Greater Than Rubies, a Novella inspired by the Jewel Trilogy (23 page)

Tony nodded and moved all the little dollar bills from his side of the board over to Derrick’s side. Then he picked up the little hotel and set it on top of the pile of toy money. “Then you win.”

Derrick nodded.

“So you are saying that now, when everyone else but you is flat broke, this is the end of the game. Okay. What did you learn? What did the game teach you? You own all the properties and railroads and houses and hotels and you even have yourself a get out of jail free card, maybe. So what did you learn in your rush to acquire absolutely everything and take away my very last dollar?”

Derrick sat back and looked at all the play money and the little red hotel sitting on his side of the board. “That if I work really hard, I can succeed?”

Tony nodded and stacked his empty dishes back on the rolling cart beside him. “What you say is true, Derrick, but it is not the most valuable lesson this game can teach you. I think I will give you one more try and then I will just tell you the answer.”

Derrick searched his mind before he said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

“I will tell you. The most important thing to learn is that now, it all goes back in the box.” As he returned the items to the box, Tony continued. “See, you thought you owned all the properties and railroads and houses and hotels and your get out of jail free card. But now they go back in the box. Maybe you start to realize they were never even yours in the first place. They were there in the box long before you had them. Someone else owned them all before you did. And pretty soon, maybe someone else will come along and play with them after you’re gone. All those houses you were so proud of. All the utility companies and rail lines. And all the wonderful, wonderful money. It all goes back in the box.”

Tony put the lid on the box and said, “Now look around you. Tell me something. When you realize that the game isn’t over when you have everything, when you realize the game isn’t even over when you put everything back in the box – when you realize that – answer this question: what is
really
important?”

Tony stood and began to pace. He spoke low and deep, his voice quiet so that Derrick strained to hear his every word. “Maybe you get out the box again and you get all those properties and hotels and all that wonderful money back. Maybe. Or maybe you leave it all in the box and you realize what is really, really important in this life are not the things in there. What matters in this life is, in fact, much bigger than anything inside the box.”

Tony stopped pacing and turned, his eyes boring into Derrick’s eyes. “Because ultimately, everything you see and touch and consume in this world, all of it … even your own body … all of it goes back in the box one day.”

Derrick sat back, his mind racing.

“Listen to me very carefully and I’ll tell you about a gift that isn’t inside the box. From this moment on, if you choose to accept this gift, your entire life will be very, very different. Do you want this gift? Because I am going to tell you something. Derrick, one day you will die. Everyone will. I will. You will. Your mother will. Everyone will. You are going to live and then you are going to die. And you are going to be dead a lot longer than you ever lived. That is the way it is. It is just that black and white. Now, when your life ends, when everything you owned in life gets put back in the box, you will suddenly find yourself on the outside of the box standing in front of that very same God who made you, and you will have to explain the choices you made while you played the game.

“See outside of this little game is you and me. Just like outside of here is the whole universe – and it is all just a box, Derrick. Outside of that box, my very young friend, is what is really, really important. Outside of all that is your Creator, God, Jehovah, A’doni, who is what He is, the great I AM.

“The truth is, you could have spent your life the way you had been living. You could have wasted your life away with drugs, pornography, gambling, thuggery, and spent your precious few remaining days and nights in the company of evil men and women – then died. But you knew that wasn’t what you wanted. You didn’t know this, but I was praying for you. I prayed for you every day. And then on the day after your birthday, you came to me and accepted the earthly gifts I had to offer. But your life still isn’t what it could be, is it? Do you want it to be? Do you want to reach your full potential even if it means you will radically change?”

Derrick didn’t realize that he was even speaking until the sound of his voice echoed in his own ears, “Yes.”

Tony turned and said, “Good. Now I think you’re ready for that gift I promised you.” He knelt in front of Derrick. Derrick suddenly realized that his cheeks were wet with silent tears. “Do you believe in God, Derrick?”

Derrick barely recognized his own voice, “Yes.”

Tony nodded, both of his hands holding Derrick’s right hand. “And do you know what’s important to that very same God you confess you believe in?”

Derrick shook his head.

“What’s important to Him, more than anything else, is you. You, Derrick DiNunzio. You are the most precious thing in the universe to the Creator of the universe. You feel overwhelmed by the fact that I, a man, love you enough to stand up for you the way I did? That notion reduces you to tears? That I love you enough to take you in and feed you when you are hungry, clothe you when you are cold and exposed, pray for you when you are struggling with addiction and a life of crime? You feel overwhelmed by one man’s love for you? Imagine how much God loves you.

