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“I’m sure. And you did a great job on your project. I’m pretty sure you’re going to have a solid A-minus when everything’s said and done. That should make your Dad happy. But Lucy? Don’t let him dictate your whole life, okay?”
She nodded. “I’ll try. I’ve been reading about actuaries and it sounds so cool. Mom said she’d help me persuade my Dad.”
“Good. That’s really good. I hope you’ll come across the street to the learning center and see us some next year. At least to say hi?”
Lucy nodded. “I will. Thanks, Miss Jones. I really am sorry.”
“You’re welcome. And it’s okay. Like I said, I think when all is said and done, this is for the best.”
Lucy offered a slight smile before she turned and left the room.
I sighed.
It was good. It was fine.
I went back to my office and closed the door.
I sat at my desk and logged into the portal where we submitted our grades. I had all my final grades ready to go—it was just a matter of inputting them. So I’d do it now and be finished. If I took all my things with me when I left today, I could just be done.
A clean break before starting a new life in every way.
I was in the middle of putting in the last class worth of grades when my phone rang. I glanced at the screen, expecting to see Austin’s face. Luke?
I tapped to accept the call. “Hi, Luke.”
“Hi. Um…it’s okay that I called, right?”
“Sure. How are you? I miss seeing you around church.”
He laughed. The sound was freer than I remembered it being before. “I didn’t figure I could still attend after resigning. It just seemed like a bad idea. I’ve been back at Grace and enjoying Pastor Brown’s sermons again.”
“He’s great.” I’d tried out Grace several times. I’d go in a heartbeat if the church wasn’t such a long drive on Sunday mornings. There was just no way I was going to commute like that. People did. Luke was a case in point. “I’m glad you’re not sour about church. I’m disappointed with how Pastor Chaz handled things.”
“I think he’s under a lot of pressure. I’m not sure we pray for our pastors as much as we ought to.” Luke cleared his throat. “I mostly was calling to say congratulations. I heard you’re marrying Austin soon.”
“July first, yeah. Thank you.” Why was this awkward? Luke and I had barely dated. And we weren’t amazing friends, or anything like that, so I hadn’t thought to invite him to the wedding. “Would you like to come?”
“What? Oh, to the wedding?” He chuckled. “I’d love that, actually, but I’ll be gone. That’s the other reason I was calling. I got a job in Colorado. I’ll be helping one of the Christian organizations out there to start up a nationwide ministry for singles.”
I grinned. “That’s amazing. That actually sounds perfect for you.”
“It is. God is good. Even when it feels like He isn’t, you know?”
I laughed. “Yeah. I know. I’m happy for you, and I’ll be praying that God has His hand on the ministry. It’s definitely needed. If I didn’t have my little friend group, I don’t know what I’d do. The churches around here…”
“Exactly. Seems like that’s the case everywhere. Once you’re out of the college class, you might get lucky and find a group for adult singles, but it’s more likely you’ll just have to integrate into classes designed for couples. Which isn’t always bad. But sometimes the questions get old.”
I hadn’t run into a ton of it, but then again, I had a tight friend group and didn’t really go beyond that. I wasn’t in a small group or Sunday school class. I didn’t go to women’s ministry things. And I guess, if I sat and analyzed it, the reason might well be fear that it would happen just like Luke described. “I don’t know if I consciously realized just how needed what you’re doing is.”
“If you’d asked me a year ago, I wouldn’t have, either. Now that I’m recognizing that God has said no to a wife and family for me? That I’m content with that answer? It put me in a bit of a spin. There’s a lot of work for the church to do here. I’m excited to be part of that.”
“I’m happy for you, Luke. If you end up doing a newsletter or something like that, sign me up. I’d like to be in the know so I can share.”
“Yeah? Thanks. I’ll do that.” He blew out a breath. “I guess that’s it. Congratulations, again, on your upcoming marriage. I know God will bless the two of you.”
“Thanks. I’ll be praying for you, Luke.”
“Back atcha. Bye.”
