For The Least Of These (16 page)

There were several people in the room including Rick who was talking with another man in the corner. Adam said that he thought the guy was a reporter from some local magazine and that Rick was giving him an interview. Adam seemed to have forgotten that he was holding my hand, and I wasn’t about to remind him. He told Alicia not to get in Rick’s way, then he escorted me to a couch and we sat down. I noticed that there was food on a table along one wall, and there were several people helping themselves to what was there. Adam, who still had a hold on my hand, asked me if I was hungry, and I told him no. I was beginning to wonder if he was holding onto me so that I couldn’t move around freely on my own. Maybe he thought I would cause trouble. He should have been worried about Alicia.

Alicia had found her way to Rick and the reporter. Adam sighed when he noticed, but he didn’t call out to her or get up to bring her back. “Alicia is a handful,” he finally said. “She makes me tired.”

“Yep. Me, too,” I said. “But now that she’s over there, maybe we can talk. I really want to know about church and stuff.”

“Do you really want to know, or are you just interested because I’m a Christian? I’ll tell you either way, but if you aren’t really listening, it won’t do you any good.”

“At first it was just because of you, but now I’m really curious about a few things. First of all, what did that song mean by ‘God in three persons’? That really confused me. I thought there was only one God.”

“Let me begin by saying that I am in no way an expert on this subject. I’m still learning, and it has been a slow process for me. I will tell you what I know, and I hope I can help you.” He stopped to take a breath, and then he continued, “God in three persons refers to God the father, Jesus the son, and the Holy Spirit. It is very hard to explain the concept, which is called the Trinity. There is one God that exists in three persons and they have exactly the same nature and they are all worthy of our praise. Each one is distinct, yet they act in unity. I can’t really explain it any better than that. It is a mystery. But the Bible teaches the concept of the Trinity, and all true Christians believe it.” I’m sure he saw the confusion on my face. He then said, “Maybe we should have begun with something else.”

“No, this is good. I mean, it’s difficult, but it makes me want to find out more. Right now, I want to ask about that particular church, Grace Life Center. Why did so many of those people look like gang members or drug addicts? This wasn’t the kind of church my mom used to talk about.”

“Because that church reaches out to the people in the community. They want to help these people find Jesus. People who might be turned down by other churches – like the one your mother told you about. When he was on earth, Jesus ministered to tax collectors, prostitutes, and others who were considered scoundrels in that time. We, as Christians, are called to do the same thing. Some churches don’t teach this. They might preach about it, but they don’t put it into practice.”

“That’s interesting and admirable, but I can understand why some churches wouldn’t actively seek out these people,” I said. “Some of them are pretty scary looking, and I’m sure that the homeless people smell bad.”

“Brandy, this is something we are all called to do. We have to trust God. These people need to hear about Jesus and how he died for their sins. They are just as deserving as you and I are. Do you understand?”

Before I could respond, Alicia and Rick came walking up. “Adam’s not boring you with his religious mumbo-jumbo, is he, Brandy?”

“Rick,” Adam said, “Brandy and I are talking. Would you butt out?”

“Sorry. I was just trying to lighten things up. You two looked so serious, I thought you might be proposing to her.”

Adam seemed to just now realize that he was still holding onto my hand. He let go of it, and then he stood up and walked away to another part of the room.

“Did I say something wrong?” Rick asked.

“You always say something wrong,” Alicia said. Then she and Rick both started laughing. I was beginning to wonder if Alicia liked Rick more than she was admitting.

“Excuse me,” I said as I stood up and followed Adam. Alicia and Rick didn’t even seem to notice that I had left.

“Adam?” I called as I got near him.

He turned and smiled at me. “I’m sorry I left you over there. I just don’t want to deal with Rick right now. I hope that what I was saying to you wasn’t boring. I really want you to understand and believe…maybe more than I’ve ever wanted anyone else to before.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I felt like God was starting to turn things my way. I silently thanked Him, and then I said to Adam, “It wasn’t boring at all. I hope you’ll tell me more later…Oh, I forgot that we may not be together too much longer. The concert starts in less than an hour, and after that, I’m going back home.”

