Let's Mae a Deal

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?

70.

An Unexpected Party

After a couple of months, Lynda felt confident enough of her faith to take the step of being baptized, and Martha was baptized at the same time. Scott felt happy for them, but also sad because neither had any family to come and see. He asked them if they would mind if he invited all their coworkers to come and celebrate the occasion with them, and when they enthusiastically agreed he personally invited everyone, as well as posting a notice on the company bulletin board. He quietly canvassed to find out how many were likely to actually come, and the number surprised him. He discounted it somewhat, but added an allowance for some of the friends they had been making at church. He made a reservation for a room at a local restaurant, beginning half an hour after the service ended.

Lynda also asked him whether he thought she should invite her parents. His reply was that he didn't really feel he could advise either way. He asked, "If you invite them and they come, how will that make you feel? And if you invite them and they don't come, how will you feel about that? If you are comfortable with the answer both ways, then I'd do it." She dithered a bit, but then sent her parents a letter inviting them.

The day before the event, she received a reply, written and signed by her mother but for both parents. Even though it was more formal than affectionate, and even though it said they would be unable to come, Lynda was elated at having her parents respond to her to that extent. Scott ground his teeth at the tone, but was happy for Lynda that she had heard from them at all. She said that all her previous attempts to communicate with them, soon after she'd moved into Martha's house, had received no reply at all.

By this time, there had been two or three baptismal services since they had been attending, so they had a good idea of what to expect. Some of those being baptized had been school-aged children, but others were adults. But on this occasion, it was to be just Martha and Lynda.

The day of the baptism was a beautiful, sunny day. This didn't make any real difference, but it lifted Scott's spirits, and the women's too, he thought. And more people from work came than Scott had anticipated. He had quietly invited those who had promised to come, and their new friends from church, to the party afterward. He had asked everyone not to talk about it. He hoped Martha and Lynda would be surprised. They only knew he was taking them out for dinner, he thought, but of course all it would take to tip them off would be one comment or question from one person.

Both women were robed by the time Scott saw them. He knew the pastor had discussed the mechanics with them. He didn't know whether they were wearing swimsuits or shorts and tees or what under the robes, but he was confident that they knew to have nice clothes to change into.

Each of them answered the pastor's questions firmly and confidently. When asked whether they wished to say anything on their own, they both embarrassed Scott by thanking him not only for patiently discussing the gospel with them and explaining many things, but for the example of his character. He was so aware that he didn't deserve that!

After the service, many people came up to speak to the two of them. Scott waited for them, but not with them. He felt this should be their time, not his. People did come and talk to him as well, of course, some of them referring to what the women had said.

In the end, they collected themselves, then drove separately to the restaurant. Scott arrived first and was waiting for them at the door. When they entered the reserved room, people were waiting, and they entered to applause. If anyone had tipped them off, they didn't show it. Lynda said to Scott, "I'll get you for this!" but he thought that she was pleased anyway.

It took some time for everyone to order. There were more people than he had told the restaurant to expect, but the room was big enough, and if any more setup had been needed it was all taken care of before they arrived. Once salads and soups and appetizers had been served, Scott got up and thanked everyone for coming to celebrate with them. He described the women's virtues as employees, and spoke of how they had begun studying the Bible by themselves and then asking him questions, and how that had turned into a regular time of studying it together. He said that they had understood the gospel but also knew the difference between understanding it and believing it. And he said, in general terms, that their friendship had developed out of getting together to deal with some problems at work, and how much their friendship meant to him.

After a few moments of whispering between the two of them, Lynda got up speak as well. She told everyone that they had already said most of what they had to say. She thanked Scott for arranging for the party, saying again to him, "But I'll get you for springing it on us like this, just you wait!" and thanked everyone for coming. She choked up a bit, and said, "Scott has already had plenty of chance to learn that I cry a lot, whether I'm happy or sad. These are happy tears. After some painful events in my life, when someone spread false rumors about me, a few friends stood by me, and it meant a lot to me. I can't really tell you what it means to have so many people come out to welcome and encourage us here. I'm speaking for Martha, too, when I say thank you to you all." She sat down and dabbed at her face with her napkin. Since she had known she was going to be immersed in water, she wasn't wearing any makeup besides maybe lip gloss, so there was nothing to be smearing on her face. Not that she normally wore much makeup. Scott thought that the few tears she'd shed this time just enhanced her beauty, but thought he'd better wait to tell her lest she really begin crying in earnest.

Scott stood up again to tell everyone that he was providing cake and ice cream for them all for dessert, though of course anyone who wanted something different could order that instead. But when dessert came to be served, Martha and Lynda received elaborate, fancy concoctions, waffles with whipped cream and ice cream and several syrups, which they assumed Scott must have ordered for them. When he denied it, the waitress told them, "These are with our compliments. We know this is a big day for you, and we wanted to say congratulations too."

