All Natural (ON HOLD)

Chapter One

"Mom," Cat hoped her mother was the person who answered the phone. She knew she would catch it if her father answered the phone. It had been nearly a month since she called her parents. The deal they made was that she was supposed to call three days in a week. Her parents wanted to make sure nothing crazy or shady was going on with their youngest child.

"Cat." Oh, sweet lord. It was dad answering the phone. She prepared herself. He would definitely get on to her and there was nothing she could do to change that.

"Good morning dad. Before you say anything, just know that I have been working a lot. Please forgive me for not calling." Getting on his good side was absolutely necessary. Her life really depended on it.

"Sweetheart are you alright?" Cat heard the concern in his voice and guilt began its slow lingering persecution. She knew better than to make her parents suffer like this. They were really good and decent people. They raised their three children to love, fear and respect Almighty God. Both of her parents were hard working good people who respected by everyone. She knew who her family was and yet she was locked in the throughs of living her life. Selfishness was never a trait of hers, but lately, she was being a selfish brat. To be so far away from home and not check in was being cruel and she knew it.

"Yes, sir. I'm really sorry for not checking in. I kind of got caught up with work. I know I should've called sooner." An apologetic reply came from her heart.

"Cat, you need to be careful baby. The city is really not a place for a good girl like you. If you're not careful, the sins and vices of the city will take over your life." There was getting around this talk. She knew her parents were good Christians and they would always remind her of how much temptation and sin was in the world. They were concerned about their children and never hesitated to show that concern.

"Yes, sir. I will definitely remember that." Why did she feel like she was hiding her life from her father? As she considered his instructions and warnings, her original reason for calling flashed across her mind. Ari wanted to meet her parents. He wanted to officially introduce himself and inform her parents that he could not live without her.

Just the thought of taking him home gave her palpitations. The man she loved wanted to meet her family, but he had no idea about the people he would be meeting. They were very old-fashioned. The Taylors weren't prejudiced, but she was sure that they would be concerned that Ari was white and Jewish. The thought of having the conversation with her parents made her heart race. They would never accept her converting to another religion. It was possible that not to much 'hellfire and brimstone' would make its way into the conversation about his skin color, but she knew all hell would break loose if he thought they would condone their child changing her faith.

"Sweetie, it's not that we don't trust you. You are a smart girl. You know right from wrong. We just worry because that place is very wicked. Please don't allow those people to change you. You know who you are and where you come from. Always remember how we raised you. Always fear and love the Lord, and you will be just fine." Her father made sure to give her positive encouragement.

Cat felt terrible. She hadn't called her parents because she felt they would somehow know just from talking to her that she had accepted a marriage proposal. As usual, her father was an angel. He was loving and supportive. She felt like the worst daughter in the world for withholding her life from her family.

"Dad, I love you. Thank you for being such an awesome father." By now, she was fighting the tears that were trying to force their way out.

"No matter how old you are, you will always be my baby girl. I love you. Your mother and I both do." He reassured his daughter.

"I just wanted to let you know that I will be coming home to visit you guys next month." She finally revealed.

"Child why didn't you tell me that at first. I would have cut my lecture in half," her father laughed at himself.

"I miss you guys so much, and I wanted to bring my friend to introduce to you." Cat waited to see what her father would say. She was careful not to give anything away. Though her father was nice and kind, he was very protective of his daughter. All the sorted details would come out when they made it to Arkansas.

"That's fine baby. You know your friends are welcome. Everyone needs to come down to the country every now and again. It's good for the soul to get out of the city. The more the merrier. We will just be glad for you to come home." The sound of his voice was jovial. Her father's voice seemed sad before she said she would be coming home. Now she heard his joy. A smile replaced the frown she had on her face from the moment she dialed her home phone number.

"Dad, where is mom?" Cat asked noticing her mother hadn't interrupted their conversation one time.

"She went to Ms. Nina Mae's house. You know she does home care at times. Apparently, she fell a few weeks ago and isn't healing properly, so your mom accepted a sitting job and to help her with physical therapy." He rattled on about the job and how he wished her mother would fully retire. Cat stifled a laugh at her father's grumbling.

He wasn't happy about sharing his wife with anyone. When she originally retired from nursing, he was the happiest person in the world. It seems her mom couldn't take being at home all day by herself, so she went back to work part-time. She continued listening to her father prattle along about his disdain for his wife returning to work and that he should be the one getting all of her extra attention. There was no way she could stop herself from laughing at the silly old man who was her father. Listening to him eased her heart.

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