Chapter Fifteen

A Chapter by Cre8nFrmWithn

Assistance for Darren in the form of a Widower...

Chapter Fifteen

Steven Peg was a member of Pastor Donaldson’s church. He was born and raised in the church and loved everything about it. He’d served on several boards, taught Sunday School and headed the blood drive every quarter. He loved his church, he loved his faith.

Steve stood strong on that faith, even when his wife passed away. They’d gone swimming one summer on holiday in Australia for their fourth wedding anniversary. Sure, there had ben rumors of shark attacks in the area but the place was known for it’s tourist attractions and scuba diving was very popular. When his Gina disappeared, Steve had vowed to never gone below the glassy surface again.

His love of God enveloped him. He knew that as long as he prayed and stayed active in his faith, not the church, that he would be blessed and see his wife again. There was no doubt.

When he’d become a Stephen’s Minister, it was the best move he’d ever made. Helping someone who was going through a crisis, whether close or far from his loss was something he was prepared for. He knew God had given him his tragedy to enable him to become someone else’s blessing. To know what it was like to lose someone was the only to help another through the same. It was his duty and he’d been assigned.

The training and meetings he’d received all led up to the point when he’d received the call from Pastor Donaldson. It was time to help out. When he walked into the office, he felt instant peace. It was good to be in the house of the Lord.

“Steve”, Pastor greeted with an extended hand.

Steve received with a strong grip. They stood for a brief moment before releasing and sitting. Pastor pulled a sheet of paper from his desk and slid it across to Steve. It was a Care Receiver Sheet. It held the name and other important information of the person he’d be assisting: Darren Maysfield.

“Do you know Darren?”

Steve tried to bring up a picture in his mind from the pictorial directory. Nothing came up. “I don’t think so.”

“Probably not. He is a member but doesn’t attend as regularly as his wife, Zenolyn Maysfield-“

“Oh, I know Zen!” Familiarity was good when meeting with a Care Receiver.

“Good. Well, Zen is on the prayer list right now. She’d fallen from a ladder a while ago and has been in a coma since. The doctors think she’ll pull through but right now, there’s no way to really know.

“Darren works for the family, Zen does homeschooling and such. With her in the hospital, everything has been on Darren’s shoulders. They have a set of twins that are sweet but difficult for Darren to deal with, having not been home to teach them and such.

“He’s on a break from work right now and trying his best to be at the hospital and take care of the children and home. I think this is a good time for you to meet with him. There’s a chance that Zen could pull through this and be home but it could also take a turn for the worse. I want you there for him regardless.”

Steve looked over the sheet, containg his home address, phone number, email and other forms of contact. It also had a bit of the same information Pastor was sharing with him. He was ready to help out. God had a mission for him, non-impossible.

“I can do it Pastor. Thank you for thinking of me.”

“Thank you for being there when I needed you Steve. I know you have a bit of experience in this department. I’m praying for the two of you. Help him Steve. He’s going to need it. His faith is there, it just needs coaxing.”

“I will do my best Pastor.”

When Steve got home, he decided he’d waited till about two o’clock. He figured the children were young and would be just waking from a nap about around then, so later would be the best time to call. Unfortunately, he got the answering machine at 2:03pm.

He listened to the woman’s voice and recognized it as Zenolyn’s. He remembered her as a friendly person, full of smiles and always lending a hand. No one ever said anything negative about her and that was a plus for Darren. Women like Zen were hard to come by, like his Gina. Darren was married to a kind soul.

“Hey Darren, this is Steve from church; I’m the Stephen’s Minister that Pastor told you about. If you could give me a call, I’d like to schedule a meeting with you. I can either come to your home or we can meet someplace-“

beep!

The machine cut him off. Hmm…I wonder if he has caller id, Steve thought.

He decided to wait a day or two and see if he got a call back. He figured that if he didn’t hear anything, the Maysfield’s didn’t have caller id and he’d need to try and catch Darren at home or call and make sure to leave his number next time. Either way, he’d have to call back.

From training, Steve knew the first meet-up could be difficult. Sometimes the Care Receive said they wanted assistance but it was sometimes stated just to get to another subject. That yes, yes thing to move on, he’d seen it before in himself. He didn’t want help when he’d lost Gina but he got it anyway, from a caring supporter. A friend.

Now it was his turn to be patient and help. It was his turn to listen and offer support. Steve had decided to be there when Darren needed him and give the words that encouraged ideas instead of giving the ideas. It wouldn’t be easy at times, he knew but it would work for the best. It was God’s plan after all.

***

When the nurse left Zen’s room, Darren checked the time. It was almost a quarter after two; he’d stayed all day! That wasn’t good but decided he needed to check in at the office anyway. First he needed to check on the kids.

He stepped away from Zen’s bedside and pulled out his mobile. Dad answered on the second ring. “Yup”.

“Hey Pop”, he greeted.

“How’s Zen doing?’

“Same. The nurse said she’s stable, just won’t wake up. I’m going in to work for a couple of hours and then back for the kids. Everything alright?”

“Yup. Here’s Mom with details.” There was shuffling as Darren listened to his dad leave the living room to hand off the phone. The kids were playing in the background, obviously finished with their school work.

“Hey Darren”, Mom sighed. “Any news of change?”

“No but she’s fine. I’m going in to work. Is it okay to feed the kids dinner? I’m going to stay for two hours in the office.”

“No problem. I’ll let them know. “ There was a brief moment of silence before, “Are you alright?”

Darren wondered if he was alright. He hadn’t heard anything since being with Zen. Those succinct moments when he’d lost his mind had to be his imagination. There was no way she’d speak to him in dreams and out of the blue but remain silent while he sat beside her, right? No way.

“Yeah Mom, I’m good. I just had to see her today. I had a weird dream and didn’t want to be away should something have happened to her.”

“I understand. I used to think like that about your brother Danny, when he was in the military. Off fighting in those foreign lands, never to get married or anything. It scared me to death.”

“Yeah, now I can relate, except I know where she is.”

“She’ll be alright Darren. Go to work. I love you.”

“Love you too Mom.”

At the office, Darren found things running pretty good. He wasn’t happy that so many hands were in his projects but it was working smoothly. His assistant had his messages in a neat stack on his desk. His progress reports were there as well, along with his other necessities. Even his plants were watered.

Darren shut the door, though no one was there and sat behind his medium, oak desk. He slid his hands across the desk and laid his palms flat with his arms extended. He closed his eyes, inhaled and held it for a brief moment. When he exhaled, he opened his eyes and actually saw his office for what it was. His escape, his getaway.

“What a fool I’ve been”, he said to no one. A feeling of loneliness settled in like a mudslide. His chest tightened and his vision blurred. Darren inhaled and let out his repressed sobs. With each tremor of his body, he felt his spirit weaken, empty. He was truly lost without his wife.

Would she wake up? And if she didn’t, what would he do? How could he tell his children? This was wrong.

prev chapter