Page 86 of Wish You Faith

“Shall I take that platter to the dining table?” Evan asked.

“Yes, young man. You may.” Marcella smiled. “You better ask her again before you get cold feet.”

“They only met a month ago,” Sonya reminded her friend.

“So?” Dottie’s eyes glittered under the ceiling lights. “When you know, you know.”

“What I said.” Evan smiled.

“My Frank and I married only a few months after we’d started dating and one week before he shipped off to Vietnam,” Marcella said. “We had to wait until after the war to get to know each other, but we’ve stayed married to this day. Fifty-four years and counting.”

“Whoa. Congratulations.” Evan was genuinely impressed. “What’s your secret to a long marriage?”

“Cherish every moment. Smile at least once a day at your spouse. Choose your battles.” The advice rolled off Marcella’s tongue like she’d been asked the same question before.

Dottie was visibly moved. “Bob left me last year. I still think of all the things I wish I’d said to him and all the things I wish I’d never said to him when he was still alive.”

“I’m sorry.” It was all Evan could think of saying as he watched Sonya and Marcella hug Dottie.

“Learn from us.” Dottie dried her eyes on a paper napkin. “Did Rosie reject you?”

“Actually, I didn’t get a chance to finish my question. She said to ask her another day.” Evan had driven all night to get here, power-napped for a couple of hours, and was then denied the opportunity to complete his mission.

“When is the soonest you can ask her again?” Dottie asked.

“Tomorrow, I suppose.”

“Don’t change your mind. Rosie is a good girl.”

Evan understood what Dottie meant even though he remembered that Jesus said in Mark 10:18 that only God was good.

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.”

Since Jesus Christ was God incarnate, He was therefore good. In His goodness and mercy, God had protected Rosie’s character all these years. Outsiders such as Dottie could see Rosie’s commendable personality.

In the days that Evan had been with Rosie, both during and after work, he had seen her handle her managerial duties with maturity and calm. The only time she had freaked out was when Travis chased after her. Even then, she hadn’t lost it.

Perhaps Rosie had trained in the school of life, losing her father a while back and going through her mom’s cancer treatment recently. Sometimes hardships made one stronger.

Could Evan say the same for himself? His fractured relationship with his parents was on the mend only because he’d made a deal with them. If he hadn’t made that deal, they’d still be estranged, with Connor being the go-between.

“No, I won’t change my mind,” Evan replied to Dottie. “I know that she’s the only one for me for the rest of my life. I’m trying to move back to Savannah for her.”

“Move from where?” Marcella asked.

“Seattle.”

“Long way from here.”

“It is.” Evan’s heart was heavy when he thought about parting with Rosie again this weekend.

“Then I wish you faith as you go forward.” Dottie patted Evan’s arm.

If worse came to worst, and Mom did not agree on the Savannah expansion, then Evan would have to work in Seattle for ten years. He couldn’t quit Cavanaugh Shipping because he’d already made a promise. Mom would go ballistic, and Evan would have to explain how he wasn’t honoring his parents in Ephesians 6:2.

He prayed that if they had to live separately for the next decade, Rosie would understand. They’d be reunited in their forties. Heaven forbid Rosie would tell him to wait until then before proposing.

Evan carried side dishes to the dining table.

---