Chasing our Fate

Stevvie hopped on the stone path, trying to entertain herself until all of the mud had washed off her clothes. The pouring rain drenched her body completely, yet it felt relieving to her. Stevvie’s only complaint was the effect it had on her makeup. She now resembled a wet raccoon.

“Am I done yet?” she yelled to the porch. Half of the younger kid as and teens watched contently as Stevvie frolicked around in the evening rain. She desperately wanted to get the mud that was currently staining her clothes off. It was Nick’s brilliant idea to go out in the rain rather than have him hose her off because it “saved water” and reluctantly, Stevvie agreed. Unlike most people, she didn’t find the idea of “dancing” or “singing” or even “kissing” in the rain appealing because why would someone want to purposed get soaked form head to toe fully clothed?

“Um…no baby, I think you missed a spot in the back…just a little bit longer,” Nick mused. Everyone snickered as she groaned loudly. Frustrated, she began to flail her limbs around ridiculously, giving her “audience” something to look at. Her toes squished in her ruined Jimmy Choos as she stomped on the ground, marching directly into a large puddle.

“Dance for us!” someone yelled to her.

Stevvie scoffed, knowing exactly who suggested such a ludicrous idea. “Very funny Todd! How about you join me too! I could use a dance partner!”

“Hey, don’t tempt me darling!” he replied, “Your mother’s right inside!”

A smirk was her reply as she continued to twirl around in the rain. Everyone laughed at their banter and cheered Stevvie on at Todd’s proposal, making her want to get out of the rain even more. Todd loved to make Stevvie the center of attention just because he knew she hated to be. She was relieved when Mrs. D and Jenny finally decided to save her for the “torture” she was in. Once Stevvie’s shivering tiny body made it to the porch, Todd began a round of applause for her being such a good sport. Nick immediately greeted her with a big fluffy towel and a sympathetic smile. With the help of the adults, all the children fled to the kitchen with the bribe of cheesecake and various sugary items, leaving the young couple alone. Once Stevvie felt warm enough, she pushed out of his grasp.

“Baby, you can’t still be mad at me?” Nick whined, “I swear I didn’t see the patch of mud behind you, and I said I was sorry for laughing at you like a thousand times.”

Yeah, but you still did,” Stevvie pouted.

“Well,” Nick sighed as he sauntered over to his upset girlfriend, placing his hands at her sides. As Stevvie tried to avoid his gaze, he gently guided her face to look up at him. With a small smile, he leaned down to place a soft kiss on her blue, ice-cold lips. In the beginning, she tried to refuse but quickly gave in. A rush of energy surged through both of them as they realized that this was their first intimate moment since they had gotten there. Even though Stevvie was freezing still, a rush of involuntary warmth overcame her. Nick chuckled when Stevvie sighed and finally melted into his arms. Even with the loudness of the ruckus that was occurring in the house and the rain pouring down, Nick and Stevvie managed to make the focus on each other. They were so wrapped up in their sudden eager feelings of love and romanticism, they didn’t even notice when Nick’s Grandmother entered on to the porch.

“Oh, hey Mama,” Nick became aware of her. Stevvie shyly removed herself from him and held his hand.

“Hey Nicholas,” Grandma Miller replied with a smile, “hey Stephanie, I didn’t mean to interrupt you too, but I just wanted to check on you, it’s cold out here. You two should be going in soon; this rain is only getting worse.”

“Yes ma’am,” Nick replied promptly, “and Stevvie’s doing okay, right babe?”

Stevvie nodded, pulling the towel closer to her wet body. “I’ll be fine, I just need some dry clothes form Danielle or Jess.”

Grandma Miller smiled in approval and gestured for the couple to sit on either sides of her on the swinging bench. “Come sit, I just want to talk since we really didn’t have a chance earlier.”

Nick took her left and Stevvie went for her right side, both turning to listen to his mother’s Mom. She had her same eyes and looked just like Denise. Stevvie found her very comfortingly sweet.

“So, you know your Papa and I got married when we were your ages,” she began, “I just got out of high school and I was so excited. Back then it wasn’t unusual to get married so young.”

“Didn’t you guys get hitched?” Nick asked.

Grandma Miller nodded fondly. “Yes, it was a small ceremony in the courthouse, but it was the fact that we were married that was important. Of course, later on we had a bigger ceremony for our parents’ sake.”

“Just like mine…” Stevvie said softly, “except, I was there of course.”

“how coincidental,” she mused, “I didn’t know Papa that long though…I think we dated for about two or three weeks and he just popped the question. I couldn’t say no.”

“Wow...I still can’t believe that…” Nick replied, “How did you know he was the one?”

She took his hand and gave it a sentimental squeeze, “I did the most complicated and simple thing a person can do: I followed my heart and I prayed to the Lord and he just somehow spoke to me and said that he was the one. I think that all people have that radar sort of thing in their hearts that helps point out that one special person, some people just pay attention to it more than others.”

“So, you didn’t have any second thoughts after you got married so soon?” Stevvie asked.

“Of course…financial thoughts, whether I was too young or even ready to settle down, but I just remembered that love has no limits and age is just a number. That’s what I want you two to remember. Don’t take yourselves too seriously with each other…you’re young and you have time to grow up together, and marriage doesn’t automatically mean you have to become boring.”