“He loves you so much that He would actually lay down his very life for you and die for you. In fact, He already did. He sent His only begotten son, Yeshua, called Jesus of Nazareth, as a living sacrifice in atonement for everything you have ever done wrong in this life. Do you believe that Derrick? Do you believe in Jesus Christ, that He was born of a virgin, lived a life that was pure, suffered under Pilot, and died for you? That on the third day He rose from the dead, conquering the grave, in testimony to the truth of his godhead?”

“Yes.” Derrick whispered.

Tony said, “Then all you have to do now is accept that gift. You have so many things in your heart and mind that make you feel unworthy of love, but Derrick, you are worthy. You are worthy, Derrick. You are not here by accident. God created you on purpose. He knew you before He knitted you in your mother’s womb. He loved you even then. The reason I wanted you to come to church with me was to educate you about God’s love, about what the real love offered by the Creator of the universe can do. God loves you so much that His love can move mountains. And God tells me that I have to love you just as much.
Capisce
?

“So what you must do is just let go. Let go of your game. Open your hands. Let Jesus Christ rule your life. Bow down before him and accept the gift of His atoning blood that wipes the slate clean. Give up the stranglehold you have on your personal selfish hopes and desires, and turn your life over to a life of service in His name. Commit that you will stand for him even if you stand alone. Open your grasping hands and arms wide, as Christ did on the cross, and He will fill your empty arms with purpose and love and abundant life.”

In the very next heartbeat, in the privacy of that very well appointed office, in the company of Tony Viscolli, the most unlikely event took place. Derrick finally understood the overwhelming truth. In the space of a heartbeat, all of the puzzles and riddles that had plagued him for weeks clicked into place. When the weight of his past life fell from his heart, for the first time his life opened up. Where he had existed in constant agonizing torture inside an emotional iron maiden, he suddenly knew freedom. Where he had lived a life of simple survival in unbearable pain and darkness, he suddenly saw light and hope. In his heart of hearts, he heard a voice, his own voice it seemed, assuring him that everything would be all right. Yes, he would face struggles and adversity, but it would all work out fine. And Derrick, for the first time ever, believed it.

In the space of that heartbeat, the dying creature the world knew as Derrick DiNunzio went ahead and died and a brand new living creature named Derrick DiNunzio rose in its place. From that very next heartbeat, the Holy Spirit would guide the new Derrick not to see himself as others did, but rather as God saw him. The scales fell from his eyes. He would no longer judge the unimportant things in life as overly relevant, but rather see what really mattered and fight to make a difference. And he would love his neighbor the way God loved him.

OBIN
nearly felt her heart explode when she saw her photograph on the cover of
Inside Boston
magazine. A messenger had delivered this advance copy just before noon. The magazine would hit newsstands all over the city tomorrow morning. Not only had they given her the entire cover, they had selected what looked like a candid shot of Robin wearing a knee length skirt and matching jacket with a light blue blouse. In the picture, her unsmiling face looked speculative, confident, wise, and secure – pretty much the opposite of how she actually felt. Her crossed arms framed the engagement ring perfectly against the navy sleeve of her jacket. The headline read,
Millionaire Marries Manager
.

In the time since she had last seen Tony, Robin had neglected a few things. For example, she had neglected to inform another living soul that she would not, in fact, be marrying Tony Viscolli. She could not imagine how calling off the wedding would hurt Tony’s public image. If she let herself think about it too much, she might burst into tears again so she stopped her racing thoughts in their tracks and opened the magazine.

Inside Boston’s
intrepid reporter Don Roberts had the rare opportunity to sit down with Robin Bartlett. Robin manages Hank’s Place restaurant which recently became one of Viscolli Enterprises newest acquisitions. It’s unlikely that Tony Viscolli knew when he purchased the local eatery that the love of his life would come with the deal.

While Tony Viscolli is as well known for his clout in the boardroom as his beneficence to Boston’s less fortunate and his generosity to so many worthy charitable causes, Robin is very far from the blue blood debutante many might expect. In fact, just like her future husband, Robin came from humble beginnings right here in Boston. Despite her untraditional childhood, Robin Bartlett is sweet and smart, the kind of “girl next door” every Boston boy hopes to bring home to meet mom and dad one day. We asked Robin some questions about the upcoming wedding and her expectations for married life as the wife of one of Boston’s royal family.

She skimmed the article down to the interview questions. Some of the information she skimmed came straight out of Stephanie’s press release with dates, places, names of designers and dress makers, jewelers, entrées and dinner courses, hors d’ oeuvres and desserts, and even florists. Her canceled wedding was laid bare on the pages for the world to see in every excruciating detail except for the one minor detail: that it would never happen.

She skimmed down to the interview questions.