Topaz Heat (Christian Romance) (The Jewel Series) Page 5

  “Have you ever held a crack baby, Derrick? Or a heroin baby? Or seen a baby born dead because he had a heart attack and his mother was too stoned out and drunk to know she was even in labor? Because I have.

  “I know all about that world out there, and I know and have heard every excuse for that kind of life that’s ever been told. If you want to justify your actions, fine, but don’t try it on me. You want to tell me you like the danger or the thrill, go ahead, but don’t give me puissant excuses about hunger and fear and a bad childhood. Pure rationalization. I don’t buy it.”

  His upper lip twitched. “I bet it’s easy to sit back with a full stomach, clothes on your back, and heat in February and judge.”

  She pointed at the tattoo creeping out from under his shirt sleeve. “I’ll admit I’m spoiled. But I don’t try to be something I’m not, either.”

  His eyes narrowed and she reflexively took a step back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Why do you still have those tatoos, Derrick? Proud of your past?”

  She knew she had gone too far when she saw the complete hurt in his eyes. She opened her mouth to apologize but he turned his back on her while muttering, “Some of us can’t forget our past, Sarah. No matter how much I want to, I can’t forget. I’m not like you. I wish I could just erase it all.”

  “Is there a problem here, Sarah?”

  Both of them whipped their heads around at the same time.

  “Dennis,” Sarah said as her face turned bright red. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m on call all day.” He looked Derrick up and down, but didn’t offer his hand. “I appreciate you coming out on a Saturday.”

  The man looked like he’d stepped off the set of a cheesy hospital soap opera. His hair was artificially blonde, his skin was artificially tanned to a golden brown, and his teeth were artificially pearly white. He stood about eye level with Derrick and wore a spotless white jacket over his suit shirt and pants. Derrick recognized him, but wasn’t surprised that the recollection wasn’t returned. Obviously, he thought Derrick was some mechanic on call. “Not a problem, doc,” he answered with a service station attendant smile.

  Dennis looked at the open hood of the car and back at Sarah. “Don’t let him overcharge you.” He looked at his watch. “Well, if it’s all under control, I’ll go inside and see what the big emergency was.”

  Sarah smiled brightly. “Thanks.”

  “Of course. Anything to help.” He turned on his polished wing-tips and walked toward the doors of the hospital. The second he was out of earshot, Derrick couldn’t help himself.

  “That’s Dennis?”

  She jutted her chin out. “So?”

  “So? So did you know he’s married?”

  Her eyes flared and her face fused with color again. “Yes, but he’s separated from his wife. They’re trying to work through the divorce right now.”

  “Then he’s playing you for a fool, sweetheart, because he’s not separated from anyone.” Derrick snatched his wrench off the top of the battery, scanned the space under the hood to ensure he hadn’t missed anything, and slammed the hood shut.

  She put her hands on her hips. “How would you presume to know that? You just met the man and you haven’t even been here for six years.”

  “That isn’t the first time I’ve met him.” He slid behind the wheel and turned the ignition switch, smiling when her car started without even a cough. As he got out of the driver’s seat, he examined the grease beneath his fingernails. It was going to be a chore to get them clean. Maybe he’d go somewhere for a manicure. “I’ve been in New York, managing a hotel. Just last weekend, Mr. Golden Boy there and a little slinky redhead with a rock the size of Venus on her finger enjoyed a weekend getaway designed to help spice up their marriage. We call it our Second Honeymoon package.”

  She gasped and a vein started hammering in her forehead. “You’re obviously mistaken. Dennis was at a seminar in New Jersey last weekend.”

  “Nope. I never forget a face or a name. He clearly doesn’t share the same power of recall, considering the fact that it’s been a mere seven days since I last saw him, but, I can’t blame him. He was distracted by your helpless heroine routine after all. The batting eyelashes were a nice touch, by the way.”

  He acknowledged that he should have felt a little sorry for her, but really, he didn’t. He was enjoying her look of discomfort far too much to feel any real pity.

