Beautiful

11. Truth Is

Truth Is

Aquarian was so thrilled that he was able to reconnect with Tierra. He truly missed that special connection that the two of them shared. It was almost like they were two halves of one whole. She was the only person that ever really understood him.

While he was in California he'd met many a woman who claimed to be Christian, or at least claimed to be celibate. However, after just a few dates, it was abundantly clear to him that if he tried they wouldn't object to sharing his bed. He wanted more than just a physical connection with a woman. He yearned and prayed for a woman that would hold that part of herself sacred and make him wait for their wedding night. He wanted what his parents had. No matter how unorthodox it was in today's society it was.

Tierra, on the other hand, was no longer a church goer. He wasn't sure why, and he had no intention on pressing her for an explanation. He remembered though, the days when she'd loved attending their home church back in Virginia. He wondered what could have happened to make her step away from loving God so vehemently. It was like she didn't even want to hear the word God, in her presence. Maybe it had something to do with her father's death. It was around that time, that she began to change. He recollected, vaguely.

The last time that they'd talked about church, he'd invited her to come with him on his search for a new church home, when they'd initially arrived in New England. However, Tierra had nearly bitten his head off over the phone. It was then and there that he'd decided that he would leave that subject alone, at least for a while. That was nearly five years ago, now.

He sat on the end of his piano stool with a full view of I-91 North, the Connecticut River, and the Basketball Hall of Fame. Actually, he could see several cities, from his hilltop view, from his window.

His thoughts remained consumed with Tierra, as his fingers played a soft melody over the black and white keys. He thought about her with Bella and it made him smile.

'I ought to call her later and check on her,' he said out loud.

In the end though, it was a call back home that he knew that he really had to make. It was that one particular call which had him the most anxious lately. Hesitantly, he picked up his cell phone off of the piano and dialed his parents' home.

"Ma, hey... Hmmm... it's me, Qu," he greeted clumsily, a sigh of relief, that he'd reached the answering machine.

"I know you've been trying to reach me for several days, well, over the past several weeks actually. I'm sorry that I haven't returned any of your calls. I just needed some time to get my thoughts together.

"Anyway, I'm in the city getting settled into my new place and all. I found Tierra, as I'm sure you've heard by now. I'm glad that I listened to Beautiful because I don't think that I could've made it through this without her.

"Don't be mad at me okay, and please have Dad call me as soon as you get this message. My number should have come up on the caller ID.

"I love you Mom, and yes, I went to church."

He then ended the call, and returned the phone to the top of the piano. Though a few weeks had passed now, it was still hard for him emotionally. He'd just found her and she'd just found him. She was snatched away, gone forever, and it wasn't fair. He didn't understand it.

For the first time, he questioned God.

***********

A little while before he'd begun his new job in California, he'd confessed to his parents that he had begun to look for his biological mother. He'd been researching online for adoptive parents who were in search of their birth children, for quite some time now.