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"I hope you realize that all these changes in our lives are likely to start the gossips' tongues a-wagging," Alan remarked.
"I would be very surprised if they remained silent. So, I guess I had better step up and take charge of the conversations, right? My entrée into the women leadership is now laid out before me; all I have to do is walk the walk and talk the talk. But seriously, Alan, aren't you a bit surprised how this all seems to be coming together for us both?"
"Yes and no, Rose. From the outside, I'm sure this all looks unbelievably coincidental, and in many ways it is. We have not tried to direct the flow for any of this. But if you let go and allow God's will to become manifest in your life, if you allow the universe to flow unhindered, many times things have a way of working out for the benefit of all." He shrugged and finished drinking his coffee. "Then again, maybe this is largely Laura's doing. I am just trying to be truly grateful, however it is happening."
"Hmmph! Well, if this is indeed Laura's doing, she must really have loved you, Alan."
"Oh, she did," Alan agreed. He was looking away and completely missed the flash of anger in Rose's eyes at the discussion's turn. But he wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination. He caught inflection and intonation changes and knew he needed to set things right with Rose. "She loved me so much that she pushed Julie into Tom's life which brought you into mine. I was blessed to have her as my partner for 22 years, and I would like for you to be my partner for much longer than that. I loved her, Rose, but I love you. Do you hear the difference? I'm not in love with her to the exclusion of anybody else. But I am with you. She is gone, ripped from my arms and my life. But she has been working to bring us together. Can't you tell?"
Rose's eyes were misting over yet again. Her jealousy for Alan's marriage with Laura was uncalled for and completely foolish. Alan had the right of it, again. "Dammit! How does he do that?" she thought. "Ok," she began aloud, "let's get this show on the road. I do NOT think it would be a good idea to try to shower together. I'll go first, if I may. I would appreciate a refill of the coffee, please."
"As you wish."
* * * * *
The two Lawson ladies with their two Harrison "hunks" got themselves ready for church and were out the door by 8:45 am. David had had the presence of mind to retrieve, fold, and pack up all hist laundry before they left for worship. They took Alan's car and arrived right at 9:00. For David, it had a sense of coming back home. He grew up in this place, running throughout the hallways, singing in the youth choirs, being part of this community. The building had evolved a bit over the years as the congregation had grown, but the comfortable core remained, and his soul was soothed by the familiarity. And now he got to share it with Maggie again.
The four walked into the building and the ladies made a beeline for the restroom. Alan looked at David and David looked back at his dad. Both shook their heads in bewilderment at this behavior, to go to the restroom in a pack. Guys tended to be solo facilities users, and it was difficult for them to get their heads around a different paradigm. Shrugging, they made their way to the fellowship area for coffee and a donut. Jack Johnson stood talking with Gil Larsen, who was soon to become Alan's boss. Both turned and broad smiles erupted on the older men's faces at the approach of the father-son pair. Gil stretched out his right hand to Alan, who accepted it and returned a grateful handshake.
"Blessed morning, Gil, Jack," Alan declared. "I take it that Maeve was waiting for Rose in or near the restroom?"
Jack laughed, knowingly, and confirmed Alan's suspicions. "She grabbed Mary Henderson and they were whispering conspiratorily about fifteen minutes ago. Is there anything to share with us, or should we just wait it out?"
"Rose will likely accept the job offer at the AgCU, so now she needs to be finding a place down here for her and the girls to live," Alan shared.
"That's wonderful for you two!" Jack gushed. Then, looking at David, he amended his statement to, "for you all. Say, David, are you done with school for the semester? You were here last week, weren't you?"
"No, Mr. Johnson, I have a week and a half left in the semester, counting final exams. I'm here this weekend ..."
"Because I came down with my mom for her interview," Maggie completed, walking up behind David and worming her way under his arm."
"Mr. Johnson, Mr. Larsen, this is my girlfriend Maggie Lawson. Mags, you remember Mr. Johnson from last Sunday, right? Mr. Larsen will be Dad's new boss at the end of the month."
Maggie gave both men a radiant smile of pleasure. "Yes, thank you again, Mr. Johnson, for being our photographer last week. Mr. Larsen, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir."
"The pleasure is totally mine, Miss Lawson," Gil responded. "I applaud your excellent choice in girlfriends, David."
