A piece of the story...part 9

It's a little late (or a lot...lol) but here's another part of my story!

Chapter Four

Henry had gone as long as he could before anyone asked about medical school. And, of course, it was his mother. She practically cornered him in the hall, since she probably knew that would be the only way to get him to talk to her. He’d been avoiding her as much as possible since he had returned home. She clearly had noticed.

“What are your plans for the future, son?”

How could he explain that practicing medicine had lost its spark? That he couldn’t go a minute without thinking about his father whenever he stepped into a hospital? Or that being a doctor without his father beside him seemed pointless and futile?

“Medical school, I guess. What else would I do?”

His mother drifted into silence but didn’t move away. “I’m not blind, you know,” she said after a while. “I can see you’ve been avoiding me.”

“Yes, I know. And I’m sorry. It's just… everything has changed and I don’t know how to fix it.” Henry felt his eyes mist over at the hopelessness he felt, and how much courage it had taken just to tell her that much. Admitting one’s failure was hard to do, especially for someone who seemed to never do anything right in her eyes. He would usually just swallow the hopelessness, push down the anger, avoid that emotion altogether. But now it was time for a change.

And what did his mother do? Not try to soothe her aching son; or reassure him that things would be all right. No. She just sighed and walked away. She left him with the same ache he had carried for the past five years.

His father’s death was a tragedy. He had been so young, with such a bright future ahead of him. And then that future was taken away from him. From all of them, really. Nothing had been the same since that November day five years before. Somehow, they had to move on and live the lives his father would’ve wanted them to live. Somehow...but he didn’t know how. 

“Are you all right?” Cassie came up behind him, resting a hand on his sleeve.

He pushed his thoughts into the deepest, darkest corner of his brain. “Yeah.”

She still looked wary. She always seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, which was the best part of their growing friendship. They could hold an entire conversation without speaking a word. And even when some things needed to be spoken, she never pushed anything. Even when she clearly knew something was wrong, she never pushed beyond what he was willing to give. “How about a walk?”

“Sure.” He offered an appreciative smile. She followed him out the front door, where they continued down the street beyond the semi-circular driveway. The few blocks were passed in silence, except for the low thump of his shoes and the click of her heels.

“So what happened back there? You seemed pretty upset?” Her voice was soft as she looked at her feet.

“My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor.”

“Really? That must be exciting.” She paused when he didn’t say anything. “Or… hard?”

“I can’t do it. Not without him.”

“Tell me about him.”

“He died five years ago from a-”

“Not how he died. Tell me about him.”

Henry cleared his throat. “He met my mother when they were in high school and soon after they married. When war became more of a threat, they moved here. Once they came here, he was able to go to college and get his medical degree. He started his own practice, and I grew up helping him.” Henry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Do you want to get something?” They had stopped on a street corner where a diner was bustling with activity.

“Sure.” Cassie smiled sweetly and walked through the door he held open. They found stools at the counter and a waitress walked over to them. 

“Two burgers and two cokes, please.” The plump waitress wandered to the back after getting his order. Cassie seemed to have gotten lost in thought, her elbows propped on the counter and her chin resting in her hands. “What are you thinking about?”

She spun on the stool to face him. “I think your father would want you to finish medical school.”

Henry shook his head and turned away. “I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can. I’ll help you, Tara will help, but most importantly, your Heavenly Father will help you.”

His Heavenly Father? Henry had abandoned all thoughts of a God when his earthly father had died. If there had been a God with him on that day, He had let him down. No loving God would do such a thing, or let such a thing happen. “No, He won’t.”

“I know how you feel because I’ve been there.” The sadness in her voice caused him to turn back to face her, and her sky blue eyes met his. “My mother died when  I was 12. She was my dance teacher and I got my love of dancing from her. After she died, I thought I’d never dance again, but then I realized that my mother would have wanted me to keep dancing. But I couldn’t move on my own. God helped me; He loves me. And He loves you, too, and wants you to love Him back.”

Her sincere words struck him and stayed with him for the rest of his life. God loved him and wanted him to love Him back.

TO BE CONTINUED...