“It sounds like she was jealous of Mom.”
“She had a right to be. Although your mom and I were strictly friends at that time and had never spoken to or touched each other inappropriately, our eyes had. They told the real story, andright or wrong, we fell in love with each other. I couldn’t help but fall in love with your mom. I fought my feelings for her until I no longer could.”
I picked up my Hendricks and tonic and finished off what was left in the glass.
“Do you need another one of those?” my dad asked.
“No, I’m okay. I just need to hear the next chapter in this story.”
“My ex-wife asked me for a divorce six months after your mom joined my church.”
“And what was your response?”
My dad shrugged his shoulders. “I got divorced as quickly as I could and once it was finalized, I went to your mother and confessed my feelings to her. I told her that I was in love with her and wanted her to be mine. All mine. She told me the same thing, we got married by a justice of the peace, I switched to the Methodist Conference, was assigned a church and the rest is history.”
I took a deep breath and stared at my dad while trying to process everything that he just told me.
“I don’t understand why you switched conferences,” I finally said.
“Because in the Baptist Conference, you can’t be a preacher if you’re divorced but you can be in the Methodist one.”
I took another deep breath.
“Are you okay?” my dad asked.
“Um, yeah. My mind is just a little blown at the moment is all.”
“I thought that might happen. So what do you think of me now? Your sinner dad.”
I reached over and held his face in my hand. “I think even more of you for being true to yourself. In my eyes, you did nothing wrong by falling in love with Mom and she did nothingwrong by falling in love with you. I can see why you two fell for each other and I also understand why you were so conflicted about it at first, considering your circumstances at the time. It wasn’t the ideal scenario, but it doesn’t matter. There’s no point in fighting what keeps your heart beating.”
“I tried to, but…”
“I know, Dad. I believe you and Mom were destined to meet and make a life together. People from your old church may have cast their judgment onto you two, but so what. They’re all hypocrites.”
“Actually, no one from my old church judged us. No one except for my ex-wife. She also tried to stir up things by spreading the rumor that your mom and I had been having an affair since she first started coming to my church. It was a flat-out lie that ended up reaching some of the members in that first Methodist church that I pastored at but everyone there ignored it.”
“Good.”
“The members embraced me but especially your mom. They loved her and she served that church just like she did the Baptist one.”
“And just like the church that you pastor now.”
“Yes.”
“How many years have you been there, again?”
“Eight. I hope to stay at this one until retirement, but you never know with the Methodist Conference. They tend to move pastors around.”
I leaned over and hugged my dad. Then I told him that I loved him.
“I love you too, Stevie.”
“Thank you for telling me about the true beginning of you and Mom. It means more to me than you know.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I just had it in my mind that you two met at your first Methodist church, fell in love with each, got married, had me, etc.”