Pages of Promise (24 page)
“Did she now? I wonder why that is, Jake.”
“It’s because I’m not a Christian.”
“Then I’m not surprised she turned you down,” Amos said. “She’s been well brought up. What are you going to do about it?”
The question caught Taylor off guard, a difficult thing to do. “What do you mean, what am I going to do about it?”
Amos responded testily, “You got something against the English language, Jake? I mean exactly what I said. What are you going to do about it? I’ve known for a long time that you were in love with my granddaughter. Don’t blame you a bit. Question is, how much do you love her?”
Shifting uncomfortably in his chair, Taylor thought about the question. “I’m not much on talking about things like this,” he admitted, “but I’ve got the suspicion that I’ll never love another one like her.”
“If that’s so, why don’t you marry her?”
“I’ve already told you—”
“I know what you told me, and all you have to do is become a Christian.”
Amos laughed at the blank expression on Jake’s face. “If you’re such a smart fella, I’m surprised you didn’t figure that out for yourself.” He leaned forward and said, “For years now I’ve been talking to you about what fools people are to ignore the most important thing in life. Has it all gone over your head? Didn’t some of it find a lodging in that thick skull of yours?”
Amos’s abrupt attitude amused Taylor. “You would have been a wonderful member of the Inquisition,” he said. “Put a man on the rack and make him answer one way or another.” Then he became more serious. “I know you think I’m an irreligious dog, Amos, but believe it or not I have paid attention to the things you said. As a matter of fact, I went out and bought a Bible.” He smiled cynically, adding, “I keep it at home so none of my fellow workers will know what good ways I’m falling into.”
The sun was a fraction lower now, and its beam struck Taylor’s face, illuminating his craggy, scarred features. He was totally serious, and he was honest with Amos. He had been far away from God when he had first come to work for the
Examiner,
but Amos’s fairness, steadiness, and apparent goodness, in spite of his gruff manner, had been the telling factor on Taylor. He had said little, but as Amos had spoken of his faith with him time and time again, it had sunk in. Then when he met other members of the Stuart family and found the same vein of rock-hard conviction about Jesus Christ, it had caused him to consider his own life. He had not been happy, though now he was moderately successful, the rising star of the paper, a sure bet to replace Amos when the old man retired. Taylor had spent many sleepless nights thumbing through the Bible and had gone to a few different churches, listening carefully to the sermons, trying to unite what he heard with his own hard-bitten creed of naturalism. He had learned growing up that the world was dog-eat-dog, but Jesus of Nazareth, as he appeared in the pages of the Bible, had shaken that resolution.
After a long silence, Taylor said, “It’s hard for me to talk about things like this. Stephanie said I’m a sentimentalist, but I keep it covered over.”
“Most men do that, Jake. But it takes a strong man to follow Jesus in these times. I think you’re strong enough to do it, and to be truthful, I may not have many more of these talks with you, so I wanted to make it clear how I feel.”
The words tilted Taylor’s face up quickly, and for a moment he could not speak. He said awkwardly, “I lost my father when I was very young. You may not like this, but I’ve kind of put you in his place, in my own mind.”
Amos opened his eyes wider, then he, too, smiled. “Well, I guess we’re falling into sentimentality, but truth is, I’ve wanted to see a young man like you as a son. You’ll be sitting in this office one day, and I want you to do it as a Christian. Now, let’s talk about how someone comes into the kingdom of God. . . .”
The phone rang, and Stephanie put down the toast she had been eating and reached across the table to pick up the receiver. “Hello.”
Stephanie heard first the voice of the overseas operator, then her mother’s voice. “Stephanie . . .”
Instantly she heard the note of fear in it. “What is it, Mom?” she said quickly.
“It’s–it’s Grandpa. He’s had a heart attack,” said Bonnie.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes, but he’s in intensive care at Mercy Hospital. Your dad and I are leaving for the airport in a few minutes. Can you get to Chicago?”
“I’ll get the next flight.”
Twenty-four hours later, more weary than she’d ever been, Stephanie sat in a hospital hallway outside a door with a glass panel.
The elevator door opened, and Stephanie saw Jake get off. She rose and ran to him, and he caught her in his arms. “How is he?” Jake asked.