“We’ll figure it out, Brandy. I haven’t even got to the really good stuff yet. I have to tell you how Jesus died for your sins
– for all our sins. Promise me you will let me tell you that.”

“I will, Adam,” I told him. I really did want to hear about it, but I would have promised Adam anything even if I hadn’t.

Rick and Alicia were still laughing about something. “Alicia seems happy with Rick,” Adam remarked.

“I don’t know what’s going on with her,” I commented. “She knows I’m completely over Rick, so I don’t know why she’s still playing around with him.”

“Maybe she’s found that she really likes him. Either that or she’s having fun at his expense. I know he’s a jerk, but I hope she’s not just trying to hurt him. He seems more genuinely interested in her than he has in anyone else in the past few years.”

“I’d be genuinely surprised to find out that she’s interested in him. And Alicia doesn’t seem like the type of girl that Rick would fall for…”

“Wait a minute…Just yesterday, you thought you were the kind of girl Rick could fall for. Why is Alicia different?”

“She’s not. Now that I see the true Rick, I know I’m not his type either. Actually, now that you mention it, maybe Alicia is different. She’s funny, adventurous, and playful
– everything I’m not these days. Maybe she is someone he could fall for after all.”

“You seem pretty adventurous to me. Wasn’t this trip your idea? And I’ve seen a playful side to you, too. I’m sure you have a lot of qualities that could make a guy fall for you.”

“But I’m not funny?”

“Oh, you’re funny alright. Just maybe not in the same way as Alicia.” Adam laughed a little. It was refreshing to see him smile. I’d begun to think that knowing me was painful for him.

Adam and I walked back over and joined Alicia and Rick. It was very clear that Rick was smitten with Alicia. She wasn’t quite so easy to read. She seemed to be flirting with Rick, but she was also throwing out thinly veiled insults from time to time. Whatever was going on, both of them seemed to be enjoying it, so I just sat back down on the couch with Adam.

After a short amount of time, someone came to the door and called Rick. Adam informed Alicia and
me that it was almost time for the concert. He led us to an area where we could watch the show without getting into anyone’s way but still see all of the action.

Just as in the concert back home, there was no opening act
– Rick was going to be the entire show. I couldn’t help getting excited all over again. Rick was a great performer. After a bit, the opening music started. It was the music for “Will I Ever Get Over You?" – one of Rick’s biggest hits. Rick came out and the crowd went wild. He was electrified in his performance, maybe even more than he had been in Pensacola. As he segued into song after song, his energy seemed to intensify.

The concert was exhilarating for me. I was almost too keyed up to think about Adam, but occasionally I would glance over in his direction. For the most part, he seemed to be enjoying the show. I imagined that it must stroke his ego to see Rick out there on stage making Adam immortal through the songs he’d composed. After all, people would do covers of Adam’s songs for years to come
– even when Rick was long forgotten. Still, it was a little hard for me to picture Adam getting conceited over something like that.

When the concert was wrapping up, Adam took us back to what I was now thinking of as the “green room”. I wasn’t sure that was what it was called here at the Coliseum, but it worked for me. Adam told us to get something to eat and that he would take us to my car in a little while. There were all kinds of food available, but since it was almost eleven o’clock, I couldn’t think about eating. Alicia grabbed some fruit, and we sat down at a small table together. Adam joined us in a few minutes, and I realized he had spent the whole day with me. I wondered if he was keeping an eye on me or if he really enjoyed my company.

“When are we leaving?” Alicia asked Adam. “It’s pretty late, and we still have to drive home tonight.”

“Rick has to do these ‘meet and greet’ things with the people that won backstage passes from the radio stations or wherever. That usually doesn’t take too long.”

