know what to do. Should I call 911? Grandma? No, I decided, this is a job for Aunt Stephie—she’s the expert in the area of broken hearts. Thank goodness Steph was home,and she bundled up baby Oliver and rushed right over. As penance I baby-sat Oliver all night while Stephie took Mom out to talk. I don’t know where they went, but they didn’t get home until late. And Stephie ended up spending the night and most of the day today. But I must admit, it’s good to have her here and I don’t even mind helping with Oliver (who is just starting to walk and is getting into everything and has just about totally demolished my entire room!).
But here’s something unexpected—Aunt Stephie actually wanted us to go to church this morning! At first we thought she was kidding—I mean, this is Stephie the “wild child” as my dad used to call her. And now she’s trying to get us to go to church. Mom explained she didn’t really want to go to church without Dad and have to tell everyone what was going on. But then, wonder of wonders, Stephie says, “No, I meant you should come to my church.”
And so, it turns out, that Aunt Stephie has begun going to church of all things! I guess someone at the bank, where she works as a teller, invited her around Christmastime to this new church that’s meeting in one of the grade schools. And Stephie dressed Oliver up in a little suit and just went. And she said the people there are all very real and that it was nothing like any church she’s ever been to before (apparently they have a band that plays with drums and electric guitars and everything), and she’s been going pretty regularly ever since. Well, you just never know! But just the same, we weren’t in the mood for church this morning, and Momtold her maybe next week, and Stephie said she’s holding us to it.
February 21, Wednesday (confusing confessions)
So far this week’s been fairly uneventful. Stephie has been over at our house a lot, and she and Mom seem closer than ever before. This takes a big load off of me, and even Ben seems to be adjusting a little better now. He announced today that he’s going to try out for the sixth-grade baseball team, and seems pretty happy about it.
My dad called to talk to me yesterday evening. I almost hung up, then decided to hear what he had to say. Naturally, he asked me how I knew about Belinda, and I told him about the bracelet. Then he had the audacity to say that he has not been unfaithful to my mom. So I said, “What do you mean?”
And then there was this long silence and finally he said. “I haven’t had an actual affair with Belinda yet.” It was the yet that caught me.
“Then you’re considering it?” I said accusingly. Another long silence.
“I want to be honest with you, Catie,” he said. “Yes, I’ve been thinking about it.” I didn’t know whether to believe him or not—whether to yell at him or simply hang up? But somehow I managed to stay on the line.
“Well, isn’t there a verse in the Bible that says if you think about something, it’s just like actually doing it?” (I could hardly believe I came up with that line, but allthose years of going to church shouldn’t be for nothing!) He coughed slightly, kind of like he choked on something. Then I continued. “You know you used to give me all those stupid talks about boys and dating and all that crud—and the whole time you were off thinking about cheating on your wife!”
Now I was just waiting for him to hang up on me. But surprisingly, he didn’t. Instead he said, “I guess I deserve that.” His voice sounded so sad that I almost felt sorry for my harsh words. Almost.
Then I said, “So, Dad, if you haven’t cheated yet, what’s stopping you?” I couldn’t believe we were even having this conversation. I mean, when had everything changed so drastically; when had the earth shifted on its axis?
“I don’t know,” he answered quietly. “I’m just trying to figure it all out—I
But here’s something unexpected—Aunt Stephie actually wanted us to go to church this morning! At first we thought she was kidding—I mean, this is Stephie the “wild child” as my dad used to call her. And now she’s trying to get us to go to church. Mom explained she didn’t really want to go to church without Dad and have to tell everyone what was going on. But then, wonder of wonders, Stephie says, “No, I meant you should come to my church.”
And so, it turns out, that Aunt Stephie has begun going to church of all things! I guess someone at the bank, where she works as a teller, invited her around Christmastime to this new church that’s meeting in one of the grade schools. And Stephie dressed Oliver up in a little suit and just went. And she said the people there are all very real and that it was nothing like any church she’s ever been to before (apparently they have a band that plays with drums and electric guitars and everything), and she’s been going pretty regularly ever since. Well, you just never know! But just the same, we weren’t in the mood for church this morning, and Momtold her maybe next week, and Stephie said she’s holding us to it.
February 21, Wednesday (confusing confessions)
So far this week’s been fairly uneventful. Stephie has been over at our house a lot, and she and Mom seem closer than ever before. This takes a big load off of me, and even Ben seems to be adjusting a little better now. He announced today that he’s going to try out for the sixth-grade baseball team, and seems pretty happy about it.
My dad called to talk to me yesterday evening. I almost hung up, then decided to hear what he had to say. Naturally, he asked me how I knew about Belinda, and I told him about the bracelet. Then he had the audacity to say that he has not been unfaithful to my mom. So I said, “What do you mean?”
And then there was this long silence and finally he said. “I haven’t had an actual affair with Belinda yet.” It was the yet that caught me.
“Then you’re considering it?” I said accusingly. Another long silence.
“I want to be honest with you, Catie,” he said. “Yes, I’ve been thinking about it.” I didn’t know whether to believe him or not—whether to yell at him or simply hang up? But somehow I managed to stay on the line.
“Well, isn’t there a verse in the Bible that says if you think about something, it’s just like actually doing it?” (I could hardly believe I came up with that line, but allthose years of going to church shouldn’t be for nothing!) He coughed slightly, kind of like he choked on something. Then I continued. “You know you used to give me all those stupid talks about boys and dating and all that crud—and the whole time you were off thinking about cheating on your wife!”
Now I was just waiting for him to hang up on me. But surprisingly, he didn’t. Instead he said, “I guess I deserve that.” His voice sounded so sad that I almost felt sorry for my harsh words. Almost.
Then I said, “So, Dad, if you haven’t cheated yet, what’s stopping you?” I couldn’t believe we were even having this conversation. I mean, when had everything changed so drastically; when had the earth shifted on its axis?
“I don’t know,” he answered quietly. “I’m just trying to figure it all out—I
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