Page 58 of Loving Decker

“You two going to Bingo at the church?” Mav called from Faith’s front porch.

“Yep. You guys going?”

“Bailey and I will be there. Dylan and Kate too.”

“Oh, this is gonna be good!” Faith laughed. She hopped out of the truck, already razzing his brothers about couples therapy after, and Decker drove off with a smile that hurt his cheeks.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Faith and Decker sat at a table with the other married Dawson brothers. She had never seen so much tension around a Bingo game.

With every number or letter called, the guys made noises. They covered their cards. They shouted out reactions to the room. Half their congregation was there, and she was pretty sure every single one of them thought the Dawson clan had lost their marbles. They called the last letter-number combination ,and Mav, Dylan, and Decker all jumped to their feet cheering. But then Kate called out, “Bingo!”

And she won.

Seemed like a lot of noise for something like Bingo, but at the end of the hour, two of them came away with wins, so maybe making a big fuss helped your luck. She had no idea. It certainly made everything more fun.

Pastor John stood up at the front. “For those of you interested, we are holding a marriage class right after Bingo tonight. Just come on up to the front and circle up the chairs. All are invited to join our regular class. We’re hoping to grow our numbers.”

The brothers shared a look that Faith could not decipher, but Bailey put her hand on Mav’s arm. “Come on. Everyone could use a little couples therapy.”

He grumbled a little bit, but they all followed, and pretty soon they were sitting in a marriage class with their pastor at the front. Half the class were Dawsons or spouses and friends of Dawsons.

And suddenly Faith got kind of nervous. What if this was one of those classes where everyone had to speak? She leaned over to Decker just as he leaned over to her.

“What if we have to know stuff in here?” His eyes showed his sudden panic.

“I know. I don’t have anything to add to whatever they’ve got going on.”

“We’ll try to slide in under the radar maybe. Dylan and Kate can do all the talking. Or Mav and Bailey, they’ve been through a lot.”

Faith nodded. Surely the pastor would call on the more expert Dawsons to contribute. The other people in the group looked like they were older, at least older than her and Deck.

But the first thing Pastor John did after everyone introduced themselves was call on Decker. “So, you two have the longest standing relationship of anyone in the room, arguably. Except of course for myself. You also have the newest relationship. What can you tell us about keeping the friendship alive in your relationship?”

Decker reached for Faith’s hand and squeezed kind of hard. But his face was pleasant, blank of emotion. He cleared his throat. “So. Um. We feel much more like the very new instead of the expert long timers.” He looked to Faith, and she nodded.

“But you are already speaking in terms of we, and you just looked to Faith to confirm. I think you have a lot to teach us.” Pastor John nodded in encouragement.

So Decker and Faith exchanged looks. She really didn’t know what to say at first, but then suddenly she remembered how Decker had just shown up, so many times, and how much it meant to her. “One thing Decker does that really helps is to just be there. We’re obviously not married or anything yet, but he’s shown up at my door, or at the hospital in some pretty key moments. And it has made a ton of difference.”

Pastor John beamed like she’d just quoted all of Genesis. “This is excellent. It can apply to so many things. Being present in a marriage. How do the rest of you see this as working for you?”

Decker leaned over. “I didn’t know it was so important.”

“You’re really good at it. Like today. I mentioned I was cleaning out the barn, and you show up with a whole team. It’s great, Deck.”

He nodded, suddenly feeling taller.

Then the pastor turned back to him. “Have you noticed something Faith has done that has really helped in your relationship?”

And then Decker froze.Think. Think. “She is amazing. And she is probably the whole reason we have a relationship. I think I’m lucky she would even look in my direction after all this time.” He stretched his neck out.Think.

And then their talks about the Bible, her grandpa, her dedication to the Lord filled his mind, and he breathed out in relief. “She is a lot like her name. Faith. She’s the reason our conversation moves to important things. She’s why we are noticing God’s hand in our lives right now. She’s trying to make tough decisions and involves me and the Lord in so many ways. I feel like we’re better because of it.”

Pastor John might have cheered. “Another fantastic talking point for the rest of us. We all know the commandment to be one. But being one with each other is only a partial goal. What we really want is to be one in Christ. We three together in one.” He nodded, as pleased as she’d ever seen him. “Let’s talk about ways we can be one in our marriages and how to invite Christ into that oneness.”

As the talk moved around them, Faith was kind of dazed. Decker thought so highly of her? She had no idea.

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