Let's Make a Deal Pt. 18- Epilogue

When that tune was played during the dance, at the end of a set, the fiddler actually had him do each once. The last time through, when he was playing with the lead, the piano and bass really bore down, driving the rhythm. At the end of that dance, the dancers not only applauded but whooped and whistled and stomped for quite a while.

He asked to make sure that it was OK for him to go down and dance some, too. No one had any objections. In fact, the fiddler, Duane, asked if Scott was willing to just take the lead on a set or two so he could dance. He usually wasn't one they could spare. (In fact, of course, sparing anyone from a trio leaves a pretty big hole.)

During the evening, he made sure that when he danced it was with Martha. The guys asked him, and he explained that it was their honeymoon, and that usually he did dance with others too. He later found that Martha had always accepted invitations by saying, "I'd love to, unless my husband comes down from the band," and explaining the circumstances. But he was mostly able to signal her at the end of the previous dance.

After the third or fourth dance, the caller introduced the band to the dancers, most of whom of course were familiar with them. Duane grabbed a mic and introduced Scott, thanking him for being willing and able to join in on the fly.

And at the end of the evening all of the guys tried to chip in a large chunk of their pay for Scott. He had to work to convince them that, for that night, just being able to play and to dance with Martha too was all he wanted. They urged him to come back and play with them any time he wanted. He said he'd love to, though it was a little too far to go on any regular basis. He did agree that if he played with them again, he'd accept some pay.

In fact, Jim told him, "If you do come back, you don't have to pay to stay at that place. I've got a spare bedroom, and you'd be welcome to stay with us." Scott told him that if he came that far, he'd almost certainly be bringing Martha, and was told that the invitation definitely included her. By this time, Martha had come up to join Scott, and the whole band congratulated them both. They were encouraged not to stay and help pack up everyone else's gear, but to get back to their room and do what people on honeymoons were supposed to do.

All in all, Scott and Martha each found the evening a wonderful, joyous occasion. Jim and Duane had both exchanged phone numbers with Scott, so there really were prospects for a return visit. The band said they expected the caller and some of the regulars to ask them to get him back. Martha was by now getting to be a very experienced dancer, and as always had enjoyed hearing Scott play as well as all the dancing. She was sparkling from all the attention she'd gotten through the evening. Scott had, as always, played more than he danced, but she hadn't lacked for eager partners, especially as the night went on and she had interacted with most of the other dancers.

It was a very special end to that very special week.

EPILOGUE 2: About a year later

1. Yet but three? Come one more; Two of both kinds make up four.

Lynda was having dinner with Martha and Scott. For a while she had lived in Scott's old apartment, somewhat rattling around in it once all his stuff had been removed, everything he planned to keep anyway. She hadn't had enough to fill up the place, even with Martha's old bed and other furniture. Scott had left most of his, but most of what he'd brought he'd exchanged for something Martha had had. The main exception had been bookcases and bookshelves, and Scott and Martha were still struggling to figure out where to put all those. So after a few months, she had found a smaller, cheaper apartment for herself. What she couldn't, or didn't want to, take with her had gone back to Martha's and Scott's house, to basement and attic. They'd sold a bunch of it, and donated some as well. And of course Lynda had needed a car of her own. She still came to dinner at least once most weeks.

As she usually did when she was with them—and often enough at other times too—she was wearing the earrings they had given her for her birthday. Scott, in getting an engagement ring for Martha, had asked Lynda about Martha's preferences in stones. "She has a birthday coming up," he had said. It was against his policy to mislead either of them like that, but Lynda hadn't hesitated to forgive him. But he'd been sure that she would expect jewelry for her own birthday a few months later, and they'd both felt bound to follow through—not that they weren't glad to do so. Even though he'd said when he proposed to Martha the he felt he owed jewelry to Lynda, she had still been surprised.

Martha's advice had made for a pair of earrings that flattered Lynda's looks, and she loved them. Martha usually preferred not to be dressy, but she always had good taste and knew what would look good.

