Let's Make a Deal Pt. 18- Epilogue

Lynda broke in, "What you said a minute ago reminds me, fatherly interest, I need to ask you. Well, there are a few months yet, but still. I want you and Martha to give me away, when we get married. Will you do that? That's one more thing for you to have to do in the wedding. If it's OK with Brian, of course." She looked at him. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Why would I mind? Oh, with what I know now, I guess there's a kind of a double meaning there, but of course I don't mind. Except, what about your parents?"

They all knew that Lynda had reconciled with her mother, though Brian hadn't known until that evening the whole story of why the rift had been so deep. She said, "I'll invite them to come, for sure, and Mom may even come, though I may have to arrange transportation. She'll understand very well why I wouldn't ask them to give me away. I left home a long time ago, and I've been on my own. And I've told her how well you two have taken care of me. That's no problem. She even knows that you urged me to forgive them, and that that's why I got back in touch with them. I know she wants to meet you both. But you know, she passes some things I say along to Dad. She says he's quit grumbling just about her having contact with me. He might even come. I can hope, anyway."

Martha said, "We'll keep praying. We have been."

Scott said to Brian, "You probably know this already, but Lynda has a really big stubborn streak when it comes to her sense of justice and fairness. You saw how she took me to task earlier? That's typical. I'm afraid I've seen it most when she thought I was being too generous toward her and Martha and too hard on myself. You'll have to guide this in her, it's one of her great virtues but sometimes she's wrong. Sometimes she has been, in laying down the law to me. But most of the time she's dead right. Remember that dinner call, during our honeymoon?

"And one more random thought. I've kept telling you that Lynda has been hurt, badly. She's recovered amazingly well, but sometimes it gets triggered and comes to the surface. At those times, she'll need you to comfort her and remind her that it's past and that you're there for her. Now, a little earlier this happened. You didn't do anything. I went and hugged her. And that's fine, she needs to know there are a lot of people who care about her and will support her. But you need to really watch for this, and respond quickly and decisively. She's yours to take care of and defend, even now—more so after you're married, of course. If she feels, and I said 'feels' not 'thinks', that she can't rely on you for this, you'll hurt her, a lot, and it will damage your relationship.

"And I know you've been asked, more than once, to serve as elder. Never mind the fact that I myself think this is part of your calling. You've pled lack of time, and I know you're not just making excuses, to get out of saying yes. But taking on a wife is also a commitment that will demand time from you, a lot of it. You're going to have to go to them and say you can't put in that many hours, and make it stick. I know it will be hard for them, but they're going to have to somehow convince some of your clients to go to other people, and hire someone if that's what it takes, if there's really too much work for everyone. You can be sure that if I see you neglecting Lynda to make sixty hour weeks, I'll get on your case about it!"

Brian said, "I'm ahead of you on that one. I was sure enough that Lynda would say yes—" he took hold of her hand and smiled at her "—that I've brought it up. I should have put my foot down on that a long time ago, I know. I don't think I'll ever get down to a straight forty hours, but they know that I'm going to be saying no to clients a lot more often, and they're looking harder for someone to share the load. It's hard because the partners aren't the only ones—those clients trust me, personally, and I hate feeling that I've let them down, but this gives me an extra incentive.

"And it's too bad, but I'll have to keep dealing with this forever, because almost all of those partners are workaholics, and everything else gets whatever time and attention are left over. There will always be pressure to do just a little more. They won't really understand, but they'll have to learn."

"Make sure you do keep at it. And you know—I just told you again—that I am very sure you're called to serve as an elder. Better you than me! But you need to not consider taking that on for at least a year or two after you're married. And even then you'll have to cut back some more on your job."

Brian said to Lynda, "He's probably right that eventually I'll be serving as an elder. In talking with you I've had to keep that in mind. I'm really confident that you can handle the things an elder's wife has to, or I wouldn't have ever let things get this far. But I should have warned you earlier. I just didn't think about it." She hugged him.

