Hearts in Harmony (3 page)

Her eyes widened. “Wow… You've been a Christian for seventeen years. And always been with the same people.”

He almost asked how she figured out the time frame, but then he remembered she'd been in possession of his driver's license. The math was easy. He tried not to be flattered that she'd memorized his birthday.

“For the most part, yes, it's really been a great church family. All of us guys on the worship team grew up in this neighborhood. We've been together all our lives, except Paul, briefly. He moved away for a while, but came back. Do you remember him? He was at my house when you dropped by with my driver's license.”

Celeste nodded. “Yes. He's the one who plays the bass guitar right?”

“Bob and Randy live close by, too. Bob's the drummer. He's as Italian as he looks.” Adrian grinned, thinking of his friend. “But don't tell Bob I said that.”

Her eyes widened, and Adrian hoped he hadn't given her the wrong impression. All the guys teased Bob endlessly with jokes about his large family and ethnic roots, but Bob, being Bob, took it all in stride.

“Randy's the one on the keyboard. I should probably warn you about him.”

“Warn me? Why?”

“He tends to fool around a lot, and most people don't take him seriously, but he's a great guy. He just needs to settle down a bit.”

Since he'd mentioned Bob's ethnicity, he tried to think of some way to set Randy apart. If he had to narrow it down to one thing, he would have said that Randy's most striking feature was his blue eyes. Personally, Adrian didn't think Randy's eyes were a big deal, but women seemed to be drawn to them. That was exactly the reason he was not going to draw Celeste's attention to Randy's big baby blues. Besides, Randy was just… Randy.

“That's so nice that you and your friends are on the worship team together. I hope you don't mind me asking, but what do you do for a living?”

Now, more than ever, he felt as if he was being interviewed.

Adrian stiffened. “Actually, my job is changing. Last year they promoted me to management, and they're changing my job description again, so I don't know what I should call myself.”

She kept staring at him. Fortunately, before she had the chance to ask him anything else, the waitress appeared with their lunches.

Adrian folded his hands in front of him on the table. “Would you like me to lead with a word of prayer before we eat?”

She turned her head from side to side, taking in the peo
ple at all the nearby tables. “Here? In a restaurant? You would do that?”

Adrian's mouth opened, but no words came out. He'd never thought about not praying just because he was in a public setting.

Before he could think of something to say, she broke out into a wide smile. “I think that's a great idea.”

Abruptly, she folded her hands in front of her on the table, bowed her head, closed her eyes and waited.

Adrian's mind went blank. He cleared his throat to give himself time to compose his thoughts.

“Thank you, dear Lord, for the food we're about to eat. Thank you also for new friends with whom we can share. I ask for Your continued blessings in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.”

He'd barely finished his first bite of fries when Celeste started again with the questions. “If you came with the same people from the other church, and you've been attending for so long, this must be a really nice group of people. Stable and everything? No surprises?”

Adrian nodded while he swallowed his mouthful. “I've got an idea. If you actually want to meet some of the people, rather than just sitting next to them, come to the evening service. Attendance is always lower, but it's a great opportunity to talk in a more relaxed setting. If you're nervous, I could pick you up.”

Time stretched on forever as she glanced at him, then over his shoulder to the door, then back to him.

“I've never been to an evening church service; that sounds like a good idea, but if you don't mind, I think I'll take my own car.”

Adrian felt his smile drop, but he quickly forced it back. He tried to convince himself that it was better she came on her own, because he had to be early to set up and practice. However, unless he picked her up, he couldn't be assured she would actually go. He hoped she would keep her promise.

They made pleasant small talk for the remainder of lunch. When they went their separate ways in their separate cars, Adrian couldn't help but smile. She'd been careful to avoid telling him exactly where she lived, but he knew her car. He couldn't miss that eyesore of a vehicle, no matter where it was, unless she parked it in the garage every single time she got home.

Starting Monday, it would be a good time to change his route when he took out his bicycle. Instead of the bike trail at the park, he might just cruise the neighborhood. Slowly.

But for now, he had never anticipated attending the evening service so much.

 

Celeste walked into the foyer quietly. Instead of standing alone in the growing crowd, she made her way immediately to the sanctuary. She sat in approximately the same place she had that morning and waited for the service to begin. She'd only been sitting a couple of minutes when Adrian looked up at her and smiled brightly.

