Simple Choices (21 page)

I went to the bathroom and freshened up a bit. Then I decided to change my blouse since I’d sweated much more than was ladylike that afternoon. It only took a few minutes to run upstairs, pick out a clean blouse, throw the sweaty one in the laundry hamper, and hurry back down to the living room. I checked on Papa who was still fast asleep, then said good-bye to my parents.

When I got to the restaurant, I discovered that Mrs. Murphy had already gotten us a booth in the corner. I assumed she wanted as much privacy as possible. I tried to quell the nervousness I felt. This was my chance to help the Muellers. I prayed God would give me the right words and keep me from saying anything stupid.

“I hope this booth is okay,” Mrs. Murphy said as I approached.

“It’s fine.” I scooted in across from her. “I’m still not sure what you want from me, though. The Muellers are wonderful parents. If you think I’m going to disagree with the other positive things you’ve heard about them, you’re mistaken.”

She shook her head and started to say something when Leah, another one of Hannah’s friends, came up to the table. A beautiful, delicate girl with deep-chestnut hair, she’d caught the attention of most of Harmony’s young men. But Leah was very devout and not easily impressed by anything except a heart committed to God. I admired her. She’s definitely the kind of young woman a mother would like to see her son marry.

“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.

Mrs. Murphy and I both ordered iced tea.

“Do you need a few minutes to decide what you want?”

“Well, I think it might be nice if I had a chance to look at the menu before I give you my order,” the social worker snapped.

To her credit, Leah didn’t respond. She walked over to where the menus were kept and grabbed a couple, handing them to us. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said softly. I could see the hurt in her eyes.

“People here aren’t rude to each other,” I said when Leah walked away. “Most of us have memorized the menu and don’t need to see it.”

Mrs. Murphy shook her head. “I’m sorry. Guess I’m used to things working a little differently. I can be impatient.” She gazed around the room. There were a couple of Conservative Mennonite families eating supper together, dressed in plain clothing, the women and girls with prayer coverings over their buns or braids. Other patrons wore overalls or jeans and T-shirts, having just come in from harvesting. The room was filled with the aroma of sweat and grain dust mixed with the great smells emanating from Hector’s kitchen. “I just don’t get this place. This is the first time I’ve ever been in a town that was so … so …”

“Peaceful?” I interjected helpfully.

She glared at me. “I was going to say
backward.”

“I’m sorry, maybe I misunderstood you. I thought you said you were forming a positive opinion about this town—and the Muellers. Am I mistaken?”

She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re right. Sorry again. I spend so much time interviewing the world’s worst parents, when I find good ones, I’m still suspicious.”

I raised my eyebrows with interest. “So you’re admitting Abel and Emily are good parents?”

Leah came up to the table with our drinks. She put them down and then hesitated.

“Sorry, Leah,” I said. “Give us a couple more minutes. I don’t think Mrs. Murphy has looked at her menu yet.”

She nodded and started to walk away.

“Wait a minute,” the social worker said. “I–I’m sorry I was rude. It’s been a bad day, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. Forgive me.”

Leah gave her a beatific smile. “I already did that, ma’am. Please don’t worry about it. I’ll be back in a bit.” She left to tend to another table.

“Now see? That’s just what I mean,” Mrs. Murphy said, exasperation showing in her expression. “What’s up with that? The people here aren’t … aren’t
human
!”

I couldn’t stop my mouth from dropping open. “Surely you’ve met Christians before. It’s not like we live on another planet.”

She grunted, picked up her tea, and took a long drink. Then she set it down with a thump. “Oh yes, I’ve met
Christians
before.” She said the word in the same way someone might say
cockroaches
or
poisonous snakes
.

“I take it you weren’t impressed.”

She unfolded the napkin wrapped around her silverware and put it neatly on her lap. “Look, let’s not get into some kind of religious debate. I didn’t ask you here for that.”

“Fine. You said you wanted to talk about the Muellers. Just what do you want to know, Mrs. Murphy?”

“First of all, you can call me Susan if you wish.”

There was a little voice inside me that wanted to tell her she could continue to call me Miss Temple, but I quashed it. “I’m Gracie. So what is it you want to know … Susan?”

