Page 16 of Tethered Hearts

Brie

Brie made her way along the aisle to meet up with Melanie and Wade while the worship team continued to play after the last song of the second church service of the morning. The congregation mingled in the sanctuary, while the hospitality team served tea and coffee and an assortment of sweet buns in the foyer. As her gaze drifted around the people exiting the building, a familiar face caught her eye. Fine grey hair framed a soft face with delicate features and a warm smile. Where had she seen the woman before?

Melanie laughed at something Jackson said, while Brie racked her brains, trying to place the familiar woman. Maybe she was on the search and rescue committee and she’d seen her at one of the quarterly meetings. No, that wasn’t it. Did she work at the Green Tree Grocers? No. She knew all the staff that worked there, given it was her favourite place for coffee. She was pretty sure she hadn’t seen her at church before, although given there were two morning services, and Brie’s attendance had been irregular of late, perhaps she had seen the woman at church some time ago. No …

The clinic. Of course.Her pulse ratcheted up a notch as she recalled seeing her there the other day waiting for Matt. “Mel, I’ll see you later.”

Melanie gave her a curious glance before Brie weaved through the exodus and caught up with the woman. A light touch on her elbow garnered the stranger’s attention. “Hi. Excuse me.”

The woman turned her head. A light frown furrowed her brow before a flicker of recognition elicited a smile. “Oh! You’re …”

“Brie. Yes. From the physiotherapy clinic. Are you related to Matt Dallimore?”

“Yes, I’m his aunt. Helen Oberton.”

“It’s nice to officially meet you,” Brie said, stepping aside as people filed past toward the spread of morning tea. “I was trying to figure out where I knew you from, and then I remembered you were waiting for Matt. I didn’t realise you came here.”

“I don’t normally come to the second service,” Helen replied. “I’m normally up at dawn and here for the first one. I had a few things to do for Matt this morning, hence why I’m here now.” Her warm smile and gentle manner prompted Brie to ask how her ex-client was doing.

“He’s … He’s not doing so great.” Helen sighed, lifting her troubled gaze to meet Brie’s. “Do you have time to talk? Though I don’t want to interrupt any plans you might have.”

“No, that’s fine. I haven’t got any plans. But let’s move away from the noise.” Brie had nowhere else to be, and she was keen to find out what was wrong with Matt, given that Helen looked so defeated. The women grabbed a cup of tea and a biscuit each and took their Styrofoam cups to a partly shaded table outside.

“I’m sorry to hear Matt hasn’t been doing well.” Brie prompted Helen to expand on her initial comment as they sat down. She thought he’d been doing so well when she’d asked Tom to take over his care. He’d made so much progress in their time together, including opening up to her. Not that they’d shared anything deep and meaningful. They hadn’t talked about his injuries, or how he was feeling given the change in his circumstances. She wasn’t qualified for those emotion-filled conversations. But getting him to come out of his hard shell had been something. They’d even shared some laughs. And Matt’s wasn’t one she’d forget anytime soon - a deep, rich sound that made her toes curl. She blew a breath across the top of her steaming tea and shifted her gaze to the progression of cars leaving the parking lot. She shouldn’t be thinking about Matt’s laugh or her reactions, particularly when she was sitting outside the church with his aunt. “Is it the pain?” She could only imagine what he went through on a daily basis. He’d tried to be tough, but she had noticed his grimaces. The trembling limbs. The beads of sweat.

“Partly. He’s …” Helen’s chest heaved with a sigh as she stirred some sugar through the milky liquid in her cup. Tears brimmed her grey eyes. “I haven’t spoken to anyone else about this.”

Brie’s heart went out to the older woman. She didn’t know anything about Matt’s home life, or how he came to be living with his aunt. She knew nothing of their relationship. But empathy fuelled her desire to sit and listen and perhaps be a vessel through which she could somehow encourage the other woman. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t feel comfortable. After all, you don’t know me. But, if you need someone to listen, I’m here.” She took another sip of her tea and gave a small wave to some members of the worship team as they walked past carrying their guitar cases.

“Thank you, Brie. I really appreciate that. You know, during church I was praying that God would help me find a way to help Matt, and here you are.”

Here I am.Brie cleared her throat and smoothed over her black pants. She wouldn’t class herself as an answer to prayer. Then again, God worked in mysterious ways, so who was she to argue with the Almighty? If providing a listening ear helped Helen, then she was happy to oblige. “I’m not sure what I can do to help, Helen.”

“You’re here, for starters. And you’ve worked with Matt, so you already know a little about him. It’s hard to talk with other people who don’t know him personally. They’re often jaded by his success and get all starry-eyed at the mere mention of his name.”

Brie swallowed, feeling guilty that she’d done just that. Albeit privately, but still, she’d held a flame for him for years. Not quite an Olympic-sized one, but a silly infatuation just the same.

