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“Yes, I do.”
“You’ve always been young at heart, Dad, and I’m so glad to see you haven’t lost that.”
“Right after your mom and I met each other, she told me that I had an old soul but a young heart. I know it was her, though, that made and kept me young at heart all those years that we had together. Everything was an adventure with her. Even the simplest things like grocery shopping. She made living our daily lives so much fun and she was always making me feel like I was in my twenties all over again.”
“You and Mom were the cutest couple. I remember well the giddiness between you two, the way you flirted, as well as the way that you used to look at her and the way that she used to look at you. Neither of you ever lost that spark for each other.”
A wistful smile stretched across my dad’s lips. “Your mom set my soul on fire from day one, Stevie. It happened the moment I looked into her beautiful eyes.”
As soon as he said that, my mind went spinning back to when I saw Zac on the running trail. I’d stared at him from the moment we first made eye contact until we passed by each otherbecauseof his eyes. The light in them got to me. It was so bright and warm and inviting. Now I realized that on that early Saturday morning,mysoul had been set on fire just by looking into Zac’s eyes. That was what I’d been feeling and not understanding. I did now, though, and it was wrong for me to be feeling this way. So wrong—yet something about it felt so right.
“I can imagine you seeing her that first time,” I said, refocusing on my dad.
“She walked into my church, sat down in the front pew, and kept her eyes on me during my entire sermon.”
“And she was a visitor, not a member.”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve never asked this because I’ve never thought much about it until now, but was Mom a member at some other Methodist church when she came to yours?”
My dad searched my eyes and then let out a long sigh. “Stevie, there’s something that you don’t know about your mom and me. Something that I never thought I’d tell you, but I’ll do it now. I’m sure it’s all this wine that I’ve had that’s making me feel like spilling the beans and I’m just gonna do it because the time feels right.”
“Okay.”
“I met your mom at the Baptist church that I used to preach at. Not at the Methodist church that I was assigned to after leaving the Baptist Conference. Your mom is the reason why I left.”
I jerked my head back. “What?”
“Yes, it was because of her. Ihadto leave.”
“Go on.”
“Before I tell you the rest of this story, would you mind refilling my wine glass, please? I’m gonna need it.”
“Of course, Dad. You stay here and I’ll be right back.”
I got up and hurried to my fridge to get the bottle of Pinot Grigio. As soon as I made it back to the dining room table, I filled my dad’s glass nearly to the rim again. He chuckled, shook his head, and then took a big gulp of the wine.
“Okay, let’s do this, daughter.”
I had no clue what he was about to tell me about his history with my mom, but I had the feeling that my dad had needed to confess to whatever it was for a very long time.
“I’m ready to hear it,” I said, reaching for his hand. It was trembling.
“I was married before, Stevie. My marriage with your mom was my second one.”
My mouth fell open. “Wh-what?”
“I was married to another woman when your mom and I met.”
“Oh my God, you and mom had an affair, didn’t you?”
“No, we didn’t have an affair, but my ex-wife thought we did. She convinced herself of it.”
“What made her think you were?”
“For starters, I could hardly keep my eyes off your mom and she could hardly keep hers off me. She joined my church one month after she began attending it and then jumped right into serving the congregation in every way she could because that’s who she was. As you know, she was a giver and also a healer, and the members of my church immediately embraced her. They loved her. Everyone but my ex-wife.”