She took another sip of her iced tea, and I noticed her hand trembled slightly. What was that about? I spotted Leah watching us from across the room. “Why don’t we decide what we want to eat before we talk? That way Leah won’t have to wait for us.”

Susan reached up to pat her hair. As if a stray hair had a chance of escaping that tight bun. Her hair almost looked sprayed on. “It’s hardly our job to make our waitress comfortable. She can wait until we’re ready to order.”

I could almost feel my blood start to boil. Her earlier show of humility hadn’t lasted long. “Look here, Susan …” I drew out her name with emphasis. “Maybe you treat people that way in Topeka … or wherever you’re from. But we don’t do that in Harmony. Either you decide right now what you want for supper, or I’m out of here.”

She actually bit her lip to keep from saying whatever was on her mind. Then she flung open her menu and perused it quickly. I waited a few moments then waved at Leah to come over. She walked up, flipped open her notepad, and waited.

“I’d like a fruit salad and a slice of banana bread,” I said with a smile.

Leah wrote down my order. “And for you, ma’am?” she asked Susan.

Susan’s look of disgust as she stared at the menu couldn’t have been any more obvious. “I don’t know. I suppose I’ll try the fried chicken dinner.”

Leah explained the sides, and Susan picked mashed potatoes, green beans, and salad. As Leah walked away, Susan leaned over and said in a loud whisper that Leah could hear, “Surely even a cook in a greasy spoon like this can figure out how to fry chicken.”

Leah didn’t turn around, but I knew she’d caught the mean comment. I’d had enough. As Sweetie would say, “This ole dog ain’t gonna hunt no more.”

“Listen,
Mrs. Murphy
,” I said harshly. “I gave up dinner with my family to come here because I care about the Muellers. But I don’t intend to spend another minute with you. You think this is a hick town? There isn’t anyone living here who doesn’t have more class in their little finger than you do in your whole body. At least in Harmony we have manners. We know how to act. You obviously don’t.” I slid out of the booth and stood up. “I’ll wait in the kitchen and take my dinner with me. You can sit here by yourself. That way you’ll get to spend time with your very favorite person in the whole world. My guess is it won’t be a new experience for you.”

I started to storm out, but Susan stood up and grabbed my arm. “Please,” she said, desperation in her voice. “Please don’t go. I’m sorry. If you’ll just let me explain …”

I had no intention of falling for that again, but as I tried to wrestle my arm out of her strong grip, I heard a voice that seemed to come from inside me. It was so loud, I looked around to see if someone nearby had actually said it. I clearly heard,
“Don’t go.”
That was it. Two words.
Don’t go
. I took my other hand and pried her fingers off my arm. Then I sat back down.

“Okay,” I said in a low voice. “But this is it, lady. I mean it. Knock it off.”

I was shocked to see tears streaming down her face, and I started to feel like a heel.
Wait just a minute
, I told myself sternly.
She’s the one who was nasty and hateful. Why am I chastising myself?

“I—I just found out today that my husband is seeing another woman,” Susan said between sobs. “Someone from our church. Can you believe that? Someone I thought was my friend.”

Rats. Now I was going to feel sorry for her. Not fair. Not fair at all. “I’m sorry, Susan. I really am.” That not only explained her attitude, I now understood the comment about Christians. I reached out and put my hand over hers. “Look, I’m not an expert about this kind of thing, but I do know God will help you through it.”

She pulled her hand away. “Well He sure didn’t take very good care of my husband. If this is the best He can do, I’ll take care of myself, thank you.”

The words were said quickly, but they were heavy with pain. My previous dislike for the woman turned to compassion. “People make choices,” I said gently. “Sometimes they’re not God’s will at all. He’s not a giant puppet master pulling our strings, you know.”

She used her napkin to wipe her face. “I thought God controlled everything,” she sniffed. “Everything that happens is His will.”

I smiled. “Now that really doesn’t make sense, does it? If that were true no one would ever go to hell. No one would suffer. Didn’t Jesus pray that God’s will would be done on the earth as it is in heaven?”