Easily recognizing the other men from Adrian's descriptions, she watched them as they practiced, but she paid the most attention to Randy, the one on the keyboard.

Randy seemed to be the only one obviously having fun. He would try different things, and with trying something new, he often made a mistake. Whenever that happened, Adrian also made a mistake, and then they both did the
worst thing musicians in a group could do—they both paused at the same time in the middle of a song. Every time that happened, Paul, the bass guitarist, shut his eyes and kept playing until they recovered, while Bob, the drummer, struggled not to laugh. Randy would shrug his shoulders, play what he was supposed to for just a little while, then the cycle would start again.

Watching Randy on the keyboard sent a wave of longing through Celeste. Randy wasn't bad. He was just a little too adventurous for his own good.

She shook her head and turned away.

She was in church to worship God, the God who had pulled her out of the pit. She wasn't here to critique the band.

To distract herself, Celeste turned her attention to the others in the sanctuary. Almost everyone there was close to her own age. The evening crowd was about a third of the number who attended the morning service. Hardly any children were present. The majority of the people wore jeans, including the men of the worship team. Even the pastor was dressed casually. There wasn't a tie to be seen in the entire crowd.

What appeared to be the youth group occupied an entire section. In keeping with the informal setting, the worship team played only contemporary music, making Celeste guess the evening service was geared to the teens and young adults.

Adrian and all his friends, this time, joined her during the pastor's message, though they all returned to the front for the closing. The second the pastor announced coffee and donuts at the back, most of the seats in the church emptied.

It didn't take Adrian long to appear at her side.

“If you want a donut, you'd better hurry. The youth group gets them pretty fast. Sometimes, it's a real free-for-all.”

Adrian's friendly smile did little to quell her rising uneasiness. All he was doing was offering her a donut, and nothing more. She really was trying to follow what she thought was God's direction. Adrian could have been a poster child for trustworthiness. Unlike her, he was stable enough to have bought his own house as a single man, while she was barely in a position to rent. He worked at a job he'd had for a long time. He even visited his mother often.

Since they'd parted that afternoon, Celeste had told herself over and over that all he'd been was…nice. He'd given her no reason to doubt his sincerity, and no reason to think he was anything other than what he appeared to be.

Adrian escorted her to the back. No one approached them, although she did notice a few people taking second glances, as she was probably the only stranger in their midst.

She had just bitten into a powdered sugar donut when the other three men from the worship team circled around her.

Randy, the man who had played the keyboard, stepped closer. “What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” he asked as he waggled his eyebrows.

Celeste nearly choked on her donut. When she'd first told people she knew that she'd started attending church, everyone had asked her the same question, except no one called her nice. Celeste tried her best to wipe the powdered sugar from her mouth discreetly.

Adrian sighed. “Celeste, I'd like you to meet my friends. Except if they keep it up, they won't be my friends for much longer.” He paused. No one refuted him, so he continued. “This is Randy.”

Again, Randy grinned. Celeste had never seen such an adorable boyish grin on a man his age, and Randy's blue eyes were positively striking.

“I believe you saw Paul briefly at my house.”

The tall blond man nodded politely. “Charmed,” he said, and his expression made her think he actually meant it.

Celeste felt herself blushing, something she hadn't done for many years. It felt strange.

“And this is Bob.”

The drummer's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her. “I don't believe I've ever seen you here before. Welcome to Faith Community Fellowship. It's good to have you here.”

Celeste had enjoyed the morning service, but to be seeing everyone just being themselves completely melted away her worries. Some teens were squabbling over the last donut and all the adults were in small groups, laughing and talking. From the volume of the chatter and laughter, Celeste could barely believe she was in a church.

Randy turned his head toward the front, and then back again. “Hey, Adrian. We've got all our stuff cleaned up. Maybe you should do the same. At least wind your patch cord and knock down your stands.”

Adrian smiled. “Excuse me, Celeste. I'll only be a few minutes.”

As Adrian left, another man joined them. Randy introduced him as Pastor Ron.

Celeste had never spoken to a real live pastor before. He wasn't at all like she expected. He seemed so…ordinary.

