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12 Years
Makes a Difference FREE
Romantic Fiction Online provided
by PneumaSender |
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Chapter 9 Patrick
eventually grew a larger network on friends and professional contacts, and now
as a respected doctor, he was not available to Colby as often as he had been
at the beginning. However, neither Patrick nor Colby forgot the bond that
developed between them that day. Looking back, Patrick could see God’s hand
upon his life. Colby’s involvement was one of the most tangible parts of
God’s support network. Yet, there were others. In
the early days after his father's death, Patrick had rebelled against God for
a time, angry that the Lord had allowed his dad to die. At the sight of the hurting
young man, some people had shied away from him. Later, when he gave up the
teen scene for a more settled and serious cause, his last few friends had
given up on him. "You
just aren't any fun to hang with anymore," his friends had said.
Finally, however, he had found his way back to faith in God. In the church,
he had found equally dedicated people to share his vision, one of which was
his best friend, Mike. Mike
had stuck with him through high school, then college, and finally medical
school. For a while during medical school, however, Mike's budding
relationship with a girl had taken time away from Patrick. Still, Patrick had
felt happy for him. Sally was a great person and a talented medical student. "Just
two years more and I'll be a full-fledged doctor," Patrick's buddy,
Mike, said one day. "Sally and I are going out to celebrate
Saturday." The sparkle in his friend's eye made Patrick smile.
"It's not going to be long, now." Nodding,
Mike added, "We're going to be getting engaged this weekend, too--that
is, if Sally accepts my proposal." Patrick was surprised.
"Congratulations!" he said. He
shouldn't have been. Mike and Sally had been together just eight months, but
they were like two peas in a pod. Her strength of character, love for the
Lord, hard work, and enthusiastic personality made her a perfect match for
Mike. Still, something didn't sit right in Patrick's gut. "Be
good," Patrick warned him, knowing that his friend could get carried
away emotionally at times. Watching them together, Patrick was also aware of
Mike's increasing desire to be closer to Sally. Mike had smiled and said,
"What kind of guy do you think I am?" Patrick knew he was a good
person—and told him so. Still, he warned him again to be careful. < ; ; > < > < ; ; > < ; ; > < > < ; ; > Hearing
of Mike's engagement had filled Patrick with a surprising rush of feeling. He
wasn't jealous. In fact, he felt happy for Mike and pleased about his
decision. Still, Patrick realized just how lonely life would be for him when
Mike was married and his few other friends began their adult lives as
doctors. Patrick
then paused a moment, wondering. Perhaps it was time to start thinking about
the future again. But one thought came rushing up to the surface. He would
not date again. That part of his life was over. "Lord,"
he prayed aloud in his car after his conversation with Mike, "prepare me
for what you have in store for my future. Enable me to be ready when it
comes. I want a wife that honors you and loves you as I do. And Lord, I trust
you to bring us together, in your time, and to help us to create a life
together." Just
praying it brought the feelings rushing to his heart, making him wish it
could happen today. But he also asked for the strength to wait and to know when
the moment was right. Then, months later, he again understood how vital the
issue of waiting was. < ; ; > < > < ; ; > < ; ; > < > < ; ; > "Son,
what are you thinking about?" Patrick looked up, surprised, and smiled
in spite of his morbid thoughts, seeing for the first time the dinner plate
in front of him. Mom must have put it there while he was daydreaming.
"I’m sorry, Dr. Colby. I just got caught up in my thoughts. What did you
say?" Colby
smiled at this handsome young boy of his. Maybe he wasn't biological
offspring, but there had never been a prouder father than Colby was of
Patrick. Besides his beautiful wife, Mandy, and his daughter, Christa, this
young assistant was turning out to be the biggest blessing of his life. "I
asked you what you were thinking. But on second thought, you're entitled to
keep your thoughts private." He had seen the fleeting look of deep
sorrow that crossed Patrick's face, so he backed away. Maybe he needed space. Taking
a deep breath, Patrick sat up straight. "I can tell you." Patrick
spoke slowly, hesitantly. "It's Mike." Still, he could hardly voice
the words. He knew the pain this news would cause. Mike was a special friend
of Dr. Colby, as well. "He's leaving school." Dr.
Colby's response was explosive. "What!" He could see that Patrick
was also upset. Yet there was something hidden in his gaze. Quieting some,
Colby asked quietly, "How did he come to this decision--to give up his
medical career--his future?" Patrick
winced. Was Mike giving it all up? Could Patrick tell Dr. Colby the truth? It
would have to come out. Mike had begged him to be the one to tell their
mentor—their friend. But it would be hard. "Mike
and Sally are getting married right away, Doc. She's pregnant." Colby's
face turned three shades of gray as he sought to control his emotions. “Oh,
no. When will what is right and just reign
on this Earth, rather than this foolishness that keeps repeating
itself?" Dr. Colby's features softened and he looked grieved. "He had
talent--has talent—and the intellectual energy and the drive to make a fine
doctor. And now this..." Patrick
had experienced all the same emotions. Mike hadn't told him for six months.
