Crash Test Dummy

Chapter 26

Aunt Glory looked at me and raised her eyebrows. "Spill the beans," she said.

"You know that call from the prison I'm supposed to explain?"

"Yeah."

"Well, tomorrow is the big day."

"Great explanation there Forest Gump. Think you might want to add a bit of detail?"

"There's this camp called One Day with God where kids get to spend the day with their Dads at the prison. They have games, eats, worship, crafts, all kind of stuff going on. Anyway, Mom agreed to let me go, but the prison might nix it because I've been charged with misdemeanor joy riding. The committee that runs the program is meeting tomorrow, and I'm evidently on the agenda. They want to do a Skype interview with me at around 4 tomorrow."

"Patty agreed to let you go to the prison and spend the day with Paul?" She sounded incredulous.

"I guess you're out of the loop on this one. Mom went to see Dad at the prison. She decided that she had to judge for herself whether he'd really found God or was just faking it to earn goodtime. Evidently they get good time for going to some programs, including some religious ones. She also said something I didn't understand about there being no atheists in foxholes. I don't think foxes make a conscious choice about God."

Aunt Glory laughed. "That quote comes from, like, World War II, I think. During the war, the soldiers would dig holes to hide in; they were called foxholes. The idea was that when faced with a stressful situation like war, everyone believes in some kind of higher power. Your Mom was saying your Dad's in the kind of situation where people suddenly find belief. Unfortunately, when the situation changes for the better, that belief often evaporates."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Maybe you need to pay more attention in history class."

"I don't think history teachers are supposed to talk about God. They probably leave that quote out of the history books. Anyway, Uncle Clarence told Mom that Dad had changed, and his letters sure sounded like it. I mean he actually lectured me about bouncing out of school early and told me that Mom was right about most things, including God and addiction. It was weird."

"So I take it she found his newfound faith to be genuine."

"Yeah." We were in the living room. I spotted the Chainlink Chronicle lying on a table. I picked it up and opened it to the back. "Look. He even gave the prison paper a copy of my church cartoon doodling." I pointed to the picture. "He keeps the original taped inside his locker. He said that when guys see it and ask about it, he gets to tell them the story of Jonah and how God used him even after he ran away."

She was smiling at the cartoon. "This is good," she said. "You captured the essence of the story in a few boxes and brought it into 21st century at the same time." She looked up. "The man you're describing sure doesn't sound like the Paul I knew. Even if it turns out to be a foxhole conversion, I'm glad your Mom talked things out with him. She needed to let go of the past and move on with her life. The anger she harbored towards Paul was unhealthy. In my book, forgiveness trumps bitterness every time."

I grinned. "Yeah, mine too. I've needed hefty doses of forgiveness lately."

Aunt Glory reached up and rumpled my hair like I was five. "Yeah, you have at that. But you're worth forgiving."

"Geez," I started.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she cut in. "You're not in preschool anymore and hair caresses are juvenile." She grabbed me around the neck in a mock chokehold. "How's this for a hug, then?"