Page 62 of In This Moment
Jordy squinted his eyes. “What? Dad, are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. He glared at me as soon as our eyes met. Looked like he wanted to kill me. Like he’d never seen a black principal.”
“Dad! Listen to you.” Jordy stood and paced across the room and back. “He has something against Christians. Notblackpeople. You have no proof of that whatsoever.”
“Well, still... these days things are worse. People will hate you for dating a white girl. They’ll hate Cami for dating a black guy.” Wendell wished there was an easier way to spell out the facts. “Save yourselves a lifetime of heartache and find another girl, Jordy. Let this one go.”
Jordy stopped and stared hard at Wendell. For a few seconds he worked the muscles in his jaw, as if he was so angry he couldn’t think of exactly what to say. “So who’s the racist, Dad?”
“Jordy.”
“Please. Listen to me.” Jordy seemed to force himself to lower his voice. “You’re telling me her father looked like he wanted to kill you? Like he’d never seen a black principal? Why? Because he’s a mechanic? Because he doesn’t have his doctorate like you?”
Wendell had never seen such righteous anger from his son. He leaned forward in his chair and waited for Jordy to settle down. When the boy sat again, Wendell chose his words with care. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” Wendell could feel the Holy Spirit reminding him to be humble. He was wrong here, and he needed to say so. “There’s no reason for me to assume the man’s a racist.”
“We can’t buy the lie that all white people are racist, Dad.” Jordy’s expression became more hurt than angry. “Isn’t that what you taught us kids?”
It was. Wendell felt awful. “I’m sorry. Forgive me.” This was part of what made their family special. The ability to apologize freely. And freely forgive.
“Okay.” Jordy settled back in his chair. For a minute he gripped the armrests and rocked. As if he were sorting through his feelings and trying to figure out which was the most important. “I know Cami’s dad is a mean man.” Jordy hesitated. “I know he doesn’t like God or Christians.” His eyes locked on to Wendell’s. “But I like his daughter. That’s all I know. Cami loves Jesus, Dad. She does. And what about Mom? She was half white, remember? You and Mom were the ones who taught us that skin color doesn’t matter.”
Wendell could think of a thousand times.
“You told us hurt people hurt people, and if anyone ever had a problem with us because of our skin color it wasn’t our problem. It was theirs. You said some people got made fun of for being too tall or too short. Too heavy or too skinny. Too smart or too slow.” Passion filled Jordy’s voice. “You said none of that mattered, because in God’s eyes we were all the same. We were all His children.”
“True. I said that.” Wendell was ashamed of himself for his words earlier. And grateful for his older son’s ability to put the issue in perspective.
“So Cami and I, we’re just a couple of children of God who happen to like each other.” Jordy managed the slightest smile. “I don’t know if I’ll ask her out. I’m not sure if we’ll be boyfriend and girlfriend or if we’ll get married one day. But I like her. A lot.” He paused. “I think Mom would like her, too.”
“Yes.” Wendell found his own smile as he stood and helped Jordy to his feet. “I think Mom would like her, too.” He put his hand on his son’s shoulder and searched his eyes. “I guess I just want an easier road for you, Jordy. I don’t want people taking out their hate on you. Not for any reason.”
Jordy nodded, his eyes full of confidence and maturity. “I get that. But I can’t live to please other people. Only God. Heartache and hate are a part of life. Our job is to love. Besides”—he grinned—“God created all the colors.” He laughed. “Right?”
A chuckle came from Wendell. “When did you get to be so smart?”
The air between them was warm again, the tension gone. Jordy slipped his arm around his father’s shoulders. “I had the best teacher.”
“And I have the best son.”
The conversation stayed with Wendell long after Jordy turned in, long after Wendell was under the covers, staring at the ceiling over his bed. If he could protect his kids from the sort of attack he himself was under, he would. He’d spare them every time.
But Jordy was right. Earth was full of heartache. Hurt people would always hurt people. Which was probably why Andy Nelson had filed suit against Wendell and Hamilton High in the first place. Someone had hurt him. And when the dust settled on this case, Wendell prayed he might find out more about the man. The one he had been quick to criticize.
In case there was some way Wendell might show the man love and mercy.
Instead of judgment.
18
Andy Nelson would’ve given anything to avoid waking up in the morning. The trial against Hamilton High’s Wendell Quinn was set to begin in a few days, and there was nothing Andy could do to stop it.
He had dug this hole. Now it was no surprise he couldn’t find his way out of it.
There were several options, of course. He could take a bottle of pills or load up the revolver he kept at his bedside. But any of those would mean destroying his girls’ lives. And he couldn’t do that. The lawsuit was bad enough.
If he killed himself now, the horrible news would be splashed across newspapers all over the country. The world, even. And his daughters would suffer more than they were already. And they were definitely suffering.
Cami most of all.