As people finished eating, most of them came by to offer personal congratulations and welcome to Martha and Lynda. This, obviously, slowed down their eating, but they finally did finish. A couple of friends from work, and three or four women from church (and a couple of husbands), took chairs near them, and they all talked for twenty minutes or so as all the tables were being cleared.

They all went out together in a cloud of hugs, paid for their meals, and left. Scott was the last, paying for Martha's and Lynda's dinners as well as his own and the general desserts. He checked with the cashier, whom he knew as one of the owners, as to whether everyone had tipped. Except for a few who, she thought, had left their tips on the tables in cash, everyone had. Scott added a large tip of his own and thanked her for accommodating them all, especially since several more had come than he'd told her to expect. She said, "That's normal for this kind of thing. We never really know how many people will come out any given Sunday anyway, though of course we have some idea. Your estimate was really very good. We appreciate your business, and a group like yours, and for an occasion like this, is especially a pleasure."

He knew she was a believer, from a different church in town, so he understood what she meant. He also knew enough to know that, even on Sunday at midday, much of their profit came from alcohol sales, and of course there had been little or none with this group. He thanked her again, saying what a wonderful time it had been for him and the guests of honor.

"Do you know these two ladies?" he asked.

"I've seen both of them from time to time, but we've never met."

He introduced them. "She's also Martha. She and Bill own this place, and they really work to make it a nice place to come." He mentioned which church they were part of. And of course she already knew what the occasion for the party had been.

She told them, "Any friend of Scott's is likely to be somebody special. Or, not quite that. Scott is willing to be friends with almost anyone who behaves well, as you must know, and he would do what he could for almost anyone. But he wouldn't be likely to do something like hosting this reception for just anyone. I hope we'll see you here from time to time, and I don't mean for the sake of your business. God bless you as you go on from here. It's a big step, and I'm glad you came to us to celebrate."

When they went out, Martha said, "You're coming over, aren't you?" He said that he was.

71.

Absolute Surrender

At the house, they exchanged hugs, much longer ones than they normally did any more. Lynda cried a little on his chest. He brought out gifts, which on opening proved to be small books, two apiece, by Andrew Murray. He said, "These were very important in my own life at a couple of points. They're a little hard to find today, because someone went through a lot of his books and modernized the language. That would be fine, but on reading some of them which I was very familiar with, I found that they'd been rewritten enough so that they didn't always say the same things. These are the original books.

"A few of his books are longer and in a way very much deeper, but these and many others look to have been written as devotional guides, with short chapters, one a day for a month, intended to provide food for meditation and prayer. I really suggest that you use them that way, not try to read them at a sitting first off, though you can see they're plenty short enough for that."

He went on to say something about background, the worldwide revival which had occurred during Murray's ministry, and which his preaching and his books had been an important part of, and his characteristic themes.

He also told them, "I hope that you both will forgive me. Technically I failed to be totally honest with you. I let you think that just the three of us were going out to dinner. I hoped you would find it enough of a blessing to see how many people love and support you that you would be willing to consider this as an exception to the promise, but you'll have to decide that." This earned him hugs and kisses, on the lips though not drawn out, and a few tears of happiness. Lynda said, "If you really are careful to make sure it's something I will find that good, a surprise like that is fine. I can imagine something really terrible happening, though."

72.

There and Back Again

About three weeks after the baptism, when Scott came to the door of the house, Lynda met him in tears, almost leaping into his arms. For a moment he was worried, but it only took him a few seconds to see that she was elated about something. She said she had received another letter from her mother. She ran to get it. "Read this!" she told him.

It was in stark contrast to the previous one. For one thing it was much longer. She apologized for the previous letter, in fact, right off the bat.

She offered warm congratulations on Lynda's baptism. It seemed that she was in a Bible study group in her church—Scott stopped to ask about this, and Lynda said that this was news to her as well—and one of the other women was the mother of a woman in Scott's and Lynda's church. Scott only slightly knew the woman, Rita Johnson. He asked Lynda, and she said Rita had been three or four years ahead of her in school. They hadn't known each other, but knew who each other were. Lynda said she probably wouldn't have remembered her at all if her mom hadn't mentioned Rita's maiden name along the way. At any rate, Rita had given her own mother a detailed report on the ceremony, and a detailed, if secondhand, report on the party afterward.

Scott, reading Lynda's mother's account of this, said, "Be sure to tell your mother that I'm not really a leader in the church. I play music and help out in some other ways, OK, but this has me as part of the spiritual leadership." Lynda laughed and said, "I'll tell her you said so, but I think some other people give you more credit than you give yourself. Rita's not the only one, for sure."

A key section of the letter said, "Your dad just says you were baptized once and that should be enough. But recently, in talking with some of the women in my study group, I've come to see that our commitment to bring you up in faith was part of your baptism, and we really didn't do more than taking you to church. I'm really sorry. We failed you, and if you found someone who did take time to teach you I'm very grateful to him, or her."