She stared at me for a moment. “I—I guess so.”

“You’ve read what heaven is like, right?”

Looking more composed, she put her napkin back in her lap and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed her outburst. Even if they had, Harmony residents were too kind to let her know it. No one appeared to be paying any attention. “To be quite honest, Gracie, I don’t know much about the Bible. Our minister says it’s just a nice guide, but it doesn’t mean much today.”

Wow. One of those
. I prayed quickly and quietly for help. “I don’t believe that, Susan. The Bible is God’s Word to us. His love letter, if you will. His Word is spirit and life. Not just words on a page.”

“So you believe in heaven?”

“Yes, with all my heart. And just like it says in the Bible, it’s a wonderful place without pain, sadness, death, or sickness.”

She sighed so deeply, she sounded like a big balloon losing all its air. “So you’re saying that this world isn’t like heaven because people make poor decisions?”

I nodded. “That started a long time ago when a man and woman named Adam and Eve made some really bad choices. God gave them the right to do it though, because He wants us to be His children, not His robots.”

She stared down at the table for a moment while she made circles with her finger on the surface. “So it’s really not God’s fault that my husband made the choice he did.”

“No, Susan. It’s your husband’s fault. God loves you so much. He’ll comfort and support you through this if you’ll let Him. And if your marriage can be saved, He’ll help you with that, too.”

“You—you seem to really know God,” she said, another tear rolling down her cheek. She picked up her napkin once again and dabbed at it.

“Well, not as much as I want to, but I’m working on it. What about you?”

Her grief-filled eyes locked onto mine. “The way He’s presented in my church, He feels so far away. Like someone I know
about
but not someone I really
know
. Does that make any sense?”

I nodded. Here I thought I came to meet with this woman so we could talk about Hannah and her parents, and now it looked like I was going to lead her to the Lord. Life is weird. I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t listened to that voice telling me to keep my rear end stuck in this booth. I took a deep breath and began to tell her about the great exchange. The life that Jesus died to give us—one free of sin and full of forgiveness. I explained that knowing who Jesus is isn’t enough. We must know why He came and what He did for us. Then we must accept the exchange of our sinful life for His righteous one. I also told her that God has a plan for each of us. A wonderful plan that He formed before we were born. Not only can we find forgiveness and acceptance but we can also discover His personally crafted path made just for us.

“I want that new life, Gracie,” Susan said, her voice breaking. “I need forgiveness, and I want to find out what kind of life God has for me. I’m tired and unhappy. My way isn’t working at all. I want His way.”

Right then and there we bowed our heads and prayed together. Susan asked Jesus to forgive her and promised to live every day of her life for Him if He would come into her life. By the time we finished, we were both crying. And Leah, who waited until we were finished, had tears in her eyes as well when she returned to our table. She put our plates in front of us and then leaned over and gave Susan a big hug. I tried to hold my breath, afraid of making this odd hiccup noise that happens when I get too emotional. Unfortunately, although I tried my hardest not to let it out, it showed up anyway. This of course, sent Susan and Leah into gales of uncontrolled giggles. I could feel my face get hot, and I looked around the now-crowded restaurant to find the other customers staring at us. But instead of looking at us like we’d lost our minds, they were smiling. I guess most of them realized what had just happened. All I could do was shake my head. Being a Christian is certainly not boring.

“What was that noise?” Susan finally asked when she could breathe again and Leah had left the table.

“I’m not really sure. I’ve had it ever since I was a kid. Unfortunately.”

She chuckled. “It’s so funny.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Oh Gracie, if I can get saved in a diner, in front of all these people, you can certainly get over making a weird noise.”

She had a point. “Okay, I guess that’s fair.” After praying over our food, I dug into my fruit salad. It was delicious. Flavorful chunks of apples, oranges, blueberries, and bananas mixed with strawberry slices and walnuts. And to go with it, the best banana bread I’d ever tasted. It was still warm from the oven. Hector was an artist in the kitchen, and Harmony was blessed to have him. Although I was certain seeing Susan ushered into the family of God had helped to make everything, including my salad, seem much sweeter.