  Her face wasn’t flushed any longer. It was pale, the freckles across her nose and cheeks standing out as if someone had darkened them with a marker. “You must be mistaken,” she repeated with a whisper.

  “Oh, I’m not mistaken. He registered under his own name. Doctor Dennis …” He cocked his head, studying her reaction as he pronounced the man’s last name. “… Benson. Wife, Jennifer. Lovely woman, really. Collects spoons. Honestly, if you’re going to date married men, maybe you should tell them they shouldn’t stay in your brother-in-law’s hotels when they sneak away with their wives for a special weekend.”

  “You know something Derrick DiNunzio?” She made sure he was looking in her eyes. “I hate you,” she whispered as she pushed by him and got in her car.

  “Oh, you’re welcome. Glad I could help!” He shouted, his voice on the edge of laughter. He stood there as he watched her car scream out of the parking garage, and felt a sudden and terrible conviction of guilt. He flung the rag down and raked his hands through his hair.

  CHAPTER 5

  SARAH'S Sunday School class consisted of eighteen college-aged girls who ranged in age from seventeen to twenty-three. Sarah had started teaching the class two years ago and grew to love these girls more and more every year.

  Currently, they had completed a little more than half of a book about modern secular culture versus Biblical womanhood, concentrating on one chapter each week. The discussions the book sparked turned livelier each Sunday – especially from a group of women attending colleges, thinking of careers, and finding themselves with each foot in almost two entirely different worlds. Needless to say, the lessons meandered from loquacious to lively.

  She glanced at the clock on the wall and cringed. They had already gone five minutes over time. “I am loving this discussion this morning, but if we want to make it in time for the service, we need to wrap up, now.”

  “We really need more than forty-five minutes once a week with this,” Jane Hampton, a pre-law student, said.

  Her best friend, Miriam Wright, laughed. “I think we could all talk for forty-five hours on each chapter.”

  An amused murmur of agreement went around the room.

  Sarah smiled. “I know what you mean. Next week, chapter four. And, did we want to try to do something together next weekend?”

  They spent five more minutes arranging plans to meet for dinner on Friday night. Sarah made the notation in her phone then finished packing up her materials. She waved good-bye to a couple girls leaving and turned to erase the prayer requests off the white board.

  “Sarah?”

  She looked over her shoulder. “Yes, Lisa?”

  The young brunette’s eyes filled with tears. “Do you have a minute?”

  Sarah dropped everything and turned fully around, putting an arm around Lisa’s thin shoulders. “Of course.” She led them to a table and pulled a chair out, guiding the marketing student into a chair. “What’s wrong?”

  Lisa toyed with the ring on her right finger, spinning the diamond around and around while she struggled to speak. “I’m so confused.”

  Sarah leaned forward and put a hand on Lisa’s knee. “About what?”

  Lisa swallowed. “When I was home this summer, my parents had a big Fourth of July party, and there in front of everyone, my boyfriend proposed to me.”

  Sarah smiled. “I noticed the ring, but you wear it on your right hand and you hadn’t said anything.”

  A tear spilled out of Lisa’s eye and ran down her cheek. “My parents love him. He graduates from
college this year and will start law school. He’ll go work in his father’s firm when he’s out of school.”

  “So what’s confusing you?”

  Lisa took a deep shuddering breath. “He’s not a Christian.” She pushed away from the table and stood. With long, nervous strides, she crossed the room and looked out the window, down to the parking lot a floor below. “My parents aren’t, either, for that matter. I was saved last year when Miriam brought me to church with her. Everything inside of me was screaming to tell him, ‘No’, but our families were all there and I felt pressured into saying, ‘Yes.’”

  Sarah followed her, looking down and seeing the cars coming into the parking lot in a steady stream. “Have you talked to him about God?”

  “Some.” She shrugged. “Not a lot. He becomes kind of patronizing about it. Like this is a phase I’ll get over when I finish school.”

  Sarah nodded. “I see. Have you prayed about it?”