“Why do we have to wait on him?” I asked.

“I just thought Alicia would want to tell him goodbye,” Adam replied. He looked suspiciously at Alicia to see if she was going to dump Rick without a word.

Alicia surprised both of us. “I would like to see him before we leave. If that’s okay with you, Brandy? I know you are the one that has to do all the driving, and I know you must be tired.”

“It’s fine, Alicia,” I told her
– mostly because I wanted to see exactly what she was going to say to Rick.

We watched from our seat
s as Rick shook hands and talked with his very excited fans. There were three teenage girls, a couple in their twenties, two women that were about my age, and an older man with a teenage boy. All of them except the older man seemed to adore Rick, and I remembered that I had acted like them just yesterday. What a difference a day had made!

When he was finished, Rick came over to where we were sitting and asked Alicia if he could talk to her alone. I was pretty sure Alicia was going to give Rick the old heave-ho, and I actually felt sorry for him. But only a little. After all, he’d pretty much done that to me the night before. The two of them seemed to be getting into a deep discussion, and I figured it was almost over.

“What do you think they are talking about?” I asked Adam.

“I can’t imagine, nor do I want to,” he said. “Part of me wants her to break his heart and then stomp him into the ground, but another part of me wants her to let him down gently. Rick is a jerk, no doubt about it, but he’s had help getting there. He used to be a nice guy when I first met him. It’s hard to stay humble and nice when every teenage girl in America
– and beyond – idolizes you and wants to go to bed with you. Eventually, it goes to your head…”

“That doesn’t sound like you are talking about Rick anymore,” I said.

“I guess I’m not. I used to think I was pretty special. I had plenty of women running after me, too. After a while, it just got old. Or maybe I did. Then after I got saved, I saw the real me. It was a pretty ugly picture.”

“But you’re different now. You’ve changed…”

“I have changed, but it was Jesus that changed me. I could have never done it on my own.”

I wondered how Adam could spend so much time thinking about Jesus. That seemed to be his whole life. Didn’t he ever get bored with the subject?

Before I could ask him, Alicia came back to the table. She was crying and she said she wanted to go home. I looked around for Rick. I was sure he’d done something wicked to my friend, and I was ready to give him a piece of my mind. But Rick had disappeared. Adam mentioned going to find him, but Alicia pleaded, “Please don’t. I don’t want to see him again. I just want to go home.” She refused to offer any further explanation, so we quickly left the building and headed for Adam’s car.

As we drove back to the Richland, I tried to get Alicia to talk, but she refused. I gave up trying and turned to face forward in my seat as Adam announced that we were pulling into Richland’s parking lot. He drove towards the back where we had left Sam, but there was a police car with its blue lights flashing that was blocking the way. An officer put up his hand to motion for Adam to stop. Adam rolled down his window and asked the officer what was happening. The officer replied that someone had vandalized and destroyed one of the cars in the parking lot and no one could go to the back until they finished their investigation and identified whose car it was. I didn’t pay much attention to what the officer said. I was starting to feel tired, and I was sure Sam was fine
– right up until the moment that I heard the officer say that it was a green AMC Gremlin. I sat bolt upright in my seat and said, “That’s my car!”

The officer showed Adam where he could park, and they allowed him to escort me around the building. I was overwhelmed by what I saw. Someone had taken something like a bat or a hammer or maybe a tire iron and worked Sam over. In addition to the broken windows, the shattered headlights, and the overall body damage, the tires had also been slashed with a knife or a box-cutter. Sam was little more than a junkyard scrap now. I felt nauseous and a little faint. Sam was so much more than a car to me and losing him was like losing a member of my family. Before I could really break down, Adam pulled me against his chest so I couldn’t look at the wreck any longer. He then told the officers that he was going to take me inside the hotel. One of them told him that they would have some questions for us in a few minutes, and they would meet us in the hotel lobby shortly.