Martha was pregnant, though not showing yet, and so happy about it that she tended to bubble over.

As they often did, Scott's eyes strayed to the two pictures on the wall. Chris's picture, right next to one of Scott and Martha. Martha had put them there, with a similar set in the living room and one in the bedroom. The pictures in the bedroom, in fact, were wedding photos, in each case. A year of being married to Martha had taken a little of the edge off Scott's old grief for Chris's death, but he knew he'd never be completely over it. But thinking of how Martha accepted this, his love for Chris, without jealousy, made love and gratitude for Martha pour over his heart. It always did.

Martha smiled at him with a bit of question and concern in her face. He had lost track of the conversation and probably missed a question. He apologized for being distracted and not paying attention. She reached over and gave his hand a squeeze, and repeated what she had been saying.

Lynda also seemed a little preoccupied during the meal. Finally she put down her knife and fork and said, "Listen. You know I was always going out with a couple of guys at any one time, but most of the time one of them was Brian. And lately it's just been him. Not that other guys have stopped asking, but I've been turning them all down."

This really wasn't news at all to Scott and Martha. They'd heard reports on lots of Lynda's social life, but they'd known for sure where things were headed when Lynda stopped sitting with them in church, or with Rita and her husband, and started sitting with Brian every Sunday.

In fact, though they had agreed not to mention it to Lynda, from the very beginning of their marriage they had made it a priority to pray—every night in their nightly prayer time—for her to find a suitable husband, and for the two to be ready for each other. Of course she knew they sometimes prayed about this—they had prayed with her about related matters, as she had raised them. And, almost from the beginning, Scott had privately thought that Brian was both a likely choice for her and also a good one.

"Not that a lot of the other guys weren't really nice! You know, when I started coming to church with you, one thing that never occurred to me was that the available men my age would be so much nicer and, well, safer to go out with. I've only had to speak firmly to one guy, and it was just about wanting to kiss me when, well, things weren't where that was appropriate yet. Not about where he was putting his hands or anything! And even he was pretty nice. Things might even have gone that way eventually, but they didn't and won't.

"With Brian, well, he's a lot like you, Scott. A complete gentleman. He never even tried to kiss me until we were both starting to be in love. And at that point, he asked, not even if he could kiss me or anything—he told me his feelings were to the point where we should either talk about whether marriage was a possibility, or whether we should back away some. When I said I thought he might be the one for me, he did kiss me, with just a little oomph, but since then it's been a brief kiss with goodbye or occasionally with hello."

Scott said, "Well, if nothing else, any of them who grew up in this church, not that you probably know most of the time, have heard good teaching about dating. I mean, that it needs to be either just friends doing things together or else serious investigation of whether this person would be right as a husband or wife. Courtship, not recreational physical intimacy. Pastor Bill—" the youth pastor "—is very strong on that. Of course, some of them never take it to heart." He paused a moment. "And, of course, some who know it and believe it still fall into temptation. Not that you know anyone like that, of course."

"Well, anyway, Brian and I have been talking about getting married. The talks the three of us had, before you got engaged, have turned out to be very helpful, there. I haven't told him where I got all these topics and even specific questions, but we've gotten to know each other very well." She hesitated. "I think he's going to be like you, Scott, and come prepared with a ring, probably very soon, and ask me and expect an answer. Or ask me and plan to go ring-shopping, maybe. Anyway, along the way, I told him a couple of times I, well, I had a past, and I wasn't ready to talk about it to him—or anyone else!—unless he was sure he was ready to let it stay in the past. He didn't pursue it, but if he proposes I think he needs to know it all. If he can't accept it, knowing about it, then I need to say no. But I'm a little afraid."

Martha said, "You both know him a lot better than I do, but I think you can safely tell him. I think he'll probably be able to accept it. And even if he can't, I know he won't spread it around. That's part of what you're worried about, right?"

Lynda said, "Yes, it is."

