More than the Sum (6 page)

It took little urging for Gloria to open up about, as she described it, her “past life”.  She explained how she quit college after two years to become a flight attendant, and had cast aside every red flag that presented itself to caution her about what she was getting into.  But, because several of her sorority sisters had already crossed over the lineand romanticized the lifestyle, she wanted it, too.  She flew for eleven years both domestically and internationally.

Without any embellishment, she explained how in the blink of an eye she had traded away her very conservative and Christian moral code to participate wholeheartedly in a lifestyle that was rife with every kind of compromise she had been raised to be horrified by.  She said how thankful she was for Christian parents and grandparents who, she now realized, prayed her through it. 

Then, while on a layover in Denver, two of her flying buddies invited her to go with them to a Billy Graham crusade. She walked away from the event a believer in Jesus Christ.  “I grew up in a Christian family, and believed I was a Christian, but it was never personal for me. I now know that is why it was so easy for me to fall away with so little conviction.

“
When I look back on that night, I know my being at that meeting was arranged by God.  Neither of the girls who suggested we go went forward, or ever mentioned it to me again, but they were who got me there. I’m not sure that any of us knew exactly what it was we were going to, and I never would have gone on my own.  Believe it or not, at the time I had no idea who Billy Graham was, but when he said for us to, “get up out of your seats”, I literally felt a hand on my back pushing me forward.  I even looked behind me to see who it was who pushed me.  To this day if I think about it, I can feel the pressure on my back.”  She smiled one of those far away smiles that someone in love might have when they were talking about a romantic getaway. 

“
So you quit flying because of that one night?”  Brittany asked, incredulous, and more than curious at how that experience could so completely alter one’s destiny.

“
Well, no, not exactly. I now believe God had already begun making me more and more uncomfortable with the compromises that I continued to make in order to keep flying.  But, yes, that night was what propelled me to plan my exit. I quit flying that same month and I have never looked back. I knew I had been forgiven, and I wanted to reclaim the years that I traded away for God for him.  While I had no regrets while I was living the lifestyle, after that night I was not only convicted, but I knew that I needed to put as much distance between the temptations and myself as soon as possible.”

Gloria further explained how after leaving her career in the air she decided to go back to school to get her degree.  She promptly joined the university’s choir, partly because she missed singing, and partly because it was an easy three credit hours.  Her choir director began mentoring her, detecting her exceptional voice. He asked if she would mind his sharing recordings of her singing with some business associates that he was acquainted with who he recalled were on the hunt for acts for some of their events. So, with his help, she began singing professionally, earning enough to keep her head above water. 

One of the CD’s took on a life of its own and found its way to someone who was looking for someone to bring a musical element into her ministry. That opportunity led to the next door opening, and the next. She now had her own ministry named “Out from the Ashes”, where she both sang, and taught principles of healing and wholeness through receiving God’s “Shalom” found in faith in Jesus Christ. 

Before the evening ended, email addresses and phone numbers were exchanged, along with promises to keep in touch.

It was evident the Stones were extremely happy the two women hit it off. Later Brittany told Jeanne that she was a matchmaker after all. Brittany returned home that night feeling hopeful, but  in a way she had never felt before nor expected to.   

For the first time, and quite unexpectedly, she considered there might be a purpose for what she had been through.

                                                             
Chapter Seven

If Brittany was pondering ways of finding purpose for her own life, her brother Brent wasted no time in seizing the day by moving in with her mother. 
He is a Carpe Diem kind of guy
was Brittany’s first thought, after being informed by a mutual friend that he had moved into the family home with her mother. 

After confronting her mother the excuse she offered Brittany, apparently feeling the need to fabricate one for her benefit, was that his being there was only temporary and totally justifiable because Brent was trying to save up money for the start-up costs needed for him to open a business of his own. When Brittany pressed her mother for an explanation about what kind of business he would be opening her answer was so lame Brittany bet her cat a night on the town that her brother would never leave. She couldn’t help but wonder how Sarah felt about the new arrangement.

There was only one other time she and Sarah saw each other, and that was on Easter Sunday, when another family gathering was attempted. Brittany, forecasting how stiff the day  would inevitably be, would have preferred to be anywhere else. But, her curiosity to see how the living arrangements were proceeding with a wedding about to take place won in the end. 
I must be a
masochist
, she mused on the drive over.

With some relief, Brittany could see that Sarah appeared to be less than thrilled at the prospect of spending life after their honeymoon in her mother-in-law’s guestroom. Later, when Alma and Brittany were alone in the kitchen preparing dessert, Alma assured her the plan was for Brent and his bride to have the master bedroom, and how she intended to surprise by moving down the hall to the guest room—and how Sarah would, “love it”.  All Brittany could muster in response to that offering of information was “How romantic.”

Shortly thereafter Brittany mentioned the upcoming wedding to her mother, sensing something was amiss.  In a clipped voice her mother informed her Sarah had returned her engagement ring to Brett and how she had warned Brent in the beginning that Sarah was flaky.  The engagement ring had been Alma’s mothers, so Brittany was pretty sure that might have also become a sticking point, a little too much
in
-law
on every level.  She was glad that her almost sister-in-law had the foresight to run and not walk.

