First Mates (17 page)

“It's okay, Carl, it's just Winston, Rainy's friend. Carl, this is Winston—Winston, I'd like you to meet Carl.” She introduced them as she guided Carl's hand toward Winston's. That's when he realized the man was blind. A red-tipped white cane stood in the corner. They shared a firm handshake before Carl returned to his seat. Sarah led Winston into the kitchen. He noticed two dirty plates at the table and a set of matches on the counter.

“Okay, Winston, this had better be good. I was just about to light the candles on Carl's birthday cake.” She glared, placing her hands over her lean hips.

“I didn't mean to interrupt your date, but this is an emergency. Where's Rainy?”

“Hmm. I don't know if I should tell you that. Do you know if she wants to talk to you?” She pulled a cake knife from the drawer and lifted the matches from the counter.

He sighed. “Of course she wants to talk to me. That's why I'm here.” He explained how her letter had gotten wet in the rain. “I couldn't make out all the words, but I know she wants to meet with me sometime next week.”

“Well, I know you wouldn't lie about something like this.” She told him that Rainy had returned to her parents' dairy farm to return Amber. “Mark wanted to pick her up, but he couldn't leave the farm chores for the weekend.”

“Thank you.” He kissed her cheek, said goodbye to Carl and ran out of the house. The rain continued to fall, but the thunder and lightning had stopped. When he returned home, he called his travel agent and booked a flight for the following day. Rainy Jackson was going to be getting a surprise visit tomorrow. He just hoped and prayed her letter had stated that they should reconcile and try to renew their relationship.

 

The scent of cow dung and hay filled the cool autumn air as Rainy walked to the secluded brook on her parents' dairy farm. Cows mooed in the distance, eagerly awaiting the evening milking. She sat on a rock and snuggled beneath her jacket.

She smiled as she fondly recalled Amber's reunion with Mark. He'd cried tears of joy as he clutched his beloved daughter. She hoped and prayed everything worked out for the small family. Cindy, Amber's mother, had returned for a brief period of time. She'd spent a few hours with Amber, and had arranged to visit her regularly with Mark. Rainy still had unexplained questions about Cindy's sudden reappearance, and she wondered if she was still with the man she'd had an affair with. She questioned where Cindy was staying and found that she was staying in town with a relative.

She sighed as the cool evening air blew through the trees. She still ached to speak to Winston, but she just couldn't find the courage to call him. She almost dialed his number three times, but after punching in a few of the digits, she'd hung up the phone in frustration. She knew he must have received her letter by now, and when she checked her home and work numbers, she didn't have any messages from him. “Lord, does this mean I've messed things up pretty badly? Does Winston not want to be a part of my life any longer?” She asked aloud.

“I've wanted to be a part of your life, Rainy, ever since we first met on the cruise.” Winston's deep voice carried over the wind. She gazed behind her. Was she dreaming?

Winston walked toward her, and he looked as fine as ever! His dark jeans hugged his lean hips and his jacket covered his broad shoulders. “Winston, what are you doing here?” She moistened her dry lips as she gazed at the man that she loved.

“I'm here to see you.”

“But, how did you find me?”

He sat beside her on the rock and took her hand. As he caressed her fingers, sparks of warmth flowed through her arm.

“I paid Sarah a surprise visit and she told me I'd find you here.” He pensively gazed at the green pastures and the sparkling brook.

“You flew down here to see me?” She cocked her head and gave him a confused look. “Why? I was going to be home next week. Didn't Sarah tell you that?”

“Yes, she told me. But I wanted to see you in person, and I didn't want to wait until you got back to talk to you.”

“Oh.” She looked toward the brook, and the pine trees dotting the land. “I'm surprised you're here. In light of the way I've been treating you.”

“Rainy…” She placed her fingers over his full lips.

“Let me finish,” she calmly demanded. She sighed as the breeze blew through her hair, lifting the strands off her neck. “It was wrong of me to question your reasons for your baptism. As long as people come to Him, God doesn't care about the reasons and neither do I. You're living your life as a Christian, and I'm sure your sister's death shook you up pretty much. It was wrong of me to misjudge you like that and I'm sorry.”

