“Hey,” he said, stuffing his hands in his back pockets. “I just wanted to say bye.” He shifted from one foot to another as he locked eyes with Faith. She had the bluest blue eyes, he realized. They were mesmerizing.
Shayla jumped up from the booth and hugged him as if she hadn’t seen him in days. She smacked a kiss on his cheek. “Bye, Micah. I need to visit the ladies’ room. See ya when I see ya.”
In a flash, Shayla was gone, leaving Micah standing at the booth staring at Faith, who was gingerly eating her fries.
“Hey. I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me some time,” he blurted out. “Dinner. A movie. Maybe a boat ride on the bay.”
Faith’s eyes widened and she suddenly stopped chewing. She paused to swallow. “Sorry Micah, but I’m not dating at the moment. And I don’t want to complicate things between Shayla and I.” She smiled sweetly at him. “You understand, right?”
Micah wasn’t sure he’d heard Faith correctly. She was smiling at him and nodding, but he could have sworn he’d heard her say she didn’t want to go out with him.
Didn’t want to go out with him?
He didn’t consider himself to be conceited by any means, but this was a rather shocking development. Women didn’t usually turn him down. And Faith was saying she wasn’t dating at the moment. That sounded like a brush off. Not dating? And the comment about her friendship with Shayla didn’t sit well with him. Had his sister said something to Faith about him?
“Of course I understand,” he said smoothly, pretending as if her response didn’t bother him. “Well, maybe I’ll see you around,” he said feebly, wanting to sink into a hole in the ground if given the choice. With a shaky smile, he walked toward the exit, wishing he’d kept his mouth shut and spared himself some deep embarrassment.
Micah quickly made his way toward his red convertible. All he wanted to do at this moment was roar down the highway so he could forget about crashing and burning with Faith. A deep sense of disappointment gripped him. Lately, he hadn’t met anyone he wanted to spend time with on a romantic level. He was sick and tired of meeting women with little or no substance. All they wanted to do was hang out at clubs drinking and partying till the wee hours of the morning. That had never been Micah’s scene. Women made a lot of assumptions about him because of his profession. The truth was, he was a family-oriented man of faith who liked to spend time in the great outdoors and attend jazz concerts and spend quality time with the people he loved. He wasn’t some wild party animal who needed alcohol or substances to make him happy.
Faith appealed to him on a gut level he couldn’t even explain. But, she clearly didn’t feel the slightest bit of interest in him. He couldn’t deny that it rankled. Perhaps he just wasn’t used to hearing no from the opposite sex. What did that say about him? He really didn’t want to be the entitled guy who thought the world was his oyster. No way! He wasn’t that guy.
As he turned his blinker on and got on the highway to head toward his assignment, he reminded himself that he really didn’t know Faith. Sadly, it looked like he might never get the chance.
“I try to live my life without regrets. Every day I try to do something to challenge myself because for so many years I wasn’t doing any of that. I was grieving and I wasn’t really living. Now, I live my life out loud.” Addie Donahue
Chapter Four
Faith’s stomach had been roiling ever since she’d turned down Micah for a date. It had been almost a week, during which time Faith had relived the moment at the Silver Spoon over and over again. The more she thought about it, the more perplexed she became. She wasn’t quite sure how the rejection had come rolling off her tongue. In her heart of hearts, she had wanted to say yes to him, but the cynical part of her soul had said no. A very clear no.
Stupid stupid stupid. When was the last time a man like Micah had noticed her? She wasn’t sure she’d ever met a man like Micah before. And as luck would have it, Micah had asked her out. She let out a huge groan. What was wrong with her? How many times had she asked God to send a good man in her direction? How many nights had she prayed for a man to come along who would love her as she was? She wasn’t saying Micah was that man, but she needed to at least put her pinky toe in the dating world
And here she couldn’t even manage to say yes to a gorgeous man who made her laugh and smile and think. A man who she thought was pretty fascinating. A man who was part of an amazing, tight-knit family.
Perhaps choir rehearsal would get her head back into her everyday world and allow her to think about something other than regrets about Micah Donahue. Being a teacher was her vocation. Being a part-time choir director was her joy. She loved music. Her parents had instilled it in her when she was a toddler. She had vague memories of sitting at her mother’s knee and listening as she played the piano and the flute. Music had always filled the rooms of their house. Beautiful melodies had lulled her to sleep at night. It was so deeply engrained in Faith. She could never be fully content without surrounding herself with music.
When Faith arrived at Holy Child church, she made her way up the stairs and to the choir room. When she walked into the room her best friend Lanie Daniels greeted her with a warm smile and a tight hug. As she did each and every week, Lanie had brought a huge box of pastries for the choir group to enjoy. Faith considered the day she’d met Lanie as one of the best days of her life. Of all the people in her world, Lanie had always been one of the most
supportive and kind. She had encouraged Faith time and again to reach out for the brass ring and to live her life outside of the small world she inhabited. She dared Faith to live life out loud. More times than not, Faith didn’t heed her best friend’s advice, but on a few occasions she had—touring Europe, trying out for a local theater troupe and cutting her hair into a short, pixie style.
Lanie was curvy and beautiful, with doe-brown eyes and brown curly hair. With skin the color of almonds, Faith thought Lanie was a stunner. Faith wished she had an ounce of Lanie’s self-confidence. If she did, maybe she wouldn’t be so wary of things. Maybe, she would have said yes to Micah, if only to have enjoyed the experience of going on a date with a male model. She giggled. It could be a great story to tell her grandkids one day. If she ever had any.
But she hadn’t said yes. As always, Faith had found a reason to block her blessings. She felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. Why was it so hard for her to reach out and grab ahold of things that might bring her joy?
Lanie frowned. “What’s with the pensive look, Faith? You look upset about something.”
Faith waved away her friend’s concern. “Just thinking about something I wish I’d done differently.”
“Anything you want to share? You know I’m always here for you, right?”
“Of course I do,” Faith said. “You’re the most supportive bestie in the world.”
Lanie held out her pinkie finger. “Friends for life. Isn’t that what we’ve always said? We’re going to be in each other’s weddings and sit on our porches in rocking chairs talking about our grandbabies till the sun goes down.”
Faith smiled. She opened her mouth to tell Lanie about Micah when a few members came bustling into the choir room. She knew the moment to tell her best friend about Micah was gone. At least for now. She was such a private person and she really didn’t want to talk about it in front of the group. They were wonderful people but some of them were known to gossip. Faith didn’t want her name on anyone’s lips. She knew it might seem silly, but the idea of people talking about her always took her back to the time when she’d moved in with Pamela’s family after being released from the burn unit. Most folks had been well meaning and kind, but there had been those who had whispered and stared. Those instances had been cruel blows to her self-esteem. But once she’d switched schools Faith had met Lanie, who had been unfazed by Faith’s tragic history and her burns. To this day, Lanie was the only person to whom Faith felt comfortable showing her scars. Lanie had never judged her or made her feel less than and Faith knew she never would.
As the choir members filed in to the room, Faith looked around her and smiled. They were a rapidly growing group of singers, who all enjoyed singing for the Lord and sharing their talent with the congregation. She could barely believe how much the group had transformed over the last year. It seemed as if every other week they were gaining a new member. She couldn’t be more pleased.
After a few minutes of friendly chatter, Faith clapped her hands together and called the practice to order.