A Christian Romance II

Chapter 21 - Bad secret keeper

Michael was home before the sunset, emotionally exhausted from Ferdinand and his drama with Corinne and now Chloe. Apparently, Ferdinand wanted to move forward with the latter, but the former came back with apologies, and he was in a dilemma. Ferdinand was self-centered by himself, with these problems this characteristic was only enhanced. That was why Michael could hardly ever share his deeper concerns with his best mate. These men's personal life was a real fiasco, but one thing was that the conversation with Ferdinand reminded Michael to resort to his last option: prayer.

"God," his first attempt. Then he stopped. "This is insane." He opened his eyes, talking to himself.

Suddenly Miriam came to his mind,  her smiling face, her long loose hair. How come his brain didn't remind him of  her sassy attitude and disrespect? His brain had treasured the most beautiful memories of Miriam, making him overlook her rudeness toward him, and ultimately rekindling the fire that already burned in his heart for her. And that was the last straw. He was determined to do what Joel had recommended.

"God, this is so weird," He just felt stupid. "I feel stupid, like I'm talking to my own thoughts, hearing my own voice reverberated." He sighed. "I don't know if you're real, but I just have nothing to lose." He hardly ever spoke his feelings out loud, so it felt good to speak them. "I like Miriam and I feel that the feeling is mutual, but every time she warms up to me, the next time she is colder than before." He let out another sigh. "I'm fighting against the frustration, but the truth is that it is getting to me and I want to give up, but at the same time I know that this is the woman I want for my life. It would kill me to give up without giving this a try." He paused, letting out the frustration. Suddenly he was hit by a thought, and stood up still. "Although I can make my own decisions and I can think for myself, I'm going to obey Joel's request and ask you - whoever and whatever you are - to tell me what to do." He recalled. "In Jesus' name."

Michael sat on his bed looking through the window to the terrace. He was speechless and his mind couldn't think of much. Suddenly, one of his most treasured memories of Miriam's face came to his mind; it was when he first rode her home. He remembered her candid smile of admiration when he told her that he heard songs on repeat. That was also the moment when he had learnt that his feelings for Miriam were more than lust.

He took a deep breath. Feeling lost and dismayed. Suddenly a thought hit him, something he would have never thought of, especially at the stage he was with Miriam.

"Talk to Miriam's father? About what?" Michael shrugged off such an idea.

He didn't even know what to tell Mr. Smith - how he called him. Any hypothetical dialogue that came to his mind felt ridiculous.

________________________________________________________________________________

He decided to meet with Joel, quickly standing up and changing again to a pullover and a pair of expensive relaxed jeans, it was what he always used to cover up the deformity in his leg. He rushed to the door and put his sneakers on, and on his way to Joel's he called him. They set up a meeting at the cafe nearby.

"We must order something." Joel advised, as they sat at a table near to a window.

"No problem. When one of the waitresses comes here, I'll order." Michael wanted to get that over with. "I wanna make this quick because I don't wanna rob you of your wife." He informed.

Joel adjusted his sleeves as if preparing for what was coming.

"Did you talk to Debora's parents before ever talking to her about your feelings?" Michael strategically asked.

"Are you planning to talk to Abah-leh even before talking to Miriam?" Joel suspected.

Michael was disappointed that Joel had caught on that quick. His strategies didn't work in anything concerning his feelings for Miriam.