“Oh, Rainy. I know you're sorry. I just want us to try to work through this. I know it's hard to believe I've turned my life around completely since Pam's death, but I have improved the best that I can.”

He paused as he caressed her shoulder. “You look too thin. You haven't been eating, have you?”

She gazed into his hazel-brown eyes. “No, I've been too upset to eat.”

She was silent as she thought about his words. Could she trust him? Could she allow the anger and hurt to evaporate? Would he return to alcohol when he had a crisis?

He cleared his throat. “I can tell you're hesitant about this relationship. Did you need to think about it over the weekend? I won't bother you until you're ready to give
me an answer.” When she gazed into his hazel eyes, she noticed they glistened with tears. She touched his cheek, brushing his razor stubble.

Her voice wavered as she spoke. “No, I won't have to think about it this weekend. I can tell you right now.”

He patiently waited until she spoke.

“My answer is yes, Winston.” She pulled him into her arms and they shared a long hug.

R
ainy turned her computer off and packed her briefcase. A soft knock sounded on her door. “Come in.”

Caroline, her new office assistant, stepped into the room. “Are you about ready to leave, Rainy?” Her steno pad was open and she clutched a gold pen.

“Yes, it's about that time, Caroline.” She smiled as she relished Caroline's cool professional manner. Her dark suit was freshly pressed and her black hair was pulled back into a bun. Round, dark-framed glasses rested upon her nose.

Caroline waved the steno pad in the air. “Just wanted to remind you to get here early tomorrow morning. You have a breakfast meeting with the auditors at eight o'clock.” Rainy praised God for allowing her to find a competent assistant. She never would have remembered the meeting tomorrow without her.

“Thanks, Caroline. Why don't you go home yourself now?”

Caroline nodded. “I will as soon as I finish typing up those letters.”

Rainy yawned as she left her office and walked downstairs. The past six months had been hectic. She was saddened that she finally had to have Linda fired. After several warnings, as well as office etiquette training seminars, she still had not improved her office manner. Her behavior had gotten worse, so she had to be removed from the job. Rainy had thought and prayed about it for weeks before she finally took the final step.

As she continued through the building, she said goodbye to several of her co-workers. She stopped as she approached the day care center. Children shrieked, and she heard cries coming from the room. A pang of sadness sliced through her as she thought about her niece, Amber. It had been six months since she'd kept her temporarily, and she still missed her like crazy. As a result of the temporary status of motherhood, she'd taken it upon herself to call Amber every night, just to say hello and to see how she was doing.

“I think about that girl every day,” she mumbled as she exited the building. She listlessly gazed at the sidewalk as she walked to her car.

“Winston,” she breathed. He leaned against her car, clutching a dozen red roses. She glided toward him and he held her in his arms, crushing the flowers.

He pressed his lips to her ear. “Hi, sweetheart.” She reluctantly ended their embrace.

“Why are you here? We didn't have a date set for tonight.”

“I wanted to see you, and I didn't want to wait until our next date. Is that a crime, young lady?”

She smiled as she touched his razor-stubbed cheek. “No, as a matter of fact, I'm glad to see you.” He lifted the floral bouquet into her arms. She sniffed the sweet fragrance. Several of her co-workers walked by and chuckled. “Are you sure you don't have a reason for stopping by today?”

He smiled, showing the deep dimple in his left cheek. “Well, you've got me figured out pretty good. Yeah, there is a reason for my being here today.” He gazed at the stream of people exiting the building. “But I don't feel like talking around all these people. Candace's Creamery is around the corner. Did you want to go for some ice cream, or would you rather go for an early dinner someplace?”

She clutched her flowers as she gazed at the late afternoon sky. “We could go to the creamery. Since it's just around the corner we can walk.”

He chuckled. “Sounds good to me, dear.” They walked to the creamery, hand in hand. Birds twittered from the palm trees, and a slight breeze ruffled through the leaves. Winston squeezed her hand, and she squeezed his back.

They entered the bright, airy creamery moments later. Scents of cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate mingled in the air-conditioned shop. Soft jazz music played, and small groups of patrons dotted the tables, eating ice cream, drinking coffee, working on laptops, reading books and having conversations.

