A Christian Romance II

Chapter 33 - Closure

In a warm morning of spring, Ferdinand stepped out of his apartment building to meet with Corinne at her favorite cafe. His hands in the pockets of his linen brown pants, flaunting his striped espadrilles matching with his beige linen chemise. That was the closest he could get to a tunic without looking eccentric.

He was early when he walked into the cafe in a very candid and relaxed manner. Courteously greeting the staff, he asked for a table with view to the bay.

"Would you like to sit in, or out?" A waitress in her late twenties asked.

"Outside, please!" He replied.

The waitress led him to one of their most requested tables, gave him a menu and cordially left him to attend other tables.

Ferdinand awaited Corinne nervously. He wondered what it would be like to meet with her after having committed his life to Christ. As she walked in his direction, he still found her pleasant to look at, but when she came to him for a kiss on his lips, he felt uncomfortable, as if that type of interaction between them was incestuous, therefore he turned his face away. Corinne felt rejected like never before and she tried to contain the sadness that had invaded her heart by pulling her own chair.

"Great view!" She commented as she sat down, trying to distract her mind from the frustration.

"I knew you'd like it." Ferdinand's attention had been diverted for an instant.

Corinne kept her eyes on the view, because she couldn't face Ferdinand at that moment. "So," she began. "What's the purpose of this meeting?"

With that question, Ferdinand's mind quickly drifted to the reason that had brought him there.

"I'm gonna go straight to it." He introduced.

"Please, do!" Corinne finally found the guts to look at his beautiful manly face.

Ferdinand took a deep breath. "I need to ask for your forgiveness."

Corinne narrowed her eyes in suspicion; her curiosity was so aroused that she didn't even interrupt him.

"I didn't love you the way you deserved." He declared, anticipating a reaction.

She gave him a slight shrug, admitting the fact to herself. "I know. I've always known that I loved you more than you loved me." She explained.

Ferdinand was confused. "How did you know?"

She kept a numb gaze to the bay. "Uh... deep down." She admitted the defeat.

"I'm sorry, Corinne!" He felt worse for her, but he should have felt more sorry for himself. "You deserve someone who can love you completely."

"Like you can't?" She tried to understand what was so difficult about her that he couldn't love. "Am I that hard to love?"

Ferdinand looked down, and shook his head. "Corinne, I only loved you for your wealth."

"So whenever we were intimate, it meant nothing to you?" She tried to understand.

"It meant something, of course. We were together for a few years, but it was more so that I got used to you." He explained. "But you deserve someone who doesn't take you for granted." He added. "Someone who's willing to commit to you because he knows your worth, someone who wants to build a family with you."

Corinne looked down.

"I have never envisioned myself with a family of my own." He continued.

"You have never told me that, at least not this clear." She expressed.

"Because I knew that was a deal breaker for you, and I was stringing you along." He admitted to the truth.

Corinne noticed that a waitress headed to their table. "I wish I could have changed your mind." She said dismissively, looking to the bay.