Page 62 of Final Approach
Ouch. “I know. I’m sorry. I just keep praying for him. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to deal with him either.”
He studied her with narrowed eyes. “You know, I never was real big on the whole church thing, but because you seem so ... I don’t know ... peaceful about everything, I figured I’d give it a try.”
Kristine blinked. Peaceful? Her? She stared at Ethan. “Really?”
“Well, yeah. I mean ... I don’t know. You just seem to roll with everything without batting an eye. And then with Dad ... I’d never be able to deal with him like you do.”
She closed her eyes and thought about it. Then nodded. “Yeah, okay. I guess there is a peace that’s come with acknowledging our father is never going to win the Father of the Year award.”
“At the church where I’ve been going, there’s a guy there. A man in his forties, I guess. He’s got the wife, two kids, and three dogs. Lives in a nice house in the burbs, et cetera. He’s an accountant byday but a spiritual warrior and mentor after hours.” Ethan laughed. “Well, probably all the time, but I only see him at church. He’s about five ten and a hundred fifty soaking wet. Doesn’t look like he could fight anybody and win. And then there’s a guy who’s a Navy SEAL. I mean, you can picture him. In the best shape ever, buff, with tats and a look that would intimidate just about anyone who crosses his path. But man, he loves God.” He shook his head. “Seeing them worship together in the same place just did something for me. It was powerful in a way I can’t really explain. I don’t know why, but I needed to see that it didn’t matter what your outward appearance was. What mattered is what’s on the inside. And the cool thing? They’re not shy or ashamed of telling me they’re praying for me. I mean, I never even asked them to, and they just came up to me—on two separate occasions—and told me so. I figure that might be God trying to get my attention.”
Kristine stared. She’d never heard him talk this much. Especially not about spiritual matters. And he probably related much better to the accountant than he did the SEAL. Maybe it was the exhaustion loosening his tongue. “Wow. This is recent, right?”
“Yes. Just over the past couple of months.” He rubbed his eyes. “And I know I need to forgive Dad and move past all of our childhood pain, but I’m not there yet.”
She stood and hugged him. “I’m so proud of you, Ethan. And I fully believe that you’ll get there. That’s my prayer for you. That you can forgive and move on and be the man God is calling you to be.” But what about her? Had she forgiven and moved on? The sharp squeeze in the vicinity of her heart had her wincing.
“You know,” she said, “when Mom was alive, she was the spiritual head of the family, not him. And I get it. It’s what a lot of women have to do these days if they want to raise kids who love the Lord.” She waved a hand. “All that to say, you didn’t exactly have a role model as to what a godly man looked like. I’m so glad you have at least two now.”
“Me too.”
“If Aunt Wendy hadn’t spent a lot of time with us after Mom died,” she said, “I’m not sure where I’d be spiritually.”
“Yeah, I didn’t pay much attention to her.”
“This is one of the most interesting conversations I’ve eavesdropped on in a while,” Emily said, her words slow and slurred, but she was awake.
Kristine stepped over to her and gripped her hand. “Welcome back, little sis.”
Her eyes landed on Ethan and tears began to drip down her temples. “Hey, li’l bro.”
“Only by three minutes.”
It was familiar banter and Kristine soaked it up. Emily looked at her and turned serious. “Thank you for being here.”
“Where else would I be?”
“On a plane?”
“Seriously?”
Emily’s hand squeezed. “You’re always here for us, Kris. I don’t know what we’d do without you.” She swallowed hard.
“Well, let’s hope we never have to find out.”
“I was laying here thinking while y’all were talking and realized I don’t think we’ve ever said thank you.”
“Come on, Em, thank you for what?”
“For everything. After Mom died, you took over.”
“Aunt Wendy took over.”
“No,” Ethan said, “she’s right. You did.”
Kristine frowned. “I did?”
“Yes.” He laughed. “You were there for every game, every parent-teacher conference, every broken heart. You, Kris, not Dad or Aunt Wendy, although I’ll give her credit for trying. But she had her own life. You gave up yours for us. Tried to help us not miss Mom so much.” He shrugged, and Kristine wasn’t sure what to say or do.