“What'll you have?” He removed his wallet.

She toyed with the petals on the flowers. “I'll have one of those coffee chocolate shakes. Could you get me one of those sandwiches and a pastry, too? I think I am kind of hungry now.”

“You got it.” He squeezed her shoulder and went to the counter to place his order. He returned to the table minutes later. “He said he'd bring the order when they're done making the shakes.”

She nodded. The creamery recently added a cappuccino machine. The sound of the coffee machine filled the air with the grinding clink. He took her hand and massaged her knuckles. “You know, we've come a long way over the past six months.”

“I know. I'm so glad we were able to work through our problems.” She sighed with contentment. “It feels good to talk to you and have a normal relationship without all of the questions and wondering.”

“I know. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry for the way I treated you earlier this year. When we got back from the cruise, and I saw my uncle like that—”

She squeezed his hand and placed her fingers over his full lips. “You don't have to explain. I understand you were scared.” She sighed as she gazed at the patrons of the ice-cream shop. “I guess in a way I was scared, too. I've also learned a lot about my shortcomings during this relationship.”

“You, with shortcomings?”

The server returned to their table with their orders. The delicious scents of chocolate and mocha filled the
air as he served their drinks, pastries and sandwiches. “Would you like anything else?” Winston shook his head, waving him away.

After saying a brief prayer she continued their conversation. “Yeah, I have shortcomings, too. You know God didn't make any of us perfect. As both Rachel and Sarah have pointed out to me, I needed to stop being so judgmental toward other people. It's still something I'm praying about. It's hard for me to forgive others, and to believe the best of people.”

He stirred his shake before he took a drink. “You mean people like Jordan?”

She sighed. “Yeah, people like Jordan. I've noticed that he hasn't been to my church in awhile, but I was glad that he finally stopped approaching me. I think he's learned to accept the fact that I'm happily involved with someone else.”

“You know how the Lord works. Maybe Jordan was going to your church for a reason.”

“You mean the sermons might have had an impact on his life? Do you think Jordan might be willing to take the big step and accept Christ as his Lord and Savior?”

“I don't know. The only ones who know about that are Jordan and Jesus, but I do think it's a good sign that he did attend services regularly at one point, don't you?”

She sipped her shake and nodded. “I do think it's a good sign. I know now that I shouldn't have treated him so coldly when he started coming to church. Although
it appeared he was coming for the wrong reasons, it now looks like he might have a different agenda on his mind, God's agenda.”

“Amen to that.” He paused and released her hand. “Did you talk to Amber yesterday?”

She nodded. “Yes, I called her. My long-distance bill has been atrocious since she went back to the farm to live with Mark. But you know, I could see God working in my life then, too.”

“Really?” He encouraged her to continue.

“Well, when Mark was going through that stuff with his wife, and I took Amber in, we developed a bonding relationship. I'm now closer to my niece than I ever was in the past, and I think she needs me more now, especially since her parents are no longer together, and she only sees her mother once in a while. Maybe God was setting both of us up for this relationship that we would need in the future.”

“Yeah, I can understand why you'd feel that way. It's amazing how things work out sometimes.” He paused and finished his sandwich. “So are you ready for this weekend?”

“Yep, I certainly am!”

Over the past six months, Rainy and Winston had taken their youth financial planning seminars to several churches. The seminars became so popular that they could no longer accept all the offers to speak at the churches. Also, since the seminars lasted for several weeks, it was hard to accommodate the wishes of all the churches. “I think we're onto something here,” Win
ston said one Saturday after they'd spoken at another church. “Do you think we need to start doing this and charging people?”

Rainy scoffed. “Winston, do you really think that people are going to pay to attend a youth financial seminar?”

“No, I'm not talking about the youth, I'm talking about the adults. We could always streamline our criteria to fit adults and make it more compact—into, like, a seminar for a day or so and see how that works. A lot of people in the surrounding churches already know who we are. Maybe this is a calling for us in a way. You know God wants us to have control over our finances.”

So they started doing financial seminars for adults. Soon they had a small side business going. They weren't making a lot of money yet, but Rainy could see the potential in Winston's idea. “Soon enough, we'll be making enough money on the side to quit our day jobs,” he commented happily.