When the pastor excused himself, a few more people from the congregation joined them, and Randy introduced
them one by one. Before long, she'd talked to so many people she couldn't remember their names.

By the time Adrian returned, the crowd was thinning. Randy noticed the same thing, and whispered to her that it was because the donuts were gone.

Celeste couldn't help herself. She liked Randy. In fact, she liked all of Adrian's friends. She couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed a day so much, if she ever had. Most important, she couldn't remember the last time she'd actually been able to relax in a crowd.

Unfortunately, with relaxation came tiredness. Paul caught her stifling a yawn.

“Excuse me,” she muttered between her fingers. “I don't know why I'm suddenly so tired. I should go, anyway. I have to be up early for work in the morning.”

Almost in unison, Adrian, Bob, Randy and Paul checked their watches, and Adrian said, “Let me walk you to your car.”

She said her good-byes and made her way out with Adrian at her side.

He waited patiently while she struggled to get the key turned in the lock the right way to open the car door.

“Thank you for a lovely day, Adrian.”

“You're more than welcome. I hope to see you again soon.”

She nodded and quickly scooted into the car. “Yes,” she mumbled as she pulled the door hard enough to force it closed. “You'll see me next Sunday morning. Bye.”

C
eleste shut down her computer. It had been a busy day at work and she would have liked nothing better than to go home and put her feet up, but the fridge and cupboards were bare. Knowing she wouldn't have the energy to go out again after she'd settled down for the evening, she headed out to pick up her groceries on the way home.

List in hand, she trudged through the store. As soon as she had everything she needed in her grocery cart, she proceeded to the checkouts. One look at the long lines nearly made her groan out loud. At the same second she pushed her cart into what she hoped was the shortest line, a male voice sounded behind her.

“Hey, Celeste, fancy meeting you here.”

Her breath caught and her hand shot up to her throat as she spun around. She nearly sank to the floor with relief that it wasn't anyone too familiar. “Adrian, you startled me. What are you doing here?”

He nodded at her shopping cart. “Same thing as you, apparently.”

His cart contained more than double the volume of her own.

She counted the people in the line ahead of her. “It looks like we're going to be a while.”

“On your way home from work?”

“Yes. I guess you are, too,” she replied.

He nodded, but didn't speak.

She tried to guess what he did for a living. His clothes didn't give her an easy answer. Today, he wore tailored slacks that looked as though they belonged with a suit jacket, which he wasn't wearing, a good-quality cotton dress shirt and a tie. She knew his job was in management, but she didn't know what he managed. Obviously it wasn't something that required manual labor or a uniform.

She turned her attention back up to his face. He was grinning. “I knew you were here. I saw your car.”

Her face flamed. She'd parked her mother's car in the back corner of the lot, next to the garbage bin, far away from everyone else, in an effort to escape notice.

She didn't want to hear that she could be so easily found. She tried to console herself by thinking no one she used to know would associate her with her mother's car, even if they did see it. Her own car was by now halfway across the country with her mother in it.

“If you really must know, it's my mother's car, not mine. We traded so she could have something safe to drive on her vacation. She left last week.”

Adrian's smile dropped. “It sounds like that old thing isn't very dependable.”

“It's not like it's going to blow up or anything. The worst that will happen is it will stall.” She patted her purse.
“If that happens, I got a cell phone on my lunch break today. All I have to do is call a tow truck.”

One eyebrow rose, but he said nothing.

The line moved them to the point where she had to begin unloading her groceries onto the conveyor belt. Having the length of the buggy between them made it impossible to talk softly, thus ending their conversation, which Celeste regretted. It had been so long since she'd had such a pleasant conversation about nothing in particular, she'd forgotten just how good it could be.

Adrian's deep voice interrupted her mental meanderings. “That's my favorite kind of ice cream. Do you share?”

She fumbled with the ice cream tub, then thunked it down before she dropped it. “I think it's in the Ten Commandments somewhere that you're not supposed to covet thy neighbor's ice cream.”

He covered his stomach with his hands. “I haven't had dinner yet. That ice cream is too tempting for me. What about you? Have you had dinner? We could go out somewhere.”

Celeste focused intently on unloading the remainder of her groceries onto the conveyor. “Sorry, not this time. There's stuff I have to put in the freezer. Like this ice cream, for example.”