And, later on: "Mary—" Mary was Rita's mother "—also mentioned something she heard from someone about Ron Reed, how he's now in prison for some rapes and for stealing a lot of money from the company he worked for. I'm so sorry I didn't really listen to you, back when you told us what he did to you. I don't know what was wrong with me. I know you don't really have a lot of reason to love us any more, after all that, so it means so much to me that you invited us to come when you were being baptized. If I'd known this about Ron, and had a little more time to think, I'd have told your dad that I was going whether he came along or not, the way I should have. I can't undo what we did back then, but I hope you'll accept it when I say I'm sorry now, so sorry that I find myself crying about it from time to time. I don't think your dad will ever listen to anything I say about it, but I love you, and I realize now I've missed you all these years. And all I can do about it is to write this to tell you I'm sorry."

Scott pointed this part, about crying, out to her and said, "It looks like you take after your mom in some ways, anyway." Lynda stuck her tongue out at him, but hugged him again. He went on, "I'm so happy for you! Things don't always work out this well, but once in a while they do."

"I'm going to wait until I get a chance to call her when Dad's not likely to be around. I want to tell her how much I love her, and how happy her letter made me." They went on into the kitchen, where Martha was working. Lynda said, "I'd like to invite Mom to come and see me. From what she says, Dad won't be willing to come, but she might. It's OK if she comes and stays with us for a day or two, or a little more, isn't it?"

Martha put down what she was doing and came and gave her a hug. "Of course! No one's using the spare room, and she'd be welcome to stay for a couple of weeks or more, if she wanted. From what she says and what you've told me about your folks, staying that long would be likely to cause trouble between them, but she's welcome here."

When Lynda called her the next day, her mother was doubtful about coming, because it would mean leaving her husband alone, and he wouldn't like it. She asked whether maybe Lynda could come and spend most of a day, when her father was at work, so they could see each other, and Lynda said she would see whether she could manage it. But (she reported) they had a good talk, talking for close to an hour. This too had her walking on air for a couple of days.

So a few days later, Lynda borrowed Martha's car to drive the fifty miles or so to her parents' house. Scott picked Martha up for work. They had all been trying to avoid having Scott be alone with either of the women for any extended amount of time, to avoid temptation on all sides, but aside from an extra-long hug, Scott and Martha did not behave any differently than they normally would have. Martha got started early on her normal work, and Scott turned to what he'd left unfinished the night before.

That evening, he took Martha home and they waited for Lynda to arrive. Scott did a few chores he'd been putting off, and Martha fixed something more complicated than normal for dinner. Lynda called to say she was half an hour away. When she came in, it was as though a black cloud were hanging over her.

"The day was wonderful," she told them. She actually brightened up a lot at this point. "Mom and I had time to talk, and we did have six years to catch up on. More, really, since the last year I was at home I was really just staying there. I couldn't believe how much she's changed! I don't know how she came to get into that Bible study group, but I think that's what has done it. Anyway, I told her a lot. I didn't tell her about what all happened with the three of us, that's over anyway, but she figured out right away how I feel about you. She told me that I should go after you or else, if I didn't feel I could, that I should look for someone else. Sorry, not a good way to put it. That suggests something different. What she meant was that I should be looking to get married, and if it's not with you then I shouldn't, well, she said something like keep pining away until I'm too old. I told her that whatever my feelings for you, you and Martha both were my friends for life, and that looking for a husband wasn't at the top of my list right now for other reasons. As I'm telling it, that all sounds awkward, but it wasn't like that at all. The time with her was wonderful.

"The problem was that we kind of lost track of time, and Dad came home before I left. He had a lot of hard things to say, and then basically ordered me out of the house. And Mom told him right out that it was her house, too, and that even if he didn't like it I was his daughter as well as hers, and that I'd driven all that way to have some time with her and he could just be polite or get out and come back later. I think he was so surprised that he didn't know what to say, but he backed down and actually talked to me a little, asking about what I do for a living, things like that. He didn't exactly apologize, you understand, but he backed off. I didn't stay very much longer, though, and even though things ended on a civil note, I'm really afraid that I may have caused real trouble for Mom just by being there. She gave me a big hug and told me to keep in touch.

"Anyway, most of the day was a blessing I'll never forget. I'm just going to have to make a habit of calling Mom at least a couple of times a week, during the day when he's at work. I don't really know what to make of the changes in her. I never, ever saw her talk back to Dad like that, and I'm really afraid of what he may have said to her after I left. I think I better stick to phone calls, not letters, unless she makes it clear she wants me to include him, though."

Scott went to her and gave her a hug again, and a kiss on the forehead. He told her, "Maybe she's changed a lot, or maybe she only got the courage to stand up for herself, and you never understood her before. We'll all pray for them both, and we can ask some other people to pray, too. We need to think about what it's OK to say about them, first, but we can surely tell people that you went to see your mom and had a wonderful time talking to her.