"Oh, no, sir, the choice was entirely hers." He paused to look affectionately at Maggie. "But if you would please excuse us, we both could use some more coffee."
"Go, go, David, Maggie. I never wish to stand between anybody and the coffee pot," Gil joked.
David and Maggie turned, hand in hand, and headed for the coffee and donut stations. Jack turned his attention to Alan.
"Those two are as adorable as Tom and Julie ... oh, Julie is Maggie's sister and Rose's daughter, too, right? Help me, Lord Jesus, but I'm so slow some days!"
"Hold on," Gil said, "the three of you are 'dating' the three of them? Doesn't that strike you as a bit Brady Bunch-like?"
"Yeah," Alan agreed, "something like that, I suppose. It started with Tom bringing Julie home for Thanksgiving week. She could pass for Laura's twin. Things just kind of snowballed from there. I'll tell you this, though: it sure feels right, for each of us."
* * * * *
Upon entering the building, Rose and Maggie both felt the need to visit the restrooms. So, off they strode with great purpose and intent, if not acute need. Fortunately, it was still somewhat early and there was availability. When they had completed their ablutions, three ladies were waiting. But these women were not waiting for the stalls; they were waiting on Rose. Big smiles shone from two of the faces while the third looked on, evaluating both Maggie and Rose without saying anything. Rose quickly washed and dried her hands.
"Rosalie, it is so wonderful to see you again!" exclaimed Maeve Johnson. "And you, too, Margaret."
Maggie's face flushed slightly at the use of her formal name, but she accepted it with a soft, "thank you, Mrs. Johnson." She hurriedly washed and dried her hands and wondered how to escape this situation but could not think of a tactful way. She waited.
"Rose, darling, I am so glad you are here early today," Mary Henderson chimed in. "I believe we have some business to discuss? Ah, but first, another introduction. Susan Larsen, I would like to introduce you to Rose Lawson and her daughter Maggie, or Margaret as you heard Maeve address her. I believe she prefers Maggie?" To which Maggie dipped her head in agreement.
"Susan Larsen? Would Gil Larsen be your husband?" Rose inquired.
"Indeed. Do you know Gil?" Susan inquired.
"Only in that my boyfriend, Alan Harrison, will be working for him before the month is out."
"Oh, so YOU'RE the one who has landed the very elusive Alan Harrison! Very well done, indeed! Congratulations, my dear." With that, Susan stepped forward with both hands extended, palms down. Rose took Susan's hands in hers, and Susan pulled Rose closer, quickly into a hug. Susan whispered in Rose's ear, "There will be some very sore losers you may have to contend with." Susan then stepped back and for all to hear, stated, "I wish you great happiness, Rose."
"Come along, Rose. The four of us really should find a place to sit and talk before worship." Maeve turned and began the procession from the Ladies' room. Rose indicated that Maggie should stay with her for now. A short sojourn brought the ladies to a parlor-like room with an overstuffed sofa and two comfortable chairs.
"Just a moment, please," Rose requested. "Maggie, can you please go find Alan and David and bring me a cup of coffee?"
"Of course, Mother. The signs to the Fellowship Hall are quite legible." Mouthing a silent, "Thank you", Maggie walked off to follow the specified signage and to procure the coffee for her mom.
"What a polite and well-spoken daughter you have there, Rose," Susan opined. "A very non-dismissive dismissal as well. I am expecting good things to come." Susan gave a very warm and pleasant smile now.
The four ladies sat with Maeve and Susan in the chairs and Rose and Mary on the sofa, legs crossed at the ankles, hands in their laps. Maeve and Susan looked at Mary and nodded.
"I don't think you're too surprised at our wishing to talk this morning, are you?" Mary asked.
"No, I rather expected something like this. In the interest of allowing those holding their breaths to exhale, Mary, I would like to accept the extended offer of employment from the Credit Union. I need to return home to Centreville to provide a proper acceptance, but we talked about this to some degree yesterday and this is what I want to progress forward with my career and life."
Broad smiles erupted all around and Mary wrapped Rose up in a big hug, which kind of took Rose by surprise.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Mary exclaimed. "I rather dreaded having to open that position to the general populace and dealing with the hoi polloi of whoever might have applied. The fact that I'm credited with recommending you does not hurt my position in the least bit either."