Scott said, "I understand why you're nervous. I think the earlier time with Martha probably won't rattle him a bit, once he understands everything about it. I'm not so sure that he'll be OK with the part about me, but we owe it to him to tell him, and it sounds like now is the time. He's talked to me a little about this, knowing that we know you really well. I shouldn't go into detail, I think, but his concerns really have been on whether he's ready to be the kind of husband you're entitled to.

"And I didn't advise him either way—we talked in terms of issues—but I think he'll be very good for you if you do get married. For one thing, he's emotionally pretty stable. I think he'll be able to help you when you get emotional." He grinned at her. "And of course, he's only what, five eight or so? Tall enough for you to look up to him, but close enough to you that you can kiss him without bending his back into a pretzel, if you stand on tiptoes." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Can you ask him—no, I'd better, or else Martha. Let me call him right now."

He got through to him. "Brian, it's Scott. Lynda's having dinner with us, and she told us that the two of you have been discussing marriage, really working to make sure you're ready and that you're compatible. That's great to hear! And assuming you get to that point, I'll tell you Pastor Bob will be pleased. He'll go through that stuff with you, too, but by that time people sometimes aren't really able to use their brains. . . .

"Anyway, Martha and I wanted to invite you two to have dinner with us, maybe tomorrow night or Saturday, if one of those would work. . . .  Yes, we can talk about things you may not have thought of yet, and we want to, but we'd also just like to have you over. We know Lynda very well, and I know you pretty well, but we haven't really seen you two together to really talk to. . . .  Sure, Saturday evening. Why don't you pick Lynda up and bring her around six? Six thirty, then, and if you wind up running later, just let us know. Great! Saturday, then. Goodbye."

He looked at the women. "OK, I should have checked with you two about the timing. I know Martha would have jumped in if it wouldn't work. I hope you would have, too."

Lynda laughed. "I had plans I'll have to change now! Brian and I were going to go out to dinner, just to do something together. Now we'll have to cancel that and come here instead." She came over and gave each of them a hug. "Thank you, Scott. I've been dreading telling him about you. Having you there may make it worse, but I'll feel better about it. It's a load off my mind. Half a load, anyway."

Scott said, very seriously, "If I'm involved, we tell him everything. Not the details of who did what with whom when, but no lying and no misleading at all. If you're going to be married to him, well, my own opinion is that you owe that to each other all the time, but that's up to you two. For this, it's a requirement."

Lynda choked up a little, but didn't actually cry. "Scott, you taught me well on this. We discussed that, and I told him that if we were moving ahead at all that was necessary. I said we could refuse to tell something, but only if we said so clearly. I think he didn't exactly see why I wanted that, but he was willing."

Scott said, "You know we told Pastor Bob everything, too, with your permission. I think it may help if we tell Brian that, and tell him that if he has reservations he can talk to him about it too. Assuming that Saturday night goes OK, I'll tell the pastor so, so he won't think he'd be gossiping. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't discuss it with anyone unless we said it was OK."

Before long it was time for Lynda to leave. She exchanged hugs, and kisses on the cheek, with each of them. She told Scott, "I'm not looking forward to this, Scott, but thank you both for standing by me. I love you both."

2. Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man

Saturday evening Lynda and Brian arrived. Scott and Martha greeted them at the door, and hugs were exchanged all around. They all went into the kitchen. Martha was finishing getting dinner ready, lasagna, which was in the oven, so she was working on side dishes. Lynda and Scott both pitched in at times, but this also let Martha be part of the conversation. They normally ate in the kitchen except for formal occasions, anyway.

As they continued preparations and began to eat, they talked about events from church, mostly idle conversation. As Scott prayed before the meal, he asked for blessings and guidance for their conversation. This was normal whenever they had company, but on this occasion he emphasized it a little more.

After a bit, he said, "Lynda said that you were talking seriously about getting married, and she said she was trying to prepare the ground some by asking compatibility questions. I'm big on this, you know, and we spent weeks doing that kind of thing before we got married. And I'm sure you know Pastor Bob will want to do fairly extended premarital counseling, a lot of which covers that ground too.

