WILL I SEE YOU LATER?

Tanya's parents divorced when she was three. All of a sudden, dad wasn’t a daily fixture in her life. The judge had worked out a generous custody arrangement where she spent every other weekend with him. He’d take her everywhere with him during those weekends – the park, zoo, circus. And he always took her to church; where his baritone voice sounded like the voice of God to her when she was small. When she was older he took her to the opera, and the dinner theatre. He escorted her when she was a debunte. He paid for every stitch she wore that day, from the undergarments to the light blue tulle dress with the ruched waist to hide her ample middle. Her tall, chocolate dad saw her off to college. And she still spent weekends with him when she came home from college. But since the age of three, she had always asked him when he dropped her off, “Will I see you later?” His reply was always in the affirmative. And he endeavored to keep his word; even when he met Sharon and remarried. His honeymoon was during her scheduled weekend with her mother; and the very next weekend, he was there like clockwork to pick her up. One day, during a weekend home from college, she mentioned it to her mother. “He’s a man of his word.” “He goes out of his way to keep a promise made,” her mother explained. She continued, “That’s why he didn’t want me to divorce him. “His dad taught him that a Christian’s word is his bond.” Her mother continued wiping the countertop. She then poured the two of them a glass of lemonade and sat down. Her mother went on to explain that one of his brothers had enlisted in the army during the Vietnam War. He had deserted during battle and fled to Canada. For 4 years his family did not know whether he was dead or alive. Once, when crossing the border back to the states, he showed up on a watch list and was detained. He was later court-martialed and sentenced to prison for seven months. He spent most of that time in solitary confinement. Germaine had ended up admitting to his dad that the price he had to pay for deserting was greater than facing the encroaching horrors of war. He didn’t go into details, but he was never the same cheerful man who had left for basic training vibrant and full of life. The hardship left an indelible memory of the importance of keeping one’s word for the entire family. “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’,” was almost a family mantra. “Beacause of your uncle Germaine, your dad instilled that principle in you like his dad instilled it in them." Her mother reached to squeeze her hand. "In this family, it is important to keep our word." “Yeah but he tries too hard to force me to go to church all the time,” Tanya responded. “I’m not religious.” Her mother – a non-believer- stayed quiet. At her dad’s the next weekend, Tanya went to church with her dad and his wife, but she didn’t receive anything that she considered of any personal value. She had shut her spirit down. When her dad said he constantly prayed for her salvation, she smiled like she was in pain. He dropped her off at home after dinner. She walked around to the driver’s side and he rolled down the window. She leaned in; almost up to her waist, and hugged him. When he drove off later, she realized that she hadn’t asked him the question. It was the last time she saw him alive. A drunk driver veered into his lane and hit him head-on when he was just a block from his split level condo. He died instantly. His new wife Sharon died after 14 days on a life support system. Later Tanya found out that he had stopped by the drug store and bought a blank card and made a special note to her. He’d mailed it minutes later, just before he was killed. The lavender envelope arrived at her mother’s house the day of the funeral. It simply read- “Always keep your word.” On the cover was a rainbow with a father and daughter beholding its beauty. Tanya held onto the card as she sat on the first row at church during his funeral. When people hugged her afterward, she made certain they did not fold, smear or bend her precious card. OFF TO WORK It wasn’t hard for Tanya to drift apart from her mother. She just shut down after her father’s death. Soon her grades were failing so she dropped out of college. Smart and yet hurting, she tried to get a good job. Most seemed to require degrees. So she started working retail. The starting pay was just above minimum wage; but she had her mother’s assurances that she could continue living at home for as long as she liked. Tanya starting accumulating a lot of nice clothes. The starting pay was low, but she got a sizable discount at the clothing store where she worked. Some of her old high school mates often shopped in the store. One of them approached her one day before her shift began. Tanya was sitting in the coffee shop across from the retail store where she worked. They chatted a while, and then Char leaned closer and began whispering. “Let’s just say you rather innocently unlock the back door and leave it open," Char suggested.” She glanced around and sipped her raspberry lemonade. “I’ll come in and try on a few things.” “You never see me come back out, and you lock the back door about an hour after I walk in.” “I can’t do that!” Tanya exclaimed. She had hesitated slightly. Char noticed this – she also noticed that she said “no” without conviction. “It’ll be worth $200 to you,” Char pressed. She leaned toward Tanya in her seat. She saw the weakening of her old school chum. She recalled how easy it had been in 7th grade to convince her to try marijuana. “I’ll think about it,” Tanya lamely promised. Char seized on the moment. “Call me, here’s my number.” She clicked a business card on the table, the money to cover their bill and a sizable tip. Tanya held onto the card and when she got home that night, she read it. “Char’s Wholesale Clothing.” It gave a cell phone number. MO’ MONEY Tanya began to think about how she could increase her savings so she could move into her own place. She knew a few extra hundred dollars would be helpful. It was too soon to ask for a raise, and they were already giving her extra hours. Her mom was getting married again, and her fiancé had her in church, saved, and living for Jesus. It was his stipulation that Tanya’s mom be saved before they could marry. He had led her to Christ in her living room one day. “I love you, but I can’t marry a non-believer,” he’d told her. Tanya had laughed when she heard about it. Her daddy had tried for years to get her to accept Christ. He’d also worked on her mother – even after the divorce. “Still holding out for more proof or some sign?” her mother had asked her the week before. “Mom, please don’t start with this 'Jesus stuff',” she had pleaded. She had went to her room, closed the door and turned on her high definition television. This conversation had made her more determined to move out. Reflecting back on this exchange, she decided to give Char a call.