Page 7 of Here With Me

This was why she’d wanted two years to get ready to take over. Diving into any decision without all the details never ended well. She’d jumped blindly, making this move, changing her life, to chase a dream she’d given up on.

All for what? To discover the store was underwater. How could this happen?

Her hand trembled. But the red letters stamped across the page couldn’t be ignored.

She looked down at the statement again. When she trusted people to handle the details, bad things happened. Two words stared up at her, cementing that thought.

Past Due.

two

David had spent every moment of the three-day weekend outlining a foolproof argument, but ten minutes into this Tuesday morning conversation with Lance and Marco, already he’d been met with his fifth no. Too bad David couldn’t erase that word from their vocabulary.

There had to be a way to express his concerns that would make his field administrator, Lance Everett, understand the importance of returning to Costa Rica. The collar of his button-down shirt chafed as David was met with another no. Why had he picked a dress shirt for this video call?

He picked up his coffee cup on the corner of his grandfather’s antique desk in the study David had painted a few weeks ago as Lance once again refused David’s request. Too bad the coffee didn’t help the discouragement go down. Or bury the distracting thoughts of Sadie. Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to see her again. He’d make sure of it.

“I understand what you’re saying, Lance. You want to see me actively involved in the community. But you’ve also told me to take time to rest and recoup, which is what I’ve done.”

Lance’s face on the computer screen could rival a tired parent who’d been saying the same thing on repeat. “David, you went through a traumatic experience, and the mission board, me included, are concerned for you. We want to see you healed on four levels—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.”

“I understand. I am in the best physical shape of my life. My medical exam showed that.” Thanks in no small part to the new gym that opened up in town.

Lance leaned forward. “Agreed. But emotionally, are you ready? Your hands are still shaking.”

David closed his eyes briefly and made sure his hands were off camera. Yes, they were shaking. “There’s no medical reason for that, though. The doctor doesn’t know why I’m shaking.”

Marco Perez, Executive Director, chimed in. “Which has us concerned, David. What is the something else that’s causing it?”

Who knew? He’d have to face it at some point. But David was learning how to handle it. It wasn’t like his shaking prevented him from doing anything. He might have to slow down and concentrate more, but it didn’t stop him.

“I’ve not spent this much time studying the Bible since college.” Not that it had made a difference. All that time reading the Bible, and still no direction. Not one word from God. All his prayers seemed to just bounce off the ceiling. “Emotionally, I’m fine.”

“Fine?” Lance looked down at the papers in front of him and back up. “Nate says you have barely interacted in any way with the people around you. That doesn’t say emotionally fine.”

That traitor. Nate was supposed to be on his side. David’s gaze flicked to Marco’s face, but he seemed to have his mind made up too. David ran a rough hand through his hair and sank back into the desk chair. “Okay. But Chris is pulling double, juggling his job and mine. Tell me what I need to do in order to go back.”

Marco nodded but his stern expression didn’t change. “Don’t worry about Chris. We’ve brought in a temporary guy to fill your position.”

They’d replaced him? His stomach churned, and he flexed his hand. “Is it someone I know?”

“It’s a young guy. Fresh out of college. He was looking for a short-term opportunity, so it was a perfect fit. You’ve left the program in incredible order, and he had no problem stepping in. Don’t let this discourage you, we want you back, but we want you healthy.” Marco leaned forward with an encouraging lift of his eyebrows.

“What would that look like?” David worked hard to not let his resignation slip into his voice. What choice did he have in the matter? These guys were the key to getting back to Costa Rica.

“We’d like to see you connecting with people around you.” Lance took a sip from his familiar Detroit Red Wings mug.

“I am connecting.” Okay, so David wasn’t doing a great job hiding his attitude. Instead, he sounded like a petulant child. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat.

“You are hiding, and if you’re hiding there, what makes you think you won’t hide in Costa Rica?”

Properly chastised, David rubbed at his shirt collar. They had a point, and he needed to accept their stipulations and work to meet them.

If they were in person, David knew Lance would slap a hand on his shoulder and squeeze it. “We have an outline in place to help you get back. If that’s really what you want to do, we’d like to help you achieve that goal. But we want the best version of you to move forward. If you decide you’d rather stay stateside, there are other options within the board that?—”

“I want to go back.” David needed to go back. Needed to hear God speak to him again. For God to use him again.

Lance exhaled. He looked down and back up. “Okay then. We want to see you out in the community. Nate will be there to work with you in person, but I’ll be making a trip to Michigan soon, and we can meet up. I’d like to see you helping others, maybe find a temporary job. Whatever you feel you need to do to build relationships with the people around you. Why don’t you work on this for the next several weeks, and the three of us can meet again mid-October to reevaluate.”

---