  Lisa wrapped her arms around herself. “I have. If we’d been alone, I would have told him that I couldn’t marry him unless he came to know Christ. I know that the right thing to do is to end the engagement. I wear the ring only because I’m terrified something will happen to it before I can return it. I want to do it in person instead of over the phone or mail. I’m just counting down the days until Thanksgiving break until I can get this burden off my shoulders.”

  Sarah felt her eyebrows wrinkle. “So why are you confused?”

  “There’s this guy,” Lisa started, then stopped. Sarah felt her heart tug, felt a little panicky about the way the conversation was going. What did she know about men? Her boyfriend was apparently still married.

  “What guy?” Sarah said.

  “He’s in the choir with me. He’s so nice, and he loves God so much. He’s a seminary student.”

  Sarah ran through the faces in the choir and decided she knew the man to whom Lisa was referring. “And?”

  “And he wants to take me out. Only, my parents would totally not approve. He’s not…”

  The flush on Lisa’s cheek and the way she left the sentence hanging gave Sarah all the clues she needed. “He’s not a future attorney whose daddy is paying his way through law school?”

  “Exactly. He’s a seminary student on scholarship who bags groceries six days a week so that he can eat. And before that, he had a really hard time in high school and ended up quitting school. He was in a grunge rock band for a few years before he came to know Christ. Now he’s turned his life around and wants to preach.”

  Sarah thought that maybe Lisa needed to do some reflection. “What are you afraid of?”

  Lisa shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  “Well, it’s obviously something. So, let’s talk about it. Why have you not gone on a date with this man yet?”

  Lisa walked back to the table and sat down again, immediately beginning to toy with the ring again. “Because there’s a man back in Wisconsin who thinks that we’re engaged to be married.”

  Sarah nodded. “So, the right thing to do would be to make sure he doesn’t think that anymore, right?”

  Lisa slowly nodded her head. “Right.”

  “And as for this new man, if he’s right for you, he’ll wait. God will speak to him. In the meantime, consider this.” She sat down and took Lisa’s hands in hers. The young girl met her eyes. “God doesn’t care about where we came from.” She thought about the descriptions of her childhood her sisters had given her – drugs and men and horrible living conditions. “God only cares who we are now. That’s what you need to look at.”

  Lisa licked her lips as the tears welled out of her eyes. “I know. I know you’re right.” She sniffed and scrubbed her cheeks. “I’ll try to get home next weekend and talk to him, give him his ring back.” She leaned forward and hugged Sarah. “Thank you for listening. I haven’t talked about it with anyone.”

  Sarah hugged her back. “I’m glad you talked to me. Do it any time. You have my number.”

  DERRICK sat in the back of the huge sanctuary and watched the activity spread out below him. Early service had just ended. The next service wouldn’t start for about thirty minutes. In the meantime, somewhere in this old stone and mortar building, and spread out throughout the vast downtown campus, thousands of people attended Sunday morning classes, learning about everything from Biblical marriage to the plans, specifications, and magnitude of Noah’s ark.

  In the foyer of this building, a staff member of the church worked the information center, giving guests and members alike the summaries of the classes offered. Volunteers stood by, ready to lead and guide people to the appropriate building and classroom. Derrick, however, just wanted to sit back and watch, remember.

  He’d come into this church for the first time on a freezing January Sunday morning. Walking in with Tony and Robin had somehow validated him, and everyone stopped to talk to Tony, which made Tony introduce him to about forty different people. For the first time in his entire life, he’d felt like he was a respected member of society, someone people enjoyed meeting rather than someone people mistrusted on sight. Men held their hands out to him to shake. Women hugged him. It made him feel good, strong, worthy.

  He’d like to say that he immediately felt the call of Christ in his life. But, he didn’t. Instead, he asked Tony a dozen questions after the service, and then he read the books Tony gave him to read and asked a hundred more questions. As winter raged around them and Tony and Robin planned their spring wedding, Derrick got to know God. Early summer, when the happy newlyweds returned from their honeymoon, Derrick was officially baptized.

  He looked at the baptismal behind the massive choir loft. He remembered rising out of the water and looking at the throngs of people who cheered and applauded the symbolic washing away of his old life and his rebirth into the family of Christ.

