The Passenger by Jacqueline Druga (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📗

here. Trust me. We have a really cool, new contemporary service, you should stop by.”

“Jonas is now heading up the service as music leader,” Haley said. “Millie is so happy about that. Takes the pressure from her.”

“Really?” Grant asked. “You pick out the music for services?”

“And play,” Jonas replied. “Say, by some chance you don’t play, do you?”

“I … I actually do,” Grant replied. “I play keyboards, piano.”

Jonas looked at Haley then back to Grant. “We are in desperate need of a keyboard player. You wouldn’t by chance want to join us while you’re in town, would you?”

His request took Grant’s breath away and he could barely respond above a whisper, “Son, I would love nothing more than to play music with you. It would mean a lot.”

“Awesome.” Jonas shook his hand again. “This is great. We have rehearsal tonight at seven.”

“I’ll be there.”

“We’ll be waiting. Right now, we have to take the youth group outside.” He pointed. “Maw-Maw, Joe, catch you later?”

“You bet, bye, Chip,” Marge said, giving another squeeze to Grant’s hand and released it.

Grant stood, unable to move. He watched Jonas and Haley gathered the teens. Again, the blood rushed into his ears, muffling the sound of everything but his own fast beating heart.

His arm weighed a ton, and he could barely lift it to wave as the two of them and the teen group left.

“Grant,” Marge called him softly. “Are you all right?”

Grant nodded, took a step forward and turned. “My son,” his voice cracked, then, trembling with emotions. “I have not … I have not seen him so healthy in …” He closed his eyes. “I haven’t seen him smile in ...” He choked on his words. “Years. This was more than I expected. This is …” Grant couldn’t finish his sentence.

He held it in when he saw his son and everything he fought not to show came barreling forth and Grant was overcome. Weakened by it all, overwhelmed with relief, gratefulness and emotions, in the center aisle of the church, not far from the altar, Grant dropped to his knees and broke down.

TWENTY

Pastor Rick adamantly argued over how unethical he believed it was, he verbally expressed how appalled he was at the notion they weren’t going to tell Chip his true identity.

“Do you hear yourselves?” he asked, passionately. “Do you? This young man has been struggling with his identity for weeks and now we know who he is, and you don’t think we should tell him? Do you not think this man …” He pointed to Grant. “Would like nothing more than to tell his son how much he loves him and how worried about him, he was.”

Marge shook her head. “You aren’t listening. It’s not what Chip wants.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Pastor Rick leaned back in his chair.

“He said it,” Marge defended. “The only reason Grant is agreeing to this is because it’s his sons wishes.”

“I know he said it,” Pastor Rick replied. “But did he mean it? Maybe … just hear me out. Maybe he just knew deep down in his soul he wasn’t leading a … how can I put it, model life? Maybe he knew and just didn’t want to have to face it.”

“Oh, he did,” Marge said. “He told me he didn’t believe he was all that well behaved. I’m paraphrasing it nicely. But he didn’t want to have that confirmed, he wanted to remember because to quote him, he didn’t want himself to have to fit the narrative.”

Grant sighed out loudly. “I hope not. To be honest with you Pastor, I’m afraid if we tell him what he was like before, how he acted, either he won’t believe it or will feel like everything he is doing here isn’t worth it. I’m actually afraid of when he does get his memory back. I don’t know how the Chip you know will react to remembering how Jonas was.”

“Not telling him because we’re afraid doesn’t make it any less wrong,” Pastor Rick said. “We’re just supposed to keep calling him Chip?. Deceiving him? How is he going to feel when he finds out we all knew?”

Old Joe spoke up, “Like we kept our word to his wishes. Besides, how do we know this isn’t what God wants?”

“We can’t presume to know what God wants,” Pastor Rick argued. “Besides, why in the world would God want him to not remember?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Marge replied. “Maybe God needs him to see who he can be before he remembers who he was. And maybe God needs you, Grant, to spend time with him and remember who he was before he went down that destructive path. I know these past few years you probably missed him even when he was in the next room. Because he was not the boy you raised, loved or sacrificed for. I know. I bet Chip isn’t all that far off from Jonas before troubled times.”

Joe added. “But Jonas won’t remember even when his memory comes back. When they take a bad path, they pretend that person never existed. It makes them feel better or less guilty about how they are acting.”

“As good of arguments as all of you give,” Pastor Rick said. “I’m not convinced.’

Marge nodded. “Then let’s ask someone else who spends a lot of time with him.”

“Who?”

A single knock on the door, then Haley opened it and walked in.

“Wow,” Joe said. “The Lord works fast.”

Haley looked confused when she entered the office. “I can come back.”

“No,” Pastor Rick said. “Just the person we needed to see. Come on in. Where is Chip?”

“He’s with the group out back. What’s going on?” she asked.

“Haley, this is Grant Truett,” Pastor Rick said.

Haley nodded. “Yes, we’ve been introduced.”

“But you weren’t introduced to him as Chip’s father. He’s been searching for his son.”

“His … his …” Haley stuttered. “His father. Mr. Truett, I am relieved to hear you were looking for him. I’m so happy for him. Is his mother here?”

Grant shook his head. “No. She’s home.