Helen continued. “Yes, I’m biased, but he is a wonderful guy, and I’m so proud of him. He’s just lost all his motivation of late. Understandably, he hit rock bottom after the accident. However, he seemed to have made progress over the last few weeks. He was brighter. Happier. But now he’s slipped right back into a negative mindset that he can’t seem to get out of. Drinking and taking pills … which he never used to do. He was always aversive to any of that.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Helen.” Disappointment and sadness swept over Brie as Helen spoke of Matt’s descent into what she could only assume was depression. She would never be able to fully comprehend his situation. How difficult it would be for him to come to terms with his accident and how much his life had changed since. How his dreams of records and medals no longer existed. How pain and immobility now dictated his life. It was off-the-charts devastating. People coped with things differently - her life-altering diagnosis had been a wake-up call for the mess in her life - but it saddened her that he thought his only option was to turn to alcohol and drugs.

“I feel like all the progress you made with him has gone out the window. He’s even been skipping sessions.” Helen dabbed a napkin at the corner of her eye.

Guilt lodged in Brie’s throat. Was this all because of her? Was he resorting to substances because she’d stepped away from treating him? Did he not get along with Tom? Had she ruined all his progress? Sure, he was an adult and made his own choices, but if she’d somehow influenced those choices, well, that was a hard burden to bear.Lord, what can I do? Is it even my place to do anything?

“Would you like me to pay him a visit?” The words flew out of her mouth before she’d given them a second thought. Before she had time to process how she could be of assistance.

“I thought of asking Pastor Jacobs to stop by for a visit, but I don’t think Matt would be too receptive. He’s got to discover his need for God himself. I can’t force it on him.” Toying with the cross necklace around her neck, Helen sighed. “I don’t really know what else I can do but pray. It breaks my heart to see him so discouraged. He’s not the Matt I know.”

“Sometimes, praying is all we can do,” Brie assured, giving the space to Helen to share her grievances. She’d embraced the power of prayer when she’d been on rock bottom, facing her own mortality. Having her world tilt on its axis put everything into perspective and revealed how much she’d drifted away from her true north. Life wasn’t just about the here and now. She’d learned that it was fleeting and every single moment on earth counted for eternity. Until her wake-up call, the life she’d been living had been purely for her own gain. Now, she couldn’t help but live each day with a grateful heart. God was indeed her rock and her salvation, her anchor in life’s storms. How she longed for people to know that for themselves, and to know the true freedom found in Christ. Her heart ached for Matt. She knew nothing about his faith or his upbringing. Did he even believe? Perhaps there was a legacy of faith woven through his lineage, given his aunt was a believer. Regardless of her tangled feelings toward him, she knew beyond a doubt that she needed to cover him in prayer.

“I bought him a dog because I thought it might be good company for him and help cheer him up,” Helen said, a soft smile crinkling her eyes.

“Winston. Matt mentioned him” Brie nodded, recalling her last session with him and their conversation about their respective pets. His eyes had shown the first spark of life she’d seen as he’d spoken about his new friend.What if …?Tapping her fingers against her chin, her thoughts raced with an idea. It made sense. They both had dogs. The dogs needed exercise. It would be the perfect solution. Should she share her thoughts with Helen? Was she being ridiculous? What was the worst that could happen? Helen would refute her idea, and they’d both go about their business. She could live with that. But there was something about Matt’s situation and Helen’s despondency that was causing her heart to race. It was a persistent pounding in her chest that she knew she wouldn’t be able to walk away from and feel settled unless she did something.

Clasping her hands together, she leaned forward. “I don’t want to overstep any lines, Helen, but what if I took Matt and Winston out one day? There’s a dog park near the beach. I’ll bring my dog, Rocky, and the dogs can run around and do whatever it is that dogs do to have fun. A change of scenery and some fresh air might be good for Matt.” She could only try.

“Oh, I think that would be a wonderful idea.” Helen’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as her hand closed over Brie’s. “I’d be grateful to give anything a try to see him happy again. He won’t often listen to me, stubborn as he can be. What does an old woman like me know? But you seem to have made a good impression on him. I know he misses seeing you at the clinic.”

Hang on,he missed her? And she’d made a good impression on him?What did that even mean? A good impression as in deserving of a five-star rating on the company’s website because she was a good physiotherapist and knew what she was doing? Or a good impression in some other way? In that he couldn’t forget about her, just like she hadn’t been able to forget about him. A part of her hoped it was in some other way, but she quickly brushed that thought aside, pressing her lips together to rein in her smile.Settle down. Get your head in the right space. Helen might have second thoughts about confiding in you if you start going all ga-ga over her nephew.

With the decision made, the women swapped phone numbers and Helen gave Brie her address.

“Thanks so much, Brie,” the older woman said as they stood and disposed of their empty cups in the trash receptacle. “Doesn’t God have a funny way of working things out? To think that I almost didn’t come to church today.” She shook her head, as though trying to think of alternative scenarios. Brie knew exactly what would’ve happened if Helen hadn’t shown up at church. She wouldn’t have known Matt had regressed and was struggling, and she wouldn’t have offered to take him for an outing to the dog park, which was now making her question her sanity. The thought of being alone with Matt outside the clinic was already making her heart pick up pace.

“He certainly does.” Brie forced a generous smile as she bid the other woman goodbye. Was this really God’s humorous way of working things out? Brie wasn’t laughing. Now she was stuck with an obligation because she’d made a suggestion on a whim. She really needed to think before she opened her mouth next time.

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