Rose smiled, filing Mary's words away for future reference. "I am always glad to help someone else achieve their objectives."
"What a wonderful perspective to have, and it gives a nice segue to my next item," Maeve spoke up. "The three of us, hopefully soon the four of us, are the unofficial leaders of this congregation. We are effectively the 'Ladies Who Lunch' for our community, and, honestly, we need some new ideas, new perspectives, new blood if you will. But to become part of this leadership cadre, you must be a member. Knowing you will be relocating to Middleburg, would you please consider becoming a formal member of our church after the New Year?"
"Maeve, this is only my second Sunday in worship here, and I have not been a regular attendee of worship in Centreville. This feels a little soon. However," Rose held up her hand to forestall argument, "my daughters and I have enjoyed the sense of community here and the welcome. I am not averse to the idea, but I cannot yet commit to anything beyond employment at the Credit Union. So, I will say this: this church is a huge part of what makes my boyfriend and his sons who they are and I do not have any intention of taking them away from here. I have the sense that most of my non-work relationships will revolve around this church and its congregation and I would have to be a complete idiot to disregard or discount that. And I am not an idiot."
Susan was frowning, slightly, at Rose's words, but introspectively not critically. She added her voice to the discussion. "Rose, you are making excellent points which we had not considered. Thank you for that. I hope this bodes well for the new ideas and perspectives we can expect from you. We will do everything in our power to welcome you and to ease your transition to our fair city and community. I will give you my phone number after worship, as I know you have Maeve's and Mary's already. Please do not hesitate to ask any of us for help."
Mary stood up, followed by Maeve and Susan, then finally Rose. "Shall we go find your significant other and see about some coffee before worship?" Mary inquired.
In pairs, the ladies marched forth and arrived in the Fellowship Hall just as Maggie and David were moving away from the coffee station. "Here's your coffee, Mom," Maggie stated, handing the properly polluted cup of coffee to Rose.
Rose accepted the coffee from Maggie as well as the glazed donut from David with thanks to both. Susan had gone over to stand with Gil, and Maeve had sought out Jack. Mary headed towards the coffee station but stopped to get the attention of an older gentleman, her husband George. Mary guided him towards the group and soon it was the four couples talking, as David and Maggie had wandered off.
"We don't have enough time left before worship to do this right," Maeve began, "so I would like to invite all of you to our house next Sunday for lunch to get to know Rose better and she to know us. We should also consider what we can do to ease and facilitate her relocation to Middleburg. Rose, can we ask you, please, to come back to town next weekend?" Maeve gave a knowing smile at Rose and Alan. "I hope you won't find it TOO inconvenient to stay overnight SOMEWHERE nearby." That garnered chuckles all around, even from Rose and Alan.
"I believe I could suffer another trip down here from Centreville if Alan could see fit to allow me to stay Saturday night in a guest room," Rose teased.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. It's 'let's pick on Alan day' today," Alan retorted. "For the record, Rose and I are now 'engaged to become engaged', to use a very old school term. It's still early days, but we are not children and we are both fairly certain our relationship will endure." Then, just to tweak on Rose a little, he added, "And, no, Rose, you may not sleep in my guest room next Saturday. I expect you to be in your proper place next Friday AND Saturday, in my bed next to me."
That bit of oversharing drew wide eyes, laughter, and squeals of joy from the other couples as well as hugs of congratulations from all. Once again, Rose was reminded of the very quick and sometimes extremely pointed wit of Alan's mind. She needed to stay cautious about giving him too many opportunities to turn things back around on her. It was also very obvious to her, and now to the other couples, that Alan loved Rose and was planning for the future for the both of them. The final nail, so to speak, was when Alan leaned over to whisper in Rose's ear, "And coitus WILL be expected." Her face flamed scarlet with that private declaration.
To distract the others, Alan raised his voice so that many in the Fellowship Hall could hear him. He sang out, "Come, now is the time to worship; Come, now is the time to give your heart." And the tune was picked up and carried on by others, and the people began to head in the direction of the Worship Center, humming the praise song by Brian Doerksen. Rose was stunned! Alan could sing?!? And he got the group moving, too. She locked down on his left hand and lifted it to her lips as she kissed his knuckles.