Brian went on, to Martha, "Actually, Scott probably should be an elder ahead of me. As long as you're in this church, I think you won't have to worry about it. There are a few things, minor ones, on the doctrinal statement, which would make him decline it. Otherwise, he'd have been an elder before now."

Scott said, "It's a responsibility I would never want anyway. And now that you bring it up, I'm unqualified, in any church I'd ever be willing to be a member of. That thing in I Timothy, and in Titus too, usually translated 'husband of one wife,' it's apparently more like 'man of one woman'. I'm ashamed and sorry to have violated that—honestly, even though so much good has come from it!—but it does rule me out. Another unexpected result to be thankful for!"

Brian said, "I think some people would argue that past sins, truly repented of, with no danger of being repeated, would be no barrier. If it weren't moot, I'd argue that way myself."

Scott said, "There's also another requirement worth mentioning, given in both 1 and 2 Timothy, being able to teach. Anyone who's ever seen me in front of anything like a Sunday School class knows I don't meet that."

Brian started to say something, but Martha jumped in first. "Scott, you're looking for excuses. I can't tell you exactly where it is, and I certainly can't quote it perfectly the way I'm sure you can, but somewhere Paul said something to one of the churches he had planted—Galatians? I think it can't be the Colossians—anyway, he said something like, anyone else might argue that I'm not an apostle, but you can't, because you are the proof that I am one. Scott, you have at least two of us right here who are proof positive that you're able to teach. From things Brian's said, I think he rates the same, too."

Brian laughed. "Out of the mouths of babes!" He laughed again. "She's right, of course, and you can't deny it! I need to remember that in case it comes up again. Martha, it's somewhere toward the middle of 1 Corinthians, shortly before the discussion of eating food sacrificed—symbolically offered, basically—to idols." He grinned at Scott and Martha. "Martha, anyone who really knows Scott could have known in advance that any woman he would marry would be smart and well-read and able to get to the heart of things, and you've just shown that once again. And we would have known he wouldn't insist on good looks the same way, that's just way lower on the list of what's important to him. I'm just glad for his sake that when he found the right woman, you proved to be beautiful as well. He'd have loved you just as much if you were pretty plain, you realize, but this is another place where God provided abundantly."

Lynda, dropped Brian's arm, which she'd been clinging tightly to, and struck a pose, back of her hand to her forehead. "Oh! What did I ever do to deserve this? Somehow, all the men I fall in love with enjoy complimenting other women on their appearance. Or one other woman, anyway! And then they're addicted to bad puns!" She took his arm again, and said to Scott, "At least, Brian's wordplay doesn't involve references to obscure books by people I've never heard of, or another language or two!" She went back to clinging tightly to Brian's arm again, and kissed his cheek.

Scott was confident that Brian had seen Lynda being emotional often enough to recognize this as teasing. He considered quibbling with Martha's analysis of the passage she had cited, and decided not to do so. For the time being.

Brian, however, didn't just let it go. He pulled his arm loose from Lynda's grip and put it around her for a gentle hug. "Are you telling me you don't want to go through with it? Am I jilted already?" Lynda just took possession of his arm again.

She did go on, after a moment. "Brian really is pretty much like you, in this, though. He made sure I know that he enjoys looking at women, and that his standards for, um, female beauty aren't very narrow. And just like you, he isn't thinking much of sex when he enjoys women's appearance. And I know firsthand that he's an absolute gentleman about it, in every way. Just like you. And he knows that I don't expect to be jealous about that, ever. We agree that any flirting is unacceptable, including, well, looking too hard, but enjoying people's appearance is fine. I'm almost as likely as Brian to do that, I think." She squeezed his arm again.

Scott looked at Martha. "At any rate, there were some initial questions about my serving that way, as an elder or something similar, and I explained about the doctrinal things—I told you what they were, way back, though I didn't put it in that context. The issues are all things that don't affect membership, but they're on the list for spiritual leadership, so I won't be preaching or teaching Sunday School or leading a fellowship group, either. In fact, when I started playing guitar, I think there was some discussion. And that one letter from Lynda's mother shows that there needed to be! Some people see me up there every week and think I'm in spiritual leadership. I guess the pastor and elders did believe me when I said I had no plans to try to undermine the church's position on those things, though."

