I’m not quite sure what to say about today. Nothing went quite as I hoped, and yet I think it will all end up better than I could have imagined. It is strange, sometimes, how things fall into place.
Kyle and Anna have settled on a favorite meeting place in the evenings—there is a coffee shop almost precisely halfway between Anna’s apartment and the recital hall where Kyle has rehearsals. Since he rehearses in the evenings, they will get together afterwards for an hour or two, sharing coffee and company. This evening, Anna was a bit early, so she took a book with her. But it was only a few moments after she had taken a seat at one of the tables that someone else settled into the chair across from her.
“That was fast,” she said, scrambling to put her bookmark in. “Did you get done early?” She spoke so quickly and eagerly, that she had completed this thought by the time she looked up and saw that the person who had joined her was not Kyle.
Rob watched the happiness drain from her face, and it made his mood sour. “That bad, huh?” he asked.
“No, no,” Anna protested, but she glanced over his shoulder to check that Kyle had not yet arrived. “It’s good to see you. What brings you out this way?”
He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “Had a work meeting, and then I didn’t feel like going home yet. What about you? This is a little ways from your place, isn’t it?”
Anna’s eyes flickered to the door again, and Rob’s mood sank a little lower. “Meeting someone?” he asked her.
Her first impulse was to lie, but I reminded her that she had nothing to be ashamed of, and so she lifted her chin a bit. “Yes, actually. My boyfriend.”
“Really? Nice. Is he that same guy I saw you with last time I was at Bible study?”
“No.”
Rob smirked. “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d be with him long.”
Anna closed her book. “If you’re going to be rude, I’m leaving,” she said.
“Wait, no—I’m sorry,” Rob said, holding out his hands as she started to get up. “Look, I am. Just—sit a second with me. I’ll behave, I promise.”
Anna hesitated, but there was real chagrin in Rob’s spirit, and so I reassured her. She settled back in her chair, waiting.
He sighed and tapped his fingers on the table. “I really don’t mean to be such an asshole to you,” he said. “It’s just—sometimes it all seems so stupid to me, Annie. We were so good together, and then—”
“My faith is not stupid,” Anna said coolly.
“No, of course it’s not, and I’m not saying it is, I just—” Rob rubbed his eyes. “I guess I just don’t get why we couldn’t work it out somehow. You never gave me a chance, Anna.”
Anna sighed and reached across the table to cover his hand with her own. “I gave you a dozen chances, Rob,” she said. “To be a part of it, to take an interest—you never wanted anything to do with it.”
“So, what, we have to share every single part of our lives together?” he demanded, sitting back and scowling at her. “That doesn’t sound healthy to me.”
“No, but something that huge does have to be shared.”
“It’s not that huge,” Rob said.
“It is to me,” Anna replied.
They were quiet for a long moment, gazing at one another. And it was in that moment, of course, that Kyle walked into the shop.
If I had thought of it, I would have tried to delay him somehow, but I was too caught up in the conversation between Anna and Rob. And my first impulse on seeing him was to move him away from them, but I did not want him to misunderstand. After all, Anna’s spirit was calm—whatever residual attraction had remained for Rob has faded now to a dim glow, overshadowed by the real connection she has forged with Kyle.
So while Kyle might have drawn away, I brought him up to the table, where he smiled at Anna as if nothing was wrong. “Hey,” he said. “Hope you weren’t waiting long.”
“Even if I was, I wouldn’t have minded,” Anna said, smiling at him. She would have kissed him, but she didn’t want Rob to think she was rubbing it in his face. Taking Kyle’s hand in a grip that was maybe a bit too hard for the occasion, she looked back at Rob. “Rob, this is my boyfriend Kyle.”
Kyle raised his eyebrows—of course Anna has told him about Rob. “Hey,” was all he said.
“Hey,” Rob retorted. He was busy looking over Kyle, and I could see that he was not impressed, but neither was he reassured as he had been on sight of Jacob. He could see, almost as clearly as I could, how well the two of them get along.