“Not good. He can only have one visitor every four hours. Grandma is with him now. Dad and Mom and Aunt Maury and Uncle Ted went to get something to eat.” She trembled in his arms, and he led her over to the seat.
“What are they doing for him?” he asked. They sat down and he held her with one arm, his other hand pinioned by hers as she held to him desperately.
When she had finished the details, she looked up at him with tears filling her eyes. “We’ve been so close. He’s such a wonderful man.”
Jake’s throat was full, and he found himself blinking back the tears. He cleared his throat, then whispered, “He’ll pull through. He’s a pretty tough old bird.”
Jerry and the others returned and brought sandwiches with them for Rose and Stephanie.
When Rose’s visiting time was up, she came out in the hall. “Mom,” Jerry said, “Let me take you and Stephanie home for a while. She’s beat and you need some rest, too. Maury will be here, and I’ll come right back. We can call you if anything changes.”
Jake said to Jerry, “I’ll be glad to drive them, if you’d rather stay.” So it was arranged. Jake took Rose and Stephanie to Rose’s house, promising to pick them up again at six.
Stephanie dropped into an exhausted sleep immediately, and Rose lay quietly, crying at the thought that she might never again share this bed with her husband of so many years.
Back at the hospital that evening, Jake sat with Stephanie and her family for hours, and during that time his mind was absorbed with three concerns. He was worried about Amos, lying with tubes and electrodes fastened to him. He was concerned with Stephanie and with trying to comfort her when he knew he had no comfort to give. He had never felt so empty or so helpless. And his mind was on the conversation he’d had with Amos just two days before, about Jesus Christ. Jake had lain awake most of that night thinking about it and since news had come about Amos’s heart attack, it had been an insistent beating in his brain, the pleas of Amos for him to turn his life over to God.
When another four hours had passed, Stephanie said, “You go see him this time,” and when Rose nodded her agreement he went. He was shocked by the array of wires and tubes attached to the sick man, and when he looked down at Amos he thought with a start that he was dead, but Amos opened his eyes and whispered, “Hello, Jake.”
Jake leaned over and put his hand on the thin shoulder. “You’re all right, boss,” he said. “You’ll come out of this.”
Amos lay quietly and then said, “Have you thought about what we talked about?” His eyes opened wider. “It would make me feel a lot better, Jake, if you would find God before I have to leave.”
Jake suddenly knew that there was no other way. His own heart had inclined him to this, and with Amos looking up at him with a plea in his faded eyes, he made a decision. He was a man who knew how to make decisions and how to make them quickly and cleanly and sharply.
“Amos, I’ll give my life to God right now. I’ll follow Jesus Christ no matter what it costs.” He bowed his head and began to pray, and when he had finished and opened his eyes, he saw Amos studying him and the old man said, “You’re a man who knows how to be tough and to stand with what you decide.” He was quiet for a moment, then he smiled and whispered, “Go tell Stephanie.”
Stephanie looked up to see Jake coming through the door. She stood up and said, “How was he?”
“I can’t tell. He doesn’t look any better.” Then he took her hands and said, “I can tell you one thing, though, I’ve made up my mind to obey God!”
Instantly Stephanie knew that this was a different Jake Taylor. Something about him had changed, and as he pulled her over to the bench and began to speak, her heart began to fill. When he finished, she saw the tears in his eyes and threw her arms around his neck. An attendant passed by and looked at them askance, then smiled and disappeared through the door.
C
layton Robbins was a tall man with warm brown eyes and a thick shock of brown hair badly in need of trimming. He had graduated from medical school at the top of his class, and insofar as technology, technique, and skill with the tools of his trade, there was no one better in the city of Chicago. He was, however, less certain and able when it came to giving bad news to the families of his patients. Always when it was necessary to give the sort of news that he had to give to Rose Stuart and her children, Dr. Robbins wished he was pumping gas or selling aluminum siding.
As soon as he stepped into the waiting area, his eyes fell on the family. He went at once to Rose, with whom he had talked several times. She was in her mid-seventies, he judged, and probably a very striking woman when she was young. She was still trim, and her hair was a beautiful silver. As cheerfully as he could, Robbins said, “Well, he’s still holding his own.”
