Enticing: Final

Enticing:  Final

Keith and Sarah were married in a small church with few in attendance, which is what they wanted.  Only family and close friends received invitations.  They honeymooned on Mackinac Island, staying in the Grand Hotel and booked a honeymoon package with a lake view room.  They took carriage rides and rode bicycles around the island.  After 4 days on the island, they traveled to Tahquamenon Falls State Park and enjoyed the scenery.  Then they returned to real life.

Reality hit sooner than expected as Keith lost his job following to a downturn in the economy and his company closed its doors.  It was nearly a year before he gained meaningful employment.  Meanwhile, they both were grateful Sarah had not become pregnant since both wanted children right away.  They believed God knew what He was doing.  Through it all, they kissed when they greeted each other and when they parted. 

It wasn’t until two years later they began to believe something was wrong.  Sarah never became pregnant in spite of their efforts.  Frustration began to set in before they went to a fertility specialist.  After a battery of tests it was determined Sarah had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).  She was unable to ovulate to produce an egg.  At first Sarah cried a lot.  Her emotions were raw for over a month and merely seeing a baby drove her to tears.  She crawled into a shell and refused to come out.  She didn’t want Keith to touch her and this deeply hurt him.  He wanted to comfort her and the rebuttals stung.  He felt helpless. 

Eventually, things came to balance and Sarah again found love in her heart.  They began to discuss adoption.  Meanwhile, they began helping kids in the local Boys and Girls Club and YMCA.  The kids called them “K and S, the kissing couple.”  It became a badge of honor to them.  Keith and Sarah called them their kids. With many of the kids coming from homes with single parents, they determined to instill in their kids the importance of being united as a couple.  When they mentored teens, they focused their energy into ensuring the young ones understood relationships were not something to be easily thrown away.  Also, it was important to be faithful to your partner.  The kids were always astonished to learn Sarah had once cheated on Keith.  Still, they appreciated seeing real examples lived before their eyes.  Keith and Sarah poured so much into their kids they never adopted. 

When Keith received the news of Sarah’s cancer, he simply sat in the chair in the doctor’s office and reached his hand to Sarah’s hand and took it into his.  He remembered the first time he held her hand.  She drove her car, shifting the gears, holding his hand.  “When the doctor finished giving the news, Keith said, “We’ve fought life before.  This is just another round.” 

The moment Keith watched Sarah slip to the beyond, he believed his life was over.  His heart shattered into a thousand pieces when they came to take her body.  He later didn’t remember them coming.  He simply noticed later in the day she was no longer in the bed.  Then a vague recollection of them coming and going crept into his overwhelmed mind. 

One by one, his kids began to call and stop by the house.  Keith cried anew with each one that visited or called.  He was too broken to care they were observing a grown man cry.  Several of his kids spoke at the funeral of how their lives were better because of Sarah.  In spite of his brokenness, Keith understood what a fortunate man he was.  He simply could not appreciate it.

Two years later, Keith was contacted by a local newspaper who was writing an article about the Boys and Girls Club.  It was during the face to face interview at the club that he saw a familiar face.  Ben, one of his kids, was helping the reporter.  The two hugged and in their few minutes together, got caught up on each other’s lives.  When the interview was completed, Keith returned to the house.  For the first time since Sarah died, he looked through photographs of his departed wife.

He gazed at each picture.  He studied each line and contour of her face.  It was all like he remembered.  A muted joy mixed with melancholy filled him.  He knew he was happy.  It didn’t hurt to remember.  He truly had something wonderful.  He had someone wonderful.  “Thank you, God”.  He said aloud.  “Thank you for telling this knuckleheaded guy this was a special lady and to give her a chance.”  He continued looking through pictures.  Keith remembered the day Sarah died.  She was as enticing then as the day he first saw her.