  As he smiled and remembered, he felt someone take the seat next to him. He turned his head and saw seven-year-old Tony, Jr., legs swinging because he was still a little too short to touch the ground while in the stadium style seat. “Hey, bro,” Derrick said, holding his hand out, palm up.

  TJ slapped the palm. “Hi Uncle D.”

  “What’s happening?” He looked down into the dark brown eyes of his best friend’s son.

  “Papa said to sit next to you and not get into anything. He had to go talk to Pastor Peter.”

  “Ah.” Derrick looked up and saw Tony halfway down the aisle speaking to the head of youth ministries, Peter O’Farrell. He raised a hand in greeting, and Derrick smiled and returned the gesture. “Where’s your sister?”

  “She went to Aunt Maxi’s house last night. They’ll be here next service.” The intelligent little eyes searched his face. “Papa says you’re here for good now.”

  “I am. I’ve moved into your old apartment.”

  “Can I come visit you there?”

  “Absolutely. Say the word, and ask your mom, and I’ll even take you rock climbing this summer.”

  TJ’s serious little face burst into a huge smile. “That would be so awesome. She’ll just have to say yes.”

  “Say yes about what?” Tony sat in a seat in front of Derrick and turned his body toward them.

  “Rock climbing with Uncle D.”

  Tony leaned over and patted his son’s knee. “I’m sure she’ll say yes. You couldn’t be in safer hands.” He directed his attention to Derrick. “I was surprised to see you. I figured you’d still be in New York.”

  “I came back on the ten o’clock flight Friday night.”

  Tony raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  Derrick shrugged, because he couldn’t explain it himself. “It worked out. Sarah’s car needed a new alternator, so at least I was around.”

  Tony stared at him for several seconds before he slowly pursed his lips. “So, you were there in the apartment on Friday night with Sarah and fixed her car Saturday morning?”

  Clearing his throat, Derrick nodded. “Yeah. I guess you and Robin didn’t communicate my return
to her.”

  “Robin didn’t know you were at the apartment when Sarah asked if she could stay there. When she told me about it, I had assumed you weren’t coming back from New York until today based on our last conversation.” Tony studied his face. “Is everything okay?”

  Uncomfortable, Derrick shifted in his seat. “Sure. Same thing as always. I’m vermin. She hates me. You know the drill.”

  Tony held a hand out. “Amico –”

  “It’s fine.” Derrick surged to his feet. “I’m fine. Listen, I need to talk to Peter. Let me catch him before he gets too involved.” He turned to his nephew. “Dude, good to see you.” They slapped palms as Derrick stepped passed him.

  Peter saw him coming and finished a conversation in time to smile a big Irish grin and hold out his arms. Derrick hugged the older man and slapped him hard on the back. “My brother,” Peter said. “I’m so happy to see you.”

  Peter had fostered a young Tony, and took on a father-figure style role with Derrick as well. Despite Tony taking Derrick in off the streets, the two of them had more of a brotherly relationship.

  The older man’s hair had grayed, turning the deep black into more salt than pepper. Laugh lines and wrinkles lined his eyes. But he looked fit, happy, an eternal smile on his face. “I’m happy to see you, too.”

  “Tony says you’re home for good.”

  “I am. I start work tomorrow morning.”

  “Welcome home.” He patted his shoulder. “Interested in serving?”

  As head of youth ministries, Peter’s job oversaw everything from infant rooms to high school classes. Derrick had always worked with high school boys, both here and in New York. He and Peter had grown very close during the years he mentored young men, and even recently, he would contact Peter when he needed guidance with a more challenging boy. “Absolutely.”

  “Great. I have a new group of boys who need a mentor. I’ve still not got a grip on their stories. I was just telling Caroline last week that I wished you were here because you’d be perfect for them.” He smiled a huge smile. “They’ve been coming together for the last few youth activities.” Peter’s phone beeped and he unhooked it from his holster and read a message on it. “Next time I should see them is Wednesday night.”