“I have an idea. I've got a frozen pizza. We can both go to your house, and you can put your groceries away. Then we can eat my pizza for supper, and your ice cream for dessert.”

“Frozen pizza?” Celeste hesitated, then placed the last of her groceries onto the conveyor belt. After praying about the situation with Adrian all week, she'd decided to trust that God really had sent her a potential friend. However,
she wasn't sure she was ready to open up the private sanctuary of her home.

But she had to eat.

When she was a teen and still living at home with her mother, Celeste had often had her girlfriends over for frozen pizza. The food had been horrible, but the evenings were fun.

Adrian wasn't exactly one of her cheerleading buddies, but Celeste knew she needed a little fun.

She tried to smile, but thought it probably looked as fake as it felt. “I haven't had a frozen pizza for years. Are they still just as bad?”

Adrian nodded very seriously. “Yes. I bought extra cheese.”

“In that case, I can't refuse.”

They chatted very little as the clerk processed their orders, and soon they were at her car.

“You parked beside me.”

“Yeah. I did, didn't I?”

Her heart pounded. Adrian wasn't Zac. So far, at least, Adrian was harmless. He was on the worship team at his church, which went partway to proving that he was a dedicated Christian. Most of all, he'd gone out of his way to help her, more than once, demanding nothing in return.

She told herself she was being unreasonable. Adrian had no idea what was happening in her life, or what
had
happened, and he didn't need ever to know. He was only acting in a way that was natural for him, and she couldn't fault him for that.

She tried to keep her hand from shaking as she inserted the key into the lock, then wiggled it enough to get it to
turn. She swung the back door open and was about to start loading her groceries, when Adrian's hand rested on her arm, halting her on the spot. She bit her lip so she wouldn't scream.

“That looks heavy. Can I help you with that?”

Without waiting for an answer, he stepped in front of her, reached into her cart, and began piling everything up on the back seat. “Most people put their groceries in the trunk,” he mumbled as he worked.

“The trunk smells like gasoline.”

His brows knotted as he frowned. “Maybe you should have that looked at.”

“No, the gas container just spilled. It's nothing. I just have to remember to leave it open to air out next weekend. Actually, if I ever took this thing in to get fixed, they'd either bury it, or take all my money to fix it up. Besides, I only need to put up with it until my mother gets back. She keeps telling me she's going to have it restored, but somehow that never happens. Instead, it just keeps getting worse.”

He nodded and continued to load all her groceries into the back seat without being asked.

Celeste stood back as her throat clogged. What he was doing obviously wasn't a big deal to him, but it was a big deal to her. Again, he was helping her, without thinking, without being asked, and without expecting anything in return.

She didn't know much about signs from God, yet she wondered if God was trying to tell her something.

He pushed the door closed, but the rusty hinge creaked and groaned, preventing the latch from catching properly. He re-opened it and slammed it shut, giving the handle a pensive wiggle.

“Are you sure this thing is safe to drive? I couldn't help but hear the grinding it made on Sunday when you left the parking lot.”

“It's okay for short distances, which is all I have to do. Really, once it starts, it's fine after a couple of blocks.”

His mouth opened and he raised one finger in the air, readying Celeste for what she thought would be a challenge to her decision, but nothing came out. The finger dropped, he stiffened, and he cleared his throat.

“Never mind. As soon as I put my own groceries in my trunk, we can be on our way. Just remember I have to follow you. You know where I live, but I don't know which house is yours.”

While Adrian tossed his groceries into the trunk of his car, Celeste slid behind the wheel and closed her eyes to think and pray.

She still wasn't sure she was doing the right thing by encouraging Adrian in whatever it was he thought he was doing by being so friendly. However, she couldn't live underground like a gopher, only going to work and back. All she could do was count on Jesus for wisdom, guidance, strength, and protection and pray that she was doing the right thing. With her Savior by her side, she prayed she wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

The bang of Adrian's trunk closing made her eyes open. As she headed for home with Adrian behind her, she told herself that it was unrealistic to think she could keep where she lived secret. As far as risks went, being with Adrian out in public seemed a minimal one. At home, since she lived in a duplex, if she screamed, her landlord Hank would hear, and, she hoped, call the police.

