A Christian Romance

Chapter 10 - Keeping hopes high

(the picture on top is David Larking)

When Adam woke up that morning, life felt different, even more than when he found out about his health condition. His father had been formally accused of his alleged involvement in the murder of retired church ministers. The list included the pastor's grandfather. David agreed to cooperate with the police detectives, as long as they kept the whole case private. For the pastor, these situations were more like a drill than something else, for he knew how to control the authorities in New South Wales, even though Australia ranked 11th place out of 180 countries in Transparency International's 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index.

David was in such a state of greed that he couldn't tell his left from his right anymore; he didn't believe, let alone fear God and His word! Church was his way to launder illegal funds, and also to paint a holy and pious image of himself to the world. Only a few people knew his true colors, and most of those who contributed to the corruption of his businesses hadn't fully experienced the length of his cruelty. Pastor Larking was capable of the most atrocious things just to keep his income.

But Adam slowly shifted his attention from his father's corruption to himself and his craving for Debora. Oh, how he missed her! He recreated that night in her apartment many times, in the last recreations he felt no shame in wishing that things had gone much further. All he wanted was her, and he would finally do something in his power about it. For all he cared, his life on earth was summed up to a few months in the best of chances.

He had managed to advance that day's rehearsal to the early afternoon. He had a line of work set and also a game plan.

He arrived earlier at the church, this time Ralph wasn't there, so: no one to remind him of his fight for holiness. What an excitement to see the people walking in, but nothing compared to the moment when he saw Debora walking into the auditorium. He instantly confirmed that seeing her wasn't enough and he would move ahead with his plan.

The band members stood near the platform and Adam climbed down to meet them, excited and jittery. Some people noticed the difference from last rehearsals, others were impacted by the good mood.

Debora still had a hard time disguising what she felt for Adam. For her, he was the most important in the room. It was conflicting, because she had started to pray for somebody else, and she was sure to be following the will of God on that, even though her feelings contradicted her convictions.

As she was walking up the stage with the rest of the band, Adam pulled her aside and whispered casually that they would be working on her solos.

After a prayer, he welcomed Debora to start singing. She was eager to put those solos in place, and managed it rightfully, thanks to her friend Chloe, who gave her a few tips. Adam had expected to point out her breathing problems, and that would be the perfect opportunity to test whether her body reacted to him as it did in the past, but she performed flawlessly; apparently, she had worked that out since the audition, and it disappointed him. The rest of the band congratulated and encouraged her with her gift.

Adam was compelled to change his plans, and so he did. When the band was gathered around for the closing of that rehearsal, he singled Debora out for her performance and informed her that they needed to have a word concerning the coming Sunday. She nodded.

The band was dismissed and Debora waited for Adam at the church's lobby. She was wearing a flowy terracotta dress and sneakers, totally different from the formal outfits she used to go to work. She hoped that the way that dress hid her silhouette would be enough to keep a spiritual distance between them because she wouldn't know how to respond if it didn't. She was nervous, fiddling with her hands.

When Adam arrived to meet with her, she was even more nervous, quite unable to respond to her rationality.

"Debbie, you did a great job, today!" He congratulated her. "Your gift is amazing."