Brian said, "They understand why you take the positions you do, and recognize them as points well-founded Christians do disagree on. I know Pastor for sure respects you for your stands and your attitude." Scott looked at him in surprise. "You were meeting with me regularly, guitar lessons, OK, but we talked about a lot more, remember? I may have known you better than anyone else, and I was consulted. And I could say very definitely that if something like that came up, you were ready to say what you thought, and why, but you always made very clear indeed that you were differing from the church's teaching. And not once did you ever try to convince me to change my mind on something like that. You said why you thought what you did, on these things and others, but you were explaining, not arguing. Bob could say so, too, and I'm sure he did." Bob was the elder who led their fellowship group.

He added to Martha and Lynda, "This was when he was being considered for membership. He hadn't actually asked for it, but a lot of the leaders wanted to urge him to join. Some people knew why he would have reservations, so there was behind-the-scenes discussion. From what he and others said to me, they leaned on him pretty hard. And as far as being able to teach goes, I know Bob often asks him to explain points in our group. And it's almost always helpful to us all."

They talked a little more, and then Scott said, "Before you go, we should pray, and I have a passage to offer you." They all settled back, and he recited Psalm 127. Then he went through it in pieces, pointing very briefly out how the first section reminded them that people's own actions were at best the means for the Lord's workings, and that it is useless to pour effort into things that aren't the Lord's purposes. This also means that people have to trust the Lord's provision at every step. The rest of the psalm is one application of this, to children as a blessing from the Lord. He provides them. People are not to go to great lengths to force the issue, when he doesn't—here Scott adduced the example of Abraham and Hagar. Scott said all this in more detail, of course.

He finished up by saying, "Partly, this is on my mind in thinking of you two. I have to admit that partly I'm thinking of Martha and me, of course." He reached over and grabbed her hand. "If it's God's will, in just a few months we'll have a child. Barring miracles, given our ages we can't expect a very full quiver, but the Lord seems to be providing this for us. I often find it hard to trust God's provision, wanting to make sure for myself.

"This psalm is a warning for me, personally, in two ways. I need to trust him to provide what's needed, whether it's everything I want or not, and be content with what he gives, and I need to make sure that what I'm doing is in line with his will. Related, but different. You two will have to keep this in mind for yourselves, as you prepare for marriage. All the compatibility questions Lynda has been raising are good, it's important to count the cost. But keep in mind that those are only a tool for recognizing the Lord's will and for dealing ahead of time with problems, where you can. You can't be the ones in control. There are no guarantees, except God's faithfulness in all things."

They spent a while praying, for themselves and for others with needs that they knew of. Scott and Martha prayed in particular for Brian and Lynda's relationship, for all that would have to happen before the wedding, for Brian as he absorbed all the surprises they'd sprung on him that evening. They all prayed for Lynda's parents, too. Then Brian and Lynda took their leave.

Scott said to Martha, "That went much better than I'd been afraid it would. I think they'll do well together."

"You worry too much. I'm sure he's not going to hold this against her, or you. And they're almost as perfect for each other as you are for me."

"What, and you're not for me?" He paused. "I know, I've said it before. But . . . the other day, when my attention went missing? I was thinking again what a blessing you are for me—how many women I've heard of who insist on getting rid of all pictures of their husbands' former wives. And you actually put Chris's picture up, right next to yours! I only wish I could be half that good to you!"

"You are. Believe it."

4. Who finds a wife finds what is good, and gains favor from the Lord.

They kissed, then finished cleaning up. Scott rinsed dishes for the dishwasher, and washed the lasagna dish after it had soaked a little. Then he sat and talked to Martha as she finished a few more things. After she was done, she sat down in his lap and kissed him, and said, "Honey, I have a small confession to make. I understand why we couldn't do it, but . . . I still kind of miss what the three of us had. And not just because in a few months sex will be out for me. Seeing you with her was always the biggest turn-on there ever was, for me. I really don't want it, and I mean that, but I can't help wishing a little.

