~ Christian Ways ~

by

Cheryl N. Warner

Christian decided that Cameron must have overslept and opted to stay home. His family stuck to a strict policy of better to miss a church service altogether than to make a spectacle of oneself by arriving late. Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked at Zack and smiled as the music leader asked everyone to turn to page forty-seven in their hymnbooks. Zack paged through the hymnal and returned the smile. “Is this one of them funeral marches you told me about?” he whispered.

Christian nodded and rolled her eyes as they stood to their feet.

After they sung all four stanzas and everyone took their seats, Zack closed his eyes and made an X across his chest with his hands like a corpse lying in a coffin. Christian muffled a snicker. “Don’t you dare make me laugh, Zack,” she whispered closely to his ear. “Reverend Hart will tan my hide if I act up in church. Then I’ll really have to hurt you.”

As she moved her lips away from his ear, smiling at the mischievous grin she had left on his face, she realized that Cameron was standing in the aisle staring down at her with narrowed eyes and a rapidly clenching jaw. Mr. Rosen, who was sitting on the other side of Christian, motioned for Cameron to take a seat next to him, quickly scooting over to make room for the wild-eyed latecomer. Zack gave Cameron a hostile glare as he stepped over him, however Christian didn’t see it. Her eyes were closed tightly in an attempt to will herself invisible. Angela watched the scene from the back row with amusement and wonder, wishing she were a fly sitting atop pew number two.

“What’s he doing here?” Cameron hissed into Christian’s ear as she moved as closely to him and as far away from Zack as possible.

“He’s checking out our church,” she whispered, taking Cameron’s hand into hers. “Please don’t make a big deal over it. Why are you so late?”

“I was in a wreck. Do you always have another guy waiting in the wings whenever I don’t come to church?”

“You were in a wreck? Are you okay?” she whispered as they stood to sing another dirge.

“I’m fine. My Vette is crunched pretty badly, though. An old lady rear-ended me at the stoplight.”

“I’m sorry about the Vette, but at least you’re all right. Hey, Zack works in a body shop. Maybe he can take a look at your car after church. You might feel less threatened by him if get to know him a little.”

“I don’t think so! I’m really ticked off right now. I’m in no mood to hang out with a hippie who’s after my girlfriend!”

Christian mouthed an apology to Mrs. Daily, who had turned around to display a disapproving frown. “Cameron, keep your voice down, and don’t start that nonsense. You’re supposed to be working on your jealousy, remember?”

“I was doing just fine until I saw you with your tongue practically in his ear!”

“Okay, that’s enough! We’ll discuss this later.”

As the song ended and Reverend Hart prayed, Christian glanced up at Zack, who silently formed the word “sorry” with his lips.

“That’s okay”, she mouthed reassuringly, shaking her head then bowing it to pray for patience and guidance.

Before the service started, Reverend Hart noticed Zack in the congregation and felt led in a direction he’d rather not go. He discovered through the years, however, that such inner stirrings were the small still voice of God and knew it best to obediently proceed as directed. After concluding his prayer with a resounding ‘amen’, he made his usual welcome speech to all first-time visitors, momentarily falling silent when his eyes fell upon Cameron’s flushed face. After clearing his throat and averting his eyes from the noticeably agitated accountant, he forged ahead with his newly assigned task.

“At this time, I’d like to recognize a very special visitor. For those of you who attended the Christmas musical, I’m sure you’ll never forget the beautiful duet sung by our own Chrissie Ways and this young man. He’s a very talented singer and songwriter named Zachary Mitchell, and he’s here to worship with us today. I won’t embarrass him by making him stand, but I’d like to take this opportunity to ask him and Chrissie if they might consider singing for us again, but this time during one of our church services. I just have to ask that y’all choose a song that’s appropriate for our type of worship. I know how you’d like to turn this place into a rock ‘n rollin’ church, Chrissie.”

The entire congregation laughed, as Christian nodded. Ignoring Cameron’s glare, which commanded her to reject the offer, she leaned toward Zack but continued looking straight ahead. “So, what do you think? You up for it?”

Zack shrugged. “Sure. If you are.”

Christian smiled and gave Reverend Hart a slight nod, choosing not to acknowledge her boyfriend’s infuriated sigh.

