*****
From the very first day that Mrs. Johnson had smiled at her in the third grade, Karen knew that she wanted to be a teacher. Unlike other kids -- who fancied being soldiers, or firemen, or doctors, or housewives -- Karen just knew that she was meant to be a teacher. She knew it even before she fully understood it, or before she had the conviction that there was a God with a plan for her life.
Karen was so sure of her future that when it came time for her to get a car, she opted for practical over elegant. Her parents were willing to buy her anything she wanted up to a certain price. It was a graduation present from high school, something to use while she attended college.
But instead of going for something with pin stripes and peer appeal, Karen selected something with fold-down seats and cup holders. Karen reasoned that she would need the space for hauling stuff. Kids needed a lot of stuff, even if the kids weren’t hers. So at the age of eighteen, Karen owned the first of many minivans she would drive over the years.
Early in their relationship, Jason teased Karen mercilessly about her minivan -- almost as much as he teased her about being from Kansas. Even though he was from Oklahoma, Jason somehow felt that being from Kansas made Karen more of a ‘hick’ than he was. So he teased her with farm animal jokes, and he likened the Dodge minivan she drove to a farm truck.
“Hey Oz, how many pigs you figure will fit in the back of your van?”
Karen could give as good as she could get. “Not sure. Why don’t you invite your friends over and let’s find out.”
In reality, Karen was no more a country girl than Jason was a rock star. Karen grew up in Kansas City and had spent her entire life living no more than ten miles from downtown. Her dad was a lawyer. Her mother stayed at home raising Karen and her younger brothers and sisters, of which there were two each. She saw the countryside only when passing through on family vacations.
Like Jason, Karen was also the product of a happy childhood. They had actually talked about that on their first date, wondering about the odds in today’s world of two people coming together from families in which both sets of parents were the original ones to say ‘I do’. When Jason had mentioned that the odds were likely pretty low, Karen had stated matter-of-factly that ‘God’s plan is never about percentages.’
Jason had heard about God’s plan before. Mostly from Kyle. In fact, Jason discovered early on that Karen was a lot like Kyle. Faith had always been a part of her life. Not just religion. And certainly not just church. But honest-to-God faith. The kind you get from giving your life to Christ. The kind that comes from realizing you are living for a purpose that only God can fully understand.
And whereas Jason would occasionally refer to their chance meeting at Sea World as a strange encounter, Karen would consistently refer to it as God’s will, or another part of God’s plan.
Jason wasn’t so sure anymore. Since the death of his parents two months earlier, Jason had still not reconciled himself to the idea that God had a plan, at least not a very good one. He was, however, willing to grant a small concession regarding Karen. He liked that part of the plan.
Chapter 35
Jason introduced Karen to Kyle for the first time when he and Karen stopped at Garrett Motors one Saturday morning on the way to the beach. Now that Kyle was officially the GM at Garrett, he found himself occasionally working weekends to catch up on paperwork.
Karen and Kyle hit it off immediately. Jason had told Kyle pretty much everything he knew about Karen in the days following the Sea World encounter. So when Jason pulled up in front of the car dealership, Kyle opened the door for Karen and said with a huge smile, “So, I understand you’re the ‘God has a plan’ lady.”
That was it. Karen and Kyle hugged like long-lost relatives and spent the next twenty minutes talking about scripture passages and biblical principles, all the things that Jason was struggling with. Jason just sat feebly by, nodding politely and interjecting whenever he felt comfortable enough to do so. Which wasn’t often.
“So, what did you think?” Jason asked, as he and Karen continued their drive to the beach.
“Seems like a nice guy. Strong Christian, too.”
“Yea, really strong. I sometimes wish I had the faith and the strength of conviction that Kyle does.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself, Jason. In a lot of ways, you’re still pretty new to your faith. In any case, you should never feel the need to compare your faith with someone else’s. Your relationship with God is something unique and special that only you and God share. It’s not about comparing or measuring up.”
*****
Later that day, after an afternoon of swimming, sunbathing, and quiet conversation on the beach, Jason and Karen walked along the shore in the retreating rays of the sun. Jason reached out for Karen’s hand, interlocking his fingers gently with hers.
Karen sensed something was on his mind.
“So. What are you thinking?” she asked.
Jason pushed back. Just a little. “It’s nothing. Really.”
“It feels like you have something you want to say. I’d love it if you’d tell me what it is.”
Jason found it impossible to resist Karen. So beautiful. So honest. So caring. She was like the female version of Kyle. Strange. But it was true.
“OK, here’s the deal. I’ve told you just about everything there is to tell about me. Boring as it is.”
Karen laughed. “Well, you are from Oklahoma.”
Beautiful, and a sense of humor, too.
“Seriously. Growing up, I never had much cause to think about God, much less consider that he cared about me or had a plan for my life. Then I met Kyle, and I saw how comfortable he was believing that God was in control of his life. Kyle really believes that God has a special plan just for him. Actually, he believes that God has a plan for all of us.”
“And is that what you believe?” Karen asked.
