Page 61 of Beside the Rolling Waves
They walked around the park, holding hands and talking until Rodney dropped a bombshell on her.
“You know, I kinda thought your wedding gift would be here by now, but it was delayed a bit, and it’s not going to be arriving until tomorrow.”
“My wedding gift?” she asked, pulling her coat tighter around her as a cool wind blew off the lake.
“We can go back inside if you’re cold?” Rodney said immediately.
“No thank you. I’m not cold, I just wanted to make sure the wind wasn’t getting in any cracks.” She turned to him. “Tell me more about this wedding gift?”
“Well, there’s actually four of them. And I’m pretty sure you’re going to be okay with it.”
“I know it’s not a refrigerator, and I sure hope it’s not quadruplets. Not that I would turn them down, but…I’m still getting used to the twins.”
“No. Not quadruplets.” He paused, maybe for effect. She almost prompted him again before he spoke. “I bought your Clydesdales back. It took me a little while to track them all down, but I had some help from the guy who hauled them away. I figured out who that was, called him, and it wasn’t too hard for me to explain the situation and double the price on each of them. It was surprising how quickly they agreed to sell.”
“Are you serious?” Becky laughed. It was a happy sound and carried across the park. Several people threw curious glances their way.
“I’m dead serious. They should be at our place tomorrow. You might want to, I don’t know, order feed or something.”
“Wow. And you have no idea how nice it’s going to be to just pick up the phone and order feed and not have to count the pennies in my bank account first.”
“You know, we never talked about that. I got the feeling, just different times when you were talking, that maybe things were a little tight for you.”
Becky eyed him. Unsure whether she should admit just how bad they were. But there was no need for her to hide anything from him anymore. She trusted him completely. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t human and he wasn’t going to make mistakes. She was too. But she wasn’t going to hold him to some impossibly high standard. She was going to accept and forgive, and she was going to accept and forgive as often as it took. Because…that’s what God did for her, and hopefully that’s what Rodney would do for her as well. Why wouldn’t she do it for him?
Maybe it would involve pain down the road. Maybe she would cause him pain too. And hopefully they would forgive andlet it go and accept each other as they were. Broken, human, sinful, and love each other anyway.
“Yeah. They were pretty tight. I kept the heat turned down as low as it would go. I only had it on at all to keep the pipes from freezing. I wore layers and layers of clothes to bed, hoping to not freeze to death. I took a shower maybe once a week.” She cringed. “Sorry. But it was too cold to take all of my clothes off, and the shower was kind of makeshift anyway. And I would have the heater on, and I really didn’t have the money to pay for any extra heat. It was all I could do to buy feed for the horses. The day I sold them, I was out of feed and wasn’t sure how I was going to buy any more.”
“Wow. What were you eating?”
“Beans and rice. It was cheap, nutritious, but I don’t care if I ever see beans and rice again. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s not my favorite either. Although you’re right, it is nutritious.” His mouth was set in a line. “I don’t like to hear all that. It makes me feel even worse that I was so consumed with making more and more and more. And you needed me.”
About that time, a car pulled up to the lawyer’s office, and Stella got out.
She reached back in and soon stood with a little boy, holding him by the hand. He had dark hair and…dark skin.
“I don’t think that one’s yours,” Becky said as they walked slowly out of the park and waited to cross the street.
Rodney huffed. “I don’t think so either. I suppose that’s probably why Stella wanted to meet with me. She didn’t understand.”
“Yeah. Wow.”
“I suppose I’m supposed to feel like I’ve been duped, but I don’t. I feel like we’re getting a little boy out of this, who needed a good home, and I’m betting that because of the way the Lord works, we need this little boy in our lives.”
“I bet you’re right.” Becky said, smiling up at him. She loved the way he thought. Loved that he wasn’t angry at Stella for her lies and deceit, and loved that he wasn’t determined to beat her at her own game. Because it was a game that involved lives and souls, and this little boy was more than just something to beat or something to win. He was someone who needed love.
Who needed them.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Rodney said, looking down at her.
“I am. I feel a little bit bad for you though. You confessed things to me that you didn’t need to confess. And you paid money that you didn’t need to pay. And I’m a little surprised you’re not upset about that.”
“Not at all. I would have told you anyway. I wouldn’t have wanted that to be between us all of our lives. I wouldn’t have felt right letting you think that I have been faithful all those years, even though I was ashamed. I wanted you to know the truth. Whether it was bad or ugly or what. And I don’t feel the slightest bit angry. I just feel sad that Stella felt she had to lie and even worse that this little boy doesn’t seem to have anyone who loves him.”
“The five million dollars should have her set for life.”
