For The Least Of These (26 page)

I saw Brandy when she drove up. She was driving a blue Camry, and it just didn’t seem to fit. That stupid green Gremlin had been the perfect car for her. I wanted to jump up and run to her, and it took every ounce of my strength to prevent me from doing it. She had seemed excited to hear my voice when I called, but I had to be certain.

I watched her longingly as she opened the door to Krystal. As soon as she spotted me, I knew I shouldn’t have worried. She came bounding towards me, and I allowed myself to stand up and catch her in my arms. Her kiss wrote a song on my soul. I didn’t want it to ever stop, but there was so much to say. I just didn’t realize that Brandy was the one who had to say it.

“Adam, I have so much to tell you. I’ve been reading your Bible and going to church. Most important of all
– I have been reborn. Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and it is all thanks to you. Well, not all thanks to you, but the Holy Spirit let you help lead me to this. Adam, I love you so much.”

I was delighted to hear what Brandy said, and yet I also feared that her love for me wasn’t the same love that I felt for her. I worried that she now only loved me as a sibling in Christ. While that was wonderful, I wanted so much more. Especially now that she was saved. I tried to encourage her without revealing any of my feelings. “That’s so incredible, Brandy! It is everything I had hoped for you. God is good and so amazing.”

Brandy smiled, but she looked a little let down. “Didn’t you hear me, Adam? I said I love you.”

“Yes, I heard you. I love you too.”

“No, I mean I really love you. Just like I always thought I did. Now I know for sure.”

I was the happiest man on Earth
– she truly loved me. “And I love you, Brandy. Really love you. You are all I’ve thought about for the last two months.”

We kissed again briefly. Krystal wasn’t the place to exhibit this kind of behavior, so I told Brandy we should talk. She told me she was hungry, and I found that I was also ravenous. I went up to the counter and bought us some Krystals and some fries. While we ate, we talked about our feelings for each other. We sat in Krystal for several hours just talking about all kinds of things. In the early hours of Saturday morning, I told Brandy that we had to go somewhere and get some rest. It was almost 4am by the time we got to a
hotel and I got us a couple of rooms. It would have been easy to take Brandy to bed that night, but my desire for a meaningful and lasting relationship with her kept me from making that mistake. Brandy understood – in fact, she even encouraged my decision. It seemed she had grown a lot in these two months.

We spent the next few days getting to know each other. We talked about God, and Brandy told me about the exact moment she got saved. We stayed away from other people so we could focus on God and each other
– except on Sunday when Brandy took me to the church she had been attending.

After church on Sunday, Brandy’s roommate Terry called her cell phone. She started to ignore it, but I told her he might be worried about her, so she answered. Terry was concerned since Brandy hadn’t been home. She apologized, but Terry would have no part of it. He was yelling at her and she finally hung up on him. She said that he told her that he knew she was with “another man.” It was pretty clear to both of us that Terry felt more for Brandy than she had previously thought. He didn’t call again, and we soon forgot all about him.

We decided to go out to eat on Sunday night. We dined at a seafood restaurant that overlooked Pensacola Bay. After we finished eating, we stood and looked out across the bay. The sky was dark and the water was choppy, but it was beautiful. We got back into the car and headed home. Before we had driven very far, Brandy remembered that she had put her purse on the top of the car while we were enjoying the view. I stopped and she scrambled out, but her purse was gone. We drove back looking for the purse, but we had no luck. Fortunately, Brandy was only carrying her driver’s license and some personal items in the purse. She had left her credit cards and cash in the safe at the hotel.

On Tuesday, we learned that a hurricane was heading towards Pensacola. Brandy had a notion that we should go to her parents’ home before the storm arrived. She felt their home was extremely safe and in a good location. I suggested that we pick up her parents and leave town, but she assured me that her father would never be
persuaded to go. So I agreed that I would go the next day, although I was nervous about meeting her parents. Brandy then realized that she hadn’t been in touch with her parents since the week before, and she began to fret that they might be concerned about her absence. She finally decided to go and spend the night with them on Tuesday night. I had something that I wanted to do without Brandy, so I told her we could meet the next day when I dropped off my rental car.

The following morning, I got up early.
Brandy had no idea what I was planning to do today. I still couldn’t believe that I had decided to propose to her. I mean, I had only known her for two months, and we’d only spent a grand total of seven days together. Still, I knew in my heart that she was the one for me. At 40, I had never before been in love. I had never even met a woman that gave me pause to think of settling down or even having a meaningful relationship. And now I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Brandy. Hurricane or no hurricane, I was going to ask her to marry me tonight – so I had to have a ring.

I headed down to the lobby of the hotel to check out.
I’d already loaded my belongings into the rental car, so all I had to do was return the key card to the desk. As I was about to round the corner from the elevator, I heard a man mention my name. He was asking the desk clerk for my room number. At first I thought: Another crazy fan. But then I realized that there was very little chance of any of my fans or Rick’s knowing that I was in town – especially since I had spent most of my time in Pensacola in my hotel room. I peeked around the corner and was amazed to see a deputy standing at the desk. The clerk was trying to establish the officer’s reason for needing my room number. I heard the officer say, “It’s official business. Just tell me where he is.”

I couldn’t imagine why an officer was asking for my room number.
I guess I panicked, although I don’t know why. I could easily afford the additional charge on my credit card for failing to return the key card to my room, so I decided to avoid the officer and just leave. I sneaked out a side door, watching carefully for additional officers. Sure enough, there were two standing a few feet away from my car. Obviously they weren’t expecting me to make a break for it – they had their backs turned and they weren’t close enough to prevent me from getting into the car and starting it. Of course once I started the engine, they turned around, but by then, I was pulling out of the parking spot and heading towards the exit. I was long gone before they could even react. I darted down a side road and then took several turns to come out blocks away from the hotel.