“That’s the thing. At the time of my conversion, when we were in the mountains and Kyle walked me through the whole process, there’s nothing in this world that I believed more. Now I’m not so sure.”
“So what’s changed?”
“Well, for starters, my parents are dead. It’s not that they died. We all die. It’s just how they died, and the timing of it. It happened just as my life seemed to be coming together.”
Jason paused while he struggled to put the pieces together. “Then there’s the whole thing at work, and how Sam and Alex have treated me since I got back from Tulsa. That’s just not right. Not after how hard I’ve worked and all I’ve done to help them build their business.”
“I’m sure it’s been hard on you,” Karen said sympathetically.
“The thing is,” Jason continued, “it’s like everything is unraveling. If God has a plan, it sure seems to be a lousy one. I know. You’ll tell me it’s not about me and I can’t possibly know what God has planned because I’m not God. I’ve had that conversation with Kyle. But I just don’t see how anything God is doing in my life looks even remotely like a plan.”
“What about me?” Karen squeezed his hand.
“Except maybe that. It’s too soon to tell whether that’ll get screwed up, too.” He smiled tentatively.
Jason seemed to have run out of things to say. Karen wanted to give him something in the way of encouragement, even if it was something small.
“Jason, God wants you to know that it really is about you. He has a plan for you, just you. Because He loves you. You asked Him into your life, and He will never leave you, as long as you continue to have faith in Him.”
They kept walking while talking. Then Karen stopped and stepped in front of Jason. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head gently against his shoulder. The tide splashed around their ankles.
Karen continued gently. “Jason, there’s so much wisdom in the Bible.”
She stepped back to look up at him, her hand
s now holding both of his. “You’ve already given your life to Christ. So you are now a child of God, part of the Christian family. Like most families, it’s easy to belong when things are going well. The real challenge comes when things go badly. When that happens, the family has to rely on the strength and wisdom of the father. It’s his job to take care of the family.
“It’s the same with God. It’s easy to believe God has a plan when the plan is going according to what we expect. But when the plan seems broken, we doubt God. Just remember, we may not always understand the reasons, but our Father in heaven always does what’s best for his Christian family.”
Jason bent down and tenderly kissed the top of Karen’s head. He didn’t have anything more to say. He was, once again, confused, like he had been before his conversion. Part of him felt deceitful, like he had lied when he said that he wanted to turn his life over to Christ. But he couldn’t help feeling that he had been betrayed, that he had been duped into believing in something that was fractured from the beginning.
It was something he would have to work out, just like before.
*****
On the way back down the beach, Jason called Kyle and asked him to join them for a drink. Twenty minutes later the three were seated on the patio of Jason and Kyle’s favorite outdoor bar, the one with the free chips and cold Pacificos.
When the waitress arrived, Kyle held up two fingers. "Pacifico,” he said. Then he looked over to Karen, who was shaking her head.
Before Karen could say anything, Kyle jumped in. “You’re not drinking Pacifico?” He smiled. “How could Jason date a girl who didn’t drink Pacifico?”
Karen just ignored him. “I’ll have a tea.”
“Tea? What kind of drink is that?” Kyle continued in mock disgust. “Bad enough you don’t drink beer.”
“That would be Long Island Iced Tea,” replied Karen.
They all laughed. “OK then. Now I know I like this girl,” said Kyle.
When the drinks arrived, Jason raised his glass in a toast, and the others followed suit. “To Oz,” he said.
“To Oz,” they all repeated.
Chapter 36
As couples do, Jason and Karen often talked about what first attracted them to each other. Karen would say that after her initial embarrassment at having hurdled two rows of seats into Jason’s lap, she was immediately drawn to his broad smile and to his deep, hazel eyes. He was polite, easy to talk to, and concerned about whether Karen was hurt, wet, or cold.
Never mind that he was tall, athletic, and good looking.
Like most guys, Jason took the opposite approach. He had been to many sporting events in stadiums and amphitheaters and had been tossed his share of items by various vendors. But he had never had a girl tossed at him. So his first reaction was to evaluate the prize. Tall, slender, auburn hair, green eyes. Definitely a keeper.
It was only in seeing Karen blush with embarrassment and in hearing her speak with such affection to the children from her class who came to make sure she was OK that Jason realized Karen was a kind and gentle person.
Looking back, Jason realized that Karen had won his heart after speaking no more than half a dozen complete sentences.
They say opposites attract. Not so in the case of Jason and Karen. They were very much alike. Especially in their love of all things athletic.
Jason had dated girls before who expressed a superficial interest in athletics. But when it came time to buy tickets to a game or hunker down for a long weekend of championship something on TV, suddenly the interest became less real. Though trim and fit, many of the girls Jason had dated were just ‘gym rats’ with no real interest in sports.
Not true with Karen. Like Jason, Karen had been an athlete in high school, and she had been good enough in track to earn a full scholarship to Kansas State. She ran long distance.
