As the group came together to pray, Brent slid into the second pew to observe. This was quite a team they had here. He bet there were few dull moments.
What was going to happen if he and Sammy worked out? Which church would they go to? Where would they live? He didn’t want to change companies again, and he didn’t want to take her away from this opportunity either. But they couldn’t drive all the way to Hartport to go to church. And he certainly didn’t want to carpool with that angry woman.Please work out the details, he silently prayed.You’ve done a bang-up job so far.
Only a few notes into the song, the sight of Sammy playing that flute brought tears to his eyes. He remembered then so clearly going to the band concerts he didn’t want to go to. He hadn’t been proud of her then, but he should have been. He was certainly proud of her now. She looked so happy, so at peace.
So am I, he thought. This was what was missing from his life: watching his wife play the flute. He almost chuckled at the thought.Don’t get ahead of yourself, he tried to tell himself.She’s not your wife yet.
But she was. In so many ways. He just had to make it official again.
Darren came out of his office, saw him, and widened his eyes. He came right toward him, hand extended.
Brent shook his hand.
“So good to see you here! How’s it going?” He turned and looked over his shoulder at Sammy. “Pretty good, I take it, since you’re here.”
“Yeah, it’s going great. Nothing official yet, but yeah.”
“Praise God!” Darren said with maybe a little too much volume. “You let me know if there’s anything I can do! We have weddings here all the time.”
He walked away, leaving Brent thinking about which of their churches they would get remarried in—something he hadn’t even thought of yet. This was certainly a problem Brent Gallant had never expected to have: wanting to go to two different churches. He shook his head, amused. God sure was turning him into a different man.
The music practice was over before they knew it, and people started to trickle into the sanctuary for the service. Sammy had just rejoined him when a familiar voice said, “Oh my goodness! Is this Brent?”
Brent stood and turned to see a woman who just had to be Cindy. She looked exactly like he’d pictured her. And even though he wasn’t usually a hugger, he gave this woman a big hug. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
She returned his squeeze and then let go to say, “You thank me by taking good care of this precious woman right here.” She smiled at Sammy. “Such a precious, precious woman in the Lord.” She turned back to Brent. “Will you sit with me?”
“Sure,” he said even as Sammy said, “No, thank you.”
He looked at her, surprised.
“She sits in the front row,” Sammy said as if that were the most horrible thing she could imagine.
He laughed. “Just this once?”
“Fine.”
“Great! I’ll be right back.” Cindy set her stuff down in the front pew and scurried off with a sense of urgency.
“Where’s she going?” he said.
“Oh, she has to greet everyone in the entire place. And she’s probably working on a few new couples too.” Sammy sat down and adjusted her skirt. “She’s a very busy lady.”
Cindy returned just before the service was supposed to start. “Can you two come over to my house for lunch?”
Brent was still stuffed from the night before, and he didn’t want to answer for Sammy again, so he looked at her and waited for her to respond.
“I wish I could, but I really need to get to a meeting.”
“Oh, good. Rain check then?”
“Definitely.”
“A meeting?” Brent said. He’d wanted to spend the afternoon with her.
“Yeah. There’s an AA meeting in Wiscasset. I really should go. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever be sorry for trying to take care of yourself, Sammy.” He slid his hand into hers. “Can I go with you?”