A Christian Romance

Chapter 22 - Decision time

(the picture on top is Ralph and his wife Michelle)

Richard was convicted of sexual abuse, having committed at least 20 crimes against women. Those were great news for Debora. Even though her report was contradicted by Adam's, the reports of other women were enough to prove how much of a pervert Richard was. Unfortunately, - nobody knew - thanks to David who bailed him a few years out, his sentence would be much shorter than it should.

David estimated considerable losses in the church business, as soon as national television started to make news of the Judge's decision. He was aware of the cyclical scandals in the church and how those put the reputation of its leaders at stake. But he always had a way of circumventing the truth by quoting Jesus: "Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." (Gospel of Matthew 5:11). Even in case that didn't work out, he always had one last card up his sleeve.

Still, the pastor was very much aware of the trouble that meant Richard's sentence. He never expected that things would take such a big turn, though. The only solution that crossed his mind was silencing his partner for good. He could bribe another dangerous prisoner for that, or even add a deadly poison to the medicine he always brought to him. The second would be more likely to happen. All he needed to do was talk to his conveniently selected family doctor.
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There was no better place to organize the head than at the cabin in the woods, in the middle of nowhere. Summer was close to an end, and there Adam was, on that warm morning, looking at a sparrow standing boldly on a luscious branch of a tree. How he wished that his life could be like that of a bird! Be born, survive, and die. A life free of trouble! He just wanted to be shallow at that moment, because he was very well aware of the troubles involved in the art of survival.

The life of the birds: what did it matter? He needed to live his life, so he freshened up and drove back to Sydney. He kept driving back and forth, for, despite his need for isolation, most of his life still happened in the big city.

It was hard for an ordinary car to find parking in Sydney, but it was much worse for someone with a big truck like Adam's. He had spent around thirty minutes driving around looking for a suitable parking place, and nothing. Finally, only a few meters away he saw a car leaving, so he drove hurriedly, but in a split second, another car stole that place. Adam was so frustrated that he punched the steering wheel and started cursing - he hadn't used such strong language for a long time.

As he stopped there, simultaneously furious and frustrated, he couldn't help but curse at his life. He drove back to church, as he was the pastor's son, there was a place reserved for him - one of the few benefits of being the child of such a corrupt parent. He fiddled with his hair, acknowledging that confronting his deceitful family doctor with the truth would be a dumb idea. Adam was decided to test how far Dr. Simmons would go with the lie.
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"That's it!" Joel declared as he read 'sent' on the screen of his laptop. "Now, there's nothing we can change." He was talking to Debora, who was on the carpet, whereas he sat on the couch.

"That photo is great, Joe!" She tried to encourage him. "And you gave it such an important, intriguing, and relevant context."

Still, he wasn't convinced that he had sent out the best photo he could. He was a perfectionist.

"Anyway." He closed the lid of his laptop and stood up. "We should go to that prayer meeting."

"And you're not telling me what you're gonna share..." She dared him.