A Christian Romance

Chapter 35 - Going through the fire

For sure, there are better things in life! One very relieving is waking up from a nightmare to realize that it was far from the truth. Our Adam couldn't be more grateful to wake up to feel all the teeth still inside his mouth. He passed both hands over his shaved head and took a deep breath, realizing that he was far more stressed now than when he believed he had terminal cancer.

He tried to go back to sleep, but such an attempt was a failure caused by a mosquito that came buzzing around his ear. By the time he defeated the intruder, dawn had already started, and he was fully awake and fully aware of his misery. As he was looking at a void point in the ceiling, his life felt dull and empty.

Adam's problem was something else. The array of hard decisions that stood before him were petrifying: it was his father, from whom he had enough evidence to send to prison - not to mention that he could eventually dismantle an entire empire of religious corruption; and Debora, who still topped the list of things worth fighting for, even though he knew deep down how pointless that was.

He got up from bed to another sunny and cold winter day.

"Oh, thank you, Universe," he was relearning his faith. "For the warm morning coffee!" He looked through the window with a mug of warm coffee between his hands.

Now that he had lost the habit of praying or reading the Bible, part of his new religious practice was watching the national news. As soon as he turned on the television, there was a talk about the national photography prize. Because he was a fan of that competition, he sat on the couch excitedly, curious to know who the winner was. When he heard a familiar voice coming from the speakers, the mug nearly slipped from his hands.

"Joel..." He narrowed his eyes in envy and fury. "Fiancée!?" He was still hypnotized by the image of his former best mate on TV.

Who would the fiancée be? Of course, Adam knew the answer to that question. His fight for Debora should be over by now, but as the sore loser he was, that news just intensified his desire to win.

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Florencia had just returned from her business trip abroad. She walked into the Opera House, all wrapped in warm clothes and carrying many shopping bags, excited to see her working team. She gathered all the co-workers in the main working room and narrated the adventurous journey to Canberra. Everybody was excited for her but also to share the news about Debora and Joel. Carol was the one that kicked it off, asking:

"Haven't you noticed anything different here?"

Florencia looked around the room to see if there was any new equipment or room decor. But there was nothing blatantly new to her memory, so she just shot something at random:

"Did you add any more decoration?" She was smiling.

Carol looked at Debora and Joel and tried to mimic something, but her boss just couldn't get it.

"Please just tell me, 'cuz I got a lot to do!" She surrendered.

"Debora and Joel are engaged." Carol tried to say it as casually as possible because she knew it would be a big surprise for Florencia.

The boss frowned. The news was so unexpected that she just didn't know if she should buy it.

"Really? You two are engaged?" Florencia asked.

Debora and Joel nodded happily, exchanging a knowing glance.

"Did all of this," their boss pointed her finger at them, "happen while I was away?" She was very intrigued.