But what really impressed Jason was Karen’s encyclopedic knowledge of the players and teams in nearly every sport. Baseball, football, basketball, you name it, and she could recite the teams, players, stats, championship years, and current standings. She read the sports pages like a bookie handicapping race horses.
*****
“Want to do another loop?” asked Karen.
“Not really,” Jason replied.
Truth was, Jason was exhausted but too embarrassed to show it. he couldn’t keep pace with Karen, and he knew it. Fortunately, he’d recovered somewhat from the first time they had run together on the beach, when it had become apparent that Karen could have run all the way to Canada.
Jason and Karen had met at Balboa Park after work. They had found parking near the Aerospace Museum and had just run a four mile loop past the Organ Pavilion, through the center of the park, across the Cabrillo Bridge, out toward the canyon, down Sixth Avenue, and back through the park. They were completing their post-run stretching beneath the wings of an SR-71 Blackbird in front of the Aerospace Museum.
“So, Oz, you going to let me make you dinner tonight?” asked Jason.
“Love to, but can’t. I promised Sydney I’d help her shop for some new living room furniture for our apartment. Rain check?”
“No problem.”
Jason and Karen had been dating for five months and had fallen into that comfortable place in their relationship where it’s OK to just relax and let things be what they are. It was a good place to be.
“By the way,” Karen added, “I’ve been thinking that maybe Sydney and Kyle might hit it off. Maybe we could plan something and invite them both along. It would be neat if they connected.”
Jason wasn’t so sure about that. He’d seen this kind of thing before, where two people dating have this great relationship. Then the best friends start dating. Next thing, the best friends stop dating, the finger-pointing starts, and before it’s all over the two people with the great relationship can’t stand each other.
“Sounds like a great idea,” said Jason.
Sometimes you just have to pick your battles.
Chapter 37
Jason parked the Mustang in the parking lot and climbed out. Then he slipped off his sports coat and tossed it into the back seat. He thought for a moment about putting the top up, just in case it rained, then realized he was more concerned that someone might steal his sports coat. He put the coat in the trunk, but he left the top down. Then he grabbed the flowers from the front seat and headed toward the front door.
Creekside Elementary School was part of the San Diego Unified School District. Typical of schools everywhere, it had suffered years of neglect, the result of one state-wide financial crisis after another. Buildings were deteriorating, the staff was insufficient, and the stuff needed to run the school was in short supply.
About the only thing there seemed to be plenty of were kids. Fortunately, there were also plenty of teachers willing to overlook the shortages in order to ensure that the kids got as good as they deserved.
Located in the northeastern corner of the city, Creekside drew heavily from the inner city neighborhoods. The kids were mostly from lower and lower-middle-class minority families. All of the socio-economic issues associated with San Diego’s inner city found their way into Karen’s third grade classroom at Creekside.
Jason had concluded a meeting downtown and had decided to surprise Karen at work, something he did on occasion. He had actually been to the school often enough to know Karen’s schedule and to learn the names of many of her students. Jason hoped to catch Karen during her recess period.
As he entered the building, Jason ran into Sydney.
“Hi, Jason,” Sydney said. She was not at all surprised to see Jason in the middle of the day.
“Hey Sydney,” replied Jason, giving his girlfriend’s best friend a friendly hug.
“Are those for me?” asked Sydney, pointing at the flowers as she and Jason separated. Then she added with a sly smile, “I’m not sure Karen would approve.”
“Sorry. You’ll hav
e to get your own boyfriend,” said Jason. “But Karen and I are working on that.”
“So I hear,” responded Sydney with a wink.
“Is Karen out on the playground?”
“Yea, I just saw her heading out toward the south field. I think she’s got the next hour.”
“OK, thanks,” replied Jason. Then he added playfully, “I’ll tell Kyle you’re dying to meet him.”
“Don’t you dare make me sound desperate,” came the reply.
Jason really liked Sydney. She was cute, smart, and sensitive. About the same age as Karen, she had short blonde hair, which she kept stylishly layered. She also had the most captivating blue eyes Jason had ever seen.
Jason figured that Kyle would get along just fine with Sydney.
As he approached the playground, Jason found Karen kneeling on the ground, apparently trying to pry loose a knot in the shoe laces of a little black girl Jason immediately recognized as one of Karen’s favorite students. Her name was Tamara.
Jason snuck up behind Karen and held his index finger to his mouth, signaling Tamara not to disclose his presence. It didn’t work, because Tamara let loose with a big grin and a “Hi, Mr. Jason.”
Jason smiled back at Tamara and said, “Thanks for ratting me out.”
Karen turned her head just enough to smile at Jason. Then she finished her work, gave Tamara a big hug, and sent her running off to join her classmates. As she stood up and turned around, Jason planted a soft kiss on her lips and thrust the flowers forward.
“Why thank you, Jason. I love them,” said Karen. She bent forward and gave him another kiss. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I just finished a meeting downtown. Thought I’d stop by on my way back to the office. I’ve been missing you.”
“That’s so sweet. Thank you. Unfortunately, I really don’t have any free time right now. I need to keep an eye on the kids. It is, after all, what I get paid to do.”