While they were walking through the building, Alan looked down at his left hand and took notice. Rose's kiss had left some traces of lipstick on his hand, and he took note of another thing as well. Quickly devising a plan, he stopped and asked the pastor if he, Alan, could make a very brief statement during the worship service. The pastor agreed to Alan's request, and Alan and Rose continued into the Worship Center.
David and Maggie were already seated in the third row of the center section, so Rose and Alan joined them. Maeve and Jack Johnson sat on the far side of David, and Susan, Gil, Mary, and George sat in the row immediately behind.
The praise band took their positions on the chancel, and when the time drew near, the leader announced a slight change in plans. "Thanks to a God-moment by Alan Harrison, our opening song will now be, 'Come, Now is the Time to Worship'. Would everyone please stand as you are able and join our praises to our God?" And the band launched into the song and the Spirit flowed unhindered throughout the people present.
The worship got back on the planned track, and soon it was time for the recognition of guests and visitors. Alan stood and pulled Rose to stand with him in front of the chancel, facing the congregation. "If anybody did not meet them last week, I have with me today my girlfriend, Rose Lawson, and her daughter Maggie. I also have the pastor's permission for a brief announcement. As most of you know, I was parted from my wife Laura about 17 months ago by pancreatic cancer." Alan had to pause for a couple of seconds to gather his composure. "I have been holding on to that, basically in personal denial, much to the detriment of my relationships with everyone including my sons. That ends today." He twisted his wedding band off his left ring finger. He held up his ring between his thumb and forefinger in his right hand so that all could see, and then he placed it in Rose's hand and closed her fingers over it. And his tears flowed. Alan and Rose were mobbed there in front of the chancel.
After a few minutes, order was restored and everyone took their seats, and the pastor nodded once again to Alan and commented how the God-moments just seemed to be flowing out of Alan that day. It segued nicely into the pastor's Second Sunday of Advent sermon on Love.
Rose kept hold of Alan's wedding band for the rest of the service. She did not know what to do with it except to hold it. It was warm and comfortable in her hand. They would need to talk about this further. But she did catch the symbolism, that he was now unmarried and available to her without reservation. And she rejoiced internally.
The pastor asked Alan and Rose to stand with him in the receiving line after the service, and everyone passing commented how they were so happy and pleased for them both. The family returned to the Harrisons' house for lunch, and soon thereafter David was packing his cleaned clothing in the Jeep.
"Maggie, please call me tonight so we can talk some more," David requested, and she agreed to call at 7:00 pm. She wrapped herself around him and said, "I'm very sorry for the drama of this weekend. I love you very much, David." He kissed her forehead, then her nose, ending up locked with her lips. They enjoyed each other for a few minutes, then went back inside with their arm around the other's waist. David said goodbye to Rose with a hug. Rose kissed him lightly on his lips, then more firmly on his cheek and wished him a safe journey. David then said goodbye to his dad, hugging him tightly and promising to text upon safe arrival at school. David also promised not to come home next weekend, even if Maggie came down with Rose. David needed to remain on campus, hopefully studying for his final exams. Once again, Maggie accompanied David out to his vehicle and wrapped him in her arms again.
"Oh, David, I am so happy we are an 'us'. It will make this last bit of high school bearable. Be safe, and I will call you tonight. I love you so much." And she kissed him, passionately and deeply. He got in, buckled up, and pulled away from the curb, a brief 'honk' of farewell.
Maggie returned inside and was directed to gather up their stuff to return to Centreville. Rose pulled Alan into the living room in front of the picture of Laura. She handed him the wedding band he had removed from his finger.
"Alan, I 'get' it about the wedding ring. I had not said anything out of respect for Laura and your relationship. But I am filled with joy at your decision to 'get busy living'. Maggie and I need to roll for our place up the road. For now, though, this is home. I will do some searching for a place down here, and we will talk or text each other every night we're apart, ok?"
"That will be fine, Rose. We both need to turn in our notices at work tomorrow, by the way. This weekend has been a rollercoaster ride, hasn't it? Is the 9:00 pm time still good for you?" He took the wedding band from Rose and placed it on the mantle next to the urn. Rose could not see it, but next to the urn was an engagement ring and a plain gold band. Alan laid his ring atop these.