Whenever Brittany would stop by to see her mother, which happened more and more infrequently, Brent now felt empowered to be critical of Brittany. It began with his dropping not very subtle innuendos about Craig’s having left her, and then more recently, personal comments that he directed at Brittany’s personality, finally accusing her of not giving Alma enough attention or support. 

After the third stinging incident with Brent Brittany felt she had no choice but to ask her mother to set some boundaries with her brother. Unfortunately, she couldn’t resist asking her how long Brent would be living there. The words were barely spoken before she was asked to, “Please leave”, followed by a, “Don’t call me, I’ll call you” directive.  Brittany could only imagine the level of righteousness indignation that followed her exit. She had been tolerant of them in a way they would never be toward her, and was relieved to not have to do the dance for a while. 

Several weeks later another family friend, who was also the executor of her father’s will, called Brittany to notify her that her mother had signed off on Brittany’s portion of the trust and that she could have it in full immediately on the condition she would sign an agreement accepting that her brother would one day get the house in exchange for taking care of her mother. It was a huge admission of what kind of arrangement it was in reality.  So, in black and white, the terms were that he would not be leaving and Brittany was being written off.  It galled her, but she signed.  The trust money, while not enough to pay off her mortgage entirely, it was sufficient to allow her to stay in her home, and that was a huge weight lifted.

The same day she ran into an acquaintance whose husband was a friend of Craig's. She  couldn’t resist telling Brittany that he and Gina were now married.

Brittany couldn’t believe it.  She concluded that after that day she was effectively a divorced orphan. 

Doors were slamming shut all over the place.

Chapter Eight

The Cherry Blossom Festival was a much celebrated occurrence in the D.C. area, drawing people to the area from all over the country. Brittany liked to refer to it as spring’s “coming out party”.  The weather, however, rarely cooperated, and at least every other year there would be either a frost, or high winds and rain, that wrought havoc with the much anticipated spring event. This year the local news channels highly acclaimed Chief Meteorologists was each claiming credit for the summer-like temperatures and sunny windless days.  For businesses in the area it was the springboard for the tourist season, but the non-merchant locals considered it a pain. The highways and byways would be jammed through, full with cars, cabs, and buses.

Brittany’s bedroom was in the process of being rid of remnants of Craig.  His designer clothes might have brought in some cash had she felt like dealing with the hassle of consigning them to one of the consignment shops in the area, but the temptation to be rid of them instantly, by putting them on the curb and taking a tax deduction, won. Plus, she’d become quite proficient with that method of disposal.  So, with minimal effort, the master bedroom was purged of the master, the last step before the repainting could begin. 

Her painter’s name was Rick-Something, his last name was either Hungarian or Polish, impossible to spell nor pronounce, and therefore, hard to remember. Rick was young, eager, rather cute, very talkative, and fun to have hanging around the house, in a college student sort of way.  Part of his life’s story, which she had been told in full and in great detail, was how he was painting houses so that he could support himself while he working toward a Master’s Degree in fine art.  According to Angie’s List he was highly recommended, the only disclaimer noted was his penchant for liking to gab.

When he showed up to bid the job on Saturday morning he couldn’t refrain from offering his own opinions about what Brittany should be doing with her rooms. Perhaps, at another time in her life his presumption would have put her off, but at the moment she was relieved to have the input.  Without her mother’s eye for color she felt at a loss, and because of it, once again had chosen what was safest.

After showing him her paint samples, he convinced her it was worth the added expense to do a Venetian Plaster effect on the walls, using a medium green in the bedroom, and a slightly deeper green in the bath.  Even with his help, by the time he finally left she was on mental overload and glad she wasn’t paying him by the hour.  On the bright side, she’d made a decision.  He would start the following weekend.

***

Once he had completed painting the bedroom suite, when Brittany was handing him his check, he handed her a post card.  It was a picture of one of his paintings, with an invitation on the back to a showing of his artwork in a gallery in Georgetown later in the month. 

“
Won’t you come?” he pleaded.  “I really want you to see my paintings.”  Attending the showing would be a lot of effort on Brittany’s part, but how could she refuse? 

It made no sense whatsoever to be going to the event alone. The trek from Alexandria to Georgetown was a commitment in itself. 

After far too much deliberation, she decided the most expeditious way to accomplish attending would be for her to take public transportation to the Mall in the morning. That way she could walk the Mall and see the cherry blossoms without having to deal with the problems that went with taking her car. Then, after making her appearance at the showing, she would call a cab to take her home, which would cost a small fortune, but only slightly more than parking the car and without the aggravation. 

The considering, and reconsidering of her options almost caused her to change her mind about going.
This being single thing sucks
, she concluded, after someone at work suggested, trying to be helpful, that if she was going to the Mall by herself she should carry Pepper Spray.

***

The Saturday of the show arrived and everything about the morning was breathtaking.    Brittany felt as though she might actually be finding her stride on the pathway as she headed toward the Metro. The mental inertia she had been experiencing had lifted, She reminded herself she was only thirty-three years old, employed, reasonably attractive, lived in a vibrant area, and had some options that most recently divorced people did not. 

On the downside, she was estranged from her mother, which, paradoxically, felt more like a load lifted than a bother, and had recently been brutally dumped by someone whose apparent detachment from her was less bothersome than having a mole removed. The one  contradiction was how she still retained her hair in a baggie, convinced it had more worth off her head than on it.