“Is that a yes Chrissie?” Reverend Hart asked with a chuckle. “Come on and speak up, now. We all know you’re not shy.”

The crowd erupted with laughter again. “That’s definitely a yes,” Christian said very loudly, finally turning her head toward Cameron, her expression daring him to challenge the decision.

“Great. We’ll certainly look forward to it. Just let me know when y’all are ready, and we’ll be sure to announce the date in the newsletter. We’re all in for a real blessing from these two talented young people.”

As Reverend Hart continued with the announcements for the week, Cameron stared angrily at him, biting his lower lip and shaking his head. From the back row, Angela raised her eyes heavenward again, nodding her approval and grinning widely.

Thrilled at the prospect of performing with Zack again, Christian turned slightly toward Cameron and discreetly slid her upturned hand out behind her. Zack gladly accommodated her with a low five, smiling in spite of the fact that her other hand was entwined with Cameron’s.

When the service ended, Zack stood up to make a quick exit, but Christian grabbed his arm before he could escape. “Hey, Zack, you remember Cameron, don’t you?”

“Sure. How you doing, man?” Zack asked with as much pleasantness as he could muster, holding out his hand.

Cameron hesitated only until Christian’s elbow met its mark, causing him to extend his hand under duress. “Could be better,” Cameron answered in an uninterested tone.

Christian gave her boyfriend a frown of disapproval. “Zack, would you mind taking a quick look at Cameron’s car? He was in a little accident this morning.”

“He wrecked his new Vette?” Zack asked in horror.

“It wasn’t my fault!” Cameron responded harshly. “I got rear-ended. Look, I’m sure you’re a very busy guy and don’t have time to hand out free estimates on a Sunday. I apologize for my girlfriend asking you to do that.”

“I don’t mind. I’ll take a look at it,” Zack said more to Christian than to the Cameron.

“Great,” Cameron mumbled sarcastically.

As they made their way to the parking lot, countless people stopped Christian and Zack to express how much they were looking forward to hearing them sing together again. Angela also voiced her enthusiasm, and she walked alongside the two musicians as they followed the irate Cameron to his parking space. When they reached the injured Corvette, Zack sucked air through his teeth, tenderly inspecting the damage in the same way a doctor examines broken ribs. Cameron stood back and watched the scene impatiently with his arms crossed tightly in front of him. Angela studied Christian’s face as she watched Zack and saw a sparkle in her friend’s eye that hadn’t been present for many years. She fought the urge to take Christian by the arms and shake her until she came to her senses and allowed herself to feel what was in her heart. She refrained, however, realizing that things must happen within their proper time.

Zack turned toward Cameron. “This would’ve only been a little fender bender if you’d been in a different car, but this fiberglass shatters when something hits it. That’s the only downer to owning a Vette. I can make it as good as new if you want to bring it on in to the shop. It may take a few days, though. I’ll have to order a couple of parts.”

“I’d feel better if I took it to a certified Corvette body shop, but thanks for your input,” Cameron said coldly. “Chrissie, are you ready to go to lunch?”

“We’re the only body shop in Valhalla certified to work on Vettes,” Zack stated proudly, causing Cameron to roll his eyes.

“That’s hard to believe. There’s got to be another one around here somewhere.”

“Nope, we’re the only one. It’s not like many people in Valhalla own Corvettes, so the other body shops haven’t bothered to get certified.”

“We’ll see. I’ll call around to some other body shops tomorrow,” Cameron said, taking Christian’s hand and attempting to pull her toward the passenger’s side.

Zack shrugged. “All right. If you want to waste your time, go ahead. But you’d be better off bringing it to me first thing in the morning.”

Cameron swung back around to face Zack. “Look, pal. I don’t want you putting your hands on my car or anything else that belongs to me, okay?”

“Cameron, stop it!” Christian snapped, yanking her hand away from his. “Zack is only trying to be helpful. If you’re not going to listen to him, why don’t you go ahead to the restaurant and I’ll meet you there. I’m going to the cemetery for a few minutes.”

Cameron squinted at her suspiciously. “You don’t want me to go with you?”

“No. I’m going to pay my respects for a couple of minutes, then I’ll be right there.”

Cameron hesitated then flung open his car door. “I’ll be waiting,” he stated firmly, before jumping in and driving away.