The doorbell rang right as Natalia was covering herself with bug spray kept in the garage.
“Hi, Brian. Sorry it took me so long.”
Brian coughed. “I think you’re safe from the bugs. I don’t know if I’ll even survive being in the same truck as you.”
“Those mosquitoes you have here are awful.” Natalia folded her arms as Brian pretended to be gasping for air.
“Hey, you’re one of us now. They are
our
mosquitoes.”
Natalia loved the way that sounded. If only she felt as if she belonged.
“All right, hop in the truck. I promise to have you back by eleven.”
“Excellent.” Natalia smiled. “Where are we going?”
“Wait and see.” Brian walked to Natalia’s side of the truck and opened the door for her. She lifted herself into the truck and sat as Brian made his way back to the driver’s
side. His cologne permeated the air in the vehicle, and it smelled wonderful.
No. We are friends. He’s just taking me out because I haven’t had anything to do all day. Nothing more.
The door groaned as Brian opened it and sat down. Natalia tried to force her heart not to race when she looked at Brian’s profile. So kind. So handsome.
So not for you.
Brian drove outside of the city, beyond where there were even streetlights.
“Good thing I trust you, Brian Younger.”
“I like the way you say that. ‘Brian Yung-ah.’ So proper.”
Natalia wanted to tell him she liked the way he said her name, the easy way it rolled off his tongue. But she couldn’t. He might get the wrong idea.
“Almost there.” Brian pulled off onto a dirt road that led into the woods.
“All right, seriously. Where are you taking me?”
Brian pointed to a tall structure directly in front of them. “There.”
“What is it?” Dusk had set in, so the structure seemed to blend into the surroundings.
“It’s an old lookout tower.” Brian opened his door and walked around to her side. Natalia had never experienced such gentlemanly behavior. She found it quite enjoyable. She jumped out of the truck, and Brian reached into the glove compartment to pull out a small flashlight. “It’ll get dark quick out here.”
Natalia looked up. The tower was wooden and very tall. Steps wound around the circular base all the way to the top, which had a walkway all around it.
“Is this safe?” Natalia was sure the structure was several decades old.
“Of course.” Brian clicked his flashlight on and shone it on the ground in front of them. “This is the place I go when I need some one-on-one time with God.”
“You come all the way out here to pray?” Natalia followed Brian on the steep stairs.
“You’ll see why soon.”
Natalia felt herself getting winded halfway up. They were already above the tree level. And there were still many more steps to climb.
Brian stepped to the side when they reached the top so Natalia could stand at the rail and look out. The full moon cast a silvery glow on the trees, and out in the distance was a river, its still waters reflecting the moon and framing it with plants Natalia had never seen before.
“This is lovely.”
“I know.” Brian leaned on the rail next to her. “My dad brought me here for the first time about three years ago. I had just hurt my knee pretty badly. Dad actually had to half carry me up these stairs.”
“Oh no.” Natalia looked at Brian. “What happened?”
“I was really into martial arts. Used to compete and everything.”
“I thought you weren’t athletic?”
“Most people at school didn’t know. I always said I wouldn’t play school sports because I wasn’t any good.”
“Why didn’t you want people to know about your martial arts?”
Brian shrugged. “Being a pastor’s kid, I get watched
in everything I do. People are always expecting so much from us. But in martial arts, I was just Brian. No one knew who my dad was or where I went to school. It was nice. I wanted to keep it like that.”
“What happened?”
“I blew my knee out, doing something stupid.”
“What?”
“I was playing around with some buddies before class, flipped one of them over, and my knee just ripped apart.”
“That’s terrible.”
“You’re not kidding.” Brian blew out a long breath. “Just like that, my martial arts days were over.”
“Couldn’t you go back after your knee healed?”
“No.” Brian looked out at the river. “Doctor’s orders. I was so angry.”
“I can imagine.”
“That was the one thing in life I really loved, and God had to go and take that away from me too.”
“You were mad at God?” Brian always seemed so confident in his relationship with God.
“You bet I was. Furious. I’d sit in church and stare at the baptistery. Refused to listen to the sermons. I told Dad he could ground me, spank me, do whatever he wanted. But I was done with God.”
“What did your dad say?”
“Nothing.” Brian smiled. “He brought me out here. I thought it was my punishment, that he was going
Survivorman
on me and I’d have to find my way home.”
Natalia laughed. “But that wasn’t it?”
“No. He took me up here and had me stand right there and said, ‘What do you see?’”
“And then what?”
“You have to answer that.” Brian turned his blues eyes toward her. “What do you see?”
Natalia forced her gaze away from Brian. “Trees, a river, birds, plants, mosquitoes.”
Brian aimed his flashlight down to a path directly below the tower. “See that trail?”
Natalia’s eyes adjusted to the light. When they did, she saw the slight trail, snaking its way through the forest and to the river, where it ended at a dock. A small boat was tied to the dock. She leaned forward to see where the river went from there. “Is that the ocean?”
“Very good.” Brian smiled. “It’s hard to see when it’s dark. I’ll bring you back sometime during the day. It’s much more obvious. But, yes, that’s the ocean.”
“Amazing.”
“But you don’t see any of that from down there.” Brian once again pointed his flashlight to the trail below them. “When you’re there, it’s just a bunch of trees. And if you’ve never been on that trail, you might think it just goes deeper into the woods.”
“I doubt I would even get on that trail if I hadn’t been up here. It would seem frightening, just walking into the forest.”
“That’s what I said.”
“And your dad?”
“He said our lives are like this. God puts us on paths that sometimes seem very dark and pointless. Sometimes it
seems like there’s no way out. And a lot of people get upset at that, and so they get off his path and go off on their own.”
