Bab 12: Come Along, Jesse
"Faint with joy?"
"I wish…my lungs gave up on me. I had pretty much used all my air to make it to the finish line first. I'm lucky I didn't collapse in the middle of the race."
Jesse shook his head in amazement. "What happened next?"
"God spoke to me and told me that I had run enough and done enough for man. It was time to take on an easier assignment." Pause. "I still remember the peace that came over me when He said that I didn't have to stand on my own… He would stand for me."
There were tears in her eyes now but she smiled and shook her head. "I had no doubt in my mind that my competition days were through."
He understood. "So did you wake up on the track?"
She laughed now. "No. Every doctor who hears my story asks that… I woke up in the hospital. My red-eyed mother was holding my hand and praying fervently. I had an oxygen mask on and a crowd of anxious athletes surrounding my bed.
"My mother's first words were 'Thank God. You are never running again' and I just smiled."
Jesse laughed.
"I was in hospital for two days," she told him after taking a break to eat some more of her roast beef and blue cheese open sub. "My team threw me a farewell party and gave me one last t-shirt for the road."
"What did this one say?" he asked, curious.
"I still have it. It says 'You ran the good race and you fought the good fight. We will never forget you'."
"That's a keeper," he agreed with a gentle smile. "And this is how you got into ministry?'
She waved a hand back and forth. "Sort of. I prayed up and studied hard first. I realised that I had almost died trying to please other people instead of taking care of myself. I had to re-think a whole lot of things." Pause. "The devil is known as the devourer and it's as though he used my ego and my friends to demand more and more from me. Medal after medal until you forget why you are living." She paused again. "I knew I lived for God but I started to second guess my friends and I had to take a step back before I started seeing the devil every time someone asked me for a favour."
Jesse smiled, his green eyes reflecting understanding. "How long did that take?"
"Almost until the end of college. I did work through my sorority and I was still the university poster girl. I found it funny when other athletes would come to me for advice but I started seeing that as a way to help people. I was also a spokesperson for a faith-based cause and an asthma awareness campaign."
"That may explain why you looked familiar to me," Jesse said.
She laughed. "I doubt it."
"Seriously. Some European schools use American campaigns to spark or bolster their own. It's possible."
"Hmm. I wouldn't know too much about what they did with the campaign material."
"I guess not." He paused to let Pearl eat more of her food. He had pretty much polished off everything on his plate and he was thinking of eating dessert.
Pearl actually suggested it. "You can order something else, if you like. They have great pastries and cakes."
"You just read my mind," he grinned. He signalled a waiter.
She glanced at her watch and ate more of her sandwich.
When the waiter walked away, Jesse asked her to continue telling him how she had gotten to this career.
"Well, on vacation back in Hawaii-"
"Back in?" he echoed.
"That's where my roots are. Four generations grew up there running naked on the beaches of Hawaii."
"Sounds fun," he grinned again.
"I came over to the mainland during summer holidays to visit relatives and Aunt Viv," Pearl explained to him before moving on. "So back in Hawaii I was listening to my dad deliver a sermon about depositing into people's lives for the kingdom and I started to think about how I could do that. In my field of work it's not that easy but when I went to do my masters at Ithaca College, I got a chance to see Monty- my boss- train and preach at the same time. I sent in my CV and two years later I was working with him full time."
"That's great. What exactly do you do?" Jesse asked her, making a mental note of the fact that her father was a pastor of some sort.
"I help rehabilitate athletes back to fitness after long breaks and injuries mainly. When given a chance to share my faith I do. If the athlete's already a Christian I teach them how to channel their faith for success."
"And the camps?"
"We do team building and leadership development using a Christian teaching model, but it's ordinary camp stuff with a faith base."
"That's cool."
"Yeah. You get to see a lot of kids take a genuine look at where their lives are really going."
"I'd love to be a part of something like that."
"Really? Well, since you did say you have time on your hands right now, maybe you could volunteer at some events to see how we run stuff."
"I'd like that."
At that moment, Pearl's cell phone rang. It was the office.
"I'm sorry. I need to get this."
"Sure, go ahead."
"Hello?"
She listened and Jesse could see something was not quite okay. Pearl was frowning.
"Does she have to go today?" Pause. "Alright, of course." She sighed. "Thanks for updating me. Yeah, I'll be in the office soon." Pause. "It's okay. Bye."
Pearl hung up and closed her eyes.
Jesse looked at her as she fought to remain composed after whatever news she'd just received.
She was lovely.
Her black hair was coiffed up and contained in elaborate waves, coiled on top of her head. Her makeup was flawless and done in attractive pink hues. Her lips slightly pursed right now, were inviting even when she was clearly upset.
He didn't allow himself to gaze further than her throat, dressed in pearls. Real ones, he presumed.
"Pearl," he finally spoke, "is everything alright?"
Her eyes flew open and she looked at him.
"Yes, I'm fine. I-" she sighed. "That call wasn't great news but it's going to be okay."
She took a deep breath and seemed to be thinking of something but she kept looking at him.
"Pearl?" he said again, hoping to get more information from her about what was going on.
She pinned his gaze with her own. "Jesse- how about this week?"
"What about this week?" he asked, puzzled.
"How would you like to go on camp with me?"
"You're kidding right?"
"No." She shook her head and told him, "I'm so serious. The call was from my office assistant. The doctor who was going to head first aid is leaving town as we speak. Her mother is very sick and she's hell-bent on overseeing recovery herself. I can't do much to stop her. We value family at Excel and she could do better than to fret for a whole week at camp."
Jesse nodded in agreement. "So where do I come in?"
"Well, you're a doctor and you're interested in our work and my back up medic can't get off her other responsibilities on such short notice this time around. And you're the only doctor I know who-"
"Isn't doing anything at the moment," he finished for her.
She nodded. "We don't expect any major medical incidents but we have to have a medic."
"Can't you do first aid?" he asked her.
"We all can but we'll be busy running camp." Pause. "Please say you'll come," she pleaded, "it'll be fun. Warm weather, a beautiful lakeside cabin, cafeteria food, a bunch of girls who will probably drool over you…" she smiled.
He laughed and took the last bite of his black berry cheesecake.
"How long can I think about it?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.
She chuckled, "About four minutes. You'd have to come back with me to fill out a form and get suited up."
"Suited up?" his eyebrow rose.
"Well, you'd need to wear uniform like the rest of us," she smiled.
"Right."
Suddenly, he looked doubtful. It was probably because the image of cheesy khaki outfits crossed his mind.
Pearl bit her lip amused but only said, "What do you say? Do you want to spend five days in the wilderness with me?" she teased.
He didn't read anything into her statement but it was enough to convince him to say, "Okay, why not?"
She sat back, relieved. "Great!"
As if on cue, the bill arrived and Pearl insisted on paying.
"It's the least I can do since I'm tearing you away from your plans for the rest of the week."
He didn't tell her that he wouldn't call swimming in the ocean urgent plans. He just thanked her for lunch and agreed to follow her back to her workplace.
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