This is a Christian fanfic: In a whirlwind romance, Kate falls in love with Harry, who has been partial paraplegic since a horrific car accident at age 17. Kate and Harry quickly make plans to spend their lives together. But when Harry decides to pu...
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On Friday night, my trolley shift drags on without Harry on board. Between tours, I spend some time pondering what Harry had told me about his faith getting him through the past four years. My faith has always seemed important to me, but I don't necessarily act like it has a prominent place in my life. I had some "church friends" in high school but I never really became close to them. Dani was always my best friend, and she was never interested in church at all. God is important to me, but I usually convince myself that I'll eventually become more serious about my faith. The idea of knowing God personally isn't foreign to me, but I've never met someone with Harry's conviction or the quiet strength he embodies.
My thoughts turn to my earlier conversation with my dad. He is so firm, so solid. I can rely on him for anything. And, as evidenced by our earlier conversation, I can talk to him about anything, even if my face was burning up for a few hours afterward. I can't believe he told me that he thinks Harry might be the one. I trust my dad with all my heart, so it gives me at least some assurance that I'm not going crazy.
I sometimes think that God must be like an even better version of my dad, loving, tenacious, always there when I need Him. But occasionally, I tend to think God is more like my mom, kind of over-protective, keeping me unnecessarily sheltered, and determined to steal my joy. I know she's not an ogre, but she's so...sensible, which isn't a bad thing in general. But she's sensible to the point of not wanting me to take any risks. Ever.
At the end of the fourth tour, I receive a text from Harry: Dinner at my place tomorrow?
I send a quick reply: Sure thing.
Saturday morning, another text arrives from Harry: Pick you up @4PM. Have to prepare you for the parents. LOL.
Shoot! 4:00 PM? Dinner? What was I thinking? I had Harry on the brain and not my job. I race to Fiona's room and wake her up. "Fi, if I clear it with Sam, can you cover my trolley shifts tonight?"
"Why?" She mumbles, still half asleep.
"I'm going to meet Harry's parents tonight."
Fiona sits straight up and laughs, "Oooh, you're meeting the parents already. This is getting serious."
"Shut up!" I laugh. "Please say you can work for me? Please!"
"Yeah, sure." Fiona flops back down and throws the pillow over her head.
There is a knock on the front door at exactly 4:00. I'm still in my bathroom trying to get my long wispy hair to cooperate. The cold temperatures make it so dry that I can hardly keep it from flying up like I'm touching a static ball. I decide to pull it back into a long straight ponytail. I throw on some lip gloss and accentuate the ensemble with some tiny Christmas tree earrings.
I find Harry has already been greeted by Marcus. Surprisingly, they are having an intelligible discussion about some video game they both happen to like. I can't believe that Marcus has any conversational skills, but he is keeping Harry's interest as he describes how to beat a particularly difficult level in the game. I'm thankful that Harry doesn't seem to be holding a grudge about Marcus' insensitive comment a few nights ago.
