Author's note:
This is part of a long story. No part of it is intended to stand alone. I suggest starting with
Part 1
In revising the whole story, I've corrected errors, but also filled in a lot. This has inevitably made it all even longer. My apologies to anyone who read it in the original form and now finds it changed for the worse.
If you're looking mostly for explicit sex, this probably is not the story for you, so why don't you just go on to something else? There is explicit sex in some parts, but even there it's not the focus.
Also, some parts contain religious discussions which will offend some people and bore others. If you're one of those people, again, why not go on to something else?
59.
Laugh where we must, be candid where we can; But vindicate the ways of God to man.
Scott managed to get out of bed without waking Lynda. He went to the bathroom, then got into the shower. The door opened while he was showering, and someone used the toilet and then went out. Shortly there were a few shrieks from somewhere in the house. As he was drying off, Martha came in. He gave her a quick kiss and turned to shaving, trying to position himself so that his image in the mirror blocked his view and she had some privacy. She finished before he did, and came and stood behind and a bit to the side of him.
She waited for him to hold the razor away from his face, then put her arms around him and hugged him briefly from behind. He leaned into her for a moment. She said, "Scott, always so thoughtful and reliable. Thank you for being the man you are." Then she went out.
He got dressed in the study, and went into the kitchen to find Martha at the stove, with bacon and eggs and toast ready for him. He kissed her again briefly, prayed silently, and began eating. Lynda came in, already showered and dressed.
Martha asked, "Should I be bringing a Bible? I've got one in on the shelves. I haven't even opened it in years. Would I be implying that I read it if I bring it? I know you take yours."
"It would be a good idea. There are Bibles there, but most people do bring their own. There are plenty in the pews for anyone who comes without one, but if most people didn't bring them there wouldn't be nearly enough to go around. So if you can't find it, that's fine too."
Scott rather hurriedly finished eating and brushed his teeth, then collected his stuff and drove off. He needed more setup time than most of the instrumentalists, what with having to tune—he was pickier about it than the bass player, who was the only other one with similar tuning issues. They ran through everything once, stopping a couple of times to go over transitions between songs. Then they all headed off to their different classes.
Scott left Sunday School early enough to check his tuning and run through one or two bits by himself. The others arrived, and they were preparing to start playing the welcome music when he saw Martha and Lynda come in at the back, with an usher pointing to him. He put his guitar down and went up to greet them. He showed them where he was sitting, and apologized for abandoning them until all the opening music was done. He hurried back and joined in. They finished the pre-service music. Pastor Bob welcomed the congregation, and as the instrumentalists began playing everyone got up to sing.
These were all songs that Scott knew well, so he could sing and pay attention to the words, and still look around a little as he played. He kept half an eye on the pianist's hands, arms, and shoulders, making sure they were together, but he did turn his head to look at the congregation, and specifically Martha and Lynda, from time to time. They appeared to be singing, about as one would expect people to who didn't know the songs, uncertainly at first but joining in more as each song went along.
When the singing was over, he went to his place and sat down, next to Lynda.
He hadn't thought to say anything ahead of time about the offering, but it seemed that the women were expecting it. They were ready to put something in, even though up near the front where they were the plates arrived pretty much right away.
When the scripture was read, Scott helped Lynda find the place. Martha found it for herself. It was from Jeremiah 29. When other passages were cited during the sermon, Martha again found them, often a little behind but not too much. In those cases Scott just let Lynda look on in his Bible.
At the end of the sermon, Pastor Bob gave what was generally referred to as the altar call, though normally no one was asked to go forward. He asked everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes. He gave a brief account of the gospel, based in the sermon text, and asked those who responded to raise their hands. Scott was pretty sure neither woman did so, but he kept his eyes closed so he couldn't really be sure.
Scott had to go up and play a couple of times during the service, once in the middle and once at the end, right after the altar call. After the last song, the instrumentalists played briefly as people began to get up. When they were done, Scott packed up his guitar and gear and music, then came back to where Martha and Lynda were. As he'd predicted, there were some people who had come to greet them and stayed with them to talk, mostly people who knew him pretty well. He set his stuff down and listened for a few minutes. When the conversation wound down to a close, he saw them to the door. They went to their cars and drove home.