Rose Stuart was not a woman easily fooled. She had studied the doctor’s face as he had crossed the room, noting the effort he had to put forth to smile and the fact that he could not meet her eyes. “We want to know the truth, Dr. Robbins. Is he going to survive this?”
Nervously Robbins cleared his throat. He studied the woman’s face, also the face of the tall, fine-looking man with the graying hair and green eyes. He remembered that this was Jerry, the son. The red-haired woman at Jerry’s right was a daughter, but he could not think of her name for a moment. She was watching him carefully. He didn’t recognize the other two women there with them, one in a wheelchair.
“These cases are always difficult.” He wished that he was more of an actor. Still, it did not matter in the end. They had to know the truth. With his hands outspread he said, “It’s not good news, Mrs. Stuart. The attack damaged the heart very severely. If you have other family, I would suggest that you send for them.”
Jerry stood stock-still for a moment, feeling as if all the air had been sucked out of the room, and then he said, “Are you sure about that, Doctor?”
“I don’t put things like this unless I’m very sure,” Robbins said kindly. “I’m so sorry. I wish there was more we could do, but he’s only hanging on by a thread now.”
Rose’s eyes closed, and her lips drew tight. She swayed slightly, and Jerry steadied her. His sister, Maury, came around and put her arm around her mother, saying nothing, but holding her and weeping. Rose opened her eyes and said evenly, “Thank you for your honesty, Doctor. We’ll send for the rest of the family at once. Can I see him now?”
“Yes, you may see him any time you please, Mrs. Stuart.” He hesitated, then put out his hand. When she put hers in it, he enclosed it with his other one and said earnestly, “I’m so very sorry. I wish there were more that I could do.”
“You’ve been all that a doctor could be, and we thank you so much,” Rose said. She turned to Jerry, who wrapped his arms around her, and they cried quietly. After a few moments, Jerry turned to Maury and said, “I’m going to get to a phone and call everyone. You go with Mom.”
“Jerry, why don’t you let me do that,” said Lenora, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Stay with your mom and dad as much as you can.”
“I’ll help you,” said Christie. “Mario’s waiting for me to call, then I’ll call Lylah and Owen, and you can call Pete and Gavin and Logan—it’ll be hard on him so soon after losing Anne.” Both women felt less overwhelmed by the impending loss when there was something they could do. Jerry kissed his aunts and thanked them.
Amos’s heart was so fragile that the nurses and doctors kept a round-the-clock watch on the machinery and instruments that monitored him. One of the nurses rustling about in her starched uniform was a pretty young woman in her mid-twenties. She leaned over once and patted his cheek. “You’re going to be fine, Mr. Stuart.”
Amos, weak as he was, smiled at her and said, “I don’t have many virtues, missy, but stubbornness is one of them. You can bet your big starched cap that I won’t go to meet my Lord until I have seen all my brothers and sisters and my grandchildren.”
The family began to arrive in Chicago at once. Mario, Christie’s husband, reserved rooms at a nearby hotel, including one for his sister-in-law to rest in when she could. As they arrived, each sibling and each grandchild had a private visit, a chance to share final thoughts and words, a chance to say good-bye. It seemed to comfort them, and all of them marveled at the clarity of Amos’s mind in spite of his physical weakness.
Rose began her vigil. She went into Amos’s room and sat down. She took his frail hand in hers, and the two smiled at each other.
“I hate to leave you, Rose, but I think it’s best,” Amos whispered. He found the strength to squeeze her hand and added, “You were always tougher than I was. You can make it for a little while without me—but I couldn’t make it without you, sweetheart.”
Rose leaned over, kissed him on the cheek, and smoothed his hair back. “I won’t be long,” she said. “You never had to wait long for me, did you? It won’t be any different this time.”
“We’ve had a good time, haven’t we, Rose,” Amos said. They spoke of their love for each other that had been the strongest thing, aside from their love for the Lord. They smiled again at old jokes and things that happened when they courted, at funny things the children had said when they were tykes. “I love to see you smile,” he said.
Jerry and Maury each came in from time to time, not staying long for fear of weakening him more quickly. But sometime before first light, Amos indicated that he wanted them to stay. There were chairs brought in and they sat at one side of the bed, while Rose sat on the other, holding his hand.