How had he endured this knowledge all alone? Yet, he had finished out his
full year of studies. Finally, when Sally was beginning to show, he had
confided the truth to Patrick. And
what had Patrick done? What could he do? He had held him and cried alongside
his most trusted and faithful friend. What else was there to do in this
situation? "Still,
Doc, he's happy. He's thrilled to be marrying Sally. They had already been
engaged when she found out she was pregnant. But his medical career will have
to be put on hold. Eventually, he'll get back to his studies. I know he will."
Doctor Colby's sad eyes told Patrick that although he truly wished it to be
so, he had seen enough of life to know that once a person left medical
school, he rarely returned. That
night, Patrick lay in bed, reminiscing and going over the years of his
friendship with Mike. He had to be alright. Michael had been the only senior
in high school who would befriend the lonely lower classman. In
fact, upon hearing of his father's death, no one got too close to Patrick,
except the wild kids. It seemed most kids thought tragedy was contagious. So,
Patrick had run wild for a wild. But
Mike wasn’t like them. In fact, his joy was contagious. Eventually, Mike's
enthusiasm and love of the Lord had worked its way into Patrick's heart,
healing so much of the pain in his tortured soul, and allowing him to find
fun again. Mike
had been taking college classes in high school and told Patrick that he
planned to arrive at medical school a year early. Each of these plans were
heartily worked out, and his goals had been accomplished, from finishing high
school with high honors, to getting through college quickly and with
excellent references, and finally to starting medical school. His life had
always been on the right track, until now. "Sally
and I love the baby, already. We're going to be fine," he had said. And
Patrick had done his best to comfort him, to help him through this pain as
Mike had done for Patrick just a few years earlier during Patrick's own
heartbreaking loss. "I
love her, Pat.” Determination filled his voice as he said, “Sally is not
going through this alone. Once the baby is born, once we get through the
first days and weeks, we'll see what happens." Mike wasn't one to back
away from his responsibilities, and healing Sally's pain, helping her through
this time of shame and regret was what he would do. "Mike,
you are a good man, and Sally is very blessed to
have you." His friend's face had clouded at Patrick's comment. For a
moment, Patrick wished he had not spoken. The words had been meant to
comfort, not cause pain. "You
don't know how bad I feel, knowing that if I had stayed strong, like she
tried to be, that she would be fine now. I don't feel like a good man right
now. And don’t you doubt it--I'm the one who's blessed to have her—absolutely
blessed." Patrick's
throat constricted at the memory of the tears he had seen in Mike's eyes.
"You know she never has blamed me?" he had said to Patrick. He
wanted to be able to tell Mike that he wasn't the one to blame, but the truth
was that he should have known better. Going alone to a romantic and private
place on the heels of a proposal, knowing how much he'd been thinking about
Sally recently--well, it was a recipe for disaster. Mike had made a dangerous
choice, and he would suffer the consequences. Patrick
determined to learn from his friend's error. As he looked up again, Mike
appeared to read Patrick's thoughts. "Now you be careful, and take your
own advice, you hear? Be careful. Don't you ever let this happen to
you," he said with a sob in his throat. "I'm
not going to be sorry for one single day that I'm Sally's husband--and a
father. But you--do it right, okay? This is too much of a burden to put on
anyone you love." Patrick
had understood then that it was for Sally's sake that Mike felt badly. And he
determined two things that day. He would never do this to anyone, and he
would avoid temptation at all costs. Patrick
realized with a sudden clarity that he never wanted to marry unless he found
someone he could love as unselfishly as Mike seemed to love Sally. Then, he
knew, when he found her, he would never do anything to cause her pain. He
could clearly see that the real misery for Mike wasn't in leaving school, but
in losing Sally's respect, and for the dignity that Sally had lost. At
the dinner table that night, he had said so to Dr. Colby, who answered,
"Yes, I think you're right there. I would rather die than cause my Mandy
any kind of shame." Patrick
had taken a quick look at Mom and spotted her blushing smile. "You are
amazing, Sir, to be so in love after years of marriage.” Colby ducked his
head, wiping his mouth on a napkin to hide a grin, but then he said,
"No, you're wrong there, son. I have nothing to do with it. It's Mandy
who's easy to love." Here,
his wife blushed again, and he could see that his comment had achieved its
goal. Colby chuckled and added, "And she's still as beautiful as the day
I met her. There ain't many women like my
Mandy." Patrick's
smile made his eyes sparkle. "Then I'd like it on the record, in
advance, that I want a woman just like her." Mandy's eyes misted as she
said, "Oh, you two, don't you dare make me cry!" "Hey,"
added Christa, the Colby family's daughter, "Don't you make
Momma cry, or I'll have to sock you both!" With a twinkle, both men
grinned as Patrick added, "Oh, then we'd better change the subject
quickly.” |
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