“I love you Mama,” Nick stated as he leaned his head on her shoulder, “you always inspire me and now I really have to go write this song.”
Both the girls laughed at Nick’s randomness but Stevvie knew exactly what he meant because she too was inspired. As their conversation about marriage continued, Nick and Stevvie exchanged looks every so often. Stevvie could automatically tell Nicholas needed to talk to her about something, but she couldn’t quite tell what he could possibly say.

<->

“What’s the verse again?” I asked.

“1 Corinthians 10:13. ‘No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.’ Got it?” Stevvie replied promptly, “this verse one of my favorites.”

I quickly crossed referenced the Bible verse in the various Bibles we had scattered on the table.

“Hmm, I always try to read my Kings James version and I get something totally different, I like that version better, or the New Kings James version, “I decided, “that’s a really powerful verse, why is it your favorite?”

Stevvie lit up and prepared her explanation. We were in a deep conversation about temptation during our Bible study session. It was something that Stevvie suggested before I went on tour; we were basically trying to read through the entire Bible together. I loved the idea because it gave us a common ground even though we were living in totally different worlds and forced us to keep in communication if (though it’s very unlikely) we lose our “spark” so to speak. Communication was the single most important thing that was going to make our break our relationship so I would doing anything to keep us going strong.
Besides getting to spend one on one time with her during our Bible studies, I loved that we were able to develop our relationship with God even more. We were growing a stronger and deeper connection with Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but we were able to connect with each other too. It was a win-win situation.

“Okay so…Temptation. It’s all around us, whether it’s food or a person. There is so many situations where faced with the scrutinizing decision of whether you should give in to it or not. I don’t think many people are actually looking whether it’s necessarily the right thing to do, but whether the consequences are brutal enough to not be worth it. In that verse, it says that God will provide you a way out and the only way you’re going to notice the way out is if you sincerely believe it and want a way out. For example, when people say they feel trapped in marriages and have no choice but to commit adultery to feel anything, but that’s obviously not true because if you feel that trapped, you should talk your spouse. According to the verse, God will give you a way out and maybe talking to your spouse is a way out. What do you think?”

I narrowed my eyes and digested her theory. She always came up with these obscure points of view, yet they made sense. She was easily able to transcribe the words of the Bible into our everyday lives.

“That makes sense. You’re right. I think that people don’t remember that when it comes to temptation, it’s not just an inner struggle, it’s a test of your strength and your relationship with the Lord. I can definitely relate to it and say the same for my struggles. When I am faced with temptation, I know that by looking to God, it helps me find a way to distract myself from it. Marriage is the perfect example for this verse. There are so many cases today that people make up excuses and blame temptation, but you can’t use it as an excuse for your errors. Marriage is still so sacred to me, and I just can’t imagine ever hurting someone by doing something like that. People undermine marriage nowadays so much, and it’s so easy to get
out of it. It’s frustrating to me.”

“Yes, I know what you mean. People rush into things to soon. I think that’s the problem,” Stevvie theorized, “you know? If you go through all the trouble of getting married, you should really want to be committed to that person. Not only that, but truly know them inside and out.”

A smile formed on my face as she passionately gushed about marriage. Her vocabulary extended to its full capabilities and her sentences became immaculate. Stevie was a strongly opinionated person and didn’t hold back on letting people know her views if they wanted to know, no matter what people thought.

“Contrary to this ostensible world we’re living in where people want things instantly, I would much rather prefer the prolonged process of dating, and not knowing when the guy is planning on proposing, it seems antagonizing and audacious all at the same time. I wouldn’t want to just agree to get married just because.”

“Exactly!” I agreed enthusiastically, “People go through this awkward area of being together and living as if they’re married. Like living together and even having kids. Am I wrong for wanting to wait until after the wedding to experience those things?”

Stevvie paused, rubbed her chin and finally answered. “That’s where I’m afraid I have to disagree. I actually think it would be better for a relationship to live together before you get married.”

I narrowed my eyes, surprised at her answer. “Really…can you explain why?”

“Absolutely,” she replied confidently, “To give the relationship a trial run before marriage.
There is so many little things that two people could disagree on inside the home. How would you ever know what exactly you’re getting into when you get married? You wouldn’t by a car without test driving it would you?”

“Well, no. But, marriage and living together are totally different things. When you’re married, you’re committed. It’s a different mindset and a totally different ballpark from dating. Why bring something that’s only reserved for married couples into an unmarried couple’s relationship? Your things become our things, but when you’re still dating your things are still yours. So, even if it’s a ‘test run’, you can never truly compare it to marriage, therefore, you shouldn’t live together before marriage. “ I argued.

“Nicholas, look at the technical things though. What if I picked my toenails and collected them in the bathroom sink and you just found out after you’re stuck with me. Or, what if I never did laundry and the house was always messy or I kept old pizza in my room until it spoils. Wouldn’t you want to be warned about that?”

“Okay gross…but I know that’s not true because this goes back to your statement that people should know each inside and out before they marry. When I truly know you inside out, including all your gross habits, I ‘m going to marry you.”

Stevvie pushed her hair back to get ready for another long explanation. “But how are you going to accomplish knowing me inside and out if you haven’t spent more than 48 hours with me at a time? Wait…you said when….not if…you’re going to marry me? W-When did you decide this?”