© copywrite 2009 by Sarah Baughman

Chapter 5

Tuesday evening, Liz arrived at small group Bible study a little late. Rob Meyer drove his sports car up to the parking lot just as she stepped from her own car. He worked in the IT department for one of the larger corporations downtown. As she made her way to the door of the church, he jogged to catch up with her.

“Hey, Elizabeth! How are you doing this evening?”

“Oh, fine. How about you?”

“Just swell.” He sent a toothy grin her way, pushed his glasses up on his nose, and opened the door for her to walk into the church. They went to the room where the study met, which was filled with couches and coffee tables. The study had not yet started, but the room was full. A few people had cups of coffee or tea before them, and a plate of cookies on the counter by the kitchenette said that someone had been baking.

Liz quickly got a mug of Lady Grey tea, as well as a sugar cookie, and then turned to find a seat. There were two couches not yet full; all of the chairs were taken. One couch had a little space on it, but she would have to sit close to Zach Taylor. The other couch was empty except for Rob Meyer. She elected to sit on the far end of the couch from Rob.

“How was school today, Elizabeth?” asked Rob. He scooted a little closer to her.

“It was fine. There was a minor disaster when Pebbles, our class pet, escaped from his cage. I didn’t know if we’d ever find him!”

“Oh? Is he a rabbit?”

“No, Pebbles is—”

“A turtle,” finished Zach. He had risen from his seat, along with his Bible and coffee, and sauntered across the room. Liz glanced up at him, a little surprised by the way he was eying Rob.

“How did you know that?” she asked.

“Remember last year, when he got sick? He wouldn’t eat?”

“Sure, but—”

“You mentioned it here, at Bible study, in a prayer request.” Zach shrugged as he flopped down on the couch between Liz and Rob.

“And you remembered that?” she asked dubiously.

“Sure.” Zach shrugged, then grinned at Liz. He reached across to her left hand, where she still held the cookie, and broke off a piece. “May I?” He winked as he popped it into his mouth.

Liz frowned, but decided to let it go. The leader was beginning the study.

* * *

Zach listened to the study, even participated, but his mind was prayerful throughout the entire thing. He was worried. First of all, did Liz come with Rob? That could certainly complicate his plans. Secondly, it was much more difficult to break his habit of teasing than he had thought it would be. He was upset when Liz came in with Rob; all Zach wanted to do was to drag Liz into the hallway and tell her everything on his heart. Instead, he found himself behaving much as he’d always done. Maybe this wouldn’t be the appropriate time to tell her everything, anyway. He glanced over at her, his arm along the back of the sofa as it had been on the pew last Sunday. Her soft blond hair was so close to his fingers, if he just adjusted his hand a little. . .

With a start, he realized that the leader had asked him a question.

“Sorry, what?” A glance around the room revealed everyone looking at him a little oddly.

“Any prayer requests tonight?”

“Oh, um.” He paused. “Yes. For patience and guidance.”

“Regarding?”

“I’ll let you all know later. For now, just for patience and guidance.”

“Sure thing. Alright, let us pray.”


by Sarah Baughman (email: mailto:baughmanks@gmail.com)




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