Anna, scenting danger, cleared her throat and got to her feet. “Well, we should probably get going, Rob. It was nice to see you—”
“Can I ask you a question, Kyle?” Rob asked, ignoring her.
Kyle stuck his free hand into his pocket. “Sure,” he said, though Anna was squeezing his hand, trying to warn him.
“Are you a Christian?”
Anna groaned and covered her face with her hands. Kyle put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder, but then dropped his arm and looked back at Rob. “No, actually,” he said. “First time I ever went to church was with Anna.”
Rob nodded slowly, the anger building in him like sludge in a clogged drain. He looked right at Anna and said, “So it’s faith that’s the problem, huh? You lying bitch. You looked me right in the eye and told me—”
It took that long for Kyle to grab a fistful of Rob’s shirt and drag him out of his seat. “Outside,” Kyle said, almost cheerfully, and he ushered Rob out while Anna hurriedly gathered up her things. I followed, anxious that there might be violence.
Out in the parking lot, Kyle tossed Rob away from him and stepped back. “Man, you are a dick,” he said. “What the hell is your problem?”
Rob snarled at Kyle. “My problem? My problem is that I had a great relationship with an awesome woman, or so I thought.” He glared at Anna as she came out of the coffee shop. “But then she dumps me with some pious shit about how she can’t be with a nonbeliever—”
“Oh, don’t you dare twist it like that,” Anna snapped, throwing her bag to the sidewalk and getting right up into Rob’s face. I was right behind her, both to lend her strength and to keep him silent. “I told you it wasn’t because of anything anyone told me to do. I’ll have you know that no fewer than six well-meaning church moms have told me that I shouldn’t be dating Kyle, either, and have I listened to them? No, because at least Kyle is open to learning about my faith. At least he accepts that it is an important part of my life. You on the other hand have nothing but scorn for it, and you think you’re so smart for seeing through the trick that it is. How can I be with you when you don’t even respect me enough to consider, even for a moment, that I might be right?”
Rob took a step back, stunned by the outburst. I wanted to cheer. Kyle did cheer, laughing aloud, and Rob turned on him in fury.
I swept a wing between the two of them. “No,” I snapped. “Enough is enough.”
Kyle had drawn himself up—he is not a violent man, but neither is he a coward. But either my intervention or Anna’s gaze was enough, and Rob stepped back, shaking his head.
As if Rob didn’t exist, Anna turned and went right back to Kyle’s side, taking his hand. “Let’s get out of here,” she said.
“Sure,” he said, still grinning. “Why don’t I get your bag?”
“Why, thank you.” She turned, folding her arms across her chest, and glared at Rob.
Kyle went back to pick up Anna’s bag. Then he paused and looked at Rob. I was surprised to see the amusement draining away from his aura, leaving an unexpectedly deep compassion. “Hey,” he said. “You know that line in Shakespeare about protesting too much?”
Rob looked at Kyle through narrowed eyes, but said nothing.
Kyle put Anna’s bag over his shoulder. “Look, I get being mad about losing someone who was important to you,” he said. “But maybe it’s not just Anna you’re missing. Maybe you’re mad because you’ve dug yourself into a hole.”
“Don’t preach to me, man,” Rob snapped.
“I’m not, I promise,” Kyle said, holding up his hands. “I just get the feeling that it’s not Anna you’re upset about. And if God’s not real, then why are you so upset about being rejected by him?”
And though Rob was angry, those words cut right through to his heart. He only stared at Kyle, who gave him half a smile and turned to rejoin Anna.
She had tears in her eyes. Wordlessly she wrapped both hands around his arm and leaned into him. He smiled and kissed the top of her head, and they walked off together.
I lingered a moment to look back at Rob. He was watching the couple, and I think Kyle was right—it is not Anna herself that Rob wants, but the peace that he felt when he was with her. And he himself did not realize that before—but now maybe he does.
I am proud of Kyle, as is Anna, and we are both very happy that he is a part of her life. And I think that the beliefs that separate them will not do so for long. He has light in his heart now.