“But when they do that, they miss what is waiting for them at the end.” Natalia thought of her desire to leave Tampa, of Maureen’s desire to hide away until the pain was over.
Brian pointed to the ocean. “Through the woods, onto the river, and then into the ocean. From there, you can go anywhere. Possibilities are limitless.”
A tear fell down her cheek. “But first, you have to get through the forest.”
Brian stepped closer to Natalia so their shoulders were touching. “That’s right. And sometimes, getting through the forest seems almost impossible.”
“That’s why we need to trust God.” Natalia looked around. “He sees what we don’t.”
“You catch on quick.” Brian nudged Natalia.
“So you brought me up here to give me a sermon?”
“No sermon.” Brian laughed. “Not me. But I did think you might benefit from what my dad taught me that day.”
“I did.” Natalia took in a deep breath. The scent of the forest was fresh and clean, tinged with a bit of the salty sea air. God knew everything. He had a purpose for everything. She just needed to trust him and keep walking through the wilderness. The end may not be in her sight, but it was definitely in his.
A
nd this is Brian when he played one of the wise men in the children’s Christmas pageant.” Mrs. Younger pointed to a picture in the ornately decorated scrapbook. Five-year-old Brian’s red hair was plastered to his head, and he wore a dark blue robe and a deep scowl.
“Mom, please.” Brian put a hand over the picture. “Don’t you need to work on lunch?”
Mrs. Younger laughed and turned the page. Little Brian was between his two older sisters, standing in front of the church Christmas tree. The robe was off but the scowl was still there. “He hated having his picture taken.”
“Seriously, Mom.” Brian’s face was turning red. Natalia couldn’t imagine why he would be embarrassed. His parents adored him. His mother spent hours putting together scrapbooks like this so she could remember every moment of his childhood.
“Brittany and Brigit are working on lunch.” Mrs. Younger waved Brian away. “Why don’t you join them?”
He sighed and stood, defeated. “At least promise me you’ll skip past the bathtub shots.”
Mrs. Younger didn’t look up. “Go work on lunch, dear. Your sisters need you.”
“You have a beautiful family.” Natalia gazed at a page with the family standing together on the beach.
“I am blessed.” Mrs. Younger smiled.
“Your daughters are both in college, right?”
“Brittany will be a senior, and Brigit is a sophomore.”
“What are they studying?”
“Brittany is majoring in elementary education.” Mrs. Younger looked at Natalia, her eyes mirror images of Brian’s, clear, blue, and caring. “She wants to teach kindergarten.”
Natalia marveled at the pride in his mother’s face.
“And Brigit?”
“Brigit wants to go into the medical field, but she can’t decide if she wants to be a doctor or a nurse.”
“I’m sure you and Pastor Brian are hoping she’ll be a doctor.” Natalia’s father would be thrilled if she were considering a career as a doctor.
Mrs. Younger shrugged. “We’ve always told our kids we want them to do what God wants them to do. If he wants Brigit to be a nurse, then that’s what we want for her.”
Natalia stared down at the photos. Parents who love each other and love God and who want their children to do what God wants them to do. “Your children are fortunate.”
“What about you?” Mrs. Younger smiled into Natalia’s eyes. “Do you know what God wants you to do?”
Natalia sighed. “No, but my father expects me to make that decision very soon.”
“Really? Why is that?”
“Papa has a five-year plan for everything. He expects me to do the same. He is not happy that I am a few months from graduating and I don’t know what I am going to do next.”
“Sometimes God only reveals his will one day at a time.” Mrs. Younger patted Natalia’s arm.
Natalia turned a page in the scrapbook. Pastor Brian’s smile beamed as he stood in the baptistery with little Brian. “Unfortunately, my father does not believe in God.”
“That must be difficult for you.”
Her soft words touched a place in Natalia’s heart that she worked hard to keep hidden. She closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to spill out.
Mrs. Younger placed a gentle arm around Natalia shoulder. “We are praying for you, dear.”
“Thank you.” Natalia hated the weakness she felt, hated needing to be comforted.
“Soup’s on.” Brian emerged from the kitchen.
“What kind of soup will we be having?” Natalia sat up and pasted on a smile, relieved for the interruption.
He laughed as he led Natalia into the dining room. “Sorry. It’s a saying. It just means that dinner is ready.”
Natalia sat down at the table. Brian’s sisters laid out the meal—roast beef with vegetables, biscuits, and a salad.
“I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced, Natalia,” the older of Brian’s sisters said. “Of course, Brian talks about you so much, I already feel like you’re part of the family.”
The glare Brian shot at his sister caused Natalia to laugh. She had never seen him anything but jovial.
“Anyway, I’m Brittany.” Winking in her brother’s
direction, she held a hand out to Natalia. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Brigit.” Brian’s other sister had a quiet voice and more reserved demeanor, like her mother. Brigit was Natalia’s height, with blondish brown hair and Brian’s eyes. Brittany’s hair was red, but not as vibrant a red as her brother had. Both girls had their mother’s fair skin and nose that turned up slightly at the end. They were adorable young women.
“I’m happy to meet you both.”
“You’re right, Brian.” Brittany flashed a smile. “She does have a cute accent.”
He pulled out a chair for Natalia, elbowing Brittany in the process. “Oh, so sorry, sis.”
“All right, you two.” Pastor Brian sat at the head of the table. “Enough fighting. You’re going to frighten our guest.”
“Please excuse my big-mouthed sister,” Brian said quietly.
“I heard that.” Brittany leaned across the table. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t help myself. You’re the first girl Brian’s ever brought home.”