“Yeah?”Fred asked as he scrolled down the page, skimming the content.
“Yeah, you believe that God will provide the best for you.Maybe that’s Esther.Maybe that’s someone else.”
“Maybe it’s no one,” Fred added.
“Nah, I don’t believe that.I can’t see you being single forever.”
Fred looked at Sean in surprise.“You can’t?”
“Nope.You don’t fit the bachelor forever mold.”
Fred shook his head and chuckled.“Well, you’re not the first to say that – maybe not in those words, but similar ones.Perhaps, you’re right.”
“I know I am.But you’d give it all up for God, wouldn’t you?”Sean had taken back his phone.“Just like this guy did.”
Fred shook his head and shrugged.“I’d like to think I would, but honestly, giving up Esther and then, the worship team… it’s been hard.No… scratch that.It IS hard.I hate nearly every moment of it.”
“What part don’t you hate?”Sean’s curiosity had latched onto the tiniest bit of positivity in what Fred had said.
That was an easy answer.“I kind of like playing with Parker.That wouldn’t have happened if I was still doing the worship team.”
“Cool.”Sean stuffed his phone back in his pocket.“I don’t know much about the whole God thing yet, but that seems a bit like what happened in the story.God provided a ram for Abraham, and He provided Parker for you.”
Fred wasn’t sure that was an accurate comparison since one was the sacrifice and the other was what was left after a sacrifice, but he wasn’t about to deny that Sean had a point.
“So, if He can give you Parker,” Sean continued, “He could give you someone else to love.”He smiled as Fred’s phone vibrated on the shelf where he had placed it.“Or he could give you Esther back.”
There on Fred’s screen was Esther’s picture, and across it was a text message that made his breath catch in his chest:
I’ve never loved anything as much as I’ve loved being your friend.
He angled the phone so that Sean could see it.“I don’t want to get my hopes up, but you might be right.”He certainly hoped Sean was right.
“Call her.”
Fred had tapped the call icon before Sean finished his two-word suggestion.
“What about Steve?”he asked when Esther answered.
“I broke up with him.”
Maybe God was giving him back his Esther.He smiled at the thought.
“What’d she say?”Sean whispered.
“You broke up with him?”Fred repeated what she had said both to answer Sean’s question and to make sure that he wasn’t hearing things.
“I did,” Esther answered, as Sean did a fists punching the air sort of victory dance.“Because I didn’t love him like I love you.”
Fred expelled a breath as if he had been punched by one of Sean’s dance moves.“You love me?”He still was having trouble believing what he was hearing.This repeat of what she said drew a whoop from Sean, which caused Esther to laugh.
“Is this a bad time to be calling?”Esther asked.
“No, not at all.Sean and I were just procrastinating on getting the final boxes of supplies unloaded at the new garage in Marydale.”
“Parker told me you were there.”
“You talked to Parker?”And how did Parker know he was at Marydale?