She wasn't sure she agreed with that, but she was enjoying working with Winston, and she could easily see them owning their own business some day, doing financial seminars for African-Americans all over the nation. Just daydreaming about it gave her thrilling goose bumps. It made her feel warm, fuzzy and happy to share a common goal with Winston, and to share their expertise with others.

“Your friend, Rachel, found our advice to be helpful. She's still got a long way to go to finding financial security, but at least she's on the right track.”

Rainy nodded. “Yeah, after her car was repossessed, I think that was a good wake-up call for her. She's better with her finances now, not perfect, but better than she used to be.” She chuckled softly.

“What's so funny?”

“I was just thinking that when we go out for our weekly lunch, Rachel always has the money to pay for her portion. She hasn't asked me or Sarah to cover for her in ages.”

“Ah, I see. Speaking of Sarah, is she still dating that blind man?”

“Oh, you mean Carl? You need to call him Carl instead of ‘that blind man.' Sarah gets offended when people call him that. They're still dating, but Sarah has been so hush-hush about this relationship. Usually, she doesn't mind talking about the people she dates and her escapades of dating, but this time she's keeping quiet.”

“Uh, oh. Could turn out that he's the right one for her.”

“Hmm. Maybe. Sarah hasn't been too optimistic about the dating game. So it's hard to tell if she's serious about this guy or not, or if he's serious about her.”

“Well, they've been dating for over six months now, and I think that should account for something, don't you?”

“Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll just have to wait and see what happens between them.”

They finished the rest of their meal in silence. The coffee machine continued to putter in the background and the soft jazz music continued to play from the juke
box while patrons spoke in hushed tones. Rainy and Winston were silent as they enjoyed the easy camaraderie of being together. Finally, Winston broke their silent moment.

“Well, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. I never got around to telling you why I came to your job today.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh? That's right, you haven't.”

“Well, first off, this is a celebration. It was six months ago today when I took a plane to your dairy farm in Maryland and asked you to give our relationship a chance and you agreed. Remember?”

Rainy's eyes widened with surprise. They had been a couple for six blissful months, and she still ached to be married to the man. Whenever he held her and kissed her, sparks of happiness flowed through her body like warm butter. So far, she had been hoping and praying that they could take that big step toward marriage.

Although she trusted him, and he said he'd given his doubts over to the Lord, she wondered if he had doubts about having a future with her. Being with Winston filled her with so much euphoria that she desperately wanted to see him everyday in a state of marital bliss.

His deep voice pulled her back to the present time in the creamery. “What are you thinking about?”

She swallowed and toyed with her flowers. “Oh, lots of things,” she said with a soft sigh.

Her heart pounded as he caressed her cheek. “Something's bothering you. What is it? Do you miss Amber?
Maybe you should plan another weekend trip to the dairy farm. I could come with you.”

She sighed. Winston could be so sweet. “No, it's not that, not right at this moment anyway.”

Warm pleasure flowed through her as he stroked the underside of her wrist. “I love you.”

“I know. I love you, too.” She loved him so much that it hurt not to see him everyday. She ached to hold his hand and to kiss his lips each morning when she went to work and each night when she went to bed. A few other people in her women's Bible study had recently gotten engaged and she'd felt happy for them, but she still wished that she could join the ranks of married couples.

She gazed at the wooden table. Her leftover shake was melting, and rings of beaded sweat covered the plastic cup. The server approached asking if they wanted refills. Winston waved him away.

She suddenly felt a velvety softness pressed into her palm. She gasped when she saw the small box. “Winston?” she breathed. At first she'd figured it was a pair of diamond earrings to match the tennis bracelet he'd purchased for her last birthday. Sarah had this whole thing figured out. She'd predicted after the tennis bracelet that it'd only be a matter of time before Winston proposed to her. Sarah claimed she knew men inside out, and after all the reading she'd done about men and relationships, Rainy felt inclined to believe her, that is, until she predicted her marriage to Winston. Somehow, she didn't think he'd be asking her so soon.

Tears sparkled in her eyes as she quickly glanced around the creamery and noticed the patrons were not paying them any attention as they enjoyed their ice cream.