone. Melissa couldn’t bear to stay in the house, at
times when her father was sleeping off whatever medication he had
to take, and see her mother and brother silently suffering, knowing
she could do nothing. The only thing that made it bearable were the
daily lunches she had with Jordan, who, understanding the situation
fully, offered to let her help out in the landscaping he had
scheduled. It seemed almost planned out, they only ever worked in
the most beautiful places, and today, as there were no waiting jobs
to be done, Jordan brought her up to Drought Creek Point, a
beautiful hiking trail with a lovely stream that flowed through it,
at the top of which the whole valley could be seen.

They both sat on one of the stone
benches left there for hikers and stared at the scenery, eating the
oranges they had brought for the trip.

“This is really a beautiful place. I
can’t believe I’ve never been here before.”

“Oh it wasn’t a trail yet when we were
kids. I started hiking here a few years ago, and made the trail for
some friends. More people came until the owner of the property
formally called it a hiking trail and installed these chairs and
some of the steps.”

“Wow, you really have a knack for
finding the most beautiful places,” she said, bumping her shoulder
against his playfully. He smiled a most lovely smile, one that
Melissa thought she could stare at forever.

“Yeah, I guess you could say I have a
knack for seeing potential in things.”

“I can’t believe you still aren’t
married. Girls must be falling at your feet.”

“Well, I always believed in waiting
for the right thing, and I’m a very patient man.”

“You mean you haven’t found the right
thing yet? That’s surprising, as you seem to know just where to go
to find what you want.”

He smiled and sighed at what she said,
then, in a measured voice that was close to quivering, he said, “Oh
I found what I was looking for a long time ago. I don’t think she
was ready then, I hope she will be soon, but I can wait a bit
more.”

Melissa looked into Jordan’s eyes and
the silence between them spoke volumes. Melissa recalled the past
few days, how loved he had made her feel, despite the pain, and
then her mind raced back years, to high school. She remembered the
times when Jordan would volunteer to do things for her, being her
date for prom when she was desperate and chaperoning her and her
friends to their first concert, even offering to drive her to
college when she moved. She realized that they hadn’t been friendly
gestures, but silent confessions of love, never uttered because, as
Jordan said, she wasn’t ready to hear it. But now? 

“Jordan…my dad…”

“No, you don’t have to say it. I
didn’t mean to put you on the spot. Should we be heading
home?”

Silently, Melissa turned to Jordan and
kissed him on the lips, and putting her hands on the back of his
neck and pulling him closer. There were no words for this moment,
they pulled away from each other and stared at each other’s eyes.
Then, silently, they gathered their things and headed
back.

Two weeks
later…

Marshall George felt the end coming,
but he was content. He was surrounded with family and friends,
people who truly loved him. Seeing the love in their eyes showed
him how full his life had been. He looked toward his dear wife,
still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life. She was
a blessing from God that he cherished to the last of his breath. If
he was given another lifetime, he would find some way to spend it
with her again. His eyes turned to his first born son. He had
married the sweet and caring woman who had tried to make his
father’s passing easier as much as she could. Marshall knew Malcolm
would not have held up as well as he did if it wasn’t for Sally,
and he was glad that, despite everything, he had managed to bring
them both together.

His eyes turned to his daughter, his
most precious flower, who had been crying inconsolably and was
sleeping now. Marshall felt a twinge of guilt for causing his
daughter so much pain, but he was comforted with the sight of
Jordan’s strong arm over Melissa’s shoulder. They had decided to
get engaged a few days ago, and it news that Marshall truly
welcomed. He knew Jordan had been secretly in love with his
daughter since they were teens.

Marshall was happy to see all this and
felt that all was fine in the world despite the pain he felt. Come
to think of it, he hadn’t felt the pain in a while now. For the
last time, with a contented, beatific smile on his face, Marshall
closed his eyes to meet the Lord...

It's Only Love...

Joanne Sawyer

It sometimes happens that two
strangers would meet and suddenly feel like they’ve known each
other all their lives. It’s a bone-deep feeling, strange and
overwhelming, and often it is dismissed by those who experience
it.