Like a gentleman, Adrian helped Celeste carry all her groceries into the house. He disappeared while she tucked most of it away, then returned with one more bag.

“Would you mind putting this in your freezer? Everything else will be okay in the trunk, but this stuff has to stay frozen. I didn't think of it until now.”

When she took the bag from his hand, he laid a frozen pizza on the table, along with a package of shredded mozzarella cheese, as promised.

He looked apologetic. “I don't usually eat like this, but I didn't feel like cooking today.”

While Celeste made coffee, Adrian made a great show of ripping away the wrap from the pizza, and carefully sprinkling on the mozzarella cheese, making it look as though he was doing more work than it really required.

When the pizza was in the oven, Celeste walked into the living room to put some music on. She didn't have much yet, but she had started a small collection of Christian music, which included the same CD Adrian had had in his car.

While she tried to think of which one to put on, Adrian wandered across her living room.

“Wow. You've got a great electric piano. It's probably silly of me to ask if you play. Maybe we could do something together one day. I'd bring my guitar.”

She broke out into a cold sweat. Her hand shook too much to put on the CD. Her past was behind her. What Adrian was asking was entirely different.

She forced the words out. “I just play for my own enjoyment. I don't think so.” Her words were truer than Adrian could ever guess. When she said ‘for her own enjoyment,' she meant she played alone. She'd exchanged the
joy of making music with others for something of much more value, even if at times it hurt.

He fumbled for the switch, turned it on, and plunked out a few notes. “Nice sound. I tried to learn to play piano when I was a kid. I wasn't very good. I'm actually not very good on guitar, either, but I'm the best they've got.” He plunked out a few more notes, shook his head and stepped back. “Would you like to tickle the ivories for me?”

“Plastics,” she mumbled.

“Plastics?”

“The keys are plastic. Even if it was a real piano, I don't think they use ivory anymore.”

He stared at her for a few seconds. “Then would you like to tickle the plastics?” Adrian paused as he shook his head. “I think it loses something when you say it that way.”

Thankfully, she heard the oven timer go off. Before he could ask again, Celeste hustled into the kitchen, removed the pizza from the oven, cut it into slices, and set it on the table.

They bowed their heads while Adrian prayed.
“Dear Lord, thank You for this food, and for the rich blessings You've bestowed upon us. Thank You also for friends, both old and new, and the opportunity to share with them. Amen.”

She hadn't taken her first bite when Adrian started with the phrase she had been hoping wouldn't come out.

“So. Tell me a little about yourself.”

Celeste studied her plate as she spoke. “There isn't much to tell. I work in the credit department of a small company. I haven't been there very long. Soon I'm going to take an accounting course. I've started looking into what's available at night school, so I can still work.”

The touch of his hand on hers startled her. “See what
we have in common already? I'm an accountant. Also, we like the same ice cream.”

What he was trying to do was more than obvious. While she did like him, she was far from ready to enter the relationship he alluded to.

He grinned. “You're looking at me funny.”

“Sorry. You don't look like an accountant.”

One eyebrow quirked. “And what should an accountant look like?”

Celeste chewed on her lower lip before answering. “Accountants are short and bald, wear suits all the time, and have suspenders to keep their pants up. They also have those little half-sized reading glasses perched on the ends of their noses all the time.”

Adrian cleared his throat, straightened his stylish glasses, then ran his fingers through his hair. “I'll never be bald.” He patted the knot of his tie. “Have I just been insulted?”

She shook her head. “No. I'm sorry. That came out wrong.” Although her supervisor did look exactly as she'd described.

He let her steer the conversation away from personal questions and back to neutral topics. Before long she found herself enjoying his company and laughing at his lame jokes. When he checked his watch and stood to leave, her disappointment surprised her.

“I can't believe what time it is. The guys are coming over to practice tonight, and I have to get my groceries put away before they get there.”

She escorted him to the door.

“Goodnight, Celeste. Will I see you again on Sunday? I'd like to pick you up, but I have to go early to set up.”

Her answer came without thought. “Yes, I'll be there.”

“I'll be looking forward to Sunday more than ever, then.”

Adrian smiled and left.

After his car had rounded the corner, Celeste returned to the kitchen to clean up. However, when she entered the kitchen and looked at the fridge, she skidded to a halt.