"All the talking in the world is no guarantee, of course. You have to live things out day by day over years. But it can help get everyone on the same page, not to mention weeding out couples who shouldn't get married in the first place. Anyway, I'm interested to hear what you have to say at this point. Brian, I'm kind of asking you, but I really mean both of you. Lynda didn't go into any detail, and I'd have discouraged her if she tried without you here, except about superficial stuff. Even stuff that builds you up, I would be concerned lest it lead to other things.

"I warn you that I'll have some serious things to say, too. I think, I should say we both feel, um, kind of protective about Lynda. You remember what she said about us at the reception? We definitely have, well, parental feelings toward her. I'm not trying to scare you or anything. If there's anyone I'd trust to take good care of her, it's you. I just think you should know this isn't idle curiosity."

Martha put in, "Scott, honey, you really sound like a father doing the 'No young punk is good enough for my little girl' thing. Brian, it's not like that. I know what Scott thinks of you. He just thinks Lynda's been hurt enough that he wants to try and see that it doesn't happen again."

They spent half an hour or so talking about things Brian and Lynda had discussed. Scott was pleased with the answers both of them gave, and said so. He also told them that he was glad they were discussing these things, less because he thought they might be incompatible in some way than because knowing each others' feelings might help them avoid assumptions that might lead to hurt feelings and conflict later. He offered the old "Who takes out the garbage?" example as an illustration. Unsurprisingly, they both knew of it.

By this time the dinner was finished, and in fact things were pretty much cleared away. He asked, "Should we stay here to talk more? Or go into the living room?" Lynda said, "Can we please stay here? I think it helps us talk more freely." So they did.

Scott said, "Everything you've both said is good. But I said we have some other serious things we need to talk about. Brian, I want you to understand that our conversation from here on doesn't go beyond the four of us, with one exception. Martha and I discussed it all with Pastor when we started meeting with him, and you can feel free to talk to him about it as much as you wish. Lynda gave us her permission to tell him things that involved her, of course. I'll tell him tomorrow that we've gone over it with you, and that he's free to discuss it with you if you want to. And we'll feel free to talk to him about this discussion, too, if we need to. Is that all OK with you? I know in Bible study we've talked a lot about what the scripture has to say about gossip, and I hope I'm not asking more than that you act in accordance with that."

"Now you're getting me curious. But I agree, of course. Whatever in this is personal or might put anyone in a bad light, I'll keep to myself. And since Pastor Bob has pastoral responsibilities toward us all, I understand why you brought him into it. And he certainly won't gossip. Go ahead."

"Well, I'm the chief one to be put in a bad light by what we need to tell you, I'm afraid, and you need to keep that in mind. I'm going to have to confess some serious sin to you, and I'm ashamed of it even though it had several very good results. Or maybe—Lynda, I did have to put all this together for talking with Pastor about it, but if you want to tell it to Brian yourself I'll let you do so. What would you prefer?"

"Scott, I'd much rather let you. I'll put in things if I think it's necessary. But thank you."

"Good enough. Martha, you jump in too if I get anything wrong.

"OK, here goes. To start off with the main fact, and then go back and describe how it happened, I had a sexual relationship with Lynda lasting almost four months. She said she told you she'd had a past, and I'm afraid I'm part of it."

Martha put in, "Scott, that's either too much or not enough to start with. Brian, before that happened, Lynda and I were lovers, too. You really do need to know how all this happened, not as an excuse but so you know what you are dealing with in the future."

Scott said, "I was going to leave that for a bit later, but you're right, that's part of the bare facts. Now, Brian, here's what led up to this, starting a lot earlier and starting with Martha, since that came first and she's brought her part in a little.

"When Martha was in high school, at the time when she started dating, she found that the guys who asked her out were mostly interested in just one thing. When she put them off, they stopped asking her out. Later, in college, some of the same happened, but there were some other guys who were friends first who took her out some. She thinks that with some of them things might have gone somewhere, but I'm guessing they just didn't find that spark with her and did with other women, and the friendships went nowhere.