Still feeling exposed and knowing that every cop in town would soon be looking for me, I decided to ditch the rental car.
I drove through more back roads and finally found a parking lot that was quite crowded. I pulled in and after weaving in and out of several aisles, I finally found an empty spot near the center of the lot. There wasn’t a soul walking around and I noticed this was the parking lot for a large factory of some sort. Apparently, work had already started and hadn’t been cancelled due to the storm. And luckily, I hadn’t arrived during a shift change. I shoved some extra clothes into my backpack and abandoned the rest of my belongings. I then jogged to the edge of the lot and walked out onto the sidewalk in front of the building.

I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I continued walking up the street.
There was very little traffic and even fewer pedestrians. This worried me a little, since I could be easily spotted by a passing police cruiser. It was also raining pretty heavily and the winds were daunting. I had never experienced a hurricane before, but I knew I didn’t want to be outside when it arrived. I had to find somewhere that I could go indoors.

Around this time, my cell phone started ringing.
I saw that the call was from Brandy. I almost answered, but then I decided to let it ring through to voicemail. I didn’t want Brandy to worry, and I felt certain that if she couldn’t hear the wind and guess that I was out in the weather, she’d still know something was wrong when she heard my voice. I trudged on through the rain.

I was unsure how long I had been walking when I saw a used car lot in the distance.
Actually, there were several used car lots up ahead. I passed the first lot – it was either out of business or closed because of the storm. The second one looked open, so I headed up to the old trailer that was serving as their sales office. A tall man in a checkered sports jacket opened the door for me. “You, my boy, are wet,” he observed.

I held back a sarcastic response that was dangling on my tongue and said, “My car broke down a few miles back.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that. Do you want to use my phone and call a tow truck?”

“No, I’m fed up with that piece of junk.
I was hoping you might have a reliable cheap car I could purchase.”

“Oh!
Sure, sure. I’ve got several. But don’t you want to get that other one in here as a trade-in? I can’t give you much on a broken down car, but every little bit helps, right?”

“That car isn’t in my name.
I’ve been borrowing it. I’ve already called the owner so he could have it picked up. I don’t need anything fancy – just something reliable.”

“Why don’t we do a credit check and see what you might qualify for?”

When did buying a used car get to be such a hassle? “I’ll be paying cash.”

I hadn’t really taken the time to look at this guy before, but now I couldn’t help but notice his nose, which looked like a weasel’s snout, and his bug eyes.
He also had a bushy brown mustache and a bald head. I was at least a foot taller than him, and probably ten years his junior. I imagined that I could knock him down and take any car in his lot. Look at me – only a few minutes on the run and I was already starting to think like a felon.

“Sir, I’m not sure we have a car that you could afford for cash,” he said.
Was he looking nervous or just disappointed to lose a sale?

“Right.
I didn’t mean cash. I want to put it on my credit card. You do accept American Express?”

He looked mystified.
“I do accept those when people have work done on their car – I have a little mechanic shop out back. But I’ve never had anyone try to pay for a car with one before.”

“Trust me; I can afford any car on your lot.
The card has no limit.” I was pretty sure he was nervous now, so I added, “Look, how many criminals come in with an American Express card? I’ve got ID to prove it is mine. And you can always call them to make sure I’m on the level. You’ll get your money.”

He finally agreed that he would call the number on the card once I had found a car to my liking.
We walked outside and I quickly decided on a two-year old Jetta with low mileage. The car purred when I cranked her up, and I was sure that the car could move. The V6 engine coupled with a 6-speed manual transmission would keep me ahead of the cops. A shiver ran down my spine at my nefarious thoughts, but I told the salesman that I’d take the car.

Inside the trailer, Jerry, the salesman, called and confirmed that my card was authorized for the amount of the car plus tax, tags, and title.
At least my car would be legal. We completed the necessary paperwork, and I was about to be on my way, when I remembered to ask if I could change my clothes in his restroom. He agreed and even presented me with a towel to dry off with. It felt good to be dry and warm. As I was leaving, I thanked Jerry for everything. The whole process had taken more than an hour, and the weather had escalated considerably during this time.

I realized that Brandy was probably wondering when I was going to call to meet her at the airport.
She was probably getting worried about me driving around in this weather. The police had thwarted my plans to buy a ring, but now I was more determined than ever to propose to her. I dialed her cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail.

Brandy had given me her parents’ phone number, so I called the number.
A man answered the phone, “Moretti Funeral Parlor. You kill ‘em, we chill ‘em.”

I stifled a laugh
– good to know I could still find humor in things. “Mr. Moretti? This is Adam Considine.”

“Oh, hello, Adam!
Brandy has told us all about you. I’m very anxious to meet you. I have a few questions for the man that’s in love with my only daughter.”

I couldn’t tell if he was joking or serious, but it didn’t matter.
“Mr. Moretti, I need to find Brandy. She’s not answering her cell phone. Is she there?”

“No.
She left early this morning to go see her friend Alicia. I’m sure Brandy is telling her all about you. They’ve probably forgotten the time.”

“Thanks, sir…”

I was about to hang up when he added, “That reminds me of something. I was so excited to see Brandy last night that I forgot to ask her about that pig.”

“Pig?”

“Yeah, the pig that was looking for Brandy. Did you know about that?”

I tried to believe that Brandy’s father wasn’t insane, but it was difficult.
“I’m not sure which pig you are talking about,” I replied. I didn’t know what else to say.