"Partly, too, I've worried that she was getting the short end of the stick. That won't be true at all, much longer. And you know I'm not really sorry at all to have you all to myself, other than that."

"Martha, honey, you know I love you. You're what I want. And I do mostly feel like a father to her, and that's what I want to feel. Really and truly. Sometimes I, well, I wish we could be together again, too, or at least I fantasize a little, but less as time goes on, and I hope it will keep getting less. It's like any addiction, I've heard it from smokers and alcoholics who've quit. The desire dwindles, and then some circumstance reminds them and the desire returns full strength. It gets better, but it's never totally gone. For most people, anyway—sometimes God really does provide a miracle.

"But, well, you two loved each other, and I don't mean sex, and when it came to it, as far as I know jealousy over me never came into it. But if you look at history, that's rare and probably temporary. In a few months, the Lord providing, we'll have a child. You'll need extra attention from me, at the same time your own attention is divided. Would you have wound up jealous because she'd been with me so much because you couldn't be? Would she have wound up jealous because you got extra care from me due to the baby? We'll never know, but think of Rachael and Leah. They probably had rivalries before Jacob came along, OK, but look at the dynamics there, and elsewhere. Now Lynda's planning to marry someone who will be all hers, and take care of her properly. He's a really good man, and a good choice for her. I for one am overjoyed."

"I know you're right, and she's still our beloved friend. Sister, daughter, whatever. I just miss what we had, whatever was wrong with it. I'm glad to hear that you really don't regret having me to yourself, though.

"And, well, you know how it is. All this discussion is enough to have turned me on pretty completely. Can we get to bed now, love? Really quickly?"

"Well, one thing first. 'Kiss me like you mean it.'" So she did. And then they did.

Author's final note:

The original idea for this story came from a letter to an advice column, Ask Amy, I think published January 17, 2016. (I found it here, but of course it might be gone by the time you read this.) At any rate, a few details made it into the first scene in Part 1 (remember Part 1?), but clearly the real events were not going to go in the direction this story did, and all details in that scene about the specific characters in this story are fictional.

Some parts of Scott's history are based on real events in my own life. Don't jump to conclusions about what they are, though.

I'd like to close with three quotations from a writer I much admire (Oliver La Farge), one itself a warning against conclusion-jumping, the second relevant to Scott's motivations, and the third explaining in part why this story got so long. If you don't care about that, then by all means stop here.

All writing is in one sense autobiographical, although nothing is more exasperating to the novelist than the peanut-minds which insist on reading literal autobiography into the sequence of his tales. The heroine of my first published novel was an Indian girl who had been at one time a prostitute; she then had worked her way up to being a kept woman, and finally all but wrecked her marriage by keeping up a little commercial sideline. Despite this remarkable background for a character whom, nevertheless, I succeeded in getting the general public to accept with liking and sympathy, literally dozens of idiots, mainly female, have told me that they were sure my wife was the original of Slim Girl. The only reasonable answer to which is, 'Certainly, madam, I got her out of a sporting house.'

**************

A man grown up, especially one who has a talent for loneliness, feels increasingly not merely the desire for fun in bed, but for a complement and companion in the other sex. The Indians among whom I have lived always felt rather sorry for me when I was a bachelor. This was not because they felt that I lacked for gratifications, but because to them an adult, single man was incomplete. Their sense of this rounding out of an individual by marriage is very deep and, I think, partly explains the great harmony prevailing in their homes. When I appeared among them married, those who cared for me manifested their pleasure, and I could see that I entered into a closer relationship with them. Indians are conscious of this; we all have it instinctively. It is the foundation of real love and a true relationship. It does not exclude or minimize the act of passion, but deepens it and makes it greater by setting it into its context.